Biography Index First National Day Celebration Li Xianting Yue Minjun's rendition of Tiananmen may seem little more than a piece of scenery painting, it is steeped in concept. Employing the anti-cynical language of the ideologist art prevalent since the 60's, it is an imitation of Chinese painter, Dong Xiwen's "First National Day Celebration". The latter, a very famous art work in China, is based on the iconic event of the First National Day Celebration of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong and the rest of the Communist leaders at Tiananmen. That painting derived its importance by being the first and most representative piece of Mao Zedong art typology. Mao hadalways advocated the notion of art for politics; that is, art should provide pleasure for the peasants, workers and soldiers. He also called for artists to learn artistically from them. "First National Day Celebration" is one such role model. Evoking the style of peasants' New Year paintings, the characters are also subjected to constant amendments. Since its completion in 1951-1953, the painting have bore many changes. For example, after the secretary of the Chinese Communist party northeastern section, Gao Gang, was charged, his portrait was subsequently removed from the original painting. Also, following the ousting of the Number Two leader, Liu Shaoqi, during the Cultural Tevolution, his position in the painting was replaced by Dong Biwu. The wit and humour of Yue Minjun's imitation piece lies in: he creates his own amendment of the original painting, only this time, his replica does not carry any human character. Such treatment will surely provoke an introspective response in viewers. Biography