It is usually a taboo for an artist to mix business in the past as most believe that artists should be ‘pure’ to create. However, when talking to Iven Lee, a renowned multidisciplinary illustration artist from Xiamen China, founder of Xiamen Yan Tan Orange Culture Creative Co. Ltd and Fearless Trend Art, his answer was that he is different from a normal artist, creator or businessman in general as he sees himself as an all rounder that blends art and business into his artistic journey. Creator of SummerMew, IVEN, SCREW and many more, this artist described himself as a typical Gemini. When it comes to work and creativity, it is not only about passion but also the persistence to meet the end goals. 

Iven and partners started a design studio from scratch and began with just some small advertising jobs. The break came in early 2002 when he was selected to create SummerMew, the Xiamen Tourism Ambassador for BRICS and was later interviewed live by CCTV (China Central Television). He believed that his dad was proud and happy for him although the latter was very ill and passed away three days later. They were very close. Another milestone was the formation of Fearless Trend Art Exhibition In 2018 where he answered the calling to contribute back into the society for the creative art industry. “It was not an easy task and I funded the project myself as I believe there is a potential for this but only time can tell,” said the artist. 

Iven is of the opinion that artists today are no longer just about creating but must be equipped with EQ, IQ and AQ (Art Quality). Unlike the old traditional one-direction artists, Iven believes that artists should behave like a tricycle and have three wheels where one represents EQ that is the study of society, second is about communication and last but not least, there should be a team involved business of creating value to one’s artwork. It is no surprise that Iven has very high expectations as he is benchmarking himself to his idols namely Murakami Takeshita, Andy Warhol and Jeff Khoons. His ideology is to bridge both Eastern and Western art from different perspectives including lifestyle, culture, business, etc. 

“Western art is usually more positive that involves continuity, whereas Eastern art is more about looking to the past and focusing on traditional culture,” he opined. He continued saying that Western creatives are more matured and the Eastern presentations are still very much in the development stage. He is a regular speaker in Tsinghua University and conferences including those organized by Alibaba and many more. He believes that creative art is very important in today’s hectic and intense world as the former can help balance and ease the tension between real life cruel expectations and the harmony within. Ivan advocates the up and coming generation to stay focus and stay original of what one has set out to achieve. “Don’t be too emotional and end up killing the enthusiasm!” he continued saying “Learn to respect both the consumer and the market. A Coke is a Coke, all Cokes are the same and as good.”  

Lastly when asked about the future of creative art, Iven answered with confidence that the future of creative art looks promising as it is not only about trendy culture and art, it is also about patriotism. “It is a good sign when a country has its own cultural identity and spirit. This shows that the upcoming generation have achieved its very own branding and will no longer blindly follow big brands but quality brands that communicate in the same wavelengths”. Iven believes that with the current fast communication systems and platforms, creative art has already started its penetrations and influences into the society. It is inevitable that soon this industry will play a very important role in the sustainability and the future of the society and the world.  

过去，艺术家跨业经营通常备视为一种忌讳，因为大多数人认为艺术家应该只是“纯粹”的创作。然而，当与来自中国厦门著名的跨界艺术家、厦门延谈桔子文化创意有限公司和无畏艺术创始人李延交谈时，他的回答是他与一般的艺术家、创作者或商人不同，他视自己为可将艺术和商业同步化的综合性的艺术家。是夏萌猫、伊文兔、SCREW等的创作者，这位艺术家称自己是典型的双子座。在创作与工作中，一旦认准了一件事情，不管中间会遇到多大的艰辛，多大的磨难，都愿意去完成这个目标。

李延和合作伙伴白手起家，一起成立了设计工作室，从小案子开始开始接单做广告。2002年初他创建了夏萌猫，并选为厦门金砖公益旅游大使，还受到央视邀请去做直播访谈。那段时间刚好是李延父亲重病的时间，三天后就去世了，但他相信父亲为他感到骄傲和幸福，因为父亲一直很支持他。李延人生的另一个里程碑是在2018年创办无畏潮流艺术展，回馈社会推动创作艺术文化，“这不是一件容易的事，我自资了这个项目，虽然需时间实践去验证，我相信这领域有发展潜力。”这位艺术家说。

李延认为，与以前传统单向的艺术家不同，当今的艺术家已不再仅仅是单纯创作，而是必须具备情商、智商和艺商。他觉得艺术家应像三轮车一样具备三个轮子，一是他的情商，二他懂得去交互交流，三他要有商业团队，要知道怎么样去做更好的商业变现。李延以自己的偶像村上隆、安迪沃霍尔和杰夫昆斯为榜样，所以对自己的期望很高并不足为奇。李延的思想是从生活，文化，商业等不同角度架起东西方艺术的桥梁。“西方艺术通常更正面、更带着一些对生活的一种期待和向往，而东方艺术更喜欢结合一些传统文化或者经过历史沉淀的一些东西去重塑。”他继续说，西方艺术创意行为更加成熟，东方的文创艺术仍处于成长阶段。李延经常在国内演讲，如北大清华、阿里巴巴的版权演讲等等。他认为，文创艺术在当今忙碌而紧凑的世界中非常重要，因为前者可以帮助平衡和缓解现实生活中残酷的期望与内部和谐之间的紧张关系。李延建议新一代保持并专注已着手实现的目标及原创性。他继续说：“不要太情绪化，不然最终会消磨你的热情！要学会尊重消费者和市场，可乐就是可乐，所有的可口可乐都一样好。”

最后，被问及文创艺术的未来时，李延满怀信心地说非常看好文创艺术，因为它不仅与潮流文化和艺术有关，也包括了国潮精神。“当一个国家能具备自己的潮流符号，文化精神，这种一定是非常好的一个方向。这表明，下一代已经实现了自己的品牌塑造，也将不再盲目跟随大品牌，而是跟相同理念的优质品牌进行交流。”李延认为，借助当前快捷的通信系统和平台，文创艺术已经开始渗透并影响社会。这个行业很快将在社会和世界的可持续发展和未来中扮演非常重要的角色。

Text by CHT