Once+Upon+a+Time+on+Broadway--Liu+Ye


 * **Once Upon a Time on Broadway**

Title: //Once Upon a Time on Broadway// Artist: Liu Ye Date: 2006 Dimensions: Height 82.5/8in. x Width 82.5/.8in Medium: Acrylic and Oil on Canvas Gallery: Sperone Westwater Gallery (private collection)
 * Artwork Identification**

Liu Ye was born in 1964 in Beijing, where he continues to live and work today. Liu Ye had a passion for art and drawing that began very early in his life. As a teenager drawing gave him so much pleasure that he would stay home alone and draw for hours. He studied mural painting and industrial design at Central Academy for fine arts. He then went to The Fine Arts University of Berlin in Germany to get his MFA. Growing up in China under the leadership of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution made his childhood very strict and controlled by the government. Liu Ye's paintings appear to be innocent, but after further observations the paintings have dark undertones. He was strongly influenced by Mondrian, Vermeer ,Van Eyck, Hans Christian Anderson, Freud and Nietzche. "Liu Ye's passion of fairytales and philosophy is in equal measure and his paintings are settled between the two poles, the feeling of his childhood and philosophy, seeking for a balance between them lifelong." (Grosnenick, Schubbe, p.243)
 * Introduction**

At Sperone Westwater Gallery in New York City//, Once Upon a Time on Broadway// hangs in their private collection//.// A cartoon-like painting of two fantasty characters standing in front of Liu Ye's appropriation of [|Piet Mondrian's] //Broadway Boogie// //Woogie .// One noticable diference is Mondrian's background canvas color is white, while Liu Ye's appropriation is yellow. Liu Ye's painting is perfectly square which mirrors Mondrian's painting. Like //Broadway Boogie Woogie//, //Once Upon a Time on Broadway// uses mainly primary colors. There are some mixing of colors to create the character's bodies, pants and shoes. The rest of the painting is done using tints and shades of primary colors. The characters, a little girl and a clothed make believe bunny, are facing the Mondrian painting with their back toward the viewer. The characters resemble Japanese Kawaii (cute) cartoon people with their big round heads. There is a light source coming from the left casting shadows from the painting and the characters. Liu Ye has a meticulous painting style similar to traditional painting where strokes are layered slowly and methodically..
 * Descriptive Analysis**

The title //Once Upon a Time on Broadway// is reflective of the painters childhood. Liu Ye's father was an author of children's books and his grandmother used to read him fairy tales before bed. As a young teenager, Liu Ye painted for one of this father's children literature books and was illustrating them by the 1980's. Some critics believe that the use of fantasy characters are thought to represent the loss of Liu Ye's innocence during the Cultural Revolution. But nowhere in any of his painting are symbols from the Cultural Revolution such as dragons, Mao Zedong or jade which many of his fellow artists who grew up during this time use in their artwork. Liu Ye states "They say I am not mature yet and I still keep the feelings of my childhood." (China Art Book p.243)
 * Formal and Contextual Analysis**

The make believe bunny shown next to the girl is [|Miffy], a cartoon character created by [|Dick Bruner] and appropriated for use by Liu Ye. (Gelber, 2006) Miffy's use is thought to represent either lost innocence, or perhaps utilization of a pop icon similar to Warhol's use of Campbell's tomato soup cans, to allow the audience to immediately relate to the piece without effort. But the use of Miffy in other works by Ye, such as //Lost Miffy// and //Temptress// pose the potential for more shocking utilization of the cartoon rabbit, in which a children's animated character is dressed up as a child itself, and posed as a alluring model, as in //Temptress//. (Gelber, 2006) On the surface, the utilization leads one to a sexual connotation for the work, but upon reflection, the use of the rabbit dressed as a temptress to entice children, is in fact what animated children's characters are meant to do, entice children and adults to purchase merchandise and accessories in the likeness of the character. So the end result is a very subtle comparison to the commercialism that children are exposed to at an early age through the use of cute, cuddly animated figures. And while //Once Upon a Time on Broadway// has another goal, the use of Miffy as an easy method to immediately draw the viewer into the work through pop culture recognition is also prevalent.

