Embracing color for its own sake
http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2013-03/31/content_16362587.htm
Paris-based artist Carlos Cruz-Diez explores the magic of
colors in A Bath of Color Sensitivity, featuring four cylinders formed by
colored strips. Provided to China
Daily
For several decades, Paris-based artist Carlos Cruz-Diez,
now 90, has been devoted to changing people's established understanding of
color. The native of Venezuela
explores the magic of colors in a rational manner. Color is not merely used to
fill in forms, he insists; neither is it a combination of beauty or ugliness.
Cruz-Diez interacts with lines, space and light in his
creations to explore the essence of color, and how it influences people's
perceptions. His works always stimulate audiences to experiment with every
possibility of color.
"None of my works is done by accident. All of them are
planned, and processed in a systematic and orderly way. I don't rely on
inspiration, I'm thinking," says the artist, who shares his philosophies
of color at a solo exhibition, Circumstance and Ambiguity of Color, at the art
museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
On display are dozens of his prints, installations and
photos of industrial designs. People may feel being betrayed by their eyes when
they shift positions in front of the works.
In Chromosaturations Cruz-Diez set up three chambers, which
he immersed in red, green and blue lights. When people move slowly from one
space to another, their eyes are constantly engaged. For instance, viewers will
find the blue light gradually weakens to almost white if they stay longer; and
in the area where the blue and red rooms border, people see a beautiful mixed
color of purple and pink.
"We are accustomed to a multicolored world. Our eyes
find great stimulus and it's difficult to adjust to a single and saturated
blue. While the colors of purple and pink don't exist. It's an imaginary color
that the human brain produces to adapt to circumstances," the artist
explains.
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Tibetan Buddhist palaces restored in Forbidden
City
http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2012-11/28/content_15967346.htm
Tibetan Buddhist palaces and buildings in the northwest
corner of the Forbidden City, currently the Palace
Museum in Beijing, have been reconstructed after a
disastrous fire nearly 90 years ago.
Related: Palace Museum cooperates with Australia
The reconstruction strictly followed the tradition of
materials, procedures and techniques to restore the appearance in the Qianlong
Period (1736-1795), according to a Palace
Museum statement.
The palaces and buildings served as the central area for
Tibetan Buddhist activities inside the Forbidden City
during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). However, they were burnt down in a fire in
the summer of 1923, which also destroyed the Jianfu Palace
Garden to the north.
The restoration of the Tibetan Buddhist buildings was launched
after the museum and the Hong Kong-based China Heritage Fund (CHF) completed
reconstruction of the Garden in 2005.
Related: Bridge full of life
Part of the area will be assigned to the museum's research
center on Tibetan Buddhism, with the rest being developed into exhibition rooms
for related cultural relics, the statement added.
A total of 24 emperors lived in the Forbidden
City since 1420, and it was added to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage list in
1987.
Bronze sculptures continue to shine
http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2013-04/02/content_16367667.htm
First couple on Time's list of most influential
http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-04/20/content_16425109.htm
President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan made the
list of the world's 100 most influential people published by Time magazine on
Friday, adding to China's
global prestige.
Observers said the appearance of the couple on the list
reflects global affirmation and expectations of China.
Tennis player Li Na, 31, is also on the list as the first
Asian woman to win a Grand Slam title.
Xi is listed in the Leaders category along with US President
Barack Obama, while Peng is in the Icons category with US first lady
Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.
Former US
secretary of state Henry Kissinger wrote in a Time profile of Xi: “As China embarks
on a period of renewal, the role of Xi Jinping, its new president, is central.
Xi is convinced his generation's hardships gave it the strength to face the
challenges of adapting China
to the consequences of its success.”
Xi has put forward a sweeping reform program designed to
move millions to the cities, streamline bureaucracy, reorient the economy away
from State-owned enterprises and fight corruption, Kissinger said.
“In foreign policy he has posed a key question: Can two
great, partially competitive countries substitute cooperation for conflict? The
answers of both sides will determine the world's future,” Kissinger said.
Based on his meetings with Xi, Kissinger thinks the Chinese
leader's response will be both thoughtful and forceful.
Jia Xiudong, a senior researcher on international affairs at
the China Institute of International Studies, said listing Xi and Peng shows
that the world has paid more attention to China because of its rapid
development.
“Xi will lead China
to further develop and overcome existing problems in the next five years,
wielding influence not only over China
but also over the whole world as China's economy becomes stronger
and better connected to other countries,” Jia said.
Peng's debut during Xi's first overseas visit as president
in March marked a new departure, with leaders' wives staying out of the
spotlight in the past. “Her affinity will win China a better image, ” Jia said.
Wang Yizhou, a professor on international affairs with Peking University,
said Peng represents “an energetic and amiable symbol” of Chinese women.
“The world will want to know more about the Chinese first
lady, and Chinese people also hope to send goodwill to the world through her,”
Wang said.
Unsurprisingly, Obama makes his eighth appearance on the
annual list of the 100 top global leaders, titans, artists, pioneers and icons,
along with newly installed Pope Francis, singer Beyonce, pop star Justin
Bieber's manager Scooter Braun and basketball player Le Bron James.
In the international field, leader of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un, Philippine President Benigno Aquino and
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are among those making the list.