2016-01-02 PengqianS. Beijing Today

画家毛锎： "人本质上就是一种动物：一种文明的动物、一种会劳动的动物、一种奇怪的动物、一种复杂的动物、一种有故事的动物、一种高傲的动物......

By Shu Pengqian

People often assume the role of masters of all earthly beasts, with their tools and abilities to reshape the world. But artist Mao Kai elevates supposedly lesser animals such as cows, horses, monkeys and rabbits to the level of man in his Higher Animal series. Each are depicted with long necks and human clothes.

毛锎的《高等动物》系列作品描绘了一群奇怪的动物：长长的脖子，人类的装扮。

This surrealist approach to expression is found in most of Mao’s creations.

To Mao, art must be exaggerated. "It is mostly for the purpose of satisfying our need to express emotion," Mao said. "Therefore, artistic creations should be based on life and also surpass it." 艺术具有夸张化的特质。毛锎说："艺术大多是为了满足主观与情感的需求，其根本在于不断创造新兴之美，借此宣泄内心的欲望与情绪。因此，艺术并不一定就是直接表现生活，而是应该高于生活。"

Children are his primary creative models. Because children have little experience with society’s dark side, most remain pure and simple. The person they are born as will disappear gradually as they grow up.

因为年龄的限制，小孩还没有开始真正接触到社会，具有人性的天真和单纯性。

"Obviously, children are better representatives of truth, beauty and kindness," Mao said.

"这个载体（小孩）能体现真善美。"

His favorite works – Trip of Pursuing Dream, Sea of Heart and Catch Childhood – feature children in dominant roles. The three are tagged with implied meanings by Mao.

毛锎一一阐述《逐梦之旅》《心海》《捕捉童年》系列的内含意义。

His Trip of Pursuing Dream series contains two paintings: one depicts a naked boy playing with a white tiger, and the other depicts a boy playing with a toy bow and arrow. Beside him is a peacock. Based on the use of color and the layout, Trip of Pursuing Dream seems to describe a fairytale. Through this series, Mao emphasizes that "life is a trip": every person starts on his own journey at birth, and that journey will include many choices that may change its course.

"《逐梦之旅》系列表达‘人生就是一场旅行’，旅途中会面对各种诱惑和选择：名与利、权与色。或踌躇其中或志在千里，任何人都会迷茫与彷徨，而这种不同的选择都将影响你的一生。刚刚具有自我意识的小孩就代表一个人生的开始……"

In fact, the little naked boy in Trip of Pursuing Dream series is Mao’s nephew, who was 4 years old in 2013 when the series was created.

《逐梦之旅》系列画于2013年。画里的小模特是画家当时才4岁的小侄儿。

"In order to persuade my nephew to strip naked, I had to lure him with a carrot and a stick," Mao said. "He didn’t like the paintings because he thought his naked body was the focus."

"为了诱使他脱光了给我做素材，没少用各种坑蒙拐骗、威逼利诱的手段，画好后还被他嘲笑说不好看，因为把他画成了光着屁股。

" Sea of Heart shows a foreign girl with blonde hair staring at a model ship in a bottle. Mao said the ship is a metaphor for pursuing dreams, and the girl is looking attentively as if she is speaking with herself.

"《心海》中，小船代表一种梦想与远航。纯真的女童在光线的照射下如此专注，仿佛在与自己心灵对话。"

Another painting, Catch Childhood, it themed as a recollection of the past and a human desire to return to happy moments.

"《捕捉童年》是在回忆过往。这种对回忆的描绘也可以理解为渴望回到过去美好时刻的一个梦想。"

Now, Mao is creating a new series – Small Journey to the West. So far, he has finished two paintings in this series.

现在，毛锎正在创作《小西游记》系列。

The name of the series is borrowed from one of China’s four classical novels, but the content is not about Xuan Zang or his disciples. Instead, the two completed paintings in Small Journey to the West depict a little monk who is less than 10 years old. Mao said the character in Small Journey to the West will change according to his inspiration.

Mao’s road to painting and pursuing his dream has not been smooth.

毛锎从小就喜欢画画，但是成为职业的画家却经历了一段曲折的过程。

After the National College Entrance Exam, Mao was rejected by his desired art college and had to study decorative art at Central South University. After graduating in 1996, Mao found a job in advertising.

But his desire to become a painter grew stronger with age. He began painting every night after work to build himself a ramp to the art world. But his years in advertising are not years of regret: Mao said they helped inspire him and develop a style of painting quite different from realist traditions. "People’s pursuits vary with age," Mao said. "When I was young, I had to struggle for life. But I am 41 this year, and it’s time for me to consider how to demonstrate the value of my life."

在不同的年龄段，人的追求不一样。"年轻的时候需要埋下梦想的种子为生存而奋斗，目前的年龄段更多考虑的是如何更完美的体现个人生命的价值。"

Mao Kai Website: http://798.io/1FC