The opening ceremony of the History Museum of Xi'an Eurasia University & Museum of Design was held successfully on the afternoon of November 24. At the same time, the brand-new exhibitions of Design Trio and Surviving Letters, a round-table conversation about art, and a salon entitled "Young Designers" all explored the cultural perspective of the educational field from multiple dimensions, injected momentum into realizing the goal of "rebuilding the cultural field to promote open education".
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The Newly Upgraded History Museum and the Museum of Design Debuted
The opening of the History Museum and MOD (Museum of Design), which explores the interaction between content and spaces, helps the development of education based on the immersive experience in the cultural field. Professor Hu Jianbo, founder and chairman of Xi'an Eurasia University, shared his expectations for the opening of the two museums in his speech. "Since the establishment of Xi'an Eurasia University, we have been working on improving the teaching facilities and upgrading resources, gradually making the campus better. I believe that the opening of the two museums will help Xi'an Eurasia University in inter-school and academic exchanges, cooperation with enterprises, and integration in industry and education, etc. so as to make our faculties, students and citizens feel the charm of education and art."
The History Museum of Xi'an Eurasia University was opened in October 2015. MOD was officially put into use in December 2018, becoming the second in China and the first in western China themed on "design". Many experts and scholars in design came to visit the two museums after the opening ceremony. Teachers and students majoring in design often have classes in the museums, and many citizens also went to the school to visit the museums.
"As a native of Xi'an, I have a strong feeling that the designs in Xi'an became better and better during the past 30 years. In the future, the Museum of Design will hold temporary exhibitions to present some excellent works from designers who were born, study or live in Xi'an. These exhibitions serve as a bond to connect the past and the future. They can not only show the graphic design history of Xi'an, but also let more people know the ideas and dreams of young designers, which will contribute to the construction of Xi'an as a 'city of design'."
Since its first opening four years ago, MOD has continuously enriched its collections through various channels. After the upgrading and transformation of the exhibitions in the museum, the China Pavilion has been preliminarily built. Professor Dang Sheng, Curator of MOD, said in his speech, "China has a long history. In the process of modernization, although our lifestyle has changed dramatically, traditional culture still has a decisive impact on today's social life. One of the most convincing examples is the Chinese characters which have a history of thousands of years."
The new China Pavilion shows the origin and evolution of Chinese characters from three aspects including "the media and processing technology of graphic information", "the evolution of Chinese character fonts", and "the beginning of mass communication initiated by printing". The fourth part of the China Pavilion displays some representative works of designers in the early 20th century. Contents of the Art and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau were added to the International Modern Design Pavilion. Adjustment to the display of modernist designs in the 20th century was also made.
"In the future, we will introduce more exhibits according to the existing framework, gradually carry out relevant academic research activities, and establish a platform for digital display and publicity. We hope the industry peers will take this museum as a venue for exhibition and communication, and give us more attention and support," Professor Dang Sheng said.
Liu Kecheng, a doctoral advisor of the School of Architecture of Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, was invited to deliver a speech for the opening of the two museums. In his opinion, Xi'an Eurasia University always creates miracles. "Although the exhibition area of the Museum of Design is not large, it still shows that Xi'an Eurasia University has high requirements for everything. As an architect, which is a designer in a broad sense, I think Xi'an Eurasia University has made a high-quality design museum for Xi'an and even for China."
"The contemporary design is actually about the lifestyle." Professor Liu said, "For designers, whether their design is a good one depends on whether the design of lifestyle can contribute to the world and the city. Therefore, the educational practice of Xi'an Eurasia University is also a kind of 'design'. If the History Museum of Xi'an Eurasia University designs the way Chinese people learn and receive education from an academic perspective and designs the way Chinese people build and run the schools, I believe this History Museum will be the most wonderful one."
At the opening ceremony, the Museum of Design officially announced its first academic consultant, Mr. Gao Xiaolong, a famous director and collector. Mr. Gao was also the shooter of the short film of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. After the Museum of Design was upgraded, Mr. Gao was hired as an academic consultant by Xi'an Eurasia University. He sent 218 of his collections such as month plates, books, pictorials and magazines he had collected for many years to the Museum of Design which are displayed in the China Pavilion "Some of Mr. Gao Xiaolong's Collections".
"The university gave my collections an appropriate place to be exhibited. It is like we're destined to meet each other. I've had these collections for many years and they have been exhibited in Beijing, Guangzhou, Xi'an, etc. I did not have the energy to take good care of them. I hope that they will not only be used for display in Xi'an Eurasia University, but also for academic education and talent cultivation with the help of the Museum of Design." Mr. Gao Xiaolong expressed his wishes for the future of the Museum of Design on the spot.
Appointment of Academic Consultant of the Museum of Design and Awarding Ceremony of Personal Collection Exhibition
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"Design Trio" & "Surviving Letters" - Shape the cultural field in a more dynamic way.
The two design exhibitions opened on the same day. Inspired by the creative practice of designers and the classics of masters, the "Design Trio" Exhibition and the "Surviving Letters丨The Heritage of Cobbsier and Jeannare" Special Exhibition presented the designs for different uses from multiple angles between educational and cultural fields.
