EAST/ WEST - Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum

Transcription

EAST/ WEST
visually speaking
Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
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视觉艺术东西论剑
EAST/ WEST
visually speaking
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Published to accompany the traveling exhibition East/West :
Visually Speaking organized and circulated by the Paul and Lulu
Hilliard University Art Museum, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Exhibition curated by Dr. Lee Gray
Exhibition support provided in part by China Visual Arts Limited and
the Lafayette Parish Convention and Visitor Commission, Cultural
Development program and the Louisiana Department of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism.
Tour Itinerary
Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL
September 16, 2010 - January 9, 2011
Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Fall 2011
Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
March 15, 2012 - July 29, 2012
Shen Jingdong
Hero Series 89, 2007
Oil on canvas
200 x 200 cm
Front cover image:
Zhong Biao
Holy Book, 2008
Charcoal and acrylic on canvas 200 x 151 cm
Back cover image:
Zhong Biao
Apex, 2008
All photographs and artworks in this exhibition are courtesy
of the individual artists unless otherwise noted.
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University of Louisiana at Lafayette
January 23 – May 1, 2010
©2010 Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum,
University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced or otherwise transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic
or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.
P.O. Box 42571
Lafayette, LA 70504-2571
Ph: 337.482.1369
http://museum.louisiana.edu
ISBN: 978-0-936819-13-6
Editors: Lisa Ilan, Michelle Yun, Bill DuPriest
Designer: Kimberly Kleiser, UL Lafayette Graphic Design Senior
Publication Coordinator: Einar Engstrom
Printer: Beijing Junhe Weiye Print Design Co., Ltd.
v.
Foreword
Mark A. Tullos, Jr.
1.
Is Global the New Local?
Lilly Wei
9.
East/West : Visually Speaking
Lee A. Gray, PhD
23.
Map of China
24.
Artist Biographies and
Exhibition Checklist
97.
Acknowledgments
Sun Ping
Acupuncture A118 (Dying Slave), 1992-2009
Copper, propylene and acupuncture needles
58.5 x 50.5 x 123 cm
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FOREWORD
The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum is proud to
present East/West: Visually Speaking. This exhibition is not only an important
survey of new work by contemporary Chinese artists but it also provides
an opportunity to use the proverbial Tolstoy’s mirror examining the United
States’ evolving relationship with China. Visually Speaking is also reflective of
the important role of the 21st century museum as public gathering place for
engaging the people in a compelling dialogue about new art and the ideas
behind the creation of provocative imagery.
This project, in some way, heralds U.S. political, social and economic
relations with China, India and developing nations in South America. A
popular notion shared by some geopolitical analysts and scholars is that 20th
century Democracy, enjoyed by a relative minority of the global population,
was only a modest beginning of the greater free exchange of ideas and
resources that will be indicative of a world where the majority populations
of Asia and the nations of the southern hemisphere participate. Perhaps
the artists in this exhibition serve as important emissaries to our people’s
mutually beneficial accord.
This ambitious project would not have been realized without
the dedicated efforts of numerous individuals. First I would like to thank
university leadership including our Provost and Museum Board Chair,
Dr. Steve P. Landry and our governance board whose commitment to our
mission and enthusiasm for our programs enable us to present an exhibition
of this nature. This exhibition would not have been possible without the everresponsive staff at China Visual Arts Limited, all of whom patiently and good
naturedly responded to our numerous requests. Both the academic and the
critical essays included in this catalogue provide valuable contextualization
and we could not have asked for a better critical perspective than the one
provided by our friend Lilly Wei. I particularly would like to thank Virginia
Miller whose experience and knowledge of the artists and their associated
representatives was invaluable to the curatorial process. Finally, I would like
to thank our Curator of Exhibitions, Dr. Lee Gray. Her commitment to this
project over the past two years has brought to fruition this important and
challenging exhibition.
Mark A. Tullos, Jr.
Director
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I S G LO B A L T H E N E W LO C A L ?
Art Critic: Lilly Wei
It should not be a surprise that as Chinese contemporary art
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greater, in talent, to their male counterparts.
becomes more and more of a presence internationally, it has merged with a
The following year, Harald Szeeman, the artistic director of the 1999
global culture that encircles the world, from Shanghai to New York, London,
Venice Biennale, invited a number of Chinese artists to participate, to great
Berlin and Paris to Mumbai, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney and so on, its artists in
acclaim. Two impressive installations were that of Chen Zhen (who died an
command of a visual vocabulary and style that is both reassuringly familiar
untimely death the following year of cancer), a massive beds-and-chairs
and alluringly, at times alarmingly, exotic, referring to specific issues with
installation that viewers could play as a percussion unit, and Cai Guo-Qiang’s
universal application—and vice versa.
(of fireworks fame) Venice’s Rent Collection Courtyard, reprising a key sculpture
Current Chinese art first came to the rapt attention of the New York
from the Cultural Revolution, the Rent Collection Courtyard. Representing
art world in 1998, with the landmark exhibition, Inside Out: New Chinese
the PRC, he won the Golden Lion while Huang Yongping (of scorpion
Art, curated by Gao Minglu. It was a revelation; the work on view was not
and tarantula notoriety), in another example of cultural globalization,
iterations of traditional Chinese art or Social Realist paintings and posters but
represented his adopted homeland France, that formerly ultra-nationalistic
edgy, wide-ranging projects that mirrored contemporary idioms and media
country. Yet while it appeared that this new art had erupted into existence
such as video, installation, performance, photography as well as painting,
fully conceived, Chinese artists in fact had been traveling and settling in
drawing and sculpture. The artists came from the People’s Republic of China
Europe and the United States throughout the 1980s. For instance, the
(PRC) and Hong Kong and included many of the most sought after Chinese
political activist, conceptualist, curator and architectural designer Ai Weiwei,
art stars of today—Xu Bing, Zhang Huan, Zhang Xiaogang, to name but a
arguably China’s most influential artist and the artistic consultant for Beijing’s
few and who precede the artists in this exhibition by a generation, more
Olympic Stadium until he quit in protest, spent most of 1981-1993 in New
or less. Lin Tian Miao and Yin Xiuzhen, also frequently seen internationally,
York.
were two of the few women invited, an under-representation that remains
In Berlin in 1993, in advance of New York--where many Chinese
typical although there are countless Chinese women artists equal, if not
artists had gathered—China Avant-Garde: Counter-Currents in Art and Culture
in Berlin, with a roster of 60 artists, introduced Chinese art to Germany and in
divided between pride in its illustrious past and the destruction of that
a prequel to their success in 1999, several Chinese artists were at Venice that
patrimony as it leaps into the future. Another psychological rift is a deeply felt
year. China’s New Art, Post-1989, curated by Hong Kong dealer and art historian
nationalism and an equally fierce desire to become international and reap the
Chang Tsong-zung (Johnson Chang) and Beijing-based critic and kingmaker
rewards of globalism. Major shifts on all levels since the upheavals of 1989
Li Xianting, was another significant exhibition of Chinese experimental art
have left the post-Tiananmen Square avant-gardists without clear guidelines
to be held outside of China, first in Hong Kong in 1993 and then in Australia
as they attempt to negotiate this new China and establish new models after
and the United States. However, it was the widely read catalogue that
the loss of familiar structures and an accustomed social stability. Despite the
made it notable, with its analyses of experimental art in China during the
Cultural Revolution and the havoc it wrought in its attempt to stamp out
late 1980s and early 1990s, categorized as Political Pop and Cynical Realism
bourgeois recidivism, and to destroy the four “olds” (old culture, old thoughts,
(two of the best known movements) and, rather flamboyantly, as: “Wounded
old customs, old habits) in its ten-year rampage from 1966-1976, remnants
Romantic Spirit;” “Emotional Bondage: Fetishism and Sado-Masochism;”
of China’s past belief systems still exist. Animism, Shamanism, Confucianism,
“Ritual and Purgation: Endgame Art;” and “Spirit Introspection and Retreat
Taoism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity are practiced, even if the country is
into Formalism.”
officially atheist and has been since 1949.
