晋美 jm
Artwork by Niu Jinmei
Edited and designed by Chang Yuchen
Scanned and photographed by Chang Qing
15 x 21.5 x 3 cm, 458 p.
Published by How Many Books
Presented by DREAMER FTY
First Printing 2024
Produced with the support of the HUAYU GROUP and the HUAYU YOUTH AWARD
“Jinmei is my mama. Mama started to draw in 2015, initially with color markers on blank pages of my sketchbooks that she found at home, later with crayons and pastels on colorful paper. Since then, we would have a “studio visit” every time I went home in Beijing. I could feel mama in these drawings, but what I felt more was a strange and unnamable force. Within each drawing, every seemingly repetitive element was slightly unique, and this tension between resemblance and distinction almost created an optical illusion, a constant tremor. Repetition is not mechanical, but charged with emotion and persistence, like pulsing.
I not only appreciate mama’s work, but also her style of working. She’s always drawing: by the dining table, in her bed, sometimes on a folding chair; before cooking, during laundry, between going to the bank and walking Dandan (our dog) – the way mama uses her time has made me realize, art is not something so special that it can only happen in a designated location or moment, and “artist” is not necessarily a profession; on the contrary, art is human nature. As a flower grows towards the sunlight or grass emerges from a crack, mama seizes the opportunity amid the chores and troubles of everyday life, from which she departs for a momentary flight. With concentration and joy, she filled up pieces of paper, pieces of time. Her essence naturally flows, her art naturally thrives. Thus the fragments of life are infused with sublime.
In the past 7 years, I’ve been building this book with slow yet trying effort. Mama meanwhile maintains her high productivity, once in a while asking baba to email me new scans, so the page number keeps growing. While I’m typing these words, mama has already started brand-new experiments on brand-new canvas across the oceans. This book can only be an assemblage of several phases of her practice. The order of this book is not exactly chronological; I indulge myself to drift with her free flow of energy, and it is my hope that the readers who open this book can join me.” – excerpt of the preface by Chang Yuchen
牛晋美 作品
编辑与设计： 常羽辰
扫描与摄影： 常青
15 x 21.5 x 3 cm，458 页
初版印刷 2024
多少書 出版
夢廠 出品
华宇集团及华宇青年奖提供项目支持
“晋美是我妈妈。二零一五年底晋美开始在纸上画画。先是用水彩笔画在家里速写本的空白页上，后来用蜡笔、色粉等材料画在彩色纸上。从那时起每次我回北京她都会给我看画。在这些画中，我可以感受到妈妈；但感受到更多的，是陌生难以名状的力量。那些看似重复的纹样，每次出现都有些微不同，似与不似之间的张力造成类似震颤的幻觉。重复不是机械性的而是充满情绪的，执着的，脉搏一般地稳健地冲击着我。
我不仅欣赏妈妈的画，更欣赏她作为创作者的工作风格。她无时无刻不在画画：在餐桌或床边，在做饭前，洗碗后，在遛狗和去银行办事之间。妈妈的工作方式让我认识到，艺术并不只在宽敞的工作室和大把不被打扰的时间中才能产生，艺术家也未必需要成为职业，相反，艺术是人的自然而然。像花儿向着阳光，像小草钻出墙缝，妈妈在生活的琐碎与烦恼之间见缝插针地起飞，性情自然舒展，艺术自然流泻。每一次，每一张纸片，她专注而快乐地填满，让吉光片羽被灌注了永恒，平凡的日子也有了光彩 。
过去的7年里，我缓慢地、勉力地搭建着这本书；与此同时，妈妈仍然高歌猛进地生产着，时常请爸爸扫描了新画用邮箱发给我，于是这书的页码越来越多。在我打这些字的同时，妈妈已经在新的画布上尝试新的笔触。这本书，只能是若干片段的集合。画的顺序不完全按照时间，我在她的能量中随波逐流，我希望打开这本书的读者也能体验类似自由的感受。”
– 常羽辰，前言节选