Designing exhibitions of Chinese art in Soviet Art Museums: from collectible to problematic method

U Men Postgraduate student; Department of Art History and Pedagogy of Art; A.I. Herzen Russian State University 191186, Russia, Saint Petersburg, nab. Moika, 48, building 6, room 57 wumeng101@rambler.ru

The issues of designing exhibitions of Chinese art in Soviet art museums are of great interest for studying the processes of formation, formation and development of general and scientific ideas about Chinese art in Russia. During the Soviet period, a strong foundation was created on which the partnership dialogue and cooperation between the two countries in the field of culture were built. As a result, the Soviet public consciousness gets its first experience of acquaintance and perception of Chinese aesthetics, and the main directions of museum research of Chinese art are developing in the scientific circles of the USSR.

This topic is of great interest for study, however, there is still a relatively small number of works that give an idea of some issues related to the history of Soviet-Chinese cooperation in the field of museum business ^[7], the development of theory and practice of studying Chinese traditional painting in museums of the USSR ^[5], the history of the formation of collections Chinese fine art in Soviet art museums ^[4]. Of great interest is the analysis of the largest exhibitions of the Soviet era proposed by researcher Jia Xiaolu ^{[3; 2]} and issues of artistic communication within the framework of various exhibition events ^[4]. The reconstruction of the history of the formation of scientific ideas about Chinese art and the formation of collections in Soviet museums inevitably leads researchers to the need to identify the main periods. Unfortunately, this aspect remains almost unexplored to date: for example, in his dissertation research, Jia Xiaolu focuses on issues of artistic communication and presentation of works of Chinese art and paintings "flowers and birds" in museums of the Soviet period, limited to the 1930s and 1980s, D.A. Kuzminykh identifies the main periods of Soviet-Chinese cooperation in the field of museum business. Despite the fact that the available scientific literature does not cover the transformation of presentation and communication in the field of Chinese fine art in Soviet museums, it can serve as a reliable foundation for studying this aspect. Within the framework of this study, a comparative analysis of the Early Soviet and late Soviet periods is carried out in order to understand the issues of the evolution of scientific knowledge about Chinese art, approaches to its research, museum presentation and communication in this area.

By the time of the emergence of the USSR, the first ideas about Chinese art had already been formed in the Russian Empire, but their appearance was very fragmentary and unsystematic. The early Soviet period became a stage of accumulation of scientific information in this area, at this time there was also an active formation of museum collections. Leading state museums are becoming centers for the study, collection and exhibition of works of Chinese art. As scientific ideas accumulate, the design of scientific schools of art studies takes place, and the first large-scale exhibitions of Chinese art are held. The late Soviet period certainly demonstrates the evolution of the theory and practice of exhibiting and studying Chinese art. The nature of this evolution can be traced primarily in the approaches of Soviet researchers to the museum presentation and communication of art objects. In this regard, a comparison can be made between the largest exhibition events of the Early Soviet and late Soviet periods.

One of the earliest large-scale exhibitions of Chinese art in the USSR was the exposition of 1934, which took place in two major Soviet cities: Moscow and Leningrad. Jia Xiaolu's research "Exhibition of Chinese Painting in visitors' Reviews (State Hermitage Museum 1934)" is devoted to the peculiarities of this exhibition event ^[2].

According to the scientist, the results of the exhibition were ambiguous. On the one hand, many people took the works enthusiastically, admired the beauty and originality of Chinese painting. On the other hand, in the eyes of an unprepared mass audience, there was a great lack of explanatory information materials that could help to understand the specifics of Chinese aesthetics and artistic thought. Hence, there are significant "distortions in perception and a certain misunderstanding of Chinese painting" [2. C. 96]. Such results of the exhibition vividly illustrate the peculiarities of the approaches of Soviet museums to presentation and communication in the field of fine arts in China.

