"Why don't you just become an artist?" My friend's uncle asked me this question during Christmas break and I did not know how to answer at that time.
Why don't I just become an artist? A lot of people say that I've got some talent in art. However, at the same time, I also love history, sociology and math. I have always kept art as my hobby and the thing that I enjoy to do in my free time, but I have never thought about making it my career.
A lot of this has to do with my cultural background. As a developing country whose GDP increasing rate has caught the attention from all over the world, China focuses mainly on developing and securing its economic status in the world. I was often discouraged to put to much time on art when I was in China even though my parents are very liberal comparing to other Chinese parents. Typical Chinese parents will yell at you if they see you drawing random pictures on your text book; my parents let me enjoy art as much as I want in my free time as long as I finish all my schoolwork.
Things started to change after I came to America. The majority of American society are middle class and they have secured their economic status for decades. As my friend's uncle said, "Americans think, if you have talent, go for it!" After two years of cultural adaptation, I'm very much influenced by the American way of thinking, but at the same time, I spend a long of time pondering and balancing my love for sociology, economics, and art.
When I was five, I wanted to be an ice-cream store owner so that I can eat ice-cream all day; when I was about ten, my dream is to become a cartoonist or fashion designer; now, after days of meditation, I have set my plan for the future to enter the business world then go back to art.
I believe that great art should have something to do with the society. Art is the direct expression of human divinity and therefore should take the responsibility to influence the society in a positive way, to lift people's spirit. I also think that in order to create art, you need to understand the society, and deep understanding of the society comes from rich experiences. This is why I want to enter the business world first after I graduate from college. I want to explore the world first and get personal experiences in the things that I always love, such as math, history and sociology. To me, the curves of the GDP line is so mysterious, fascinating, and somewhat artistic. Art has beats and rhythm; the changes of society has the beats and rhythm, too. There is a Chinese saying, "you cannot shut the door and make a cart", which means you cannot carry out your ideas irrespective of the external circumstances. Great art comes from social experiences, not from locking oneself in a studio and working with materials. I want to experience the world as much as I can and embody my understanding of the world in to my art to have a positive impact on other people.
Although I'm not going to set "artist" has my future career right now, I will continue to use art as a means to express my ideals and I'm doing it now. I love to participate in community art projects such as the Wire Car project in Detroit and the Clark Park Bench Design project because they bring people's pride of their city; I embodied my deep grief for the lives lost in the natural disasters in the wax baby head with terrifying earthquake surface on the top; I expressed my concern about the media brainwashing in the "media head" sculpture; right now I'm working on a head sculpture called "Behind the Mask" to show the contrast between the Chinese tradition and the rapid industrialization in China.
I will never stop creating, and I think now I have got an answer for the question, " why don't you just become an artist".
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