‘Playing the Chinese card’: Globalization and the aesthetic strategies of Chinese contemporary artists

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Taj Frazier

This article examines the art and travels of two contemporary Chinese artists – Ai Weiwei and Cai Guo-Qiang – to explore how each of them successfully navigates the rapidly shifting terrains and interests of the Chinese state and the global high art industry while simultaneously articulating a distinct politics and practice of creative ambivalence. We argue that these two artists’ creative productions and strategies: (1) refute various western critics’ critique of Chinese artists as inauthentic imitators of western art who produce exotic representations of China and Chinese identity for western consumption; (2) call into question the Chinese government’s numerous efforts to simultaneously promote and control Chinese contemporary art for nationalist/statist purposes. Furthermore, we unpack how both artists deploy various resources to produce complex works that interrogate and demonstrate the clashes of power, culture and identity in global spaces of encounter.

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-200
Author(s):  
Wiseman Bittner

In this paper I am going to do three things: First, identify several themes in contemporary Chinese art that show its essentially social nature and its robust materialism. Second, suggest a way that contemporary art in China is post-modern in the way that Western art is and claim, moreover, that as different as the themes and recent history of this art are from contemporary Western art, the works satisfy a definition of art constructed by Arthur Danto. Finally, in a coda, I present the work of a woman artist that is unlike most recent Chinese and Western art. It positions itself at the far reaches of what art in China is and what Danto's definition allows at the same time that it suggests both the interiority of the practice of art and one way of being a woman.


Post-cinema ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Bing ◽  
Dominique Chateau ◽  
José Moure

Wang Bing can be considered one of the greatest representatives of contemporary Chinese cinema. A meeting between him, Dominique Chateau and José Moure at a Master Class, as part of a series of Interface meetings at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Paris I in 2019, led to the idea of this present dialogue. Here, Wang (whose films are off the beaten track in many ways) clarifies his connection to various issues raised by post-cinema, in particular, the consequences of technological changes with regard to film creation and distribution and evolution in the aesthetic conception of cinema.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hu Bin

Biennial and triennial exhibitions were first established in western countries, gradually becoming a well-recognized formula that came to influence non-western nations. Biennial and triennial exhibitions rose in prominence beyond western boundaries as they strove for the right to speak on the international stage. The sudden rise of biennial and triennial exhibitions in China is closely linked to these concerns. It is generally accepted that China’s biennial exhibitions first entered into the international field of vision in 2000 with the Shanghai Biennale, closely followed in 2002 by the Guangzhou Triennial, which has garnered frequent mention internationally. Viewed from a historical perspective, the themes explored by the first three editions of the Guangzhou Triennial constituted a different set of ideas regarding the international predicament of Chinese contemporary art, while the featured artists in the latter two editions were not limited to China. The backdrop for these ideas was the frequent appearance of Chinese contemporary artists on such international platforms as the Venice Biennale beginning in 1993, and the tendencies and conditions of the selections for such appearances. Chinese contemporary artists at the time were excited to gain entry to these important international platforms, but at the same time, the ways in which they were interpreted and selected gave pause for reflection. This reflection was directed not just at the artists themselves, but at the response from the critical and curatorial realms. A very important matter within this was the need for China to establish its own interpretive system and internationalized platform. Below, I will follow a chronological path in outlining the gradual progression of the Guangzhou Triennial in regard to these themes, and the connections between them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 370-380
Author(s):  
Chas W. Freeman

Summary Chinese diplomatic style is the product of many influences. It is rooted in 2,000 years of history but also reflects changes resulting from the Chinese Revolution and the dramatic expansion of its wealth, power, status and interests ongoing today. Much is made of the hierarchical tradition in China’s diplomatic thinking and its resistance to Western diplomatic norms. However, these provide unreliable guides for contemporary Chinese diplomacy. While ‘face’, in terms of the respect of others remains an important consideration, Chinese diplomacy is influenced by upholding its understanding of the principles of sovereignty, non-intervention and self-determination. It is also influenced by the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s conceptions of how political leadership and control are exercised and maintained. These concerns manifest themselves in the way Chinese diplomatic style has avoided force, favoured ambiguity and operated with a clear, but creatively interpreted, distinction between non-negotiable core principles and more flexible concrete arrangements.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 214-218
Author(s):  
Carlota Santabárbara Morera

In the contemporary art, the conservation of the original matter is not as important as the conservation of the authenticity of the work, because of this it is very important to know the artist and his work, to be able to conserve the most important values. In this process it is very important the documentation and the research. Therefore the criteria of restoration has changed, we can not conserve the patina of the contemporary art as a historic document, if this means the loss of the aesthetic value of the work. Nowadays the art is different, and therefore its conservation is different too.


