| Since the Sui Dynasty,when Chinese landscape painting developed into a distinct genre,more emphasis has been placed on the subject of space representation.There are many classical discussions on the topic.For example,Zong Bing,a Chinese landscape painter and theorist during the Liu Song Dynasty,stated that distant objects appear smaller and that "landscapes should reach out into the realm of the spirit".Wang Wei,a painter of the South Dynasty,explained the difference between landscape paintings and maps.Guo Xi,an artist from Northern Song,developed the now famous "Three Distances" concept from his sketching experience.Chinese landscape paintings convey the depths of space and the interactions of various elements.Chinese artists,unlike their western counterparts,do not use perspective in their paintings.They show viewers an overall view of a landscape while harmonizing the foreground,middle ground,and far distance in their works..As a result,their works appear idealized and imaginary and allow viewers to imagine freely.Or using Guo Xi’s words,the landscapes depicted in the ir paintings are "accessible," "appreciable," "enjoyable," and "livable.".The paper consists of four chapters.This first chapter outlines the reasons for investigating spatial representation in Chinese landscape painting as the paper’s main focus and discusses relevant previous research.Chapter Two presents the main characteristics of spatial representation techniques and discusses their causes,including the influence of Chinese philosophy on creating space since Chinese painters prefer to paint the far areas first and the near areas later,while harmonizing the foreground,middle ground,and far distance in their works.In addition,it re-examines Hualin’s analysis of Chinese painter Guo Xi’s Three Distances concept: "From the bottom to the top of the mountains is upper distance,from the front of the mountain to the back is deep distance,and the view from one mountain to another is level distance.".Furthermore,the chapter examines the Chinese painter’s "bird’s eye view",the composition of the painting that provides flexibility,and the beauty of Liu Bai(literally,leaving empty space or unpainted areas).The third chapter summarizes the characteristics of spatial representation in contemporary Chinese landscape paintings and examines the works of several contemporary landscape painters.The fourth chapter explores how spatial representation techniques may be applied to contemporary painting.First,the paper argues that the landscape should be painted by careful observation and an understanding of spatial representation that differs from traditional and contemporary landscape paintings.It then details how the author created her graduation project and how she drew inspiration from familiar or memorable scenes in real life in addition to previous sketching practice.The chapter also discusses the project with regard to the material collection,composition design,and specific painting techniques.Combining theory and practice,this paper examines the spatial representation of Chinese landscape paintings.It analyzes and explains the characteristics of spatial representation in landscape paintings and their influence on the author’s work.It is the process of representing space,the artists behind the spatial representation concept,as well as the social phenomena that inspire the author to continue exploring spatial representation in her paintings and to guide her art. |
