Huang Yongyu (Chinese: 黄永玉; pinyin: Huáng Yǒngyù; August 9, 1924 – June 13, 2023),[3][4] pen name Huang Xing Bin, Huang Niu, Niu Fuzi,[5][6] was a scholar of the Tujia ethnicity from Fenghuang, Hunan province, Chinese painter, and former professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Huang Yongyu | |
|---|---|
| 黄永玉 | |
| Pronunciation | Huáng Yǒngyù |
| Born | August 4, 1924 |
| Died | June 13, 2023 (aged 98) |
| Occupation(s) | Scholar, painter, professor |
| Spouse |
Zhang Meixi (m. 1885) |
| Relatives | Shen Congwen (cousin)[2] |
Biography
editHuang Yongyu was born on August 9, 1924. Born into poverty, he began working at 12 years old in porcelain workshops in the mountainous areas of Anhui and Fujian, before later moving to Shanghai, Taiwan, and then Hong Kong. At the age of 14, he began to publish works.[further explanation needed] At the age of 16, he earned a living by painting and wood carving.
While in Hong Kong, he worked in Ta Kung Pao alongside Jin Yong as the art editor.[7]
Huang Yongyu returned to Beijing with his wife Zhang Meixi in 1952 and began working in the Central Academy of Fine Arts as a professor before becoming vice chairman of the Chinese Artists Association. In 1956, the Huang Yongyu Wood Carving Collection was published which contained carvings like Spring Tide and Ashma. During the Cultural Revolution, especially during the black painting campaign, the Gang of Four accused Yongyu of being a reactionary academic.[8][9] His painting Owl was among the Black Painting Exhibition,[8][9][10] which was characterized by critics as "one of the best counter-revolutionary black paintings."[11]
Huang Yongyu held numerous painting exhibitions in Australia, Germany, Italy, mainland China and Hong Kong, and his artistic achievements are well known at home and abroad. He received awards from the Italian government for his contributions in the cultural exchange between China and Italy.[12] His works were exhibited in Hong Kong Times Square in July 2007.
Works
editYongyu's art includes printmaking, paintings, sculptures, literature, architecture, and stamp design. His paintings are a blend of Western and Chinese style.[citation needed] Huang Yongyu was also an accomplished poet, his poems being described as colloquial and simple yet emotionally touching.[citation needed]
His stamp work includes the zodiac Golden Monkey stamp, and notable literature include Yongyu Six Records, Wu Shimang Forum, Wife, Don't Cry, These Melancholy Debris, Along the Seine River to Fei Leng Cui, Landscape under the Sun, The Wandering Man of the Wucho River. He was an architect in various projects, such as Yu's Mountain House, Zhuang Cuilou in Phoenix County, Half House in the Mountain in Hong Kong, Wan He Tang in Tongzhou, Beijing, and Innumerable Villa in Florence, Italy.[citation needed]
The Chinese logo of the clothing brand Giordano was inscribed by Huang Yongyu.[citation needed] In addition, a brand logo for wine was designed by Huang Yongyu.[further explanation needed]
In November 2017, his 11-foot (3.4 m) ink on paper scroll, Autumn Scenery (1978), brought $2.5 million (HKD 19.3 million) at an auction at Christie's.[13]
Honors
editFor the 2008 Summer Olympics, Huang Yongyu created an art piece to celebrate China hosting the Olympics that year.[14] On August 24, 2008, then President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge and vice president He Zhenliang awarded Yongyu the Olympic Art Award for the piece, the first Chinese national to win it.[14]
Yongyu received 3 awards from Italy, including the Medal of Meritorious Commander of the Italian Republic (December 27, 1985[15]), the Medal of Commander of the Italian Unity Star (announced May 30, 2005,[15] awarded in Beijing March 14, 2006), and the Italian Star Knight's Grand Cross (announced May 24, 2019,[15] awarded in Beijing May 20, 2021[16]).
Controversy
editOn September 8, 2022, the stamp Year of Gui Mao was released, designed by Huang Yongyu. China Post described it as "a wise rabbit with a pen in his right hand and a letter in his left hand in an ingenious blue color, as if it were conveying New Year good wishes to the people."[17] However, after its release, people online claimed the rabbit looked "demonic" and was not cute enough.[18] Some people praised the design, such as painter Han Meilin who applauded the stamp's novelty and bold design.[19] Hong Xinliang, Qianjiang Evening News commentator, did not blame Huang Yongyu, and that the committee who approved the stamp's publication should have publicized the stamp in advance to be checked by the audience. The stamp drew crowds to post offices and sold out online.[20]
On January 5, 2023, at an event sponsored by China Post and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum in Nanning, Guangxi, a mascot based on the rabbit appeared at the venue which aroused complaints from people online. Guangxi Museum said that they had received feedback from parents about the mascot and it was removed.[21][22]
References
edit- ^ "著名畫家黃永玉夫人張梅溪在港逝世 享年98歲 - 香港文匯網". news.wenweipo.com. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ "黃永玉：我的表叔沈從文 | 壹學者 - 灼見名家". www.master-insight.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ "黄永玉：把艺术弄成商品叫卖 我绝不会参与". 2014-04-08. Archived from the original on 2014-04-08. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ "黄永玉先生逝世". news.sina.com.cn. 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ "国画家黄永玉个人主页_艺术台_中国网络电视台". arts.cntv.cn. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
- ^ "黄永玉作品绚烂与幽默 - 国内新闻 - 中国日报网". 2020-06-19. Archived from the original on 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "黄永玉的香港缘 _大公网". www.takungpao.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ a b "文革"黑画事件"始末：黄永玉与猫头鹰(图)_资讯_凤凰网". news.ifeng.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ a b "1974年"黑画事件"真相 - 中国传记文学学会". www.zgzjwx.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "王鲁湘对话黄永玉：从心所欲少年狂". zgmsbw.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "批"黑画"运动中的几位画家 - 科学猫". 2022-05-22. Archived from the original on 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "本刊顾问黄永玉先生获"意大利团结星二级骑士勋章" - 中国美术馆". 2021-08-30. Archived from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ Ho, Karen K (16 June 2023). "Huang Yongyu, Chinese Artist Behind Controversial Zodiac Stamp, Dies at 98". ARTnews. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b "黄永玉荣获奥林匹克艺术大奖_艺术台_中国网络电视台". arts.cntv.cn. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ a b c "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". 2021-08-30. Archived from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "意大利驻华大使方澜意为97岁的艺术大师黄永玉先生授予意大利之星大十字骑士勋章". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "中国邮政报". China Post. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ "妖氣沖天？大陸詭異藍兔生肖郵票引爭議 網友罵翻：有夠不吉利！ | 中天新聞網". ctinews.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ 中時新聞網 (2023-01-04). "「詭異藍兔」畫師背景超狂 金庸同事黃霑好友 陸郵票天價 - 兩岸" (in Chinese). 中時新聞網. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ Ho, Karen K (27 January 2023). "Chinese Artist Huang Yongyu Designs Controversial Year of the Rabbit Stamp". ARTnews. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "兔年邮票"蓝兔子"实体形象再引争议，主办方：已撤下". static.cdsb.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ 自由時報電子報 (2023-01-07). "有妖氣！「紅眼藍兔」中國郵票挨批 實體吉祥物現身遭家長投訴 - 國際" (in Chinese). 自由時報電子報. Retrieved 2023-06-22.