free
First we see the wide smiling mouth of these men. Their eyes are closed and they watch the ground at an angle. These are funny faces with bulging eyes, a traditional short haircut and floppy ears. It’s strange that they are all the same. They wear an oversized regular pant. It’s strange that they wear no shirt and no shoes while they are in a public space.
They laugh everything of with their broad mouth; all what’s crazy, pathologic, performed, non-negotiable but what is accepted in our society.
Wouldn't it be liberating to talk with these men freely about what we shouldn’t accept in our society? What would it be liberating to talk about the crazy, pathologic, performed, non-negotiable parts of our society.
These naked men make themselves vulnerable. These men with regular pants and traditional haircuts participate in the community. They accept that they look a little ridiculous with their bulging eyes and floppy ears. These men with closed eyes are looking ‘inside’ for a while, to know what they are feeling and to be able to be honest.
Because of these men of Minjun Yue with their wide mouths I am invited to speak freely.
By Theo, www.artatsite.com
Vertaling
vrij
Eerst zien wij hun brede lachende mond van deze mannen. Zij hebben hun ogen dicht en kijken schuin naar de grond. Het hun grappige gezichten met bolle ogen, traditioneel kort geknipt kapsel, flaporen. Het is gek dat zij allemaal hetzelfde zijn. Zij dragen een oversized doorsnee broek. Het is gek dat zij geen overhemd en geen schoenen dragen terwijl zij in de openbare ruimte staan.
Met hun brede mond lachen zij alles weg; alles wat geaccepteerd is in onze samenleving maar wat gek, pathologisch, gespeeld, onbespreekbaar is.
Zou het niet bevrijdend zijn om met deze mannen vrijuit te kunnen praten over hetgeen wij eigenlijk niet zouden moeten accepteren? Wat zou het bevrijdend zijn om onze gekke, pathologische, gespeelde, onbespreekbare onderdelen van onze samenleving vrijuit te kunnen praten.
Deze blote mannen stellen zich kwetsbaar op. Deze mannen met standaard broeken en traditionele kapsels nemen deel aan de samenleving. Deze mannen met bolle ogen en flaporen accepteren dat zij er eventjes belachelijk uit zien. Deze mannen met dichte ogen kijken even naar ‘binnen’ kijken, om te weten wat zij voelen en eerlijk te kunnen zijn.
Door deze mannen van Minjun Yue met hun brede monden word ik uitgenodigd om vrijuit te spreken.
Door Theo, www.artatsite.com
www.publicdelivery.org:
Analysis
In portraying himself within his paintings, he allows himself more freedom of expression. Through this expression, he can look at himself and society. He can question reality, and the laugh that is portrayed in his portraits and sculptures is relatable for his countrymen and women who have experienced the changes in society. The smile that is so large and convincing often has something else behind it. Sometimes in any given situation, all we can really do is smile.
About Yue Minjun
Yue Minjun was born in Daqing in Heilongjiang, China in 1962. Yue moved from place to place for most of his life because his family had to move from oilfield to oilfield to find work. Before working as an electrician, he graduated from Hebei Normal University in 1989, where he studied oil painting.
What inspired him to create his laughing self-portraits?
1989 was the same year in which China was left shocked by the infamous student-led demonstrations and the suppression of such on Tiananmen Square. These movements played a large part in the inspiration and mood of Yue’s work. To fight the dark mood of the hour, the dark reality of the time, he created vibrant self-images embodying an almost mania; The laughing image.
The different meanings of laughter
Laughter never necessarily means happiness. Laughter can be nervous. It can be spiteful. It can be healing. A smile or a laugh can be genuine but can also be a mask. They can mask feelings of loss, feelings of helplessness and feelings of confusion. Although the smile on Yue’s sculptures and paintings has often been interpreted as a joke or bliss, the meaning behind the smile often is so much deeper.