Part of the rush of interest in Chinese contemporary art was
For avant-garde artists and the young metropolitans who came
inevitable, inspired by its rising economic and political power, a power that
of age after Mao, however, these systems are primarily vestigial, a lexicon
was beginning to match its ranking as the world’s third largest country with
of cultural forms—pagodas, dragons, fat Buddhas—trotted out when
an immense population; about one out of every five persons in the world is
Chineseness is desirable, usually ironically, sometimes nostalgically,
Chinese. While still Communist, it is now a de facto capitalist juggernaut, in
sometimes expeditiously.
command of one of the world’s largest economies, fueled over the past 25
Chinese art, however, is its extreme eclecticism. Chinese artists appropriate
years by a miraculous rate of growth. China is also an old country, its psyche
at will, from whatever sources appeal to them, without fear of being
What should be noted about contemporary
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unoriginal. The anxiety of influence is not an issue there as it is in Europe
and America, historically more individualistic. The Chinese are assimilators
and have adopted and adapted the offerings of other cultures for centuries,
transforming these acquired riches into something, in the end, that was
distinctively Chinese—which they might or might not do again. Another
hallmark of contemporary Chinese artists—like many of their counterparts
in the West—is the interdisciplinary tendency of their work and the diversity
of their media. Painters, for instance, construct sculptures and installations,
performance artists are videographers and photographers, and some do it all.
Chinese artists traditionally are also rigorously trained in their craft, although
some critics have remarked a lessening of interest in craftsmanship in favor
of more conceptual ideologies, swayed by European and American models.
Vanguard art and the democracy movement evolved in tandem,
based on the same desire for individual freedom. This desire was abetted
by the relaxation of government restrictions and the unprecedented access
to information from outside China, available via the Internet after decades
of insularity. Today’s artists, while the heirs of the democracy movement
that began after the Cultural Revolution (there were the now legendary
exhibitions of 1979 of the Stars [xing xing] group of experimental artists,
the first after more than 30 years of repression) and culminated in the tragic
the political urgencies and agendas of their predecessors or their reckless
Zhong Biao
Olympics Hope, 2007
Charcoal and acrylic on canvas
200 x 151 cm
courage. In the 20 years since then, critics of the government have been
freedom to make art without interference and to become very rich in some
peremptorily jailed or worse while silence has been rewarded by a certain
instances, a strategy that has been effective in quelling major protest. Yet
June 4 demonstrations at Tiananmen Square a decade later, do not share
th
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some artists, like Ai Weiwei, refuse to remain silent. In protest, he recently
beneficiaries of this first generation of artists to emerge from China’s decades
posted on his website the names of 5,000 school children, a fraction of
of isolation, represent various aspects of today’s Chinese art. But they are also
those killed by the cataclysmic Chengdu earthquake of 2008, their deaths
artists, and the works are not artifacts but art objects to be interpreted visually
attributed to shoddy construction due to government corruption. But artists
as well as socially, culturally and biographically. Ultimately, these works—
have kept their work ambiguous for the most part and censorship has eased
fascinating as they are on many levels--should and can be understood as art,
considerably. Direct political criticism and extreme sexuality will still elicit
whatever their subject and provenance.
repercussions, even if some degree of social protest is now tolerated. China,
To highlight how a few of the artists in East/West synthesize a more
it must be remembered, is still an authoritarian country despite its embrace
global point of view, we might begin with the exuberant, unapologetically
of capitalist principles and more liberal trappings.
kitsch production of the three Luo brothers, Luo Weidong (b. 1962), Luo
The frenzied, market-driven environment surrounding Chinese art
Weiguo (b. 1964) and Luo Weibing (b. 1972, all in Nanning, Guangxi
today came into being around 2000. The third Shanghai Biennale—and the
Province). Heavily reliant on garish reds, golds, silvers, blues and greens--
first that was truly international—has often been cited as the moment when
the colors of Chinese paper lanterns, cheap souvenirs and peasant art-- and
progressive Chinese art began its market ascent, confirming the critical
festooned with good luck symbols, brand objects and logos, it celebrates
acclaim it had already received. The Biennale caused enormous excitement
China’s embrace of capitalism in which every day seems to be a New Year
and drew enthusiastic response, especially for the wildly provocative satellite
festival. Channeling the Political Pop art of the early 1990s to merge politics,
shows that, in the opinion of many, upstaged the main event. Angered,
social commentary, commercialism, and popular art, the Luo Brothers
the government became more watchful and re-asserted control for a time
depend upon traditional techniques such as lacquer and embroidery to
but it was the onset of China fever. A system of commercial galleries was
make paintings, hand-carved and lacquered wood reliefs and sculptures.
established—which China had not had previously—and dealers, curators,
Welcome the Famous Brands to China, one of their best known works, is a
critics and collectors demanded more of what promised to be a hugely
polarizing series which has received mixed critical reviews. Some consider
profitable art. Officials relented, reluctantly at first, as demand increased,
it a capitulation to the evils of consumerism while others revel in its raucous
realizing that China’s new art could serve its enormous ambitions well.
optimism and happy, ingenuous vision of infinite prosperity, reflecting the
The eleven artists in East/West: Visually Speaking, from the PRC
product-gorged promised land of advertising fantasies. Images of Mao
and born in the 1940s-1970s, all with riveting personal stories and all the
abound as do fat Buddha-like babies, radiant stripes like rays of light, huge
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hamburgers, orange-gold koi, rainbow-colored flowers, Coca-Cola and Fanta
and the finality of death. In 2005, he went to Beijing where his style drastically
bottles and other American and European products jostling each other
changed. Best known these days for his ongoing series, Chinese Fairy Tales,
(“the pure products of America go crazy,” to quote William Carlos Williams)
his palette brightened and instead of browns, greys and other drab colors,
in dense proximity, a combination of the imagery of both past and present,
Hockneyesque greens and blues dominate, lightened by off-whites and
their revolutionary heritage pacified and good-naturedly kitschified.
the pale pinky flesh tones of his naked and semi-naked babies. While still
Shen Jingdong (b. 1965, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) served for
institutional critiques, the target institutions are now most often officials and
sixteen years in the Chinese military and was member of a Military Drama
bureaucracies of officialdom. Tang has substituted his cherubic, disarming
Troupe. He merges a Pop sensibility with a semblance of Marxist propaganda
small fry for adults. Depicted in a number of ambiguous situations, the
to reconstitute the notion of the soldier in Heroes, one of his best known
toddlers mimic bureaucrats with amusing gravitas, although Tang’s message
series. His paintings of soldiers, often youthful, often smiling, recall ceramic
is clear: that serious affairs of governance are entrusted to those who are like
tsotchkes, their faces and uniforms generic, characteristically bust views
children, their resolutions haphazard.
portrayed in various groupings in profile or frontally. His colors are bright,
Sun Ping (b. 1953, Yulin, Guangxi Province), graduated from the
glossy, candy-like, emphasizing the consumerist aspects of his subjects and
Guangzhou Fine Arts Institute in 1987, coming of age during the tumultuous
today’s China, much different from the larger-than-life idealization of soldiers
events of the 1980s preceding China’s emergence as an economic power. By
and workers under Mao and Social Realist posters. Shen Jingdong makes the
1991, Sun Ping, whose send-up of the developing art market had stimulated
military more accessible, even adorable, redefining the concept of heroic,
much discussion, created his first Chinese Acupuncture sculptures. Series “A”
seemingly demystifying and humanizing it, a kind of anti-heroic stance. But,
(1991- 1993) consisted of replicas of a number of iconic western sculptures,
as he also makes evident, his cheerful, benign cadres are no more real than
such as the head and torso of Laocoön, Mars and Michelangelo’s Dying Slave,
the revolutionary heroes they have replaced.
all pierced by acupuncture needles, symbolizing cultural disparity but also,
Tang Zhigang (b. 1959, Kunming, Yunnan Province), is from a military
cultural exchange, as one impacts the other in today’s ever more proximate
family and served as a career soldier in the Army’s propaganda division for
world. Given the examples Sun Ping chose, all of which seem to be either in
many years, his paintings reflecting his milieu. From the late 1980s until 1996,
the throes of death or suffering the loss of limbs, he seems to be suggesting
when he was dismissed, Tang Zhigang, increasingly disaffected, focused on
that acupuncture —that is, traditional Chinese practices—might effect a
the absurdities, failures and brutality of regimental life, of combat, carnage
cure. Sun Ping—who is also a performance artist and the publisher of an
avant-garde art magazine, began a series of photographs of water in 2006.
ukiyo-e). He is best known, however, for My Parents, the unforgettable series
Cast on the water’s calm, luminous surface is a shadow of Mao as if to say that
of black and white photographs of his parents that he made in 1998-2000.
the forces of nature will eventually vanquish ephemeral human grandeur
A disturbing, almost embarrassingly candid collection of images, it contrasts
and ambition.
