(Clearwisdom.net) On July 15-16, 2004, a painting exhibit entitled "Uncompromising Courage - Persecution Meets Principle" was held at the exhibition hall of the US House of Representatives' Rayburn House Office Building. Three artists came in person to the exhibition hall to explain to visitors the process of their creation. Many people who viewed the exhibit felt shocked and expressed their wishes to help Falun Gong practitioners to end the persecution as soon as possible.
A total of 34 works by 10 artists were displayed in the exhibit. The artists are all Falun Gong practitioners. The exhibit consisted of four sections: Heaven and Humanity in Harmonious Unity, Unnamed Tribulations, Uncompromising Perseverance and the Righteous Will Surely Triumph. The art portrays brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China over the past five years and their uncompromising courage demonstrated during the process. The artworks also express the artists' confidence that good (light) will ultimately triumph over evil (dark).
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Some artists have personally experienced the persecution they portrayed, and some are still being held in prison. These painful experiences became the source material for their artwork.
An oil painting entitled "Red Wall" is the work of professor Zhang Kunlun, former dean of Fine Arts Department of Shandong University, who was once sent to a labor camp in China and forced to undergo brainwashing.
Professor Zhang said, "¡®Red Wall' expresses Jiang's group's holistic suppression of Falun Gong practitioners from the top down by commanding layer upon layer of government, and from propaganda to the educational system. All of China is like a big prison restrained inside a high wall stained with blood. Even if all torture methods are used, they cannot change the hearts of Falun Gong practitioners who have understood the true value of life and universal truth. The red wall that symbolizes the Red Regime has cracks appearing in it. The wire nettings, cruel tortures and malicious police guards and so on are only the last of the darkness before the dawn awakens."
Professor Zhang Kunlun was sentenced to forced labor in China for practicing Falun Gong. In the labor camp, he was subjected to electric shock, brainwashing, 24-hour monitoring and other mental and physical tortures. With the rescue efforts of the Canadian government and people, he returned to Canada in January 2001.
Another artist, Wang Zhiping, uses classical painting techniques to portray the brutal torture that Falun Gong practitioners suffer. When depicting the expression of Falun Gong practitioners who are suffering torture, there is no pain or sadness, but fearless courage and their steadfast belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. The painter through the police's facial expressions and physical movements particularly portrays the police's brutality, madness and unlimited nature while torturing Falun Gong practitioners.
Artist Wang Weixing said, "As an artist, what I want to express most is beauty, I usually feel hard to bear so brutal things. But as an artist, I feel I'm responsible to expose these brutalities!" Ms. Wang created this work named, "Why?" after hearing the news that a friend and her child were arrested and beaten.
Ms. Wang said, "The little boy in the painting, his eyes have blood but no tears even though he wanted to cry. His expression is angry but there is no rampage. What he deeply reveals is a heart-shaken puzzlement: He doesn't understand why he and his mother were illegally arrested and beaten. The work inspired Ms. Wang to create another painting entitled, ¡®Judgment.'"
Ms. Wang said, "Little angels should be pure and kind, but the little angel in her painting holds a heavenly fork to plunge the representative of the evil Jiang Zemin into hell." Ms. Wang thought it is very necessary, because only by doing this can more people be spared from continuing to suffer the persecution.
Some congressmen, staff members and employees of nearby companies and tourists from different countries viewed the exhibit.
Colorado Representative Tancredo came in person to view the exhibit and especially invited staff members in his office to come to watch.
A couple from Holland viewed the exhibit and was shocked. They expressed that they would tell their friends in Holland when they returned home.
Alfonso Lopez, a worker in the building, expressed that today he learned that the persecution of Falun Gong is so severe, and he prepared to attend the anti-persecution activities Falun Gong practitioners would hold on July 22 on the lawn of the Capitol Hill.
A lady with her three children from New Mexico carefully viewed the exhibit. Her five-year-old daughter said, "I have never heard about this, but these paintings tell me everything. It is so sad and scary." Seven-year-old boy Peter said, "I feel they are too cruel. They must stop doing this."
A lady viewed the exhibit and expressed immediately to want to learn to practice Falun Gong. She said what shocked her most is "facing brutal persecution, Falun Gong practitioners are so peaceful."
Some Chinese people who work in the US also viewed the exhibit. One man said, "From these paintings, I feel the persecution of Falun Gong is so cruel. During the Great Culture Revolution and various movements in Chinese history, many people also experienced persecution, but it's hard to imagine that the persecution is still going on after so many years. It's really shocking."
The organizer of the art exhibit Ms. Fan said, "We hope to allow more people to learn the atrocity taking place in China through these paintings, and can stand up to stop the persecution."
Some of the art on display can be seen here:
http://clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/7/19/50405.html
http://clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/7/19/50409.html
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