School of Culture and Communication - Theses
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ItemChinese New Year pictures: the process of modernisation, 1842-1942( 1997)The thesis is a study of a traditional popular art form of China known as New Year Pictures. Although the production of these woodblock printed images virtually ceased early this century, the relevance of this art form in contemporary China has continued. The New Year Picture is often hailed as a prototype for modern forms of visual expression. A renewed interest in this old art form has also prompted widespread conservation of the New Year Picture at the same time as making it the subject of scholarly pursuit. This study evaluates the relevance of New Year Pictures to contemporary art and society by focussing on prints produced in the period spanning the century from 1842 to 1942. This period is definitive of the changes that occurred within the popular art form. The year 1842 marks the end of the Opium War with Britain and the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, permanently changing China’s international relationships. This, in turn, impacted greatly upon Chinese society and culture. The 1942 was the year of Mao’s “Talks at the Yan’an Conference on Literature and Art”. In mapping out strategies for artists to participate in the communist transformation of Chinese society, the “Talks” articulated an approach to Chinese art and culture that would permanently alter the way in which artistic traditions were to be utilised, both in a practical way and in the sense of how the past was to be perceived.