The artistic ideal of "Direction of The Heart" will surely be realized
Jin Jun
Curator of CAFA Art Museum
From realistic style to abstract expression, from traditional easel painting to contemporary experimental art, thousands of diverse styles and media of artistic creations formed the 2024 Central Academy of Fine Arts Graduation Exhibition in early summer. Amidst this artistic extravaganza, the brilliance and panache of the new generation of young scholars were on full display. They unveiled a vibrant and diverse artistic realm to the community,via their diverse styles, impeccable craftsmanship, and distinct viewpoints.
《ART MARKET》：As we enter the graduation season, the 2024 graduation exhibition of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (hereinafter referred to as "CAFA") is underway. Could you provide an overview of the overall planning and execution of this year's exhibition from a macro perspective?
Jin Jun：Organizing graduation exhibitions is a core part of the annual graduation season in domestic art schools. It involves evaluating the academic achievements of each student on one hand; On the other hand, as a discipline closely related to social life, art graduation exhibitions are also a presentation aimed at the general public. Therefore, in recent years, graduation exhibitions of major art schools have attached increasing importance to the public's openness and dissemination, and have also produced a good response in society.
Consistent with most domestic institutions, the graduation exhibition at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) also takes place in May or June, primarily at the CAFA Art Museum. Owing to limited exhibition space, the CAFA graduation exhibition is structured into distinct phases: The first phase runs from April 30th to May 14th, featuring a graduate work exhibition; The second and third phases are dedicated to undergraduate graduation works, with each department showcasing its exhibits during separate timeframes. Works from the Oil Painting Department, Mural Painting Department, Experimental Art and Technology Art School, Urban Design School, Art Management and Education School, and the (Sino-French) Art and Design Management School will be displayed from May 19th to June 2nd. Meanwhile, the Chinese Painting School, Calligraphy School, Printmaking Department, Sculpture Department, Design School, Architecture School, and the Humanities School will be showcased from June 7th to 23rd.
Scene of "Direction of The Heart"--2024 CAFA Graduation Season
《ART MARKET》：Compared to previous years, what adjustments and changes have been made in the planning of this year's Central Academy of Fine Arts Graduation Exhibition?
Jin Jun：The Central Academy of Fine Arts' graduation exhibition has been held consecutively for nine sessions, offering different experiences each year. After years of evolution, the most significant impression this year's exhibition has made on me is the gradual shift towards simplicity and serenity in its curatorial approach, evident in both the visual design and the theme "Yearning for It". Furthermore, the overall planning and execution of the exhibition have become more sophisticated and streamlined.
Scene of "Direction of The Heart"--2024 CAFA Graduation Season
《ART MARKET》：You just mentioned that the theme of this year's graduation season of the Central Academy of Fine Arts is "Direction of The heart", what is the deeper concept that this theme hopes to express?
Jin Jun：The theme phrase was proposed by the school according to the overall positioning of the graduation exhibition, and I personally understand it more as a kind of simple blessing and expectation from the school to the students, and also a reflection of the students' state of mind; including the image design of the blue background and white clouds in the main visual, which heralds the good wishes of the young students, young artists, and designers to go out of the school campus and to a broader world. We expect to see the ideals and aspirations of the students from the graduation works; we expect the students to respond to the call of the times and climb up the artistic peak one step at a time with their love for art and persistence in artistic ideals; we expect the students to become a forceful force in the construction of modern civilization of the Chinese nation, and to become an important force in the promotion of the great fine arts in fusion with the modernized industrial system and the people's better life.
Scene of "Direction of The Heart"--2024 CAFA Graduation Season
《ART MARKET》：What efforts has the Central American Art Museum made to improve the standard of graduation exhibition planning, service quality and visiting experience?
Jin Jun：The whole graduation season is mainly led by the relevant departments and teams of the school, and through coordination with various faculties, we have carried out unified planning and execution from time allocation, space arrangement, image design and many other aspects. As the actual management department of the exhibition space, our job is to actively cooperate with the faculty to improve the overall service level and viewing experience of the graduation exhibition.
