This article is from WeChat official account:One seat (ID: yixiclub)< span class = "text-remarks">, author: Ma Yanhong, title figure provided by the author.
Nobody’s Di’er 2020.6.6 Beijing
Hello everyone, I’m Ma Yanhong. When I was invited to give a speech, I started to think about what I can say and how to say it. Since graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts for 18 years, I have been making works uninterruptedly, so I want to talk about my painting practice; on the other hand, I am a person with a hobby of collecting, and I am now at the Duoyunxuan Art Center in Shanghai. There is a “Curious Cabinet 3 Magical Doll Special Exhibition”, where many of my Chinese dolls are on display. These dolls are actually part of my collection.
Now I will start with my doll. In 2015, I found a little doll on Taobao, the kind I played when I was a kid, I’m pretty sure. When I saw it, it was dilapidated and expensive, but I decided to buy it. I think this little broken doll is really not worth so much money. But when I got this doll, something magical happened, like pressing a button, I felt like I was passing through in an instant—the memory of my childhood appeared in front of me, such as the taste of the food I had eaten. The patterns of the quilt covered are all clear.
After meeting this little doll, I started a crazy period of collecting old things-although I didn’t have many toys when I was young, and I didn’t play with dolls much. I wasI began to think, what kind of toys did Chinese girls in the 1970s have? So I found a kind of doll on the website that sells second-hand goods, and also from the second-hand dealer: Daguowa.
I brought two to the scene. They were made by a toy factory in Shanghai in the 1970s. Calling it a big country baby may mean a large Chinese doll ( I don’t know who called it in the first place).
Divided from the eyes of the doll, there are “live-eye dolls”, the eyes will move, and children like to pull their eyes.
The image of this China is obvious, with long hair, long braids, and ears with glass beads. This is a doll with painted eyes.
When I found Daguo Baby, I fell into a doll pit and started to buy it all the time. The house was full of express delivery. The old ones had not been taken apart, and the new ones came again. There was a kind of stuff in the room. The smell of junk. It wasn’t until I didn’t have money to pay the studio rent that I found that I had spent all my money buying dolls. My husband was very shocked, thinking how to pull me out of the pit.
The big country baby is divided into clothing, there are ethnic dolls and fashion dolls. This is the “Big Country Baby Showcase”, a way for me to present ethnic dolls and fashion dolls in the exhibition.
In this exhibition, I gathered together the styles of fashion dolls turned over from the old prints, and drew a large oil painting called “Fashion Edition Daguo Baby Illustrated Book”. This painting is 2 meters x 2 meters. Pretty big.
Fashion Edition Daguo Baby Illustrated Book, 2018
In the past, I thought we couldn’t find Chinese dolls. I have played with Barbie’s slender body and Japanese dolls with big eyes. I think it has nothing to do with us. After discovering Daguo dolls, I no longer play with other dolls. I treat other foreign dolls as landscapes.
I will put the doll in my work, so that it has a certain social character, and will not directly display the doll like a hand-held player.
This is a little wedding doll from the 1980s. It can ring and sing. I put it on the large acrylic painting on canvas. I was just thinking that this little doll appeared in such a family environment.
WawaqiIt’s really just a part of my huge collection. The things I collect are all seven or seven. The first time I collected items systematically, I started collecting Weng Meiling stickers when I was seven or eight years old. At that time, as long as a new version was released, I would buy it.
I also have some boxes for perfume powder, glass bottles for cream, some photos of Chinese children in the 70s and 80s, and some large enamel plates and tea boxes. The patterns on the tea boxes are beautiful. , Is the kind of beauties in the Republic of China, I have a lot of them.
I collect things not to see if it appreciates, but when I see it, my vision and ideas will need it, and I will put it there. Sometimes I would play with it, and one day passed. These things will nourish me and provide some nutrients to my creation. I need to be surrounded by these things.
A seat to invite me to give this speech may feelI am a baby control, but in fact I am not, I am a painter.
