Transboundary works in vogue
A majority of graduates today are made up of the so-called post-90s (people born during or after 1990) generation. Often seen as a youthful and energetic generation, these two aspects can often be found in their art. "Transboundary works (art that combines different mediums) are the most common type created by students today," said Lü Shengzhong, a professor of experimental art at CAFA.
"Oil painting combined with installation art, or engraved paintings combined with installation art, it seems that art students in different majors are widely experimenting with transboundary art."
Take the painting Crossroads by a student from SCFAI as an example. Differing completely from traditional Chinese paintings or oil paintings, Crossroads was not actually painted out, rather it's the result of gluing together multiple layers of a new material called clean polyester, which leads to a 3D visual effect when viewing the "painting."
"People always say that we post-90s are brave and at the front of various trends," said Xu Yu, the creator of Crossroads. "When trying to figure out how to underscore this characteristic, I came up with the idea of applying new materials to alter the current flat paintings we usually see. I believe novel ideas matter most," Xu told the Chongqing Economic Times.
While these dazzling transboundary works underscore young people's creativity in using different forms of art, critics are worried that this may lead to artists neglecting the essence of some of the more traditional artistic disciplines.
"I believe most students' use of transboundary artistic creation comes from their experiences in observing social art works, not from what they are taught in class.
"Transboundary creation or the use of complex materials will mislead students to overlook the spirit of traditional art disciplines such as oil painting and traditional Chinese painting," Lü said, sharing his concern with the Global Times.
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