Luo: What experiences does this inspiration draw from?
Luo: This is connected to the overall progression of society. Japan and Korea completed the modernist transition of their societies long ago. China overall is still in a pre-modern period. The greater backdrop determines how far an artist can go. Gao: I really agree with that. This is connected to the state of a society’s development. Of course, I’m not saying that any contemporary art that draws from Eastern philosophy is good, just that I think this path has value. Luo: Let’s talk about life. You’ve been working in both Kunming and Beijing over the past few years. What are your impressions of these two cities? Gao: I have a pretty big studio in Beijing, where I can paint large paintings. When I’m back in Kunming, I have a studio at the Yuan Xiaocen Art Museum, where I can paint smaller paintings. Beijing is China’s cultural center, and you can see world-class exhibitions and artworks there. But the natural environment in Beijing is very poor. It is very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. Life is rough there. Kunming is very livable, very comfortable. You really feel like you’re living. But there’s a distinct lack of cultural exchange there. Beijing is a lot more vibrant.
*DR 7KH¿UVWVRXUFHLVDHVWKHWLFLGHDV)RULQVWDQFHLQWUDGLWLRQDO &KLQHVHSDLQWLQJ\RXRIWHQ¿QGYHU\ORIW\PHWDSK\VLFDOPHDQLQJ Also, I draw from the figurative schemas of traditional Chinese art. These two things are both quite far from Western classical, modern,and contemporary art. I think this is a good thing, particularly in this era of globalization. Without this distance, we would all become the same, losing the artistic value that is rooted in individualization. That is a fundamental view for me. From the East, I seek out forms, perceptual methods, and inner spirit that differ from those in the West. Gao: For instance, Chinese painting focuses a lot on emptiness, which is quite different from Western aesthetics. Chinese people view the blankness in the picture as the sky or as water, but in reality it is just blankness. Westerners with no experience of Chinese traditional painting may think that it is an unfinished painting, a sketch, and that the blankness has no meaning. The Eastern tradition also places a lot of emphasis on aesthetic experience that transcends reality. For instance, very few Chinese paintings of the last 2000 years depict war scenes, but we all know that China was no less warlike in this period than Western nations, with battles of great size and brutality that produced profound memories. The Chinese never expressed these brutal memories. Their expressions are of ideal states, even fairy realms that transcend this suffering. Luo: Give me an example.
Luo: Do you think that you create better art in Beijing or Kunming?
Gao: That’s an interesting question (laughs). I think that a little more than half of my best works are created in Beijing.
Luo: You are saying that this spiritual mindset needs to be expressed in contemporary art.
Luo: It would seem that artists need pressure (laughs).
Gao: Right. Beijing is full of passion, and it’s also constantly giving you stimulation and pressure.
Gao: Actually, this Eastern transcendent state is particularly precious in our increasingly materialistic and ever-accelerating contemporary society. This was done long ago in Japan and Korea, so many Western critics believe that Japan and Korea are today’s inheritors of Eastern Zen aesthetics. For instance, the Japanese Mono-ha School approaches art from Zen philosophy. I think that Chinese contemporary art has paid little attention to this artistic path in the last twenty years.
Luo: Thank you for giving this interview. I really enjoyed talking with you today.
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