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Passion is the best gift
Yaping Fan was born into an artistic, literary and scholarly family in Hunan during the
inception of China's process of reformation and opening to the outside world. Her parents
gave her freedom and love. Her father, a calligrapher, had special insight into her potential.
Guided by the motto, “Passion is the best gift,” he consistently encouraged her to do
what she loved, and took her to visit masters of the arts to cultivate her interests and develop
her abilities.
When Yaping was three years old her mother, who is a teacher, taught her ink painting.
Yaping was a fast learner - she spent the entire afternoon painting fishes in many colors
and forms, tasting the joy of creation for the first time. Her cousin, a painter, was impressed
with her passion and showed her images of the works of masters such as Leonardo
da Vinci, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Liang Kai, and Zhu Da. She fell in love with these
masterpieces, and put a great deal of energy into copying them. Later, after enrolling in
professional classes, she drew David with carbon rod for the first time (while avoiding
being intimidated by David’s naked body!). She was becoming a driven artist, and she
drew like a hardened fighter. When others drew an apple, she drew a bowl of apples. Her
teachers were startled by her passionate approach, and her personality shone through in
her bold, forceful style. Facing a blank canvas, she was quite different from her peers.
When Yaping was five, she was always the last to go home after school because her
classmates would line up to ask her to draw for them. She painted dolls and clothing designs
all over her textbooks. She was also good at knitting, crocheting and embroidery.
This was the origin of what would be three decades of creating eastern beauty dolls.
Yaping also exhibited strong writing ability, and was awarded the First Class National
Excellent Essay prize in fourth grade - the only winner in her city. The essay was written
in a single draft, with imaginative agility. She demonstrated a similar agility in the visual
arts, never needing to modify her wax paper drawings, and able to draw a circle on the
blackboard without using tools. Around this time she was also invited to be editor of her
school newspaper and the weekly blackboard update. Talents such as these helped Yaping
make many friends at school.
A very well known local painter noticed Yaping’s talent, and spent time with her to personally
enrich her knowledge and appreciation of Eastern and Western literature, philosophy
and classical music. He used Socratic teaching methods, leading her on an exploration
of an intellectual paradise. From Winckelmann to Romain Rolland, from
Michelangelo to Van Gogh, from Plato to Nietzsche, from Sappho Poems to Human
Words, he introduced Yaping to a rich world of knowledge and intellectual growth at a
young age. Precocious Yaping's teacher complimented her painting, calling it "more boyish
than boys," but advised her that "Art is a lifetime thing!" Talent requires polish. Although
a child, Yaping accepted strict, orthodox instruction in painting: character drawing
in the morning, color painting in the afternoon, sketching in the market in the evening,
writing at night, with bedtime usually at midnight. Sometimes she sketched plaster figures
to the music of Bach until two or three in the morning.
In middle school, Yaping began to design and craft all of her own clothes, bags and hats.
All of her free time was spent on painting, writing, and design. Her ingenious mother became
her assistant. She was subsequently accepted with honors by a key high school, but
still insisted on painting every day. By the time of her graduation from high school she
had become a minor local celebrity, and she began to host solo exhibitions. Her life vision
was to be a free artist, traveling and painting. Her father noted that Yaping's brothers were
all doctoral students or postdoctorals from Peking University or Harvard, and advised her
to at least go to college. By this time Yaping had spent two years as a free artist. She
replied: "it’s easy, I will do it - for you." She chose Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts because
of its free painting culture. Seeking to learn something new, she chose a printmaking
major despite her lifelong focus on oil painting. Printmaking requires a solid foundation.
Once a print is carved out, there is no way to modify it. It was an exciting new challenge
for her.
Fast-paced, urban college life was something entirely new to Yaping, although her
school's courses were easy to master and her thirst for knowledge left her wanting more.
