Ding Yi

DY: My family did not agree. But they did not have a good reason for their objection. They could not understand why you wanted to study art …everyone else was going for the humanities or the sciences, so why did you choose this path? But high school students had a passion for art. I remember our high school art group…Our room would be filled with water whenever it rained, but all of us continued painting, with our feet in the water. The atmosphere at the time was a bit different from that of today. It meant we really liked it and really wanted to do it. My parents wanted to penalize me for my choice. For example, I had to agree to be back home by 10pm, otherwise the door would be locked as a kind of punishment. I had to fight back, so I went back to school, to the art room. If the school gate was locked, I would climb over it.
DY: I had a strong belief in art throughout. After graduating from University, four of my classmates went to publishing houses, whereas I went to a technical school. Going to work for a technical school at that time was considered a face-losing thing. They went to famous publishers — Shanghai Art Publishing House, Science and Technology Publishing House, etc, and got good salaries. I chose to work for a school mainly because I needed time. As a teacher in a school environment, I would have more time to create my own art.

Gu Wenda

GW: (phone call) Like this we won’t be able to finish in half an hour, it’s better to switch off my mobile. So do you. You see, we just wasted another 5 minutes.

Huang Kui

HK: They thought I was weird.It’s because my father always wanted me to become a doctor. I could make more money this way. Art does not let you make money.

Huang Yuanqing

HY: My story is quite complex. I have always loved art eversince I was a child. But I majored in technical subjects in college because when I enrolled in 1981, admission was easier for technical majors. I liked art, but what I studied was technical subjects. Yet after graduation, I became an art teacher in my university. This was very strange. I should have taken this discipline right from the start, as it meant I wasted four years on my studies. However, this showed how much I loved art. It’s like those monks in China. If a monk has been in a temple since childhood, he may not find this necessarily bad, but this is because he is so used to this kind of life. If one becomes a monk after having experienced a lot in the world, then it means he really likes to be a monk. When I was a boy, a neighbor of mine who was a professor in Fudan University told me that life is very difficult for artists. I knew that. But because I was young and I was fond of art, and because of my personality, I felt it was what I ought to do. Whenever I was sent to a factory to be an intern engineer, or to install a wireless devise, I wouldn’t be excited at all. My schoolmates found it exciting, but I did not. So I knew I was not interested in the technical field.

Jin Feng

JF: In fact, I have also tried science subjects. But I also failed. My family was quite disappointed. If I chose to pursue science subjects, I could only enter some bad schools.

Li Lei

LL: My father used to say that I painted things people could not understand. He said art should serve the people, so I should paint things that the people could understand. I said this…sometimes I did not say anything, sometimes I would say what I painted were things that could truly serve the people, because what I painted were the most beautiful things in the hearts of the people of our generation. You may not feel it right away, but I have painted it. I remind you of it, I tell you about it.

Li Shan

LS: Actually, when I was a 11th grader, my friend, also my deskmate and roommate at that time, and I always did maths and physics exercises all day long. The lowest goal we set for ourselves was to enter Harbin Industrial University. Among the higher level universities that we wished to go to were Tsinghua University and Beijing University. So we worked really hard. Later, I had a conflict with my class teacher due to my personality. Looking back, the conflict just arose out of some improper words I said, and today it really seemed insignificant. But back then, my reaction was really strong and prompted me to make the decision of suspending my studies for one year. This sort of thing could really only happen with kids. That year, I did nothing else but read novels at home. And this inspired me to make the drastic transition from science to arts when I returned to school the next year. Actually my class teacher was still the same one who had the conflict with me before. Having switched to the arts stream, I later went to Heilongjiang University. I did not feel very accustomed to the university, so I dropped out. Again I took the college entrance examination and was accepted by Shanghai Theatre Academy, where I chose this major. After quitting Heilongjiang University, I didn’t consult anyone on what I should do. The whole decision was made by myself. When I first quitted school and went back home, my mother was extremely sad and remained silent for a long time. I felt I owed her something when I chose to pursue art. She was the only person who made me feel this way. Now that she is long gone, I hope she would be proud of what I have turned out to be. But I’m not sure about that. This is the story about how I became an artist. To make it short, my choosing to be an artist is all because of the friction with my class teacher in senior high school. That really changed my life.

