chinaculturedesk

The China Information Company

November 13, 2012
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Do You ArtSpeak China?

Interested in contemporary Chinese art? But don´t know exactly what to look for? Confused by artist´s names and movements? Or lost in the myriads of websites, links, hints, and publications?

Then take a look at www.artspeakchina.org – a wiki-like collection of respective information: “ArtSpeak China (ASC) is a bilingual, online resource devoted to contemporary Chinese art. It is comprised of a wiki, a collaboratively authored, encyclopaedia of contemporary Chinese art and a timeline of related historical and social events.”

Just check it out! Or follow them on Twitter.

Personally, I´m pretty fond of the timeline!

November 6, 2012
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Dagongmei, Working Sisters

Recently, I stumbled over an interesting book: “Dagongmei” (by Pun Ngai and Li Wanwei), translating approximately into “Working Sisters”. This term is used for young women from the countryside who are migrating to Mega-cities such as Shenzhen or Dongguan to work there in factories producing for the global market.

Voices of the voiceless. Testimonies of Chinese dagongmei …
… is the original title of the book in Chinese. It is based upon interviews with young Chinese working women – a collection of 12 personal accounts where these women are talking about their family histories, their reasons for leaving home, the experiences they have made in a range of different jobs, the mostly exhaustive, boring or harmful working conditions and their little free space and time.

 

Dreams, Hopes & Visions
These women all grew up in the countryside, most of them left home very early, sometimes at the age of 15 or 16, traveling alone to a remote big city. They were looking for work, often without having finished school or without a specific education – and their reasons were manifold: to escape traditional family structures and hierarchies mostly discriminating for girls, to avoid arranged marriages, to earn their own money, to gain some independency and freedom, to experience urban lifestyle. So they are driven by the urge to escape from something while at the same time being attracted by the possibilities of a more modern lifestyle.

 

…and Reality
Eventually, many of these women find themselves trapped between social traditions, demands concerning their family duties as women, and the desire for a more autonomous life in the city. It´s an emotional oscillation between feeling homesick and a sort of wanderlust. They are looking for a new role for themselves within the changing Chinese society – and this sometimes leads to a feeling of isolation, of some kind of restlessness. They want to make their own money, and very often have to accept poor living conditions while at the same time gaining self-confidence.

 

Making contemporary history tangible
The most important point of this book is that by these personal stories a lot of recent problems in fast changing China become tangible: e.g. traditional social structures alongside a growing urban middle class, the issue of migrant workers, questions of occupational safety and health, restrictions of the hukou system in times of an increasing urbanisation.

What I personally find a bit annoying is the somewhat “leftish” language of the authoresses, implying a still on-going class struggle, and sounding sometimes as if the social structures and circumstances during the Mao era, the times of the “iron rice bowl” would still be worthwhile to follow.

But, as already described, the essential achievement of this publication lies in the fact that these narrations illustrate on an individual level the simultaneity of contradictory and often conflicting living conditions. Recent developments in China as well as potential resulting consequences thus obtain a concrete shape.

Further bits:
Interestingly, this book has been translated only into German so far. But for what reasons the preface to the German edition is written anonymously – we don´t know.
Also by Pun Ngai, on the same topic: Made in China.
Chinese Working Women Network.

October 30, 2012
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Without Words (almost)

„This handbook should help to know the everyday´s life of the other culture. The signages are symbolizing the differences in thinking and handling in China and in Germany. They based on the experience of the author who had lived many years in both countries.”
Yang Liu created a wonderful insightful little book, “East meets West” – no words are necessary! Oh well, just one remark: blue is symbolizing Germany (quasi the West), and red China (of course).

 

And there are many more of these within the book!

October 23, 2012
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Invisible in Vienna

The invisibility of the artist Liu Bolin began with a simple action, intended as a passive mode of protest. When in 2005 his studio at the Suojia Village in Beijing was being demolished he photographed himself in front of it as a means of documentation. “On 17 November, the second day of demolition, I started to camouflage myself among the destroyed buildings of the campus. It was a way of protecting myself as an artist and, at the same time, of giving vent to my feelings. At that moment, the creation of my works constituted a sort of resistance against the decision made by the local government. My intention was one of rebellion. Not physical rebellion more of an attitude.“1

This action then evolved into a series of works, “Hiding in the City”, a kind of on-going performance having taken place so far in Beijing, Paris, the US, and Italy.

No. 63 Grays Opening Ceremony 2007, © Liu Bolin, provided by gallery photographerslimitededitions

The painting process, carried out by his assistants, can take up to 10 hours, leading finally to him almost disappearing into the respective background. And of course there are several layers of meaning behind this disappearance action: „Rather than saying that I disappear in the environment, it would be better to say that the environment has eaten me up and I cannot choose to be active or passive”, Liu Bolin comments. He approaches questions of being invisible to the society as an individual, the fear of perishing in the respective social environment, and he thus also scrutinises the relationship between the Self and the collective.