Her college achievements were many - top grades, class monitor, school scholarship winner,
full scholarship winner for graduate school, chairman of the graduate student union,
Jinnanyue outstanding graduate, winner of various other scholarships, and so on. As had
been her tendency since childhood, she made friends with adults. Communicating with
older people greatly widened her vision, and allowed her to draw indirectly on the rich
life experiences of others.
Yaping strove to assist her classmates in ways large and small, even helping them to modify
their paintings. Works she had assisted on tended to receive high grades without the
teachers knowing of her contributions. Later, wanting to defer to her peers' potential and
unique experiences, she chose to take a step back and limit her assistance to advice, not
direct modification of their work.
“Knowledge makes a gentleman.”Yaping was greatly influenced by her special teacher
during her middle school years, and continued to accumulate knowledge about Eastern
and Western literature, philosophy, classical music. She developed taste and became accomplished.
This was her base for the absorption of systematic knowledge at the university
level. She greedily absorbed all kinds of knowledge, reading at a strenuous pace to
learn ever more and engaging in in-depth research about what she had learned before.
She applied to work at the school library, where she spent almost all of her time - sometimes
from 8 AM to 10 PM. In this job, she bound many unique books to add to the library's
inventory. Her job enabled her to read all of the books in special collections which
were not easily accessible to other students. When she visited her school ten years later,
the librarians still remembered her well. To this day she can clearly envision every corner
of that library. Her time there was the most productive of her school years. Overflowing
with creativity, she would sometimes paint directly over older work to avoid the delay of
preparing a new frame and canvas. She also published her papers “The Journey of Symbols”
“ The Synchronicity of Classic Painting in East and West” and “A Chronological
History of Western Classical Music,” and received many national and international
awards, gaining considerable fame. As chairman of the graduate student union, she led
over 20 students in the founding Contemporary Art and Design Magazine, held several
exhibitions each year, published art books and participated in academic exchanges. It was
a period of great productivity for her peers as well, with ambitious student artists producing
and exhibiting a great many works. The director of the graduate program viewed Yaping
as uniquely talented and daunting to replace at the head of the student union.
Yaping Fan believes that the greatest works represent an outpouring of human nature,
awareness and insight. They are a reflection of the artist's experience, knowledge and
thought. Painting, to Yaping, "is like music at the height of its tension, halting at its peak,
quiet, vibrant, vivid, long. Behind the color is a rich journey, a home for the soul, and a
passion for life." To Ms. Fan, painting is life: "We come to this world to cultivate the soul
and improve ourselves. Maturity means the rejection of temptation and emotional control,
along with a broadening of the mind. When material desires have been eradicated, one's
peace of mind is impervious to external troubles. This is the path to understanding one's
true desires, friendships, and loves. When the nature of happiness becomes clear, peace
and nature are enough - and the work produced by such a person has a philosophical profundity."
Thus, the sword is not in the hand, it is in the heart.
While diving in Sanya, Yaping experienced the profound loneliness and emptiness of the
deep blue sea. "The mighty sensation slipped away, lost with the falling of night, hidden
in the waves. Above, something drifted away from me in the faint blue sky, as if on a path
of exile." After returning from Hainan to the hustle and bustle of Guangzhou, Yaping experienced
an obsessive outpouring of creativity, completing six black-and-white woodcut
prints in 20 days - an incredible feat. Finishing work of this type in such a short time is
unheard of, because of the complexity of the printmaking process. It requires skill and
great strain, both physically and mentally. The carving process is tiring, and once a mark
has been carved into the board, it can not be modified. Great precision is therefore required.
Yaping doesn't begin with a draft, instead directly carving the board. A carving
must be done as a mirror image of the final product. Powerful control and balance are required
of the artist. "I was seized by a passion which brought me almost to tears. It closed
tight my lips and bound my hands about the haft of the knife, which moved as if beyond
my control." Printmaking felt like life to Yaping, "carved out with no regret, no reversal,
leaving only traces of the knife." At the same time, she produced a collection of prose,
“The Death of May.” Creative inspiration often strikes in this manner: as an accidental
miracle.
