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Huge painting bringing happiness to the walls
By Xu Wenwen |
May 24, 2011, Tuesday
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TWO long inverted pyramids prick the center of a wall and are surrounded by colorful clouds, water drops and ribbons, while windows and doors appear as the entrances to tunnels reaching into the background.
These vibrant images make up a huge painting unveiled last Friday which coats the outside wall of a five-story building in Wuchang Subdistrict, Yuhang City.
Located in a rural-urban fringe zone, this abstract, fancy artwork doesn't appear to fit in with the surroundings. But it heralds a forthcoming urban renewal project to reform the shabby block into a business quarter, says the local authority.
The project is going to establish several shopping streets coupled with a mall, and the wall painting, which is the first in a series of four, is expected to prepare locals by immersing them into an artistic, fashionable atmosphere.
Artist Chen Dongfan from the local Clepic Image gallery was responsible for giving the side of the building a bright new makeover. Last year, the 29-year-old artist completed a similar painting project on a building on Mishi Street, Hangzhou, which created a stir in the city and online.
His series of paintings on the walls of four Wuchang buildings is named "Where is the Happiness," and themed by a Chinese idiom "An Ju Le Ye" (literally meaning "live and work in peace"). The completed painting unveiled on Friday represents Ju, meaning living or being settled.
Chen will finish the remaining three paintings on other buildings by the end of June.
The artwork is totally impromptu but crosses three walls to form one central piece.
"I did not design the layout and I didn't go near the wall when it was not being painted," Chen says. "I let the painting grow itself."
Many passersby, mostly local workers and farmers, have asked "what does the painting mean?" or "what's the content?" yet the artist says, "I don't know, I am waiting for people's answers."
Love stories
He has heard many replies. Taking the two inverted pyramids for example, people have described them as "houses," "diamonds," "crowns," "monuments" and even "a man and a woman."
"People's thoughts about art vary, and people's definitions of 'happiness' vary," Chen says. "Their thoughts are the exact source of my inspiration."
Before and during the creation, Chen specially collected stories about happiness.
He listened to friends' love stories, observed locals' life and listened to others' gossip when he was in a sidewalk snack booth. "Everyday is like an adventure in which you never know what will happen next," he says.
"The painting, in such a country, seemingly is like a visitor from another world, but is actually the outcome of the locals' stories and hence its temperament matches the village."
The artist intends to influence people via his artwork.
"Human nature implies stupidity and selfishness, and even though an artist can change little, his or her artworks work, because they touch people like sunrise does," he explains.
The "touch" arrived even before Chen started his work - the contractor who took charge of whitewashing the wall before the artistic creation bought the most expensive white coating with money from his own pocket.
"The ordinary paint that the budget allowed will crack 10 years later, I would be a sinner if I used that," the contractor said.
Similar stories emerge continuously. A senior street cleaner has exclaimed "it is priceless," and a resident insists sending the artist two bottles of water,
Despite intensely hot weather, the artist took two weeks to accomplish the huge work. On the final day, he was stricken by the sun and had to go to hospital.
However, since Chen is going to Art Basel, a leading international contemporary art fair to be held next month in Switzerland, he needs to finish the Le (happiness) part in 10 days, including an eight-story building and a two-story sentry box in front of it.
It is a tremendous amount of work although Chen says "sometimes a sick body is more inspired."
The Le building is only 20 meters away from the complete Ju one, so the theme will be extended and it will look "as if the paintings flow between each other," says Chen.
These vibrant images make up a huge painting unveiled last Friday which coats the outside wall of a five-story building in Wuchang Subdistrict, Yuhang City.
Located in a rural-urban fringe zone, this abstract, fancy artwork doesn't appear to fit in with the surroundings. But it heralds a forthcoming urban renewal project to reform the shabby block into a business quarter, says the local authority.
The project is going to establish several shopping streets coupled with a mall, and the wall painting, which is the first in a series of four, is expected to prepare locals by immersing them into an artistic, fashionable atmosphere.
Artist Chen Dongfan from the local Clepic Image gallery was responsible for giving the side of the building a bright new makeover. Last year, the 29-year-old artist completed a similar painting project on a building on Mishi Street, Hangzhou, which created a stir in the city and online.
His series of paintings on the walls of four Wuchang buildings is named "Where is the Happiness," and themed by a Chinese idiom "An Ju Le Ye" (literally meaning "live and work in peace"). The completed painting unveiled on Friday represents Ju, meaning living or being settled.
Chen will finish the remaining three paintings on other buildings by the end of June.
The artwork is totally impromptu but crosses three walls to form one central piece.
"I did not design the layout and I didn't go near the wall when it was not being painted," Chen says. "I let the painting grow itself."
Many passersby, mostly local workers and farmers, have asked "what does the painting mean?" or "what's the content?" yet the artist says, "I don't know, I am waiting for people's answers."
Love stories
He has heard many replies. Taking the two inverted pyramids for example, people have described them as "houses," "diamonds," "crowns," "monuments" and even "a man and a woman."
"People's thoughts about art vary, and people's definitions of 'happiness' vary," Chen says. "Their thoughts are the exact source of my inspiration."
Before and during the creation, Chen specially collected stories about happiness.
He listened to friends' love stories, observed locals' life and listened to others' gossip when he was in a sidewalk snack booth. "Everyday is like an adventure in which you never know what will happen next," he says.
"The painting, in such a country, seemingly is like a visitor from another world, but is actually the outcome of the locals' stories and hence its temperament matches the village."
The artist intends to influence people via his artwork.
"Human nature implies stupidity and selfishness, and even though an artist can change little, his or her artworks work, because they touch people like sunrise does," he explains.
The "touch" arrived even before Chen started his work - the contractor who took charge of whitewashing the wall before the artistic creation bought the most expensive white coating with money from his own pocket.
"The ordinary paint that the budget allowed will crack 10 years later, I would be a sinner if I used that," the contractor said.
Similar stories emerge continuously. A senior street cleaner has exclaimed "it is priceless," and a resident insists sending the artist two bottles of water,
Despite intensely hot weather, the artist took two weeks to accomplish the huge work. On the final day, he was stricken by the sun and had to go to hospital.
However, since Chen is going to Art Basel, a leading international contemporary art fair to be held next month in Switzerland, he needs to finish the Le (happiness) part in 10 days, including an eight-story building and a two-story sentry box in front of it.
It is a tremendous amount of work although Chen says "sometimes a sick body is more inspired."
The Le building is only 20 meters away from the complete Ju one, so the theme will be extended and it will look "as if the paintings flow between each other," says Chen.
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