A-maze-ing Laughter (Vancouver Biennale Art Installation)

Sculpture :
A-maze-ing Laughter

Artist :
Yue Minjun
China

Location : Morton Park (Triangle), Vancouver

Media : Patinated bronze

In A-maze-ing Laughter Beijing-based artist Yue Minjun depicts his own iconic laughing image, with gaping grins and closed eyes in a state of hysterical laughter. These laughing figures are the signature trademark of the artist. They are not a conventional self-portrait, as they tell us little about the person portrayed or of the reason they are laughing so hysterically. The longer you look at these cast bronze figures, the more the contradiction of the silent, frozen form of sculpture begins to intrude. We see, but do not hear the laughter. The contorted poses of the figure suggest animation and a cartoon form of an anonymous person. The laughter appears to be convulsive, intense, and manic, but also insincere and forced. The scale is "un-naturally" large -exaggerated and excessive like the laughter.

Yue Minjun was a leading figure in what became to be known in the 1990's as Cynical Realism, an artistic movement that emerged in China after the 1989 student demonstrations in Tiananmen and the suppression of artistic expression. Humor, cynicism, repetition and an emphasis on the individual are common characteristics of this artistic movement. Yue Minjun was one of the first artists to translate this new ironic view of contemporary life, one that is expressed in the nihilistic hilarity at a time when little was funny.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Vancouver
• Biennale Art Installation
• Yue Minjun
• Laughter

[vjglucky7]

The people are funny, the statues are creepy to me, same heads and faces, like a bad dream.