Jottings from the Granite Studio

Perhaps I’m the only one, but whenever I’m standing in Tiαnαnmen square, one thing I always wonder–after A) could I outrun a tank and B) No, I don’t want to see your special student art exhibit for foreign friends–is just how do they keep the giant portrait of Mao so shiny and new?

Now we know. It’s the work of a team of painters, their identities and methods once considered state secrets, who are responsible for touching up, repainting, and replacing the portrait of Mao, each September, in the small hours of the morning.

The LA Times has an interview with one of oldest surviving members of the team, 76-year-old Wang Guodong. (“Mao is their canvas”, LAT, 9/14/06) From 1964-1976, Wang worked in a nondescript all-metal studio without windows or doors just outside of the Forbidden City. Two paintings existed. One hanging in the square. The other in the shop where it could be retouched or, if needed, completely repainted.

For as timeless as Mao’s benevolent Mona-Lisa-on-acid gaze may seem to the Tiananmen tourists and touts, the portrait does in fact sometimes change slightly and even the most subtle changes could lead to major repercussions. Wang was attacked by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution and sent off to the countryside for hard labor reeducation. His crime? Tilting Mao’s head too much to one side, showing only one ear. The allegation? Implying that Mao only listened to the select few and not the masses.

Now, if somebody could just get back to me on my request to paint a Santa hat on him every December 25th, wouldn’t that be cheery on the holidays?

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Top right photo from CNN
Bottom left photo from the BBC
Information for this post from Ching-Ching Ni, “Mao is their Canvas,” LAT, 09/14/06