Paper Person Chronicle - Notes on Folk Art Exploration in the Yellow River Basin

Author: Guo Qingfeng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The ancient wind, the clouds of antiquity, the deep-yellow loess that flies wildly in the wind; the shepherd's folk songs, accompanied by the roaring sound of the Yellow River, transform into a symphony that stirs the soul. On the high slopes, on the plateau, it resonates and swirls. The fragrance of the larkspur flowers blends with the taste of the loess, seeping into one's heart, bitter yet sweet. Red chili peppers hung on window lattices and window frames, the red robes of the women reflecting the faces of the men, covered with white cotton headscarves, with their simple, smiling expressions. They have lived and thrived on this land for generations, living in peace, contentedly, weaving stories of joy and sorrow, singing songs of happiness and grief. Guo Qingfeng, a humble Shaanxi Northern man, anartist, uses his brush, his scissors, his chisels, his tears, his blood, his soul to record, to depict, to narrate the past and present of this ardent land, to tell the love and passion, the suffering and joy of the men and women on this land—stories that are ordinary yet captivating. People live peacefully on the land, and the land makes people become lively; the land exists in people's hearts, and the land becomes magical because of people.
Shaanxi North is a place of faith. A French friend, after watching the Yangge dance of Shaanxi North, said with deep emotion, "People here don't have much money, but often, they carry the power of the gods. The smiles of the girls are as bright as the sun. In recent years, from the depths of the Shaanxi North land, vast reserves of high-quality coal and natural gas have been discovered. Criminals have dug up countless treasures from the wild mountains and deserts of Shaanxi North. I see this as an for Shaanxi North, but it has also gradually revealed the reason behind the sturdy spirit of the people of Shaanxi North. We ourselves know the mountains and waters of our bodies, the strange dialects and colloquialisms of our ethnic minorities from long ago—today, we can still hear the ancient literary tones in them.
This book is an artistic work by Guo Qingfeng on the theme of the West. Through various art forms such as oil paintings, prints, paper-cutting, and artistic installations, the work showcases the artist's description of the northern world, his understanding of the people living on the Loess Plateau, and his reflections on life.