Hong Kong's
artist for the new millenium
Page 3
a chance to hone her skills, but by the time she was in high school, there were no more outlets for her interest in art.
"I got so busy with my studies and examinations that I had to stop." she said.
Going to a university offered Man a chance to rekindle her passion for art. She spent three years studying fine arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, from which she graduated in 1991.
Even then, Man lacked the confidence in her skills to take up art full-time. That changed after three years reporting on art for the Hong Kong Economic Journal, a local Chinese-language newspaper.
For
one, Man realized that journalism didn't offer much more financial stability
than a career in art. More importantly, even though she wrote ardently
about art as a critic and an admirer, she felt incomplete.
Man started working on a few art works while she wrote for the newspaper. She cotinued holding down the job nonetheless, partly to please her mother, who wanted her to invest her money in real estate.
Fortunately, the success of her early exhibits changed her mother's mind. "My mother said 'now she'll bring money in', " Man says, "because I was all over the newspapers."
In 1996, as Hong Kong's handover Chinese sovereignty neared, every aspect of Hong Kong life from politics to art were thrust onto a worldwide stage. This provided local artists like Man the opportunity to be discovered.
"Gao Minglu, an art curator from the Asia Society in New York flew to Hong Kong and spoke to me." Man says. "He eventually went to several local art critics and talked to them about the local art scene."
A year later, the Asia Society invited her to show her work in New York. Two years later, Man received an invitation to have her work exhibited At the SFMOMA exhibition. Both invitations came as a surprise to her.
Man brought her works to America and her "Beautiful Flowers" installation caught the attention of the American audience. It was also this attention that enabled her to obtain a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute, where she is now a graduate student. She has come a long way from her preschool dabblings in drawing.
Although the fame has given Man the opportunities to study and get more money for her works, she admits it has also come at a price.
"Sometimes it bothers me," she says "because people expect you to do one thing or do the same thing over and over again like my work with the sanitary napkins."
And although some art critics in Hong Kong criticize her for using materials and images just to stir up publicity for herself, she begs to differ.
"I didn't really decide to make art to be controversial or to be famous," explains Man, "I'm doing this because I have a great feeling for it, and that I am honest to myself."
Pius
Lee
Political star
Peter
Louis
Feng shui master
Martin
Yan
Celebrity chef
Coming soon
In
late May, journalism students from
UC Berkeley will travel to
Hong Kong. Watch for their reports.