The prevalence of the utilization of the cute, or popularly known as Kawaii, styling of the characters can be seen to have several subtexts. The first and most obvious is the use by Ye to recapture the feelings of his childhood, as is stated above. This relation to childhood can be seen in relation to other types of Kawaii characters, most famously Hello Kitty. A multibillion dollar international marketing success, Hello Kitty epitomizes the cuteness of characters with large heads, large eyes and an air of childishness meant to draw on the natural protection and adoration instincts of people. In the case of Ye, he allows this utilization to draw and retain the viewers attention to the piece, and immediately allows the viewer to connect with the subject matter at a instinctive level. The second subtext can be viewed in relation to the first, in that the Kawaii styling taps into the need for adults to obtain "a spiritual peace and an escape from brutal reality through cute things" (Kageyama, 2006), such as the Japanese do with Hello Kitty and other Kawaii characters. In addition, the utilization of cuteness allows the artist to present challenging, but not overtly grotestque, ideas to the viewer such as in //Temptress//.

//Once Upon a Time on Broadway// is trying to tell the viewer a story as the title suggests. It could possibly be that Liu Ye uses Mondrian's simple looking //Brooadway Boogie Woogie// to imply simplicity and the youthful characters to imply innocence but, Mondrian's piece is far from simple when looked at closer. Maybe the same is true for the young characters. There may be far more hidden beneath the surface. "Mondrian's elements appear in my paintings as spiritual symbols. His paintings are so simply pure: only the basic colors and vertical and horizontal lines. I'd also like to solve the problem of simplicity." (Liu Ye [])

http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424688898/1006/liu-ye-once-upon-a-time-in-broadway.html
 * Bibliography**

http://www.artnet.com/galleries/Exhibitions.asp?gid=1006&cid=105632 This website shows the Sperone Gallery exihibition pieces from Liu Ye's //Temptations// show. It also provides a description of the artist and some of his pieces.

Grosenick, Uta, Shubbe, Caspar. //China Art Book//. Dumont at Cologne and Berbier, 2007. This book has short introductions to various avant-garde artist from China

[] This is a link to the gallery where Liu Ye shows //Once Upon a Time on Broadway//. It also provides a photo and links to other works by the artist.

Gelber Eric, [] Editor David Cohen This website gives an art critics view of //Once Upon a Time on Broadway// and other various Liu Ye works.

Kageyama, Yuri. (2006, June 14) "Love for cute has Japan engrossed in soul-searching on kitty, beauty, art" //Associate Press//, linked from []

[]

[]

Tong, Dian. China! New Art & Artists. Schiffer Book Atglen, PA. 2005 This exerp from this book tells of Liu Ye and the Cultural Revolution.

[] This website gives a very detailed description of the artist and his style.

[]

This lesson meets the following National Arts Education Standards and Benchmarks. ART.I.VA.M.3 Select and use the visual characteristics and organizational principles of art to communicate ideas. ART.II.VA.M.4 Use subjects, themes, and symbols that communicate intended meaning in artworks. ART.III.VA.M.5 Describe how personal experiences influence the development of specific artworks. ART.V.VA.M.1 Analyze personal, family, and community connections that involve work by visual artists.
 * Art Lesson 1**
 * Title:** Exploring Childhood Memories
 * Grade Level:** Elementary School
 * Time:** Seven Class Periods
 * Standards and Benchmarks:**

Childhood Memories: Events, experiences and stories that occurred while growing up. Liu Ye's piece //Once Upon a Time on Broad Way// shows the artist's childhood memories of illustrating for his father with the little girl and Miffy. The piece also shows his reflection of childhood through Miffy, an icon he grew up with. Popular Culture (pop culture): Collection of ideas, images, objects, and music, which represents what, was common during a time period. Liu Ye's piece //Once Upon a Time on Broad Way// shows popular culture through two elements in his piece, Miffy, the imaginary bunny, and the painting Broadway Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondrian. Both elements represent what was popular during the 1960's.
 * Central Concepts**
 * Lesson Activities**

