Come from Zhoukou, Henan Province, Dang Pei is a postgraduate student of the Department of Mural Painting, CAFA, about to graduate in 2017, and she learns from Prof. Wu Yi. Before she was admitted to CAFA, she graduated from Luoyang Normal College in 2013. Dang Pei’s graduation work is entitled “Fable”, which is on display on the 3F, CAFA Art Museum.

Interview Time: May 20, 2017

Interviewee: Dang Pei (hereinafter referred to as Dang)

Interviewer: Lai Yaqian (hereinafter referred to as CAFA ART INFO)

Editor: Lin Jiabin

Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

The young artist Dang Pei was admitted to the fourth studio at the Department of Mural Painting, CAFA in 2015, and she is about to graduate in 2017, learning from Prof. Wu Yi. Before she was admitted to CAFA, she graduated from Luoyang Normal College in 2013, majored in art education, with different basic educations on a variety of art categories in the period of undergraduate. Dang went to CAFA to have an advanced study when she was a junior student, and she was admitted to the Department of Mural Painting at the School of Plastic Arts, CAFA, after she graduated.

Dang: Every day is very impressive for me, and I remember the things happening in every day, because I am particularly sensitive to life, especially the accompanying of my classmates and friends. CAFA has always been my dream, and I especially cherish every day in CAFA, cherishing the people I have encountered. The Academy makes me mature, although it has a great relationships with I am elder, the environment is also an important reason. I was also happy when I was an undergraduate of the Luoyang Normal College, but I was arranged to do many things, while I could arrange all things when I studied in CAFA, which made me helpless at the beginning. At that time, my mentor told me that: you could paint when you were confused, so I have painted a lot of things that can’t be identified. And then Kanazawa Yona gave two weeks of course to us, Kanazawa told us to sort out all the works in order to clearly understand our own situations. At the end of the course, she told us to have a self-portrait, but it did not present a concrete person in my mind, and I drew a tunnel with a candle on a desk at the end of the tunnel, which was my first black-and-white creation.

Dang: Prof. Wu Yi and Prof. Ning both encouraged students to boldly create, and they are good at exploring the inherent potential of each student, which is the reason why I chose the 4th studio. When I was a junior student, I once learned inthe studio. On the one hand, I liked the freedom of the CAFA. On the other hand, I was not suited to the free atmosphere given by the teachers at the beginning, and they didn’t arrange my study, so that I could do nothing except for constantly trying. I hoped to start creating as soon as possible, but I did not know who I could communicate. And later I encountered an appropriate chance, and also began to be encouraged by the surrounding people, and I determined to perform it by the way of black and white. In the “Fable” group paintings, it presents a story in each painting, and each work records one of my stories by the way of painting.

Dang: I will temporarily remain in Beijing and hope to continue and finish these painting. I have never been temporarily looking for a job, and I was busy with graduation creation when the classmates were busy with looking for a job. Because I want to spend most of my time to study, I might find a part-time workrather than a full-time, and I hoped to save my time as much as possible to do my own thing. For the future direction, I have never carefully considered it, and I worry that if one gives oneself a direction, he/she will be trapped by himself/herself, so I want to keep the state of freedom, to maintain a free thinking, giving myself more possibilities.

“Fable” uses the black and white to express stages of life of Dang Pei, and her stories. For the “Fable”, Dang Pei said: “I almost live in an ideal world, and I have always been inspired by my surroundings, the painting does not only present the perception of life, and also like a mirror in my heart, to reflect the inner deep feelings. My creation mainly emphasizes the sense of form of the screen, to express my subjective ideas by the combination of black and white blocks and lines. “Black and white” is the most direct way of painting that is easiest to convey and identify. I appear in every painting, and the content of the painting conveys different meaning to the different audiences, so that, each viewer can find himself/herself in the work that reflects the self!”

Dang: No, because I only consider the relationship between black and white, which brings me more conveniences. Some books say that the big black block brings people a sense of oppression, and I was also worried about it at the beginning, but I have not been imprisoned in the fixed procedures, there is not any fixed principle in my painting, but only expressing what I think in the painting. Before I create, I would like share my idea with any person that I meet and hope to know other people’s feedbacks. The others’ response is uncertain, and some would say it is too simple that it should add something else. But I think I use this way to fully express my thought, so it is not necessary to add something. If the words can clearly express things, I will not use the second words, which is my principle and character.

Dang: It is I will deny myself in the creative process, and everyone has this period, and I will consider whether this form of painting is ok or not, and I will be lack of confidence at a particular stage, but it will soon disappear. And later I figure out that it is not necessary to be prefect, and I am satisfied to find a way to express myself. In fact, it was very hard during the period of graduation creation, but I was also satisfied with it. I arrived at the studio at more than 8:00 every day, sit there and never stopped painting until 11:00 and then went back to the dormitory, continuously working for more than 10 hours every day, and I feel grateful to myself now.

Dang: “Fable” is actually talking about a stage in my life, each painting corresponds to a story, and each painting is a fable that responds to a stage in my life. In fact, I rarely talk with the others about the story inside, and I hope that everyone can read his/her own story inside, with his/her own understanding.

Dang: It is the experiences of different stages of my life, and I would like to express these things. I am happy to allow others to have a resonance when they see the paintings. I stand next to the paintings when they are on shown, and I am touched when I see the audience taking pictures. I also observe their favorite paintings. I think my paintings reached a consensus with them, through the screen to communicate, and I am very satisfied with achieving this communication, I am very grateful.

Courtesy of the artist and CAFA ART INFO