Anna Zhao

    Anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    A DIALOGUE between two different cultures may baffle an audience that doesn’t speak both languages, but this dialogue between students from China and the United States relies on the language of art. Three hundred pieces of design are on exhibit at the Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Futian District through May 20.

    Covering a wide range of designs, books, packages, brands, characters, and illustrations, as well as a few installations, the exhibition aims to promote exchange through the designs by students from top Chinese and U.S. art academies: the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, the Nanjing University of the Arts, the China Academy of Art, the School of Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), and the School of Visual Arts.

    The designs offer kaleidoscopic views of both Oriental and Occidental culture through various elements expressed in an artistic way: The human figures and urban landscapes range from the realistic to the cartoonish. For example, in “Baltimore T-shirt Design” by Bizhen Zhou from MICA, the artist translated the city’s landmark architecture and landscape into graphic elements.

    Quite a large number of posters express concern about society, for example, “No War” by Zhang Zhijiang from Nanjing University of the Arts.

    Chen Pingbo, curator of the exhibition, said the Chinese students have solid art skills but lack inventiveness when compared with their U.S. counterparts.

    Chen said that the U.S. students are more mature in their expression and their designs are almost “indiscernible from those of professionals.”

    His opinion was shared by Dr. Kan Tai-keung, a graphic designer of worldwide renown and who was a guest speaker at a seminar during the exhibition.

    Dr. Kan, who has a good understanding of design education in both China and U.S. art academies, thinks the designs shed light on the artists’ educations.

    He said U.S. students’ designs are good “not in their art skills, but in the combination of their academic background with their ideas, integration of design of characters and illustrations as a whole.”

    Dr. Kan said he also saw some fresh ideas from Chinese students. He said Chinese students should be encouraged to explore outside of conventional methods.

    Both Chen and Dr. Kan said that Chinese students shall draw from society for their art.

    “Students should walk out of their school … the real classroom is society. They should use their brain more to think how they can find their unique art language rather than following what they are taught to do,” Chen said. “It’s very inspiring for us in an exchange with globally prestigious institutes. In our future art teaching I think we should learn more from U.S. schools, and carry out more social practice, so that our future designers can be more mature,” Chen said.