Bold Innovation
Other achievements in Fang’s career include a piece entitled The Hometown of Hui Businessmen. Fang led a team of 30 to create the 18-meter-long work, spending half a year on the design, and another half a year on the carving.
When used for decoration in an arch, a Huizhou-style brick carving is usually an ensemble of several parts done on 40-centimeter square bricks. In 1988, a client commissioned a four-square-meter Huangshan Mountain Scene as a garden decoration. For visual effect, the customer suggested using bigger bricks. So for the first time Fang selected gray bricks of 70 cm by 40 cm.
For arch decoration, Fang introduced traditional brick carving focusing on the face and both sides, so openwork (ornamental work with regular patterns of openings and holes) and engraving are the techniques most used. But for garden decoration, the perspective has to be considered, and the proportion of the patterns and techniques used have to be changed accordingly. How to achieve the best perspective effect was the core problem of the garden project. “Six of us worked for over half a year on this work,” said Fang. “Since that job, I have had more confidence to produce large-scale carvings.”
Fang has also been innovative in the themes of his works by moving away from the conventional patterns of birds, flowers and historical scenes of a traditionally patriarchal society towards new themes involving women. For example, Fang decided to set in stone the stories of two heroines, Hua Mulan and Mu Guiying. “Artistic works should reflect the age in which we live, and so, the thoughts behind works should develop with time. We should leave to our children a record of our time,” said Fang. “We should uphold tradition, but keep innovative.”
His achievements have been greatly honored: In 2002 the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture awarded Fang a Master of Landscape Architecture; in 2005, the Ninth Huangshan International Tourism Festival and Hui Culture Festival awarded Fang Master of Huizhou Folk Craftsman; and in 2007, Fang was listed as one of the first group of Chinese Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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