About Li Songsong - A Chinese Artists

Li Songsong was born on 1973 in Beijing, China. He lives and works in Beijing, China. His painting was the kind of iron candy boxes he played with when he was small. Its title was "Beijing Candy." There was another one called "Digging," which depicted some soldiers digging trenches. He painted above two paintings between 1997 and 1999. At that time, he just graduated from college and had not much to do at home so he painted those. This way of thinking was not especially active back then.
He made "Horse" in June 2001. He started to paint these paintings during that summer when he found some old photographs. Originally he wanted to paint something that had a certain distance from reality. He thought to construct a scene in painting, representing things or a certain sentiment from our real life, was not so interesting.
View Li Songsong paintings, biography, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and resource of Li Songsong artist.View art online at The Saatchi Gallery - London contemporary art.
Li Songsong

Li Songsong's Biography and Exhibitions

BIOGRAPHY

1973	Lives and works in Beijing

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS-

2006
• CHINA NOW - Faszination einer Weltveränderung, Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg / Vienna, Austria
• Mahjong - Chinesische Gegenwartskunst aus der Sammlung Sigg, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany

2005
• PICTORIAL DNA made in China, Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland
• Mahjong - Chinesische Gegenwartskunst aus der Sammlung Sigg, Kunstmuseum Bern Switzerland
• CHINA: as seen BY CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ARTISTS, Spazio Oberdan, Milano, Italy

2004
• China’s Photographic Painting, China Art Season Gallery, Beijing
• China und was mich sonst bewegt, Galerie 99 , Aschaffenburg
• Solo exhibition Belgische Botschaft Beijing

Interview by Ai Weiwei, Feng Boyi and Li Songsong

Ai Weiwei: Could you tell me when you started to paint in this style? In 2001, I saw the exhibition you had in a bar.
Li Songsong: What I painted was the kind of iron candy boxes we played with when I was small. Its title was "Beijing Candy." There was another one called "Digging," which depicted some soldiers digging trenches.

Ai Weiwei: Were you already painting in this style back then?
Li Songsong: Not really. The two paintings I mentioned above were done between 1997 and 1999. At that time, I just graduated from college and had not much to do at home so I painted those. This way of thinking was not especially active back then.

Ai Weiwei: The "Horse" installation that you made in Qinghua Art Academy; was it done before those paintings or after?
Li Songsong: It was before. I made "Horse" in June 2001. I started to paint these paintings during that summer when I found some old photographs.

Ai Weiwei: What was your initial thinking?
Li Songsong: Originally I wanted to paint something that had a certain distance from reality. I thought to construct a scene in painting, representing things or a certain sentiment from our real life, was not so interesting.

Feng Boyi: Have you always been interested in old photographs dealing with historical topics? How have you singled out those images that you need from a large number of old pictures? Why have you chosen topics of historical scenes and events ranging from during the revolutionary war period to after the founding of the People's Republic of China; including photographs of historical moments during the Culture Revolution, with such recognizable icons as the Conference Assembly Room to the dome of the People's Conference Hall? You don't simply use these images as historical evidences; do you consider these images as a mirror that reflects the ideology of the people at that time?

Li Songsong: Not really. The painting of the soldiers digging the trench, for example, was a picture I saw by chance. I felt attracted to the process of looking at photographs. When we look at pictures in a book, we usually turn them over when we understand the meaning in them. I painted this picture probably because I looked at it so closely. It was a very plain photograph: some people in uniform were digging into the earth on a wasteland. After I read the explanation, I realized that the people were voluntary soldiers digging a trench during the Korean War. If you look at an image long enough, you will discover other meanings in it. I've also painted images from TV, the portrait of the late Deng XiaoPing for example. At the time when he passed his portrait was on TV every day. I took a picture of his portrait and painted it. But I didn't continue with this kind of topics, including the one of the candy box. Perhaps I wanted to paint some existing and ready-made things at that time. But I didn't want to sketch a person in a conventional type of space. I wanted the original image to be something one dimensional.

Ai Weiwei: You do not have so much interest in directly taking from reality to put into paintings. Li Songsong: I find it unnecessary. There are better approaches, photography and video for example. Just looking at live things is simply more fun. I feel that when it comes to this aspect of representing reality, painting is rather powerless.

Ai Weiwei: So when you have a photograph or a candy box in front of you, what kind of possibility would it give you? You said that painting is ineffective in faithfully representing a three-dimensional thing, what difference then would this style of painting make?
Li Songsong: I feel that it is at least equal. That is to say, the origin is something flat, something ready-made. Painting is also such a trace, of the same kind, on one dimension.

Li Songsong: A trace on one dimension. Besides, it doesn't have to be judged by aesthetic principles. There is no need to decide on the space, or to make a choice. (All you have to do is) to place something on the top. It is already responsible for itself. You simply complete? Li Songsong: Maybe it's like reading. Simply rereading it again.

Find more about Li Songsong Exhibitions at
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/li_songsong.htm