Chinese Avant-gardeI'd rather call it renaissance In 2008, 5 of the world's top 10 selling contemporary artists were Chinese. Some of the buyers were from Hong Kong, but the majority were westerners who were overlooking art from their own countries to buy the Chinese art. The style of art has not always been easy to describe. In its profile on the Asia region, Time Magazine described it as a clash between the old and the new as well as the individual and the group. Specifically, it wrote, “Asia's avant-garde artists explore the clash between ancient traditions and pell-mell development, the lure of commercialism, and, most fundamentally, the struggle for individuality on the world's most populous continent.” (Beech 2007) The China Daily described it in slightly different terms. In order to emphasis its daring nature, it defined the art with a focus on the more shocking pieces: “A group of private shows held in Beijing last year contained all kinds of shocking images: a video of an artist sleeping with 20 sex workers; photos of Rong and Inri standing naked near Mount Fuji; an installation of two nudes slowly entwined together by live silkworms; a "shock" installation by Peng Yu and Sun Yuan in which eight pit bulls chained to facing treadmills lunged futilely at each other.” (Liu 2004) Flash Art had a slightly different take. It introduced the art with confusing language that had something to do with multinational companies and new art power in the east, but really didn't make sense at all: “What if the discourse of criticality that confronts the West with globalized corporate institutionalism and an alternative progressive logic of struggle against the hegemony of art consumption was (sic) to find a redefinition with Chinese characteristics? (Leanza 2007) The most common label used to describe it is Avant-garde, but it is a misleading label because it implies a similarity with Europe’s avant-garde movement in the early 20th century, which it just doesn't have. Firstly, European avant-garde was principally concerned with the development of new visual languages, which ended up producing Impressionism, Expressionism, Synthetism, Futurism, Cubism, Surrealism, and Suprematism. The Chinese art is typically a form of realism with abstracted motifs or styles that help build the artist’s trademark character. New visual languages are not being created as they were in Europe. Secondly, in European’s art move towards abstraction, art became less about society and more about the self. Additionally, it moved away from the cognitive realm and towards the emotional realm. Specifically, Impressionism was about the artist's subjective impressions on a scene. Expressionism aimed to show the emotional intensity of a scene. Suprematism advocated a complete disconnection from social constructs to liberate pure emotion. Surrealism was about introspection to reveal the characteristics of one’s own subconscious. Dadadism had a complete hatred for intelligence, logic, culture, formal education and social construction. Contrasted to Europe, the Chinese art is very much anchored in social issues. It deals with Maoist history, the east west dialogue, and the reconciliation of capitalist mantras in a society that champions Communist values. Furthermore, it is highly conceptual. If a comparison with Europe needed to be made, a more accurate descriptor would be Chinese renaissance because the art is highly skilled and is supported by formal education in myths, history, and philosophy much like the European version that occurred from the 14th to 17th centuries. Although it could be compared to Europe’s renaissance, a key difference is that much of the work is designed and promoted in a way that appeals to a foreign market and appears subversive as a result. In Europe’s renaissance, art was used to bring glory to the pope or rich benefactors of the arts from within Europe. Consequently, the art was not subversive. The pandering to foreign interests can make some of the art appear phoney. Specifically, the western market wants to believe that Chinese artists are politically oppressed by the Communist Party. They also want to see paintings that show Chinese artists struggling with the westernisation of their culture. To meet the demands of their western customers, some Chinese artists will give the foreign market what they want - irrespective of whether they actually believe it. In truth, most Chinese have a far more favourable attitude towards the Communist Party than most foreigners might like to believe. The mixed feelings towards Communism have been reflected in Chinese artists requesting that old communist slogans remain on the walls of the Factory 798 district in Beijing. It has also inspired works such as the Long March project. According to Lu Jie, the project organiser: "The original Long March…had similar themes of a utopian, avant-garde, art-for-the-people, collective consciousness raising movement." (Maggio 2004)Just as many artists are not against the Communist Party, they are not struggling with the westernisation of their culture any more than Australians are struggling with the easternisation of theirs. In both countries, some artists are fearful of change while others embrace it. It is a little naïve for western buyers to be seeking confusion about the east west dialogue in the east without considering the possibility that there may also be some confusion at home in the west. If easterners were to start buying Australian art that dealt with the east west dialogue, perhaps Australia would soon start producing artists who seemed confused and fearful about the change going on.
