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Always good to say hello to those great sculpture in English Bay. I added a texture ( Thanks to Tota.
J'aime ces sculptures et à chaque fois que je suis au centre-ville je vais les voir!
"Yue Minjun utilise son propre visage iconique dans un état de rire hystérique comme une marque de fabrique. Reconnu universellement comme un signe de bonheur, le sourire soulève des questions d'intention et d'interprétation."
Bon vendredi à tous. Ici j'ai ajouté une texture ( Merci Tota)
Yue MINJUN
Né en 1962 à Daqing, Chine. Vit et travaille à Pékin, Chine
Remarqué en 1999 lors de sa participation à la Biennale de Venise, Yue Minjun s’est depuis imposé comme le peintre chinois le plus influent de sa génération. Modèle immuable de tous ses tableaux, Yue Minjun a adopté le rire comme thème central de son œuvre. Ses visages au rire franc et massif montrent une bouche démesurément ouverte par un rire créant une image frappante. Ce procédé est employé pour laisser une marque indélébile chez le visiteur et l’inciter à réfléchir sur ce qu’il observe. Les zygomatiques sont tellement ouverts que les yeux sont fermés comme des volets. Ces visages ne regardent pas car ils n’ont rien à regarder, ils n’ont aucun intérêt pour ce qui peut arriver.
L’œuvre pour Paris La Défense
À Paris La Défense, l’artiste installe la sculpture The Tao Laughter n°4 (2012). Le titre de l’œuvre est une référence à Tao Tô King, ouvrage fondateur du taoïsme attribué à Lao Tseu (600 avant J.-C.) dans lequel il est suggéré que le rire permet de résoudre les problèmes de société sans douleur ni chagrin pour atteindre la paix intérieure.
Faisant références aux cultures chinoise et occidentale, ces sculptures magistrales interpellent et questionnent notre rapport à la société.
THE TAO LAUGHTER NO. 4, 2012
Acier inoxydable
Pièce unique
Courtesy Templon, Paris – Brussels
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-maze-ing_Laughter
When we get downtown- in the West End, we always want to say hello to the Laughing guys ! There are 14 of them. Bronze sculpture created by Yue Minjun.
Apres 38 photos de pieds ( les miens ou avec d'autres personnes, cette serie se termine pour le moment mais je pense deja y revenir dans quelques temps. Merci a tous de m'avoir suivi avec ce theme particulier qui montre bien que j'aime la marche. Apres tout JE MARCHE SOUVENT ET j'ai marche un long Camino en 2019 ( le recit est raconte dans un livre -sur Amazon: MON CAMINO EN FRANCE. I l est aussi publie en anglais: ON FOOT IN FRANCE.
A-maze-ing Laughter is a group of 14 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, installed in Morton Park along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver, Canada in 2009.
The patinated bronze sculpture, composed of 14 statues each about 3 meters tall and weighing over 250 kg, portrays the artist's own image in a state of hysterical laughter. It was created as part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, which exhibits international contemporary works in public places.
The sculpture was donated to the City of Vancouver by Chip and Shannon Wilson through the Wilson5 Foundation on August 11, 2012.
As part of the installation, an inscription carved into cement seating states "May this sculpture inspire laughter, playfulness and joy in all who experience it."
--- wikipedia
One of the most popular public art installations in Vancouver, the A-maze-ing Laughter sculpture is a bronze sculpture made of 14 statues in various poses of laughter. The designer, Yue Minjun created multiple imitations of himself "in a state of hysterical laughter".
The exhibit can be found in Morton Park. Close to first beach in the West End neighborhood at Davie & Denman.
We are laughing because we have a day of laughters designated in Vancouver!
Have a happy day!!
This is a shot from 2015.
Why are you laughing?
Because we are happy!
Why are you happy?
Because we are going to have a Happy New Year of 2016!
Wish you all a very Happy New year of 2016!
Fuji X-T1 camera
Fuji XF 35mm F2 WR lens
Firmware 4.10
Classic Chrome film simulation
Sculpture by Yue Minjun
"May this sculpture inspire laughter, playfulness and joy in all who experience it."
