Press conference on ‘spirit of the east’ exhibit

 

Designed as a tribute to the idea of “living together with nature”, an innovative visual arts exhibition, featuring the works of Chinese fine art photographer Wang Wusheng, and Japanese master painter, the late Kaii Higashiyama, is set to open at United Nations Headquarters in New York this evening.

Marking the world body’s sixtieth anniversary, the exhibition, “Spirit of the East:  Beauty of the Landscape”, was previewed at a press briefing today by Mr. Wang, and Mr. Takashi Murai, Chairman of the Organizing Committee.  The main focus of the exhibit is Mount Huangshan, or “ Yellow Mountain” -- known as “the loveliest mountain of China” -- which Mr. Murai said had united the two souls of the artists and bridged the cultures of Japan and China, as well as of East and West.

That sentiment was echoed by Mr. Takaeshi Matsumoto, head of the Kaii Higashiyama Museum, who said the artist’s landscapes revealed a life-long devotion to nature and the environment.  The spirits of both Mr. Higashiyama and Mr. Wang, who met in 1980 and maintained a life-long friendship, had been reaching across the years and miles to illustrate Mount Huangshan’s singular beauty.  He stressed that because Japanese paintings were very sensitive to light and the environment, the exhibit featured reproductions that had been created with help of the Epson Corporation, one of the exhibit’s co-sponsors.

The exhibit is organized by the Spirit of the East Exhibition Committee, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Public Information and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  Additional support is provided by the Permanent Missions of Japan and of China to the United Nations.

Mr. Wang said that the idea for the joint exhibition had first been raised some three years ago, but that mount Huangsghan had been the central motif of his work for 30 years.  The ethereal beauty of the place had stunned him beyond words, and over the years, he had striven to describe it through his art.

Asked about why he had devoted the bulk of his life’s work to photographing the mountain, Mr. Wang said that along the way, he had encountered many failures while trying to execute his vision.  He had also tried to imitate the working methods of other renowned photographers, such as Ansel Adams.  He had even tried colour photography for a time but realized, in the end, that he had established his own style and expressed his truest feelings by photographing Mount Huangshan in black and white.

Mr. Wang, who has lived in Japan for nearly 25 years, said that he felt a bond with Mr. Higashiyama from their first meeting.  Describing the “Spirit” joint exhibit in one word –- harmony -– he said he hoped that audiences could appreciate and learn from the spirit of tranquillity, peace and living together with nature that permeated the work, particularly in light of the ongoing wars and conflict in parts of the world today.

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