The meeting of Nobel Laureate Mike Brown and Chinese painter Yang Yan at The Royal Garden Studios in 2006 was an unusual but highly anticipated encounter. Brown, a physiologist and medicine researcher, and Yang Yan, a renowned painter, shared an interest in the maintenance of life and health, but with different approaches. Brown was curious about how Chinese paintings could express the culture of an ancient and young country, and how art and science could present different and fascinating landscapes. Yang Yan was eager to engage in a confrontation with a great thinker to stimulate a creative leap in his thinking.
When Brown arrived at Yang Yan’s studio, he showed extraordinary excitement and urgency, expressing his admiration for Yang Yan’s paintings. Yang Yan agreed to paint a work in front of Brown. For two and a half hours, Brown stood watching as the painting, “Yellow mountain Grace Map,” was born in the painter’s hands. Brown’s expression showed a childlike fascination with the painting process, as if he were transported to his own laboratory.
The meeting between Brown and Yang Yan was an example of dialogue between scientists and artists. Such dialogue has a profound influence and brings a “side-light” to science and art. The encounter between Brown and Yang Yan took on a new meaning with the rise of China and the renaissance of Chinese culture. The communication between scientists and artists is an opportunity to seek and comprehend the mystery of life, art, and even the universe.
The meeting took place in the early winter of 2006 at Yang Yan’s studio in the suburbs of Beijing, near the Great Wall of China. When Brown arrived, he and Yang Yan shook hands and exchanged greetings, and a starling outside the studio called out a voice, “How are you?” The room was filled with an air of Brown’s fervor and impatience as he perused Yang Yan’s paintings and viewed a presentation of his oeuvre. It was apparent to all present that Brown was deeply fixated and enraptured by the artwork.
As the painting progressed, Brown barely moved for two and a half hours, watching in silence as Yang Yan created “Yellow mountain Grace Map.” The silence in the room gave way to the sound of the soul as time flowed in the minds of the two men. Brown saw the painter’s hair waving in the wind, his eyes deep and far away, and recalled the mantra, “One painting is one universe.” Brown had entered the painter’s universe, just as he entered the familiar universe of physiology and medicine.
In conclusion, the meeting between Nobel Laureate Mike Brown and Chinese painter Yang Yan was a dialogue between science and art, a meeting of minds, and a collision of two worlds. The encounter took place at a time when China was experiencing a renaissance of its culture, making the communication between artists and scientists even more critical. Through such dialogue, we can seek to understand the mystery of life, art, and even the universe. The meeting between Brown and Yang Yan was a unique and unforgettable experience that brought science and art together in a beautiful and meaningful way.