"A-maze-ing Laughter" by Yue Minjun (2009), part of the Vancouver Biennale's "Open Air Museum" and purchased for the city by Chip & Shannon Wilson, seen early on a foggy morning in Vancouver, B.C.
A new work in patinated bronze by Chinese artist Yue Minjun. Installed as part of Vancouver Biennale 2009-2011. A fascinating work, a lot of people were stopping to look and it was certainly bringing out a lot of laughter and giggles.
From the inscription:
"Yue Minjun uses his own iconic face in a state of hysterical laughter as a signature trademark. Recognized universally as a sign of happiness, the 'smile' raises questions of intent and interpretation.
One of the most influential contemporary artists in China, Yue Minjun represents the new wave of Chinese artistic freedom. 'SHI XIANG SHENG' marks Yue Minjun's Canadian debut."
Vancouver's Berkeley Tower in the West End has recently been totally renovated inside and out with all tenants having to move out, which created some controversy regarding this renoviction, but they had enjoyed below-market rents for many years and the building is right near the beach at English Bay and was in need of major repairs. What had been somewhat of a drab building built in 1958 and painted green and yellow now has murals by Douglas Coupland. Even the most inveterate party-goers will now be able to find their building at night. In Morton Park below is the very popular
A-maze-ing Laughter, a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun. First installed for the Vancouver Biennale in 2009, the group was able to purchase the installation with a donation from Lululemon founder Chip Wilson and his wife Shannon.
Yue MINJUN - The Tao Laughter No. 4, 2012
Né en 1962 à Daqing, Chine. Vit et travaille à Pékin, Chine
À Paris La Défense, l’artiste installe la sculpture The Tao Laughter n°4 (2012). Le titre de l’œuvre est une référence à Tao Tô King, ouvrage fondateur du taoïsme attribué à Lao Tseu (600 avant J.-C.) dans lequel il est suggéré que le rire permet de résoudre les problèmes de société sans douleur ni chagrin pour atteindre la paix intérieure.Faisant références aux cultures chinoise et occidentale, ces sculptures magistrales interpellent et questionnent notre rapport à la société.
parisladefense.com/fr/les-extatiques-2020/paris-la-defens...
© All Rights Reserved
A-maze-ing Laughter is a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun
Most beloved sculpture of the 2009-2011 Vancouver Biennale exhibition
A-maze-ing Laughter consists of 14 enormous bronze statues of shirtless guys, all posed differently and laughing hysterically.
Each statue stands about three metres tall and weighs over 250 kilograms
They greet visitors to Vancouver's English Bay Beach, Vancouver BC Canada
Located in Morton Park.
Please view this series of 3 photos.
Thanks for visiting ... keep smiling ( laughter is the best medicine )
Christie
.
Yue MINJUN
Né en 1962 à Daqing, Chine. Vit et travaille à Pékin, Chine
Remarqué en 1999 lors de sa participation à la Biennale de Venise, Yue Minjun s’est depuis imposé comme le peintre chinois le plus influent de sa génération. Modèle immuable de tous ses tableaux, Yue Minjun a adopté le rire comme thème central de son œuvre. Ses visages au rire franc et massif montrent une bouche démesurément ouverte par un rire créant une image frappante. Ce procédé est employé pour laisser une marque indélébile chez le visiteur et l’inciter à réfléchir sur ce qu’il observe. Les zygomatiques sont tellement ouverts que les yeux sont fermés comme des volets. Ces visages ne regardent pas car ils n’ont rien à regarder, ils n’ont aucun intérêt pour ce qui peut arriver.
L’œuvre pour Paris La Défense
À Paris La Défense, l’artiste installe la sculpture The Tao Laughter n°4 (2012). Le titre de l’œuvre est une référence à Tao Tô King, ouvrage fondateur du taoïsme attribué à Lao Tseu (600 avant J.-C.) dans lequel il est suggéré que le rire permet de résoudre les problèmes de société sans douleur ni chagrin pour atteindre la paix intérieure.
Faisant références aux cultures chinoise et occidentale, ces sculptures magistrales interpellent et questionnent notre rapport à la société.
