Perry Chen interviewed by Ben Tracy, CBS News Correspondent
9 year old Perry Chen, the youngest nationally-recognized film critic and radio talk show host has his first art exhibit at the San Diego City Hall in October 2009.
The “Innocent World, Pure Art” International Children’s Art Exhibit is organized by Artistic Innocence Education Foundation (AIEF). Its founder, Helen Quan Yuan, is an art teacher originally from China, who has worked with over a hundred children, discovered and cultivated many outstanding child artists in San Diego.
Perry has been taking art lessons from Yuan since February 2009, but has been drawing and painting since he was three years old. He has created over a thousand pieces of drawings and paintings since then. “I think I am probably a better artist than a film critic because I have been creating art for much longer than critiquing movies,” said Perry. The exhibit showcases some of Perry’s recent artworks: oil pastels, watercolors, and pencil drawings of flowers, animals, and Chinese mythical creatures including dragon and phoenix.
“What is unique about Perry’s art is his deep philosophical reflection, his sense of childhood wonder, his profound connection with his Chinese roots, and his passion and strong affection for the natural world,” remarked Yuan. “Perry has a strong spiritual connection with nature which he observes with meticulous attention to detail: a rock, a bird, a flower, a tree, which comes alive in his art. Perry has an intense drive and adventurous spirit in exploring various new materials and media. During his artistic creation, Perry often utters philosophical thoughts that are wise beyond his years, surprising me in a delightful way. These philosophical thoughts compel us adults to contemplate and reflect.”
“The goal of this art exhibit is to encourage children’s imagination, creativity, and artistic expression through the use of various media and materials. Artistic education should not be a burden, but an inspiration. Children can express their deep feelings, view of the world, and love of nature through their art,” commented Yuan.
Over a hundred paintings and drawings from San Diego children are featured:
San Diego City Hall
1600 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92101
Oct 1-31, 2009
Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm
Perry Chen is a 4th grader at the Torrey Hills Elementary School in San Diego. He is a film critic and youngest radio talk show host on wsRadio’s monthly show “Perry Previews the Movies”. He was featured in the CBS Evening News, Fox, CBS 8 San Diego, KUSI, The Big Biz Show, Roots Up Radio, San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Magazine, San Diego Family Magazine, San Diego News Network, La Jolla Light, San Diego Ranch Coast News, The China Press, We Chinese, etc. He has written over 30 reviews since Nov 2008, and many recent reviews have been published on nine local newspapers. He has interviewed renowned filmmakers and been invited to speak and cover numerous film festivals as youngest credentialed media. His reviews and updates are available:
http://www.perryspreviews.com
Perry is featured on the October issue of the San Diego Family Magazine and will interview filmmakers live at the 10th annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Oct 15-29. (www.sdaff.org)
Perry can also be reached by the following social media sites:
http://twitter.com/
http://www.facebook.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/
Media Contact:
Dr. Zhu Shen
858-761-7955
bioforesight@
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Artist Statement
I started drawing and painting when I was three years old. I started by drawing little lines, then simple animals and plants. Soon my imagination began to grow. I was drawing trees in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, figures of flying people with wings, and big magical factories that make interesting everyday things such as branches, rice, and leaves.
As I grew older, my drawings started to become more advanced. I began to draw portraits, creatures with more details.
More recently, I became more interested in drawing dragon, phoenix, and making my own fantasy creatures from imagination, such as flying snakes, angler fish with a shark’s body, and walking lips!
When I am drawing, I feel like I am in the picture that I am creating, that I am with the animals, people, and characters in my picture. During my creative process, I become one with my creation. Sometimes, I act out what the creatures are doing with my facial expressions to draw them down.
Art gives me a sense of wonder, passion, and joy. I hope you can feel the wonder, passion, and joy in YOU when you enjoy my art!