Dragon Series, © Liu Bolin, provided by gallery photographerslimitededitions

Another layer of interest lies in addressing the velocity of social, economic, and urban developments taking place and the disruptions these progressions may cause – for Liu Bolin these facts not only concern China but modern societies as a whole. “Even so, my position remains critical of the development of all humanity. We delude ourselves into thinking we are progressing, but actually it’s not like that at all. At the end of this development there will be the end of humanity, and I believe it will only take a few millennia. I know it’s a concept that’s hard to explain, but if we wonder: “What is the meaning of development?”, my answer is that development just doesn’t make sense.“2

No. 04 Ground Zero 2011, © Liu Bolin, provided by gallery photographerslimitededitions

So, the concept behind Liu Bolin´s “Hiding in the City” is multilayered and very contemporary. And – as we art historians like to frame it – his images also work on the aesthetic level, meaning: they are beautiful to look at (also without knowing much about the background).

As he has also applied this conceptual approach within the “Lost in Fashion” series, in which he renders invisible popular fashion designers amongst their typical fabrics and patterns, the crucial question from an art critique´s point of view will be if he manages to develop his artistic concept any further within the coming years.

Gallery photographerslimitededitions Vienna, Bauernmarkt 14: Currently on show “Invisible Man Liu Bolin”, until 13th November 2012.

Further bits & images:
Galerie Paris-Beijing
Eli Klein Fine Arts, New York
boxart Gallery, Verona

1, 2 Artist´s statements in: “Liu Bolin in Italy”, Ed. by Fondazione FORMA per la Fotografia, Milano, 2010

October 16, 2012
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The Good & The Bad: Liao Yiwu, Mo Yan – Musings

2 prestigious prices in Literature, 2 Chinese novelists – and such diverging perceptions!

While the awarding of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade 2012 to Liao Yiwu, who has spent four years in prison because of his writing, has been widely appreciated throughout the European media & feuilleton, the conferment of this year´s Nobel Prize in Literature to Mo Yan (pen name) is being largely criticised as him being “to close to the government”. How come?

In the case of Mo Yan and Liao Yiwu there is only little discussion of their literary work, its origin, its qualities, their respective literary achievements. Both of them represent contemporary “voices” about China, and Liao Yiwus accounts from the bottom of the Chinese society, his writing down of oral history from the non-globalised parts of China are an equal facet of China´s image as the somehow surreal stories in Mo Yan´s narrations.

When it comes to China it seems to always be about politics. My impression is that – for whatever reason – Western media are easier at dealing with Chinese laureates, experts, artists or whoever when they can be labelled as being a dissident.

Concerning Liao Yiwu the Board of Trustees issued the following statement: “The German Publishers and Booksellers Association … and its members have chosen to honor a Chinese author who continues to wage an eloquent and fearless battle against political repression … The author, who has experienced first-hand the effects of prison, torture and repression, is an unwavering chronicler and observer who bears witness on behalf of the outcasts of modern China.”

On the other side, Michel Hockx, professor of Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, dismissed criticism that Mo Yan is “too close to the establishment to merit the Nobel”. “I don’t like the idea that Chinese writers are only good if they challenge the government.”

Everybody is aware of the fact that China has quite a few social and political problematic developments and issues to deal with – but then this is true for Iran, Turkey, or Russia (to name but a few). And yet, we can talk about and appreciate their art and culture (be it traditional or contemporary) and welcome efforts of putting up biennials or festivals. This is very rarely the case with China.

And what to gain in heavily picking at China within a celebratory speech? What does simple China-bashing contribute to a better understanding?

Is it because of being afraid of China´s arising influence? A post-colonial notion of holding on to Western hegemony? Or – as François Jullien, a French philosopher and Sinologist, denotes China as the most significant “other” – is it only a question of difficulties in mutual understanding?

Further bits:
The Guardian Book Blog on Mo Yan.
Details on Liao Yiwus biography, publications.

October 9, 2012
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Me, Myself and I

So many ways to depict yourself or your Self – and so many reasons to do it! And this gets especially interesting when it is about artist´s self-portraits.

The thing is that there is no such tradition in Chinese art, although there is a real long history of portrait painting. Up until the late 20thcentury you can count the numbers of Chinese self-portraits – be it in painting or photography – more or less on the fingers of two hands. Why? What are the reasons behind this specific part of art history? What is the specific understanding of the Self, of the individual? Could we find some explanations within Chinese philosophy?

