Shanzhai culture, Dafen art, and copyrightsin the Mona Lisa with that of the client’s daughter (de Kloet and Scheen 2013), or to change the
colors of a van Gogh painting to better match a sofa. Such alterations again pose a challenge to
the dominant discourse, in which the uniqueness of a work demands it remain forever the same.
Aspirations
Dong Ran’s validation of “real art” reoccurred when he described his future aspirations.
He claimed his motivation for working in Dafen was “to improve my skills, ultimately to do
some original works.” And again he said, “If I had a rich father, I would simply do original
works. One painting a month, and then stage an exhibition once in a while, and put high price
tags on my works.” These words trouble the image of the painter–worker as a factory worker. Yet
at the same time, the dominant discourse on what constitutes “real art” remains unchallenged.
This aspiration came up again and again in our talks with the painters. Some belittle themselves;
Wei Wei, for example, said that “We in Dafen have our own little passion, paint a little some-
thing, earn a little, and we can live on. Simple people leading simple lives.” More often, such
modesty morphed into more candid articulations of aspirations, as in the case of Liu Heping,
who told us he wanted to paint his own paintings and start his own business. He explained, “You
have to do imitation paintings in order to be able to do original works. ... You need to live. You
would die if you only do original works. ... My dream is to leave this [trade painting] world in
the future. I hope to be able to earn my living and continue doing creative works, good works,
and then try to have my own exhibition at some point, and really enter the art world.”
Figure 15.4 A painter at work (photo by Jeroen de Kloet)