Visual Arts Library
Family Portrait
Artist: Zhang Xiaogang
Date:
1993
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 129 x 124 cm
Event: Chinese History
Motif:
Families
This painting is the first in the family portrait series that made Zhang Xiaogang one of the most acclaimed Chinese artists of the 1990s. This work lacks the smooth brushwork that characterized many of the later works in the series, while the semi-distorted facial expressions imbue the figures with a sense of malaise. The red line linking the family members in one tight kin group contradicts the distant expression on their faces. The contrast between the presentation of these individuals as a family, and the alienation inherent in their bearing reveals the formality of a relationship that was particularly fragile during the Cultural Revolution, when children were encouraged to denounce their parents. The shadows on the people's faces suggest an enclosed space, and add a surrealistic effect to the scene. -- Francesca dal Lago Artist's Statement For me, the Cultural Revolution is a psychological state, not a historical fact. It has a very strict connection with my childhood, and I think there are many things linking the psychology of the Chinese people today with the psychology of the Chinese people back then. I am very interested in the relationship between Chinese individuals and their society, and I chose to use the family to express this relationship. I think that to express this feeling, the photos of the Cultural Revolution are quite peculiar. People in the West stress the self, the individual character. In China, if you concentrate on your individuality, you will end up being very isolated. Since we were very small, we were educated with the consciousness that we were living in a big family and you must always consider the network of relationships with people living around you. Our society is made of all these relationships, so that's why my paintings are entitled Big Family. You can even perceive it in old photographs. The way in which pictures are taken, the clothes the people wear, the expressions on their faces in fact are a way to fit into this social standard. Taking a picture, everybody would say, "Hey let's get together, let's pose", trying to look very happy, but in fact the society at that time had a destructive effect on personal relationships. The different color of the child stands for a difference between the parents and the child. I changed the color to add a sense of absurdity. The lines and the light are meant to destroy the customary effect created by these photographs. Posing for a photograph, people already display a certain formality. It is already something artificial. What I do is increase this artificiality and this sense of formalism. From an interview with the artist conducted by Francesca dal Lago.
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