Zhang Dali began to paint men's heads on the walls of streets around Beijing in 1995. The media soon caught wind of the story, and portrayed the unknown artist as an insane troublemaker that was ruining Beijing's atmosphere. "When the policemen came to see me, I was very nervous," Zhang said. "I showed lots of my paintings to them and explained that I was making art. Finally, the policemen understood and left. They never bothered me after that."

"It's inevitable that any form of art is not accepted by the masses in the beginning. The key is to find a generous atmosphere that allows its existence," said Zhang. Maybe one day Zhang's 'man's head' will be as popular as the portrait of Che Guevara that decorates numerous commercial products.

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