Final Review

Lei Qi Min

Academy of Art University

Painting

Final Review

11-16-2015/9:00 pm

CONTENTS

Autobiography …………………………………………………………………….. 3

Resume …………………………………………………………………….. 4

Artist’s Statement …………………………………………………………………… 8

Abstract …………………………………………………………………….. 9

Background Information On Topic ………………………………………………... 11

Developing Processes for My Project ………………………………………….. 12

Influence……………………………………………………………………… 15

Work in Progress ………………………………………………………………….. 16

Image List ………………………………………………………………….. 25

Autobiography

Lei Q. Min graduated from the Shanghai Art Academy in 1978. She began her career painting

advertising murals for cinemas as well as murals in Shanghai China. She moved to Singapore in

1985, and eventually established a career as a portrait painter for society figures and government

officials. During her time there, she held two solo exhibitions at the National Art Museum of

Singapore and National History Museum of Singapore.

In 1990, Lei moved to Brussels, Belgium, and completed an Art Education degree at Vrije

University Brussels, Belgium, as well as painting portraits for local commissions. She returned to

China in 1995 to raise her children and continued doing commissions for the Singapore

government.

Lei Q. Min has been living in San Francisco since 2000, where she completed a BFA at the San

Francisco State University and MFA in painting at the Academy of Art University. She has been

actively participating in group exhibitions and art studio events. In 2014, she received the

Director’s choice award at the Academy of Art annual Spring Show. Her oil painting “Lakeside”

has been selected as one of the top 21 finalists in the 2015 Portrait Society of America

International Portrait Competition.

Solo Exhibitions

2001 VIP Portraits of Singapore, National History Museum, Singapore

1988 Pioneers, Personalities, and People, National Fine Art Museum, Singapore

Group Exhibitions

2015 American Impressionist Society 16th

Annual Juried Exhibition, Trailside

Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

2015 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Cutter & Cutter Fine Art,

St. Augustine, FL

2014 The 24th Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society Exhibition, The Ella

Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO

2014 The first annual Artists Guild Show, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

2013-2014 Art Renewal Center , International Salon Competition, Port Reading,

NJ

2013 The 23rd

Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society Exhibition, The Ella

Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO

2013 The Artist's Magazine 30th Annual Art Competition, Palm Coast, FL

2013 Oil Painters of America Salon Show, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI

2013 OPA 22nd

Annual National Juried Exhibition, InSight Gallery, Fredericksbug, TX

2012 Portrait Society of America Member’s Only Competition, Tallahassee, FL

2011-2012 Art Renewal Center (ARC) International Salon, Port Reading, NJ

2012 Salon International Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX

2012 The 22th “Best of America” Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society

Exhibition, The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO

2010 The Pacific Art League Show, Palo Alto, CA

2009 The 19th “Best of America” Annual National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society

Exhibition, The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO

Bibliography

Southwest Art, Annual Collector’s Edition, Volume 45, Number 5, page #45,51,

Oil Painters of America 2013 Exhibition Catalogue, Fredericksbug, TX

Art Renewal Center International 2011/2012 ARC Salon Catalogue, Port Reading, NJ

Art Renewal Center International 2013/2014 ARC Salon Catalogue, page #78,

Commissions

US Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Hunt, Dallas, TX

The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art, “Ballerina #3”, Bolivar, MO

The Paul Weldon, Weldon family portrait, Chicago, IL

The National University of Singapore, Portrait of Chancellor Benjamin Sheares

Singapore History Museum, VIP Portraits Project, Singapore

Singapore Central Narcotics Bureau, Portrait Project for CNB CEO’s, Singapore

Singapore Parliament, Portrait of five Speakers of the Singapore Parliament, Singapore

Tan and Tan Developments, Datuk Tan Chin Nam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

IGB Bhd, Portraits of Datuk and Datin Tan Kim Yeow, Ipoh, Malaysia

The General Manager of Reuters News Agency Europe, family portrait of Mr. Henry

Manesty, Brussels, Belgium

CEO of the European Services Industry Forum, portrait of Mr. Gunter Pauli Brussels,

Belgium

European Community Commissioner, Portrait of Mr. Abel Matutes , Brussels, Belgium

The Chief Justice of Singapore, Portrait of Mr. Yong Pung How, Singapore

UIC Holding, portrait of Mrs. Angela Oei, Singapore

Far Eastern Group, portrait of Mrs. HsuYu Ziang, Taiwan

Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Portrait of Conductor Mr. Chu Hui, Singapore