Yaping Fan's series of black-and-white woodcut prints, “Bedsheets” won several national
academic awards. Doctoral tutor Judith Lokie of University Campus Suffolk exclaimed,
"I never thought such a young Chinese girl could create something so sexy in black and
white!" This inspired Yaping to name her collection of woodcuts and poetry "Black and
White Sexy." "You are born for art," Judith told her. "Despite your age, you connect with
the oldest British art through time and space." At Judith's recommendation, Yaping's work
was exhibited by British universities and museums. That year, Fan Yaping was only 23
years old.
Yaping believes that "the ability to control one's own emotions is very important. Art
needs bravery." Artists are often afraid to face the panic that comes with conflict between
one's true self and social convention. They hide from their true selves, and shrink from
the challenge. This is a pathetic state of affairs. An artist must be moved by his own work
before it can have that effect on others.
Yaping Fan's artwork spans many disciplines: printmaking, oil painting, photography, installation
art, and so on. Training in the fundamentals which she received in her early
teens lends her confidence with a wide range of materials. She believes, however, that
self-cultivation is more important than technique in the long run. This means that the
artist should first be a thinker, with his or her own system of thought. It is this thought
which determines the artist's ultimate level of achievement.
Yaping's early works focus on elderly people and landscapes. She was greatly influenced
by Chinese traditional painting and literature. She loves bronze works from the Shang
and Zhou dynasties; painted bricks from the Han Dynasty; and painting from the Wei, Jin
and Northern and Southern Dynasties. She can spend all day in the museum without
noticing her hands and feet going numb. As early as age sixteen, while returning from
Guizhou, she created a series of paintings, “It Passes Like This,” with a deeply philosophical
approach. Upon entering Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, her teachers helped her
to host solo exhibitions of that series, which brought her recognition. The exhibition
demonstrated her understanding of philosophy and life, as well as her skill. Through her
work at this young age, Yaping's artistic talent was already shining brightly.
From the age of ten, Yaping backpacked the rivers and mountains of Guizhou, Yunnan,
Sichuan, Hunan - sometimes for a month at a time. She loves nature, and travels somewhere
new every year to fuel her nature-inspired art. On one trip she lived in a wooden
cabin with a sleeping bag. Washing required a trek through the hills. At night she watched
eagles circle overhead and listened to songs from a nearby village. "Those memories of
nature do not fade over time, but return to me and occupy my subconscious mind at midnight,
then naturally flow onto the canvas as my heart desires." Critics describe Yaping
Fan's use of color in her landscapes as bold, having very strong contrast, beyond that of
traditional landscape painting. Those works exhibit her highly personal style which in the
art community is known as "Yaping Fan style". She uses a variety of contrasting colors,
such as purple, blue and lemon-yellow, to create an image that is bright and fresh. "It expresses
the longing for natural beauty and beauty of the heart which perhaps cannot be
attained in the real world, but is a place for which we nevertheless strive, internally. I
seek, through my work, to evoke life's brightness." Kassel Documenta's curator Sarat
Maharaj praised her as a "soul capturer" whose works "have profound and traditional oriental
spirit, and international contemporary style." These works have been exhibited and
well-received in Japan, having sold out at exhibition on each occasion.
Yaping Fan's “Girls’ Growth” involves painting, installation, video, and more. Adolescence
is the sharpest period of change in a person's life. The mental structures generated
during this period have a profound impact on all future life choices. Yaping seeks to use
her work "to light a warm beacon for growing young girls. Every girl exists within her
own free and wondrous kingdom where light and optimism coexist with darkness and
fear. They are the little princesses of these kingdoms, afraid to change but wanting to
grow." She delicately and sensitively captures the uniqueness of young girls' minds,
vividly depicting angelic faces and the rich inner worlds behind them. She teaches girls
using painting to reach their hearts. Each work takes years, spanning a child's growth.
