Wang-Official Art in Contemporary China PDF

CONFRONTATION AND COMPLICITY: RETHINKING OFFICIAL ART
IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA

BY

MEIQIN WANG

BA, Fujian Teachers University, 1998
MA, China Academy of Arts, 2002

DISSERTATION

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Art History
in the Graduate School of
Binghamton University
State University of New York
2007

UMI Number: 3273581
3273581
2007
Copyright 2007 by
Wang, Meiqin
UMI Microform
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Copyright by Meiqin Wang 2007
All rights reserved

iii

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Art History
In the Graduate School of
Binghamton University
State University of New York
2007

June 5, 2007

Nancy UmDepartment of Art HistoryBinghamton University

Aruna DSouza, Department of Art History, Binghamton University

Pamela Smart, Anthropology Department, Binghamton University

iv
Abstract

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Chinese state has evidently changed
its stance towards contemporary art within a society that is marked by rapid
marketization and the resulting extensive social transformations. The government has put
considerable effort, both human and financial resources, into supporting and promoting
Chinese contemporary art, which historically was unofficial and underground. At the
same time it has invested greatly into presenting contemporary Chinese official art by
introducing new art institutions, widely practiced in the international art world, including
the international biennial and individual curatorship. This dissertation endeavors to
articulate the above mentioned changes in relation to changing unofficial art, changing
Chinese society, and changing Chinese politics. I argue that the new direction that
Chinese official art has taken since the beginning of the twenty-first century has, to a
great extent, epitomized the Chinese governments newly conceived cultural policies and
multiple administrative approaches towards art and its modified vision of the function of
art in Chinese society as it actively responds to the ongoing transnational and external
processes in the age of globalization.

In this study, I utilize a few important official art exhibitions as a framing mechanism
through which I examine the shifting institutional context and representation of Chinese
official art since the late 1990s. In particular, I investigate two important exhibitions in
2003: the first Chinese Pavilion of the Venice Biennale (Chinese Pavilion) and the First
Beijing International Art Biennale (Beijing Biennale) respectively authorized by the
v
Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Artists Association. Both exhibitions endeavored to
present authentic contemporary Chinese art and Chinese values, but did so in almost
opposite ways, in terms of the curatorial methods, the theme, content, and the types of
works exhibited. Through highlighting different roles played by governmental,
institutional, and individual agencies in the staging of these exhibitions, the dissertation
explores the recently emerged internal divisions within the scope of Chinese official art
and the intricate collaborative relations between official and unofficial art.

vi

For my mother Xie Suying and my husband Zeng Naifang
vii
Acknowledgements

My principal thanks and appreciation to Nancy Um for persevering with me as my
advisor throughout the time it took me to complete this dissertation. During the course,
she provided invaluable guidance and advice in shaping my critical perspective,
encouraged me to develop independent thinking and analytical skills, and greatly assisted
me with critical writing. Without her constant supervision, this dissertation would not be
possible. Not only was she readily available for me, as she so generously is for all of her
students, but she always read and responded to the drafts of each chapter of my
dissertation more quickly than I could have hoped. The members of my dissertation
committee, Professor Aruna DSouza in art history, and Professor Pamela Smart in
Anthropology, have generously given their time and individual expertise to better my
work. Their role in critiquing at different stages of my writing provided invaluable
criticism for enriching this dissertation and for my future projects. I thank them for their
contribution and their good-natured support. Professor Nicholas Kaldis, who specializes
in Chinese language and literature, was a keen outside reader and critic of this
dissertation. I am grateful to his incisive and detailed comments and important
grammatical corrections in the last stage of revising my dissertation. My landlady and
friend Mary Helen Chapman, a music teacher, deserves special thanks for being the first
reader of all my rough writings and for her voluntary help with proofreading and editing
of every single page of my dissertation. Of course, despite all the assistance provided by
Professor Nancy Um and others, I alone remain responsible for the content of my writing,
including any errors or omissions which may unwittingly remain.
viii
I must acknowledge as well many people on the faculty and staff of the Art History
Department at Binghamton who assisted and encouraged me in various ways during my
doctoral study. I am especially grateful to Professor John Tagg, Barbara Abou-EL-Haj,
and Tom McDonough for their continuous support in my getting department funding and
a Dissertation Years Award, which enabled me to study at this university and to complete
my dissertation. I am also thankful to a former professor Abidin Kusno, from whom I
have learned so much in critical thinking as an independent and open-minded scholar at
the beginning of my study in Binghamton. I would like to acknowledge Meng-Shi Chen,
Ann Chu, Jeremy Culler, Deniz Karakas, Kivanc Kilinc, Raed Altal, Selen Ugur, Shriya
Sridharan, Victoria Scott as well the many other friends, colleagues, and librarians who
assisted, advised, and supported my study and my life over the years. I especially thank
Hong Kal, a former art history graduate student from Binghamton for sharing
conversations and ideas that greatly inspired me in choosing my research topic. Christine
Bianco, another former colleague, deserves special thanks for helping me with my
English writing and for her friendship. I-Fang Wu, a librarian working in the university,
guided and helped me in settling down at Binghamton and enriched my entire life here. I
thank her for all her warmth and kindness. I also want to thank Yang Weishuai, a current
doctoral student in computer science. He and I began graduate school in the same year at
Binghamton and he became a best friend who has been helping me with all my computer
problems for these years.

