Ever since Zhang Yimou let the Terracotta Warriors walk out of the tomb in his film about a modern girl's love with a warrior in Qin Dynasty, artists have focusedtheir wild imagination on the Warriors. The Australian painter Charles Billich is one of them. His painting exhibition was held at Chang-an Club on July 8, showing the ancient Chinese warriors doing many kinds of sports, according to the latest Beijing Today.
Charles Billich is a world famous clothes designer and painter. As the Sports Artist of the year 2000, he pays particular attention to the athletic spirit. In his paintings on display, the Terracotta Warriors are diving, pole vaulting and racing with agility in contrast with their heavy brown armor. "I started to be interested in the Terracotta Warriors from last year. They are so great, and I imagined they could do something I my painting."
said Billich, waving his hands in excitement. The audience were curious to see the combination of Terracotta Warriors and modern sports. They were shocked at first with such bold imagination, but later came to find it a pretty interesting idea."I ‘m comfortable with the combination. The warriors give a very strong visual impact, and I never came across such an idea elsewhere before," said Zhou Liying, a businesswn. "At first sight I was sure the painter was a foreigner." Luo Li, a teacher from the Arts and Crafts Institute added,"Foreign artists tend to play with ideas when it comes to ancient Chinese cultural representations."
(People's Daily 07/18/2001)
