Symbolism of the Colours of Chinese Art - Essay Sample

Modern China also uses red color in its official symbolism. In China the communist regime openly controls the private life of the citizens seriously limiting their rights. This includes censored access to information and infringement of the right of self-expression. China is a country with a controversial political regime which often becomes the subject of Kuchinskys illustrations. Though, in the given image the country is intentionally left unknown and the accent is on the general trend itself, the situation with China regulating its citizens access to the Internet is an obvious target of the given visual satire.

Another significant color in the picture is yellow. The yellow filed on the right, behind the border, into which the bright red is slowly merging, symbolizes rather more moderate politics. Yellow is often associated with gold, money, prosperity. Thus, it can be a symbolic reference to the countries with a developed market economy, which are often accused of worshipping "the golden calf". At the same time, it is important to say that the yellow color does not merge into the green, which shows that the other side is not being idealized by the artist.

The at symbol rising in the top right corner of the picture is white as it is symbolically associated with the sun. The gradation of colors suggests that the very change from red to yellow in the picture happens thanks to the light that the white sun is shedding upon the ground. The Internet is the medium which nowadays secures the freedom of speech and is the least censored means of communication. At the same time, the sun-like at symbol also satirically hints at the way the Western community perceives the Internet as the center of its life, the pseudo-divine all-knowing and omnipotent power. Here Kuchinsky brilliantly catches the contradictory character of this complex phenomenon creating a productive space for discussion.

The other important symbols are huge red scissors, posts on the border, the sentry box, and the soldier guarding them. They symbolize the governmental control over the citizens (the hand with a mouse) access to information through the Internet. Kuchinsky does not significantly differentiate the two territories divided by the border, it is the same flat surface. Posts, stuck into the ground, are not even a part of a fence. In this symbolic way, the cartoonist shows that all the borders dividing people are illusory. The need for connection is interrupted not by some natural differences, but by the manipulations of the politicians backed by the military forces.

The composition of the picture is quite symbolic too. The diagonal border line divides the picture into two parts. The left bottom part of the picture stands for the left political views, and also for the past and the outdated political regimes. The right part is a representation of the right political views and the future that is certainly an era of the Internet.

The visual symbolism of Kuchinskys cartoon is rather heavily loaded with social, political and historical references which are difficult to miss, and yet seem open to interpretation and dialogue. This is obviously a distinct feature of the individual style of this artist, which makes his work extremely valuable in the modern context of active manipulation with the mass consciousness and the infringement of freedom of speech in many countries of the world.

Works Cited

Dolmage, Jaimi . These Paintings of Animals are Bold and Beautiful but When We Looked Closer, the Satire Blew Us Away. One Green Planet, One Green Planet, 23 July 2017, www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/pawel-kuczynski-animal-paintings-satire/.

Kuczynski, Pawel. Witam / Hello. Pawelkuczynski.com, Pawel Kuczynski, pawelkuczynski.com.

The Controversial Kuczynski at Cartoon Xira | Event. Culture.pl, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, 2015, culture.pl/en/event/the-controversial-kuczynski-at-cartoon-xira.