第九集：张文荣 “Art Walk: Behind the Scenes”丨Episode 9: Zhang Wenrong

“Art Walk: Behind the Scenes” 

Episode 9: Zhang Wenrong

艺术家生态图录 第九集：

张文荣——“水”漫戈壁的西北汉子

（Time/时长：03' 35''）

Albert Camus once said that, no artist could live without reality. Art can question reality, but art cannot escape from reality. Compared with most mature artworks, the living

conditions and life stories behind the art production seem to be more intriguing. Taking from the first-person perspective, CAFA ART INFO is now presenting you with our latest micro video program, “Art Walk: Behind  the  Scenes”. With a focus on individual artists’ life stories, we will take you on a tour to explore how an artist actually works and lives in real-life situations. This series will be filmed at a part of the artists’ studios at some art districts in Beijing. Each artist’s unique character will be revealed to our audience in a more realistic and tangible way. 

阿尔贝·加缪曾说，没有一个艺术家离得开真实。艺术可以怀疑真实，却不能逃避真实。相对于成熟的作品来说，隐匿在艺术家背后的现实境遇与生活方式或许更为神秘引人。中央美术学院艺讯网英文版微视频栏目《艺术家生态图录》以记者第一视角切入，从艺术家个人的生活微话题出发，在趋近平视的视角中窥探其工作环境与生活状态。首先基于中国北京部分集中艺术区的艺术家工作室进行走访，每位艺术家的独特个性在镜头之外徐徐显现。

Zhang Wenrong—A Man from Northwest China Who Attempts to Flood the

Gobi Desert with Art

张文荣——“水”漫戈壁的西北汉子  

Artist Zhang Wenrong

艺术家张文荣

Work No.17, oil on canvas, 120×100 cm, 2019

《作品17》，布面油画 

Zhang Wenrong comes from the Northwest China. He was born in 1982 in the city of Zhangye in Gansu Province. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. He is mainly engaged in painting, film and animation production as well as art installation. Currently, he is living with his family in Beijing. He financially supports himself by selling artworks.

西北汉子张文荣，1982年生于甘肃省张掖，本科毕业于四川美术学院。主要从事绘画、影像动画、装置艺术等创作，目前和家人生活在北京，销售作品是他的主要经济来源。

Work No.38, oil on canvas, 300x200 cm, 2019

《作品38》，布面油画

After graduation, Zhang Wenrong lives at Huangjueping in Chongqing. Zhang made paintings for a living. Annually, he paints on average between 60 and 70 paintings. In 2013, Zhang moved to Beijing as a number of artists left Chongqing during that year. Meanwhile, Zhang Wenrong started creating art using the language of multimedia. In 2013, Zhang created his very first hand-drawn animation “Territary”. 

毕业后，张文荣生活在重庆黄角坪，以绘画谋生，他大概每年创作60到70幅画。2013年，由于大批艺术家离开重庆，他也搬到了北京。也在此时，他开始尝试使用多种媒介语言进行创作，2013年张文荣创作了第一部手绘动画《狱》。 

Territary, animation, 10’59’’, 2013

《狱》，动画

At the same time, he began his large-scale performance film project “Water”. He attempted to cover the land of the Gobi Desert in Northwest China with Chinese newspaper. He has also been imagining the future of his project “Water” which could extend all the way abroad, so people around the world could learn about Chinese culture. Through this project, Zhang Wenrong’s way of thinking and creative method have both changed. For example, he had to get to know people from all walks of life and communicate with them in all sorts of ways. During this process, Zhang reflected upon parts of social reality in China and had some feelings about it. Moreover, he ceased to regard painting as the only thing he is good at, therefore he felt much easier when creating.

同时，他开始实施大型行为影像项目《水》，在西北的戈壁滩上用报纸覆盖大地，营造出河流一般的壮观的场景。张文荣尝试使用中文报纸覆盖中国，也畅想《水》未来可以覆盖到国外，就如中国文化的输出一般，形成“大势”所趋。通过这个项目，张文荣的思维模式和创作方法都发生了改变，例如，在实施项目的过程中，他需要接触不同阶层的人，用不同的方式跟不同的人打交道，触及了一些中国现实，对此也有一定的感触；此外，因为他不再把画画看成唯一，所以画起来似乎更轻松。         

Scene of Water, 2016

《水》实施现场  

The painting albums, as well as the Western literature series that Zhang Wenrong’s family has been collecting are what inspired Zhang Wenrong when he was young. Though Chinese people lacked material goods, those texts and graphics created a passion in Zhang Wenrong, who never wanted to settle for mediocre life. At this stage, Zhang is busy preparing a couple of projects including an animation series about ancient sculptures, and another animation about Dunhuang frescoes. As an artist, he believes he should not copy others or oneself and this is the key to making art.

张文荣家人收藏的大师画册和国外文学著作曾是年少的张文荣的启蒙读物。在物质缺乏的条件下，那些文字和图像激发了不甘平庸的张文荣的创作激情。当下，张文荣正在忙碌地筹备几个项目，包括一部画像石动画和一部敦煌壁画动画。对艺术家来说，不重复别人，不重复自己，是做艺术的重要原则之一。

下期预告

In the next instalment, we will take you to the artist Chen Haoyang’s studio. Please stay tuned. 

下一期我们将带观众走进艺术家陈浩洋的工作室，敬请关注。

Artist Chen Haoyang

艺术家陈浩洋

             Art Walk: Behind the Scenes

     《艺术家生态图录》往期回顾

---

Special thanks to the artist Zhang Wenrong

鸣谢 艺术家张文荣

Strategy Planning Director: Zhang Yanzi 

总策划：章燕紫 

Producer: Zhu Li  

监制：朱莉

English Producer: Sue Wang

英文监制：王姝  

Copy Writer: Zhang Yizhi  

文案策划：张译之

Director / Videographer: Chen Peihua

导演/拍摄：陈佩华  

Translator / Dubbing Specialist: Miao Yinan 

翻译/配音：缪亦楠

Post Production: Hu Sichen 

后期制作：胡思辰

Technical Adviser: Yang Yanyuan 

技术指导：杨延远 

Work No.3, oil on canvas, 1200x700 cm，2019    

《作品3号》，布面油画