THE TAO LAUGHTER NO. 4, 2012
Acier inoxydable
Pièce unique
Courtesy Templon, Paris – Brussels
A-maze-ing Laughter is a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, located in Morton Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A-maze-ing Laughter was designed by Yue Minjun and installed in Morton Park (Davie and Denman) along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver in 2009. The patinated bronze sculpture, composed of 14 statues each about three metres tall and weighing over 250 kilograms,[3] portrays the artist's own image "in a state of hysterical laughter". It was created as part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, which exhibits international contemporary works in public spaces. The sculpture was donated to the City of Vancouver by Chip and Shannon Wilson through the Wilson5 Foundation on August 11, 2012. As part of the installation, an inscription carved into cement seating states "May this sculpture inspire laughter playfulness and joy in all who experience it." [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-maze-ing_Laughter]
Vancouver, officially the City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, and the most populous city in the province. The 2011 census recorded 603,502 people in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square km, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square km (13,590 per square mi). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality with over 250,000 residents, and the fourth most densely populated such city in North America behind New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City. The original settlement, named Gastown, grew up on clearcuts on the west edge of the Hastings Mill logging sawmill's property, where a makeshift tavern had been set up on a plank between two stumps and the proprietor, Gassy Jack, persuaded the curious millworkers to build him a tavern, on 1 July 1867. From that first enterprise, other stores and some hotels quickly appeared along the waterfront to the west. Gastown became formally laid out as a registered townsite dubbed Granville, B.I. ("B.I" standing for "Burrard Inlet"). As part of the land and political deal whereby the area of the townsite was made the railhead of the CPR, it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated shortly thereafter as a city, in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and Europe. As of 2014, Port Metro Vancouver is the third largest port by tonnage in the Americas (displacing New York), 27th in the world, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest film production centres in North America, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North. [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver]
Unless it's a sculpture... During this 'indoor time' I've been editing old images. Found this one from 2012.
A-maze-ing Laughter is a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, located in Morton Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A-maze-ing Laughter was designed by Yue Minjun and installed in Morton Park (Davie and Denman) along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver in 2009. The patinated bronze sculpture, composed of 14 statues each about three metres tall and weighing over 250 kilograms,[3] portrays the artist's own image "in a state of hysterical laughter". It was created as part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, which exhibits international contemporary works in public spaces. The sculpture was donated to the City of Vancouver by Chip and Shannon Wilson through the Wilson5 Foundation on August 11, 2012. As part of the installation, an inscription carved into cement seating states "May this sculpture inspire laughter playfulness and joy in all who experience it." [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-maze-ing_Laughter]
Vancouver, officially the City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, and the most populous city in the province. The 2011 census recorded 603,502 people in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square km, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square km (13,590 per square mi). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality with over 250,000 residents, and the fourth most densely populated such city in North America behind New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City. The original settlement, named Gastown, grew up on clearcuts on the west edge of the Hastings Mill logging sawmill's property, where a makeshift tavern had been set up on a plank between two stumps and the proprietor, Gassy Jack, persuaded the curious millworkers to build him a tavern, on 1 July 1867. From that first enterprise, other stores and some hotels quickly appeared along the waterfront to the west. Gastown became formally laid out as a registered townsite dubbed Granville, B.I. ("B.I" standing for "Burrard Inlet"). As part of the land and political deal whereby the area of the townsite was made the railhead of the CPR, it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated shortly thereafter as a city, in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and Europe. As of 2014, Port Metro Vancouver is the third largest port by tonnage in the Americas (displacing New York), 27th in the world, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest film production centres in North America, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North. [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver]
Photographed by many and here's one more!
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 (of LuLuLemon). It has quickly become an 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.
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 longer you look 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”.
Yue Minjun uses his own iconic face in a state of hysterical laughter as a signature trademark. Recognized universally
as a sign of happiness, the smile raises questions of intent and interpretation.
One of the most influential contemporary artists in China, Yue Minjun represents the new wave of Chinese artistic freedom
"SHI XIANG SHENG" marks Yue Minjun's Canadian debut.
Yue Minjun’s first museum show in the United States took place at the Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York. The show, Yue Minjun and the Symbolic Smile, featured bronze and polychrome sculptures, paintings and drawings and ran from October 2007 to January 2008.
