Fang Lijun - Cynical Realism

Cynical Realism

The earliest exhibition about the Cynical Realism was done by Fang Lijun and Liu Wei. "Wanshi"-Cynical Realism which is translated into English is "cynical'. However, this English term cannot fully cover the whole meaning of the attachment of reality and life. The figures in Cynical Realism's paintings were cynical, distorted and accidental. In each of these painting, there is a sense of "self - mockery and ridiculous snippets of the surrounding circumstances". Different metaphysical questions and searches were discarded by this Cynical Realism. Fang Lijun said: "The bastard can be duped a hundred times but he still falls for the same old trick. We'd rather be called losers, bores, basket cases, scoundrels, or airheads, than ever be cheated again".

Leading the Cyncial Realist movement after 1989, "Fang Lijan is considered one of the most important figures in Chinese contemporary art". Fang Lijan is famous with his "illustrative style and bald-headed" figures. In these paintings, bald headed young men are in different motions: yawning, smiling, swimming, etc. Some of the figures are described as confusion or considered "dumbfounded by modern society". His figures represent the loss in direction of youths in China after 1989. Further more, some critics view these figures as inward looking monks which challenge the idea of orthodoxy. He has repeated painting a stereotypical bald head Chinese men with a "stupid" smiles. There was a shift in his painting before the 1990s and after the 1990s. Before, the relationship between the figures were easy to be predicted. The background was clearer with different details to help "picture-reader" understood the paintings. However, after 1990s, there was a big shift in the way he portrayed these figures. The relationship is hard to interpret when there usually was a big figure in the front and other small figures in the back. The background was not the main focus of the painting however, it still played a role. This shift leads to a new way of interpretation paining and allow everybody to read and challenge the idea of "representation" (book). Some people this shift is considered a self-mokery and dealt with distance.