Frog King: "I am an artist of the next century, people today cannot understand."

Where there is a Frog King, there is living art. The 74-year-old Hong Kong artist has participated in more than 3,000 art events, including paintings, sculptures, installations, and performance art. In 2011, he represented Hong Kong at the Venice Art Biennale. He has been engaged in artistic creation for about 50 years, and he is still questioned from time to time, "How do you hang up the garbage? Is this called art?" Frog King recalled an old man's evaluation. Others laughed at him as being too crazy, and he laughed that others could not see through, "I am an artist of the next century, and people today cannot understand." He has said this sentence for decades, and he has also done performance art for decades, but he understands His people are few and far between. During the interview, he originally wanted to write calligraphy, but suddenly put an ink-stained brush in his mouth, which surprised the audience. Art is life, Frog King is art, and he has been practicing it personally.

Frog King, formerly known as Guo Menghao, had a special liking for frogs when he was a child. When he saw frogs croaking in the field, others thought it was noisy, but he thought the frogs were enjoying themselves. This is very similar to his personality, so he called himself the Frog Prince, and later changed his name to the Frog King when he came to the United States. He does not have a Ph.D. and does not understand secondary creation, but he is an avant-garde and creative artist. In 1967, the Cultural Revolution began to spread, the June 7th riots were in full swing, and the society was full of unrest. Regardless of social events or the field of art, things that break through the framework are always resisted. In the era of the new ink movement, Frog King's mixed media art was naturally rejected, let alone performance art. Thought Frog King was just an avant-garde artistic wild child? In fact, he also studied under Lu Shoukun, a master of ink painting, but he said that what he learned most from his teacher was an independent and free creative spirit.

Long before Cai Guoqiang played with fire and tied plastic bags in front of Tiananmen Square

In the 1970s, when Cai Guoqiang hadn’t used gunpowder to create his creations, Frog King had used candles to smoke the drawing paper for painting, and bundled up cotton wool to burn like a fire dragon; when Ai Weiwei’s "Sunflower Seeds" hadn't covered the Tate Modern in London In 1979, Frog King had already tied up plastic bags in places such as Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. Frog King is considered to be China's first performance artist. When he exhibited his work "Sculpture of Fire" at the first Hong Kong Art Biennale in 1975, he poured a charred ox bone next to a scorched rubber tube work, causing an uproar. He created performance art in China, known as the "Bone Falling Incident" in history, and he used "happening" to describe his performance art. Recalling the behavior of many years ago, Frog King said that every age has its limitations, even today people still cannot accept it, "but art must break through the frame, my work is an experimental spirit, if it is too comfortable, I don't need to do it at all .”

On the day of the visit, he first performed performance art at the Connecting Space in North Point, including Shaolin Temple Hongquan and Japanese Butoh. This is closely related to his experience in New York in the 1980s. "At that time, he was living in a martial arts gym in Chinatown, and he used knives and guns to practice kung fu at night. He gradually learned a little bit, and it also gave me some structure in the movements of performance art." The gallery craze, after leaving Wuguan, he opened the gallery Kwok Gallery, "I want to communicate more with the outside world, but the works can't be sold at all." He laughed and said that he had an exhibition about feces at that time, and more than 200 people used different media. Come to show your Yonedako, who would be interested in buying it? "Art has no style, it is equivalent to going to the factory to rework. Only when it has a unique existence can it be called an artist."

In the 1970s, he originally taught design at the Polytechnic Institute. Lin Mincong and Wong Kar Wai were his students. However, he felt that his creation was limited, so he resolutely gave up everything and went to New York. He tried to sleep in the basement with mice, and also lived part-time in a martial arts gym. Cleaning, but slowly developing a unique artistic path. Returning to Hong Kong in 1995 to take care of his elderly mother, Frog King still insists on his personal style in creation. He calls his art "Frog Play". The most interesting thing about Frog King's work is his performance, which is himself. On the day of the interview, he originally planned to perform calligraphy, but when he arrived at No. 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, he saw that the brush was too small, so he decided to change the shape of the brush and use inkjet to create.

Transformed into a "life sculpture", the shape is constantly evolving

Those who have watched the performance of Frog King will naturally remember his attire. As early as the 1970s, he had integrated the idea of human body devices into himself, turning himself into a "life sculpture". Create a unique installation art with the living environment and space. Today's style is slowly developed in New York. After finishing the gallery, he was engaged in jewelry design, and his Italian wife at the time was a fashion designer. The two complement each other. Frog King's current outfit is more or less influenced by his wife at that time. "I also figured it out by myself. At that time, I inlaid some jewelry and waste, and I didn't expect it to be very popular." Now he also modifies the decorations on his body. He bought the bracelet at Ladies' Market in Mong Kok. He said that the most important thing is to be popular. This outfit and decoration weighed more than ten pounds, and even performing in winter would sweat profusely. It's hard to imagine how he would adapt in summer?

"After I adjusted my mental state, I belonged to the North Pole, and I forgot about the heat." He performed on the streets of New York in the summer of the 1980s, and often had to dress up. He has long been used to it. I will wear it.” He said that it can last for six hours, and sometimes he would wear it to dinner, causing passers-by to rush to take pictures with him. In private, he is a happy uncle, equally amiable, "It doesn't have to be dressed like this to be the frog king, and the neighbors usually call me the frog king when they see me." This outfit is already a symbol, and seeing him is like seeing a real person. Performance art, he is also willing to interact with people. "Everyone needs a sense of humor in life. Some people have said that I am nonsensical, but there are many things worth exploring behind every alternative. If everyone does something general, it will soon be eliminated by the times."

Authentic work as you like, the gallery is unwilling to cooperate

Frog King doesn't care much about material things. When he used to sell calligraphy and paintings in New York, he sometimes sold them for three dollars and sometimes one dollar. "I don't ask too much, three dollars is enough to buy a box of lunch." Now the price of his works is hundreds of thousands, but he often gives them to others, so no gallery is willing to cooperate with him. "It's hard for me to talk about money, and I feel uncomfortable. Artwork is a kind of material, but it is absurd to fight for a piece of work." Sometimes student groups visit the studio, and he will send the original work to him when he is interested Students are never soft-hearted, he thinks it is a kind of sharing, and he is satisfied when he has fun.

It is certainly a pleasure to share generously, but the economy is still stretched. Sometimes even the rent of the studio in the Cattle Depot Art Village is in arrears, but he is afraid that borrowing money from others will affect other people. "After weighing the two aspects, it is selling paintings. Every time there is almost no way out, God will withdraw some money from my account." In the past ten years, he cooperated with the gallery for the first time in his life. The response was good, and he also praised it on the 10th many times. Shanli Gallery holds a solo exhibition, exhibiting recent works. When the works of artists such as Yue Minjun and Zhang Xiaogang, who had co-exhibited with him, were worth tens of millions, he still played performance art tirelessly at the opening, writing on the clock, and soaking toilet paper with ink, turning it into a Ink sculpture, he said with a smile that people will accept it in about 20 years.

·The original text can be found in Fruit Seeds