pictures of his parents at the time of their marriage to their later years when
Zhong Biao (b. 1968, Chongqing, Sichuan Province) is another master
they were old, ailing, confined to a tiny, run-down apartment, a wrenching
of the compelling image and the ambiguous narrative. Theatrical, dynamic,
before and after. (Song Yongping took care of them for twenty years until
rigorously composed but also disorienting—a kind of surrealistic Baroque
they died). In his paintings we see Song Yongping’s particular kind of social,
with the look of collage—his paintings, instead of a synthesis, juxtapose
political and existential critique, a testament to the realities of life in modern
East and West, past and present, their theme the radical changes sweeping
China, beyond the myth and the bubble.
inexorably through China today. Disparate objects and events arranged with
Zhang Hongtu (b. 1943, Pingliang, Gansu Province, based in the
increasing sophistication within the same field represent the simultaneity of
United States since 1982) is represented here by his signature re-workings
existence and non-linear time, two beliefs that are central to Zhong Biao’s
of iconic shan shui (mountain and water) paintings by Chinese masters
conceptual base. Zhong Biao works by assembling images from photographs
executed in the style of Monet, van Gogh and Cézanne, although he is also
to create his arresting compositions. His paintings from the Olympic series,
well-known for his pop-inflected work critical of the Cultural Revolution. In
shown at the Olympics in 2008, include his signature rendering of flesh tones
his copying of revered masters, he is following a venerable Asian tradition
in grisaille and depict tense sprinters, their muscles strained in the act of
as well as commenting on appropriative strategies. Expertly, beautifully
running, the Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory) alongside them, airborne
painted—Zhang has been schooled in both classical Chinese and Western
Shaolin monks and celebrated backgrounds, some compositions suggesting
landscapes—his irony is softened by a more generous intent, addressing
the whirl of demons tormenting Saint Anthony, say, conflated with the
connections as much as differences, showing us Impressionism, Post-
frantically contorted figures of Robert Longo’s earlier works.
Impressionism and the great Chinese masters--Wang Meng, Zhao Mengfu,
Song Yongping (b. 1961, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province) is also a multi-
Shi Tao and Dong Qichang, among others--in an updated light, inspiring
disciplinarian, a performance and installation artist, painter and photographer.
provocative questions about cultural differences and exchange.
His
He came to attention in 1985 as a force in the ‘85 Art Movement and then in
medium is oil on canvas, the exemplary medium of Western painting--which
the 1990s as part of New Pictures of the Floating World (referring to Japanese
he deploys with brilliance--instead of Chinese ink, presenting the subject
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matter of iconic Chinese landscapes in the style of, say, van Gogh and Monet,
matching them with subtle insights and with appealing wit.
The new China—which celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding
in 2009—with its current realities and fictions, is addressed by the artists
in East/West in various idiosyncratic, iconoclastic ways, the point of view
ranging from the tragic to the comic. It is a captivating and informative look
at the globalized human and political comedy in which imported aesthetics
collide with native ideologies to create strange and at times wonderful
fusions. Is there any art today in our age of instant communication—even
in the most remote places—that isn’t part of a larger dialogue, isn’t in some
way international, isn’t redefining cultural and national identities?
Mu Boyan
Sky, 2009
Fiberglass and wood
90 x 50 x 180 cm
Courtesy of Aye Gallery, Beijing, China
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E A S T / W E S T : V I S U A L LY S P E A K I N G
Curator: Lee A. Gray, PhD
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Much attention has been given to China in the past few years –
cultural associations and intellectual currents influencing that which is most
consider the 2008 Olympics, environmental agreements between China
prevalent in contemporary society.
and the U.S. in 2009, and, in the art market, enormous prices paid at auction
for contemporary Chinese artworks. These events and the consistent rise of
Asian aesthetics have long influenced Western styles of art, including
China’s economic power have brought global recognition to the astonishing
19th century Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and 20th century art
transformations that have occurred (within its borders) over the past thirty-
movements such as Abstract art, Conceptual art, Minimalism, and the Neo-
five years. Since Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, China has quickly progressed
Avant-garde. These influences can be seen primarily through structural and
to become a major force on the world stage by setting new standards, for
compositional aspects such as moving forms closer to the picture plane and
better or worse, in economic, environmental, technological, cultural and
emphasizing line over value to create form.
geopolitical arenas. Still, it is evident that the country is struggling to merge
its past with its present and future. Nowhere is this struggle more evident
of influences from outside the East as well. Social Realism as practiced in
than in the realm of contemporary visual arts.
the 1910s through the 1940s in the Soviet Union, Germany and the U.S.
Globalization has certainly eclipsed earlier forms of cultural
established the importance of visual propaganda in illustrating the ideologies
communication within and outside of China’s borders. Given these
of Communism, Nazism, and even Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies.
tremendous changes, it is not surprising that artists are responding with
Common to all social realistic styles is an emphasis on narrative, realistic
vigor and vitality to the new possibilities afforded them. As the title of this
representation, and emotive subject matter.
exhibition suggests, the objects and images on view propose a new kind
especially played the most obvious role in stimulating Chinese artists toward
of dialogue occurring between the visual expressions of contemporary
that end because it so effectively promotes revolutionary ideals.
Chinese artists and the stylistic and iconographic visual language of Western
art history. Like verbal and written language, visual imagery communicates
be found in Chinese art history of the late 19th century by painters living
The melding of Eastern and Western visual languages is not new.
Modern and contemporary Asian aesthetics reflect an adaptation
Russian Socialist Realism
A further precedent for contemporary Chinese artists may also
and working around the city of Shanghai. The Shanghai School of painting
dialogue ensuing between the two aesthetics, and one that promises the
characterized a shift in subject matter from traditional Chinese literati-themed
possibility of a more globally based visual discourse.
landscape painting to portraiture. Subjects also appeared that were favorites
among the painters themselves, such as popular deities and legends and the
for their references to Western stylistic history. Much of the imagery and
famous Shanghai courtesans. Paintings of flowers or boughs with blossoms
many of the objects on view bring to mind an eclectic yet meaningful
or fruit, animals and figures were also preferred. This school of thought, more
method by which many Chinese artists appropriate material from Western
open to self expression and individualist styles in accord with examples from
culture to create new forms, structures and meanings in their work. The
the West, influenced later 20th century artists across China and now serve as
exhibition shows how a representative sampling of Chinese artists have
the progenitors of 21st century Chinese artists.
created works that merge Eastern and Western visual languages. While in
It might be mentioned also, that the formal establishment of
some works the reference to Western culture seems adoring, especially to
diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. in 1979 opened the People’s
the visual culture lexicon, in other works it appears to parody the West, its
Republic to Western modes of thought. Once China adopted an open policy
cultural symbols and values. As China struggles to define itself in its new role
toward trade and economic reforms, more and more of the West filtered into
on the international stage, its contemporary artists are exploring bridges
the avant-garde culture. A number of historical art texts on modern Western
between past, present and future by implementing/appropriating familiar
theories were translated in the early 1980s, setting a tone for critical reflection
symbols of their cultural heritage and merging them with iconic images from
on China’s past and future. Articles in magazines and exhibitions of avant-
the West. For example, the image of Chairman Mao Zedong is as pervasive
garde artists grew increasingly prevalent at this time. As the cultural elite
in these new works as it was during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).
became aware of Western traditions in the arts, greater attention was paid to
The meaning imbued in Mao’s image, however, is now vastly different. Once
the language and history of Western artists. As a result, many Chinese artists
revered as God-like, Mao’s image is used by many present-day Chinese artists
have reinterpreted aesthetic visual traditions according to their perceptions
as a reference to what once was. Mao’s image is thus referenced for cultural
and knowledge of European and American visual arts. More recently the
and political associations, allowing artists to rhetorically comment on Mao’s
internet and international business ventures have had a profound effect on
role in China’s history and what his reign meant to the country, especially in
what the Chinese learn about the West. Thus, all of these associations form
light of the “New China.” In some cases, these references come with great risk
the roots to what we now see at the dawn of the 21st century, a new visual
to an artist’s career.
