Huang Xiang and William Rock
The Century Mountain Project
Huang Xiang is considered to be one of the greatest poets of 20th century China and a master calligrapher. Often referred to as "the Walt Whitman of China", Huang Xiang spent over twelve years in Chinese prisons and was tortured and put on death row twice for writing his lyrical, free-spirited poetry and for his advocacy of human rights in China. His inspiring story has been the subject of an award winning PBS documentary and his heroic pursuit for freedom and democracy in China has been documented in the book, 'Coming Alive; China After Mao' . He has been described as a 'poet on fire' a human torch who burns as a lamp of freedom and enlightenment. William Rock is both a citizen of Ireland and the U.S. He studied drawing at Peter Wilhelm and Israeli holocaust scholar Dr. Batya Brutin with
"The poems Huang Xiang read to friends during this Cultural Revolution period show that he kept his spirit free while hundreds of millions of his compatriots had theirs enslaved. In one of the darkest nights of the twentieth century, he kept alive within himself his capacity to hope, ...and his belief that goodness can never be entirely erased from the heart of man. As his friends listened to his impassioned readings, they realized that this hope, this faith, and this belief were flames burning within him, flames that set him on fire, spiritually, making of him a human torch, which burned as a lamp of freedom and of enlightenment. "
- Roger Garside, author of "Coming Alive ; China After Mao"
Huang Xiang's poetry and calligraphy is internationally recognized and he has performed
for crowds numbering in the thousands. Huang Xiang says the art he creates with
William Rock, "is highly creative and is something that has not been done before."
Twenty of his books have been published in several languages. Huang Xiang's mission
today is to use his art to build a bridge between East and West and to promote a universal
humanity. After completing a residency with the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, Huang Xiang and
his wife, the writer, Zhang Ling, live in New York City. In 2008, for the first time in eleven years,
Huang Xiang returned to China and visited family and friends.
The California Art Institute and taught himself to paint and sculpt by travelling to museums
around the world. He has been immersed in Eastern thought and practice for fifteen years,
studying and teaching with Tibetan and Chinese monks. In 2006 his 'transcendent'
paintings inspired a month long arts celebration held in the USA entitled 'Spirit Unfolding'.
William Rock's art has been exhibited internationally and in museums in California and
Pennsylvania and he has taught and spoken extensively on the nature of creativity,
mysticism and art. He has been instrumental in producing several cultural events that
promote and embrace art as a connective dialogue for humanity.
Huang Xiang/ William Rock painting of Anne Frank exhibited by
The Peter Wilhelm Art Center in Budapest, 2009.
Huang Xiang with Einstein painting on front page of the EC Journal
In Germany, Century Mountain's Shakespeare painting is used to promote
The Bridge Project . A BAM New York /London's Old Vic Theatre
production at Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen A World Stage
Huang Xiang performs with Van Gogh painting at
Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts 2006
Huang Xiang and William Rock
speak at Point Park University 2007
Article about Huang Xiang and his role in Chinese history by author Roger Garside;
http://academics.sru.edu/slablitmag/archives1rgarside.html
"China's movement for democracy has been carried forward in thousands of poems
and one poet has emerged supreme; Huang Xiang of the Enlightenment Society."
- Roger Garside, "Coming Alive; China after Mao"
"China's movement for democracy has been carried forward in thousands of poems
and one poet has emerged supreme; Huang Xiang of the Enlightenment Society."
- Roger Garside, "Coming Alive; China after Mao"
Huang Xiang and William Rock with students
from Westminster University
Van Gogh painting on display at Carnegie Mellon University's
College of Fine Arts 2006
William Rock, Zhang Ling and Huang Xiang perform
at Mendelson Gallery opening 2006
" Huang Xiang and William Rock's work is essential to the understanding of art and its
connection to Human Consciousness."
- Jeanne Iris Lakatos , author of " The Theory of Iconic Realism"
Huang Xiang and paintings on front page of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"I see The Century Mountain Project as a fine reflection of the spirit of our age in which
the achievements of human spirit can be celebrated without national distinctions, and
human rights are increasingly recognized as a matter of global not national concern."
- Roger Garside, author of "Coming Alive; China after Mao"
Huang Xiang, William Rock and neighborhood children with painting
of Mother Teresa (painting is draped with a Tibetan prayer scarf
which was a gift to Huang Xiang from the Tibetan poet Woeser)
Special section about The Century Mountain Project in Erie Chinese Journal 2007
"These paintings are different. They are an East/West collaboration on a high level.
One day all the world will know The Century Mountain Project."
-Anne Y. Pu - editor and publisher The Erie Chinese Journal
Huang Xiang / William Rock and Philip Pearlstein
works on display at Michael Berger Gallery
By Kurt Shaw
TRIBUNE-REVIEW ART CRITIC
Thursday, August 2, 2007
....Six of Huang Xiang and William Rock's paintings take up an entire room in the back of the gallery,
offering a place of contemplation on the lives of the persons depicted: Martin Luther King,
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Mohandas Gandhi, Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare and
Isadora Duncan. Each portrait was painted by Rock, but the calligraphic writing of Huang Xiang’s
poetry is by Huang Xiang, with translated excerpts from each hanging next to the canvases.
For example, next to Elizabeth Barrett Browning's it reads: "Sadness, sadness ... sadness;
Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth; your love story is like; of nightfall the memory of a spider
comes dripping ..." Take the time to visit this most interesting work.
Huang Xiang greets guests at EuropART opening April 2008
ECJ feature about EuropART opening April 2008
Huang Xiang performs the poem from the
Elizabeth Barrett Browning painting at Michael Berger Gallery opening
William Rock and Huang Xiang on stage with paintings at the Mellon Institute 2008
William Rock and internationally renowned phycisist Dr. Robert Resnick. Dr. Resnick is an authority
concerning the life and work of Albert Einstein. The painting was shown during
Dr. Resnick's lecture about Einstein at Carnegie Mellon University, October, 2008.
Huang Xiang, after eleven years, was able to return
to China in 2008.