Yue’s influences
Yue was influenced by the Chinese modern art revolution, during which old ideas were being broken down and new thoughts were being created. He grew up when market economic policies were beginning to release and there was accelerated development. This was also a period of global economic prosperity. social and economic changes that were happening globally, especially within China, pushed artists like Yue Minjun to quickly grow and evolve. Within this group of artists, Yue is without a doubt one of the most successful. He is also known as an influential member of the Cynical Realism movement.
Self portraits & using humor as a tool
His famous self-portraits take place in various settings, with an infamous expression of wide-toothed laughter. The figures featured in these self-portraits with disproportionately large faces, gleefully open mouths and eyes closed, have become recognizable to admirers worldwide. Throughout his work, Yue utilizes humor as a tool to convey a tempestuous stage in modern China.
www.montecristomagazine.com:
'This is not something I anticipated, but it is gratifying,' he says. 'My art is certainly meant to elicit a response. I cannot, and do not want to, control that response. This is very important. The art must speak for itself, and each person has theiray of understanding it.'
www.ourcityourart.wordpress.com:
A-maze-ing Laughter features the wide open-mouthed laughter, the signature trademark of Yue Minjun, who is one of the most prominent Chinese artists known to the world. The sculpture erected in Morton Park consists of fourteen bronze laughing figures. The caricature-like happy faces are the stylized self-portrait of the artist himself. The facial intensity, comic quality and oversized figures are intended to amaze you; while the arrangement of the figures, with identical expressions but distinct gestures, constitutes a maze-like structure that encourages exploration and fun. You are invited to walk through the figures and laugh out loud if you may.
Yue Minjun was born in 1962 and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. He belongs to the generation of artists whose creative impulses were first suppressed by the totalitarian political culture and then unleashed in the reform period of the 1980s. In the 1990s, Yue became known for his pntings of laughing figures and his involvement with the art movement known as Cynical Realism. This movement was an apparent reference to and subversion of the Social Realism that dominated the art scene at the peak of the Communist-Socialist mania and that largely reduced art to an ideological propaganda tool. Yue’s shrewd observation and unique paintings capture the symptoms of the Socialist culture of his time.
The laughter is marked by eyes tightly shut, teeth bared, mouth out of proportion and wide open. The exaggeration is applied uniformly on all the figures depicted. Enigmatic and elusive as it seemed, the laughter was interpreted by many as an indication of state politics acting on everyday life, and therefore suggestive of a kind of mentality under tight social control.
The laughing figures have become one of the most recognizable representations of Chinese art. In recent years, the popularity of the laughing face has extended into popular culture. Commercial replicas of the laughing figur in different sizes and media have been made and have become must-haves for many to be in sync with contemporary China. The laughing figures have been growing in meaning over time. In the global context, the laughter has acquired a universal appeal since it has been showing and interacting with many different cultures. It is perceived as inviting playfulness and joy as well as provoking thoughts on social conditions.
Yue often states that politics is rooted deeply in the cultural psyche and human nature, and therefore it is more meaningful for art to tackle the deeper roots that shape the politics. The maze is an important concept and recurrent theme in his latest works. For him, the structural interrelations of politics, religion and culture are like a maze, within which he as a player is trying to sort out the confusion. Another copy of A-maze-ing Laughter is installed in Today Museum in Beijing.
www.timeoutbeijing.com:
What is it? Yue Minjun is one of China’s most internationally recognid artists. Since the late 1980s, his trademark motif has been that of faces eerily frozen in wild laughter. It is this motif which is used in the Shixiang Sheng sculptures outside the Today Art Museum. The expert opinion: ‘A maze of giant silver monochrome figures, all in a state of euphoric laughter. Walking amongst them, perhaps you will be the one to figure out 'what’s so funny?'’