The above problems were related to a number of factors. One of the most important is the significant differences between the artistic aesthetics of Soviet society and the aesthetics of the objects presented at the exhibition. The 1934 exhibition was one of the first experiences of the perception of Chinese fine art by the mass consciousness in Russia. The Soviet visitor to the museum vitally lacked knowledge about Chinese culture, art and painting ^[2]. The problem was that this knowledge did not exist and could not appear for a long time either to a mass audience, or to researchers, museum staff, and exhibition organizers. In this case, the fact that the exhibition was brought to the USSR by the outstanding artist Xu Beihong deserves special mention, that is, the Chinese side was involved in the organization of the event to a very significant extent, not only at the level of officials, but precisely with the direct participation of artists. The problem was that on the Chinese side there was also a lack of readiness to organize such events due to the weak development of museum business at that time: "At the beginning of the century there were only a few museums formed on the basis of medieval collections of paintings and various rarities. But they were also poorly equipped and did not have the conditions necessary for storing exhibits. It was only after 1949 that the expansion and construction of new museums began, meeting modern scientific requirements." ^[1]

The 1934 exhibition vividly demonstrated the problems of communication between Chinese and Soviet organizers in the field of museum business. For example, it is obvious that the exposition material was organized in accordance with the historical principle, but the Chinese artists did not provide any explanatory information about certain artists, the general principles of Chinese traditional painting. What was self-evident in the eyes of Chinese artists was incomprehensible exotic for the Soviet perception. It is obvious that the Soviet audience, who represented a narrow stratum of professional artists, considered such infrequently held exhibition events a rare, valuable experience of contact with the Chinese school of painting. They saw such expositions as an opportunity to learn new artistic methods and gain knowledge about them, but the reviews clearly indicate the unpreparedness of professional circles to perceive the material.

It is also worth dwelling on another key aspect, because of which the objects of Chinese art presented at the 1934 exhibition remained distorted and misunderstood. We are talking about the discrepancy between Soviet and Chinese society in terms of evaluating a work of art and artistic consciousness. Artistic taste is not only an individual, but also a social phenomenon that represents a social norm. The artistic consciousness of China and the USSR in the 30s was formed by fundamentally different ideological attitudes and values.

The transformation of social tastes in the USSR at that time was strongly influenced by ideology. This fact can also be traced in the evolution of methods and technologies for creating museum exhibitions. In the second half of the 20s - early 30s, two design methods were emerging, which were based largely on the need to ideologize the tasks of museums and a view of the museum object. Already in the first decade of the establishment of Soviet power, a collectible approach was being formed, within the framework of which museum objects receive a new reading – as a means of expressing certain ideas. These ideas were further developed in the 20s - 30s. The museum-figurative method was formed in accordance with the fact that the Soviet museum requires "not self-sufficient things, but a display of things for mass educational purposes" ^[9]. M. V. Farmakovsky went further in these views, according to whom the Soviet museum needed an "ideologization" of the exhibition material, which could be provided by an "additional exposition" and "explanatory texts" ^[9]. In the second half of the 1920s, the defining task of museums and, consequently, the role of the museum object changed. This was clearly demonstrated by another new method of designing expositions – illustrative and thematic. The proposed approach was based on the idea that in their exposition activities, Soviet museums should first of all "present in a visual form the natural course of the revolutionary process" ^[9]. All this made it necessary to interpret museum exhibits in the context of the Soviet era, taking into account ideological and educational tasks, and the "promotion" of communist ideology to the masses. In this regard, one of the leading areas of exhibition activity is the exhibition of relevant and modern paintings created by Soviet artists in the style of socialist realism.

Social realism becomes the standard setting the high artistic value of the work. In this aspect, the works of Chinese painting brought to the USSR for the 1934 exhibition were by their nature very difficult to exhibit and for the viewer's perception. The abstraction of the subjects of classical works of Chinese Guohua painting, their isolation from the realities of society made it impossible for museum staff to interpret them from the point of view of popularizing ideas about socialist society, which excluded the use of illustrative-thematic and museum-figurative methods. Accordingly, the 1934 exhibition was organized using the collection method, where all the works were systematized by sections in order to show the natural-historical development of Chinese painting.