Li Xiangyang

LX: My art career started with stage arts in the art and culture regiment when I was in the troops. At that time, everyone our age had to go to the country and work, and joining the army was regarded as the best job. And to become a cultural and art soldier was regarded as the best thing that could ever happen. So it was very sacred and we were really proud of it.

Liu Jianhua

LJ: Yes, probably because when I graduated – that was the year of 1989 – the concept of a professional artist did not yet exist in China. In China, if you wanted to pursue art, the best profession may be to become a teacher. Being a teacher meant that you would have more free time available to realize your dreams.
LJ: My wife should be the one who viewed my art work the most in my family.
She might understand it in her own way because she was not in the art profession. She is an accountant actually. She might pay more attention to the visual effect on the surface. When I first graduated, I was just a poor student. I wanted to organize a solo exhibition, which would involve material costs. I still remember my wife finding some of the materials to help me with my work. So I think for this question, my family’s understanding of art is more related to my personal attitude towards art.

Luo Yongjin

LY: I was the only one in the whole family who became an artist. When I was
young, the senior in my family did not fully approve it. They didn’t consider art as a career, and they thought I should become a teacher, a doctor and so on.
LY: Yes, and change took place gradually. My nephews and nieces think that it is great to have an uncle who is an artist.

Shi Yong

SY: Because I have always loved painting since I was a child, my parents did not feel anything special about it. I thought painting was fun so I started doing it. When I was in university, I began studying design. My parents thought it was good because we could make money. You know I was not born in a rich family, and my family just thought finally I would be able to make a living. However, after graduation, I did not do design but took up art. It kept costing money and my parents certainly felt a little disappointed. Of course, they were not dependent on me for survival; they were just worried about me: they always wanted me to have a decent job. Later, I had an exhibition which was reported on the newspapers and magazines. My parents thought, okay, though I did not make much money, at least I appeared in the newspapers and TV. He saw the magazine in my home and asked, “Oh, is that you?” and I said, “Yes, it’s me.” He would then show the magazines and newspapers to friends, and told them that the person reported on them was his son. They simply felt proud and happy. They felt that even if I could not make any money it would still be okay.

Song Haidong

SH: I became a Buddhist in 1994; I studied the classics of Buddhism. I stopped creating art for 3 years, and painted only Buddhist images. There is a rule in Buddhism which says that if you are really devoting yourself to Buddhism you should not continue with art. Later on I painted Buddhist figures really well. It is said that the more Buddhist figures you paint, the better chance you have of becoming a Bodhi, because you are always looking at Buddha and your heart will gradually turn towards him. You become like people in the arts community……I didn’t know their opinion until I re-started on my art again. When I devoted myself to Buddhism they dared not speak to me. The moment they saw my facial expression they dared not speak to me at all. Actually they could have talked to me. Later on I went looking for them, and they told me that they thought I was doing a happening. Li Xu said that he thought I had been doing a happening. I then told him that I really believed in Buddhism.

Song Tao

ST: They thought it was my career. If I worked in a company, they would care about my career, too, like whether things were smooth, whether I got promoted this year, etc. It was a normal career to them.

Wang Nanming

WN: At that time my father was a Shanghai lawyer doing relatively well. He felt what I was doing was not art.

