Page 136 - Majestic Vol1

SUCCESSTHE SILK ROAD TO
马被上的艺术再现
CHC杰士马主俱乐部发掘速度赛马运动与高雅艺术的契合点，诚邀中国
知名当代艺术家跨界合作，获独家授权印制在“冠军马被” 的精品画作
由此得到全新形式的展示，并通过慈善拍卖充分发挥艺术的社会价值。
TEXT / NORMAN D.MANGAWANG & SAMANTHA THAM 中 译 / 编 辑 部
Art is the ultimate human
expression of admiration.
Throughout China’s history,
horses were present in the arts,
particularly when the ancient Chinese
learnt to domesticate them about 7000
years ago. CHC has come up with an
exceptional method of blending Chinese
artwork with the horse blanket to depict
the culture of modern China.
HORSES IN CHINESE ARTWORK
As horses became integral in the lives
of the Chinese people, their presence in
various forms of artworks became more
prevalent. Horses played a significant
role in China’s military conquests,
imperial ceremonies, leisure pursuits, and
entertainment. To fulfill their needs, the
Chinese built up their equestrian prowess
and nutured a deep appreciation for
their horses through horse competitions,
sporting events and other recreational
activities. Ceremonial dressage
performances were put up for emperors
and horse polo and hunting on horseback
became the usual leisure activity for the
royal family. All these became favourite
subjects for Chinese artists and were
often expressed in paintings and scultures.
EQUINE ART ON HORSE BLANKETS
Hence, in 2014, the China Horse Club
(CHC) embarked on a mission to
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promote horse racing and by extension,
equine art. Artwork featuring horses
became a standard feature of its
annual China Equine Cultural Festival
(CECF). A unique approach was taken
to incorporate Chinese artwork with the
horse blanket.
Historically, horse blankets have long been
used by the Romans, North American
Indians, and in Europe’s Napoleonic
wars to represent victory and glory of
riders and horses. Julius Caesar rode into
battle with the skins of great beasts across values: the sustainable development of
the back of his steed. Tigers, lions and
leopards symbolised the magnitude of his
power as he rode into conquest. Napolean
was hardly far behind, relying on saddle
blankets of animal skin or garments
rich in colour and heavy in gold thread.
Thoroughbred racing the world over has
thus embraced the blanket as a symbol of
power and excellence, as winners of great
races are presented with them.
THE FUTURE OF
CONTEMPORARY CHINA
In the same way, the modern horse
blankets unveiled during the 2014 CECF
Gala Dinner represented CHC’s victory
on the racetrack and the grandeur of
its future plans. The winning horses of
the 2014 CECF Shanghai were draped
with horse blankets that had works
Yue Min Jun 岳敏君作品
of contemporary Chinese artists Yue
Minjun, Li Xiao Ling, Xu Lei, and
Peng Wei embossed on them. The horse
blankets were then auctioned to fund
jockey training and future programmes of
the CHC to promote Chinese artists and
horse racing.
By raising public awareness of equine art
through innovative ways, the CHC has
started its mission on a sustainable path.
The establishment of an arts foundation
is in the works to propel one of its core
horse racing through the arts. Much
potential lies in the combination
of art and racing used as a
bridge to market horse racing
to China’s future horse owners.
This is CHC’s winning
formula to re-establish
equine heritage and
elite horse racing in
mainland China in the
21st century.