In East/West : Visually Speaking, eleven Chinese artists were selected
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As many of the artists in this exhibition were born or came of age
artists of the 1980s challenged social conditions in China and questioned
during the Cultural Revolution or shortly thereafter, they represent a
established rules of social order and morality as did their American
generation of artists who experienced enormous change in Chinese culture.
counterparts in the 1960s and 70s. The Civil Rights and Feminist movements
Caught between the dense weight of history and tradition, this generation is
of the 1960s and 70s in the U.S. challenged social and cultural paradigms that
the first in many years to experience widespread connections to the West.
coincided with the Cultural Revolution in China. In China the emphasis was
During times of flux, artists are typically the most obvious purveyors
toward communal prosperity in the economy and psyche, which played out
of social angst and critique. To speak visually is to use the aesthetic elements
in the form of homogeneity, while the counterculture generation in the U.S.
and philosophies of one’s culture to communicate what are oftentimes
argued for similar communal democratization, but one based much more on
difficult to express or comprehend. Knowledgeable in the language of lines,
the freedom to be individual. And, just as the U.S. counterculture/baby boom
shapes, colors, and textures, artists compose these components almost
generation came of age in the 1960s, bringing social and political issues to the
grammatically into two and three-dimensional poems. These poems, some
forefront of society, the one-child generation of China’s Cultural Revolution
more narrative than others, but all with the potential to communicate
is breaking ground with new challenges to the social and political issues of
emotions, stimulate dialogue and occasionally answer our questions.
contemporary China. Though more than two decades apart, each period
Whatever story or emotion these individual artworks provoke, they remain a
reflects a need for emancipation from the restraints of the old dominant
document to a moment in time, one of great excitement and great concern.
culture and personal reactions to a society in flux.
As Charles Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities , “ It was the best of times, it
was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
art in China resemble that of American Pop Art of the 1960s and 70s not
it was the epoch of belief … it was the spring of hope ….”
only in the use of materials, content, and aspects of political critique, but also
Not surprisingly then, perhaps the dominant forms of contemporary
in its social and cultural similarity of evolution in becoming absorbed into
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Visual Language in Context
Pop culture. The American visual language developed as Pop Art included
Though Europe was the seat of Western culture for centuries, the U.S.,
objects and ideas garnered from material culture, advertising, comic books
New York City in particular, has been the apotheosis for contemporary arts
and popular media. Artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and
since the end of WWII. Interestingly, the evolution of contemporary Chinese
Jasper Johns used irony, parody, and kitsch to create images of everyday
art parallels that of American art after WWII in a number of ways. Chinese
events and commonplace objects. Theirs was a reflection of the prosperity
and subsequent consumption of American society after WWII. The visual
same way he presented commonplace objects. A soup can was treated as
aesthetic and challenge to traditional forms of visual communication
an iconic celebrity in the same way he treated a movie star, an art dealer, a
explored during the 1960s-80s in the West clearly serves as a reference
socialite, or a dictator.
for contemporary Chinese artists. Postmodern theories of identity also
filter into contemporary Chinese visual art. Questions of cultural heritage
relations with the United States after President Nixon’s visit in 1972, Warhol
and traditional value systems are evident in the images produced by
produced a series of ten paintings of the legendary Mao Zedong.
contemporary artists as they struggle to reconcile the country’s past, present
Inspired by a trip to China in the early 1970s and the historic easing of
In Warhol’s rendition of Mao, the autocratic leader of China’s
and future. No wonder, then, even though Pop art reflects both optimism
Communist state is portrayed
and excitement about a changing world, it also acts as a mirror to the anxiety
as a happy, congenial man in
felt by so many who long for the stability of that which is familiar.
bright colors that swirl around
him in a flurry of energy. What
Speaking Visually
could be more contradictory to
To speak visually is to communicate ideas through images. The
the usual drab green of Mao’s
images an artist chooses have much to do with what the artist intends for us
mandated military uniform and
to know, to question, to evoke, or to rally against. Artists also choose materials
taciturn expression, symbolizing
and techniques to augment the content of imagery, thereby illuminating the
the conformity and sobriety of
meaning of an image and, the artists hope, our response to it. For most artists,
the People’s Republic of China?
the world in which they live is the topic of their discourse. Such was the case
Warhol borrowed the image of
for artists in the West who responded to a period of enormous change in
social, economic, and technological advances by drawing on topical and
popular imagery. Andy Warhol is considered the quintessential American
Pop artist. Using a single image drawn from popular culture, Warhol excelled
Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987) Mao, 1973
Synthetic polymner paint and silkscreen
ink on canvas 448.3 x 346.7 cm
Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan Purchase Prize
and Wilson L. Mead Funds, 1974.230
Reproduction, the Art Institute of Chicago
Mao from his self-penned Little
Red Book, which all Chinese
citizens carried, like a pocket
Bible,
during
the
Cultural
at the balance between authenticity and artifice. Appropriating images from
Revolution. The image, part deity, part Big Brother, was softened by Warhol’s
popular media, Warhol fashioned the most recognized celebrities in the
contextualization of him as a popular celebrity much like that of Jackie
12
Kennedy Onassis or Marilyn Monroe. Warhol painted other symbols of the
fries, a tube of lipstick, a flashlight turned upside down drew attention to
Cold War such as hammers, sickles, and Lenin, but it was the image of Mao
the insipid nature of American consumption while simultaneously critiquing
that fascinated mainstream Americans and garnered critical acclaim for the
the values of economic prosperity. We see in this exhibition the influence of
artist.
these seminal figures of Western Pop Art in the use of materials and subject
While Warhol appropriated images directly from mass media, other
matter drawn from popular media. We also find references to China’s cultural
artists were experimenting with nontraditional materials and techniques
heritage in clothing, panda bears, fine porcelain ceramics, healing practices,
drawn from similar commonplace sources. Robert Rauschenberg (1925-
and physical agility in addition to the ubiquitous use of Mao Zedong’s image.
2008) combined diverse objects in his works and drew many of his elements
Subtly, though equally as politically provocative as their predecessors, the
from discarded objects, snapshots, and newspapers.
artists in East/West: Visually Speaking present a double-edged critique of
He juxtaposed these elements with
popular culture addressed from an international perspective.
a keen eye toward irony and parody. As his
Robert Rauschenberg
Page 41, Paragraph 4, 2001
Solvent transfer and acrylic on
polyaminate 89 1/2 x 61 in.
Photographer, Larry Qualls
ARTstor Slide Library
13
visual language matured, Rauschenberg
Globally Speaking
became more international in scope and
often reflected political and historical
global visual culture, much of which establishes the language of youth no
events (in 1985 Rauschenberg also visited
matter where their locality. And, since the development of free-market
and was granted, to great acclaim, a solo
societies is occurring in many areas of the world, attention to affluence,
exhibition in Beijing). Rauschenberg’s
consumption, individualism, and cultural access is a common theme
contemporary,
set
appearing in the global art market. Of course, if most artists create work
the standard for making the mundane
about their present experience, it is inevitable that pop imagery makes its
monumental
way into their art. For Chinese artists, reflections of popular culture make
Claes
in
Oldenburg,
sculpture,
thereby
It might be said that younger artists in many countries borrow from
challenging traditional beliefs about the
sense in light of China’s new affluence and attention to lifestyle.
role of public art. Oldenburg reflected the
changing values of Americans, in particular,
purpose of art. Classical Chinese painting strives for a spirit to transcend
by elevating objects of consumption to the status of icons. A bag of French
its physical constraints, elevating the viewer to a higher level of being and
Nonetheless, there remains a difference in attitude toward the
requiring fewer accoutrements. Thin papers, soft brushes and ink are used
whimsical, and a challenge to traditional modes and functions of public art
to create minimal lines that culminate in delicate landscapes or poetic
or sculpture, and we see this tradition carried on by the Luo brothers.
dreamscapes grounded in universal
harmonies of body and soul.
progressed from Socialist Realism through Political Pop and Cynical Realism
to arrive at its current point, a composite hybrid of all. History is still evident
In contrast, traditional Western
painting
canvas,
at the core of many contemporary artworks, however, seen in the traditional
metal knives, opaque oil paints and
preference for figurative paintings and the traditional detachment of the
elaborated palettes for spectacular
artist’s voice. But that is changing, and individual artistic voices are beginning
chiaroscuro
to
to appear more frequently. In fact, more attention is given to creating an
provoke vivid perspectives and analytic
iconography that reflects social and political issues affecting all aspects of
knowledge. Contrasts in materials and
contemporary society, though overtly political critique or explicit sexual
motivation occur in Eastern and Western
imagery is still too risky for most Chinese artists to explore.
