Finding Inspiration in Art

I have always been interested in art, but it took a little bit of persuasion to overcome this barrier and begin doing it myself. What I was always curious about art is the mechanism by which an artistic piece influences our brain. In that sense, the brevity of Chinese art has always fascinated me. You can draw one line or place one drop of paint, and it can say more than a full classical oil-painted landscape. What is the origin of that power? It is impossible to say, but you can always feel it. To really learn it and try to figure it out by yourself is the biggest joy.

I do not like when people talk about direct connections between art and science — for example, taking a beautiful image from a microscope and calling it art. I do not think there is any direct connection. The link between these two areas is much more subtle. It exists at the level of creativity, inspiration, and discovery. It takes the same process. I do not know exactly which, but I am quite positive that it's the same process for scientific discovery and for inspiration.

I try not to mix art and science too much, but I am still a scientist first, so I enjoy experimenting with some of my techniques. I mix traditional Chinese ink with various substances allowing the creation of new techniques and new ways of expressing yourself on a piece of paper. Graphene is one of them.

Each artist finds their inspiration somewhere. Master Zheng Shenglong, who gave me a formal education in Chinese art at Xiamen University, is a fantastic artist who knows how to find his inspiration. Just as every scientist has their own methods for interrogating nature in the best possible manner, every artist has their own tricks of inspiring themselves to create a masterpiece.

None of my landscapes are painted from direct observation. They are images from my mind. My mind starts moving my hand, and it forms into something. If you are lucky, it forms into a landscape; sometimes it becomes something entirely different.

I like the idea of projection because we always do projections. In physics, we project the wave function to create something real. In art, we project our mind onto a piece of paper to make an artwork.

A new discovery usually creates a new language. I have always been fascinated by this concept of John Cage and his prepared piano. The musical sheets for the prepared piano include detailed instructions on how to prepare the instrument. The way we write music now is reasonably descriptive. But the example of John Cage shows that you need further explanations and further descriptions.

I do not like drawing direct parallels between art and science. At present, they are not directly connected in the real world. Where they connect is in the process of creation. Unfortunately, we do not really know anything about this.