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The Legendary Art Journey of Cao Yong——Citizen of
浏览次数:1097次 更新时间:2020-12-22

By Shitou





Introduction:

Cao Yong is a Chinese American painter whose painting can influence an era and history. He was the first artist to receive the Excellent Artistic Achievement Award from the International Leadership Foundation, and the first Chinese American artist to have a painting featured on the cover of a US Constitution booklet. He was the first Chinese American artist whose work has been permanently collected by the Foundation of Constitution Day Inc. He was the first artist to have a large painting hanged at the Independence Hall of the United States of America, the first artist to have paintings hanged in eight US Embassies in the Middle East. He was the first Chinese American painter to have been invited by the US President to be a guest of the White House. He was the artist who has received the most awards from US government agencies. He was the first Chinese American artist whose limited edition copies sold in the international art market at the highest prices. He was the first artist to be received the Green Catalyst Award of Cleantech Open. He was the first painter to win the Art for Peace Award. He was the first Chinese American artist to attend the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade as a special guest. His paintings have an extensive reputation and a profound influence through Europe and the US and used as the cover of the US constitution handbook, while another work of his has been hanging in the building of Independence Hall as the spiritual totem of the US constitution. His masterpiece, Freedom, reflects the 9/11 tragedy and shows the American spirit. It holds a broad and profound impact in the west. Its painter was not only met by the US President, and the painting had become a fixture in US Embassies and during major social events. Cao Yong also received the Green Catalyst Award, Art for Peace Award, and many other world-class awards.

 

 

 

  In 1962, Cao Yong was born in Xin County in the Dabie Mountains of Henan Province. His family was impoverished, and he almost died. When he was five years old, to subsidize his family, little Cao Yong had no choice but to quarry in the mountains with his brothers and neighbors children. The cave collapsed unexpectedly, Cao Yong was buried alive. After Cao Yong was dug out and carried out, he appeared to be no longer breathing. While people were preparing Cao Yongs funeral, his devastated father suddenly found that Cao Yongs heart was beating ever so slightly. His father picked him up in a hurry and brought him to the hospital. Unfortunately, the doctors in the hospital were mere quacks with diplomas. On the operation table, they not only failed to put Caos broken thighbone together, but they also tried five times back and forth and put Cao through torturous pain as his anesthetic wore off. In the end, the doctors just wrapped Caos leg with plaster and an iron splint as if they were making dumplings. It was summertime, Cao Yong was moved into a dirty and chaotic medical ward with many other patients. He was in unbearable pain all day long, crying and moaning non-stop. Because of the summer heat, little Cao Yongs crushed bones in their tightly wound cast started to rot and smell. Pus soaked through thick gauze and plaster, and it was getting worse day by day. Moreover, other patients in the same ward frequently moved in alive but moved out dead. The patient ward was the gateway to hell. One day, Cao Yong was moaning in pain when he suddenly heard the familiar sound of a rattle-drum. It turned out to be the junk dealer Lao Sheng. After Sheng heard about Cao Yongs situation, he told Caos mother in private,do you remember the blind miller, Zhu, living in the north of our county? He is the best at setting a broken bone. The doctors in the hospital said they would transfer Cao Yong to Baimasi hospital within days and have Cao amputated. It was such a close call!

  Caos family snuck him out of the hospital through the back door under the dim moonlight. Blind Zhu was indeed good at setting bones. Without using any anesthetics, this man, who was more than 80-year-old, worked through the layer of rotten flesh with flaming liquor on his shaky hands, setting back Caos sprouted broken bones together, while Cao Yong was crying out fiercely. After finishing his procedure, Blind Zhu explained that in 3 days, Cao would wake up screaming from sleep, and at that point, his leg would be fine. Cao went through life and death at the early age of 5. This experience had given the boy a unique understanding of life.

  When Cao Yong was 11 years old, several art editors of the Workers Daily were sent to Huangchuan Cadre School from Beijing, and then transferred to the Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial of Xin County temporally. They lighted this little county up. Seeing the artists painting one day, Cao Yong fell in love with the art instantly. He went to watch the artists painting through their windows every day, no matter it was windy or rainy. Back home, Cao begged his father to let him learn painting.