effects
Shitao (1642-1707)
Wonderful Conceptions of the
Bitter Melon: Landscape Album
for Liu Shih-t’ou; Leaf 2, 1703
Ink and color on paper 48 x 31.8 cm
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, F83-50
AAPD Number: 9277/2
relies
of
on
heavy
As Lilly Wei suggests in her essay, the evolution of art in China
meant
sculpture as well. The West traditionally
Left:
Nike of Samathrace, c. 220 - 190 BCE
Marble 328 cm
Louvre, Paris
Photographer, Kimberly Kleiser
emphasizes heavy materials such as
stone, bronze, and marble primarily for
public display, while the East focuses on
Right:
Zhong Biao
Olympics Victory, 2007
Charcoal and acrylic on convas
200 x 151 cm
objects made from delicate materials
such as porcelain clays and fibers and are typically created for personal and
decorative function. In both Eastern and Western contemporary sculpture,
artists tend to use fabricated materials that easily lend themselves to slick,
What we see before us
shiny, hard, often brightly colored forms. Derivative of the nontraditional
materials of noted Pop sculptor Claes Oldenburg, they frequently rely on
that is becoming global. In paintings by Zhong Biao, Sun Ping, and the Luo
plastics, fiberglass, and aluminum rather than bronze, marble, or stone. As
brothers, iconic images from the West visually articulate concepts that are
a Pop artist of the 1960s, Oldenburg set a precedent for art that is comical,
both embraced and reviled by those in the East. The artists in East/West: Visually Speaking exemplify a visual language
14
In a painting titled Olympics Victory, Zhong Biao’s reference to the
Consequently, they bring a familiarity of Western culture to their work. Others
Nike of Samothrace, symbol of victory, appears to face-off (literally, as the
learn about Western aesthetics through media such as film and advertising
Nike is headless) with the eagle, a symbol of American strength and freedom.
or more frequently from the internet, thus borrowing visual imagery and
The suggestion of a collision between the two creates both visual and
composition, whether or not they comprehend the cultural contexts.
symbolic tension. Zhong’s references can also be linked to the cinematic arts,
especially those of Alfred Hitchcock. For example, Hitchcock’s 1963 movie
references iconic imagery of famous Greco-Roman sculptures, each covered
The Birds comes to mind when viewing Zhong’s painting Holy Book.
with acupuncture needles. Sun’s use of the needles suggests both healing
Left:
Zhong Biao
Holy Book, 2008
Charcoal and
Acrylic on canvas
200 x 151 cm
Right:
Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)
The Birds, 1963
Universal Studios
Rather than referring to contemporary Western culture, Sun Ping
and torture of these images of Western accomplishment and philosophy.
Greek legend informs us that the Trojan priest Laocoön warned his fellow
Trojans not to accept the wooden horse given to the city by the Greeks.
In retaliation, Poseidon sent two sea serpents to kill Laocoön and his sons
before the walls of Troy. Does Sun’s use of this image serve as a warning to
his countrymen about accepting gifts from the West? Does he mean to heal
Western ailments with ancient Chinese medical practices?
Not only does Zhong imitate the chaotic frenzy of people in
frightened motion like those in Hitchcock’s movie, but he organizes his
compositions like a cinematographer; each painting is comprised of a stillframe, freezing one specific moment in time. In other works by Zhong,
figures appear as if they have been placed before a green screen or filmed on
a massive stage setting emphasizing monumentality far beyond the limits of
the picture plane.
Zhong has spent time in the U.S., as have other Chinese artists. A few
in this exhibition have lived and studied abroad in either the U.S. or Europe.
15
Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560)
Laocoön and His Sons, discovered 1520-25
Roman sculpture of original Greek
Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican Museums
SCALA, Florence, Italy ARTstor Slide Library
Sun Ping
Acupuncture A78
(Laocoön), 1992-2009
Copper, propylene,
acupuncture needles
76.5 x 61.5 x 85.5 cm
The psychological and communicative conundrums presented
completely industrial — reminding one of the cheap knick-knacks that once
by Sun Ping’s works permeate many of the objects in this exhibition, none
made all things “Made in China” into a joke. For many Americans, the small
more so than in the works by the three Luo Brothers: Weidong, Weiguo,
knick-knacks, too often representing the stereotypical décor of a Chinese
and Weibing. Use of iconic Western images such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Fanta,
restaurant, are the only image of China they have. This sculpture, then,
fries and hamburgers saturate the Luo brother’s paintings, sculptures, and
embodies stereotypical aspects of Asian art on numerous levels appealing to
embroideries, resembling most closely the work of American Pop artists.
both the East and the West. In the Luo bothers’ hands this object becomes an
Simultaneously a celebration and a parody, these colorful, flamboyant, and
observation on how Western ideals of consumption and free-marketability
exquisitely executed works are more cynical than most. They speak of the
have become part of a new Asian aesthetic. While appearing fun and comical,
gluttony of capitalism, the consumption of Western culture by the Chinese,
the piece is a stinging derision to China’s rich cultural traditions overcome by
and the prevalence of Western identity in Asia.
Western cultural ideology about consumerism.
Jeff
Koons (b. 1955)
Michael Jackson and Bubbles, 1988
Porcelain
42 x 701/2 x 32 1.2 in.
Photograph © Jeff Koons
Luo Brothers
Welcome the Famous
Brands to China, 2001-2008
Embroidery
120 x 100 cm
Luo Brothers
Welcome the Famous
Brands to China, 2002-2008
Painted copper
167 x 58 x 77 cm
Like the second generation Pop art of Jeff Koons, the Luo brother’s
Annibale Carracci (1560 - 1609)
Assumption of the Virgin, 1600 -1601
Cerasi Chapel,
Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome Italy
To emphasize the Luo brothers’ commentary about Eastern ideals
sculpture Welcome the Famous Brands to China, is like a toy, a caricature
and traditions selling out or embracing Western ideologies one need only
of iconic images, an expression of technology over the artist’s hand —
look to the visual rhetoric of the 15th through 17th century Renaissance
16
and Baroque periods in Europe. Compositionally, the Luo brothers’ structure
their work in a classically Renaissance tradition based on strong geometric
and extravagance offered by economic riches, Cai Lei and Mu Boyan’s
principles, especially the pyramid. While Renaissance artists used clarity of
sculptures offer their own commentary. I know, but … by Mu is a charmingly
line, value, and shape to organize the imagery and suggest the rationality
cherub-like figure. Similar to the acupuncture needles of Sun Ping’s figures,
of the narrative, Baroque artists used visual extravagance to emotionally
wine glasses cupped on the uncharacteristically obese Asian figure may be
charge the narrative and stimulate the viewer. In both the Renaissance and
the Western version of relieving pain by returning life energy to the body.
Baroque periods, Christianity dominated visual culture and thus ascension to
Mu is simulating the Chinese technique of cupping, which places heated
heaven was a common theme. Figures were structured on a pyramidal basis,
jars over the skin to draw blood to an area. The heat creates a vacuum
literally moving up the triangle attaining a state of apotheosis.
effect that stimulates acupuncture points. The use of wine glasses for this
The Luo brothers have mimicked the underlying structure of
ancient Chinese medicinal technique is both a funny and sly commentary
Renaissance art in their compositions but add characteristics of the
on the West possibly in regard to lifestyle choices, consumption habits, and
Baroque period such as their use of bright color, strong contrasts, and an
obsessions with body image. Though comical, the figure in I know, but… may
overabundance of figures and shapes. Note also that the image of Mao is
be a metaphor for all that is both good and bad about the merging of Eastern
lower than the image of the Western movie star suggesting that Mao’s image
and Western cultures and habits.
Just as the Luo brothers both parody and embrace the consumption
is no longer revered as it once had been. Each Luo brother’s work in this
exhibition carries these references to Western aesthetics as the backdrop for
commentary on current China.
Mu Boyan
I know, but.....2008
Fiberglass and mixed media
148 x 146 x 66 cm
Courtesy of Aye Gallery,
Beijing, China
17
Cai Lei
Us, 2009
Mixed media
146 x 77 x 50 cm
Cai Lei’s work is the antithesis to Mu’s humorous portrayal of the Asian
state. Withered and drained of a life-force, the figure lies in repose with face
covered by an arm. Shame may be at play here but so might a metaphorical
narrative about the wasting away of wisdom and tradition. Regardless of
Reflux captures the world in a state of chaos. Composed with all the frenzy of
the intended notions, Cai and Mu have drawn upon the Western tradition of
a world gone mad, Ma consistently focuses on political figures and historical
sculpting the nude figure, rendering the object with naturalism and spirit. It
events, but in this composition he presents us with commentary on the
is rare to find images of the nude in Chinese art history. In fact, traditionally
Qingming Festival, an event to honor ancestors. On the day of the festival,
the human body was not considered beautiful and thus not an appropriate
families go to the graves of their deceased relatives, clean the graves, burn
subject for fine art. The inner spirit and psychological aspects of humanity in
incense, and leave cooked meats and fruits as offerings to the spirits. It is an
Chinese art were portrayed through illustrations of nature and poetry meant
interesting commentary on customs and cultures.
to inspire and elevate one to a place of harmony and peace.
