2024 XiNa/YANG Mian: Exploring the New Frontier of Digital Painting Through the Prism of Viewing Mechanisms

DIGITAL AGE PAINTING EXPLORATION
YANG Mian: Exploring the New Frontier of Digital Painting Through the Prism of Viewing Mechanisms

Written by XI Na

YANG Mian’s artistic exploration delves into the essence and significance of painting, particularly in an era inundated with vast quantities of images and visuals. His work strives to maintain the dignity and uniqueness of painting amidst this proliferation. Integrating traditional Chinese culture alongside his CMYK and RGB series, YANG Mian’s creations reflect profound contemplation on the mechanisms of image production.
Stepping into a Sistine Chapel-like space, the walls are adorned with the dragon-themed CMYK series paintings on both sides. The narrow elongated room exudes a sacred and lofty atmosphere, as if walking between history and modernity, where classic images from traditional Chinese culture come to life anew. Guided by the light, viewers arrive at an irregular high space. Traditional screens and landscape paintings outline scenes of everyday life, transforming the mystery and reverence of the series into a contemplative experience of natural landscapes and tranquility.
Soft footsteps echo as rainbow videos loop in the dim space, evoking visual experience of the screen era. In an instant, the screens dim, revealing spectral remnants, with subtitles gradually emerging: The synthesis of RGB produces images. In this short darkness, one reconnects with the power of color. Entering the RGB exhibition hall, the space opens up brightly, colors becoming richer and more dynamic.
This is “Awakening”, YANG Mian’s solo exhibition at the Soul Art Center. From the sublime to the tranquility of everyday life, ultimately into the splendor of color, spatial narratives, visual impacts, and emotional fluctuations intertwine and reflect each other. Amid diverse themes and forms, YANG Mian encourages viewers to perceive the different definitions of paintings’ dignity across eras, striving in the digital age to awaken a rediscovery of the value and meaning of painting.

The Essence and Significance of Painting
For artist YANG Mian, the essence and significance of painting lie at the intersection of its historical mission and future potential. Only by clarifying the definition of painting can progress be made upon this foundation. Early painting served primarily two purposes: recording life and elevating our memories. After the Renaissance, painting gradually became a tool for creating service-oriented works such as portraits and landscapes. In the modernist period, art became an independent discipline, proposing that art should serve art itself, regardless of audience reception.
With the advent of photographic technology, painting faced unprecedented challenges. In the 1960s, Photorealist art emerged. Charles Close fragmented compositions into grids, with each grid acting as a visual focal point. Photorealist art, employing pointillist perspectives, broke away from the single-point perspective born in the Renaissance, thus restoring dignity to painting in the era of photography. YANG Mian has always been attentive to the evolution of viewing mechanisms. From the age of images to the AI era, the trend of image entertainment renders painting static and less appealing. Yet, the core value of painting lies in finding ways to handle these technologies and transcend the limitations of tools. In the future, every artist can discover their unique logic and methodology, creating distinctive works.
“The definition of painting should not be confined to the past but oriented towards the future. The question of painting’s dignity lies not in past definitions but in those for the future. What matters is our understanding and definition of painting, not the methods we use for creation.” The essence of painting lies in its unique modes of expression and problem-solving abilities, which continue to its significant value and meaning in modern society.
From Visual Democracy to Artistic Equality
In the 1970s, Beuys put forward the notion that “everyone is an artist”, exemplified by his act of signing a beer glass and declaring it an artwork. However, this practice often bewilders the general public, who tend to approach it from a technical rather than a conceptual standpoint. Beuys, through his methodology and viewpoint, elevated the act of signing on a glass to the status of art.
In the view of YANG Mian, the contemporary challenge for artists is to present new perspectives. The core of visual democracy lies in providing viewers with a pathway to participate in artistic creation. In his “CMYK” series, YANG Mian separates colors into distinct dots, allowing viewers to mix colors through their retinae. Because individuals perceive colors with varying sensitivities, what they see differs accordingly. Similarly, in the “RGB” series, each person’s visual strategy is unique.
“Art is open to all; everyone can participate. This is akin to today’s issue of technological equality, similar to what OpenAI is addressing.” The aim of visual democracy is to enable viewers to find their own understanding and engagement within artworks, thereby truly experiencing the value of art. This also poses a question of OpenArt and artistic equality. By transcending issues of tools and authority, art can enter into an entirely new realm. This is a recent contemplation for YANG Mian, who emphasizes, "What is open is art itself, not just the artworks." In the future, a critical consideration is whether non-accessible artworks should remain in private ownership or be opened up to everyone, enabling their participation in creation. Artworks possess a closed nature, yet art itself is fluid and open. The concept of open art not only revitalizes art with new vitality but also allows more individuals to discover their voice and mode of expression within art.
The Dignity of Painting in the Era of Video
In an era saturated with videos and images, how can artists uphold their dignity? Perhaps the value lies not in becoming alternative editors of images but in discovering and showcasing distinctive values. "The sole value of painting lies in its ability to permanently capture a sensation, which becomes particularly crucial in an era of rapid development, irreplaceable by other media." YANG Mian believes that still images cannot replace painting; photographs merely capture a moment, whereas painting can pose and resolve problems that only painting can handle. This, he asserts, is where the most significant value of painting lies.
YANG Mian places importance on the values and methodology of creation, believing that only such a logical system can help define artistic standards. These standards should be open, allowing any artist to utilize various tools for creation, yet the final artwork must adhere to a closed standard. Each person’s logical system may differ, but they should answer according to their own system. The prerequisite is that this system must be sufficiently robust and mature. Without enough strength and maturity, one may only be able to join someone else’s system. Philosophy has long defined it as: without a system, one can only join someone else’s system. Painting is no exception.
Artists create through a complete logical system while retaining their personal imprint. Even in an era of highly developed technology, painting still needs to maintain its uniqueness and handmade traces, finding a balance between technology and art, leveraging modern tools without losing the essence of art. This dignity and definition ensure that painting continues to hold significant value and meaning in modern society.

