The woodcuts of Liu Chunjie, noted contemporary Chinese woodcutter, depicts various human farces incisively and explores people’s hearts, representing the contemporariness of the print art.
The starting point of the creation of Wild Ponderer and Thinking in Private is the discovery of, the reflection upon and the reaction to the absurdity and irrationality of the real world. The group woodcuts indicate independent individual standpoint and convey the author’s true thoughts from heart humorously and poignantly. Besides being different from the trend of the times, these woodcuts also suggest that private thinking is the source of ideas and all thoughts are the results of self thinking. With Liu’s bold and simple images picturing his spiritual odyssey and his essays as well, Wild Ponderer and Thinking in Private present Liu’s unique cultural wisdom and spiritual essence and moreover, manifest the innate spirit of criticism of modern intellectuals.
Thanks to the spirit of criticism, there is always a clear tension between Liu Chunjie and reality. His woodcuts are spiritual. Through the two books, we seem able to picture Liu’s heart, which is firm as his woodcuts, and his soul power. From these works we can also see the strength and dignity of life, with which Liu’s woodcuts can be regarded as tiny but delicate, a very high standard our ancient ancestors diligently strive for. The artistic practice of Wild Ponderer and Thinking in Private is closely related to reality. It restores the tradition of naming and interpreting reality in the art of woodcut. It arouses nonprofessional readers’ fantasy toward woodcut and thus, has strong enlightening significance that cannot be neglected.
It is also worth mentioning that apart from normal exhibitions, Liu Chunjie also publishes picture books to display his woodcuts. These books are circulated widely all over