 With the help of his fathers friends, Cao finally was able to study with the artists. One of the teachers, Mr. Yu Ren, often went to the countryside for inspiration and interviewed old Red Army soldiers. Cao was busy running around, helping the teacher to carry the easel and drawing board. Noticing that his teacher painted little birds, Cao would catch a myna bird, a magpie, even an owl. Especially when he got to know the people, who survived wars and disasters, they imparted young Cao with strong willpower. Nevertheless, the boy found a way to spend his endless energy. At the same time, it was as if he had found a gateway to his soul, a whole new world of life was opened to him. A few months later, his teachers went back to Beijing. Disappointed, Cao Yong began to paint like crazy. He had no money to buy paper, so he painted on walls, ground, and discarded newspapers. He had no money to buy brushes or pencils, so he wrapped peeled willow branches with mud, then burned them to use the charcoal to sketch. He explored every corner of his hometown. He would paint the local customs and culture of each place he could see. Such persistence and dedication never changed, even during his trip to Tibet, on his travels to Japan, and eventually during his journey across the ocean to America.

 

曹勇在西藏 1983年

 

 

 

在西藏定日 1984年

 

In 1983, after graduating from the Fine Arts Department of Henan University, 21-year-old Cao Yong voluntarily applied to work in the holiest place in his heart -- Tibet. He was deeply attracted by the magnificent natural scenery and the mystical culture and history there. During his days in Tibet, Cao wandered around the snow mountains and plateau with his canvas and sketching kit, accompanied only by a horse, a dog, and a hunting gun all year long. He aimed to not only collide with the world but to find the essence of life, which is to blend with the worlds long history. He had long hair and looked like a savage. He drank with celestial burial masters and slept beside old living Buddhas.

 


 He visited almost every temple, monastery, and cave across Tibet and copied hundreds of ancient murals and cave paintings. He went deep into Ali no-mans zone on his own. He overcame adverse natural conditions and unbearable loneliness. He spent one year there to copy murals in a Guge Kingdoms cave. When he was trapped in a world of ice and snow for eleven days, he had to depend on black beans for sustenance, which were, in fact, his horses food. He would steel dried yak bones from the mouths of wild dogs from time to time. He used skeletons for headrests, slept with dead peoples skin, and listened to the howling winds outside in caves during the nights. It was a huge test for both his body and mind. Cao Yong was able to think about the ultimate meaning of life in an extreme state. In the process of copying ancient murals, he saw the cycle of life and death; the confusion of present life; the corruption caused by immorality; the greed for wealth and rank; illusion turned into ashes and smoke; the understanding of humans positivity and mindfulness, as well as the exploration and awareness of ultimate life. He was cruising through the time tunnel, drinking Bodhi dew with saints and sages. Cao Yong immersed himself in this ancient and mysterious culture. He sends messages through paintings that widened his spiritual vision and increased his minds perception. 

 

 

在拉薩畫室 1984年

 

 

1985年和阿裏古格王國守門人老旺堆

 

 


 曹勇在拉薩小昭寺 1985年

 

 

曹勇在阿裏古格  1986年

 

 

我會再來阿裏 1986年

 

 在西藏阿裏古格 1986年

  

在西藏普蘭科迦寺 1986年

 

曹勇在西藏阿裏臨摹壁畫 1986年

 

During his seven years in Tibet, Cao Yong created a series of Tibet paintings, including To Seek Buddha and The Split Layer of Earth: Mount Kailas. This series explores the depths of the universe, humanity, and religion. They are the perfect production of Cao Yongs life and arts mingled during his seven years in Tibet. 

 

佛在哪里?臨摹阿裏古格白廟壁畫 1987年

 

 

在古格臨摹壁畫 1987年

 

 

在西藏阿裏古格 1987年

 

浪跡西藏高原 1987年

 

 

摸著佛的手 臨摹壁畫 1988年

 

 

走到天邊 阿裏1988年


 

 In the spring of 1989, Cao Yong organized a Tibet themed exhibition in Beijing. It was an instant success in the capital city and gained international recognition. However, his paintings were confiscated due to the limited recognition at the time. His surrealistic language of painting and style werent to be accepted at that time in China.

