“Happiness” is the latest work of Yang Jun. Comparing to the early work, this series changed so much that it presented flowers rather than people.

　　At the beginning, Yang chose the poppy as the theme, and painted a series of it. Let’s get back and watch carefully from the first one to the last one in the series. It’s easy to tell the evolution of those flowers. They became bigger from the small ones so that the background could be weakened and the theme could stand out. The work became more and more pure so the ink and brush could work. And the masculine style could show the power of men. All these could be learned from his work at the first glance. The work’s form was clear, but there’re complicated emotions in it. The experience, feelings, and the knowledge of the artist would influence the choice of theme and form. But the work won’t tell the long process of making choice. Can we find the origins that influenced the work by chasing the clue of emotions?

　　We won’t have to do it, because most modern artists painted what they felt and thought directly. But “Happiness” wasn’t on the list. I was so confused that he changed the themes from “Blueless” to “Impression of History” and finally “Happiness”. What made him stop painting people to devote himself to flowers? It’s hardly to find an answer.

　　Since Yang’s daughter was born in 2008, she became the most important person in his life. The 1 year and half girl could walk, and was learning to talk. All she did had an immediate impact on her farther. And that’s the time when Yang started the “Happiness”. As he said, “I was very happy that the baby grew up every day. And I felt good when I was painting. It seemed that the flowers were growing from my brush.” The flowers were born naturally just like his daughter. I believed what he told me once that the popularity of flowers was the reason why he changed the former theme. But the more I knew him, the more I doubted about what he told me. In ancient China, in contrast to modern artists, people always expressed themselves in an implicit way. Yang was close to them in some aspects because of his restrained nature. Besides, his interest in people was so strong and his status was so high that he couldn’t choose flowers to paint just because of its popularity. Looking back to the “Happiness” with doubt, all I saw, the bright colors, the influent brushwork and the clear form, seemed like a kind of shell that made me have an impulse to open it and find out what’s inside.

　　The serial work “Happiness” was finished in 2005 as an achievement of research in stone relief of Han dynasty. It’s valuable and worth collecting. The symbolic images in stone relief of Han dynasty came from the daily experiences and the knowledge of death in Han dynasty. Besides the research, “Happiness” was an exit for the stressed emotions. “Impression of History” was a new begin which expressed the modern feelings in a historical picture. When it was exhibited, the boring look didn’t cut the connection between the audience and the work. A friend told me that she’d loved the work before she knew the artist. “Yes. And you’ll love more when you know him.” I said so. Not impetuous, no fashion, passionate—they’re the good natures of his work.

　　Actually, we could smell the sea even if we didn’t open the shell. I never spied the inner world of Yang, because that would break harmony (smile). We would knew everything just stay with him. All the information about him, his early life, words, creation, daughter, and the things he focused on, push us closer to the “Happiness”. All of sudden, I realized how pale my interpretation was. I had to abandon it, and back to the real world.

　　Here’s the story that inspired me. Mr. Lu Chen, the master of modern Chinese painting and the educator of fine art, appreciated the talent of Yang. He almost became Mr. Lu’s student as a doctor candidate. But it failed because of the complicated relationships between people. Mr. Lu was very sick then. Yang brought some orchids to the hospital to see him. He was too weak to say any word. But when Yang’ leaving, he whispered: “beautiful orchids.” “I almost burst into tears when I heard it. It means many feelings that we can’t tell.” Yang said so. After then, Yang started the research of “Ink Composition” which was the concept of Mr. Lu’s causes.

　　There’re too much more than flower. And there’s no need to find out why he painted flower or people any more.

　　Hesitate to Speak, Enjoy the Freedom

　　It’s been 2 years since I left school. His character and temper didn’t change, but the power of his art is stronger. Comparing to “Impression of History”, “Happiness” changed much, not just the theme.

　　In contrast with the grey look of “Impression of History”, the color of “Happiness” is bright. But the brushwork is slow, seems as mixing with sand and mud. That’s why the work is so unforgettable and powerful. It’s very unique. The last generation artists liked to express their feeling in a winding way because of the experience and the education background. That’s exactly what we see here. But he chooses such a way to paint just because of his personality, totally different from the senior. In this painting language, he paints the things we can’t tell in our lives.

　　The traditional feeling he wants to express hides behind the untraditional themes. In 2009, when he decided to paint the poppy, news exposed that many artists were taking drugs. There’s a challenge to paint irregular things. Hundreds years ago, Xu Wei did so. He preferred the dying grapes rather than plump fruits. Dying grapes, along with the poetries he wrote on the work, expressed the gloomy life and a poetic spirit. Yang has seen poppy blossom before. He’s very impressed: The fruits were full, and the seeds blew in wind. The big flowers were bright and wild, spreading from hill to hill, like fire burning. Finally, he named it “Happiness”. I guess the name and the painting tell a story: The city poppy listened to Yang reading Diamond Sutra from time to time, and touched by his little daughter. Experiencing these things, the poppy was reborn as a flower of happiness.

　　“Happiness” means too much. Peaceful, beautiful, positive, and so on. Poppy can bring peace to patients as anesthetic, and I think that’s the key why he named it “Happiness”. Yang isn’t good at talking, but thanks to this, his painting and theme have much more to tell. The burning life, the modern feeling, the inheritance and exceeding, the up and the down, etc., all these can be found in his painting. Facing the work, no frame, no bound, and the power make me mind opened and free. Although Yang looks like a careless man, but actually, he’s very aware of how to compose painting. His works always make people surprised. From realistic flower to graphic image, his painting developed. No more words need to say, let’s back to his work and enjoy it.

作者：Zhang,Zhihua