When I was 16 years old, I was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts Affiliated High School. After graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts Affiliated High School, I went to the third studio of the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, so I actually experienced 8 years of training .
When I was in the second grade of the High School Affiliated to the Academy of Fine Arts, I borrowed a copy of “Second Sex” from the library, written by Simond Beauvoir. She said that the social environment, as well as the male gaze, shaped the way women are now. I also read other feminist monographs, and after reading it, I have a vision of gender. For example, when I hear someone say “women are not as good as men” or something, I will be more vigilant. The feminist argument, what I can remember now, is that it encourages women to establish themselves, not to rely on others, to have their own business. It allows women to accept themselves and their bodies.
When I was about to graduate from university, I discovered that feminism has had a certain influence in the field of contemporary art. At that time I read a book called “There Are No Good Girls Anymore”. This book talked about the works of foreign female artists, and why did they do this. I was deeply influenced by Marlene Dumars. She painted such paintings, which is quite ruthless.
Dumas works
When I was doing graduation creation, I paid attention to the graduation creations in the college over the years. Some painted historical themes, and some painted social currents.The actual subject matter is very grand. I don’t think it is very interesting. I have to draw something that interests me.
I made an appointment with three female classmates. I asked if we could take some photos with less clothes, and they all agreed. The four of us cooperated and chose one afternoon after the class. We took off our clothes, closed the door, and started taking pictures of each other in the oil painting classroom. The process of shooting each other was more fun. We each felt that we were beautiful. The filming was over in the evening. After I got the picture, I was very satisfied, it was exactly what I wanted to paint. Then determine the size of the picture frame, as big as the real person, this work is called “In Nobody’s Land”.
“In Nobody’s Place”, 2002
When this work was in progress, my teacher Liu Xiaodong came. He wanted to see how far the graduates had painted. After reading this work, he said “Youth is really good” and gave a relatively positive evaluation< /strong>. When the work was about to progress to the hall, the old gentleman in the studio began to talk to me. He asked if we could black out the private place, and after the exhibition was over, you could paint it back. . Later, I told the female classmate who was filmed that the teacher asked me to paint there. I want to know what you think. She said that this is not real? Later, I felt that since she was so calm, then I should stop painting, and then just exhibited it like this.
On the live broadcast, the pictures are marked with mosaics
People who came to see had liked and disliked. After the writer Mr. Acheng saw it, he asked me and my teacher Liu Xiaodong to have a conversation. I can still remember that in this conversation, he said that in a pluralistic society, self-interest is valuable. What Ma Yanhong found is a physical perspective, which means that the body is more valuable to an individual. I think this is an affirmation.
I was asked if your work has not been banned? At that time there was no such thing. Before I invited my friends to take photos, I thought we were all pretty. Now (nearly 20 years later) looking back at the beginning, We were just that kind of young and beautiful. I still remember that when this painting was on display in the exhibition hall, there was an old man who disliked it very much. He said, “What does it look like if you don’t wear it or take it off?” But in fact, he told the truth: wearing underwear, socks, and shoes is more sexy than naked. I think showing sexy in public, provocative and irritating the old gentleman.
Before “In Nobody’s Land”, I actually never expressed such thoughts about the body or about sex, because I feel that there is a sense of shame to mention these, and there is no room for girls to go. Express these. After that, taking pictures of friends and drawing portraits based on photos continued in my later work.
From 2003 to 2007, I drew many works related to the body. These are “She”.
These are “Why Don’t I Have a Barbie Body”, which is about body. Barbie is long and slender, I don’t think it has anything to do with the Asian feeling.
This is called “Adult”.
Adult, 2006, oil on canvas
This is “Divination”.
Divination
This is the “Girlfriend” series, which is about female classmates with stories.
“Girlfriend”
From 2004 to 2007, I did the “Momo” series, which was a dress-up shoot based on myself. This one is called “Dating is Coming”, wearing a wig, in a room environment.
The appointment is coming, 2006, oil on canvas
Some elements are used, such as angel wings, ballet shoes and sugar balls.
