A Thousand Li of Mount Tam
Ivy H.
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Title: A Thousand Li of Mount Tam Medium: Acrylic Paint
My piece was inspired by the famous painting "Qian Li Jiang Shan Tu", which roughly translates to "A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains", by the ancient Chinese artist Wang Xi Meng. Wang's painting used vivid colors to depict an almost fantastical landscape, and this was where I drew my inspiration from. As a Chinese American, I wanted to combine my two cultures, so I depicted a landscape I was familiar with using the colors and style of Wang's piece. Growing up in San Francisco, Mount Tam was a view that I had seen since childhood, and I wanted to recreate the scene in a way that was unique to my roots. I used the same types of vivid colors as Wang's piece to make the landscape seem fantastical as well. To further the feeling that the scene was unreal, I made the mountains in the background stand out just as much as the ones in the foreground. Different from Wang's painting, I used black to create an emphasis on the different objects in the scene, such as the Golden Gate bridge in the back and the trees dotting the mountains. " A Thousand Li of Mount Tam" is my way of showing Chinese culture in a contemporary way while combining it with my experience as a Chinese American.
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It lets me express my emotions and is a way for me to relax. It also sharpens and exercises my mind, allowing me to better understand other school subjects.