The first major exhibition in Europe dedicated to the artist from November 14, 2012 to March 17, 2013. The Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain presented the first major European exhibition dedicated to the Chinese artist Yue Minjun, a unique opportunity to discover the work of an artist who, in spite of his international renown, continues to maintain a relatively low profile.
See more at: forecastpublicart.org/public-art-review/current-projects/...
Yue Minjun, Contemporary Terracotta Warriors , part of the Sotheby's In The Park , - Beyond Limits exhibition, 2010
The Cascade , Chatsworth House , Derbyshire
A-maze-ing Laughter is a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, located in Morton Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A-maze-ing Laughter was designed by Yue Minjun and installed in Morton Park (Davie and Denman) along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver in 2009. The patinated bronze sculpture, composed of 14 statues each about three metres tall and weighing over 250 kilograms,[3] portrays the artist's own image "in a state of hysterical laughter". It was created as part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, which exhibits international contemporary works in public spaces. The sculpture was donated to the City of Vancouver by Chip and Shannon Wilson through the Wilson5 Foundation on August 11, 2012. As part of the installation, an inscription carved into cement seating states "May this sculpture inspire laughter playfulness and joy in all who experience it." [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-maze-ing_Laughter]
Vancouver, officially the City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, and the most populous city in the province. The 2011 census recorded 603,502 people in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square km, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square km (13,590 per square mi). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality with over 250,000 residents, and the fourth most densely populated such city in North America behind New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City. The original settlement, named Gastown, grew up on clearcuts on the west edge of the Hastings Mill logging sawmill's property, where a makeshift tavern had been set up on a plank between two stumps and the proprietor, Gassy Jack, persuaded the curious millworkers to build him a tavern, on 1 July 1867. From that first enterprise, other stores and some hotels quickly appeared along the waterfront to the west. Gastown became formally laid out as a registered townsite dubbed Granville, B.I. ("B.I" standing for "Burrard Inlet"). As part of the land and political deal whereby the area of the townsite was made the railhead of the CPR, it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated shortly thereafter as a city, in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and Europe. As of 2014, Port Metro Vancouver is the third largest port by tonnage in the Americas (displacing New York), 27th in the world, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest film production centres in North America, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North. [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver]
A-maze-ing Laughter statues at Morton Park in Vancouver, Canada. I really wanted to visit that little patio area with the tree on top of the green building in the background.
Yue MINJUN
Né en 1962 à Daqing, Chine. Vit et travaille à Pékin, Chine
Remarqué en 1999 lors de sa participation à la Biennale de Venise, Yue Minjun s’est depuis imposé comme le peintre chinois le plus influent de sa génération. Modèle immuable de tous ses tableaux, Yue Minjun a adopté le rire comme thème central de son œuvre. Ses visages au rire franc et massif montrent une bouche démesurément ouverte par un rire créant une image frappante. Ce procédé est employé pour laisser une marque indélébile chez le visiteur et l’inciter à réfléchir sur ce qu’il observe. Les zygomatiques sont tellement ouverts que les yeux sont fermés comme des volets. Ces visages ne regardent pas car ils n’ont rien à regarder, ils n’ont aucun intérêt pour ce qui peut arriver.
L’œuvre pour Paris La Défense
À Paris La Défense, l’artiste installe la sculpture The Tao Laughter n°4 (2012). Le titre de l’œuvre est une référence à Tao Tô King, ouvrage fondateur du taoïsme attribué à Lao Tseu (600 avant J.-C.) dans lequel il est suggéré que le rire permet de résoudre les problèmes de société sans douleur ni chagrin pour atteindre la paix intérieure.
Faisant références aux cultures chinoise et occidentale, ces sculptures magistrales interpellent et questionnent notre rapport à la société.
