Beautiful man takes you to know Nara Mei Zhi, today, is also the birthday of Nara Mei Zhi (December 5)! Are you an introvert, too? Come and see the story of the introvert Nara Mei-Zhi.

Do you still embrace the naïve and sweet desire to resist the ill-intentioned reality, a huishen, only to find that they have grown up. If so, perhaps you will need a wide-brimmed squint doll written by Nara Mei-Zhi as a partner.


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Nara Mei Zhi, 59 years old, the name is easy to think of as a female painter, in fact, he is an unruly, used to wear jeans, all the way to listen to rock music to grow up uncle.

He wrote the doll, big forehead, flesh doodle cheeks, a pair of evil viper but lonely big eyes, a face insolent do not care in a white canvas show up, seize the residence of some eyes. From the gallery full of overflowing sense of communion, breaking the distinction between high-end art and the mass market, you think he painted a little girl, he said, in fact, he painted the child no gender, are his inner self-portrait.

"All of my work is actually a self-portrait of my Heart, a conversation with myself." As for the source of these images, it is in the course of dialogue to recall their childhood. At that time did not read the difficult book, also did not study hard, is the purest display of their feelings and expressions of the times. The more books you read, the more you worry about, and my painting is to go back to my most naive childhood. "——— Nara Mei-Zhi


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Class spirit is not concentrated, like to look out of the window daze

Nara Meixin ranks at home in Old three, three brothers in the family, two older brother he is almost 10 years old. He grew up preferring something feminine, which had puzzled him: "I didn't want to be like this in high school, I wanted to become more masculine, so I went to learn judo." "His name sounds feminine, said to be because he had a dead sister, who had to name her sister Nara Mizuko, but because of a miscarriage, her sister was never born in the world, so Nara inherited her sister's original name."

Nara Mei-Zhi was born in a small place in the western part of Qingsen County, Japan, December 5, 1959. The air there is very cold, his labor class parents busy working to support the family, older brothers He is too old, his childhood is very lonely, from childhood habits with small animals, plants to speak, "I was surrounded by apple trees, there is no object to chat, can only talk to nature." I speak to the trees, to the puppies and to the piglets ⋯⋯"


Nara Mei-chi hand-painted childhood hometown map. Image copyright Getty Images | Nara American Wisdom Collection "Little Star Communication"

He is better at communicating with animals than human beings. His grades are not bad, but also good at painting, in the class is the existence of pleasant. However, he always likes a person, his class guide to him a comment: "Class spirit is not concentrated, like to look out of the window dazed." 」

Nara Mei Zhi was a quiet introvert from an early age, did not like group activities, a large part of the time with the painting, comics and music. He, who lives near the U.S. military base, can often hear many English songs, whether it be rock or folk singers, which have a deep influence on him. He has said that the songs of Bob Dylan and Neil Young have had the greatest impact on him, and that the songs of the two men are mostly about social and political care, perhaps because the dolls in Nara's American and intellectual paintings also touch on anti-war and anti-nuclear issues.


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Loneliness and alienation are the driving forces of my creation.

Nara Mei Zhi took a total of three university examinations.

For the first time, Nara Meixin, 19, was admitted to a sculpture department at an art school, but he did not go because he missed painting the most. So he came to Tokyo, while working to save money, a year later, he was admitted to one of Japan's best art schools-Musashino Art University.

At the time, however, the wave of rock music in Japan was in full bloom. As a heavy rock fan, he said he was "unable to concentrate on painting" at the time, and on the other hand, he did not like the school curriculum design, gradually do not go to class, but also dropped out. He changed his second year of tuition to travel expenses and began a three-month European self-help tour.


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The trip, in his otherwise dark world, propped up a bright gap, and he saw that there was a wider world beyond Japan, and that he could be freer. On this trip, he accidentally made friends from all over the world. In those days, he lived in cheap youth hotels, visited art galleries on Sundays, listened to the best rock music scenes, and absorbed everything like a sponge.

The three-month trip also allowed him to spend all his tuition, so he took his third college exam and moved to Aizhi County, a public university with a cheap tuition, to attend the University of the arts. After graduation, Nara Mei Zhi in the art University after a few years of art teachers, in the process of teaching students, but feel that they have stagnated, found that the real need to learn art education, not his students, but his own. Considering the German tuition subsidy, he decided to study at the Dusseldorf of art and began living in Germany.

Just beat yourself, won't you? It doesn't matter if you get laughed!

Dusseldorf is very cold, just like his childhood hometown. When he first arrived in Germany, he could not speak German in school, and he could not speak English fluently, so that it was difficult to communicate with his classmates and talk about the art of depth. In his 8 years at the college, he had only seen his teacher 4 times.

He wrote about the experience of "Little Star Communication" (note 1), "Every time I encounter a discussion, although I have the mood to participate, but can not express, only a person hiding in the corner, like an abandoned cat, quietly silent." "This time, so that he recalled his childhood, that isolated atmosphere," like as a child, the sky is gray, the weather is very cold, and isolated from people, I do not talk too much, even if the idea is a lot, can not say their feelings. " 」

After all, people need to have links with people, and then how introverted are the same, there is the need for self-expression, dialogue with people. If you can't talk to people with words, put the words in the canvas. So, across time and space, in Germany, 28 years old Nara Meixin, launched a dialogue with the 8-year-old Qingsen young boy.

