A culture clash
By Nicco
Photos by Yao Fan

今年是法国文化年, 法国总统希拉克定于10月访问北京. 然而在7月的厦门, 一场民间自发的中法艺术家联合画展已经悄然登场. 还是让它的发起者, 法国艺术家尼克来和大家谈谈这件事的来龙去脉吧.



Starting this October, France is coming to China for a year and this will be officially opened with a French Cultural Exhibition, by the visit of President Chirac in October to Beijing.

Prior to that, however, an unofficial painting exhibition as a sign of the friendship of the two countries, was held from July 9-12 here at the Xiamen Library Gallery.

Nicco, a French pilot and artist, Zhu Guizu(朱贵祖), a Chinese painter from northwest China and Li Zhongming(李钟铭), a Chinese painter from Mount Wuyi of Fujian Province are the three exhibitors. How did they get to know each other and create the fancy idea of having a group exhibition? Let Nicco tell the vivid story.



Destiny in life is something that very few consider as luck! Our story began about six months ago, when a visit to a friend for dinner in Xiamen and the exchange of ideas and NO BUSINESS CARDS, however we discovered each other's qualities and faults. Then the conversation over the evening turned to Art!

One of the group suggested that we visit an Artist friend who was holding a one man exhibition in a large Supermarket... the last place most Artists ever dream of visiting. Arriving by Bus we quickly searched out the Supermarket for our "Super Artist", Mr. Li Zhongming. The arrival of an unknown "Laowai" Artist caused a commotion(混乱) - not as an Artist but as a curiosity!! Cameras appeared everywhere and Laowai and Laonei were photographed together. Presents were exchanged before and after and the atmosphere was electric(刺激的)!!!



During the next few months, talk was made over holding an "International" Exhibition of Paintings... it was mainly talk and dreams! Then one day we were invited to meet a very good Artist friend - Mr. Zhu Guizu for luncheon with his friends. What an International group we are!!! George W. Bush and Putin were nothing compared to our "Summit Meeting(峰会)" near Xiamen. The meeting was terminated with a "war" plan to hold a very large Exhibition.

Permission was granted... but a problem arose! The "Laowai"... what type of paintings will he exhibit? Nudes!!?? Politics!!?? Can he paint and draw??!! To solve this question a meeting was arranged with the Vice Chairman - Mr Xu Li, and the Secretary General - Mr Lin Sen, of the Union of Artists, to show several examples of his works, thus with a "chop", permission was granted to use the Xiamen Library, after seeing that the "Laowai" did traditional painting, as a "Traveling Artist" depicting his travels to many countries including remote coastal regions of Fujian Province.



The style of the three Artists are different due to their cultural backgrounds - the "local" Artists depicting traditional works of large size using various techniques, the emphasis on the subject and the colors followed by poetry or a story telling the story of the subject. Nature, plants and mountains are the traditional subjects. The quality being exceptional, especially the mixing of colors which pleased the eye. The contrast of the foreign Artist who - being the invited Guest - chose Travel as his subject. Since the Artist has been to numerous(很多的) countries he chose seven countries with simple subjects in watercolor and ink, however the majority had a connection directly or indirectly with Fujian - the sizes chosen were small compared to the local traditional Artists.

This Exhibition may be a "Culture Clash" appreciated by locals and foreigners alike and which will open the door to other foreign artists to exhibit their works with local Xiamen Artists.

About the author:
Nickolas Nicco Mallcott was born and educated in England, but has lived most of his life in France, Spain and Asian countries. Working as a part-time pilot for an oil company - often unemployed, he made use of this advantage to visit over 90 countries for very short and long periods of time.

Carrying pen and paper with him, he gradually increased his collection of watercolors to over 2000 pieces, subjects ranging from landscapes, town scenes, animals, marine subjects, old trains, aircraft, etc. and sizes from a few square centimeters to a few square meters!

