Donglin Li felt that he didn’t have the opportunity to explore his creative side until coming to the United States for high school. Growing up in Wuhan, a city located in central China, Li did not have many opportunities to delve into his creative interests due to the intense academic pressures he faced back in China. It wasn’t until he came to the US for high school did he start considering studying art.
A senior Art major and East Asian Studies minor at Conn, Li is often seen in Cummings working late into the morning on his artwork. He is currently working on his senior thesis. In the fall semester of his Junior Year, Li studied abroad at the prestigious Central Saint Martins art school in London, England
The College Voice: When did you start making art?
Donglin Li: I didn’t really start until high school when I had more time in exploring things I wanted to do. It was really during my high school years that I started thinking about and exploring the artist side of me. [Growing up in China] my parents didn’t really pay attention to my artistic side. I was really on my own. In school you didn’t have many art classes.
TCV: You recently completely a summer internship at a Buddhist monastery in upstate New York. When did your interest in Buddhism start?
Donglin Li: More than a year ago. Being a Chinese, some buddhist teachings are so integrated in your life. Its always been part of my family and a part of me. It was when I went to London it really starting kicking in. A person I met in the studio did the final kick. He showed me around all the temples and centers around London. After study abroad, I came back to states and started spiritual practice.
TCV: So would you say that teachings of Buddhism are evident throughout your work and you are particularly sighting Buddhism?
DL: With my work I don’t want to bring Buddhism up. Even subtly because the truths that Buddhist teachings have revealed to us are really truths that they don’t have to be buddhist teachings to start with. The truths I did learn from buddhism but these truths don’t have to be buddhist teachings. These are just things that you know but you don’t really think about it.
TCV: How has your work changed from when you first came to Conn? Do you have any favorite mediums to work with?
DL: Yes. immensely. When I found Buddhism, it was so rich and so much to work with. I’m taking its teachings and morphing them into artistic expressions and showing them to people.
I painted primarily in sophomore and junior year. Right now I’m really branching out because painted almost exclusively before. Right now I’m also doing sculpture, performances, and installations and some videos too. I don’t want to constrain myself to one or two specific mediums. I enjoy them all really. I did my first performance and it felt good. It definitely opened up a new window to my work.
Photo courtesy Donglin Li
TCV: A week ago you gave a performance in Cummings titled “What it takes to make you burst.” During this performance art, you sat on a chair against a blank white backdrop and proceeded to blow up a red balloon to what seemed like its full capacity of air. When the balloon seemed to get to the biggest it could be you then took a needle and popped it. What were you trying to convey with this performance art?
DL: The performance art was titled “What it takes to make you burst.” The idea of this comes from buddhist teachings. The idea of bursting…what it takes to make someone burst as in emotion. Just being taken over by your feelings. That in Buddhism is considered a very weak state of mind. It goes to show how un-firm our mind is.
The performance was a laborious process. My limbs start going numb by breathing out too much oxygen. I was breathing heavily during the performance. All it takes [to pop the balloon] supposedly is a needle. The needle represents something someone says, some insignificant thing that can trigger you to go crazy.
TCV: Are there specific artists who inspire your work? Are there any recurring themes throughout your work?
DL: There are two art pieces that I currently draw many of my inspirations from: Marina Abramovic’s The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk and Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. To me, these two pieces represent the two extremes: the sentimental, the spontaneous, and passion versus the logical, the intellectual, and matter-of-fact. In 1988, when Marina and her lover Ulay decided to break up, they went to China and walked from the opposite ends of the Great Wall. When they finally met in the middle after 90 days of walking, they talked, kissed, and said farewell to each other. The Physical Impossibility, on the other hand, is logical and meditative. The artwork itself is a dead shark preserved in a glass tank that is filled with formaldehyde. On an intellectual level, we all know that we are going to die at some point, maybe tomorrow, but if we check with ourselves honestly, we think death will never fall upon us, at least not tomorrow. In this great contrast between our intellectual understanding and honest awareness, Damien Hirst reminds us of this great truth of death.
My work draws influences from these two pieces of work. My work is about the great truths across cultures. Some of the topics include: death and impermanence, the benefit of cherishing others, universal compassion, topics that may offer opportunities for meditation and contemplation. However, I will also be exploring the spontaneity of these topics and strive for a balance in the confrontation between the intellectual and the spiritual.
Photo courtesy Donglin Li
TCV: Would you say that the artworks you create all have a purpose? Or will you create something and later on they will exhibit some sort of specific meaning?
DL: The purpose doesn’t matter much to me [about my work]. Take the example of me blowing up a balloon. I have an idea to start with and I present that idea, and you see the work coming from that idea but you definitely think of things I don’t think about. I can try my best to convey my ideas.
TCV: What inspires you to make art?
DL: I think its the urge to create. I just want to create stuff that really fascinates me. Be it painting drawing, doing sculpture, performance all these mediums.. are all coming from a place of wanting to create and do stuff for people to see. •
