Selection of Excellent Works by Alumni of the China Academy of Art High School · Sketches

Author: Chief Editor: Deng Zhonghe et al
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-03-05
Features: Preface (Commemorating the 45th Anniversary of the Central Academy of Fine Arts High School, a Collection of Outstanding Student Works)
Gao Tianxiong, Principal of the Central Academy of Fine Arts High School
In 1953, when the motherland was in the midst of rebuilding, amidst the wave of educational systematization and technical knowledge advancement, Mr. Xu Beihong, who had long cherished and had individually practiced the ideal of early cultivation of artistic talent, realized it under the proposal of Comrade Jiang Feng. Led by Principal Ding Jingwen and a group of young teachers who had just graduated from the school, the high school was established, creating a paradise and oasis for adolescents eager to absorb all knowledge and contribute to the economic and cultural construction of the new China.
The curriculum of the high school drew on the existing norms of Soviet secondary art education while also incorporating experiences from various other art education approaches. The teaching methods of the high school inherited the tradition of scientifically and objectively studying nature, space, and figures since the Renaissance in Europe, while emphasizing the cultivation of emotional expression in Chinese art and the inheritance of traditional culture. All training and observation of life were closely linked to the fundamental goal of preparing for creative work.
Over the past 45 years, the high school has silently nurtured talent, supplied the nation with artistic blood, and quietly influenced art education at the university level and across the country. Looking ahead, it will continue to be open to the world and the modern era, inheriting, promoting, and glorifying the fine artistic traditions and great national spirit of the Chinese nation.
The works here are the creation of teachers, students, and the era. They represent a valuable treasure that will continue to enrich and perfect itself. July 1998