Returning to the question of the Soviet audience's perception of Chinese painting presented at this exhibition, it should be noted that there is a significant discrepancy between the audience's expectations and requests to the principles and methods of organizing the exhibition material, its plot specifics. Museum visitors were largely unprepared for the perception of abstract subjects that, from his point of view, had no connection with the life of society and did not carry any educational ideas. The museum-figurative and illustrative-thematic methods that were actively developing at that time created a certain canon in the public consciousness of that era, and the 1934 exhibition did not correspond to it. In contrast, the vast majority of exhibition events of that time successfully solved the problems of integrating art into the Soviet ideological system. The organizers of this event were unable to ideologize the subjects of Chinese painting and give them a modern sound, and many viewers, in turn, were not ready for a pure perception of aesthetics, their artistic taste was focused on modern art as a propaganda tool. The subsequent transformation of the practice of holding exhibitions of Chinese fine art in the USSR had a positive character due to a number of factors. Since 1949, it has been happening:

· The rapprochement of the two countries ideologically as a result of the establishment of communist power in China and the formation of the PRC;

· the rapprochement of the PRC and the USSR in the artistic sphere: the formation of similar tastes and artistic values, the development of socialist realism in the PRC as the main direction in art;

· Rapprochement of the two countries in the museum sphere: intensification of contacts and cooperation, rapid development of museum business in China under the influence of Soviet museology.

As a result, since the 50s, not only works of Chinese traditional painting have appeared at exhibitions, but also modern works painted in the style of socialist realism, close to the tastes, expectations and perception of Soviet society. These events are also characterized by greater informational content. On the part of both Soviet and Chinese organizers, there is a desire to establish a dialogue, during which Soviet researchers gain access to valuable information concerning the principles of Chinese painting and the work of individual Chinese artists.

One of the most significant exhibitions on Chinese art held in the USSR in the 50s was the art exhibition of the People's Republic of China in 1950. A relatively large number of prominent figures from various professional fields, from diplomats to artists, were involved in the process of organizing this exhibition. An analysis of the exhibition catalog ^[10] shows how much of a role Chinese artists and art historians played in the organization of this event. Thus, only Chinese specialists participated in the compilation of the catalog: Zheng Zhen-Do, Wang Zhen-Do, Zhang Hen, Li Hong-Qing.

The exhibition consisted of three sections, which included old art, new art and modern art crafts. The contemporary art section was compiled by artists Yan Han, a professor at the Central Art Institute in Beijing, and Dai Ze, a senior lecturer at the Central Art Institute in Beijing. A short preface was prepared by Wang Ye-Qiu. The four pages provide a brief overview of the exhibition, its structure, as well as Chinese art, both classical and modern. Speaking about the objectives of the exhibition, Wang Ye-Qiu points out that it is important for the Chinese people to show in Moscow the works of ancient masters and modern art, "originated in the conditions of the heroic struggle of the Chinese people" [10. C. 8].

On pages 9-12 of the catalog there is a text entitled "On the modern fine arts of the People's Republic of China", its author was Yan Han. The researcher also examines Chinese art in the context of the revolutionary movement, the struggle against feudalism and capitalism. The author notes the importance of art as a tool to inspire the Chinese people to fight for the transformation of the old world. He refers to the work and social activities of Lu Xin, who emphasizes the idea of bringing the artistic sphere closer to the life of the people. The transformation of traditional ideas about art in the New China consists in the fact that the work of artists becomes closely linked to specific political tasks, begins to reflect the life and struggle of the people, to embody their ideals and hopes. Artists turn to popular art forms and introduce new content into them, making it popular, striving to enlighten the masses with the help of artistic methods. According to the author of the article, the further development of Chinese art should follow the path of mastering the principles of realism and Soviet artistic experience. Considering art as an important component in the construction of the People's Republic of China, the author defines the following range of tasks: the introduction of the experience of Soviet art, filling the practical content of nation building, the use and development of classical national art of China.

The third introductory text in the catalog was written by the responsible editor of the publication, art critic O.N. Glukhareva. The article is devoted to a general review of the art exhibition of the People's Republic of China. The author repeats in many ways the ideas of China's communist construction and the values of Russian-Chinese friendship, in a similar way as Wang Ye-Qiu. Glukhareva notes the interest and attention that Soviet society shows to Chinese culture. The organization of the exposition material was based on the historical principle: works of Chinese art are shown in their consistent historical development, starting with monuments dating back to the III millennium BC and ending with the work of modern artists and masters of applied arts of the People's Republic of China. In addition, the exhibition featured a separate exposition dedicated to individual stages of the Chinese people's struggle for independence.

