Wang Lin

in the artistic creations that Zuo Zhengyao started in mid-1980s, there has always been a theme depicting the images of females. During the period, he also finished the ceramic installations such as heaven nine an Earth Eight and paper installations such as day-to-day accounts by taking the mahjong and invoices for references, which are not related to the subject of females. however, it is in conformity with his consistent way of artistic thinking as he has taken the symbols of Chinese cultures and folk customs as a starting point and sought after the possible methods to express both the traditions and the current realities. By quoting the Zen principles to explain the relationship between the good and the bad, the man and the Buddhist and the religion and the secularity, his figure paintings from the Eighth Five-year Period are basically categorized as the meticulous paintings. however, the artist has given his paintings certain surrealistic meanings by deleting the background and simplifying the objects same as what he done in his painting, return. The plastic forms were regarded similar to the paintings of Wang Guangyi, Geng jianyi, which were characterized by simplicity, coldness and deep indulgence in rational thinking. The mere difference was that Zuo Zhengyao’s paintings were color paintings on paper. in early 1990s, such a way of thinking was transformed into an “imagery expression in a dual way”. as a matter of fact, they became the decorative paintings by integrating the rural background with the folk styles. From another perspective, the changes taking place through his artistic practices became more thought-provoking. The first is the reverse-and-adverse compositions which laid a foundation for his conceptual inclinations in his later creations. The second is that the graphic form of paper-cutting images has been changed into a simplified one, which has not only been connected with the later relief works, but also changes the images of rural girls into the ones of urban females. in his works, the transcendence and the perfect round forms have a clear demonstration of the spiritual inclination towards the female totemism.  in the dual conflicting relationship between the male and the female, it is a reasonable way of thinking that the artist is inclined to take the unified expectations into the parent body. starting from that point, the artist, though perplexed, had a sense of dependence while looking for females.  in the following years, the lying urban girls seem to be floating over the city in his painting titled roads leading to the City. By applying the brushing techniques and the colors of the Chinese new Year Painting to his ink and wash, Zuo Zhengyao gives a beautiful and colorful depiction of the female images with delicate and fluent lines.  in the art history, the “reclining females” is a unique theme worth studying. in the age of consumption, it is destined that the females are taken as the theme of the cultural industry. The life-stylization, secularization and popularization of the arts have not solved any problems concerning the females.  instead, such factors have led to more and new challenges to their independence and freedom. it is especially more embarrassing that problems concerning the females have been produced by the false liberation of the females in China. in such an environment, the females are often forced to abandon their aspirations of independent development and turn to submit to the power authority and cultural sovereignty of the males. under Zuo’s brushes, the young and ignorant females are regarded as the distinctive understanding of the spiritual reality that the artist has in his artistic experiences. however, he is not willing to simply give a superficial depiction of females. as a male artist, his observation and experience is both from inside himself and outside himself. To a certain extent, Zuo Zhengyao has returned back to the worship of the parent body because it is simply the unconscious psychology which originated from the ancient times that may possibly go beyond the centralization of the males at the age of civilization.  in his recent creations, whether paintings or sculptures, Zuo’s females images look more femalized. Whether falling into deep thinking or taking a protecting posture, all the female figures present us a sense of solemnity and richness. looking like the Karma stone of the Tibetan culture, he finished his sculpture based upon the natural shapes and lines of the stones, presenting a natural and magnificent air. By taking their shapes while taking no consideration of its religious meanings, Zuo Zhengyao has merged his exploration of the female spirit into his works.  in contrast, his uses of stainless steel is a process of integrating the traditional cultures with the modern civilizations, the collective unconsciousness with the individual consciousness and the worship of totems with the reflections of genders.  in my opinion, each stage from drawing to finished works can be regarded as the inseparable part of his works. it is because the transforming process is not simply a process of manufacturing, instead, a spiritual media to think about and realize the crux of any issues concerning the females.  i am not quite sure whether it is true that the history proceeds in a spiral development process and finally returns back to the matriarchal society at a higher level, but i have fully understood that the mankind has been making their endless seeking for their lost civilizations.  in his works, Zuo Zhengyao has expressed the males’ inherent interest in the females and their growing perplexities with each passing day and the artists’ expectations of self-reconstruction of the female consciousness. Due to their expectations, the artists may possibly go beyond the materials gains of the male society to reveal the common aspiration cherished in the depth of human souls: enjoying the pleasure of retrospection while ceaselessly seeking spiritual satisfaction and a return back to the parent body.