Smile, what's the use of crying

November 11, 2007 2:11 PM

Yue Minjun,a Chinese avant-garde artist, known for his depiction of toothy, smiling males. More at Asia's Hottest Modern Painters. Bonus: Goldfish
posted by growabrain (22 comments total)

Ahh! I started out really liking his paintings...but after about 50 with that awful smile.....(shudder).
posted by The Light Fantastic at 2:18 PM on November 11, 2007

Well, I guess I'm having nightmares tonight. Thanks.
posted by jiiota at 2:20 PM on November 11, 2007

I love seeing work by people who have such a clear and consistent vision.
posted by bradbane at 2:35 PM on November 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

I really like those, the quality is apparent despite the ridiculous subject matter.
posted by fire&wings at 2:41 PM on November 11, 2007

:D
posted by blacklite at 2:54 PM on November 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

God life in China looks so happy & fun - must move there immediately!
posted by dydecker at 3:01 PM on November 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

I like his terracotta warriors. Must be fun to see up close in a gallery.
posted by cazoo at 3:20 PM on November 11, 2007

Also: A lot of his paintings (and some of Zhang Xiaogang's, the painter of the Bloomberg link) are at the Asian Contemporary Art Fair going on in New York right now, at Pier 92. In fact, their last day is tomorrow, and admission is free....
posted by suedehead at 4:45 PM on November 11, 2007

Howdy

...and now, _I_ can't stop smiling.

Thanks alot.

8D
posted by djrock3k at 5:15 PM on November 11, 2007

XD
posted by strontiumdog at 5:59 PM on November 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

creepy as all get out.
posted by strontiumdog at 5:59 PM on November 11, 2007

I love seeing work by people who have such a clear and consistent vision.

Baloney. It's more like he has clear and consistent branding. Rich (Western or Chinese) businessmen can have fancy parties in their Shanghai lofts and all the guests can ooh and ahh over the painting that they all can easily recognize as being from Yue Minjun.
posted by alidarbac at 6:09 PM on November 11, 2007

X-D
posted by exlotuseater at 6:11 PM on November 11, 2007

what's that saying...

oh, yeah... "one trick pony"....
posted by HuronBob at 6:13 PM on November 11, 2007

I actually didn't really like it when I first started scrolling... but when I got to about here I actually started laughing to myself.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 7:08 PM on November 11, 2007

alidarbac and Huronbob: do you guys feel the same about Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Piet Mondrian, Chuck Close, Brice Marden, etc.? I'm genuinely curious.
posted by suedehead at 9:42 PM on November 11, 2007

I think they're awesome! Thanks!
posted by black8 at 12:03 AM on November 12, 2007

Awesome.

If anyone needs a grandiose explanation with slivers of Chinese history about WHY they're awesome, we could probably accommodate.
posted by krilli at 1:53 AM on November 12, 2007

Do tell (art history student) :)
posted by flippant at 2:05 AM on November 12, 2007

Well I thought it was pretty nifty.
posted by QuarterlyProphet at 6:20 AM on November 12, 2007

Yes, please, do tell!
posted by suedehead at 10:58 AM on November 12, 2007

I too would like more historical context please. I took ridiculous amounts of art history classes in college but somehow escape without touching on Eastern art.
posted by bradbane at 11:40 AM on November 12, 2007