Influenced in all of my works are artists such as Friedrich Einhoff and Marlene Dumas from the choice of their painting objects and their use of painting materials .Pablo Picasso , Amedeo Modigliani and Julian Opie for their composition and the importance of lines in their paintings. Cerith Wyn Evans and Xubing's artworks inspired my interest in making installation and the transformation of lines in painting and in space.And also the idea of "the way begot one, and the two begot three;And the one, two; Then the two begot three;And three,all else' ,raised by philosophers Lao Tzeare in chapter 15 of The Tao Te Ching,which drives my current works' inspiration.
Marlene Dumas
When I first saw Malin Dumas's work, I could never take my eyes off from her work. . Those figures in her works have been weakened and been planarized. I was attracted by her unique painting skills. As a Chinese, one of Chinese ink painting is also one of field which I’m interested in. In Chinese ink painting ,the most significant process is ,firstly ,to draw the outline with light ink , followed by hanging of the brush and inking. The expressiveness of the image is determined by the improvisation of brushstrokes and the process of inking . However , Dumas's works changed my original understanding for Chinese ink painting . She applies the way of inking directly draw the outlines of figure, and merely outlined the features and shapes of people with simple lines.The use of large blocks of color in Dumas's work has changed the way that I used to paint. I began to try to distinguish the features of people with color blocks, and abandoned the processing between color blocks and color blocks. This brings to me a new painting experience ,which always allows me to find surprises and unexpected when I was in the process of doing artwork .
In Dumas's paintings, watercolors which likes Chinese ink painting are her unique techniques, and the use of ink color should be her personal representative . This kind of personalized color is not integrated into paintings like other popularly conceptual designs in contemporary art. The image of Dumas's works mostly comes from photos and magazines, and the combination of photographic and image techniques. Every face in her painting only used black and white tone, which makes audiences lose the functionality of by using skin color to distinguish people. Those facial expressions that are weakened and without too much detail processing highlights the difference of each face. My painting experience in her work reflects a certain of my exploration in the issue of identity and diversity among people in today’s society. This also led me to arise a strange question: If the two factors which are related to the acquired ideological education and the innate biological genes do not exist,will the identity and the otherness of people still exist ,or what kind of form will they present? This question is also accompanied by my most recent creation.
Picasso
On April of this year, I was very lucky to see Picasso's solo exhibition at the Tate Museum. This exhibition It brings together over 150 scalable artworks, with over 60 stunning Picassos including sublime paintings from the most remarkable moments in his career, such as Weeping Woman. 1937 and The Three Dancers 1925.
Picasso occupies an unparalleled position in the art world, who are household names. As an artistic worker, I naturally knew his life and artworks. I produced a different visual sense for his work when I went to this exhibition . During the time when I was viewing the whole exhibition , the using of lines in his painting, and the grasping of the reasonable distribution between the blocks colour and lines attracted me. I found that the using of lines rhythm and colour in Picasso's works are a important component language, which is also the most basic elements of constituting visual image . Picasso relied on his simple and clear lines to create abstract figures. Although the colour blocks occupies a large proportion compared to the lines in in his painting , on the contrary, it made me put my attention on his lines rather than anything else . According to Matisse, "if the lines are appealing to the soul, the colors is going to appeal to the feelings." People's understanding of colours more emphasis on perceptual, and the understanding of lines more focus on than rationality. As like as Picasso did , his work made my feelings is rational dominated. This helped me to explore how to do the choice of outline colour in my work and the relationship between the lines and the facial features of the characters.
I also noticed that Picasso's understanding of lines influenced by Chinese ink painting. In a meeting with the famous Chinese painter Zhang Daqian, he once praised the fish in the water which was painted by Mr. Qi Baishi . ' There is no any colour but he only used a single line and then the water is lively presented . The understanding of lines in oriental art world is the extension and movement of lines, and also Chinese calligraphy art also embodies this point of view. It inspired my interest in the relationship between Chinese painting and calligraphy.
Modigliani
Last winter I went to Modigliani's solo exhibition at the Tate Museum. This exhibition attracted a lots of people's eyes. I saw many of his works that I have never seen before . I have always been interested in Modigliani's figure paintings. The lines in Modigliani's painting are softer and implicit compared with Picasso's .
I noticed that the skin colour of his portrait painting was represented by a large colour block. There is a slightly changes of colour in the cheeks, but this subtle colour change is not to represent the structure. The constructibility has been presented by a combination of purely plane colour and stretched lines. The combination of Modigliani's lines and colours contributed to an not indispensable line trace. Most of his portrait paintings are mainly based on warm colours. From the perspective of colour psychology, warm colours are often the representatives of mildness and happiness ,in which has not been conveyed from Modigliani's painting for me. In his works, a large of warm colour blocks and lines , relatively vague lines, and the lines which is especially depicted the eyes conveyed to me a feeling of gloomy anxiety. The using of his special lines destroyed the colour's functionality that was used to pass positive emotions and render atmosphere. In my work, the conveyed feeling of repression by the cold colours and lines is not the original intention. The understanding from Modigliani 's works gave me a hint ,which stimulated me started to use bright line colours instead of the previous dark lines. I hope to convey a balance of negativeness and positiveness in my creation of dominated by cold colour rather than always a depressed, gloomy negative feeling.
