Inspiration and Income in America
for a Chinese-American Artist Excerpt from a Webast
Interview with Tu Zhiwei, June
18, 2007
Summary:
During his youth, decades ago, Tu Zhiwei found that
Chinese art technical education generally was
superior, but when art schools started up again after the Cultural
Revolution they still tended to suffer from a narrower conceptual
framework. After mastering painting techniques under the guidance of
many excellent art professors in China, Tu Zhiwei still hungered to
attain greater creative heights. He found art education in the United
States offered a very "open" and "diverse" and "culturally pluralistic"
education.
His mentor there [the late Jules Kirschenbaum] urged Mr. Tu to study
English and art philosophy, then apply his peerless technical skills to
express his own
unique artistic vision. As a master painter himself, Prof. Kirschenbaum
"set a very good example" in his own life, reserving a large part of
every day for his own artistic achievements -- not to make money for
himself, but to make art for art's sake, and in fact for the world.
Every artist must make money to survive, of course, whether by teaching
or by selling drawings in the street, or by some other form of work.
But he must always remain true to his talent.
Below, view this short excerpt (in Chinese) from the hour-long
interview of Tu Zhiwei webcast by China's Tom.com
on June 18,
2007.