The country's oldest art was represented by archaeological finds made in the north of the country, in particular, painted ceramics from Gansu province, monuments found in Anyang during excavations, bronze vessels, stone products. Considering the evolution of Chinese ancient art, Glukhareva notes the transformation from purely symbolic images to works that are more vital and directly reflect the real phenomena of the surrounding life. A brief overview of the sections of the exhibition and the most representative exhibits gives an idea of many valuable objects and recent finds by Chinese archaeologists. This event thus opened up to the general public relatively new finds and achievements of Chinese archaeology. Touching upon the issue of ancient painting, the Soviet researcher provides information that the old Chinese painting is characterized by a conditional character, aiming not so much to depict real life and people as to embody in a conditional form the artist's experiences and feelings that arise in the process of contact with nature. The main conclusion drawn by the author of the article is that the feudal painting of China depicts a man who is suppressed by powerful nature, the image of an active builder of life and a converter of nature finds no place in it.

The examination of the exhibited objects from an art criticism point of view is accompanied by a brief description of the historical and cultural features of a particular era, which allows the reader of the catalog and the visitor to the exhibition to better understand the conditions for the formation and development of Chinese art. The author pays great attention to new trends in Chinese art of the early 20th century. The departure from the old pictorial principles and the development of new writing techniques is considered on the example of the work of Xu Bei-hong, Qi Bai-shi. The formation of a progressive trend in art can be traced, starting with the educational activities of Lu Xin, the idea is repeated that Lu Xin called for the development of the Soviet experience. Graphics are called truly mass art, which has become extremely widespread in the People's Republic of China. According to the researcher, posters, engravings, cartoons, etc. have become genuine weapons in China's liberation struggle. Glukhareva examines with great attention the work of young artists working in the technique of oil painting – Yan Han, Dai Ze, Dong Xi-wen. Such features of new Chinese art as patriotism, realism and vitality make a positive impression, young masters interestingly and well show the life of the Chinese people and embody the images of the people of New China. In addition, the author of the article highly appreciates the desire of Chinese artists to depart from traditional canons and look for new creative ways.

Evaluating modern works of artistic craft, Glukhareva, on the contrary, expresses joy at the ability of modern Chinese craftsmen to preserve the technique and traditions of early folk craftsmen. According to the researcher, in comparison with other fields of art, for example, painting, in the works of artisans, the shifts in the country's art are still insufficiently expressed. Reviewing the exhibits presented at the exhibition, she refers specifically to those works that realistically depict scenes of life and images of leaders. Assessing the evolution of Chinese art, Glukhareva highly appreciates the artistic heritage of the country, but believes that in the modern era it is realistic art expressing the ideas of Marxism-Leninism that is the most promising path for the future development of the art of new China ^[10].

The catalog of objects posted on pages 25-153 demonstrates the serious scale of the exhibition. The catalog sections are organized according to the thematic principle: ceramics, bronze, jade, etc. If the main part of the sections gives a list of objects based on their dating, the ceramics section is organized in a more complex way. First, a list of items is provided, grouped into subsections not only according to the historical principle, but also according to the place of their discovery. The description of the items is very brief. Especially if we talk about the most ancient objects that were relatively recently discovered by Chinese archaeologists. For example: "The vessel is painted. Clay" ^{[10, p. 27]}. The not so ancient exhibits are accompanied by more detailed comments. For example: "A wine vessel in the shape of a teapot. North. Wei Dynasty. Porcelain. Dark yellow glaze. V. 5.5, length 6.5" ^{[10, p. 31]}. For some items, there is an indication of the place of production.

The last part of the catalog is the illustrations section. Among the 44 illustrations, both ancient and modern paintings are given, it is noteworthy that the emphasis is on modern art. Of the works of the old masters, only 1 painting was included in the list of illustrations, while the new art is represented by 27 works.