Her pieces，”Angel’s Secret Garden,” “Angel," “The First Menstruation,” and "Lolita"
from this series are considered to have academic and social value. They are sought after
by domestic and international collectors.
Yaping Fan's "Art Angel Doll" attracted a great deal of attention from the arts and collectors
communities. The dolls are posable sculptures which take years to complete. Yaping's
dolls are based on her childhood dreams. China has five thousand years of culture history,
yet Chinese children of the 1980's were surrounded by imported Western culture such as
TV shows, and anime from Japan. Yaping was determined to create oriental beauty dolls
which would function both as a carriers of Chinese culture and as soul mates for imaginative,
lonely children growing up in a modern society. The palm-sized Art Angel Doll has
a posable body with free-acting joints, delicate makeup, fine clothing and meticulous details
- eyelashes, lips, nails and nipples. Each doll has unique makeup, with subtle color
changes and rich expressions. They are the finest of dolls. Faber-Castell - a 250-year-old
German brand - was surprised to see an artist push a product to such extremes of quality. !
Every girl has a "doll complex" in her heart. An Art Angel Doll is her secret confidant,
and companion in imaginative play. An Art Angel Doll is pure, sexy, cute, rebellious,
dreamy, melancholy. The artist has given each doll a life. Each has its own name, family,
and unique style of dress. Drawing on her own dreams, Yaping created the dreamlike
large installation pieces "Dream", "Angel" and "Fairy Tale". They received high praise in
Venice Biennale from collectors. Viewers of these artistic spaces let their minds fly freely,
the dolls helping them along the way.
The series "Old Boy" is about male growth. This series includes ink paintings, drawings
and oil paintings. The oil paintings are all more than two meters in height. They depict
male loneliness, despair, joy and passion, exploring male friends, family relationships,
and desires for careers and for love. The series "Lonely" received an enthusiastic reaction
from curators and critics. Both technical skill and profound artistry were required to generate
the image's powerful impact. "It is solemn and deep, fully expressive of male loneliness,
determination and strength. The hero sits quietly with a cigarette in his mouth.
What it evokes is direct and clear. Calm and detailed observation of character demonstrates
the artist's rigorous approach and unique perspective." (Bazaar" - "100 Art Works
Recommended")
Yaping Fan's creativity has entered its heyday. "It is basically a 'cool' passion. The charm
of creation lies in the uncertainty of what will show itself in a work of art from moment
to moment. Confronting my own true feelings and soul, and laying them out in my work.
My career is based on my dreams. My greatest challenge has been to choose. I strive, ultimately,
to follow the most innocent thing in my heart and produce work honestly. When
grappling with the market I avoid following the crowd, but strive to create my own categories,
lead the trend, and let my work be driven by my own soul. This is the art that
lasts."
Using Art to Spread Love
"Big love" was deeply ingrained in Yaping Fan's blood by her family's words and deeds.
Yaping's grandmother was born into a upper-class family. A woman of wisdom and flawless
personality, intellectual and elegant, she offered Yaping both systematic guidance and
freedom. Yaping's father is a calligrapher as well as a wonderful writer. Her mother is a
devout Buddhist and traditionally good wife and mother. Yaping has been greatly influenced
by them since her childhood.
Yaping believes that "beauty and goodness are human nature, but need to be awoken. Using
art to inspire the inner beauty of children is more powerful than preaching." Ten years
to make a tree, a hundred years to make a human. The young artist Yaping Fan spent
years in tireless pursuit of the "true love dream." Her father says she is a "naive nationalist
and patriot." Her social ideal is "peaceful, abundant and loving society."
Selflessness is the way to become a master. Yaping's Zen mentor lead her to a higher level
of understanding in this. Yaping believes in "helping people with a Buddhist heart,"
which she applies to her life by contributing to charities such as education for the poor.