“Angel Sitting on the Ground”, 2006
This is called “Rabbit and Banana”, which means more sex.
“Rabbit and Banana”
This is “Momo with the Bear”, with golden curly hair.
“Momo with the Bear”
The “Momo” series actually presents a state between a girl and a woman. It is a virtual image of me. It is still relatively free to present sexy beauty and an attitude that is more acceptable to your own body. .
In 2008, I saw a huge black leather sofa in a friend’s house, and I felt that there must be a jade body on top of the black and shiny surface that can not be seen at a glance.
Then I discussed with my friends if I could go to their house to take some photos, and I would make a work. They agreed. In the second time, I made an appointment to investigate the scene. In addition to looking at the sofa, I also looked at what else in this room could be used for me, including their wardrobe. I also imagined how they should stay and wear something. What, what kind of situation should it be.
When I made an appointment for the third time, I was actually in the shooting state. I took my digital camera, computer, digital cable, and some props, and took pictures while chatting with my friends. This process was actually very interesting , Has entered the stage of creating composition.
Sometimes, even after shooting for an hour, it feels like that. At this time, I will ask her to change into a gauze skirt. After she puts on this little gauze skirt, what I want may appear immediately. This one is called “Middle Class”. In fact, when I saw the sofa, I suddenly realized that there seemed to be different classes among friends.
Middle Class, 2013, oil on canvas
This one is very large, measuring 2.7 meters in length and 1.5 meters in height. This is the proportion of myself standing in front of the work.
This is about attraction, called “Soft Skin”.
This is “Fairy Tale”, which presents a feeling of nihility.
Fairy Tale, 2013, oil on canvas
This is “Family”. This one has some metaphors. The image shows the doll heads of men, women, men and little girl dolls of this kind of composite material. Then there is a tree on the curtain here and two deer below, which means Feeling means love. So this painting has the elements of family, men, women, children and love.
About 2010, some of these friends of my age began to have children. For me, these things seem to be a big thing in life. I drew a picture in the gestational state, called “Wanting”. This one is also quite large, it must be two meters and five meters in length. Looking down from above, this is a gesture.
I want to hope, 2011
These two pieces are called “Dragon and Deer” and they are still pregnant. From the beginning of this series, I have reduced the color to a minimum, only basically black and white gray, green plants have a little green, and the skin on my body has a skin color.
I spent a lot of time and energy to paint the dragon lantern. This environment, including the strong light of the flash behind, I painted very clearly. In fact, this environment is an unnatural and uncomfortable environment, and it is somewhat oppressive, because she is facing a major change in her life, and holding a gun is actually to make herself tough and capable.
Dragon and Deer, 2011
These two items are called “Wuxin Challenge”, which are actually about forgetting.
Unintentional Challenge
This series of works was first exhibited at Boers-Li Gallery in 2012. To print the catalogue of the exhibition, I took the pictures and went to the printing factory. At this time, I encountered a relatively big difficulty-the printing factory said that we can’t print human bodies now.
But I found a designer at the time and did the format, layout, and seal. If he doesn’t let me print, I don’t know how to do it. My designer said, I’ll help you find it, don’t worry. But I didn’t expect to hit a wall everywhere. The printing house said that if I printed your book, I would be fined a lot of money and I would be ordered to stop work. I think this thing is really not optimistic. Propaganda and circulation of this kind of subject matter may have problems.
In the end, my gallery tried a way to recommend a printing factory, which was very remote and unreliable. As a result, the people from the printing factory said to me: “I secretly used one night to print for you.” Later, I went to the printing factory by myself, and really stared all night in the suburbs.
When I painted the “Momo series” or the body of young girls, I was still in the state of a “girl”, but when I painted the “Artist Portrait Series”, my life situation changed quite a bit. In 2011, when my child was born, I moved from Wangjing to Shunyi, from the city to the suburbs, and rented a studio, far away from home.imageView2/2/w/1000/format/jpg/interlace/1/q/85″ data-w=”1080″ data-h=”437″>
Green; lipstick, 2015~2017, oil on canvas
Swing, 2015~2017, oil on canvas
Red Chair, 2015~2017, oil on canvas
“You Ye You” is about a state of love. This person has girls in red skirts in his eyes, everywhere, everywhere.