James Elaine, founder, Telescope gallery Time Out says: These laughing figures have a polarising effect on Beijingers. We’ve witnessed commuters’ mornings being brightened and young children bursting into tears at the site of such bombastic mirth.
www.vancouverbiennale.com:
In A-maze-ing Laughter Beijing-based artist Yue Minjun depicts his own iconic laughing image, with gaping grins and closed eyes in a state of hysterical laughter. These laughing figures are the signature trademark of the artist. They are not a conventional self-portrait because they tell us little about the person portrayed. The k at the 14 cast bronze figures, the more the contradiction of the silent, frozen form of sculpture becomes obvious. 'I’d like to extend my most sincere gratitude to the Vancouver Biennale and Wilson family, who helped me realize my dream to have my work, A-maze-ing Laughter, become a legacy public art work in Vancouver', says artist Yue Minjun. 'I appreciate your respect and passion for art. My intention when making this series of sculptures was to use art to touch the heart of each visitor and to have them enjoy what art brings to them. I feel honored and happy to have my work displayed in Vancouver. I seem to have seen your smiling faces in my heart'. A-maze-ing Laughter is the most beloved sculpture of the 2009-2011 Vancouver Biennale exhibition, captivating throngs of visitors and inspiring endless playful interaction. This artwork is a legacy of the Vancouver Biennale and was presented as a gift to the people of Vancouver thanks to a generous donation by Chip and Shannon Wilson. It has quickly iconic cultural beacon in the city and will continue to inspire and engage the imagination of future generations of residents and visitors from its home in Morton Park. A-maze-ing Laughter has been nominated in the Great Places in Canada Contest 2013. It is the only work of public art to receive a nomination in the country.
www.wikipedia.org:
Yue Minjun (Chinese: 岳敏君; born 1962) is a contemporary Chinese artist based in Beijing, China. He is best known for oil paintings depicting himself in various settings, frozen in laughter. He has also reproduced this signature image in sculpture, watercolour and prints.
While Yue is often classified as part of the Ch"Cynical Realist" movement in art developed in China since 1989, Yue himself rejects this label, while at the same time "doesn't concern himself about what people call him."
First we see the wide smiling mouth of these men. Their eyes are closed and they watch the ground at an angle. These are funny faces with bulging eyes, a traditional short haircut and floppy ears. It’s strange that they are all the same. They wear an oversized regular pant. It’s strange that they wear no shirt and no shoes while they are in a public space.
They laugh everything of with their broad mouth; all what’s crazy, pathologic, performed, non-negotiable but what is accepted in our society.
Wouldn't it be liberating to talk with these men freely about what we shouldn’t accept in our society? What would it be liberating to talk about the crazy, pathologic, performed, non-negotiable parts of our society.
These naked men make themselves vulnerable. These men with regular pants and traditional haircuts participate in the community. They accept that they look a little ridiculous with their bulging eyes and floppy ears. These men with closed eyes are looking ‘inside’ for a while, to know what they are feeling and to be able to be honest.
Because of these men of Minjun Yue with their wide mouths I am invited to speak freely.
By Theo, www.artatsite.com
Vertaling
vrij
Eerst zien wij hun brede lachende mond van deze mannen. Zij hebben hun ogen dicht en kijken schuin naar de grond. Het hun grappige gezichten met bolle ogen, traditioneel kort geknipt kapsel, flaporen. Het is gek dat zij allemaal hetzelfde zijn. Zij dragen een oversized doorsnee broek. Het is gek dat zij geen overhemd en geen schoenen dragen terwijl zij in de openbare ruimte staan.
Met hun brede mond lachen zij alles weg; alles wat geaccepteerd is in onze samenleving maar wat gek, pathologisch, gespeeld, onbespreekbaar is.
Zou het niet bevrijdend zijn om met deze mannen vrijuit te kunnen praten over hetgeen wij eigenlijk niet zouden moeten accepteren? Wat zou het bevrijdend zijn om onze gekke, pathologische, gespeelde, onbespreekbare onderdelen van onze samenleving vrijuit te kunnen praten.