He often buried himself in the drawing, repeating the pattern of "showing the painting to others to confirm that he exists". Studying abroad, in the face of strange language, he is like a aphasia, facing unable to express himself well, angry, powerless and ashamed, he often fights with such consciousness, has been in the diary to remind himself:

"Don't put what you've thought into the freezer."
Why be ashamed of what you think and hide it?
Resolve, even if it is childish speech, also want to speak it!
In this way, even if it is regarded as a kid, as long as you can convey the idea is not good?
I'm still a kid, aren't I? Don't feel like you've lost to those guys who arcane good arguments.
It's not a handsome guy! Because you know yourself best!
What does it matter if you become an idiot? Should have confidence in themselves.
Unknown solders! Don't forget this kind of courage Ah!
Win oneself! That's it! It doesn't hurt to get out of the way even in ridicule.
Just beat yourself, won't you? F u c k!
It has nothing to do with who will see this diary at all! It doesn't matter if you get laughed! 」


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Angry, lonely, sad time, I paint

Nara Mei Zhi with smooth colored crayons, comic lines, to draw out these innocent and evil children.

Since the Du Saidow ERA in Germany, his painting style has also matured. In his first year, he received an invitation to display galleries in Amsterdam; The following year, he received an invitation from Cologne's famous gallery. Also starting in Cologne, Nara American wisdom began to gain a reputation in the art world.


1999 "Blue Sheep" picture Source | network

He returned to Japan in the 1990 and was loved by the public outside the gallery, which came as a surprise to him. He has turned his back to the crowd throughout his life, and did not expect that, because of this, he painted people's true feelings: to the buzz to escape loneliness, to gather to suppress alienation and defection. Only to know that loneliness is common to all, and that his paintings are withdrawn and rebellious dolls that connect people; These characters are unexpected to the people of residence on the Lonely Planet. A rock girl with a penetrating ring all over his body, a single man who goes to work every day in a suit, and on the wall of their apartment, may have a picture frame of Nara's American wisdom poster.

"I want to yell your name when I'm sad," said a girl at a South Korean meeting, who told Nara Mei Zhi. "Nara Mei-Zhi smiled at her, tears burst into her eyes.

Is loneliness, the people are closely linked to each other.

See a bigger world than yourself and coexist with the world

March 11, 2011, there was a major earthquake in Japan, the same year, Nara's father also died, his creation has changed. He began to look out of his inner world, thinking about his relationship with society and how to coexist with the world.

"I became ripe, and I began to see others as more important than myself ⋯⋯" the children of Nara's American wisdom began to open a pair of deep, starry bright beautiful eyes.


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"Now, unlike before, I no longer paint cynical children. They're still just as withdrawn, but not fleeting, and now the painting goes deeper, at least that's what I think. But this does not mean an improvement in the artistic level, but because I have learned to interact with people. I don't know if it's good or bad for my work, and it's certain that I can't continue to paint what I used to do, and it's better to change than to be static. 」

He was asked if he had ever thought about his place in the history of art. He answered softly, and the things he drew would not remain in history at all. "What is drawn away from a position like that is painting for me." Of course, these things are very personal, and have been judged by famous art critics that my manuscript is emotional incontinence, but there is something to calm down. 」

As long as you pick up a pen, you can paint, he said, compared to the way painting is the expression of the method, rather than painting is more like breathing, he just with the hand of the pencil and atom stroke out.

"From sighing to exhaling, yelling to yawning, like sitting on a time machine, I want to say hello to all kinds of myself." Go and have been frozen to save the feelings of the feeling, said "really long time no see!" "I'm not going to thaw you, I'm just going to add more of your mates." "said Nara, with such tenderness.

Don't worry, stop blaming yourself, gently embrace your feelings, say hello to them, even if it has made you miserable, even if it has made you think it is against the world, let Nara Mei-zhi doll tell you that you have your own way to tread, you are not alone, because loneliness will tie us tightly.


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Set out with some Nara American wisdom.

In an environment where words cannot communicate, there is always something that is basically common to human beings and can be used as their own unique way of expression.

Nara Mei Zhi

There are as many things you want to do as mountains, and the desire to do them may be endless, but I think the most important thing is to think often on the basis of "what exactly you want to do".

Nara Mei Zhi

In this limited life, I hope to be able to paint it all the time.

Nara Mei Zhi

Meet a lot of people, expand their world from 1.1 to one point, and have these people I know to get to places that we can't reach even on their own strength.

Nara Mei Zhi

I'm going to fire on those pretentious guys, putting up my middle finger.

Nara Mei Zhi

In the minimum material life, as long as there is a tie between people, but also can live happily.

Nara Mei Zhi

This is the world of boring guys, and they want to turn us all into slaves. Their approach generates consumption, but it is not in line with our style. Don't be prepared to compete with them, and never think that competition is power. Transcend emptiness and live a free life!

Nara Mei Zhi

Revisiting your past is not about defining the past in the present, but about thinking about how you can do it better now.

Nara Mei Zhi

I did not choose this path for the sake of "occupation", but chose the road of painting in a "way of survival".

Nara Mei Zhi