Written by: xinhuanet
Posted on: April 03, 2018 | 
| 中文
Pangu and the Chinese Creation (Source: Ancient Origins)
Shanghai Liu Haisu Museum of Art, with a history of 22 years, held an “Internet +” Art Exhibition for the first time in early 2018. With 3D printing technology, virtual reality technology and multimedia image device, more than 30 groups of “Internet +” artistic works have been displayed, to interpret the themes of “Ancient Chinese Creation Myths” and present visitors with images of long-lasting myths and legends.
These myths and legends include Nvwa Patching up the Sky (a pre-historic myth about Nvwa, a goddess, who patched up the broken sky with melted colour stones), the Myth Bird Jingwei Trying to Fill up the Sea with Pebbles (a pre-historic myth about Jingwei, the younger daughter of the legendary King Yandi, who drowned in the sea and later turned into a bird that tried to fill up the sea with small pebbles that she picked up each day), Hou Yi Shot Down the Suns, the Goddess Chang E Flying to the Moon (a pre-historic myth about a brave man who shot down the eight suns, as there were nine suns in the sky and people suffered from the extreme heat, and after that his wife Chang E left earth and flew up to the Moon) and Da Yu Led People in Curbing Floods (Da Yu was a prehistoric hero of ancient China, who led the people in a fight against the disastrous floods, and won the respect of the people).
Since the project of “Chinese Creation Myths Art Creation and Cultural Communication,” was launched in January 2016, plans were made to recreate the source images of ancient Chinese civilization, and display the long standing spirit of the Chinese nation through a group of excellent literary and artistic works within three years.
The 40th Statistical Report on the Development of China's Internet Network showed that by June 2017, there had been 751 million netizens in China, so “Internet +” appeared as a new variety in Internet art creation, featuring high technical content and strong interactions. At the same time, it is noted that technologies of big data and AI have also been used in Internet art creation.
Zhu Gang, Director of Shanghai Liu Haisu Museum of Art, as well as the Chief Curator, said that Mr. Liu Haisu was the pioneer of Shanghai local culture and that Liu Haisu Museum of Art is now beginning to adopt the concept of “Internet +” so as to show the audience visible and touchable Chinese myths, and to promote art creation in the new era.
The exhibition is divided into three chapters, namely “Chaos”, “Wondering in Dreaming” and “Creation.” In “Chaos,” artists have abstracted five images, namely water, light, electricity, wood and sound to compose five story units. Multimedia technology is used to inspire the imagination about an integral whole of ancient Chinese before the universe had taken its shape, while audiences may experience the interesting “Chaos” through man-machine interaction.
In the exhibition area of “Wondering in Dreaming,” audiences may start a fantastic audio-visual journey, with fish swimming out of multimedia paintings and also participate in such online game interaction activities such as "Kuafu Chasing the Sun” (a pre-historic legend of ancient China about a giant who was chasing the escaping sun) in a hand-painted frame by frame animation, Nvwa Patching up the Sky, and Shen Nong Tasting Hundreds of Herbs (a pre-historic legend about an ancestor of ancient Chinese, Shen Nong, who tasted hundreds of wild herbal plants for seeking medicinal herbs to cure diseases). As in “Creation” exhibition area, through virtual reality technology and 3D printing, the sponsors launched a group of representative images, in the ancient Chinese myths and legends, and organized multimedia stage performances as well as traditional opera lectures.
Mao Shi’an, vice president of China Literature and Art Critics Association, said that Chinese Creation Myth contains cultural genes and spiritual pursuits that have been passed down from generation to generation. Against the background of economic globalization, deepening the integration of excellent traditional Chinese culture and “Internet +” is worthy of further exploration in the arts.
Translated by Xin Yuan
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