Friday 6 January 2012

The Song Dynasty as Living Art



Singapore Expo Hall 7 Dec 2011- 6 Feb 2012


International premiere of the animated painting - 清明上河图 - The Song Dynasty as Living Art. More info about the exhibition at www.amovingmasterpiece.com and read description of the painting herehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Along_the_River_During_the_Qingming_Festival

A digital panoramic animated moving masterpiece measuring 128 metres long and 6.5 metres high - 1068 moving and talking characters on the countryside into the city as days turn into night.


Along the River During the Qingming Festival (simplified Chinese: 清明上河图; traditional Chinese: 清明上河圖; pinyin: Qīngmíng Shànghé Tú) is a panoramic painting by Song Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan (1085--1145). It captures the daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng. The theme celebrates the festive spirit and worldly commotion at the Qingming Festival, rather than the holiday's ceremonial aspects, such as tomb sweeping and prayers. The entire piece was painted in hand scroll format and the content reveals the lifestyle of all levels of the society from rich to poor as well as different economic activities in rural areas and the city. It offers glimpses of period clothing and architecture. As an artistic creation, the piece has been revered and court artists of subsequent dynasties have made several re-interpretive replicas. The painting is also known for its geometrically accurate images of variety natural elements and architectures, boats and bridges, market place and stores, people and scenery. It is often considered to be the most renowned work among all Chinese paintings, and it has been called "China's Mona Lisa."


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