Meet Yiyang Qian | Japanese painting and Illustration Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yiyang Qian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yiyang, what principle do you value most?
My values are influenced by Eastern thought and culture, and I think the most important principles for me are inclusiveness, sensitivity to the limitations of myself , and sincerity of expression.

I am very fond of Buddhist and Taoist culture. There is a saying in Taoism that “Taoism follows nature”, that is, it follows nature and embraces the workings of all things. This kind of inclusiveness embodies tolerance and acceptance of the world, recognizing the value and significance of the existence of all things. In my creations, I can draw inspiration from this inclusiveness, respecting different views and cultures, and coexisting harmoniously to create richer and more diverse works.
Buddhists emphasize “Prajna Paramita”, the practice of wisdom, recognizing that human perception and cognition are limited, and that one should not be overly attached to one’s personal views and prejudices. Artists should always keep a humble and open mind in their creations, constantly reflecting and scrutinizing their own thoughts and concepts in order to achieve a deeper level of understanding and expression. This is the reason why I chose to come to the United States to study illustration, to understand the charm of a completely different art profession under a completely different cultural background.

At the same time, I believe that sincere expression is especially important. In the process of creation, artists should insist on expressing their inner feelings and thoughts, not be disturbed or tempted by the outside world, maintain an independent creative style, and be brave enough to express their own views and feelings. Only sincere expression can touch the hearts and minds of the audience and create good works!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think my biggest strength is my family, they were very supportive when I chose a cold guys major like Japanese painting in college and were happy that I found my dream discipline and encouraged me along the way so that I never doubted my decision. The biggest resistance is the outside voices and temptations, I would hesitate between pursuing pure art and commercial art, choosing my current illustration major is a great opportunity for me to learn about commercial art, and I think I will be able to strike a balance between the two in the future.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would like to take my friend to Tokamachi in Japan, it is a countryside in Japan, there are hotels with hot springs and natural field scenery, there is an art festival called “Echigo-Tsumari Art-Field ”every three years, the artists arrange their art works among the mountains and fields, and become one with the nature. This place is not suitable for some activities in the big city, there is no place to drink and shop, but it has the power to heal the heart, and even the food is planted and raised by the locals themselves, so if I have a chance, I will take my friends to such a paradise.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to appreciate my college professors, Shin Yamada, Gu Luoshui, and my graduate professor, Rebecca, for opening my eyes to a wider world of art and the possibilities of my future development.

The book I would like to honor most is 《One Hundred Years of Solitude》, which made me realize my insignificance, gave me the opportunity to talk to the great souls of mankind, and gave me a great courage to face the trials and tribulations in the future, and made me think about death, so that I could know how to live my life better, and showed me that purely beautiful and moving things and know what kind of creation to make. At the same time, my aesthetic consciousness was greatly influenced by Masayuki Kurokawa’s 《The 8 Aesthetic Consciousness of the Japanese》，which describes a lot of marvelous Japanese culture, and has been a great help to my creation a lot.

Instagram: qian_yiyang

Image Credits
Qian yiyang