Experience becomes art as Yan puts himself into his work
Print Edition
BORN into a rural family in Yanjiage Village, Huating Town, in 1937, Yan Yongfang has been fond of painting since he was a boy and often drew the flowers and animals on the farm.
When he was at the Huating Xinmiao Primary School, he took part in a regional painting and calligraphy competition with pupils from four or five other schools. All the contestants were required to create calligraphy and then paint an orange. Yan ranked second and was awarded a dozen pencils and some exercise books, which made him love painting even more.
After he left primary school, Yan became a farmer, but he didn’t give up painting.
When he was 20, he became a breeder at a local pig farm. During his time there he painted a series of scenes of rural life, such as “Dredge up sludge from river under moonlight,” “We breed fry by ourselves,” “Dig out pupa” and “Grandma, we have two more chicks,” were all published in the newspaper Shanghai Suburban Farmers.
Yan’s works were always close to life. In the summer of 1964, he was recommended by Jiading County Cultural House to take part in a class on comics held by Shanghai Mass Art Center. During the class, he created the “Little breeder” based on his own experience on the pig farm, and his work was exhibited at Shanghai Art Museum. In the spring of 1965, it was also shown at the National Exhibition of Art Amateurs in the China Art Museum.
Cai Ruohong, former vice president of the China Artists Association, wrote an article for the magazine “Art” introducing Yan’s work.
In 1965, Yan transferred to the Jiading Handicraft Bureau to design samples of Jiading’s local speciality “yellow straw weaving.” Later in 1979, he worked for the Liucheng Embroidery Factory. To win orders from customers in the Middle-East, he observed many foreign samples and various materials to understand more about local customs, religion and living standards. Eventually, he came up with his own designs.
After his retirement in 1997, Yan kept painting in his spare time after work on the family farm.
This summer, he painted dozens of pictures of Jiading’s customs which vividly reflected the daily life of local farmers.
“These pictures mainly displayed my life in childhood, as well as my feelings for my hometown,” Yan said.
“In fact, the character in some pictures is actually myself.”
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