美国眼中的河南石佛艺术公社

发表时间：2008-11-22  

http://english.cri.cn/4026/2008/06/22/191@371616.htm（打开这个网址有播音）
　

Many major Chinese cities feature artist enclaves, such as 798 Art District in Beijing, Loft 49 in Hangzhou and No. 50 Moganshan Road in Shanghai. In today's program, our reporter Ning Yan will take us to the Shifo Art Commune, an artist village in central China's Henan Province.
　The clean, tranquil Henan Shifo Art Commune is located in Shifo Village, about 10 kilometers from the provincial capital of Zhengzhou.
　In April 2006, painter Huang Guorui set up a studio in the village. On top of the house he painted a cheery yellow. A few other artists followed suit. In late May, they established the Shifo Art Commune. Within a year, over 100 art studios had opened in the village, the highest concentration of artists in Henan Province.
　Artworks on both sides of the road leading into the village immediately set it apart from others. Painter Huang Guorui says when he returned to China from the United States, he established a studio in Beijing's Suojiacun Village International Art Camp. He was soon deterred by the high expenses and chaos in the metropolis, and decided to return to his hometown, Shifo Village.
　Huang Guorui says the Shifo Art Commune boasts beautiful, quiet surroundings, but is comparatively cheaper than similar areas in Beijing and Shanghai. That's why it has attracted so many artists so quickly.
　"When Shifo Art Commune was established, my studio was the only workshop. Later, there were six, seven, then more than ten studios. More than 30 artists participated in our first anniversary exhibition. Now, over 100 artists have rented houses in the village to work on oil painting, traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, sculpture, photography, pottery, and directing."
　The Shifo Art Commune has held four exhibitions since it was established two years ago. Early this year, an art exhibition from the commune opened in the SOHO 456 Gallery in New York.
　Huang Guorui says the audience was impressed by their work.
　"The January 8 exhibition was held in Manhattan's SOHO neighborhood in New York. It was a big success. Many artists in New York showed up and gave good reviews. Concerning China, overseas artists, critics, exhibition organizers and collectors usually only know Beijing and Shanghai. They know little about central China, so we held the exhibition to introduce them to contemporary art from Henan and Shifo Village. After the exhibition, they wanted to visit Zhengzhou and Shifo."
　The artists in the village get along well with the local residents. They built studios on top of local residences with their investments so they can use the studio for ten years without additional charges. After ten years, the farmers are free to do what they want with the studios. If the artist still wishes to use the studio, he can rent it for a monthly payment of 50 yuan, or 7 US dollars. The local government has also offered to help the Shifo Art Commune by improving the village infrastructure.
　Many changes have taken place in Shifo in the past two years.
　"I think the most direct benefit to the local residents is the house rental fees. No one rented houses in Shifo Village before the artists came. They renovated the houses and rented the courtyards. Hotels and supermarkets have also popped up."
　But Huang says this is only the external impact. The artists have made cultural contributions to the village, especially for the children.
　"The artists usually sign a ten-year rental contract with the farmers. In ten years' time, a kid can grow up and go to college. It's a very important period of time for them. They can improve their cultural and artistic skills. I think this is much more important to residents than the rental income."
　In Shifo, artists live with the local farmers and enjoy their honesty and kindness. The residents have received them with open hearts.
　"The artists who rent the second floor are all very nice. I feel very comfortable communicating with them."
　"The artists get along very well with us. They have brought many changes. I said to them, 'When my child grows up, I'll make him your apprentice'. My child didn't understand the artworks in the beginning, and kept on asking, 'What is this?' But now he understands. The artists explain to him, and even teach him. It's really not bad."
　Longtime residents of the village call the artists "painter villagers."
　Cai Qing, an exhibition organizer, says Shifo Art Commune has succeeded because it is closer to the people than art museums. Its impact is now extending to the entire central China region.
　"Beijing is a metropolis. Art studios there are independent and far from daily life. Here, they are mixed among the farmers. They stay very true to daily life and depict it very well in their artworks. These are the first studios in China which opened in a village and built on the houses of farmers. They will be the most distinctive art studios in China, and will attract foreign artists. I want to hold exhibitions for artists in the Shifo Village in Beijing, Germany and the United States."
　Artists in Shifo Village have already established the first gallery in Henan Province that displays the works of renowned oil painters. They also hold art lectures and seminars, in which artists gather to study contemporary world art trends.
　Huang Guorui says the commune has turned impossible goals into reality in the past two years.
　"Artists in Shifo Art Commune are doing works of their own, keeping them on pace with the international art circle."