Chairman of OUB Bank of Singapore, Portrait of Mr. Lien Ying Chow, Singapore

Chairman of OCBC Bank of Singapore, portrait of Mr. Tan Chin Tuan, Singapore

Collections

Singapore National History Museum, Portraits of Singapore former Presidents, Singapore

Former Chief Minister of Singapore, Portrait of Mr. David Marshall, Singapore

Professional Experience

Instructor, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Our Life As Americans: History and Chinese Women

Sweat, tears, struggles, and dreams are the untold story of Chinese immigrant women who,

for 150 years, endured and overcame immeasurable hardship. As a Chinese immigrant

woman myself, I hope to depict, record, and preserve this part of American history through

my paintings.

Through my research I discovered many stories that are little-known but fascinating, a dark

but inspiring chapter of the American story and American Dream. In my painting “Angel

Island “, early immigrants from China faced detention and questioning. We can see the

remains of hundreds of home-sick poems written on wooden walls. I used a cooler color

palette to underline the mood of hopelessness. Once in Chinatown, many women and young

girls faced a life of prostitution or indentured servitude. Donaldina Cameron, a Presbyterian

Missionary, opened a woman's shelter that helped to rescue 3,000 of these women. In

“Cameron House,” I used the contrast of light and dark to illustrate the dynamic movement

of the composition. I try to evoke a state of a conflict of good versus evil, life and death

struggle, and order out of chaos, etc. In “Fishing Village in Monterey” I adopted some

elements of Venetian painting: brilliant color, painterly texture of brushstroke, light and color,

as well as an Arcadian landscape: themes of pleasure, playfulness, and idealism.

The stories continue. Hard working woman raising their children while working in the

“sweatshops” making the uniforms for the military to support America's war effort. A young

woman who has just gotten married to a Chinese American pilot who will forever be known

as a “War Bride”. Few Americans today know the history and the conditions of early Chinese

women immigrants. I was inspired by the paths these women traveled, the fascinating lives

they led, as well as the humanity they embodied.

Abstract

I was inspired by Chinese American artist Mian Situ’s paintings of historical works of the

Chinese American experience. However, my project will approach the subject with a focus

on the early Chinese American woman experience. My paintings will consist of the following

content according to their historical time line:

In Departure for America, a peasant girl heads for America in search of work and bids

farewell to her family. In New Arrivals, the wives and children join the men who are doing

business in America. The women who are allowed to arrive and settle into Chinatown are

filled with hope about starting a new life in “Gold Mountain” (San Francisco in Chinese

pronunciation) are laboring in America. In Detention at Angel Island, early immigrants

from China face detention and questioning at Angel Island. Feelings of homesickness mixed

with uncertainty about the future and fear of deportation. In Am I Your Wife?, many women

and young girls, lured by the promise of a better life in America, realize that they have been

essentially sold as prostitutes. In The Cameron House, missionaries help girls sold into

prostitution escape from their masters, caring for them and teaching them English. In

Sacramento Delta, a formerly-trafficked girl finds her inner peace and salvation through a

religious experience. After 1906 San Francisco Earth Quake, the Chinese occupants face

the particular threat of permanent displacement. In Fishing Village in Monterey Bay

California, many farmers settle to the Monterey area of California, making a living as

fishermen and in canneries. In Laundromats, many Chinese immigrants, especially women

who cannot work outside of the home, also work in the laundry business. Women shoulder

much of the burden along with raising children. In Sweatshop, Chinese American women

contribute to the war effort by working in sweatshops making uniforms and supplies for the

war effort. In War Bride, after conditions improved after the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion

Act, Chinese Americans are able to marry and start families in the US. In Cross Road,

Chinese Americans assimilate into American society, while forging a unique identity as

modern Asian Americans. They are doctors, lawyers, restaurant owners, shopkeepers,

engineers, contributing to the diverse fabric of American life.

Background Information On Topic

The great majority of San Francisco’s female Chinese population in the Gold Rush Era were

prostitutes (an estimated 90% in 1877). Some were kidnapped, tricked into signing false

marriage contracts, or lured by the promises of rich husbands in the new country. Bought for

$100 to $300 in China, “slave girls” sold for $300 to $600 in the United States. (Dicker

Laverne Mau (1979) The Chinese In San Francisco USA: California History Society ) In

1882, Congress passed “Chinese Exclusion Act”, an immigration law that prevented Chinese

farmers and railway workers from bringing their wives and children to the United States.