Wang Tiande

WT: Well, actually, no one opposed to my decision at the time of the Cultural Revolution. The atmosphere was quite free, for there were hardly any lessons in the school. Under this condition, mastering a skill was very important, and, fortunately, I did learn a skill. The biggest characteristic at that time was that there were many movements and we had to publish blackboard news. People would admire us who could draw on the blackboard. But apart from this no one would say that you would become an artist, and that you would go to America. It was unthinkable at the time. No one knew what would happen afterwards. At that time, you studied art purely because you wanted to participate in this part of society, and you were just using your ability to show that you have the capability of expressing through visual language. For my family, they didn’t know that I could go to college, so learning art is simply learning what I liked.

Wang Xingwei

WX: Things like medical insurance would be gone, too. I would have to pay everything if I became seriously ill.

Xiang Liqing

XL: I didn’t call myself an artist. This title sounds rather strange. I am just doing what I like to do. That is what I’m interested in. If you feel that the term “artist” has any special meaning, that is your business. I am just doing what I like to do.

Xu Longbao

XL: Our family was the only one that painted in the entire Long Tang. All the others did not paint and did things unrelated to art.
XL: In China, we used to paint in order to make a living, and being an artist was nothing special. Nowadays I feel like a “teaching craftsman”, a pure “teaching craftsman”. I am a half-artist and half-teacher. I think it is impossible to be both a good teacher and a good artist at the same time. Great artists all do things according to their individualistic thinking, so it is impossible for them to teach students well. Good teachers on the other hand cannot devote themselves fully to art.

Xue Song

XS: Some of them thought it was useless, others thought it was great.
In the 90s, in 1993 or 1994, I could not see any hope. I did not have any
chances to show my works, or to sell them. I think it was pure personal ideal, interest that made me do it.

Yang Fudong

YF: Now, even my parents begin to realize that contemporary art is not a bad thing. At least, they knew I could make money. I can make a living with it. So I believe many artists have this feeling. The issue is that you cannot decide not to do it. It has become your life and your career. Whether as artists or filmmakers, life is harder. Artists can also live well. The family’s worry is your survival problem.

Zhang Ding

ZD: They are quite open, and they do not try to control everything. No matter what, after I graduated, they would still give me money when I was out of work (Laughing…)

Zhang Enli

ZE: People outside this field definitely consider art a good career, don’t they? So you find many people pretending to be artists.

Zhang Haitian

ZH: I remember in the year 1984, when I sold my first painting, I felt a little bit strange that such a painting could sell for money; at that time I painted only because I was interested in it.
ZH: I had always wanted to become an artist when I was young, when painting was just a hobby.
ZH: I yearned to have the identity of an “artist” because I have read a lot of literature. After reading lots of these books I thought: these authors had already passed away for 100, 200 years. Yet when we read their works now, we are still deeply moved. And then I thought to myself: artists are really something, and if only I could become an artist. Of course there are many types of artists, but I chose to paint, which is something I have liked since I was young. My family was also very supportive of my decision.

Zhang Peicheng

ZP: I loved painting when I was very young. Maybe it was because of my brother who is a painter. He was a Vice-Dean at the Shanghai Academy of Art. Because he painted, so I painted. So my dream of becoming a painter started very early. And now I believe that the most successful thing I’ve done is that I have turned what I liked into my career. This is what makes me most happy.
ZP: None, and not just that, I influenced many people around me. They all wanted their children to learn to paint. I in fact asked them not to learn painting. I told them painting is a job with very remote return on investment. I said if the child went to school, he had better learn other things. For a better choice, they can have their children working in banks.

Zhou Tiehai

ZT: And I knew that other people would not understand me. And it was not good to trouble others and ask them to try to understand my works, or to try to find journalists to write some reports on my exhibition. The environment of China changed, and the attitude of the authority changed. Even the art galleries could accept contemporary art. I mean when the material conditions of society improves, and the whole value system improves, then people need art in their lives.

Shen Fan

SF: They just thought how come everyday was Sunday for me? However, I did not feel I have Sundays at all. If you work in a company, then you work from Monday to Friday and then have your holidays. But I don’t have Sundays, do I? Nor Saturdays. Today is Saturday and I am still working. (Laugh…) There is no other difference.