Song Yongping and Ma Baozhong also comment on contemporary
China by utilizing visual styles and techniques found in late 20th century
Western art. Like Rauschenberg, Ma’s mural is imposing in size and the frenzy
of its composition. In Flux and Reflux – Story About Riverside at Quingming
Festival, Ma offers an explosive palette of color and shape that mixes history
with the present in a jumble of images.
Francis Bacon (1909-1992)
Figure with Meat, 1954
Oil on canvas 129.9 x 121.9 cm
Harriott A. Fox Fund. 1956.1201
Photograph by Bob Hashimoto
Reproduction: The Art Institute
of Chicago
Song Yongping
Dream, 2007
Oil on canvas 220 x 300 cm
Courtesy of Hanart TZ Gallery,
Hong Kong
Contrary to the overt references to Western iconography by artists
mentioned previously, Song Yongping’s work is more akin to the styles of
Ma Baozhong
Flux and Reflux - Story About Riverside at Quingming Festival, 2009
Oil on canvas, four panels 415 x 300 cm each, overall dimensions 415 x 1200 cm
British artists Francis Bacon (Irish-born) and Lucien Freud (German-born) in
Collaged in much the same way that Rauschenberg incorporated
brushwork suggests an energy that lurks beneath the surface of the paint.
actual photographs and found materials from magazines or fabrics, Flux and
It is uncomfortable to look at Song’s work because it reveals a darker side
their abject and provocative subject matter. The more expressionistic use of
18
to humanity. The process of aging, illness, and death is seldom depicted
regarding the new China. Song’s images remind us of the struggles China
faces in bringing the benefits of prosperity to all of her people.
n
Hieronymus Bosch (1450 - 1516)
The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1503-1504
Oil on wood, 220 x 389 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
19
Song Yongping
Nursing Home, 1993
Oil on canvas
181 x 227 cm
Like so many other artists in this exhibition, Song’s works comment
Shi Liang
Human Confusion 1, 2009
Oil on canvas
200 x 180 cm
Alice Neel (1900 - 1984)
Timothy Collins, 1971.
Oil on canvas, 65 x 41 3/4 in.
Photographer, Larry Qualls
Less abject in style is the series of paintings by Shi Liang. With
on the changing values of contemporary China relating to consumption,
references to American artists Alice Neel and Alfred Leslie, Shi has visually
spirituality, respect, individuality and conformity. In a painting titled Nursing
referenced these artists by placing a lone figure on a simple chair in the
Home, Song references a 16th century work by Hieronymus Bosch reflecting
middle of an empty space which is simultaneously intimate and impersonal.
the composition of figures crawling through a landscape. Like Bosch, Song’s
Beautifully rendered, the portraits of this unnamed person reveal a tension
work is a commentary on the nature of humanity as it pursues pleasure, and
that belies the seductive quality of the paintings. In the style of Neel and
the consequences of that pursuit. He does so by composing his figures in
Leslie, the figure sits alone obviously aware of the viewer gazing at them.
contradictory relationships between environment, objects, figures, and social
Surrounded by books one assumes are either banned or encouraged, the
observations. In each of his paintings he presents to us a view of the unseen
viewer is helpless to aid this subject. He is bound but not gagged, as are
world, the personal and the public, by exposing us to images of death, decay
we as spectators to his ordeal. We are helpless to set him free, yet if we stay
and upheaval. His images are as unsettling as is the reality of a culture in a
to observe his plight we become his comrade in bondage or his guardian;
state of change.
neither is a state in which we wish to find ourselves. As an artist working
with visual language, Shi’s work appears the most Westernized in the way he
babies to a Western audience may read as innocence, dependency, the
structures his paintings with an emphasis on the figure centrally placed in
future, new beginnings, etc. The figures are not really grounded; they float as
the composition. The clarity of line is reminiscent of Zhong Biao’s contours,
if digitally inserted in an advertisement for a relaxing getaway. While calming
and both recall the paintings of 19th century French Neo-Classicists Jean
and pleasing, these works are nonetheless perplexing. Unlike Hockney and
Auguste Dominique Ingres and Jacques Louis David.
Fischl, Tang’s works are ultimately disturbing for the tension they exude by
what is left unseen, and not the calm and serenity one feels at first glance.
While several artists in this exhibition make bold statements with
color, texture or scale, Tang Zhigang’s work is introspective in comparison.
The narratives address a sense of loneliness that may be more evident than
many people would expect from so communal a society as China. Indeed,
the subtext of much of the work in this artist’s paintings acknowledge the
possibility that the brave new world of wealth and materialism is complicated
Tang Zhigang
Chinese Fairytale, 2008
Oil on canvas
162.5 x 130.5 cm
David Hockney (b. 1937)
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with two figures), 1971
Acrylic on canvas, 84 x 120 in.
and not always playful.
Tang Zhigang and Shen Jingdong, remain more closely tied to a
traditional Chinese aesthetic in the use of fine and delicate line and an
emphasis on figural representation. Their compositions have a simplicity
and solace that is immediately appealing. When one considers their imagery,
however, there is a sense of foreboding that is unsettling at best. Tang’s work
recalls the swimming pool series by British artist David Hockney or the beach
paintings by American artist Eric Fischl, in part, because of the subject matter,
but also the style of painting – washed with color in a certain expressionistic
hand. The fact that the figures are toddlers is provocative as the notion of
Shen Jingdong
To Duchamp, 2006
Oil on canvas
200 x 200 cm
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968)
With My Tongue in My Cheek, 1959
Plaster, pencil, paper, wood
9 3/4 x 5 7/8 in., ARTstor Slide Library
20
Shen Jingdong’s work is equally as contemplative as Tang’s but
circle of one Chinese artist’s journey through Eastern and Western visual
far less austere. The simplicity of Shen’s image titled To Duchamp, 2006, is
languages as they are presented in this exhibition. As the eldest artist in this
visually pleasing for its orderliness though psychologically provocative for
exhibition, Zhang is also the most accomplished, having shown in numerous
its implication of conformity and anonymity. The image is a direct reference
exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad. He grew up through both the Chinese Civil
to Marcel Duchamp’s work With My Tongue in My Cheek, a self-portrait made
War and the ensuing Cultural Revolution before immigrating to New York in
in 1959. The meaning is both sarcastic, something not to be taken seriously,
1982. Zhang was educated in one of the most prestigious art academies in
and alternately a form of silencing someone. If one has their tongue pressed
China and learned to paint in the traditional manner by copying the masters.
against their cheek, they are rendered speechless and therefore silenced.
When the artist arrived in New York, his work took a decidedly American
With the mouth of a line-drawn comrade singled out by bright color, we are
turn toward the Pop art of the Rauschenberg, Warhol, and Johns epoch.
reminded of the saying “Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil.” The same
His series, Long Live Chairman Mao portrays the ever-present image of Mao
simple and vacant background serves to push the image forward to the
from his childhood through a humorously critical blend of these conflicting
picture plane, emphasizing the two-dimensional quality of the figure, and
cultures. By superimposing Mao’s features over the image of an all-American
relating it to the use of delicate line within traditional Chinese painting. In
emblem of wholesome goodness, Zhang morphs the communist leader and
Shen’s other compositions, high contrast and bright colors become symbolic
puritan farmer into an ironic emblem of propaganda, religion and ideology.
and intensify the impression of plasticity in his style. While reliant on color,
In typical Warholian fashion, he emphasizes the kitsch of advertising and the
the images are nevertheless tightly structured and emanate a sense of
cult of personality, treating Mao as we do the likes of Marilyn, Elvis and Jesus.
orderliness one assumes may reflect Shen’s military training. Might Shen’s
transformation of the images into cartoon-like figures reflect his thoughts
on the hegemony of the military under Mao’s leadership, or possibly the
homogeneity encouraged during that time?
Full Circle
While it may seem odd to end with the work of Zhang Hongtu
because his style appears the most Chinese, it actually represents the full
21
Zhang Hongtu
Long Live Chairman Mao Series #29, 1989
Acrylic and Quaker Oats box
4.4 x 12.7 x 12.7 cm
More recently, Zhang has returned to his roots in Chinese traditional
experience that binds them together, although a kind of pluralism would
art but with a decidedly Western language. Referencing the period in
best describe the remarkable variety of their work. In many cases, we can
Western art when Asian art (primarily from Japan) entered into the visual
see that their intent is to render a vision of life in China as it is at present. The
repertoire of European (mostly French) visual arts, he presents to us what
artists’ embrace of current culture, however, no matter how much personal
may ultimately be the marriage of Eastern and Western visual grammar.
freedom it may offer, does not occur without nostalgia.
