“Harmony”
Acrylic
on canvas 24" x 24"
©2001
Shanye Huang
Lusheng is a wind instrument of the minority nationalities in southwest China. They are frequently used to accompany dancing and are played by the dancers themselves. Lushengs are played at festivities and ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and harvest festivals. According to legend, the instrument had been a part of the military band of the ancient Miao, and it is believed to be over 2000 years old.
In Harmony, Huang painted a decorated lusheng and various folk art symbols such as a bird and some Chinese characters. He employed contrary techniques—the realistic images among the imaginative folk art symbols and solid images on fussy brush strokes—to address the balance and harmony between the conservative and liberal attitudes of different regions and to demonstrate the value of an old instrument, lusheng, in the modern society.
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