Although some of his works have been added to the storage of collectors all the way from Mexico to Japan including several well-known western movie stars, the majority have never been seen by people. His exhibitions have been rare. "What those galleries in the western world really care about is business, not art." He said.

Nicco is deeply taken by China. The exotic oriental culture as well as its art, language, history and people fascinated him so much that you can feel it from many of his paintings of Gulangyu, Putian and other Chinese places.

"Commerce is the fatal cancer that would destroy each civilization." Nicco exerted. He stated that ancient heritage should not die away as a result of commercialization. Everyone is obliged to keep the ancient architects and the original appearance of their city intact.

 

 

Xiamen Gaojia opera hot in Jinmen
Photo by Yao Fan



From July 3-6, the 50-member Gaojia Opera Troupe of the Xiang'an Folk Opera School, Xiamen made a performance tour to Jinmen, Taiwan.

Separated by a shallow strait of water, Jinmen and Xiamen still have close ties and share a lot in dialect, customs, culture, kinship(宗族) and produce. For various reasons, the Gaojia Opera Troupe in Jinmen diminished and was dismissed over 30 years ago whilst the Gaojia opera in Xiamen has been well retained(保留) and protected. Hence there is no wonder that the elder people in Jinmen had long been looking forward to the arrival of the opera troupe from Xiamen.

During the tour, the weather turned terrible because of the approaching typhoon. Still crowds of audience came in spite of the howling wind, including ones from a nearby island. Many elderly stayed up late until the end of the performance every evening.



The splendid genuine art of the local opera made the Jinmen people hate to say good-bye. On July 6, many of them went to the wharf to see the troupe off, expressing the wish that the opera troupe could come to perform on a regular basis.

 

 

Step into history
By Kent Hill Photo by Yao Fan



Zhaojiabao Castle was built by descendants of the royal family of the Song Dynasty. When the Southern Song Dynasty was overthrown, Zhao Ruohe-a member of the royal family fled to Zhangpu with his family, and lived there in recluse. After 300 years, Zhao Fan, a descendant of Zhao Ruohe, became an official in the Ming Dynasty. He began to build the Zhaojiabao Castle with his son Zhao Yi in 1600 A.D. The whole project lasted more than twenty years and still keeps the intact appearance of the ancient capital of the Song Dynasty.

When approaching the main tourist entrance of Zhaojiabao Castle it looked more like a remote fishing village rather than an ancient royal residency. Once inside the compound however, I realized that there was definitely something special about the place.

The first building we visited was a three-story structure used for lodging and military(军事) purposes. Upon entering the building's front entrance I saw a large stone pit in the center with a small hole hidden behind the stairs. The guide told me that the hole was a secret escape route of the royal family and that it led all the way to the ocean! While looking from the window on the third floor one structure especially caught my eye.

We were led to the special building I had seen and it turned out to be where the royal family had lived. They had built three buildings which looked exactly the same, one after the other getting bigger each time. The most impressive part of this building to me was the set of stairs leading up to the throne that had a huge piece of granite forming the top step streching about ten meters across. How could they have moved such a massive stone with no modern technology?

Just during the few short hours I was there I really got the feeling that I was stepping back into history. The pictures I took and the information I was told will certainly help me to remember the Zhaojiabao Castle for the rest of my life.

Guide
赵家堡位于漳浦县湖西乡硕高山西北麓,距漳州市区90公里。自驾车沿漳诏高速公路30分钟可到。
Zhaojiabao is situated at the foot of Shuogao Mountain of Zhangpu County, 90 kilometers from Zhangzhou. Drive a car and get there within 30 minutes along the Zhangzhao highway.

 

 

Grand piano quintet
Photo by Yao Fan



On Sunday evening, a star-studded piano concert was held at the Xiamen Arts Theatre. Nine pianists, all having the experience of learning abroad, gave their skillful performances to the locals. Here is the grand piano quintet(五重奏) Waltz of the Flowers by Tang Beihua, Tang Zhe, Su Bin, Zhou Ting and Zhao Xiaosheng.