Sneakers, T-shirts, Toys,....This list can go on and on. All have a common point: made in China. No matter where you are in today's world, it is almost unavoidable to buy all sorts of goods that are labeled with 'made-in-China'. And, 'Mona Lisa' is no exception either!
There is a small town called 'DaFen'(大芬) in the Shenzhen municipal area. The main business of this small town is to duplicate millions of world-renown oil paintings, from Mona Lisa to Sunflower, every masterpiece you can name it. The 60% of the oil paintings in the international market are made here. This town turns the art of oil-painting into an industry, in a way that artists may despise.
The business started in 1986 by a painter from Hong Kong. Then the business got boomed as the economy development of Shenzhen and then China. Like all the other goods made in China, the workers are mainly peasants. Some are illiterate and most only have middle school to high school education. For many of them, their parents and grand parents never know what is Mona Lisa or even see a real oil-painting work in their lives. The rapid development of Shenzhen turns them from peasants working in mud to the oil painters doing the remote art business. Their life would never be same.
Seen from another perspective, many famous painters, like Zhang Daqian, started their career to replicate other's work. Once their skills got matured and their fames got established, they revealed their true identities and became famous and rich too. How do you know if there is one or two Zhang Daqian will be born in the town of DaFen?
Some pictures can be found here.
http://pic.people.com.cn/GB/31655/4235936.html
Sunday, March 26, 2006
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