Compositional studies by the Post-Impressionists, especially Cézanne and
the textural painting techniques of van Gogh, appear to overlay a traditional
Chinese calligraphic style using line, rather than value, to create form and
texture. Often beginning with the image of a classical Chinese landscape,
Zhang re-presents it to us through the stylistic language of Western artists.
It is as if he is conversing in two languages simultaneously, a feat seemingly
impossible in verbal discourse, yet a root belief in the yin and yang of Eastern
Zhang Hongtu
Shitao (Ten Thousand Ugly Inkblots Variation) - van Gogh, 2003
Courtesy of Lin & Lin Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
philosophy. Might we assume Zhang’s interpretation of visual language is
both the culmination and the beginning of a new global visual language?
Conclusion
It may be said that the artworks presented in East/West: Visually
Speaking document the emerging language of globalization in terms of
art history. It is the mettisage of East and West, blurring lines of cultural
distinctions in ways as yet unfinished. Despite continued divisions of political
and cultural values, a new language is developing, one that opens the
possibility toward communication that bridges our cultural divide. If young
Chinese artists continue to provocatively debate social issues rather than
merely accepting their circumstances, we may see that popular culture is the
22
RUSSIA
KAZAKHSTAN
HEILONGJIANG
MONGOLIA
KIRGIZSTAN
JILIN
XINJIANG
NORTH
KOREA
Yellow
HEBEI Tianjin Sea
SOUTH
KOREA
SHANXI
SHANDONG
INNER MONGOLIA
GANSU
NINGXIA
QUINGHAI
CHINA
LIAONING
Beijing
SHAANXI HENAN
JIANGSU
TIBET
SICHUAN
NEPAL
HUBEI
CHONGOING
BHUTAN
INDIA
HUNAN
GUIZHOU
BANGLADESH
YUNNAN
BURMA
THAILAND
23
GUANGXI
VIETNAM
LAOS
ANHUI
JIANGXI
SHANGHAI
ZHEJIANG
East
China
Sea
FUJIAN
GUANGDONG
Hong Kong
Macau
South China
Sea
HAINAN
TAIWAN
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
24
CAI LEI
1983 Born in Changchun, Jilin Province
Presently lives and works in Beijing, China
Education
2009 BFA from Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2004 Graduated from Affiliated High School of Lu Xun
Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang, China
Selected Group Exhibitions
2009
Niubi Newbie Kids II, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, China
Journey of A Thousand Miles: Excellent Graduation Works Exhibition, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
Shanghai Youth Art Exhibitions, Liu Hai Su Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2008 Troublemaker, Moon River Contemporary Art Gallery,
Beijing, China
Us , 2009
Mixed Media 146 x 77 x 50 cm
25
26
LUO BROTHERS
LUO Weidong
1962 Born in Nanning, Guangxi
1987 Graduated from Guangxi
Academy of Fine Arts
LUO Weiguo
1987 Graduated from Guangzhou
Academy of Fine Arts
LUO Weibing
1997 Graduated from the Central
Academy of Arts & Design
All presently live and work in Beijing, China
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2008 Welcome, Welcome!, Xin Dong Cheng Space for
Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Red Hot Bright, Galería Dolores de Sierra, Madrid, Spain
2006 Luo Brothers New Works, Sara Meltzer Gallery, NY, USA
2008 Beijing – Athens: Contemporary Art from China,
Technopolis, Athens, Greece
3 .15, Let’s Consume!, Xin Dong Cheng Space for
Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
2007 The Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art,
Moscow, Russia
Red Hot! Asian Art from the Chaney Family Collection,
Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, USA
China International Art Gallery Exposition, Beijing, China
2006 Radar: Selections from the Collection of Vicki and Kent
Logan, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, USA
2005 Mahjong : Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg
Collection, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland
2003 Happiness- A Survival Guide for Art and Life, Mori Art
Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2002 Paris-Pekin, Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, France
Festival International de l’Affiche et des Arts Graphiques,
Louvre, Paris, France
2001 Un Art Populaire, Fondation Cartier, Paris, France
2004 Happiness – Works of the Luo Brothers, Art Beatus, Hong Kong
2002 Welcome to the World’s Most Famous Brand series,
Galérie Loft, Paris, France
The Luo Brothers, Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1996 Injured by Extravagance, Beijing Art Museum, Beijing, China
2009 Expressions: Group Show, Chinese Contemporary,
Beijing, China
27
Welcome the Famous Brands to China, 2008
Porcelain 59 x 35 x 43 cm
28
Left:
Right:
29
30
Left:
Right:
31
32
Left:
Welcome the Famous Brands to China, 2001 - 2008
Embroidery 120 x 100 cm
Right:
Embroidery 120 x 100 cm
33
34
Painted copper 90 x 86 x 94 cm
35
36
Fiberglass, reinforced plastic 142 x 56.5 x 162 cm
37
38
Painted copper 167 x 58 x 77 cm
39
40
41
42
MA BAOZHONG
1965 Born in Nehe, Heilongjiang Province
1996 The 1st Exhibition of Contemporary Studies of Fine Art,
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China; traveled to Hong Kong Convention Exhibition Center, Hong Kong
2009 Founding Ceremony of PRC: Ma Baozhong’s Neo-Historicism Paintings, SZ Art Center, Beijing, China
2008 Touch: Ma Baozhong’s New Work, Beijing Art Gallery,
Beijing, China
2000 Forefront Existence, Yunfeng Gallery, Beijing, China
1995 Exhibition of Ma Baozhongs Oil Paintings, Central Academy
of Fine Arts Gallery, Beijing, China
2008 Figure, Nanjing Square Gallery of Contemporary Art,
Nanjing, China
2007 Post Avant-Garde Contemporary Chinese Art: Four Directions of The New Era, Atting House, Hong Kong
2002 Chinart: Contemporary Art from China, MKM, Duisburg,
Germany; subsequent venues include: MACRO, Rome, Italy; Ludwig Museum Budapest Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, Hungary; Municipal Gallery, Bydgoszcz, Poland;
La Llonja, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2001 Chengdu, China Biennale, Modern Art Museum, Chengdu
1998 Represent the People: Chinese Contemporary Arts,
Manchester, England
43
Key to Mural designed by Ma Baozhong
Following Pages:
Flux and Reflux — Story About the Riverside at Qingming Festival, 2009
Oil on canvas
Four panels, 415 x300 cm each; 415 x 1200 cm overall
Photo courtesy of Sun Qingqing
44
45
46
MU BOYAN
2006 Naughty Kids — the Chinese Problem Generation Born After 1970, Star Gallery, Beijing, China
1976 Born in Jinan, Jinan Province
2005 A Century of Sculpture, Shanghai City Sculpture Art Center, Shanghai, China
Education
2005 MFA in Sculpture, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2004 2nd Chengdu Biennial, Chengdu, China
2003 Bath Center-Solo Exhibition, the Bathhouse, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2002 BFA in Sculpture, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
1997 Graduated from the Fine Arts School, Central Academy
of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2009 Year Month Day — Mu Boyan’s New Solo Exhibition,
Aye Gallery, Beijing, China
2006 Fatty at Aye Gallery — Solo Exhibition, Aye Gallery,
Beijing, China
2009
Micro Paradise, My Humble House Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Chinetik, Museum Tinguely and Littmann Kulturprojekte,
Basel, Switzerland
China’s ReVision, Eastation Gallery, Beijing, China
2008
China’s ReVision, Ludwig Museum, Koblenz, Germany
Chinese Fantasies, Found Museum, Beijing, China
Together — the Nominated Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture, Zero Field, Beijing, China
2007 Origin — the First Annual Moon River Sculpture Festival,
Bejing, China
47
I know, but..., 2008
Fiberglass and mixed media 148 x 146 x 66 cm
48
Sky, 2009
Fiberglass and wood 90 x 50 x 180 cm
49
50
SHEN JINGDONG
1965 Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province
Education
1991 Graduated from Nanjing Art College, Printmaking,
Nanjing, China
1984 Graduated from Nanjing Xiaozhang Teaching Education School, Fine Arts, Nanjing, China
2008 Heroes, China Square, New York, NY, USA
2007 Making Heroes for Ten Years, Beijing Imagine Gallery,
Beijing, China
We Could be Heroes, Yan Gallery, Hong Kong
2005 Works from Five Artists, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China
3N Team, Imagine Gallery, Beijing, China
2004 8 Minus 1, Contemporary Oil Paintings, 88 Art Archives,
Beijing, China
To Duchamp, 2006
Following Pages:
Heroes’ Meeting, 2008
Oil on canvas,
Three canvases 200 x 200 cm each; 200 x 600 cm overall
Courtesy of Mr. Duncan Chiu
51
52
53
54
Angelet, 2008
55
56
57
58
59
60
SHI LIANG
1963 Born in Shan Dong Province
Education
2000 Studied advanced oil painting
Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