Liang Kai: Li Bai. 13th Century

Lo P´ing: Self-portrait as fisherman. 1750

These images not necessarily closely resemble the person´s features, nose etc., it is more a real depiction of the self. This may correspond with the Chinese approach towards representation of the landscape. While Western painters right up to the French impressionists wanted to achieve an exact and detailed picture of nature (topos of painting as window to the world), traditional Chinese landscape painting takes a completely different approach. Nature was not seen as being just made up of objects and so it should not be illustrated and reproduced in its material sense – instead it should be represented according to its internal essence; paintings should “express the spirit of it”.

Perhaps the most famous of the few historical self-portraits is the one by Ren Xiong, a really outstanding depiction of an artist´s self.

Ren Xiong (1823-1857): Self-portrait

Then, almost all of a sudden, a wide range of most various self-depictions occurred in contemporary art from the 1990ies on – so intense, so diverse. But how come? Why especially in photography? What societal changes have taken place as a backdrop for this development? What role could be ascribed to urbanisation in this context?

Featured here are three examples out of so many more – just to give an overview over the variety of approaches within contemporary art towards displaying the self.

Miao Xiaochun: Fatalism. 2008

Miao Xiaochun is one of the most well known artists with a constantly on-going development in his artistic oeuvre. He started with black-and-white photography, then turned to staged digital photography and is now producing inter alia fascinating works of digital art.

Xu Lijing: Maybe No.5. Series 2010

Xu Lijing is a young emerging photography artist who has started her art works just a couple of years ago. In this series of sculpture-like body images she is referring to the self-portrait as an “objectification of the subconscious.“

RongRong & inri: We are here No.1. Series 2002

RongRong is one of the outstanding pioneers of art photography in China. Together with his wife inri they founded the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing´s Caochangdi in 2007, the first institution of this kind in China.

I will pursue these deeply interesting questions in the context of an academic project – so there´s more to come!

 

October 2, 2012
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And the winner is…

… Wang Shu.  In 2012 the Hangzhou-based architect Wang Shu has been awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize – sometimes also called the Nobel Prize for Architecture – as first Chinese citizen ever. Together with his wife and business partner Lu Wenyu he is running the Amateur Architecture Studio. „I design a house instead of a building.“ (Wang Shu)

In some way, Wang Shu is criticising modern-day architecture. Not so much by direct words (that would be rather un-Chinese-like) but rather by his use of traditional material – e.g. re-using old bricks having been left over from demolished buildings – by transferring traditional aesthetics softly into the 21st century and by promoting a kind of “slow-architecture”. “My idea is that instructors, like Buddha, teach in the open air,” he says, “People can realize free communication without boundaries,“ and “I want to educate my students to become philosophical craftsmen, equipped with both thinking and technique.”

The Jury Citation…
… especially emphasises the connection between past & present in Wang Shu´s oeuvre which is famous for its conjunction of traditional Chinese materials and styles with contemporary aesthetics, for its use of pure forms and plain structures. At the same time his architecture always integrates the surrounding environment.
“The question of the proper relation of present to past is particularly timely, for the recent process of urbanization in China invites debate as to whether architecture should be anchored in tradition or should look only toward the future. As with any great architecture, Wang Shu´s work is able to transcend that debate, producing an architecture that is timeless, deeply rooted in its context and yet universal. … Using recycled materials, he is able to send several messages on the careful use of resources and respect for tradition and context as well as give a frank appraisal of technology and the quality of construction today, particularly in China.“ (Jury citation)

From Wang Shu´s acceptance speech
“Are my buildings deeply rooted in my own culture?” Wang Shu asked himself. “… I chose to live in seclusion in the 1990s. I withdrew from the professional architecture system, and turned to the renovation of old buildings. And I realized that compared with modern buildings that are more about fabrication, there is another type of building that recognizes things that are already in existence. Unlike modern buildings that focus on abstract space, this other type of building focused on creating a sense of place and connecting with the past. And compared with buildings carrying a strong human imprint, traditional Chinese buildings are closer to nature, taking architecture to a whole new horizon. … What is the relevance of the traditional Chinese landscape system in a world filled with gigantic artificial structures? … How can new urban buildings connect with memories of the past–that might be otherwise lost as structures are demolished–and re-establish their cultural identities?“ (Acceptance speech)

I believe: his architecture represents the wonderful timeless Chinese architectural aesthetics at its best, while at the same time incorporating the needs of the 21st century society.

 

Further reading & images:
Take a look at Wang Shu´s website and further works.
An interesting contextualisation of Wang Shu´s approach towards urban development.
Wang Shu in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist (YouTube).
Live blog from the University of California/LA following a talk by Wang Shu from February, 27, 2012 – laying out many general aspects of Chinese painting, thinking, philosophy.

All images in this post taken from the Pritzker Prize Website.