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Edutainment > Articles on Art > Yunnan Art School > Dong Jiangsheng about Li Yanpeng - Living in the Modesty of Nature

Li Yanpeng

Excited Insects, 2002
copyright Li Yanpeng

This article about Li Yanpeng was written by Dong Jiangsheng, born 1936 in Heibei province. Both artists are among today's leading Chinese printmakers. Dong Jiangsheng had experienced the harshness of the old regime when he was relegated from art training in 1957 and sent into the countryside to hard labor for a remark about the quality of Soviet bicycles. The importance of both artists is underlined by the fact that they were selected to contribute to the collection of the London based Muban Foundation.

Dong Jiansheng about Li Yanpeng

"I am not a professional art critic, and I never comment people's artworks. Why I wrote this article, that is because I am deeply touched by a printmaker's performance. It is the young printmaker Li Yanpeng whose talent has been shown in these recent years. He achieved great success in the creation of art prints.

Friends suggested him to invite famous critics to introduce his fine art prints, but he refused mannerly. Li said, if an introduction is necessary, I want to invite Dong Jiansheng, as we studied often the printing technique together. He knows my artwork and me well. In the current art scene, artists like to invite personalities to write articles to make them seem appear more famous. But Li Yanpeng does not like this. We can see his personality and spiritual ambit by this. For this reason, I will tell something about Li Yanpeng that I know.

The Barren Loess Plateau

The barren Loess Plateau, docile goats, lonely little trees, those Northern country landscapes full of field sentiments that appeared often in Li's artworks are language symbols and spiritual carriers of his woodcuts. During the current period in which the arts flourish so much, there is maybe nothing of "en vogue" in Li's art work. But he cuts with all his heart and all his passion and gives these landscapes a new life and special meaning. The creations "Warm Winter" and "On the Field" won the favors of many collectors and exploited a new field of the waste-block prints.

Passion in Art

Li Yanpeng

Excited Insects, detail
copyright Li Yanpeng

Li Yanpeng was born in 1958, in a small village of Hebei province. He grew up on the Loess Plateau which allowed him to be a typical country boy. He graduated from Chinese Central Fine Art Academy, educated by a strict and systematic art training. Later he became a professional artist, but he kept always the modest, honest and sincere character that those farmers have.

The subjects he chose are not to seek for novelties or sensations. It is his homeland, which he knows most, loves most, and which he cannot leave forever. These are his thoughts, his feelings and his taste about life. One can say that it was his instinctive choice. The famous Holland artist Vincent van Gogh once said:

"A real artist is directed by his heart".

Li Yanpeng is driven by his heart. And this is the reason why the farmers, the goats and the Loess Plateau became so vivid, natural and full of tenderness in his images. One can literally feel the breath and sweetness of the earth. There is no phoniness, falsehood or affectation.

Li's artworks makes me think about the famous artworks "The Gleaners" and "Shepherdess with her Flock" by Jean Francois Millet. Why could these art works conquer the world? I think it is because the creative subjects were taken from the artist's familiar and favorite background of life. Familiarity and passion are the true meaning of all successful creation. Without the love for life, without this impulse of creation, an artist cannot create any artworks that move deeply.

Fine Art and the People

The artworks by Li Yanpeng are not "high hog" and are easily accessible. There is no moral preaching in them and there is no fuss in them about imaginary problems. Li simply uses a technique to describe in a realistic style the ordinary life that all people are familiar with. Thus he expresses his feelings.

Li communicates with his collectors in the same way. Li Yanpeng's artwork is also very popular among the common people. If an artist is alienated from the people, he forgot his social responsibility of being an artist. Being a young artist, Li Yanpeng did not forget the people when he quested for art individualism. He combined his own interests with those of society. This is worth of being mentioned and praised. As we often said:

"People need art, and art needs more people."

This is the right way which several generations of Chinese printmakers followed. An artist must have his bosom filled with ardor when he faces his audience.

The Stone Series

In 1990, Li created a set of mixed media prints, the series of "Stones" by using relief printing techniques, mostly etching. He expressed different shapes of stones with plane compositions. This technique was very new and surprising at that time.

Li earned many laurels and praises from other artists. It was very creative in its mode and technique. But the regret is that he did not get rid of some old restrictions - this old mantra of "The form is more important than the content. The technique is more important than the spirit."

Once he realized this, he began to use murky gray colors to express stone. But the cold feeling of stones cannot activate the audience's passion. So he adjusted at once his creative state, he faced life and his audience with full fervor. And back on the right path of creation he was. So when we talk about going deep in life, he will immediately be very excited. The great success that he owned was nothing but the gift and honor from life.

Li Yanpeng and Waste-Block Printing

Li Yanpeng

Excited Insects, more detailed
copyright Li Yanpeng

The technique that Li Yanpeng uses is the "waste-block" printing technique which the artists from Yunnan use. (For an explanation of this technique, see Reduction Woodblock Printmaking.) Li keeps the balance of colors using the technique of similar colors superposed. He pays more attention to intergradation blocks. And he uses dense but fluent multi-line cutting traces to build up the effects of gradual change, to make the image more abundant, fine, profound and vivid. Nevertheless it does not lose the special character of printmaking.

The prints by Li Yanpeng changed the old impression that people have: woodcuts are some kind of paper cut-outs. He brought fresh energy to Chinese traditional woodcuts. I think that his work is definitely a great contribution to the technique of woodblock printing.

Li Yanpeng kept up his faith that printmaking would be his whole life metier for which it was worth to struggle. He was director of a decoration company influenced by a fast developing Chinese economy. But he did not feel at ease, and gave up this good opportunity to make money. Instead he went back to his desolate and humble atelier and held his ground to create his favorite woodcuts. He is not a wealthy man, but he is rich in his heart.

Laurels

Li Yanpeng is a diffident person. He is not a great orator, and he is never arrogant. When I met Li Yanpeng for the first time, he seemed to lack the typical youthful spirit. But he accumulates all his strong feelings in the depth of his heart. Even in the art trend of "New Thoughts" in 1985, he only did what he could do, what he adapted to and what he liked to do, without plunging into blind impulses. That gave him more time to create more artworks. In the end, his moderate character made him reach success more easily.

God rewards the laborious people. The pursuit of 20 years of hard work gave Li a big harvest. He won a respectable number of awards:

• Third prize of the second National Youth Artwork Exposition.
• Outstanding prize of the 9th National Print Exposition.
• Outstanding prize of the National Fine Art Exposition for celebrating the 60th anniversary of the PLA (People's Liberation Army).
• Outstanding prize of the Beijing-Taipei Printmaking Exposition.
• Outstanding prize of the 4th National Tri-Technique Exhibition.
• Silver medal of National Star Artists Exposition in 1993.
• Copper medal of the third National Star Artists Exposition.
• Copper medal of the 5th National Tri-Technique Exhibition.
• Outstanding prize of the 8th National Art Exposition.
• Silver medal of the 13th National Print Exhibition.
• Copper medal of the 14th National Print Exhibition.
• Golden medal of the 8th National Star Artists Exposition.

Now Li Yanpeng is a member of the Chinese Artists Association, director of the Chinese Printmakers Association and vice-chairman of the Hebei Artists Association.

Li holds several positions of responsibility. And I am convinced that he will make even greater efforts for the development of Chinese printmaking and for his own artworks. He hopes that he can surpass the limitations of the current style and make more new exploits. We are ardently looking forward to his new artworks."

Dong Jiansheng
(translated by Ms. Jin Sha, edited and partly shortened by artelino)

Li Yanpeng on the Internet

Artist Profile: Yanpeng Li - external link

Search for Li Yanpeng

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