Ma Kelu

An era without a name: fragments

In the spring of 1979, we gathered in Zhao Wenliang’s place, waiting for his return. Zhao Wenliang told us after he returned, that the chairs of Chinese Art Association, Liu Xun and Old Xiao, received him and sent the hope for us to organize an exhibition. Liu Xun had told him, “I heard that there was a group of young people who insisted on their own art”. The first thing he did after being released was to find us and ask us to organize an exhibition. It was hard to describe the emotions we experienced at that moment of hearing the news. For Zhao Wenliang, I believe, who had not held any exhibition for over ten years, the emotion was even more intense.

I still remember that night in which we founded the painting club, and tried to give it a name. The group had come up with numerous names that were thrown out as either too common, too pretentious, or too parochial. It was extremely hard to give a good name. Shi Zhenyu proposed the name “Godot Painting Society”, taken from the avant-garde drama En attendant Godot, which was voted out after a long debate. Finally, someone came up with the name “the Nameless Painting Society”.

As for the later explanation of the origin of the “nameless painting club” that the name comes from “A name is the beginning of the universe, while the nameless is the mother of the universe”, is what the later generations’ version.

Zhao Wenliang has made a decisive effect on the planning of the preface of the exhibition. He proposed the pursue for the true, the good, and the beautiful elements in art as well as the natural interpretation, the opinion on the relationship between art and politics. He raised the idea that art should not become the interpretation nor the tool of politics, it should focus on moral values like suffering and pain. Not all of the members at that time, of course, had the same concern and profoundness, but this preface received the consensus of all.

The exhibition space was the whole Huafangzhai, including the two major halls of the North and the South, and the complement halls of the East and the West. There was a lotus pond in the middle surrounded by verandas, in which the lotuses were tall and large. Looking back from now, it was quite splendid to held an exhibition in such an environment.

During most time of the preparation, the whole group gathered in the Huafangzhai to wipe the glass frames. Although it was great fun, I could not remember much to write about. The arrangement of the exhibition was quite interesting: Zhao Weniang in the middle of the major hall of the North, with the two Hengha generals, Shi Zhenyu and Yang Yushu beside him; the front hall was occupied by the Four Devarajas, Zhang Wei, Wei Hai, Liu Shi, Wang Aihe, Zheng Ziyan, me, Xixi, etc. The complement halls of right and left were taken by the Eighteen Arhats, Zheng Zigang, Yang Yanhua, Li Shan, Xiao Tian, Zhang Daan, Shao Xiaogang, Zhao Rugang, etc. It seemed like we had the grand and heroic manner of Robin Hood and his men in the Green Woods who had successfully revolted, which also implied the pattern of our cause.

I found the same pattern in the “wall” of the Chinese contemporary art exhibition in the Albright–Knox Art Gallery when I visited Buffalo. The huge space of the gallery was occupied by the work of Xu Bing, Gu Wenda, Cai Guoqiang, and some other artists, some of which were incredibly huge. I have no bias/stereotype towards my friends, I think there must be the myth of Chinese culture of thousands of years. I appreciate ???(沃特/迪/马利亚), and I also like the work of Robert Smithon, in which I saw pure and natual wisdom. But I did not approve Jeanne-Claude Christo and his installation art(?).

The “loader” painted by Zhang Wei was asked to be replaced by Liu Xun. Even though the political climate was the loosest of all time, he was still worried that it would not pass the political censorship. Liu Xun found Zhao Wenliang and asked him to negotiate with Zhang Wei for the interest of the whole group. Zhao Wenliang only sent the concern and suggestion of Liu Xun, and Zhang Wei had every reason and right to refuse the replacement of his own painting, and he would rather withdraw all of his work. At last the Art Association compromised: no painting was removed, and no argument was triggered in the exhibition. But the whole incident caused three years of estrangement and alienation between Zhang Wei and other members.

Due to my youth and my rough, humble way of living that led to a lack of confidence, I had never realized that it was a way of writing history, that it would be part of the witness of history. I had never thought of taking more pictures, more notes, more files of that history that there is so few left when I am collating the historical materials of that time. Fortunately, though, I know that Zhao Wenliang, Yang Yushu had done a lot of work and kept the record of that history. I wish the trip to Beijing will make up the regret.

The exhibition opened, which indeed caused a stir at that time. According to statistics, the average number of visitors reached 2,700 per day. Zhao Wenliang still kept several opinion boards, which were the way of communication with the viewers. I remember the notes left by the viewers: “You led the art of the gods to the art of the people”. This might be the most appropriate comment on the nameless art under the social and political reality of that time.

The exhibition took place from July 7, 1979 to July 29, 1979.

During the exhibition, elderly Liu Haishu came to the exhibition in the heavy rain. After his car parked outside Huafangzhai, Yang Yushu and Zhangwei lifted him together inside with Zhao Wenliang holding the umbrella. In the exhibition room, the sound of this octogenarian covered the sound of the rain which revealed his excitement from the heart. He wrote down “Here in which true beauty lies.” for the exhibition.