When it comes to painting, I can’t help but mention a few examples of people who have inspired me who are outside the framework of modern, mainstream art history.
The first that comes to mind is a man named Henry Darger. He was born into very humble beginnings and experienced a great number of hardships throughout his life—disease, mental health problems, poverty, and loneliness. He was a reclusive American writer and artist who became famous posthumously for writing a 145-page fantasy manuscript filled with hundreds of drawings and illustrations of his story.
Another craftsman who has inspired me is Leonard Knight. He spent the final twenty years of his life creating and constructing “Salvation Mountain,” a large and ornate art installation in the desert, constructed from adobe, straw, and paint. He spent his final years living in the desert, devoted to his work, creating one of the most celebrated folk art sites in America.
Another person who has inspired me is a blue collar security guard from Japan who recently gained notoriety on Twitter for creating a series of hand-drawn labyrinths on paper. Each labyrinth has taken him seven years to design and draw.
These artists and craftsman have devoted their lives to their work, making art created outside the boundaries of official culture. They have followed their hearts, making what is a natural extension of their thought and being, rather than following what is popular during their time or seeking fame.
They each are curled up in their own shell, cultivating and manifesting their thoughts and their craft, within their own world. Year after year, they continually nurture their work.
Every time I see these works, it really humbles and inspires me as a painter. The idea that one could use an entire lifetime to manifest their creative thought into a work of art, really intrigues me. When I look at the work of these craftsman, it’s like I take a sort of medicine that can help me to become more and more humble. At the same time, I think painting in itself has always been a common and basic mode of expression, from ancient times to the present. There is an energy within each brushstroke that is unique to painting. Although our world is always evolving and technology advances, when it comes to painting, the expression and meaning behind the work remains constant. Painting will never die. It’s in our DNA, imprinted in the depths of our memory.
It’s like a life of devotion in one’s faith. I think this is the part of painting that really moves me.
Liang Siheng, May 2015
Translate by Kaia Duffus