Yunnan in the eyes of Luo Xu, a prodigy

Can you imagine who designed the amazing structures below?

Yes. They were created by designer Luo Xu, a Yunnan native.

Born in south Yunnan’s Mile in 1959, Luo dubbed himself “an artist playing with mud.”

Growing up in a village, Luo Xu decided to be an artist at the age of 23. What a wild decision!

Luo’s master work “Chorus of 1,000 Singers”

Now, Luo has become one of the top painters, sculptors and architects in Yunnan. His other works include Aborigines Nest, Dongfengyun and Ant Workshop.

 

The Dongfengyun Art Town in Mile

The Aborigines Nest in Kunming

The Ant Workshop in Jianshui 

This year, Luo staged an art show in Kunming, capital city of Yunnan province.

On July 30, Luo Xu’s art show “Hormones on the Red Soil” was concurrently held at the 1903CGK Contemporary Art Gallery in Kunming and the Dongfengyun Art Town in Mile.

On the spot of the exhibition, the design wizard tried to put together primitiveness and modernity, using his structures, painting, calligraphy, sculptures and potteries.

 

Star

City tadpole

A 200-square-meter land

Mother earth

Building model in the collybia art zone 

Visitors said the art works showed Luo Xu’s understanding to colorful Yunnan and his thoughts over the red-earth land in artistic creation.

During the art show, we interviewed Luo in Dongfengyun in Mile, with the topics covering architecture, tourist town, his dream and more.

Has Dongfengyun art town brought some changes to Mile, your hometown?

A lot of changes, I guess. When the art town was under construction, I lived in a nearby tent for eight months, during which I was visited by many. Some said they would like to invest in a concert hall for cultural exchanges. Since the end of 2016 when Mile was accessed by bullet trains, Dongfengyun has seen more and more visitors.

Now, the art town has grown to be a must-visit site for net celebrities.

“Hey, you guy. Why not move faster? We’re taking pictures!” While roaming in Dongfengyun, I was at times reminded of by visitors, saying my slow walk is sort of a bore to their photo pose. All these are changes.

Can artists and art works influence a place or a city? What do you think?

Yes, but it calls for efforts by generations. Artistic creation is one thing, but proper understanding to the works is the other. It takes time.

In my view, the authentic air of art is jointly created by artists and the surroundings.

A place of artistic air must be fun, where visitors can calm down and stay for days because of the livable environment, the amusing activities and the amazing buildings.

Why have the buildings designed by you grown to be popular among net celebrities?

Since ancient times, good places have been frequented by celebrities, such as poets Li Bai, Bai Juyi and others. While touring in certain places of interest, they got inspired and wrote down poems. As the poems spread wide, the places would be known and visited by more.

Now the medium has changed for sure, and so has its efficiency.

I think it is not enough for art buildings to have an appealing look. The “content” matters more, that is, the full use of the interior space and function. Otherwise, it is just a dull setting for visitors.

What does the content refer to? How do artistic buildings effect the development of local economy and tourism?

The “content” means various cultural and artistic events that take place in the architectures, such as vocal concerts, fashion shows, forums, wine-tastings, etc.

Ant Workshop, another art work of mine, is located in Xizhuang Town, Jianshui County. Before constructed, the site was a ruin. Over the years, the workshop has become a cultural and artistic building with business activities.

I hope Dongfengyun will be home to more businesses. I also believe that putting together form and content will inject new vigor into local tourism and economy.

Having created these works, what's your dream in the future?

I won’t think about what to do next, or what’s my dream in the future.

Sometimes the brain is like a land after rain, out of which you can never know what's going to grow. It could be a fungus, flower or grass.

So, just let it be.

By Gateway reporters