INFORMATION FOR
In celebration of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox, the Center for Chinese Art at William Paterson University in Wayne is presenting an exhibition of Chinese New Year woodblock prints from February 10 through 28, 2021 in the Power Art Gallery in the Power Arts building on campus.
The exhibition is open only to members of the University community from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. To help ensure physical distancing and a safe, comfortable experience, admission will be limited to 12 visitors at a time. Members of the University community who wish to visit the exhibition in person must complete a daily health screening at wpconnect.wpunj.edu.
In conjunction with the exhibition, a virtual opening reception and lecture, “The Cultural Connotation and Artistic Value of Chinese Woodblock New Year Prints,” presented by Zhiyuan Cong, professor of art and director of the Center for Chinese Art, will be held on Wednesday, February 17, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. via Zoom. The event will include a virtual tour of the exhibition. The event is free and open to the public, but advanced registration is required. To register for the event, please click here.
China is known as the birthplace of printmaking. As early as the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), after the invention of papermaking, historical records show that the first prints were produced in China. Throughout the entire world, the earliest known engraving with a definite date is the title page of the Chinese engraving, “Diamond Sutra” (868 AD), currently residing in the British Museum’s collection. Woodblock New Year prints are one of the most popular forms of artwork among Chinese families. The tradition originated with the paintings of ancient doorkeepers, and is believed to repel evil when posted on the door of a home. The heyday of Chinese woodblock New Year prints was in the late Ming (1368 - 1644) and early Qing dynasties (1644 – 1911 AD) dynasties, but continues today.
The exhibition, curated by Professor Cong, includes 48 individual Chinese folk artworks, dating from the Ming Dynasty up until modern-day China. These works depict door deities, protecting the home, and who many pray to for happiness, luck, and longevity; scenes of men and women busy working, farming, and weaving, reflecting the traditional folk life; as well as Chinese folk dramas that spread historical stories such as “Journey to the West,” “The Female Generals of Yang,” and “Water Margin.” These prints help to spread China’s cultural history, in addition to decorating homes, creating a peaceful and festive atmosphere to welcome the new year.
“At this time when everyone is fighting a global pandemic and trying to find peace, we hope that everyone can come to appreciate Chinese art, understand Chinese history and culture, practice China’s thousand-year-old folk tradition of replacing old, wooden peach charms with new ones, and abandon all the unpleasantness of the past year in pursuit of success and happiness,” says Professor Cong. “Now more than ever, it is important to welcome everyone into happiness, as we all look forward to what next year will bring.”
The exhibition is presented in cooperation with the William Paterson University Department of Art and the College of the Arts and Communication. For more information regarding the exhibition and the virtual reception and lecture, please contact the Center for Chinese Art at ccart@wpunj.edu, by phone at 973.720.2799 or visit the website at wpunj.edu/ccart.
