ART CHINA: How did you get the chance to design the stamp of the year of Tiger?
Kam Mak：Actually,I was not asked to design the year of Tiger at first, I was asked to design the year Rat,the first animal of Zodiac, by U.S. Postal Service. I got a call from them one day to design the stamp,it was very exciting. It’s a great honor to be asked to create a stamp. More than that, it is a lunar New Year stamp which is part of my own culture. I don’t think it’s a competition,they may have few people in mind. I don't know the process of choosing ,but in the end I was the one they asked to design the lunar new year stamp,I was very excited.
艺术中国：你是怎么得到设计虎年邮票的机会的？
麦锦鸿:事实上，我不是首先被要求设计虎年邮票，我是首先被美国邮政总局要求设计鼠年邮票，十二生肖里面的第一个动物。有一天他们给我打电话设计邮票，我兴奋极了。被要求设计邮票是一件极大的荣誉，更重要的是，这是农历新年的邮票，它是我自己的文化的一部分。我不认为这是个竞争过程，或许一开始他们有一些人选。我不太知道里面具体的选择过程，但最后我称为被选择设计农历新年邮票的人，我非常兴奋。
ART CHINA: Could you introduce yourself?
Kam Mak：My name is Kam Mak. I was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the U.S. with my parents in 1971. I grow up in Chinatown in New York City. I went to a public high school of Music & Art.From there I went to a very good School of Visual Arts. I was fortunate to win a scholarship of four years. There I was trained as an illustrator. I graduated as a Bachelor of Fine Arts and then worked as an illustrator. I’ve done book cover, magazines, including New York Time, Times, Newsweek. One of the books is “My Chinatown.”
问：您能做一下自我介绍吗？
麦锦鸿:我叫麦锦鸿，出生于香港，1971年我十岁的时候随父母移民到美国，在纽约市的唐人街长大。（后来）我去了一所艺术高中，从那里我去了一所非常棒的视觉艺术院校读书，很幸运，我得到了四年的奖学金。在那里我受到了插画艺术的专业训练。获得纯艺术类学士学位后，我为书籍和报纸画插画和封面，包括《纽约时报》、《时代周刊》、《新闻周刊》等。这是我设计的一本叫做《我的中国城》的书籍。
ART CHINA: About the design of the stamp
Kam Mak:Like previous series, the idea was to use the animal of Chinese zodiac as the central element of the stamp. That was my first approach. I somehow felt something was missing. When I thought about Chinese lunar New Year, there were so many other things than just the zodiac animal. So I talked to the director Ethel Kessler of this project and listed many things about Chinese New Year. Finally I chose narcissus as the main character of the stamp. It was inspired by the tradition my grandmother did every Spring Festival. She will grow Chinese narcissus and put some peddles in the flowerpot. It is said if the narcissus bloom on the first day of Spring Festival, it will bring good luck and fortune to the family in New Year. I think it’s a symbol of Chinese New Year culture.
问：关于虎年邮票设计
麦锦鸿:和这个系列的前几个作品一样，邮票的设计理念是用生肖动物作为主体，一开始我也是沿着这个思路设计。但是后来我感到似乎有什么东西丢掉了。当我想到中国的春节，我的脑海里会出现许许多多的事物，不仅仅是生肖动物。于是我和我们的设计总监Ethel Kessler进行沟通，列出了许多跟春节相关的事物。最后我选择水仙当做邮票的主体，这也是受了我祖母的启发。每到春节，她都会种一盆水仙，在花盆里面放上石子。在中国文化中，如果水仙在初一开花，就会给整个家庭带来一年的好运。我想它更能代表中国的春节文化。
The paper cut appears on every stamp of the series. So I put it on my stamp. 剪纸图案在这个系列的邮票上都会出现，我也延续了这种风格。
ART CHINA: How the Americans accept the stamp?
Kam Mak:People in the U.S.A. love the stamp very much. As far as I know, I receive many positive responses. The stamp has two different meanings. It introduces Chinese culture to American people. And it's a great honor endowed by the U.S. government to thank for Chinese Americans who have contributed a lot to build this country. The project was initiated from 2006 and the first stamp came out in 2008.
问：美国的人们怎么看中国虎年邮票？
麦锦鸿:美国人非常喜欢这个邮票，我得到的反馈都是正面的。这个邮票包含着几层意义。首先它将中国文化介绍到美国。其次，这个项目是美国政府为了纪念和感谢为建设美国出力的中国人而进行的，2006年开始筹备，2008年第一张生肖邮票发行。
美国2010虎年邮票设计者麦锦鸿与他设计的邮票