THE TAO LAUGHTER NO. 4, 2012
Acier inoxydable
Pièce unique
Courtesy Templon, Paris – Brussels
A Self Portrait with The A-Maze-ing Laughter Sculpture at Morton Park, English Bay Vancouver... Can You See Me ?? ;-)
Detail of "A-maze-ing Laughter" -- a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, located in Morton Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
A-maze-ing Laughter is a 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, located in Morton Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A-maze-ing Laughter was designed by Yue Minjun and installed in Morton Park (Davie and Denman) along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver in 2009. The patinated bronze sculpture, composed of 14 statues each about three metres tall and weighing over 250 kilograms,[3] portrays the artist's own image "in a state of hysterical laughter". It was created as part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, which exhibits international contemporary works in public spaces. The sculpture was donated to the City of Vancouver by Chip and Shannon Wilson through the Wilson5 Foundation on August 11, 2012. As part of the installation, an inscription carved into cement seating states "May this sculpture inspire laughter playfulness and joy in all who experience it." [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-maze-ing_Laughter]
Vancouver, officially the City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, and the most populous city in the province. The 2011 census recorded 603,502 people in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square km, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square km (13,590 per square mi). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality with over 250,000 residents, and the fourth most densely populated such city in North America behind New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City. The original settlement, named Gastown, grew up on clearcuts on the west edge of the Hastings Mill logging sawmill's property, where a makeshift tavern had been set up on a plank between two stumps and the proprietor, Gassy Jack, persuaded the curious millworkers to build him a tavern, on 1 July 1867. From that first enterprise, other stores and some hotels quickly appeared along the waterfront to the west. Gastown became formally laid out as a registered townsite dubbed Granville, B.I. ("B.I" standing for "Burrard Inlet"). As part of the land and political deal whereby the area of the townsite was made the railhead of the CPR, it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated shortly thereafter as a city, in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and Europe. As of 2014, Port Metro Vancouver is the third largest port by tonnage in the Americas (displacing New York), 27th in the world, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest film production centres in North America, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North. [source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver]
Yue Minjun's laugh is similar to Democritus' laugh, which according to Hippocrates' diagnosis is as follows. The condemnation of human vain restlessness, the feeling of absurdity that results from it, is the source of Democritus' mad laughter. But his laughter is not contemptuous. He must laugh at himself too. By the power of his gaze alone, he turns men's lives into a comic scene, populated by disjointed puppets restlessly agitated by an invisible hand. He is also a Freudian laugh. Without the liberating laugh, Freud says, man would not tolerate the straitjacket, the straitjacket, the inhibitions that society constantly arouses. The capacity for humour "saves" this intolerable. His humour is also Nietzschean.
The roots of Yue Minjun's style can be traced back to the work of Geng Jianyi, which had first inspired Yue with his work of his own laughing face. Over the years, Yue Minjun's style has also rapidly developed. Yue often challenges social and cultural conventions by depicting objects and even political issues in a radical and abstract manner. He has also shifted his focus from the technical aspects to the "whole concept of creation". In the mid 1990s, the godfather of Chinese contemporary art Mr. Li Xianting tagged Yue Minjun a Cynical Realism mark, Cynical Realism means describe the living status with a cynicism and mocking ridicule art attitude, using self-opinion to understand political and commercial. "Yue’s pieces are mocking himself and the community, free himself and vent his emotions"."Art critics have often associated Yue with the Cynical Realism art movement in contemporary Chinese art. Yue is currently residing with fifty other Chinese artists in the Songzhuang Village. Since his debut, the work of Yue Minjun has been featured in numerous galleries in Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing. His piece Execution became the most expensive work ever by a Chinese contemporary artist, when sold in 2007 for £2.9 million pounds (US $5.9 million) at London's Sotheby's. Until its sale at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2007, this painting had been owned by Trevor Simon, a junior investment banker who bought it with about a third of his salary while working in the region. Simon kept this painting in storage for 10 years as required by the conditions of sale. The record sale took place week after his painting Massacre of Chios sold at the Hong Kong Sotheby's for nearly $4.1 million. ‘Massacre of Chios' shares its name with a painting of the same name, by Eugène Delacroix, depicting the 1822 event in Greek history. As of 2007 thirteen of his paintings had sold for over a million dollars. One of his most popular series was his "Hat" collection. This series, pictures Yue's grinning head wearing a variety of hats—a chef's hat, a Special Forces beret, the helmet of a British policeman, Catwoman's mask, and so on. The artist tells us that the series is about a "sense of the absurdity of the ideas that govern the sociopolitical protocol surrounding hats." The series nicely illustrates the way that Yue's character is universally adaptable, a sort of logo that can be attached to any setting to add value. When asked to participate in the Venice Biennale in 1999, Yue opted to begin fabricating bronze sculptural versions of his signature self-portrait paintings, playing off China's famous Qin Dynasty army of terracotta warriors. While the ancient sculptures are known for the subtle individuality of each of the warriors, his cackling modern-day version are relentlessly identical, cast from the same mold. In Noah's Ark, six of Yue's self-portraits sit in a small rowboat on a blue sea, squatting together, gripping their knees and screaming in silent laughter. In Solar System, three identical Yues are cackling at the bottom of the canvas, each clad only in underwear, giant planets wheeling behind them in outer space. During the "Year of China" in France in 2003/2004, he participated to the exhibition "China, the body everywhere?" including 39 Chinese contemporary artists such as Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Fang Lijun, Yang Shaobin at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Marseille (fr).