1996 MFA in oil painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts,
Beijing, China
1988 BFA from First Studio in oil painting, Central Academy
of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2009 The Fifth Anniversary Exhibition of China Realism School,
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2008 Warm Blood of May, Following the Earthquake, Art Basel
Miami, Miami, FL, USA
2007 Yang Feijun and His Students, Taiwan Chan Liu Art Museum, Taoyuan, Taiwan
From Right to Left:
61
62
SONG YONGPING
1961 Born in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province
Education
1983 BFA from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Tianjin, China
2009 Song Yonghong / Song Yongping – Pintura, Galería Dolores de Sierra, Madrid, Spain
2007 Song Yongping, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
2007 The Year of the Golden Pig - Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork , UK
2006 Song Yongping + Song Yonghong, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
2005
Tribute to 85, Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
Mahjong : Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg
Collection, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland
2004 Stone Face BANG - China’s first group printing exhibition, Shanghai Duolun Museum
of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
2002 The 1st Guangzhou Triennial, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
1998 Inside Out: New Chinese Art, Asia Society and PS1,
New York, NY, USA
63
Dream, 2007
64
Skillful Hunter, 2006
65
66
Nursing Home, 1993
67
68
SUN PING
1953 Born in Yulin, Guangxi Province
Education
1987 BFA from Guangzhou Fine Arts Institute
2008 Chinese Character Biennial, Huantie Times Art Museum,
Beijing, China
2007 New Poverty Class, Songzhuang Contemporary Art Museum, Beijing, China
Mobile Society, Huantie Times Art Museum, Beijing, China
2006 The First 5 x 7 Pingao Photo Biennial, Pingyao, China
1993 China’s New Art, Post-1989, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
Water 1 Aa, 2006
Cibachrome print 120 x 180 cm
69
70
Top Right:
Water 1 Ab, 2006
Bottom Right:
Water 1 Ad, 2006
71
72
Acupuncture A78 (Laocoön), 1992-2009
Copper, propylene and acupuncture needles 76.5 x 61.5 x 85.5 cm
73
74
Right:
Acupuncture A118 (Dying Slave), 1992 - 2009
Copper, propylene and acupuncture needles 58.5 x 50.5 x 123 cm
Left:
Acupuncture A11 2 (Mars), 1992 - 2009
Copper, propylene and acupuncture needles 70.5 x 54 x 118 cm
75
76
Opposite Page:
Acupuncture A01- Alexander, 1991
Cast copper stainless steel and acupuncture needles 73 x 60 x 26 cm
Acupuncture A02- Moses, 1991
Acupuncture A03- Homer, 1991
77
78
TANG ZHIGANG
1959 Born in Kunming, Yunnan Province
Education
1976 Joined the army after graduation from high school
1989 BFA from the Department of Oil Painting at the
People’s Liberation Army Art Institute
2005 Tang Zhigang: Chinese Fairy Tale, Hanart T Z Gallery,
Hong Kong
2004 Tang Zhigang, Galerie Enrico Navarra, Paris, France
2003 From China with Art, National Gallery of Jakarta, Jakarta,
Indonesia
2002 Paris-Pekin, Espace Cardin, Paris, France
The 1st Guangzhou Triennial, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Oil on canvas 130 x 162.5 cm
79
80
Oil on canvas 130 x 162.5 cm
81
82
ZHANG HONGTU
2005 On the Edge: Contemporary Chinese Artists Encounter the West, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
1943 Born in Pingliang, Gansu Province
Presently lives and works in New York, NY, USA
1999 Transience, Chinese Experimental Art at the End of the
Twentieth Century, Smart Museum of Art, University
of Chicago, IL
Education
1982 - 1986 Art Students League, New York, NY, USA
1969 BFA Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, Beijing, China
2007 Zhang Hongtu Recent Paintings, Lin & Keng Gallery,
Taipei, Taiwan
2005 Recent Paintings by Zhang Hongtu, Goedhuis Contemporary, New York, NY, USA
2004 Dialogue with the Taipei Palace Museum, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2003 Icon & Innovations: The Cross Cultural Art of Zhang Hongtu, The Gibson Gallery, State University of New York at Potsdam, NY, USA
1995 Zhang Hongtu: Material Mao, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY, USA
2009 Here + Now: Chinese Artists in New York, Museum of Chinese in America, New York, NY, USA
2007 China Onward, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art,
Humlebak, Denmark
83
Wang Yuanqi - Cézanne #5, 2007
Following Pages:
Zhang Hongtu
Shitao (Ten Thousand Ugly Inkblots Variation) - van Gogh, 2003
Oil on Canvas 97 x 239 cm
Courtesy of Lin & Lin Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
84
85
86
ZHONG BIAO
1968 Born in Chongqing, Sichuan Province
Education
1991 BFA from China Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou, China
2005 Zhong Biao - solo exhibition, Art Scene Warehouse,
Shanghai, China
2001 A Chance Existence - Zhong Biao Solo Exhibition,
Art Scene, China, Hong Kong
2005 Cohesion, Art Scene Warehouse, Shanghai, China
2004 The Art Scene in China, Art Scene Warehouse, Shanghai, China
2001 Chinese Faces, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Chili from Chongqing, Kultur-Banhof, Kassel, Germany
2000
Out of the Box, Art Scene China, Hong Kong
At the New Century: 1979-1999, Modern Art Museum,
Chengdu, China
A Chinese Oasis, Art Scene China, Shanghai, China
Grand Entry, 2007
87
88
Apex, 2008
89
90
Holy Book, 2008
91
92
Olympics Hope, 2007
93
94
Olympics Victory, 2007
95
96
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Museum staff wishes to thank Virginia Miller of ArtSpace/
Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables, Florida, for her tremendous help and
consultation in organizing this exhibition. She worked with our curator, Dr.
Gray, over the course of two years acting as liaison with our Chinese contacts.
Her patience and guidance is much appreciated.
We also wish to thank members of the China Visual Arts, Ltd. staff,
especially Michelle Yun, Einar Engstrom, and Lenny Schas. Their expertise
and support were fundamental to making this exhibition possible. We
have enjoyed our partnership. We are eternally grateful to CVAL for the gift
of artwork from the exhibition which they so graciously donated to the
Museum. The artists included in the exhibition are to be commended for
their willingness to lend artwork for the duration of the North American tour.
Lilly Wei, art critic and independent curator provided a much
needed contextualization to this exhibition. Her thoughtful dialogue,
time and patience are much appreciated. Wei is a frequent contributor to
Art in America, and a contributing editor at ARTnews and Art Asia Pacific.
She has written essays for many exhibition catalogues and brochures on
contemporary art. Support for Ms. Wei, work and travel was provided by the
97
Lafayette Convention and Visitors Bureau through a grant from the Louisiana
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. We would like to thank LCVC
Director, Gerald Breaux, for his support for the exhibition essay.
Special recognition must be given to our student staff members,
Lisa Ilan and Kimberly Kleiser. As assistant to the curator, graduate student
Lisa Ilan provided valuable research and editorial skills. Kimberly Kleiser,
undergraduate student in graphic design is to be applauded for taking on
the challenge of designing this catalogue. Ms. Kleiser worked patiently and
diligently to meet deadlines and the all too frequent changes that come with
projects such as this one.
We also wish to thank Christine Brasher, Attorney for UL Lafayette for
her devotion of time and resources to this project. The Board of Governance,
administrative staff and volunteers at the University Art Museum is to be
commended for their gracious willingness to read, proof, comment upon,
and meet demands that often go beyond the boundaries of their positions.
Finally, we must express gratitude to our members and annual
contributors for their long standing support for the Museum’s mission.
w
Board of Governance
Dr. Steve Landry, University Provost, Board Chair
Dr. Jan Brobst
Dr. Carl Brasseaux
Dr. Lynn Bustle
Ms. Jenny Cole
Mr. Joel Gooch
Dr. Vanessa Hill
Ms. Cherie Kraft
Ms. Jerry Ramsay
Ms. Julie B. Falgout, Ex-officio Representative, UL Foundation
Museum Staff
Mr. Mark A. Tullos, Director
Dr. Lee A. Gray, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections
Ms. Joyce Penn, Registrar
Ms. Rebecca Berner, Assistant to the Director
Ms. Cindy Hamilton, Retail/Visitor Services
Mr. Jack Harrison, Chief of Security
Mr. Hugo Boutte, Security
98
w

EAST/ WEST - Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum

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