Author(s):  
Rolando Vazquez ◽  
Miriam Barrera Contreras

RESUMEN Hay que pensar la decolonialidad en relación a las artes. En esta entrevista exploramos cómo las artes decoloniales se diferencian de la estética moderna/colonial. La decolonización de la estética conlleva la liberación de a la aiesthesis, es decir de las formas de relacionarnos con el mundo y de hacer mundo a través de los sentidos. La aiesthesis decolonial se distingue de los principios del arte contemporáneo y en particular de su sujeción a la temporalidad moderna, abriéndonos hacia las temporalidades relacionales. Los artistas decoloniales ejercen una temporalidad distinta que conlleva no sólo una crítica radical al orden de la representación y de la visualidad modernas sino que también nos dan la posibilidad de entender a la decolonialidad cómo un movimiento cargado de esperanza, cargado de la posibilidad de nombrar y vivenciar los mundos interculturales que han sido negados. PALABRAS CLAVE Decolonialidad, tiempo relacional, esperanza, cuerpo, interculturalidad KAI SUTI AESTHESIS ÑAGPAMANDA KAUSAKUNA TUKUIKUNAWA TAPUCHI SUG RUNATA ROLANDO VÁSQUEZ SUTITA SUGLLAPI Kaipi kawachinakumi iska ruraikuna ñugpamanda chasallata kunaurramanda. Kai suti aiesthesis, kawachiku imasami pai kawa kawachimanda ukusinama paipa iuaikunawa. Aiesthesis kame tukuikunamanda sugrigcha.Lsx artistxs kawachinakumi ñugpamanda kausikuna munankuna kawachingapa charrami kausanakunchi parlanakumi ñugpata imasami mana lisinsiaskakuna allí ruraikuna tukuikunamanda. IMA SUTI RIMAI SIMI: Ñugpamanda, parlaikuna sullai, nukanchi kikin, tukuikuna. DECOLONIAL AESTHESIS AND THE RELATIONAL TIMES. INTERVIEW WITH ROLANDO VÁSQUEZ ABSTRACT We have to hink the decoloniality in relation with the arts. This interview explores the difference between the modern/colonial aesthetic and the decolonial arts. The aesthetic decolonization leads to the release of the aesthesis, ergo it relates in every way to the connection and creation of a world through the senses. The decolonial aesthesis is particularly different from the contemporary art principles in the way it grasps the modern temporality consenting the creation of a path toward relational temporalities. The decolonial artists exercise a different temporality that results in not only a radical criticism to the modern representation and visuality but it makes possible to understand the decolonialization as a hopeful movement, full of possibilities for naming and experiencing neglected intercultural worlds. KEYWORDS Decolonialization, relational time, hope, body, interculturality ESTEHÉSIE DÉCOLONIALE ET LE TEMPS RELATIONNELS. ENTRETIEN À ROLANDO VASQUEZ RÉSUMÉ Il faut penser la décolonisation en relation aux arts. Dans cet entretien on explore comment les arts décoloniaux sont différents de l’esthétique moderne-coloniale. La décolonisation de l’esthétique entraîne la libération de l’estehésie, c’est-à-dire, la libération des façons de nous mettre en relation avec le monde et d’en créer un nouveau à travers les sens. L’estehésie décoloniale se différence des principes de l’art contemporain, principalement pour son fixation à la modernité en nous emmenant vers les temporalités relationnelles. Les artistes décoloniaux exercent avec une temporalité qui n’implique pas juste une critique radicale à l’ordre de la représentation et de la vision moderne, mais aussi de la possibilité de comprendre la décolonisation comme un mouvement plein d’espoir, chargé d’une possibilité de nommer et de mettre en relief les interculturalités qu’ont été niées. MOTS-CLEFS Décolonisation, temps relationnels, espoir, corps, interculturalité ESTESIA DESCOLONIAL E O TEMPO RELACIONAL ENTREVISTA A ROLANDO VAZQUEZ RESUMO Temos que pensar a descolonização em relação as artes. Nesta entrevista é explorado como as artes descoloniais são diferentes da estética moderna-colonial. A descolonização da estética conduz a emancipação da estesia, isto é, das formas de relacionamento com o mundo e da fôrma de fazer mundo a partir dos sentidos. A estesia descolonial distinguese dos princípios da arte contemporânea particularmente pela fixação o tempo moderno, abrindo-nos para a temporalidades relacionales. Os artistas descoloniais exercem uma temporalidade diferente que implica não só uma crítica radical à ordem da representação e à visão moderna, mas também à possibilidade de entender a descolonização como um movimento cheio de esperança, carregado da possibilidade de designar e viver os mundos interculturais que foram negados. PALAVRAS CHAVES Descolonização, esperança, tempo relacional, fôrma, intercultural.   Recibido el 20 de enero de 2015 Aceptado el 26 de febrero de 2015


1970 ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
Sara Mameni

Iran’s public sphere has been segregated along gender lines since the Islamic Revolutionin 1979 and is regularly policed by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Thisarticle considers the ways in which the resulting homosocial spaces appear in the worksof contemporary artists working in Tehran. Looking at video and photographic worksby three Iranian artists, I argue that contemporary art is hyper aware of being undersurveillance and addresses itself to multiple viewers. I bring queer viewing strategiesas a method of viewing these artworks in order to point to the continuum betweenhomosocial and homoerotic spaces that permeate contemporary Iranian art.


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