In general, the publication makes a very great impression: the results of the work done to collect and present the collection are visible. Nevertheless, from the point of view of the presentation of the exhibition material, the catalog lacks information content. The inclusion of illustrations in the catalog is certainly the right approach to the presentation of the material, which can be considered an innovation compared to similar publications of an earlier time. At the same time, the description of the objects remains uninformative. There is no information about the symbolism of certain ornaments and motifs. In addition, there is clearly a lack of a dictionary of terms. The publication quite often uses formulations such as: "the blue bird and the flowers of Fu Rong", "a vessel of the type "zun", "a vessel of the type "gu", "a vessel of the type "dou", "a tripod of the type "li", "a tripod of the type "ding", etc. Of course, quite an essential part of the description of objects It remains incomprehensible to the Soviet audience and requires additional explanations. Nevertheless, the absolute advantage of this catalog is, as we have already noted, the inclusion of a relatively large illustrative block, the main focus of which is on contemporary art.

Of course, these and other events of the 50s testify to a more productive and successful cooperation between Chinese and Russian art historians who acted as organizers of the exhibition, which made it possible to ensure a competent presentation of the material and favorable conditions for its perception by an unprepared mass audience. Important trends can be considered not only to improve the quality of the organization of exhibitions, the use of modern design methods, but also the complication of such events, both in terms of the genre diversity of the material and the geographical diversity of traveling exhibitions.

The events of the "cultural revolution" (1966 to 1976) in China had a negative impact on the development of the theory and practice of holding exhibitions of Chinese fine art in the USSR. Since 1966, it has been happening:

· significant decrease in contacts between the two countries in the museum sphere;

· significant divergence of the PRC and the USSR in terms of the development of museum theory: the destruction of the established museum system in the PRC ^[8] and the formation of new methods and principles for the creation of museum exhibitions in the Soviet Union.

Since the early 80s of the XX century, the rapprochement of the two countries has led to a new surge in the interest of Soviet museums in Chinese art. The Moscow exhibition of 1984 can serve as an example. "Modern Fine Art of China". Already at this event, a new trend emerged in the approaches of Soviet art historians to presentation and communication in the field of Chinese art. "The exhibited works were presented to the public as a reinterpretation of Chinese traditional painting that meets modern challenges." [7. C. 49] Objects of Chinese fine art in the late Soviet period ceased to be positioned by the organizers of exhibitions as having an ideological load. These changes were associated with a new stage in the development of Soviet museum theory. A significant evidence of the transformation was the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On increasing the role of museums in the communist education of workers" from 1964. This document criticized the current museum exhibitions, the foundation of which has been illustrative and didactic principles for almost 30 years. The revolution in museum design began with the developments of E. A. Rosenblum on the technologies of museum still life, which made it possible to "transform the objective results of human activity into spiritual values and ideals", to create exposition works with an independent artistic idea" ^[9].

The search for an independent artistic idea predetermined not only a change in approaches to the museum presentation of Chinese art, but also formed new tastes and expectations of the Soviet viewer, who sought not so much to perceive the ideologically conditioned cultural dominants of Soviet society, as to experience contact with a certain meaningful and semantic integrity of Chinese art objects, which has an independent character. These principles have been systematically implemented in the organization and holding of exhibitions of fine art in China since the second half of the 80s of the XX century. A striking example is the 1987 exposition dedicated to a Chinese folk painting. It should be noted that the event was preceded by a rather long preliminary scientific and restoration work, which was carried out by the staff of the All-Russian Art Scientific and Restoration Center named after him. academician I. E. Grabar together with Chinese specialists ^[6]. This activity became not only a significant stage in the organization of the exposition itself, but, in fact, served as its foundation, providing a scientific base that helped Soviet art historians to convey to the mass audience the artistic features of the objects in their connection with the cultural and historical context.

The author of the introductory article to the eighty-page catalog of the exhibition was not a Chinese art critic, but the curator of the event, L. I. Kuzenko. The article provides valuable material reflecting the results of the scientific restoration work carried out, which serves as a unique source of reliable information about the Chinese splint as a phenomenon of Chinese culture and art. In particular, the issue of the pictorial symbolism of Nianhua paintings was considered: connotations of images such as bamboo, deer, butterfly, etc. ^[6] Within the framework of this exhibition event, a number of tasks were implemented: conditions were provided for the correct perception by the Soviet viewer of the symbolism of Chinese paintings, and, accordingly, those meanings that Chinese artists put into his creativity; conditions were created to increase the literacy of the Soviet audience in the field of the theory of Chinese folk painting – for this purpose, an analysis of this phenomenon was carried out in comparison with European painting. In addition, the organizers' approach to the material as a source of ideas on the history of the peoples of China deserved attention.