Activity 1: Compare and Contrast, 1 Class Period The art pieces may include the following:
 * Show 3-5 art pieces by different artists who depict their childhood.
 * Once Upon a Time on Broadway by Liu Ye
 * The River Series by Ian Abdulla
 * 5-Mile Creek by Daisy Napaltijarri Jugadai
 * Ural Mountains by Andrei Kioresku


 * Offshore by Kelly Vivanco
 * Ask the following questions to guide students' comparisons on the artists' choices of subject, objects, color, art style, technique, cultural and time references, etc.
 * What childhood memory does each artist depict in their art piece?
 * What similarities are there between the artworks shown? Subject, objects, color, art style, technique, cultural and time references?
 * What differences are there between the artworks shown? Subject, objects, color, art style, technique, cultural and time references?
 * How do the pieces make you feel? Do they bring back any of your childhood memories?

Activity 2: Discuss Childhood Memories, 30 mins
 * Ask each child to describe two most distinct childhood memories. In their descriptions, they must mention what colors, objects and/or characters are in each of their childhood memories. Direct their attention to popular culture references.
 * The following questions may be used to facilitate the discussion:
 * When thinking about childhood memory what is the first memory that pops in your mind? Why? Tell us what colors, objects and/or characters are in the first memory.
 * What elements do you remember in this memory?
 * How does this memory make you feel?
 * What are other childhood memories that you remember? Tell us what colors, objects, and/or characters are in another one of your childhood memories.

Activity 3: Portray a Childhood Memory, 4 Class Periods
 * Depict one of their childhood memories in acrylic paint on 12X16 paper.
 * Students will choose a childhood memory they want to protray, the class will discuss as a group each students childhood memory.
 * Students conduct research using the internet about popular culture of their childhood to gather information.
 * Students will sketch a variety of sketchs to portray their childhood memory on newsprint paper.
 * Students need to include items from popular culture that show their time period.
 * Students need to pick one of their sketches (approving it with the teacher) and choose the colors they want to use, by coloring parts with markers.
 * Students then need to take their sketch and draw it with pencil on 12x16 paper.
 * Teacher will demonnstrate the basic painting techniques, how to mix colors, and talk about variety of ways to paint.
 * After the students have drawn their sketch, they can start painting with acrylic paints their childhood memory.
 * On the second day the class will get together and have in-progress critique.
 * When the students are finished the class will have a critique on everyones acrylic painting of their childhood memory.
 * After the critique the students will then write in their journals about the childhood memory they choose along with the items they included from popular culture.

Activity 4: Protray Second Childhood Memory, 2 Class Periods
 * Depict second childhood memory in Kid Pix
 * Students will choose a second childhood memory they want to protray, the class will discuss as a group each students childhood memory.
 * Students need to include items from popular culture that show their time period.
 * Students need to clearly express their childhood memory in four sketches.
 * Students will then choose one of their sketches (approving it with the teacher).
 * Teacher will demonstrate how to use Kid Pix and all the basic tools they will need to know.
 * Students use Kid Pix to protray their childhood memories.
 * When the students are finished the class will have a critique on everyones childhood memory using Kid Pix.
 * After the critique the students will then write in their journal about their second childhood memory and what they thought about using Kid Pix.
 * Assessment Rubric**
 * Objective || Evidence || Level 4 || Level 3 || Level 2 || Level 1 ||
 * || Discussion and review || Thorough grasp of concept; can offer good examples. || Understands concept; examples not always clear. || Awareness of concept;can restate but without examples. || No evidence of understaning. ||
 * || Critical looking and talking || Uses vivid descriptive and insightful interpretive language. || Descripitve and interpretive language. || Limited descriptive and interpretive language. || No ability to describe and interpret. ||
 * || Student artwork- Acrylic Painting || Showed full understanding of what was asked. || Showed some understanding, but not as clear . || Limitied idea on directions, tried. || Did not follow directions. ||
 * || Student artwork- Kid Pix || Showed full understanding of what was asked. || Showed some understanding, but not as clear . || Limitied idea on directions, tried. || Did not follow directions. ||

[|http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au] [|http://rosemarieberger.com] [] []
 * References**