This essay investigates how the motif of the mountain in traditional Chinese shanshui painting continues to shape contemporary photographic and artistic practices in China, especially within the framework of so-called “post-shanshui art.” Drawing on classical aesthetics and cosmology, the study explores how mountains function as symbols of harmony and spiritual elevation in literati painting, and how these values are reimagined in photography to critique ecological degradation, urbanization, and social alienation in the Anthropocene. The essay situates artists such as Long Chin-san, Yang Yongliang, Yao Lu, and Huang Yan within this evolving tradition, showing how visual strategies once rooted in contemplation now engage with critical regionalism and environmental ethics.
The Mountain as a Symbol of the Human-Nature-Society Relationship in Chinese Photography and ‘Post-Shanshui Art’
Marco Meccarelli
2025-01-01
Abstract
This essay investigates how the motif of the mountain in traditional Chinese shanshui painting continues to shape contemporary photographic and artistic practices in China, especially within the framework of so-called “post-shanshui art.” Drawing on classical aesthetics and cosmology, the study explores how mountains function as symbols of harmony and spiritual elevation in literati painting, and how these values are reimagined in photography to critique ecological degradation, urbanization, and social alienation in the Anthropocene. The essay situates artists such as Long Chin-san, Yang Yongliang, Yao Lu, and Huang Yan within this evolving tradition, showing how visual strategies once rooted in contemplation now engage with critical regionalism and environmental ethics.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