A: YANG Mian
What’s the inspiration behind the “CMYK” and “RGB”?
A: The inspiration behind the “CMYK” and “RGB” series stems from the concept of layering, traceable back to the Impressionist movement. Photoshop has greatly simplified this technique, making it more intuitive. Layering stands as a core technique in image processing and presentation. In earlier times, artists faced immense challenges due to the lack of modern tools and information technology. Previous generations had already achieved high levels of proficiency in image layering; we have simply mechanized these processes over time.
In 1998, while teaching at university with projectors as our primary teaching tools, I wanted to show students a painting. Lacking a computer, I printed the artwork on a transparency film. When I projected this transparency on the projector, the image, magnified several times, displayed an effect of color blending that profoundly impacted my visual experience. It was then that I realized this could be transformed into an artistic piece.
Subsequently, I continually pondered the mechanisms of image production. At that time, I was also creating the Beauty Standards series. As an artist, when embarking on new series, I meticulously prepare with theoretical and methodological groundwork, setting standards for the artworks. After over a decade of preparation, it wasn’t until 2010 that I felt adequately prepared to have them exhibited.
With the evolution of information technology, I delved deeper into technical research. For the initial “CMYK” series, I digitally crafted images on a computer, painstakingly manipulating tens of thousands of points with a mouse. These were then converted into instant decal engraving files, completed through engraving, acrylic painting, and the removal of instant decals. At that time, artistic creation was a long and solitary struggle. With the “RGB” series, I gained a clearer understanding of my objectives and techniques, making the process relatively easier.
After completion, I typically set it aside for two years or longer, allowing time to reflect on whether it meets my standards and is ready for exhibition. To me, art creation requires time and contemplation; some works may never be publicly shown. The processes and modes of thought evolve and refine continually with the passage of time and advances in technology.

In the “CMYK” and “RGB” series, what is the significance behind your use of repetitive techniques with dots and lines?
A: When we return to First Principles in contemplating art, every artwork is a composition of overlapping points, lines, and surfaces. CMYK originates from the principles of printing. When we view printed materials, we see an image but cannot discern each individual detail clearly. Upon magnification, these images reveal themselves to be composed of dots that are blurry and blend into each other. If we were to isolate these dots, we are essentially employing a retinal coloring method.
All videos adhere to the standard of 24 frames per second. Our understanding of imagery is evoked by segments of visual persistence. The series RGB: The Moment of Visual Persistence explores the fusion of light. By spacing lines of different colors just one millimeter apart in the artwork, colors richer than those of the spectrum arise, yet these hues are not imparted by me but perceived by the viewer themselves.
Currently, we recognize images primarily through two methods: CMYK and RGB. However, I believe that there exist other modes yet to be discovered by humans. It behooves us to ponder this question. Perhaps there are other methods capable of producing visual effects hitherto unseen, potentially leading human perception into entirely novel domains of understanding.

Could you describe the creative process behind the “RGB” series?
A: The “RGB” series consists of diptychs. I start by completing the first painting, then blink repeatedly to remember the afterimage on my retina. Once the memory is clear, I translate this sensation onto the computer and then onto the actual artwork. The lines in the pieces typically measure just one millimeter in width, which represents the current limit of my technique. Conscious fusion yields images, while unconscious fusion does not. On the left, there is an abstract piece without specific imagery. The lines are parallel and non-intersecting, yet due to visual persistence, they continually overlap to form an image in memory.
Your work integrates both abstract and concrete styles. What drives you to maintain this dual practice?
A: I don’t focus much on the distinction between abstract and concrete. To me, they are the same. Whether in CMYK or RGB, I am concerned with the mechanisms of image production and visual perception, which involve the fundamental principles of color. The abstraction is simply a conscious fusion, not aimed at something specific but based on the effects produced by RGB. CMYK is primarily used in printing, which fundamentally is a tool for reproducing concrete objects. Hence CMYK serves a specific purpose. Even when it reproduces something abstract, it still retains concreteness.
I believe there’s no strict need to differentiate between abstract and concrete. The division in modern art lies in the expression content and the viewer’s experience. Some viewers may find excitement in abstract works, while others might perceive specific works as highly abstract. Finding a strict boundary between these two realms is exceedingly challenging. For instance, mathematics may appear abstract to the layperson but is profoundly concrete to mathematicians. The boundary between abstraction and concreteness remains blurred across varying interpretations.

Do you have any plans for future artistic endeavors? Will you continue with your current style and techniques?
A: I have always been dedicated to exploring the mechanisms of creative production. Some mechanisms, such as 3D printing, have not yet been widely adopted, which represent new visual production methods in today’s era. In the age of AI, these methods may evolve into distinctive forms of visual expression. In artistic creation, we will also leverage these new production methods to dignify painting for every era. This isn't about proclaiming the end of art, but rather about redefining painting to make it more meaningful and enduring. My work aims to uphold the significance and value of painting across different epochs.