Blended into one
By Shen Yang
Photos by Yao Fan

瑞典籍华人艺术家王彤应少年好友厦大美术系主任张立平之邀,给厦大油画专业学生讲学. 期间,在厦举办了个人画展. 王彤出生于辽宁省,现定居于瑞典,是丹麦哥本哈根皇家美术学院的客座教授. 早年在鲁迅美术学院学习中国画,后留校任教于油画系. 王彤善于用东方的视角和笔触来表现他眼中的西方世界. 他的画取材于瑞典,但是在表现上,依然有明显的国画功底和来自东方的独特视角.

Wang Tong , invited by the Art department of Xiamen University, came to Xiamen on Dec. 17, 2004 and stayed in Xiamen for a month. Most of his tasks were instructing both undergraduates and graduates majoring in oil painting. We met him at the art gallery of the art college in Xiamen University where he held his personal art exhibition. He was not so talkative, but was full of self-confidence. "My paintings are better than whatever I can say about them," he told the audience.

Blended artistic style

"There is a contradiction between Chinese culture and Western culture in his art," said Lanlan, owner of Lanlan Art Gallery. "He is a representative of avant-garde art," said Zhang Liping, Director of the art department in Xiamen University. Mr. Zhang added that Wang gained experience from traditional Chinese art as well as western art and skillfully blended these two different styles.

"My painting is very much figurative, very realistic," said Wang Tong, "The techniques of my painting are a mixture and the subjects are wide in variety, including human figures, animals and birds. My works are almost like a diary." He went to an art academy when he was 16 years old. In the first 3 years he developed a very sound base of artistic skill. Later he began to learn traditional Chinese painting, which enriched him with Chinese culture. During that time, he not only liked Chinese art, but also western art. He was regarded as a man with liberal thoughts. Some of his teachers even thought he was a little rebellious. When he graduated he became a teacher of oil painting, which gave him many chances to learn every aspect of oil painting.



In Europe

In 1988, Wang Tong left China. His first destination in Europe was Germany. It was a very tough journey since he did not really have enough money. When he arrived in Berlin, he had almost no money with him. The only thing he had was a big roll of paintings, he said. However he was very lucky. When he reached Copenhagen, he met a group of artists in the first week.

"It was an unforgettable period for me being with them," he said, "We held exhibitions in many countries". He recalled his first art exhibition held in Sweden. When he reached the country he only had 20 kronor (equal to 20 yuan). Fortunately he sold a good many paintings which afforded his travel to Greece and Egypt. This tour provided him a large amount of experience in original western culture, which cannot be learned from books.

Now he has become Swedish. He is one of the most active artists in Helsingborg City, Sweden. He established a Swedish-Chinese culture association in Helsingborg. "My heart is always Chinese no matter how many years I live abroad", he said, "I was influenced by western culture, but inside of me is still Chinese. It will never change... Never."



Communicating with local artists

Artists make friends mainly through their art. "Thanks to the exhibition, I met many friends in Xiamen," said Wang Tong, "There are many good artists in Xiamen and their paintings impress me deeply," he continued. "But it is a pity that some of the paintings are much like western ones." He said, "We have such a great culture and we should not ignore it. For me the cultural treasure is not only in the big palace, it can also be in the farmer's house, it can be in the countryside and it can be everywhere. As Chinese artists, we are lucky for we have such rich culture to develop and carry on." He also hopes that the students who have attended his classes will learn more about traditional Chinese culture. He said that we have to know the tradition and that we have to know the origin of the art. Artists cannot only gain depth from painting and sculptural tradition, but also from poems, calligraphy and everything else. It's nice to learn more rather than less.



View on Xiamen

"I fell in love with Xiamen when I arrived here for the first time." Wang Tong said. He said he loved the green trees, beautiful flowers and sunny beach here. He particularly mentioned that Xiamenese are very kind and hospitable.

"To me, it is like paradise. I live on the campus of Xiamen University which is not far from the beach. I often walk along the beach and enjoy the beautiful scenery and sunshine. I love Xiamen and have a close relationship with politicians in Helsingborg. So naturally I suggested that Helsingborg City make contact with Xiamen. The first two times I came to Xiamen I brought the mayor of Helsingborg and met with officials from the Xiamen Municipal Government. Both sides showed great interest in further meetings."

"This September a Mid-autumn Festival will be held in Helsingborg, which is actually a Chinese traditional festival," he explained. Some green trees and flowers in Wanshi Botanical Gardens as well as some paintings of his colleagues will be taken to Helsingborg. However, there are still many things needed to be done before Xiamen and Helsingborg can become sister cities. He is optimistic about that and he really hopes that someday the dream will come true.



Vocabulary
Helsingborg 赫尔辛堡
avant-garde 前卫派
gallery 画廊
contradition 矛盾
kronor 克朗

My Xiamen
Article and photo by Yongwei



My name is Curt Polito and I have come from the USA to study at the Overseas Education Center (OEC) in Xiamen University.

1. How long have you been in Xiamen?
I have been here for about a week.

2. What do you like best about life here?
I enjoy the beautiful scenery, the Chinese culture and the people.

3. What are you studying here? How do you like your study?
So far, my study here is exciting and challenging, and I look forward to learning mandarin and visiting Chinese landmarks.

4. How do you spend your spare time in Xiamen?
Recently, I visited the downtown, got lost, and was thankful that a helpful woman guided my friend and I back to the university.

5. If there was one thing that you could change about Xiamen, what would that be?
Since I am new here, I do not have any suggestions for Xiamen so far.

6. What is your favorite dish?
Fried beef sticks from street venders here in Xiada.

7. Compared with your hometown, what do you think are the differences between it and Xiamen?
Xiamen is like a vacation resort, with its lovely palm trees and sandy beaches, whereas in my hometown, life is often boring and lacking adventure.

8. What's the last great book you read?
"Maestro: Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve, and the American boom" by Bob Woodward.

9. What is your favorite quotation or piece of advice?
We can all benefit if we take the time to study both eastern and western thought and how they can compliment one another.