Design Trio
Joint Exhibition of Weng Anhua, He Bingsong and Ren Hua
The exhibition includes the designs of the three outstanding designers active in Xi'an, and 36 posters depict the distinctive characteristics of their works. With unique visual language techniques, the "Design Trio" originated from Mr. Dang Sheng's words and teaching. It has been continuously inspired during the pass-down and received new responses from the perseverance and love of three generations of designers.
Exhibition Site of "Design Trio"
"It's another innovation that today's graphic design has formed diversified design styles and trends by integrating modern technology which develops at a fast speed. Posters, a traditional form of print media, can show the artistic spirit of the times and the personal style of designers, interact with the city and the life of the public, and improve the aesthetic taste of the public," Weng Anhua, a poster designer of the Xi'an Symphony Orchestra, said in his speech. The exhibition was unveiled by Chai Yiyuan, General Manager of Bingsong Visual Arts, Ren Hua, Deputy Curator of Xi'an Eurasia University Museum of Design and Curator of Xi'an Ming and Qing Shadow Puppetry Art Museum.
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Reread the Classics in Xi'an Eurasia University with the "Surviving Letters"
Inspire Design, Urban Renewal and Future Lifestyle
In October this year, the "Surviving Letters" "Chandigarh" series of furniture art exhibitions came to Xi'an to showcase the collection of "Chandigarh Chairs", a representative creation designed by two design masters, Cobbsier and Jeanneret, when they participated in the renovation project in India's new capital "Chandigarh" in the 1950s.
Exhibition Site of "Surviving Letters"
Mr. Huang Feichun, curator and founder of YIMUSTUDIO, delivered an opening speech for the exhibition. "The original intention of this exhibition is to inspire design, urban renewal and future lifestyle from the perspective of design. According to Xi'an Eurasia University's principle of open education, the classic works of masters should be exhibited on campus so that the teachers and students can be inspired. I hope that more designer teams can continue to cooperate with Xi'an Eurasia University."
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"Art Roundtable" & "Young Designers Salon" Conversation About Design, Responding to the Design Spirit in a More Diversified Manner
The two museums were opened at the same time. Industry experts active in the field of design and education have been invited to explore countless possibilities of "design action" with young designers.
"This time, I continue to work with the Museum of Design of Xi'an Eurasia University. My biggest wish is to do some research with the students and teachers in the future, and to make some achievements. In the China Pavilion, my collections are the works of designers and artists born in the early 20th century and influencing future generations. I hope young people can learn from these works with enough curiosity. There were no high-tech means to rely on in that era. All of the works were full of innocence and spirituality. It is that temperament and momentum that make great works."
"We are the guardians of all objects and exhibits in museums. We can never live longer than those objects. Seeing these design works in museums today, we will be moved, and we will inevitably end up asking ourselves what the relationships between them, us and cities are. Therefore, people and active fields are what the city should value. We still lack such fields. But Xi'an Eurasia University has created a new cultural field. I hope that more people will donate or send exhibits to the Museum of Design so that it will grow bigger and better."
"These precious collections on display today sent by Director Gao show us the history of the rise of modern design in China. For humans, history is just like life experience, which is very important for individuals. If a person loses his memory but not his intelligence, he does not know where he came from, where he is now, or where he should go next. So learning history is very important. As early as 1936, China's designers established a national academic organization, the China Commercial Art Writers Association, from which many pioneers of Chinese design came. Young designers should cherish the asset. Every generation needs to study, explore and collect information to rewrite history. It is the function of the museums and our important task in the future."
Scene of "Young Designers" Salon
Meng Shenyu, the Executive Partner of Xi'an Yuyuntu Design Co., Ltd., told us that as a young designer, he has more than ten years of design experience. "As designers, we should serve the society and business, and constantly discover new possibilities through cross-border design. Although different designs are used in different situations, the design purpose is to meet the needs of Party A. With this understanding, we took braver actions. Therefore, we designed the law firm space, exhibition halls, offices of 3,000 to 4,000 square meters, and Huawei's exhibition halls in Xi'an."
Wang Zhiqi, founder and design director of Onesaw Design, has rich experience in the field which combines business and art. "Now there are all kinds of media, and everyone can obtain many new designs. We also want to participate in making the new forms of designs that Generation Z likes. Design is very emotional. Designers not only design, but also experience life with the view of design, because designers are the ones who solve problems."
Wang Mulan, a doctoral candidate in design at Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts and a member of Xi'an Graphic Design Association, shared her experience. As a minority of She nationality, Mulan has been trying to make breakthroughs during undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies. She created works based on minority language families, and her work Xi'an Design Exhibition made the original visual elements into a dynamic time tunnel. "To serve the main body of the work and the content it conveys, the work also needs to carry more cultural attributes."
On the occasion of the opening of the two museums, Xi'an Eurasia University continued to promote open education through diversified local cultures. The holding of several design exhibitions and forums on the campus not only improved the aesthetic taste in design of teachers and students, but also helped to create urban cultural fields. The integration of education and culture will lead us to explore the future from different perspectives. We warmly welcome everyone to feel the charm of design in open Xi'an Eurasia University!