In the introductory article to the exhibition catalog ^[6], the history of Nianhua, stylistic features, the main subjects of paintings, and their functions in Chinese culture were briefly considered. The notes about the National Chinese Theater also deserve attention. The article presents the typology of Nianhua, which shows the connection of lubka with many spheres of Chinese spiritual culture – literature, theater, etc. Noting the amazing variety of themes, characters and plots of Xinhua, L.I. Kuzmenko calls them "an encyclopedia of Chinese history, society, culture, and artistic principles. It is interesting that the researcher focuses exclusively on the task of identifying the artistic and cultural value of nianhua. The phenomenon of folk painting is considered without any connection with ideological discourse, unlike scientific works of the 50s - 60s (I.F. Murian, N.A. Chervova, etc.), in which nianhua was primarily positioned as an instrument of political agitation and education of the masses.

A separate section of the catalog was devoted to the consideration of the issue of the pictorial symbolism of Nianhua paintings: connotations of such images as dragon, bamboo, deer, turtle, butterfly, toad, bat, carp, peacock, pine, lotus, pomegranate, peach, peony, etc. The exhibition catalog had great theoretical and practical value, in particular, due to the fact that a separate section in it was devoted to the problem of restoration of Chinese folk paintings. The author of this essay was L.V. Hwang. The researcher briefly considered the issues of the origin of the Nianhua restoration technique, outlined the principles and stages of the technique, the main difficulties of restoration work and ways to overcome them. The catalog of paintings itself is characterized by special specifics. Items numbered 1-53 are given with detailed explanations. Each page includes a description of one item. In some cases, the description takes up two pages. An illustration is necessarily provided, and a commentary on the painting regarding its plot and its artistic features is of an extended nature. References to literature and a list of painting options are also provided here. Starting from issue 54, the exhibits are listed, accompanied only by basic information, explanations and comments are missing.

Thus, the material discussed above made it possible to trace the vector of evolution of the approaches of Soviet researchers to presentation and communication in the field of fine art of China in the museums of the USSR. First of all, there is a movement towards the development of deep scientific ideas, which in the late Soviet period provide a reliable basis for the effective implementation of certain approaches to exposition planning. The complexity of exhibition events is increasing: the complexity of the tasks implemented by the organizers appears; there is an increase in geographical, species diversity, as well as the diversity of exhibition material. Increasing the effectiveness of the techniques and principles of exposition planning used by Soviet museums in the field of Chinese fine art is provided, on the one hand, by the movement of Soviet museological theory from an ideologized view of the exposition material as a means of educating a citizen of a new formation, to the perception of an independent artistic idea of exposition works. On the other hand, the high level of quality of museum presentation and artistic communication in the late Soviet period is achieved through cooperation with Chinese art historians, who at that time were highly qualified in the field of museum business and art criticism as a result of cultural and educational reforms in the PRC since the 1950s.

From the point of view of artistic communication, the most successful exhibitions of Chinese fine art held in the USSR in the second half of the 20th century can be considered. First of all, the rapprochement of the two countries in the artistic sphere affected. The establishment of communist power in China in 1949 led to the formation of artistic tastes and values close to Soviet society. The rapid development of socialist realism in China as the main trend in art under the strong influence of the Soviet school generates a new layer of modern Chinese art, which has strong similarities with the Soviet one; traditional areas of fine art are being rethought and transformed in accordance with the new ideology. All this leads to the fact that in the late Soviet period, Chinese exhibitions presented a completely new exposition material: works that are included in the system of ideology and correspond to the artistic tastes and values of the mass Soviet audience. Since the second half of the 80s of the XX century, the USSR has been forming new principles of artistic communication between the viewer and works of fine art, in which the main focus becomes an independent artistic idea of exposition works, as a result, favorable conditions are provided for the perception by the Soviet viewer of traditional Chinese aesthetics as a separate phenomenon of ancient and original Chinese culture.