Beyond Imaging

This paper mainly expounds my understanding of Symbolism and its application in my painting.Through the related information,I have combed the conception of Symbolism and its ideological core and the characteristics.Symbolism is an ancient artistic expression throughout the different periods of Western painting development.This artistic expression is closely related to the artists' spiritual survival,the religious appeal,the creative impulse,and the cultural feeling,which can make the artist's emotion,thoughts or some special meaning visualized and is easy for the viewers to understand these paintings.The philosophical basis of Symbolism is mysticism which means an existence of mysterious natural forces in the world.This article focuses on specific use on the symbolic meanings of symbols,the combination of allegory and satire,and the combination of the shape and content,analyzing the Symbolism in the Western painters' works.Symbolism has some abstract characteristics.Some symbols and dreamy intentions are used to create a mysterious and Zen atmosphere.As an artistic expression,symbolic expressions have already been used before Symbolism appearing in 19 s century.Voorde,a literary symbolism theorist,once said,"All art is a representation and a symbol." [1] However,different artists in different periods use different symbolic expressions.So,I will comb some typical symbolic expressions from Classical art to Modern art in this article.The ultimate aim of artistic works is the emotional expression of artists.The use of symbolic expression helps to promote the spirit release from realistic expression,arousing the emotional resonance of the viewers more strongly,which is an important way to improve artistic language in painting creation.Through the introduction and analysis of my own five works,Late Wind,Long Ping Lake,Rosy Cloud,Slow Bud and the Black Dream,my understanding of Symbolism,the promotion of this technique in the process of painting and how I use it in my paintings will be discussed.