Approach of Introspective Era—Capriccioso Thoughts on Abstract Works of Qu Qianmei

Endless life circle of human beings and their every effort are all their inquiry into enigmas of the universe. This quest will not fade away for whirling of times or changing of environments, on the contrary it is increasing steadily since it is born that way and will be an immortal complex of life.

What is art? Art is also an inquiry. Although its inquiring mode is different from other subjects, they share the same destination; art pursues beauty which is exactly truth and goodness, thus they unify in art; sciences, religions and philosophy all come across each other in art. Qu Qianmei is such a kind of pursuer who quests by means of art. Her pursue is represented not only in her art but also in her life; it is displayed in her relentlessly arduous exploring journey between the Orient and the Occident. During these uneven thirty years, she dabbles and sojourns among Beijing, Paris and Tibet which is not only a space-time transformation of life but also an inexhaustible quest of soul.

Everyone keeps on trudging throughout his or her life with a long trail big or small, deep or shallow left in different manners. Stepping new way from pathless place, Qu Qianmei has her footprint break through time and space. She places herself in foreign countries and faces their changeless scenery for years, while she make herself linger between passion and reason to taste the unpredictable whirling visionary affairs of human life from vivid perception of the breath-taking past. She keeps on seeking her coordinate during the long history and retrieving her steps on advancing path. Thus from time to time she feels inner conflicts, reflects on refractive history and life, and chases after magically lost art, culture and spirits. Finally she frees herself from ceaselessly intertwined and wandering state and rushes onto the peak of the earth—Himalaya which is a holy land not heavily polluted in the world. Her unmatched self-confident works have witnessed her perfect leisurely turn, her baptism of soul and her transcendence.

Concerning her journey to Tibet, Qu Qianmei said as follows: “Lhasa, which is scared, solemn, fathomless, eulogized and worshiped by so many people… There, I found where pure land of soul converts. This piece of place and this patch of blue sky take me in and comprehend me. Heavenly melody and rhythms here knocked my heart and stroke my spirits. I could not help unleashing my emotions since I’ve already found my direction. Hereof the series of Spirits of Tibet was initiated. Years of accumulation from life and yearn turns into creative enthusiasm and perspiration which integrated with the red earth of plateau and images in my dream broke in all its fury.”

Among works of Qu Qianmei, we experience the magic power brought by enthusiasm wherever it goes like a flash of lightning, like a ball of mountain fire, like a flowing spring. There are no reasons to explain, nothing to extinguish, no power to resist; enthusiasm never remains in its proper sphere while it means scorn and defiance against the traditional and the conventional; it is explosive, salutatory, shelterless, unconcealed and reckless; Abiding by instructions of enthusiasm again and again, Qu Qianmei let the river of inspiration flow freely where it reaches there are bursts of laughter and clash.

After enthusiasm, there is dispassion and introspection…

In the acquainted sense, reflection refers to the researcher’s clear awareness of the entire environment his research has suited in and the inevitability of interaction between him and the environment; let the feeler of thought rotate from the edge to the center where researcher is. We could discern from Qu’s abstract works that she has two types of reflections: one is the reflection of academics through practices; the other is the reflection of abstract male schema through female practices.

Occidental cultural introspection gives impetus to study non-western cultures, especially propels upsurge of recognition of the Oriental.

This trend is associated with the first way of thinking from the binary opposition to the changes in cognitive patterns interact.

In this case, the Chinese culture is bound to become an important "other" which means an outsider unlocks the deadlock in Western thinking. As the French scholar Julien Falangsuowa said, "I chose from a viewpoint so far not driven from the exotic, nor is the temptation of so-called comparable pleasure, but only to recover a little circuitous room of theory, through a new starting point, free myself from all sorts of theoretical disputes which could not be discriminated for being inside.”

From the reflection on anthropology, the basic strengths of anthropology are to arouse their community’s new interests in specific things through the understanding and study of foreign cultures therefore answer the concerns of their own society; in the field of empirical research exploring the possibility of seeing their own by watching the world; they demonstrated the ideology of seeing the center from the edge, concerning the concept from practices, observing China from the overseas; this "self - back " academic paradigm has infinite charm of free glide between both ends of movement of ideas and expressed activities.

Qu Qianmei makes us sense the approach of epoch that we reflect on nationalized study of Chinese abstract art by means of her reflection of abstract male schema through female practices.

Reflection is a new starting point, and also a new footprint on the eternal long-distance journey of quest.

Ma Yiying