You, you, 2015~2017, oil on canvas
Before the work was going to be exhibited, I told my model that I was going to show this work for an exhibition. She disagreed. She said that I would not let you exhibit these works of my portrait. After I communicated a few times, it was all to no avail. I said so, come to me and I will prepare some paint for you. Paint your face.
The series of “Landscape Flowers and Birds” was originally named “Landscape Flowers and Birds”. In fact, it is a perfect emotional state. Then they were actually gay people. After I finished painting this work, they stopped loving each other and stopped talking to each other.
She spent an afternoon painting her face, and after she finished painting her face, I felt that there was a person without a face. In fact, there is a lot of room for imagination, that is, “The lover who hides his face Portrait”. But in fact, whether you are a homosexual or a heterosexual, many people may have this experience, that is, a relationship disappears and no longer exists, and this love cannot be found.
I have another series of works that I have been working on continuously, which should have been started in 2003, called “Portrait of N Ladies-Stars”. The original intention of painting this work was actually that I wanted to paint some beautiful paintings. The source of inspiration was the advertising pages of fashion magazines. I drew many beautiful faces and wanted to explore the beauty standards from the public’s aesthetic perspective.
Sculptures of N Ladies-Stars
In 2018, I was still painting this series, but after fifteen or sixteen years, some changes have taken place in the style, may be more detailed, and the colors are more subjective. At this period, I began to paint Hong Kong and Taiwan stars. In fact, it was because I bought Weng Meiling stickers when I was seven or eight years old, and I began to establish the image of a woman. I think this is a kind of complex, quite deep, so I am still drawing them.
This is the “Golden Era” painted in 2019. It is also a painting of stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is twice as big as I first painted, and it measures more than 80 centimeters. The color has become purer and the image is purer. Some, the design has more elements, not like the feeling of letting go of the brush at first.
Actually, when I paint portraits of beautiful women, I want to show amazing beauty.
When my work can’t be printed, I think it’s too difficult to draw human subjects, and I don’t want to draw human bodies anymore. I feel very confused, I don’t know what to do and what kind of pictures I should draw next. . After some time, my thinking became clear again. I think, if I want to ask what kind of painting I want to paint, I still want to paint the human body, and I want to express myself in the work because it is a good subject.
Whether the outside world says that you are not allowed to paint this subject, it is forbidden; or what people think about this work, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s not because you forbid it, or others have any ideas, I paint him, or don’t paint him, but I have imagination for such works and such subjects.
There are many art exhibitions. I look at the past and cannot see the paintings I want to see. I think I should paint what I imagined or I think should be in my work. I don’t think there is a very expressive work, I can realize and fill it in my work.
In the past, they said “a painting is like a person”, but I don’t think it is true. Some people may be like a person, but people like me are actually the opposite of painting. My life is very simple. I just look at my children and paint at home. Including coming to Gulou West Theater today, I didn’t know such a literary place before, and I rarely came out.
When I was in my twenties, I thought of a subject, and I was about to paint it soon. If I don’t paint, the idea has passed and I will miss it. I don’t think I can wait. When you are in your forties, the ideas that hover in your head will sooner or later come true. In fact, the real thing you want to do, the subject matter, it will not disappear, I will still find a suitable time, or a suitable opportunity to present it.
I did a doll show when I didn’t make a human body for a while, and then a friend told me that you are now a doll artist. I think there is nothing wrong with saying this, because I am not limited to the human body, because I still have a lot of energy that needs to be radiated elsewhere. I hope that I can continue to want to make works and continue to paint.
I think the most important thing for an artist is to maintain a strong creativity, not to decline, and to have confidence in what you express.
This article is from WeChat official account: a seat (ID: yixiclub) , author: Ma Yanhong