When 82-year-old American author Annie Proulx won the Lifetime Achievement prize at the 2017 National Book Award in November, she didn't forget to remind everyone in her speech that she didn't write until she was 58. It got this particular writer thinking that maybe it really never is too late to be killing it.
Inspired by Proulx, we make this list of three senior artists whose long-overdue successes could hopefully provide motivation for the new year.
Lubaina Himid
Lubaina Himid
The Tanzania-born British artist Lubaina Himid recently made news after she was awarded the 2017 Turner Prize. While the UK’s top award for contemporary art has been held annually since 1984, Himid is the first woman of color to ever win it. Furthermore, at 63 years old, Himid is also the oldest award recipient.
Her win wouldn’t have been possible in the past, as a rule requiring nominees to be under 50 years old was introduced in 1991. Thankfully, the rule has been eliminated starting this year, making it possible for Himid to be recognized.
An avid advocate of underrepresented black artists, Himid has always been known for raising the issues of colonialism and slavery, and their effects in modern society. Her work includes images of slaves and aristocrats vomiting at the news of the abolition of slavery painted on porcelain dinner sets.
Lui Hock Seng
Next year in February, an exhibition entitled Passing Time will open at Objectifs gallery, Singapore. The exhibition will feature black-and-white photographs of the city-state in the 1960s to 70s, taken by a man who knows the era well, as he actually lived through it.
Eighty-year-old Lui Hock Seng is a self-taught photographer and winner of several awards such as the Associateship with the Amateur Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (1963) and the Kampong Glam Community Club (2016). Even so, he never pursued a career as a photographer professionally. In the olden days, he would take photos of the daily life of Singaporeans from Clarke Quay to the old Tanah Merah Village and Redhill brick factory while he was cycling to work.
Passing Time will be his first exhibition ever. Lui still continues to take photographs amid his work as an office cleaner.
Lee Chanjae
Grandpa Chan
At 75 years old, Lee Chanjae has reached the status of "internet famous," something that many of his way younger peers can only dream of. Known by his Instagram followers as Grandpa Chan or simply Grandpa, he’s the owner of the viral account @drawings_for_my_grandchildren.
As the name suggests, the account started out as a platform for Grandpa Chan to share his drawings and communicate with his three grandchildren. In 1981, Grandpa Chan and his wife moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where they resided before returning to South Korea recently. Although reluctant at first—as he wasn’t familiar with advanced technology—Chan finally set up the account with the help of his son Lee Ji.
The subjects of his drawings are mostly his grandchildren’s favorite animals; but some of his most popular ones depict the daily lives and cultures in South Korea. Each of the drawings is accompanied with a story that is written by his wife; the story comes in three languages, namely English, Korean and Portuguese.
Last October, Grandpa Chan successfully completed his first solo exhibition, which was held in Sao Paulo. His drawings are also available for sale at his official website.