Deze blote mannen stellen zich kwetsbaar op. Deze mannen met standaard broeken en traditionele kapsels nemen deel aan de samenleving. Deze mannen met bolle ogen en flaporen accepteren dat zij er eventjes belachelijk uit zien. Deze mannen met dichte ogen kijken even naar ‘binnen’ kijken, om te weten wat zij voelen en eerlijk te kunnen zijn.
Door deze mannen van Minjun Yue met hun brede monden word ik uitgenodigd om vrijuit te spreken.
Door Theo, www.artatsite.com
www.publicdelivery.org:
Analysis
In portraying himself within his paintings, he allows himself more freedom of expression. Through this expression, he can look at himself and society. He can question reality, and the laugh that is portrayed in his portraits and sculptures is relatable for his countrymen and women who have experienced the changes in society. The smile that is so large and convincing often has something else behind it. Sometimes in any given situation, all we can really do is smile.
About Yue Minjun
Yue Minjun was born in Daqing in Heilongjiang, China in 1962. Yue moved from place to place for most of his life because his family had to move from oilfield to oilfield to find work. Before working as an electrician, he graduated from Hebei Normal University in 1989, where he studied oil painting.
What inspired him to create his laughing self-portraits?
1989 was the same year in which China was left shocked by the infamous student-led demonstrations and the suppression of such on Tiananmen Square. These movements played a large part in the inspiration and mood of Yue’s work. To fight the dark mood of the hour, the dark reality of the time, he created vibrant self-images embodying an almost mania; The laughing image.
The different meanings of laughter
Laughter never necessarily means happiness. Laughter can be nervous. It can be spiteful. It can be healing. A smile or a laugh can be genuine but can also be a mask. They can mask feelings of loss, feelings of helplessness and feelings of confusion. Although the smile on Yue’s sculptures and paintings has often been interpreted as a joke or bliss, the meaning behind the smile often is so much deeper.
Yue’s influences
Yue was influenced by the Chinese modern art revolution, during which old ideas were being broken down and new thoughts were being created. He grew up when market economic policies were beginning to release and there was accelerated development. This was also a period of global economic prosperity. social and economic changes that were happening globally, especially within China, pushed artists like Yue Minjun to quickly grow and evolve. Within this group of artists, Yue is without a doubt one of the most successful. He is also known as an influential member of the Cynical Realism movement.
Self portraits & using humor as a tool
His famous self-portraits take place in various settings, with an infamous expression of wide-toothed laughter. The figures featured in these self-portraits with disproportionately large faces, gleefully open mouths and eyes closed, have become recognizable to admirers worldwide. Throughout his work, Yue utilizes humor as a tool to convey a tempestuous stage in modern China.
www.montecristomagazine.com:
'This is not something I anticipated, but it is gratifying,' he says. 'My art is certainly meant to elicit a response. I cannot, and do not want to, control that response. This is very important. The art must speak for itself, and each person has theiray of understanding it.'
www.ourcityourart.wordpress.com:
A-maze-ing Laughter features the wide open-mouthed laughter, the signature trademark of Yue Minjun, who is one of the most prominent Chinese artists known to the world. The sculpture erected in Morton Park consists of fourteen bronze laughing figures. The caricature-like happy faces are the stylized self-portrait of the artist himself. The facial intensity, comic quality and oversized figures are intended to amaze you; while the arrangement of the figures, with identical expressions but distinct gestures, constitutes a maze-like structure that encourages exploration and fun. You are invited to walk through the figures and laugh out loud if you may.
Yue Minjun was born in 1962 and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. He belongs to the generation of artists whose creative impulses were first suppressed by the totalitarian political culture and then unleashed in the reform period of the 1980s. In the 1990s, Yue became known for his pntings of laughing figures and his involvement with the art movement known as Cynical Realism. This movement was an apparent reference to and subversion of the Social Realism that dominated the art scene at the peak of the Communist-Socialist mania and that largely reduced art to an ideological propaganda tool. Yue’s shrewd observation and unique paintings capture the symptoms of the Socialist culture of his time.
