Art Research

Tang May Shuen (35)

2 Diligence
25/3/2008
“The Smiley Man” Artist

The artist that uses “The Smiley Man” as his signature trademark is Yue Minjun (岳敏
君). He is a contemporary Chinese artist based in Beijing, China and is best known
for oil paintings depicting himself in various settings, frozen in laughter, which
reference the 7th-century “Laughing Buddha”, the happy Communist worker of the
20th century and postmodernist irony all at once, along with Deng Xiaoping’s famous
motto, “to grow rich is glorious”. His works are emblematic and easy to recognise and
he has also reproduced this signature image in sculpture, watercolour and prints.

A Brief History

Yue Minjun was born in 1962 in Heilongjiang Province, China. He moved to Beijing
with his parents as a child. He began studies in art in 1983 and studied oil painting at
the Hebei Normal University. He graduated in 1989, when China was rocked by
student-led demonstrations and their suppression.

He was inspired by a painting by Geng Jainyi in the “China/Avant Garde” show in

Beijing, which depicted Geng Jianyi’s own laughing face. His signature style
developed out of portraits of his bohemian friends from the artists’ village, and soon
became a popular investment for foreigners looking to capitalize on China's opening
to the west.

When did he start using “The Smiley Man”

Mr. Yue began using “The Smiley Man” signature trademark in 1993 in
Yuanmingyuan, a small village near the old Summer Palace, which has become
home to an artist’s colony.
Why did he use “The Smiley Man”

Mr. Yue began using “The Smiley Man” as it was

connected with the cultural environment of his childhood
which the education he received was without variation
across China.

Mr. Yue feels that art should be an expression of one’s

particular feelings and should be direct and deep. So he
drew one person, and then added a few more until there
were crowds of them. At that time, he felt that his
emotions were fully expressed.

He has always found laughter irresistible and likes it. He paints people laughing,
whether it is a big laugh, a restrained laugh, a crazy-laugh, a near-death laugh or
simply laughter about our society: laughter can be about anything.
He feels that laughter is a moment when our mind refuses to reason. When we are
puzzled by certain things, our mind simply does not want to struggle, or perhaps we
don’t know how to think, therefore we just want to forget it.
The 90’s is the time when everyone should laugh.

Mr. Yue believes that artists are the kind of people who always like to reveal to the
simple, innocent and humble souls the never-ending illusion of our lives. Likewise, he
reveals his love for laughter through his self-portraits.

Images
 Yue Minjun – Backyard Garden, 2005
Oil on canvas, 280 x 400 cm

“Double Happiness” Artist

The artist that uses the Chinese word “Double Happiness” is Justin Lee CK, a local
Singaporean artist.

Reason for using “Double Happiness”

Mr. Lee feels that Western culture has dominated Singapore since the day it declared
its independence in 1965. As a Chinese Singaporean, living in the modern city of
Singapore has fascinated him with interesting ideas. In his works, the Chinese
characters “Double Happiness” have been redefined to mean a mixed marriage
between Chinese and Western culture. He states that modernisation and
globalization have spawned this new and rojak (mixed) relationship. To Mr. Lee,
“Double Happiness” is the combination of two elements mutually attracted to one
another, but with different individual traits.

Besides the marriage of human beings, “Double Happiness” could also refer to the
conjoining of any found objects, images, or even the environment. In this process of
transformation, a new form of happiness is produced, manifested outwardly in the
economy, the commercial world and the proliferation of material goods. He says that
what we want is what we like most, and what we like is what we surround ourselves
with, thus we accumulate more than what we really need. He also says that one
major influence in our lifestyle is that of Western consumerism and that we cannot
survive in this age of mass population in today’s material world with our overloaded
desire.

Mr. Lee has challenged himself to produce works on such issues through research
based on his past and present experiences as an artist, consumer, and local Chinese
citizen in Singapore’s society. Therefore, he uses “Double Happiness” as his
signature trademark.
Images

Bibliography

http://justinlee.farm.sg/index.php/site/workdetail/double_happiness/
http://www.biotechnics.org/3justinlee.html
http://www.pjlighthouse.com/2007/11/15/art-artist-famous-smile-by-yue-minjun/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Minjun
http://www.artknowledgenews.com/Yue_Minjun.html
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/yue_minjun.htm
http://www.yueminjun.com/