Cartoon weibo highlights Western artists
Weibo by Chinese expat in Australia draws mainland fans who find it fun and educational
A Chinese expatriate in Australia has attracted the attention of the mainland's young and wealthy with his microblog featuring his cartoons of Western artists and their works.
Gu Mengjie, a Melbourne-based designer who emigrated from Shanghai 10 years ago, launched in July his often-hilarious cartoon blog Little Gu's Take on Western Art.
Gu has referred to the 19th-century French artist Edgar Degas as an otaku, a Japanese term that describes people often so obsessed with a hobby that they rarely leave home, and to impressionist master Vincent Van Gogh as the founder of the "lunatic style".
His blog has attracted thousands of followers, including several of the mainland's most influential artists and critics.
"I am addicted to your column," one reader commented on Sina Weibo, where "Grandpa Gu", as his fans call him, updates his cartoon blog and exchanges ideas with readers. "I find it both funny and educational."
"I am crying with laughter," another reader wrote after reading Gu's column on Andy Warhol that compared the American pop art icon to singer Lady Gaga - who is a popular celebrity on the mainland.
The size of Gu's audience may be small compared with the country's most followed bloggers, but his original style of storytelling that exploits the vocabulary and jokes of China's Web 2.0 generation has mesmerised an increasingly curious audience who are eager to learn about Western art.