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One woman's dream to bring art to the masses
By Guan Wenfei and Xu Wei |
May 30, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ORIGINAL artworks are no longer inaccessible to the living rooms of ordinary people. Ever since the end of 2009, the Zendai Art S-Supermarket which sells a wide range of inexpensive art pieces has been booming. Meanwhile, Yang Xinyu, a manager at the supermarket has also moved into a new arena in her life.
It was at her grandmother's home in Hangzhou that 27-year-old Yang felt the power of art for the first time.
"With a bird's eye view from the rooftop, I saw the neighboring sculpture studio of the China Academy of Art," Yang recalls. "I was envious of those young art talents who turned rough raw materials into lively artworks."
During her childhood, Yang was a student of Tang Weizao, a Jiading artist. In 2003, Yang was admitted to the China Academy of Art, a palace of art in her heart.
After entering the Visual Arts Department, Yang immersed herself totally in art creation. In recent years, the employment pressure for students of the art design industry has been mounting. A few students muddled through their school work and assignments. But Yang's graduation project in 2007 was widely acclaimed by the insiders of the art circle for its ingenious and persuasive design.
In the summer of 2007, when Yang was planning an exhibition at Shanghai Art Museum, a touring exhibition of artist Wu Guanzhong's latest works was also presented there. Yang paid a visit and couldn't help but kneel down in front of Wu's artworks.
"It was a kind of worship of art," Yang says. It suddenly occurred to her that the essence of art is beauty and it needs to be recognized and designated for the popular tastes.
However, in her following one-year position with the museum, Yang found that actual conditions in the art industry were more difficult than expected. Very few people gained quick fame. Without a platform to showcase their talent, a lot of young artists had to give up their pursuit of art and sought other ways to make a living. There was also a big distance between ordinary citizens and artworks. Art collection and appreciation seemed to be a luxury. Why not build a more flexible platform for both young artists and citizens? Yang asked herself. When Zendai Art S-Supermarket opened in 2009, Yang joined without hesitance.
It took Yang and her colleagues only 22 days to change the original Zendai Museum of Modern Art into Zendai Art S-Supermarket, which presents more than 10,000 original artworks in an exhibition space of 3,000 square meters.
But a headache to her then was how to persuade the artists to sell their works to ordinary citizens at a relatively low price. Unlike galleries and art museums, the supermarket doesn't aim for the high-end market.
Yang visited almost all of the city's artist clubs and colleges with art major. She tried all means to change the conservative concept of some artists. The artworks she selects for sale and display cater for the tastes of the public and are popular with visitors. Currently, the supermarket makes more than 1 million yuan (US$154,007) in monthly revenue and averagely sells three to four original art pieces each day.
"When I have month-end accounting with the artists, I feel so happy and fulfilled," Yang adds. "I think I have done something good to their lives." Based on the successful running experience of the supermarket, five branch stores will open in Beijing and Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, by the end of this year.
"I do not have the indispensable potential to be an artist or a business operator," Yang says. She thinks of herself as belonging to the intersection area where art and business meet.
When it comes to her personal development in the future, the boyish woman says that she would love to attach more importance to life rather than work. For instance, caring for her mother, making friends with those who share her ambitions and outlook on life and expectations for sweet love.
"The future has many possibilities," Yang adds. "I would rather live the moment than make a long-term life plan."
It was at her grandmother's home in Hangzhou that 27-year-old Yang felt the power of art for the first time.
"With a bird's eye view from the rooftop, I saw the neighboring sculpture studio of the China Academy of Art," Yang recalls. "I was envious of those young art talents who turned rough raw materials into lively artworks."
During her childhood, Yang was a student of Tang Weizao, a Jiading artist. In 2003, Yang was admitted to the China Academy of Art, a palace of art in her heart.
After entering the Visual Arts Department, Yang immersed herself totally in art creation. In recent years, the employment pressure for students of the art design industry has been mounting. A few students muddled through their school work and assignments. But Yang's graduation project in 2007 was widely acclaimed by the insiders of the art circle for its ingenious and persuasive design.
In the summer of 2007, when Yang was planning an exhibition at Shanghai Art Museum, a touring exhibition of artist Wu Guanzhong's latest works was also presented there. Yang paid a visit and couldn't help but kneel down in front of Wu's artworks.
"It was a kind of worship of art," Yang says. It suddenly occurred to her that the essence of art is beauty and it needs to be recognized and designated for the popular tastes.
However, in her following one-year position with the museum, Yang found that actual conditions in the art industry were more difficult than expected. Very few people gained quick fame. Without a platform to showcase their talent, a lot of young artists had to give up their pursuit of art and sought other ways to make a living. There was also a big distance between ordinary citizens and artworks. Art collection and appreciation seemed to be a luxury. Why not build a more flexible platform for both young artists and citizens? Yang asked herself. When Zendai Art S-Supermarket opened in 2009, Yang joined without hesitance.
It took Yang and her colleagues only 22 days to change the original Zendai Museum of Modern Art into Zendai Art S-Supermarket, which presents more than 10,000 original artworks in an exhibition space of 3,000 square meters.
But a headache to her then was how to persuade the artists to sell their works to ordinary citizens at a relatively low price. Unlike galleries and art museums, the supermarket doesn't aim for the high-end market.
Yang visited almost all of the city's artist clubs and colleges with art major. She tried all means to change the conservative concept of some artists. The artworks she selects for sale and display cater for the tastes of the public and are popular with visitors. Currently, the supermarket makes more than 1 million yuan (US$154,007) in monthly revenue and averagely sells three to four original art pieces each day.
"When I have month-end accounting with the artists, I feel so happy and fulfilled," Yang adds. "I think I have done something good to their lives." Based on the successful running experience of the supermarket, five branch stores will open in Beijing and Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, by the end of this year.
"I do not have the indispensable potential to be an artist or a business operator," Yang says. She thinks of herself as belonging to the intersection area where art and business meet.
When it comes to her personal development in the future, the boyish woman says that she would love to attach more importance to life rather than work. For instance, caring for her mother, making friends with those who share her ambitions and outlook on life and expectations for sweet love.
"The future has many possibilities," Yang adds. "I would rather live the moment than make a long-term life plan."
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