Yue Minjun’s first museum show in the United States took place at the Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York. The show, Yue Minjun and the Symbolic Smile, featured bronze and polychrome sculptures, paintings and drawings and ran from October 2007 to January 2008.[13]
The first major exhibition in Europe dedicated to the artist from November 14, 2012 to March 17, 2013. The Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain presented the first major European exhibition dedicated to the Chinese artist Yue Minjun, a unique opportunity to discover the work of an artist who, in spite of his international renown, continues to maintain a relatively low profile.
In the early 2000s two opposite artistic movements developed in China. The first resides with artists who have left China and who establish a critical dialogue between Western and contemporary art and Chinese culture. Their best known representatives are Huang Yong Ping who is now in France, Cai Guo-Qiang who lives in New York and Chen Zhen who lived in France. The second trend brings together artists who have remained in China to form cynical realism and pop-politics. The latter was born simultaneously with the cynical realism of the early 1990s. These artists are Wang Guangyi born in 1957, Li Shan born in 1944 and Yu Youhan born in 1943. Cynical realism turns away from avant-gardist art and dedicates itself to the expression of experience within society. The suffering of artists and their criticism of society is reflected in the drawing of joyful figures. These two currents have radically challenged the'85 New Wave. This current of cynical realism is therefore less opposed to official art than to the romantic aspect of the New Wave'85 or experimental art. New Wave'85 is an avant-garde art movement between 1985 and 1989 in China as an alternative to official art and in response to the Cultural Revolution. The use of realistic painting was a means of asserting the domination of cynicism in the mentalities of the artists of the time. In the early 1990s, widespread disillusionment had weakened any idea that art had the capacity to play the role of society's saviour, and diminished the scope of experimental art. According to Yue Minjun, cynical realism expresses the authenticity of a personal sensation, a method and a language. The aim was to question all the previous methods. This questioning of whole sections of artistic expression has allowed a return to a more personal, more authentic way of being, which has also resulted in a withdrawal into oneself leading to a kind of closure, a resistance to reality or even a refusal of the past, a scheme which is essential when the person does not have the means or the strength to alter reality. From 1989 to 1991, many artists won over by despair met at the art critic Li Xianting. This art journalist is renowned for his bias in favour of Chinese avant-garde art of the late 1970s. He invented the classification "cynical realism" and "political pop" in 1992. Fang Lijun born in 1963, Liu Wei born in 1965 and Yue Minjun form the most emblematic trio of cynical realism painters. This Chinese artistic movement was born around the beginning of the 1990s. It is distinguished by figurative works focused on the presence of the body and by disillusionment with China's socio-political changes. The strong repression carried out by the army between April 15 and June 4, 1989 against the demonstrators of the Tian'anmen square triggered this state of disenchantment which had already been present with in 1987 the propaganda against the bourgeois liberalization at the end of the year 1986. In several large Chinese cities, students organized demonstrations to demand more liberty and democracy. Deng Xiaoping led a major crackdown throughout 1987 associating these demonstrations with a bourgeois liberalizing threat. The works are embarrassing because the depictions of the characters are repulsive with a pink, shiny skin, which resembles that of burnt people resembling torn flesh, with faces that look like wax masks, grotesque, dehumanized.