 In the fall of 1989, Cao Yong left his homeland for Japan with his unerasable Tibet memories. Compared to Tibets free and ancient nature, Tokyo proved to be a modern and fast-paced metropolis, a totally different world. Tokyo is not a place where Cao Yong could hunt animals for food, nor barter for goods. The first problem he faced in reality, was simply survival. The first job for this long-hairedprimitive from Tibet was grave digging. He repeated this laborious and repetitive work on a daily bases. He soon felt that he was wasting his life away little by little. He was eager to get out of such a painful situation and back to devote to the painting career he was passionate about.

  Cao Yong got his first painting job by chance to paint a mural in a soon-to-open commercial building. One day, a man was standing behind him during the job and complimented Caos technique. That man turned out to be the building owner and told Cao, There is a newly painted mural in the Central Lounge on the 8th floor. It was painted by a professor and several of his students from Tokyo Art University. It cant be compared to your mural. Would you help to alter it? He went upstairs to examine the mural, Cao concluded that there was no way he could alter the piece, and he could only cover it and repaint. There were only four days before the building was opened, which had the owner quite worried. Cao Yong assured the man with his confidence, and without a blueprint nor draft, he began repainting the mural day and night without sleep. In the process, it attracted a large crowd of onlookers. Then four days later, the giant mural of 16 x 3.5 meters was finished. It included perfect portrayals of sixteen lifelike classical figures and was called The Dinner of a European King. It stunned everyone there. This successful project was Cao Yongs first bucket of gold. It brought him fame in Japan; at the same time, he established his own mural painting company. Even through difficult times, Cao Yong never stopped creating his own oil paintings. He continued best Tibet-themed paintings ever and many pieces reflecting the social customs of Nepal successively. When these pieces were exhibited in famous galleries in Japan, Taiwan, they were welcomed enthusiastically. The Japanese art circle called Cao Yong the Contemporary Goya, and the press extolled him as an artistic genius of our time.

 

在尼泊爾  1990年

 

 

在藏區 2004年

 

 

 On January 16th, 2017, on the 32nd memorial of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Cao Yong was invited to participate in the parade as a special guest. On July 27th, 2017, the opening reception of the art exhibition Art Without Boundaries by Cao Yong: Citizen of the World was held at America Forest Lawn Museum. Nearly 2,500 people from all around attended, including distinguished politicians, fans, and collectors of Cao Yongs artwork and a dozen different mainstream media. The reception was marvelous, and the atmosphere was enthusiastic. It was one of the most significant events in Los Angeles in 2017. To quote an audience, Elaine Zhao, this event was so successful that the crowd didnt want to leave. Cao Yong is the pride of Chinese people. His Limitless Worldshook and inspired the world. His paintings bring a new explanation of life. Another Chinese attendee said, seeing a Chinese artist receive so much respect and love from this many American people and mainstream society makes me deeply proud. The curator, Ana Pescado of Forest Lawn Museum, introduced Cao Yong during the reception and said, Cao Yongs paintings are rich in emotions, and people can feel how the experience at that moment influenced the individual and the entirety. His works, which are interrelated and interdependent, express his keen awareness and high educational quotient toward the surrounding environment. He expresses and creates himself through paintings that sometimes have gloomy and deep tone and other times bright. He constantly dedicates himself into the creation of art.

 

2002年9月11日,洛杉磯消防總署舉行了“9·11”周年 紀念大會暨年度頒獎儀式

 

 


曹勇與布什總統

 

 


曹勇與格萊美獎主席尼爾

 

 

Master Xingyun said, I am not sure you are the reincarnation of Maitreya, but I am confident that you are the reincarnation of Manjushri because your paintings are masterpieces. Americans Daughter and Founder of the Constitution Day, Louise Lee, said, During our lifetime, our path may cross with a genius if we are fortunate. I was fortunate enough to do so when I met Cao Yong, who is considered the number one artist in America. I think he is a genius in painting. If you know him personally, you will find that he is an exceptional and virtuous person. Neil Portnow, the chairman of the Grammy Award, commented on Cao Yong, your paintings have piercing experience and the keen sight of life. Your benevolent heart, and pursue goodness make us feel the true meaning of life.” 

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