The laughter is marked by eyes tightly shut, teeth bared, mouth out of proportion and wide open. The exaggeration is applied uniformly on all the figures depicted. Enigmatic and elusive as it seemed, the laughter was interpreted by many as an indication of state politics acting on everyday life, and therefore suggestive of a kind of mentality under tight social control.
The laughing figures have become one of the most recognizable representations of Chinese art. In recent years, the popularity of the laughing face has extended into popular culture. Commercial replicas of the laughing figur in different sizes and media have been made and have become must-haves for many to be in sync with contemporary China. The laughing figures have been growing in meaning over time. In the global context, the laughter has acquired a universal appeal since it has been showing and interacting with many different cultures. It is perceived as inviting playfulness and joy as well as provoking thoughts on social conditions.
Yue often states that politics is rooted deeply in the cultural psyche and human nature, and therefore it is more meaningful for art to tackle the deeper roots that shape the politics. The maze is an important concept and recurrent theme in his latest works. For him, the structural interrelations of politics, religion and culture are like a maze, within which he as a player is trying to sort out the confusion. Another copy of A-maze-ing Laughter is installed in Today Museum in Beijing.
www.timeoutbeijing.com:
What is it? Yue Minjun is one of China’s most internationally recognid artists. Since the late 1980s, his trademark motif has been that of faces eerily frozen in wild laughter. It is this motif which is used in the Shixiang Sheng sculptures outside the Today Art Museum. The expert opinion: ‘A maze of giant silver monochrome figures, all in a state of euphoric laughter. Walking amongst them, perhaps you will be the one to figure out 'what’s so funny?'’
James Elaine, founder, Telescope gallery Time Out says: These laughing figures have a polarising effect on Beijingers. We’ve witnessed commuters’ mornings being brightened and young children bursting into tears at the site of such bombastic mirth.
www.vancouverbiennale.com:
In A-maze-ing Laughter Beijing-based artist Yue Minjun depicts his own iconic laughing image, with gaping grins and closed eyes in a state of hysterical laughter. These laughing figures are the signature trademark of the artist. They are not a conventional self-portrait because they tell us little about the person portrayed. The k at the 14 cast bronze figures, the more the contradiction of the silent, frozen form of sculpture becomes obvious. 'I’d like to extend my most sincere gratitude to the Vancouver Biennale and Wilson family, who helped me realize my dream to have my work, A-maze-ing Laughter, become a legacy public art work in Vancouver', says artist Yue Minjun. 'I appreciate your respect and passion for art. My intention when making this series of sculptures was to use art to touch the heart of each visitor and to have them enjoy what art brings to them. I feel honored and happy to have my work displayed in Vancouver. I seem to have seen your smiling faces in my heart'. A-maze-ing Laughter is the most beloved sculpture of the 2009-2011 Vancouver Biennale exhibition, captivating throngs of visitors and inspiring endless playful interaction. This artwork is a legacy of the Vancouver Biennale and was presented as a gift to the people of Vancouver thanks to a generous donation by Chip and Shannon Wilson. It has quickly iconic cultural beacon in the city and will continue to inspire and engage the imagination of future generations of residents and visitors from its home in Morton Park. A-maze-ing Laughter has been nominated in the Great Places in Canada Contest 2013. It is the only work of public art to receive a nomination in the country.
www.wikipedia.org:
Yue Minjun (Chinese: 岳敏君; born 1962) is a contemporary Chinese artist based in Beijing, China. He is best known for oil paintings depicting himself in various settings, frozen in laughter. He has also reproduced this signature image in sculpture, watercolour and prints.
While Yue is often classified as part of the Ch"Cynical Realist" movement in art developed in China since 1989, Yue himself rejects this label, while at the same time "doesn't concern himself about what people call him."