Unfamiliar Experience

Name: Unfamiliar Experience
ISBN: 9787549573196

Chen DanqingGuangxi Normal University Press · ChinaFeb 2016

4.1

Word count: 83K words
Chapters: 22
ISBN: 9787549573196

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Summary

This book is the transcript of the online video series Jubu. From the teenage Wang Ximeng, to the early works of the simplehearted Van Gogh, to the early Renaissance prankster Buffalmacco, to the Venetian painter Carpaccio, to the dancer-turned-painter Valadon, to the gentlewomen painters of Republican-era China, to court painter Xu Yang, to Bazille, who fell in battle—most of them are geniuses and works overlooked by art history. Though 'hidden' by history and deemed 'secondary,' they deserve to be known and viewed anew. This is a painter's personal viewing and narration: art history recedes into the background, and the artists become the protagonists.

Editor's review

This is not a chronological survey of art history but a collection of lectures in which Chen Danqing, with a painter's eye, teaches readers how to look at paintings. Its value lies in bringing back to the foreground creators who have been relegated to the margins or obscured in art-historical narratives: the young Wang Ximeng, Van Gogh in his apprentice years, Buonamico, Carpaccio, Valadon, Xu Yang, Bazille, and others. The author is in no hurry to reach conclusions; instead he approaches each work through composition, brushwork, fate, and historical circumstance, showing us how to face a painting and how to acknowledge what remains foreign to us. The language preserves the ease and edge of oral delivery, reading like a conversation with a knowledgeable friend while strolling through a gallery. It suits slow, chapter-by-chapter reading on a quiet afternoon, and serves equally well as a companion before or after an exhibition; for readers who already have a framework of art history, it offers another angle of vision, and for beginners it is an invitation that is anything but stiff.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in painting and art history who want to learn how to look at art
Viewers who have watched the program Jubu and wish to revisit the texture of the lecture text
Art students seeking a supplementary perspective on viewing and a feel for writing
Frequent exhibition-goers who need background before a show and material to revisit afterward

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic art history textbook with timelines and detailed scholarship
Researchers who prefer rigorous academic argument and a complete apparatus of notes
Painting learners looking for technique tutorials or step-by-step copy exercises

Reading tips

Read chapter by chapter independently; after each chapter, recall the image first, then look up the work for comparison.
Use it alongside exhibitions or albums; when you meet an unfamiliar name, note it down and keep going rather than pausing.
Jot the recurring question of "looking" in the margins, and organize your own views after finishing.

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

版权信息
序一
序二：情热——看陈丹青的《局部》
千里江山图
死亡的胜利
人民的胜利
初习的作品
巴黎的青年
谁养艺术家
绘画的放纵
非正式魅力
瓦拉东母子
民国女画家
徐扬的功德
讯息与景别
俄罗斯冤案
圣马可教堂
巨人的战役
杜尚的决定
走，去看陈丹青
局部的远意
陌生的经验

FAQ

Can I understand this book without any background in art history?

Yes. The book is not a chronological general history but a series of viewing talks centered on specific painters and works, written in a colloquial style with few technical terms. If you meet an unfamiliar name or work, looking up images will keep you on track; readers with a foundation will pick up more of the differences from mainstream art-historical narratives.

What is the relationship between this book and the video program Jubu?

According to the available information, the book comprises the lecture scripts of the online video program Jubu, and thus preserves the tone and rhythm of the spoken presentation. As you read, you can imagine the setting of the talk, but the text also stands on its own apart from the video; the focus is on how the author guides viewing, not on reproducing the program's images.

Does the book discuss mainstream masters or lesser-known painters?

According to the introduction, most of the book concerns geniuses and works neglected by art history; though they appear "minor" because history has obscured them, they deserve to be recognized again. The author pushes art history into the background and lets the artists take center stage, so what you read is not a roll call of famous names but a personal act of looking and telling.

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About the author

Chen Danqing Author · Chinese · 1953

Chen Danqing, born in Shanghai in 1953 with ancestral roots in Taishan, Guangdong, is an oil painter, writer, and critic of art and literature. In 1980 his graduation work, the Tibetan Paintings series, drew wide attention in the art world. In 1982 he moved to New York and worked as a freelance painter; he returned to China in 2000, joined the faculty of the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University, and resigned in 2004. His writings span art and literature, with major works including Literary Memoirs: 1989–1994, the four-volume Mu Xin Lecture Series, Mu Xin on Mu Xin: A Supplement to Literary Memoirs, Zhang Fu and Mu Xin, the Local series, and essay collections such as Collected Regression and Collected Neglect. Centered on painting, literature, and everyday observation, his plainspoken, reflective prose has exerted a lasting influence on art criticism and cultural essays.