Julian Opie
Julian Opie is an artist that I completely unfamiliar .By a chance, Edwina recommended this artist to me. When I searched the internet for his work, his works was not very attractive to me. The style of his work is very different from artists that I used to focus on . His works do not have to interpret by refering to many theories, or massive terms .It is able to be understood by a glance ,which are concise.,and also be unknowingly and unconsciously printed in my mind.
When I was worrying about my graduation project, Julian Opie's portrait paintings ran into my mind unconsciously. I noticed the bold black contours, simplified facial expressions, and saturated bright colours in Julian Opie's works, especially his portraitures., which gave me the inspiration in the terms of composition, and also I use the way of his work in the applying of contour lines for my reference . His work also prompted me to re-think that whether I could properly apply some saturated bright colour into my work, in order to break the gloomy feeling conveyed by a large area of dark colour.
This is a new experiment for me. Although I rarely used a bright, saturated colour ,this experiment gave me a little surprise and enriched my experience.
Tao Teh King - Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu is a great philosopher of ancient China. I have read his theory from the book called Tao Teh King .The though from one of chapter affected me. ' Dao begets One; One begets Two , Two begets Three ; Three begets all things. This t is Lao Tzu's cosmogenesis theory. The "one", "two", and "three" that Lao Tzu mentioned refer to the process of 'Dao' which creates everything. It mainly focuses on the numbers of one, two and three respectively.,which does not regard as specific things and specific numbers. They just represent a process in which "Dao" creates everything from a few to many, from simple to complex. At the same time, The all things on the earth referred by Lao Tzu naturally include people. In my creation, people is always the main object in my works. I am particularly interested in this huge contradictory -human. Through the understanding process of his theory , which inspired me to explore the identity and diversity of people. I believe that the “one” naturally referred to byLao Tzu can also be read as human identity, and “two” and “three” as human “diversity”.This also inspired me to figure out my current concept . It raises questions such as, apart from the genetic perspective, are there any other factors that cause our physiognomic differences to other people? My theme is that, from a psychological point of view, our inner thoughts play a significant role in terms of influencing our outward.
Friedrich Einhoff
Friedrich Einhoff is an old German artist, his painting represents human figure. These figures in his painting are anamorphic and damaged which convey the contradictoriness and vulnerability of human existence. Melancholic image of seemingly dispossessed, genderless beings with obscured faces is the core of his paintings. Non-representational and amorphous forms emphasis the graphic surface and abstract body shapes. His painting is not simply depicted in a photorealistic form, which is more like a patent manner of figure. The figure seems to be placed in another dimension which exceeds ordinary imaginary.
His fictional figure and picture permeate a sense of mature sensitivity and silence. Friedrich Einhoff seems doesn’t allow his audiences to image the reality of ultra-reality even intentionally avoid all the features of realistic image, who purposes to seek more cramped reality between drawing and painting. His fiction is valid only in the image world but because of this fiction I would prefer to seek relevant connection of mentality and physiology. In this model which is fully filled the language of trace, it becomes tangible in all of traces and the subsistent relationship, is also full of tension and attraction.
I quite like and be attracted by this kind of melancholy and deconstruction human figure. The information conveyed by his paintings stimulate me to discover the face of vulnerability melancholy in contemporary life, because we always can got different levels of progress through every times fight against the weakness of human nature. Besides, his use of line and the choice of colour are equally important elements of express the melancholy and fragile side.
Cerith Wyn Evans
This year, I went to tate Britain ,where was showing an neon light installation by Cerith Wyn Evans expressed the concept of Forms in Space... by Light (in Time) ,which is his major new installation created for the Tate Britain Commission and supported by auction house Sotheby's. The lighting is structured in three parts, emerging from a single neon ring before developing into a collection of three discs.
Since I saw this installation by Cerith Wyn Evans,I was deeply attracted and got a important reference by his impressive light installation.As the form of his neon installationappear as scribbles and rough drawings,for me, which is more similar to rough writing which realised the imaginary lines which are drawn in thought.The material he uses is a vital elements for his works,I also inspired by this material. I have used this method of presentation in my first installation .
Throughout his whole works ,his practice focus on how ideas can be communicated through form,His conceptual work incorporates a diverse range of media including installation, sculpture, photography, film and text. However, the most important things is that his works reproduces a form that is hard to express, communicates with a world full of media and advertising, and simple information and ornamental motifs that express an exaggerated point of view. His work presents us with a level of confusion, and also emphasises the fractional juxtaposition of all aspects of experience and meaning .