The work of Beijing artist Zhao Jianhua provide a good example of art that appears to be specifically designed and promoted in a way that appeals to a western market. Zhao paints pictures of Chairman Mao branded with a Nike swosh. The pairing of incongruent ideas seems to suggest that Zhao wants to subvert the legacy of Mao’s Communist ideology. This reading is reinforced with English lettering, which states things such as “Mao's book can’t be wrong.” When Zhao tried to exhibit his work in 2007, an unknown official ordered that the exhibition be shut down. Naturally, this resulted in Zhao receiving publicity in the China Daily and in the international media. It could be argued that Zhao was trying to replicate the sales success of Sheng Qi whose sales were added by perceived censorship. In 2004, Sheng's exhibition was cancelled on the orders of an unknown official. Rather than being a hindrance, the cancellation heightened the value of his work and he became the gallery’s top selling artist (Chelseaartgalleries 2009.) Because the consequence of the cancellation was in Sheng’s favour, it is possible that the cancellation may well have been a ruse to heighten the appeal of his work. Even if it was a genuine cancellation, then the heightened value of Sheng’s work showed the Chinese bureaucracy that censorship can be counter productive and perhaps not a wise course of action.
The work of Yue Minjun also seems to show a pandering to foreign interests. Yue paints himself with a happy face in a variety of incongruent situations, such as Tiananmen Square 1989. For his western customers, Yue is a dissident who expresses his dissent via sarcastic conformity. By "fooling" the Communist Party, Yue can express his dissent without fear of being taken away and shot. As Yue’s fame and fortune have risen, his paintings have taken on a whole new reading. When asked why he paints himself in apparent ecstasy in situations of grave concern, he simply says that everyone should be happy. His customers can’t take him literally, which perhaps further adds to his appeal. Yue seems aware of the appeal of ambiguity and contradiction, and quite wisely plays his role. Time Magazine wrote of an encounter with him: "What's wrong with laughing?" Yue demands with a serious face, digging into a Shanghai eatery's rendition of braised pork shoulder, a quivering delicacy synonymous with nouveau riche fulfillment. "China isn't all dark anymore. We should be happy."
Yue Minjun Execution (1989)
Although the art seems to suggest that Chinese artists are being repressed, arguably they have more freedom from political intervention than artists in countries like Australia. Specifically, they are not constrained by strict Occupational Health and Safety laws, nor do they have a public arts bureaucracy shaping political ideologies via the provisions of residencies, grants, studios, and art prizes. The works of Peng Yu and Sun Yuan give an insight into the extent of these Chinese freedoms as they produce work that would be banned in western countries. One work, titled Unmoved, involved an uncontrolled dumpster on wheels crashing from one side of the gallery to another. The dumpster shared the same floor with art patrons and could have conceivably run over and killed an art patron who turned their back on it. In western countries, just using oil paints in the rooms of education institutions without mechanical ventilation is banned. There is no way something as risky as an uncontrolled dumpster randomly crashing around a gallery frequented by children would be allowed. Another work by Peng Yu and Sun Yuan involved chaining pit bull terriers to treadmills facing each. In western countries, organisations like the RSPCA would quickly ensure that such exhibitions were shut down. Even if it were allowed, the artists would never get a grant, a residency, an exhibition space or an art prize. Instead, such government benefits would go to artists who denounced ideologies promoted by Peng Yu and Sun Yuan. Maybe the strong OH&S laws, laws protecting animals and heavy government funding for "ethical" arts is a good thing or maybe it is a bad thing, but the undisputable fact that in every country in the world, there are people seeking to impose restrictions on the artists of their country in order to achieve a greater good. No artist, in any country, has complete freedom.
