Dreamlike animations, paintings help you cool off

A colorful animation art exhibition and a plain-hue traditional Chinese painting exhibition opened Saturday at the He Xiangning Art Museum, providing cooling relief in the intense summer heat.

In “Life Fantasia: The Art Exhibition of Chinese and Foreign Animation,” visitors can admire the manuscripts and celluloid of a large arrange of classic animations as well as new-age animations made by the latest technologies. The classic animations include those from the golden age of Chinese animations between the 1950s and the 1980s, which are represented by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. European and U.S. classic animations represented by Disney and the Japanese classic animations represented by Ghibli are also on display.

Photos by Cao Zhen.

Take a glance at the dreamlike scenes and posters of the familiar animations. The vigorousness of the classic figures, such as Monkey King, Nezha, Astro Boy, Tintin, the Smurfs, Snow White and Mickey Mouse, seem never to fade as time goes by.

Visitors can wear virtual reality goggles at the exhibition to watch Chinese new-age animations. Pinta Studios’ “Shennong: Taste of Illusion” re-creates a Chinese mythology story via virtual reality, which gives viewers a time-traveling experience in ancient times.

“Scissor Seven” by Sharefun Studio and AHA Entertainment is the first Chinese mainland cartoon series that aired on Netflix in more than 190 countries and regions around the world. Telling a story of a hairdresser becoming an assassin, it is one of the rare Chinese cartoons to receive international recognition and the first Chinese cartoon nominated for an award at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2018.

He Xiaofeng, the director, scriptwriter and voice actor of the animation, said at a seminar Saturday that when he was studying at college, his classmates regarded ancient Chinese life as typical Chinese culture and would add it into animations, but he believes that present life experiences can also be a part of the stories in Chinese animations. “There are hair salons in my neighborhood and I live in Guangdong, so I added what I saw and experienced in my life into ‘Scissor Seven.’ Then Chinese audience members felt the animation was very realistic and foreigners said they were interested in the Chinese life scenes in ‘Scissor Seven.’”

Another exhibition — “Rendezvous at the Pinewood Courtyard: He Xiangning and Jing Hengyi Art and Literature Exhibition” — features paintings and calligraphic works by social activist and artist He Xiangning (1878-1972) and educator and artist Jing Hengyi (1877-1938). Old photos are also presented to narrate the stories of the two magnificent artists in the context of family and country, as well as their artistic achievements.

A painting in the exhibition. File photo

He’s paintings mainly portray plum blossoms, pine trees, lions, tigers and landscapes. Jing was excelled in calligraphy, painting, seal carving and classical literature.

Being social activists in Chinese modern history, He and Jing developed a longtime friendship. They shared the same revolutionary ideals, artistic pursuit and personality spirits. They were also in-laws because He’s son Liao Chengzhi married Jing’s daughter Jing Puchun.

In 1929, before leaving for Europe, He painted a landscape painting of the Pinewood Courtyard, Jing’s residence in Shaoxing, as a friend’s aspiration. Jing Hengyi then wrote a postscript, “Let’s rendezvous at Pinewood Courtyard again when maple leaves turn red and mountains turn green.”

Both exhibitions are free to visit. Follow the art museum’s WeChat account “hxnartmuseum” and then follow menu instructions to book your visit.

Dates: Until Sept. 6

Hours: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mondays

Venue: He Xiangning Art Museum, Nanshan District (南山区何香凝美术馆)

Metro: Line 1 to OCT Station (华侨城站), Exit C