Red Star News Reporter｜Luo Mengjie
The Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit is coming. Recently, on a stamp priced at 1.20 yuan, a rabbit with a blue body and red eyes caused heated discussions among netizens.
It is understood that this stamp is one of the special stamps of "Guimao Year" scheduled to be issued by China Post on January 5, 2023. It was drawn by the famous artist Huang Yongyu, and its artwork was officially released on September 8 this year. release.
According to an article published on China Post's official website, the special stamp "Guimao Year" is the eighth set of the fourth round of Chinese Zodiac stamps.
There are two stamps in a set, the first one is called "Guimao Sending Blessings", which depicts a wise rabbit with a pen in his right hand and a letter in his left hand in an ingenious blue color, as if conveying the good wishes of the New Year to people; The two pieces are named "Symbiosis in the Same Circle", which depicts the scene of three rabbits connecting head to tail and galloping endlessly, showing the agility, vitality and warmth of life. , the sincere desire for the happiness of the people.
Kang Ning, deputy general manager of China Post Group Co., Ltd., once said that the Zodiac stamp, as the most popular theme of Chinese stamps, entrusts the beautiful meaning of traditional folk culture in the square inch.
This round of stamps for the Year of the Rabbit was invited to design by Mr. Huang Yongyu, a famous artist and "father of monkey stamps".
Mr. Huang Yongyu continued his legend with his life experience and artistic understanding of nearly a hundred years.
The rabbits in his works are childish, enthusiastic, unrestrained and free.
I hope that everyone will feel chic, joy and happiness through the "Guimao Year" zodiac stamps.
However, Mr. Huang Yongyu's "Guimao Sending Blessing" blue rabbit caused controversy on the Internet.
Some netizens said that the blue rabbit in the stamp is eerie, which gives people a weird feeling, but some netizens think that although the style of the stamp is different, it dares to design and is very real, "rabbit My eyes are originally red, so I don’t need to draw anything to look cute.” Some netizens left a message saying that everyone’s aesthetics are different, and they will more or less have their own understanding.
Regarding this controversy, Red Star journalists interviewed two painters in the industry.
A visiting professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of a domestic university said that the design of the "Guimao Sending Blessings" stamp lacks aesthetic feeling, and the shape of the rabbit also subverts the traditional aesthetic taste, and there is no shortage of failures.
"The traditional aesthetic taste should conform to the current public aesthetics, and it should be an aesthetic shape, not a cartoon shape with teeth and claws." The professor believes that the theme of "Guimao Sending Paintings" is good, but the actual painting is too simple It is not well expressed and conveyed this deep meaning.
"I think this is just a work drawn according to his (Huang Yongyu's) consistent creative attitude." A well-known domestic illustrator told the Red Star News reporter that in his opinion, Huang Yongyu's works are not beautiful enough on the surface, but what is reflected inside is A positive and honest attitude towards life, using the power of humor to face all kinds of difficulties and problems in life.
At the same time, he also said that Huang Yongyu's stamp works are painterly, satirical cartoons and Chinese painting sketches, "more importantly, it is a commodity, which means that it does not need to be forced to let everyone Accept and consume, consumers can choose independently." The illustrator said.
According to public information, Huang Yongyu, born in 1924, is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Painting, a professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a former director of the Printmaking Department, and a member of the China Artists Association.
He loved painting since he was a child, and became famous in the painting circle for his outstanding woodcut works in his youth, and was known as "one of the three child prodigies in China".
According to the official website of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Huang Yongyu taught himself art and literature. He is a generation of "ghosts".
He is also known as the "father of monkey stamps" because he designed the first zodiac stamp "Monkey stamp" and "Gengshen Year" in New China.