Yao Xiao is a familiar site everywhere from pillowfight flashmobs to the ultra-posh Ace Hotel. A rising young illustrator, Yao captures New York life (whether street life or night life) with a lightening fast pen. In our interview below, we talk about the Chinese art scene, style, and hiding in the corners at parties.
Tell me about doing reportage illustration in New York City
Having traveled to other cities in the U.S. and in China, I find it fascinating to observe different cultures and environments. New York City offers endless possibilities of culture clash and blending, which makes living compositions everywhere I look. It has become the most exciting thing for me to capture the living spirits of people with my pencil. I feel the need to record and report whenever I find myself in a dive bar in East Village, a crowded subway car going over the Manhattan Bridge, a secret art party in Chelsea Hotel or on the edge of the biggest pillow fight I’ve ever seen at Union Square. Sometimes I’ll be too busy to mingle when there is so much to draw. People are constantly moving and blending into one another and making shapes with their environment, it is like a living painting with interlocking parts, always shifting and changing, making more interesting compositions. Sometimes I’m certain that I’m just tracing the patterns the city makes on its own. I think of doing these drawings as recording the human habitat, using the oldest way of recording by a human hand to record the most current of our times. The way people behave, the way they dress, act, frown, wink, smile, get drunk and fall asleep on the train makes my senses sharper than ever. For me, I’d be much happier if I captured the moment the drawing model at an art club flirts with the bartender during the break than having a finely rendered drawing from a 3-hour-pose.
You have an awesome (fashion) style. What are your inspirations?
I like to mix and match things. My fantasy is that clothes are social costumes that help people quickly identify each other. I figure if I put on a piece of everything then I can be read as a jumbo cluster of mixed personalities, like a chameleon. I like to pick out randomly colorful and patterned clothes from Goodwill and layer them to make the outfits I imagine about. Recently I started wearing this little vest I found at Goodwill with everything and it makes anything I pair with it confusingly fancy, especially with my polar bear hat.
You’re a prolific illustrator for Chinese magazines. How does working in China differ from the US?
The most distinct difference that I noticed so far, is in the industry’s demand of personal styles. I came to the U.S. to find realization in my own personal voice, and from the education I have received at the School of Visual Arts, it seems to be generally a good idea in the U.S. market to have a unique style that people can identify you with. From working with magazines and editors in China I realized quite quickly that the illustrators are better off to work in various pre-existing styles and prototypes that the audience are already comfortable with. The popular styles include manga, traditional Chinese painting, Western super hero comics style, etc.
I’ve been talking to my editors about my opinions of individualistic approaches that I have learned in contemporary American illustrations, but given the way creative business functions in China, it might be a long time before artists who do new and unique work that stands out can be compensated well enough to keep doing them. This is not to complain but to compare the up and downs of both working in the U.S. and in China. In the U.S. there is great freedom to express one’s artistic style, but there is fierce competition and limited opportunity for work for young illustrators. This week I just finished six illustrations, which will be published in the June issue of a storytelling journal in China. The total pay would be 270 Yuan–about 40 dollars, which paid for this week’s grocery and allergy pills.
What are your favorite pieces that you’ve done?
It is difficult for me to pick out one or two pieces that I like the most–because most of them are done so quickly and in groups, I like to look at the drawings as collective pieces. I enjoy looking back on the subway and bar pieces, because they always make me feel the essence of New york City.
I also liked the drawing I just did a few weeks ago at Cynthia Von Buhler’s art party at the Chelsea Hotel. And before that, reportage from the Dances of Vice, where dressed-up New Yorkers danced and made out with passion.
In my fantasy-based illustrations, one of my recent favorites is the piece I did for the Transmet Art Book. I enjoyed putting all the details into the piece and being able to use some devices I’ve learned in my urban illustrations. I’m always trying to look for connections between the different styles/personalities I have—whenever they have a chance to work for one another, I get happy for a moment.
Tell me about your artistic plans for the future?
For now my plan is to continue working hard in everything I’m doing, and eventually find a balance between “wanting to do a little bit of everything and be good at them” and “wanting to be great at something and be known for it.” As an artist I appreciate the diversity of art form and styles because I love the fact that people are aware of all the aspects of reality and creation. It is hard to stay on one path while there is so much to learn and know. One thing I am sure of is that I do want to grow conceptually, and be able to record human conditions and social situations through my art. I do believe it matures with age and experience if I keep observing. Having drawn from inside of my head for years, my reportage drawing is my way of starting to reach out to the others around me.
I’m also looking to put my reportage illustrations to use for people/place who might need them—event sketches, courtroom artist, documentary, and other possible things. And keep drawing.
Check out more of Yao’s work at http://yaoxiaoart.tumblr.com/
Words and interview by Molly Crabapple
