Junping Liu is a visiting scholar from the University of Emergency Management where he is a professor in the School of Art and Design. Professor Liu received his M.A. in 2005 from China College of Fine Arts, Northwest Normal University and his PhD in 2013 from China College of Humanities, Central Academy of Fine Arts. Professor Liu is working on the UC Davis campus for the academic years 2022-2024. We recently caught up with Professor Liu and talked to him about his career, art history and the differences between the discipline and practice of art history in the United States and China. The following is our conversation (edited for space and formatting constraints).

Your CV shows that you are an art history scholar as well as a practicing artist. What is the distinction between studying art studio/practicing art versus art history in the Chinese university system? Tell us about the differences between the educational systems in China and the US in terms of the practice and study of art history? How is the discipline of art history studied in China’s university system?

My educational experience tells me that the relationship between Chinese art history and art practice is very close, especially in the field of Chinese art history research. Many Chinese art history experts have a basic foundation in art practice, such as Xue Yongnian, Cao Yiqiang and Cao Xingyuan. [CV]

The systems of art education in China and the United States are very different, especially in art history education. First of all, China’s art history programs are mainly set up in various professional art academies, such as the School of Humanities of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Humanities of the China Academy of Art, and the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University (formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts), etc., and there are currently experts in art history education in these art academies. I found that the discipline of art history in the United States is not limited to art academies. Secondly, art history education in Chinese universities started relatively late, and there are relatively few art history majors in the current Chinese university system. I liked to study art history as an undergraduate 20 years ago, but it was very difficult to apply to a university to study art history as there are only a few universities that offer a major in art history thus making it extremely competitive. Thirdly, practicing art has a doctoral level in Chinese education, which focuses on artistic creation and writing a dissertation. I found that there is no doctoral level education in practicing art in the United States, and the master’s degree in art practice is the terminal degree.

How does your art practice and art historical practice complement one another? 

There is a close relationship between art practice and art history because Chinese painting creation pays attention to traditional learning. During the undergraduate teaching stage, I basically studied the classic works in Chinese art history, so that I have a comprehensive understanding of Chinese art history. And to understand the details, I later studied art history at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The professors of art history taught me how to study Chinese art history in accordance with archaeology and literature, as well as an in-depth study of Chinese art history from the perspective of concept history and methodology. Especially when I came to the United States as a visiting scholar, I learned a lot of new knowledge and new research methods from the classes of Professor Katharine Burnett (Professor of art history, UC Davis). Studying Chinese art history has clarified how I look at the shaping of personal artistic style from a historical perspective. I find that studying art history is very helpful to artistic creation.

What is the art history program like at your home university?

The art history program of my home university focuses on Chinese art history, ceramic art history and disaster art history. There are also some projects of mass art history and Design history. The teaching aspect still focuses on the interaction between art history and art practice.

In my home university, I mainly taught courses related to the History of Chinese Art, such as The History of Chinese Painting, The Art History of Chinese Painting and Poetry, The History of Modern Chinese Art, The History of Chinese Design and The History of Contemporary Chinese Art. In addition, I also taught some art practice courses, such as Chinese Landscape Painting, Chinese Flower-and-bird Painting, Chinese Calligraphy and other courses. These courses are basically developed around the history and practice of Chinese art.

What are you currently researching? Tell us about your current book project and Chinese disaster art.

At present, I am mainly engaged in research on the history of Chinese disaster art and the modern transformation of Chinese painting. Also, I am currently writing a book on mass art research and have signed a contract with the Cultural Relics Publishing House. My book is currently in the revision stage. In addition, I am also completing an album about my own artistic practice and creation, initially titled  “The Third Image.” This album also contains research on art history. 

Chinese disaster art history is a new research direction for me.  North China Institute of Science and Technology and Institute of Disaster Prevention merged to form the University of Emergency Management in China. This university has developed the study of disaster and disaster prevention. The COVID-19 outbreak lead to my interest in this research direction. My focus is on Chinese art history centered on disaster related topics, such as plague disaster, flood disaster, fire disaster etc., and how these events are reflected and conveyed in works of art.  This is a big subject–there is a lot of disaster art, including one that I am currently studying in the Dianshizhai Pictorial. Professor Katharine Burnett has offered her guidance, and I have since completed an article about Anti-Epidemic Images in the Dianshizhai Pictorial.

About a year ago, I co-founded an international journal, Art Frontier. This new journal is still finding its focus. Since its debut, it explores roots in traditional Chinese art research, global perspective of Chinese modern and contemporary art, provides an international academic platform for Chinese and ethnic Asian art practitioners worldwide, and focuses on academic advance of art frontier. It is also dedicated to the study and promotion of East Asian art and American Chinese artists from an international view.

Why did you choose UC Davis? How is the time spent in the United States benefitting your research?

I chose the UC Davis for three reasons: firstly, UC Davis has a professional art history department and strong academics; secondly, Professor Katharine Burnett’s methods and influence in the study of art history have greatly helped for me; thirdly, the climate and environment at UC Davis are good.

During my time spent in the United States and at UC Davis, everything is well. I have expanded my knowledge and learned new research methods. With the help of Professor Katharine Burnett, I expanded my academic horizons. I have established an international research system on Chinese art history, visited many museums in the United States, and co-founded an international art journal called Art Frontier.