December 21, 2018
“BIRTH OF MODERN IRRIGATION”
by Wei Luan
Reminiscent in places of N.C. Wyeth and the greats of the Golden Age of Illustration a century ago, this 120’ Wei Luan work sits in one of the most unexpected of locations, outside the Edison station at W Hermosa and N Sweetbriar in the sleepy rural town of Lindsay, California. Born in Manchuria Luan won a rare spot—one of only 43 out of 8,000 applicants—at China’s most prestigious arts institution, LuXun University. After Tiananmen Square Wei took advantage of an opportunity to emigrate to New York and now lives in Canada. In 2001 Wei was recognized by @the_Portrait_Society of America as one of the “10 Most Talented Artists in the World” and three years later the Lindsay Mural and Public Art Society brought him to their small Central Valley burg to paint the story of John J. Cairns and provide a visual history of the birth of irrigation in the 1890s.
