Today in New York: Ping Zhu
A zoo like the one that illustrator Ping Zhu created is the kind of zoo I like.
The funny and ironic animals she draws (how cute are those two tigers with fake ears and fake tail?) are part of a colorful and naif world in where I’d love to find my spot.
Ping’s last visit to NYC -she lives in another big American city: L.A.- was a blast. Especially with food. Up to the point that the Big A is now on her to-do-list of places she wants to live in for a while.
Let’s hope it’s going to be soon, as New York shouldn’t miss to enjoy this true artist and her lovely sense of humour.
:: Why and when did you started Ping’s Zoo? I started Pingszoo in 2009 as a website to showcase my work, like an online portfolio. I used the CMS (content management system) Indexhibit and tried to keep it simple in layout. It has different sections for the different subjects that I paint, like animals or portraits. As for the name ‘Pingszoo’ it is a pun that comes from my own name, which is Ping Zhu. It’s a fun way to give my illustrations a place to live, very similar to a zoo environment, some sort of plethora of different types of animals. A few days ago i started Pingshop, since I was making some prints for a gallery and I had always been a fan of Etsy, I figured it would be a nice opportunity to showcase my work (and hopefully sell something!).
:: Where do you get your inspiration from? I get my inspiration from daily life, and its imperfections. I think mistakes are the best form of inspiration, because not only do you learn from it but it also results in happy accidents that you really couldn’t plan. I can’t work without listening to music, and I’ve been listening to a lot of electronic songs as well as the occasional angsty-energetic-’let’s all dance now’ music. Humor is a great stress reliever but also a lot of fun when I can incorporate it into my work. Life is really serious too often, and I feel like a lot of work these days need to lighten up and have some fun. It’s also a way to remind yourself if the work you’re producing is just a chore or a passion. It feels good to have someone look at my work and laugh because of the content or concept, because I know it’s a form of communication that worked. That’s why all the people in my life are so important: it is very helpful to discuss and critique the projects that I’m working on with them, and vice versa… In the world of illustration, my main inspirator is Charley Harper‘s work and the way he depicts the animal kingdom, but also the gestures that erupt from his brushwork.
:: Who is your ideal buyer? Anyone who has a sense of humor and a general appreciation for the tactile experience. With technology growing exponentially everyday, we need people to continue supporting handmade objects! I really love the feeling of being able to hold a book or to touch a painting, so I hope I can continue to support that with the work that I produce, and hopefully have an audience for it! I enjoy using animals in my work because they are fun to humanize, so anyone else who can understand my puns is automatically in my target audience.
:: What is your favorite NYC place? I went to NYC several times, the last was with a good friend of mine last year in May. And I must admit that we actually based our entire visit around food… We used Yelp to navigate and I don’t think we never ate any bad food. We had amazing ramen in the East village at a place called Minca. Delicious crepes at Creperie, which was a tiny hole in the wall, but shockingly delicious. Amazing pizza at Artichoke in the East Village, that was so massive it turned slightly cold before we could even finish eating it. We ate at Egg in Brooklyn and they had such good breakfast. Besides food I really did enjoy the energy in the East Village, because of all the cute boutiques and restaurants. The New Museum was also great, and I had never been to the MOMA until that visit, which was a plethora of amazing. I had seen so many books about artists such as Wyeth and Mark Rothko, so it was great to be able to stand in front of the real thing. I actually think this question is really too hard to answer specifically: there are so many things that I love about New York! if you want to hear more gushing about NYC, just email me!
:: Do you think New York can still be considered the place-to-be for young creatives? Yes, although it isn’t a City for everyone, I do feel that if you have a sense of independence and a soul that’s hungry for something new everyday, NYC is definitely the place to be. Although I don’t live there, the times that I have visited have always been inspiring which is perfect for any creative. There are endless opportunities to meet people who come from all different backgrounds, and all good ideas and design is created with a successful marriage between the unexpected. I feel like in this lifetime, I really have to live in NYC (it’s on my eventual to-do list) because it is a very different city than Los Angeles, and I have been stationed here for most of my life. I know I get excited easily and am frequently bummed out when places close early or when I have to drive long distances to do something, whereas NYC is a great place for spontaneity and it seems like there is always something to do no matter the hour and no matter the place.
::Where do you shop in NYC? There were lots of cute stores in the East Village, but from a non-New Yorker’s perspective, I really did love Muji. We don’t have any here in Los Angeles (unless you count the MOCA gift shop) so being able to run around in the SoHo branch was definitely fun. I enjoy their monochromatic products (so affordable and lovely!) and its simplicity. Needless to say, I made several purchases during my visit…
:: If I say Italy, you say…? I say it’s time to go visit! I’m quite saddened and ashamed to say that I have never been to Italy let alone Europe, but I’m feeling like it’s the right time to travel and explore! Hopefully I can find some inspiring places to go through your website, or if anyone has any good suggestions…
Francesca MasoeroFrancesca Masoero non è la campionessa di canottaggio che appare se digitate il suo nome su Google. È l’altra, la multitasker. Ha un (in)utile dottorato in cinema e marketing; racconta in modo non convenzionale e creativo New York, Torino e Bologna su NUOK e scrive di eventi, lifestyle e cultura per Lookout Magazine; si occupa di marketing, comunicazione, pr e web 2.0 tra Torino (la sua città natale) e New York (la sua città ideale). In più, a volte fa la stylist e a volte la cool hunter. È creativa, ma pignolissima. Sembra zen, ma è perennemente sull’orlo di una crisi di nervi. La salvano le piccole cose della (sua) vita: il rock’n’roll, la pasta al pesto, internet e il suo nuovo bellissimo frigorifero da 300 litri, pieno di quello che il suo fidanzato chiama “cibo da conigli”.