Peng Yu and Sun Yuan - Unmoved (2008)
Because the works of Peng Yu and Sun Yuan could not be exhibited in western countries, the artists couldn't be accused of pandering to western tastes. Zhang Dazhong is another who could not be accused of pandering to western tastes. Zhang paints female Red Guards in a variety of idealist poses. It is difficult for westerners to understand the genius of Zhang's work because it requires a strong knowledge of China's Communist history. Specifically, the audience needs to know that the Red Guards were student activists enlisted by Chairman Mao to purify the nation’s soul. They need to know that they were given Mao’s little red book and told to go out and enlighten people in a manner not unlike a Christian evangelist. Unfortunately, the Red Guards had trouble purifying their own souls, let alone the souls of others. They violently attacked “bourgeoisie” elements, such as school teachers, their parents, capitalists, professors, artists, adulterers, fornicators, right-wingers and religious leaders, in a manner that was akin to burning a witch at the stake to show their conformity to the teachings of the bible. As told in the book Mao and China by Stanley Karnow: “We forced the teachers to wear caps and collars which stated things like “I am a monster.” Each class confronted and reviled them in turn with slogans, accusations, and injunctions to reform their ways. We made them clean out the toilets, smeared them with black paint, and organized “Control Monster teams” to see that it was properly done. We would charge them with specific mistakes and not relent until they admitted that they were true. It took a week of nearly constant struggle to make the man admit he had said, “Mao was wrong” in conversation with one of his fellow teachers. They had little rest and were forced to sleep apart from their fellow teachers. We would join informal groups, raid their quarters and begin to work on them again. They could not escape us.” A year after he created them, Mao disbanded the guards, expressed his disappointment in them and asked for the People's Liberation Army to restore order. It was the end of his dreams for China to become a true communist country. Most westerners mistakenly think that China’s Cultural Revolution involved the intelligent pigs getting rich at the expense of the innocent animals. While that was the plot of George Orwell's Animal Farm, which was based on events in the Soviet Union, in China, things were very different. In China, foolish pigs gave opportunities to the other animals who likewise didn’t live up to expectations. Mao had faith that the Red Guards would be good teachers of Communism. They tried their best but they just didn’t know how to be good Communists, or just weren't capable. Aside from needing background knowledge, Zhang’s work is not so popular in the west because it is too nuanced. In the west, political art tends to promote black and white political dichotomies (probably a side-effect of funding.) The appeal of cynical realists like Yue Minjun in the west perhaps demonstrates that westerners want clear political dichotomies in Chinese art as much as they do in their own. Zhang's art; however, is more yin yang than black and white. It appreciates that there is a bit of good in someone who is bad, and there is some bad in everyone who is good. In that regard, it is also consistent with the Communist Party's official stance on Chairman Mao, which proposes that he was 70% good and 30% bad. Contrary to western misconception, Chinese are not ignorant to the damage caused by Mao during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. They just also respect the fact that he liberated China from foreign control and gave Chinese back their pride.
Zhang Dazhong - From the Passionate Age series
Zhang Dazhong - From the Passionate Age series
Western commentary on Yao Lu provides another insight into western critics seeking political dichotomies in art that is a little more nuanced. Yao takes photos of landscapes covered in green netting and digitally manipulates them so that, from a distance, they look like traditional Chinese landscape paintings. Nick Turpin, a British photographer seemed to interpret them as a political statement when he wrote: 'These tall images in the format of Chinese illustrated scrolls appeared to be commenting on the changes to the Chinese landscape brought about by the massive industrialisation of the country. The traditional beautiful vision of the Chinese landscape is replaced by piles of rubble, hills covered by weed inhibiting fabric and populated by uniformed soldiers walking in the snow.' Turpin's interpretation was influenced by western stereotypes of China. In the west, there is a stereotype that the Chinese government looks at Chinese people as if they are weeds that need to be controlled and it walks over innocence like soldiers over snow. There is also a presumption that Chinese artists would be against the government and against modernisation, just as many western artists are. These stereotypes often influence how Chinese art is interpreted. In truth, there are nuances to Yao’s work. In China, the green netting is used to control pollution and is in fact a measure to protect the environment. Therefore, it would be wrong to say that there is no respect for the environment in contemporary China. Furthermore, there is beauty in Yao's work, and in that beauty, he shows that he represents many contemporary Chinese who continue to see beauty in the environment around them, even in the rubbish tips. In other words, Yao shows the ability of many Chinese to find beauty in places that others can not. It is actually a good ability to have. Using an aesthetic similar to a traditional painting contrasts the present with the past, but China’s past was also defined by its modernisation and massive construction projects. Yao's own description of his work is ambiguous about whether he is praising or criticising contemporary China. In his own words: 'Today China is developing dramatically and many things are under constant construction. Meanwhile many things have disappeared and continue to disappear. The rubbish dumps covered with the 'shield', a green netting, are a ubiquitous phenomenon in China. I want the world to be able to make a benign transformation. People must protect the environment.'
Yao Lu
References2004, ‘798 art factory artists to change face of Beijing’ China Daily 9th May http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-05/09/content_328958.htm Beach, Hannah, 2007, ‘The Color of Money’ Time Magazine, November 2007. Liu, Melinda 2004, The avant-garde goes too far?, China Daily, 2nd August 2004. Viewed May 1, < http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-08/02/content_356928.htm> Chen Yongguo, 2008 Becoming-Obscure: A Constant in the Development of Modern Chinese Poetry ‘Modern Language Quarterly 2008 69(1):81-96 Leanza, Beatrice 2007 ‘Towards a More Flexible Institution?’ Flash Art 40 N/D 2007 Maggio, Meg 2004, ‘Sur la route / On the Road’ Art Press no298
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