Emma Lee   June 24, 2014

 

I first met Dong Yidian in 2009, at the workshop of He Jianning, a renowned artist as well as Dong’s Hainan “comrade”. The outstanding combination of beard, khaki hat and set of clothes compelled you to pry into the stories behind all that naughtiness. After knowing him for all these years, he has the purest heart out of all the people I have ever met.

 

Dong Yidian and friends at his studio

 

Life

TPA: What’s your life like now? Any progress compared to last year?

 

Dong: My life used to be irregular: going to work, getting off from work, playing basketball, and going clubbing. I started teaching art in 1997 to children of the teachers at the Academy and relatives and friends. I was the first one in Guangdong Province to give art classes to students who wanted to go to art academies and their affiliated middle schools--- it wasn’t until the year of 2000 that a variety of art training centers came up.

 

Lifestyles change at different phrases of life. In 2003, it began to pick up with the purchase of a car: I started to look into every little corner for good and genuine food, in and out of Guangzhou and up and down every mountain I could find in proximity. It was downright indulgence.

 

Dong Yidian hosting friends at his studio in Xiaozhou Village

 

I rented a temple as my studio in Xiaozhou Village in 2006. It was a definitive moment and I stayed. I clocked in at work in the day, did sketches at the dorm, drove out to the studio to do oil paintings at night and taught at the weekends and summer/winter vacations. I was happy with the routine. When it came to the year of 2008, I created as long as the passion lasted. Such regularity proceeded day after day, and a conclusion was drawn: it was enough to keep the habit of creating for 2-3 hours every day.

 

The government crackdown on drunk driving helped me with abstinence; I rarely drink now, and even don’t feel the desire to; I am eating more vegetable and fruits than I used to; I used to stay up late, and now go to bed early. Life seems to pick up some regularity, and breakthroughs follow, unlike the time when friends said I was testy. Oh yeah, I feel good!

 

 

As to progress, it was “overcast” last year, and I was just rolling with the punches. Fortunately, it began to pick up on all sides with the help of friends, especially when it comes to creating--- it even excels the prime around 2008-2009.

 

Art & Destination for Life

 

Dong Yidian and artist friend Ye Huanwei

 

TPA: What do you have in mind now about art and life? Is there an ultimate goal you want to achieve?

 

Dong: I’ve always wanted to publish works for my own record, as well as for reviews of the audience, which materialized only several years ago. I’m now beginning to read and write, trying to master both art and literature. I’ve been reading “Aesthetics of Modern Temperament”, which includes theories from literature, aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics. I come across something new on each review.

 

I admit being an artist is hard work: theme-hunting, inspiration, the “real work”, package, promotion, marketing... We may look free and happy as artists, but we are also struggling and howling like the rest of the world for independence and security. There are some artists who rise to fame and become full of themselves and condescending--- it’s sad to say that it’s quite the norm here.

 

Not a day has gone by without me picking up a brush and creating. I always have the yearning for creation. I hope that I can find my own voice and style in drawing and painting one day. There isn’t an ultimate goal, but if I have to name one, alright, I aspire to good health and freedom; I hope that I can go to work and create something as usual tomorrow.

 

Art as a Choice

 

Dong Yidian's self-portrait

 

TPA: How did you choose art for your life’s pursuit? What would you rather do if you had a choice?

 

Dong: I was born with a yearning to scribble. To me it is the ultimate in fun. I got a lot of help on the way as well. If I could choose otherwise, I would spend the rest of my life in repentance. If I wasn’t crowned with such nature, however, I’d like to be an international animal rights activist.

 

TPA: Would you like to talk about the proposition of “artist and solitude”?

 

Dong: I have no interest in answering that. Solitude isn’t the privilege of artists’. Deviant people are lonely beings too. It is fun in itself just to do what you enjoy doing, against all odds, period. Thank you!

 

Hainan Complex

 

  

Dong Yidian's Hainan

 

TPA: How do you like the fact that Hainan is being exploited by real estate players? Is Hainan the same Hainan when being invaded by commercialism?

 

Dong: Exploitation of real estate giants is everywhere. People just don’t talk about it. I don’t know much about it, and I don’t want to either.

 

As to Hainan, I think it is developing really fast and well. It is still blue sky, white clouds and fresh air. Big changes come up on each of my visit there. The only problem is they didn’t have a good architectural plan for Sanya; view of mountains and waters is all blocked by disorderly buildings. However, I still have faith in the future of Hainan.

 

Inspiration & Breakthrough

 

TPA staff shooting Dong Yidian at work

 

TPA: How do you find your inspiration when you create?

 

Dong: Inspiration comes from life experience. I pay attention, observe and look around, find something that arouses something in my heart, preserves it with something else with meanings; music and imagination bring up these original materials from my memory; at that moment, inspiration pours out with every stroke of the brush I take.

 

TPA: Do you think you need a breakthrough? If so, what kind of breakthrough will it be?

 

Dong: I think I do. It takes time, but it still follows the law of quantitative change leading to qualitative change, and ultimately mutation follows.

 

 

Calling himself a villager of Xiaozhou Village, Dong Yidian is going to a show in Paris later this year. What kind of chemistry is going to sparkle between him and the art capital of the world? Let's wait and behold!