DSL Magazine: Issue 6

This relation to the work is very different from the one of Yue Minjun (b.1962). The Death of Marat made a deep impression on the latter when he was still at university, traveling to Beijing to see an exhibition of classical copies organized by a French museum. He was also extremely surprised with the fact that a great deal of audience had brought binoculars to watch and imitate the painting. After doing some research, Yue discovered that this period of French history showed many common features with China’s modern history. According to him, the influence of the Paris Commune and of French Revolution has been considerable, in particular for those who were born in the 1930s and had studied in France like Deng Xiaoping and Zhu Enlai. For him, the figure of Marat is symbolic of fighting and of the possibility of change. Similarly he will use the figure of Christ to represent morals, as an alternative to that of Confucius. Through his depicting of mythical figures, Yue Minjun tries to throw light on the problems of China today and to help approach them differently. The artist actually used to consider painting the history of America, with such figures as Lincoln and George Washington, but finally discovered that he could not find the connection between the American culture and himself. For him, the topic chosen for his creations have to be in direct connection with his own past background. In his interpretation of The Death of Marat , Yue bases himself on the picture by David, but does not portrait the martyr of the French Revolution. He pushes further the sober character of the original work by making the human figure totally disappear, and the silence around seems absolute. He intended to express the concept of missing and hollowness when creating this work. According to him, there have been various attempts at minimalism, but there are seldom attempts like this in realism. There are fewer people who remove the element of human beings, who have the most important part in reality. This kind of work can offer the original work a new form and answer, which is not controlled by artists but is open to answers, and is more easily to interact with the audience. Besides, this disappearance might echo the subconscious element accumulated from his past experience. During his study and life, there was always a lack of daily consumerism and of money, and Yue assumes he might express such feelings in his works.