"If you look at the works we painted at that time, you will understand that we preferred above all to paint the things we felt, even if they were ugly and negative, rather than the beautiful, positive things we did not feel. That is why, in my opinion, we have returned to painting authentic and reliable things. Then art has regained all its strength."
Yue Minjun denies an aesthetic painting. He says he doesn't want to make beautiful paintings that make him nauseous. This beauty is non-existent according to him.
"For me, it is essential to paint a shape with which I am perfectly at ease, something that soothes me. People may say "this guy's painting is bad" but for me it's a way of being that's right. I'm not after elegance. What I paint is very common. I consider myself a vulgar performer. This vulgarity is rather well received by the general public because it does not like elegant things either. I'm just adapting to this popular flavor."
The ridiculous and sarcastic laughter is its artistic leitmotiv, allowing an immediate recognition of its author. His frank and massively laughing faces show an overly open mouth with a laugh that lets the teeth glimpse as if in an impeccable alignment of white piano keys, creating a strong visual effort by creating a striking image. This process can approach the close-up technique in cinema with the impact of induced punch. It is used to leave an indelible mark on the visitor and encourage him to reflect on what he observes. The zygomatic are so open that the eyes are closed like shutters. These faces do not look because they have nothing to look at, they have no interest in what can happen. He uses laughter to evoke the tensions of Chinese society. To circumvent censorship, artists who remained in China after 1989 must conform to the propaganda icons of Maoist ideology by painting faces with wild optimism. It is precisely the mask of this forced and hypocritical smile that translates the irony, derision, pain or sarcasm according to the painter's paintings. The constant smile on these faces is a ceremony in response to others except that laughter is not the same for everyone. The use of laughter has more force than looks of hatred in the name of irony. Great Joy, (1993) presents dozens of clones of the artist with his face hilarious standing, his hands behind his back, displaying on order a happiness commissioned by Socialist Realism. If the blue water of David Hockney's luxurious swimming pools has also inspired Yue Minjun, it is to cynically colour the sea where a Chinese drowns in front of a ship of tourists equipped with cameras who greet him joyfully, (Bystander in 2011).
Yue Minjun breaks the lock between the duos of laughter/crying, Democritus/Heraclitus, comedy/tragedy. If tears can only express pain, laughter is much more ambivalent and enigmatic. Tears call for interiority and invite sharing, laughter is externalized and leads to exclusion. This repetitive offensive laugh is intended to confuse. In the first works, the laughter is nuanced, different according to the characters, particular. A personality can be surrounded. The laughter considered as mechanics plated on the living according to Bergson is faulted by Yue Minjun. This insertion of mechanical stiffness in the fluidity of movement does not exist. The artist makes the living disappear behind this mask of laughter which prohibits any sensitivity. This laugh is uniformly identical, leaving no trace of personality. Indeed, by using human figures as a "brick", and no longer as a central element, as the end in itself of the work, the human is shown as a simple means for composition, and it is in this highlighting of an instrumentalization that lies the denunciation of the society in which he lives (and I am not necessarily talking about Chinese society). The human figure is the basis of totalitarianism, not the end; the head becomes the absurd receptacle of something else, not the center of everything. Paintings are the expression of tragedy, pain, scenes of struggle painting in brutal contexts. Being unable to express things directly, it is easier to express oneself by using laughter. The artist expresses painful emotions in a comic style. Faced with a violent and hard world, he opposes a laugh of challenge, of resistance with a wild optimism. This entrenched disenchantment is therefore not translated by an expression of suffering through suffering but by sarcastic gaiety, an attitude common by artists belonging to cynical realism.
At M+, the museum of contemporary visual culture in Hong Kong
La Liberte Guident le Peuple 1995 by Yue Minjun (岳敏君 自由引導人民前進 1995)
These wonderful bronze sculptures are in a park in West end of Vancouver.
"A-maze-ing Laughter was designed by Yue Minjun and installed in Morton Park along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver in 2009. The patinated bronze sculpture portrays the artist's own image "in a state of hysterical laughter".
Enjoy your week and thanks for your visits:)