Since 2000, she has participated in charity auctions and donated to various charitable organisations,
including the China Legal Aid Foundation, Shanghai Adream, China Council
of Lions Clubs, Guangdong Education Foundation and Guangzhou Charity Association.
These ongoing activities were inspired by her first charity auction, at which her pieces
were pre-sold within two hours. The organisers requested four more, which in turn were
sold out a day in advance. The sense of accomplishment she tasted at that moment - her
work selling at a strong price to help spread love and beauty - led her to participate in
many more charity auctions, at which her work was often the most expensive piece or
resulted in the highest total proceeds. Professor Dong Chen called her an "auction specialist,"
and the director of Secretary for Home Affairs Zhenyao Wang called her "art angel."
Yaping was later discovered by international experts and frequently invited to participate
in international art exhibitions, at which she was usually the youngest participating
Chinese artist. Yaping bonds with charities, actively participating in their social missions
beyond the scope of her work.
Serving as a frontline volunteer for charitable initiatives, Yaping learned that the children
she served lacked not only material goods, but also love and education. German philosopher
Karl Jaspers said, "Education is a soul awakening another soul." Give a man a fish
and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Yaping
believes that art education can awaken a child's mind, and provide psychological therapy
to help the child recover from past trauma and become happy, sunny, positive and lifeloving.
This is true "charity." Adhering to the "fraternity, abundance, and harmony" social
ideal, Yaping Fan combines knowledge and action, devotion to art and educational philanthropy.
In 2000, Yaping Fan began her "inner growth of adolescents" project. Her subjects were
her students and friends' children. She communicated closely with children and their parents
and studied the problems of adolescence using art and psychology research methods.
After more than ten years of accumulation, all of those individual cases coalesced into a
series of experimental art education courses. This experimental education system draws
on philosophy, psychology, education, and management science as well as other disciplines.
A combination of visual, tactile and auditory learning through media such as music,
painting and literature enhances the child's capacities in the areas of self-expression,
communication, problem-solving and cooperation. This builds the child's self-awareness
and ability to plan for the future.
When she communicates with children, Yaping never sidesteps sensitive issues. "Today
the internet is very complex, and it has a negative impact on the values of some children.
I believe it is best to teach children art and general curriculum in a way which interests
them and engages their curiosity." She often discusses real-life topics with the students
and uses diverse methods to help children understand love, life and death, time, money,
attitude, and so on. For example, in a painting class with a topic of "money," the kids'
creativity and understanding of shone through. "I hope that through this class, they can
grapple with the idea of wealth rationally, and learn how to manage and share it." Yaping
believes that "painting is a way for children to open up, learn about their own abilities,
and reach their full potential." Presenting art through painting, art appreciation, drawing,
sculpting, and hand crafts helps children understand art and cultural history, and enhances
their ability to self-cultivate. It also helps to increase the level of communication and understanding between the children and their parents.
Each course includes training in teamwork, self-esteem and time management and integrates
games based on psychology and behavioural science theory. These exercises improve
children's abilities in the areas of performance, communication, thought and creativity.
The greatest purpose of the course is to lead children to think about life, so that
they will grow up with healthy bodies and minds. Yaping believes that education is the
most important force for personal change, and that the core of modern education is communication and sharing. She has been invited to participate in international conferences
hosted by international education organizations, the Ministry of Education of China, the
Ministry of Culture of China, art museums and art schools to help spread caring and wisdom.
As well as intelligence, Yaping possesses pure childlike happiness. This combination is
the source of her achievements, and the factor that ensures she will move ever further
along the road of art. Her pursuit of art is reminiscent of the words of poet Liu Yong, who
wrote, "I do not mind that my clothes are getting looser. My lover is worthy of desire."
Man Liu, the chair of Adream, described her as, “a very rare idealistic artist." When famous
Art critic Xiaoyan Yang commented on Yaping Fan's works, he said "history will
prove it."
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