This law would remain in effect until 1943, when the Chinese and Americans became allies

during World War II. The conditions for Chinese immigrants was further improved after the

Civil Right Movement.

Developing Processes for My Project

In my project, I constructed a theme with a beginning and an end story. I tried to achieve a

representational and thematic presentation that will allow viewers to see what happened

according to some historical events.

Many of the primary concepts that made the Renaissance one of the greatest periods of

artistic achievement are still important aesthetic tools for us today. Some of those conceptual

tools I apply in my final project art are:

Using tragedy to evoke emotion.

Dramatic tension, contrast of light and dark, dynamic movement of the composition, and

strong simple colors.

Psychomachia, or a gesture or action that reveals the character of a person, etc.

I started by researching in San Francisco’s Chinatown library, reading history books, and

using the online search for the Library of Congress for family photographs of early Asian

Immigrants lives in America. I also visited Angel Island in the Bay Area, as well as other

historic sites and museums for references material (photographing clothed figures and

watching documentary footage) and inspiration for making costumes,. Then I sketched and

studied the effects of light, color, composition and environments. I used the traditional

narrative method for stimulating storytelling, and created a series of 11 paintings, sizes

ranging from 24” x 30” to 36” x 48”, oil painting on canvas.

In “The Cameron House” I use the concept of dramatic tension,

contrast of light and dark, dynamic movement of the composition, and strong simple colors.

In “Am I Your Wife” I apply the concept of Psychomachia: a

gesture or action that reveals the character of a person. The longing look and gesture shows

the desperation of slave girl in contrast to her evil “husband”, evoking the emotions of pity

and fear, a conflict where often represents good versus evil, love verses war, life and death

struggle, and order out of chaos, etc.

In “Fishing Village in Monterey Bay California” I adopt the

concept of Ideal expressed in the Venetion art painting : Brilliant color, painterly texture of

brushstroke, light and color. Arcadian landscape, Arcadian themes of pleasure, playfulness,

idealism; poetic stimulation takes places in a paradise bathed in the warm sfumato haze of

afternoon light.

The concept of Istoria is the aesthetic propounded by Alberti, stressing

perspective, proportion, poetics, beauty, and harmony, to create poses and gestures that

match the inner state. I intend to apply the concept in the painting called “New Arrivals”.

I tried to understand and apply the aesthetic concepts listed the above and be able to

articulate and incorporate them in my project. This project is a continuous clothed figure

study with greater emphasis on grouping and compositions. I learned to see shapes and

values, to create and unify patterns, developing a sense of staging and the ways by which

light affects the subjects. Finally, I hope my paintings go beyond story-telling and convey

some universal themes.

Influence

I am inspired by a well-known Chinese American artist, Mian Situ, who has created

wonderful paintings about early Chinese immigrants (images below). However, my focus is

mainly on the subject of women immigrants. I was inspired through my research of the paths

these women traveled, the inner emotional state and struggles those women suffered, the

fascinating lives they led, as well as the brave spirit and humanity they embodied. As those

early women were not allowed to work outside the homes, I have arranged most stages using

interior settings. I hope to depict, record and preserve this part of the American history.

It’s been a long journey since I first started, I am glad, I have completed this project.

Work in Progress

Initial composition sketch

Grouping Figures

Value placement of a final drawing

Visiting Angel Island Archive picture research

Research in Chinatown library history books

Museum in Monterey, CA Museum in Juneau, AK

Stage materials from museums

Making costumes

Photographing models

Work in Progress

Image lists

1. Cameron House

2012

Oil on canvas

36" x 48"

5. Angel Island

2010

Oil on canvas

36" x 36"

2. Delta Sacramento

2012

Oil on canvas

40" x 30"

6. Sweatshop

2011

Oil on canvas

40" x 30"

3. Fishing Village

2013

Oil on canvas

36" x 48"

7. Earth Quake 1906

2014

Oil on canvas

40" x 30"

4. Am I Your Wife?

2015

Oil on canvas

48" x 36"

9. New Arrival

2015

Oil on canvas

30" x 40"

8. Laundromat

2013

Oil on canvas

36" x 36"

10. War Bride

2014

Oil on canvas

30" x 24"

11. Cross Road

2011

Oil on canvas

36" x36"

Statement of future plans

I have been actively submitting works for competitions, and I have already gotten a few works

into some major competitions. My next task is to find a gallery to represent me and pursue other

opportunities to show my work, including teaching. I have approached the director of the Asian

Art Museum, Dr. Jay Xu. I need to persistently focus my energy on marketing my works.