Highlights: Session IV of "Quality Lecture Series on Artistic Aesthetics and Cultivation of ICH Inheritors" of Tsinghua BMW Innovation Center for ICH Safeguarding

The Tsinghua BMW Innovation Center for ICH Safeguarding, which is jointly established by the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. and Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research, will be based on the intangible cultural heritages (ICHs) and their inheritors selected from the "BMW China Culture Journey" visit in 2022, and form a project team composed of experts and supervisors from Tsinghua University and ICH inheritors for five ICH projects in Yunnan Province, namely the black copper silver art, Heqing silverware, Jianshui purple pottery, Bai tie-dye, and Yi embroidery, to explore innovative paths and extended models for ICH preservation, protection and development.

The Innovation Base for ICH Safeguarding organized a series of quality lectures from December 18 to December 29, 2021, with the participation of the supervisors who take part in this year's collaborative projects and special guest lecturers who support the innovative development of ICH skills to discuss on improving the artistic aesthetics and cultivation of ICH inheritors. Highlights of the lecture series will be available for interested readers, who are here reminded to keep their attention in tune.

On December 29, 2021, LU Xiaobo, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, President of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University and President of Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research, gave a wonderful online lecture themed by Let Wisdom Fly with Your Heart: Innovation of the Integration of Art and Science, which is the climax and sublimation of BMW intangible cultural heritage series lectures.

President LU Xiaobo highly recognized the work of ICH inheritors. He pointed out that the five representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage came from different fields and all had high attainments in production skills. In addition to the deep excavation and protection of traditional memory, future innovation is also very important. He hopes that we can think about the future development direction with a higher pattern and a broader vision.

President LU Xiaobo fondly recalled and shared the live transcript of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on April 19, 2021. The General Secretary, accompanied by President Lu Xiaobo, came to the Academy of Arts as the first stop during his inspection of the 110th anniversary of Tsinghua University, and visited the special exhibition for the anniversary. The General Secretary pointed out that arts, crafts, science, and technology complemented and promoted each other and brought out the best in each other, and that we need to play the important role of arts in serving the economic and social development, applying more art and artistic elements to urban and rural planning and construction and enhancing the aesthetics and cultural presentation of cities and towns, so as to better serve the people's needs for quality l with the results of art. President LU Xiaobo summed up the report by the General Secretary into three sentences: first, adhering to cultural confidence and cultivating first-class talents are our main business; second, integrating art and science and enabling innovation and development are our way; third, leading discipline construction and serving the national people's livelihood are our goal.

President LU Xiaobo asked the ICH inheritors the question of the times: is art at a new crossroad or towards the end or rebirth? President LU Xiaobo pointed out that the new possibility of art development lay in transformation, including the transformation of ideas, the transformation of cognitive methods, the transformation of media, and the transformation of aesthetic experience. Art must develop with the development of the times. The General Secretary especially emphasized the new realm of the new era, that is, it is necessary to combine with new media means to reflect and create a new aesthetic paradigm of this era. The times are changing, but the ontological value of art is unchanged. It is a kind of emotional education, cultivating sentiment, purifying the mind, improving the realm, shaping the values, cultivating the aesthetic judgment, and leading to the spiritual realm. Therefore, art will not and cannot be terminated, but will emerge with a new paradigm of pluralism. The emergence of art paradigm in the new era depends on not only breaking through narrow ideas by traditional artists and theorists, but also interdisciplinary and cross-border art theory and practice.

President LU Xiaobo finally sent a message to all ICH inheritors. In the era of artificial intelligence, science and art need to be integrated, natural and humanistic values should be paid equal attention to, inheritance and innovation should be carried out at the same time, and globalization and diversification are equally important. Art design should drive innovation with a scientific spirit and humanistic feelings. Discipline development, design innovation and construction of a better life depend on human wisdom. Therefore, we should let wisdom fly at will. 

On December 29, 2021, WANG Jiansong, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University and Executive Vice President of Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research, gave a wonderful online lecture themed by Art and Design -- Eternal Intertwined "Parallel Line", which is not only a summary and review of the excellent lectures on intangible cultural heritage of Tsinghua BMW, but also an expectation and prospect for the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.

WANG Jiansong

Executive Vice President of the Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research

Professor of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University

Doctoral Supervisor

The excellent lectures of the teachers made us think a lot, and the ICH inheritors shared their feelings. The said that intangible cultural heritage should transit from master-apprentice inheritance to brand inheritance, and focus on creating works integrated into the contemporary good life.

Vice President WANG Jiansong commented that scientific and technological progress had brought wider opportunities, and that informatization had flattened the world no matter when and where. The so-called informatization is decentralization. Every place has the potential to become a center, and going out will become smoother and more convenient. However, before going out, we must have clear thinking about our own creativity, skills and the path of realization, and we must strengthen ourselves, so that we can better face the faster information age at present.

Regarding the cooperation among Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, BMW Brilliance and Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research on the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, Vice President WANG Jiansong emphasized that this was a two-way exchange, joint creation and achievement incubation platform with strong practicality. The most important thing is to break the original restrictions and imprisonment, and make an innovative contribution to intangible cultural heritage culture on the basis of integrity with a more open mind in this process.

At the beginning of the formal class, Vice President WANG Jiansong first explained to us his understanding of the two groups of confusing words: "shape and modeling”, and “abstract and concrete". Design's grasp of form focuses on inner strength. We often say that "what belongs to the nation is what belongs to the world", so we need to find the most shocking and common elements that can be recognized by others. This is actually a kind of emotional inheritance or idea inheritance, which touches people of different cultural backgrounds to empathize, bringing handicrafts with cultural imprints into thousands of households.

Vice President WANG Jiansong told us that during the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, we should not stop at the past, but focus on the present and the future. Culture is not just for entertainment, but should provide values in social development and give birth to social dynamics. In addition, it is necessary to pay more attention to the inner spirit of intangible cultural heritage creation, and think about its core value and social significance.

Vice President WANG Jiansong finally encouraged the ICH inheritors to keep their sincerity and dedication to art at all times, and work together with their supervisors in the new year to design works that are truly emotional, touching and powerful.

2022 Cooperation Project of Tsinghua BMW Innovation Center for ICH Safeguarding

Project Leader Team of Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research

Chief Project Consultant | LU Xiaobo

Chief Project Manager | ZHAO Chao

Chief Project Planner | WANG Jiansong

Project Coordinator | LIU Weidong, WANG Qidi, LUO Xin

Project Cooperator | SONG Xinwei

Project Executor | CHEN Jie, FU Hang, ZHANG Yazheng

Promoter | YE Sheng, YANG Jingqiang, CUI Yawen, CHEN Siying