Li Songsong

Li Songsong is renowned for his thickly layered paintings that animate the fragmentary nature of images and memory, paying particular attention to the people, events, and themes of modern and contemporary Chinese history.[4] Li received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in oil painting from Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). He was one of the first Chinese artists to establish a studio in the 798 Arts District of Beijing in 2002.[5] He uses images primarily from newspapers, magazines, the internet, book, and film stills. Despite this heavy use of political images, Li does not consider himself a political artist. His deconstruction of the images removes bias and invites interpretation. He has been called a member of China's "in-between" generation: he was too young to have experienced life under Mao Zedong but old enough to remember the Tiananmen Square uprising, which occurred while he was attending China's CAFA-affiliated high school.[6] This status sets him apart both from his older peers who lived through the Cultural Revolution and from younger colleagues who have known only relative openness and growing international awareness of China's experimental art scene.[7] In an article in Art in America, the author Richard Vine says, "He does not choose images to make a point; he reacts to images that trigger his strongest and most intuitive artistic responses" [8]

Li's work is characterized by the contrast between his removed portrayal of events and expressive emotional technique.[9] His painting style is unique in that he warps and reconstructs his images with layers of paint often section by section in an array of colors, giving the final work an abstract and ambiguous message that is left up to the interpretation of the viewer.[10] The sections are completed methodically from top left to bottom right, giving the finished pieces a collage-like appearance.[11] The details of the original photograph are erased while the figures are emphasized, allowing the painting to appear as either emerging or disappearing. Li uses strictly brushes to create his artwork, though many of his paintings display a variety of textures and techniques almost bursting off the surface. His medium is oil paint applied to canvas and aluminum panels.[12] He often listens to music while working in his studio, claiming that it is indispensable to him. Li is aware of the jarring and psychological effect his paintings can have, explaining that "there's a little cognitive dissonance going on."[13] When describing his view of his artwork, Li says, "It's like telling a story packed with violence and gore with a huge smile on your face. It's how the stories are told that attracts you, and that's the art of it. Everyone knows the story. The important thing is that way that you tell it."[14] Li says that every stage of his artwork is important. He starts with a simple idea and his goal is to bring different people and ideas together.

"Li Songsong is concerned with the intrinsic humanity that underpins all the images he appropriates and the memories they have the potential to bring to mind in his audience."[15]

Chinese conceptual photography became a major trend in contemporary Chinese art around the mid-90s. The interrelationship between photography and painting is a fundamental issue in contemporary Chinese art. This is because art during the post-Cultural Revolution era was dramatically affected by this interrelationship in many different ways, making it nearly impossible for photographers and oil painters to ignore. Other artists who were affected by this interrelationship and integrated it into their work included Chen Danqing, Hong Lei, Liu Zheng, Shi Chong, and Han Lei.[16]

Li was also heavily influenced by a book series known as the "old photo craze" (lao zhaopian re) published during contemporary China. The books were published by Shandong Pictorial Press, founded in 1994, and the first three issues became instant blockbusters in the mass book market. A total of three hundred thousand copies were printed of each of the three issues, and two hundred and forty thousand copies were printed for the fourth and final issue. These four issues were published within a single year from December 1996 to October 1997 and sold more than 1.2 million copies altogether. This made the series one of the most popular publications in post-Cultural Revolution China. This caused many artists, including Li, to become interested in representing history and memory during the post-Cultural Revolution era.[17]

The use of photographs in artwork began in the early 80s with stressed and damaged photos from the Communist Revolution era. Then, during the mid to late 90s, artists used images to represent the Sino-Japanese War. After this, experimental artists began using family photos to create "private histories." This led to the use of contemporary art forms such as installation, video, and multi-media art. Since the 90's, there has been an effort to demonstrate photography's role in forging "memory links" between past and present. Some artists and photographers have gone from this to focusing more on the impermanence of the history and memory of the events displayed in the photographs.[18]

These historic photos are familiar to millions of Chinese people. By incorporating photographs into artwork, artists are able to trigger the viewer's memory of the event being portrayed while simultaneously demonstrating their artistic talent and providing a new perspective.[19]

A documentary image can become "a visual symbol, with a meaning extending far beyond the photograph's specific content."[20]

Li designed the poster for this year's (2012) Spoleto Festival USA. The festival involves musical and theatrical offerings. The poster, titled Beast, was inspired by a photograph but was altered with Li's style of multiple layers of paint and sections. The work invites interpretation and was a unique choice for the show because the posters chosen in the past have traditionally been bold and brightly colored. The two abstract figures in the poster can be interpreted to be connected with the subject of the festival, as one of the opera productions "Feng Yi Ting" by Chinese composer Guo Wenging. The opera involves seduction and murder that ultimately saves an empire.[21]

• Pékin Fine Arts

Images, texts, biography and further information at the Saatchi Gallery

• Li Songsong at 88MoCCA - The Museum of Chinese contemporary art on the web

Images of Li Songsong's work, biography and interview from Galerie Meile Archived 16 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine