Courses
VART2125 Visual Literacy in Chinese Painting (3 units)
- Prerequisite:
- VART1006 Visual Arts Practice II or any GDCV courses offered by AVA or any Visual Arts courses
This course provides comprehensive and fundamental training on guohua, literally translated as "national painting" or "Chinese painting". It is primarily divided into two sections: (1) understanding of Xieyi (free style); and (2) understanding of Gongbi (fine-brush, or delicate style). Focuses are on the critical concepts and ideas, conventional modes of expression and technical skills of guohua in the ancient models. Students are expected to explore such models for reinterpreting and rejuvenating the traditional form of guohua in the end of the semester.
The rationale to offer this level 2 course is to allow students to understand one of the cores of Chinese arts—Chinese painting. Regarded as Hong Kong residents, art students are supposed to have sufficient art trainings in both Western and Chinese arts. However, Chinese art training has been in deficit in local educational system even after the handover of 1997. Thus this course is to provide relevant art trainings and cognitive knowledge for students to capture the Chinese cultural narratives through practicing Chinese painting.
While English is the major medium of instruction of this course, occasionally Chinese will be used in the teaching of materials and texts related to Chinese arts.