First of all, this year, we improved the online exhibition booking program, which not only facilitates the participation of the public, but also helps the museum to pay attention to the density of the flow of people in time to ensure that the exhibition is carried out in an orderly manner. Secondly, the museum has also organized volunteers to provide interpretation services, through guided tours or Q&A, to improve the dynamic line of the exhibition and increase the audience's understanding of the works in the exhibition. Once again, in terms of the exhibition's outreach communication, this year also produced a more detailed publicity program, in order to increase the social attention of the graduation exhibition.
In addition, as an extension of the exhibition, the Museum's Cultural and Creative Shop has enriched its merchandise categories to enhance the quality of cultural consumption by the audience, and the Café has also improved its operational capacity to provide the audience with leisure experiences after the exhibition as much as possible.
CAFA Art Museum Gift Shop Site
《ART MARKET》：According to your observation, what are the current changing trends in the presentation, style, and thematic concepts of students' graduation work as a whole?
Jin Jun：In recent years, the works of art college students have been showing a strong level and state of innovation and imagination. It is especially obvious in the development of the integration of art and technology. At present, many works of graduates from the School of Urban Design, Experimental Art and Science and Technology Art are integrated with the current new technologies such as digital technology, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, etc. They have created very complete works from different perspectives, fully expressing their respective ideologies. Obviously, the combination of art and new technology not only provides a broader creative space for creators and shows the innovative spirit of young students, but also makes the art works more vivid and intuitively presented to the audience, increasing the interactivity and sense of experience.
In addition, the traditional departments represented by the School of Chinese Painting, the Department of Oil Painting, and the Department of Mural Painting also maintain their original professional characteristics in their graduation creations. In terms of expressing themes, it can be seen that everyone's concerns are more diverse and more oriented to social reality--Pay attention to the development status of different groups and regions in the current society. From this, we can also see the professional quality and creative ability of current graduates, as well as their in-depth thinking and artistic expression of social development.
Scene of "Direction of The Heart"--2024 CAFA Graduation Season
《ART MARKET》：In recent years, the graduation exhibition of art schools has become more and more important and concerned by major institutions and the public, what are the influencing factors of this trend?
Jin Jun：From the perspective of the first two phases of the graduation exhibition of the Central University of Fine Arts, the number of visitors to the exhibition has definitely increased compared to the previous two years. Especially during the two days of the weekend, due to the limited space and venue of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, we had to take measures to limit the flow of traffic, so as to ensure that the audience's viewing experience is safe and orderly. From this, it is not difficult to see that the community is highly concerned about the graduation exhibition of art schools.
Of course, this highly concerned trend is brought about by the overall development and change of our society. Although art colleges and universities are teaching and researching units mainly located in talent cultivation, along with the improvement of domestic economic level in the past 10 years, the public's demand for spiritual and cultural fields is also increasing, and every family's pursuit of quality of life, and the importance of children's growth, aesthetic education, and education ...... These factors have prompted the public to pay high attention to graduation exhibitions of art colleges and universities, which determines that graduation exhibitions need to fully consider the interaction with the public. These factors have contributed to the high attention of the public to the graduation exhibition of art colleges, which also determines that the graduation exhibition needs to fully consider the interactivity with the public.
Scene of "Direction of The Heart"--2024 CAFA Graduation Season
《ART MARKET》：What positive effects and significance can graduation shows have for both institutions and graduates?
Jin Jun：When the relationship between the graduation exhibition and the public becomes more and more extensive and close, this will be conducive to the school to capture the public's feedback on aesthetics, market, technology and other aspects in a timely manner, which will have a certain direction reference for the cultivation of relevant art talents in the institution, so as to better serve the society.
For students, the graduation exhibition is an important summary and concentration of their academic achievements for several years, and is an important moment in their life course. Through the graduation exhibition, students' graduation works can be seen by more people, which is an important step for their identity transformation and the next stage of their life.
Scene of "Direction of The Heart"--2024 CAFA Graduation Season
Interview｜Art Market Reporter Wu Wenlong
Editor-in-Chief / He Yisha
Editor / Du Yinzhu