My thanks must also go to the many Chinese scholars and artists who have helped me
building up a close contact with the Chinese art world. I would like to make special
ix
mention of Professor Wang Yong, my former advisor when I was a masters student in the
China Academy of Arts and one of the curators of the Beijing Biennale and the first
Chinese Pavilion. With his encouragement and support, I was able to set my heart for
pursuing a higher degree in the United States. He has continued giving me advice and
support for all these years, both mentally and practically. He generously provided me
with a copy of the exhibition catalogue of the Beijing Biennale and many other important
texts and allowed me to conduct several interviews with him during the past couple of
years. He also provided contact information and recommendations so that I could conduct
interviews with many people who were involved in the Beijing Biennale and the Chinese
Pavilion. With his recommendation, I visited the Beijing International Art Biennale
Office and with the kindness of the office director Tao Qin and a staff member Feng yan,
I obtained a copy of precious official documents and other materials related to the Beijing
Biennale.

I also need to express my gratitude and deep appreciation to Professor Gao Minglu who
kindly invited me to work with him as a curator associate in 2005 for his large exhibition
The Wall: Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art, which provided me with a great
opportunity to build up many first-hand experiences and to contact many artists that were
important in my dissertation. In addition, he and his wife Sun Jin also are also very
warm-hearted people who made me feel so welcomed in their home both in the United
States and in China. I also have to thank an expatriate artist Zhu Wei who resides in New
York City for his generosity and warm support in providing me with contact information
for many active art professionals in China. He and his family gave me the best welcome
x
with nice food and accommodations whenever I visited New York City. For the same
reason, I am grateful to art critic Jia Fangzhou, who not only tried his best to introduce
me to as many critics, curators, and cultural officials in China as he could, which
facilitated me greatly in conducting my research, but also generously presented me with a
valuable set of books edited by him in Chinese art criticism. I appreciate his
extraordinary kindness and enthusiasm in nurturing my expertise on the structure of the
Chinese art world. I am also thankful to curator and critic Feng Boyi for his enthusiastic
help in connecting me with many Chinese contemporary artists and his generosity in
giving me a copy of privately published and circulated books on Chinese contemporary
art.

I must also thank many Chinese artists, scholars, and friends for their support and help in
various ways during my research in China. In particular I thank Chen Qiulin, Guo
Xiaoyan, Huang Du, Lin Hao, Liu Jinyi, Shui Tianzhong, Sun HongJian, Sun Weimin,
Wang Duanting, Wang Huangsheng, Wang Nanming, Xu Bing, Yang Fudong, Yin Kun,
Yu Jiantao, Zhan Wang, Zhao Quanli, Zheng Pin, and Zhuo Fan for their support and
patience in allowing me to conduct interviews or conversation with them. I especially
thank artists Liu Jianhua and Lu Zhengzhong for their generosity of not only spending
time with me in interviews but for allowing me to download and use their personal
diaries.

Finaly my most grateful thanks go to my family. I thank my parents, Qingshui and
Suying, for their faith in me and allowing me to be as ambitious as I wanted to pursue an
xi
academic career. My mom was a constant source of support and her voice over phone
often made me feel happy and encouraged. I'm grateful to my sister for her understanding
of my academic pursuit and for her taking care of my mom in these years. I'm especially
thankful to my husband and best friend, Naifang, for his endless support, encouragement,
quiet patience and steadfast love. His tolerance of my occasional unstable moods is a
testament in itself his untiring devotion and love.

xii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract iv
Acknowledgements vii
List of Figures xiv
I INTRODUCTION 1
1. The Starting Point 6
2. Main Objectives and the Methodology 17
3. Literature Review 25
4. The Shape of the Dissertation 35
II OPERATING TRADITIONAL OFFICIAL ART 39
1. Introduction 39
2. CAA: The Nationalized Art Institution 41
3. A Case Study: the Ninth National Art Work Exhibition 53
4. Conclusion 69
III THE ART WORLD OF POST-DENG CHINA 72
1. Introduction 72
2. Marketization, Culture Industry, and Art 76
3. Globalization, Exhibitions, and Transnational Art 89
4. Cultural Nationalism and Pulling Back Chinese Contemporary Art 99
5. Conclusion 113
IV MAKING INTERNATIONAL APPEAL 117
1. Introduction 117
xiii
2. A Brief Historical Review 119
3. The First Chinese Pavilion 132
4. The Officialization of Contemporary Art 146
5. The New Cultural Arena 158
6. Conclusion 172
V FORMING CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS 177
1. Introduction 177
2. The Show and the Award Winners 180
3. The Nationalistic Proposal 192
5. The Reality of Chinese Characteristics 213
6. Conclusion 226
VI CONCLUSION: CONFRONTATION AND COMPLICITY 233
1. Multiple Official Art(s) 236
2. Flexible Individuals and Flexible Administration 242
3. Opportunistic Spaces 250
4. Final Remarks 255
GLOSSARY 256
FIGURES 264
BIBLIOGRAPHY 299
I. Primary Sources 300
II. Secondary sources 332

xiv

List of Figures

Figure 1: Zheng Li, Intellectual Family, 1999, Chinese painting, 170 x 248 cm.
(Source: http://www.rbzarts.com/rbzhtml/NO9/no9.htm)

265
Figure 2: Yu Changjiang, Chen Rong, Qian Zongfei, & Wu Taoyi,
The Epic of the Militia, 1999, Chinese painting, 246 x 243 cm.

265
Figure 3: Han Shuo, Hot-blooded, 1999, Chinese painting, 189 x 211 cm.

266
Figure 4: Leng Jun, Pentagram, 1999, oil on canvas 130 x 130 cm.

266
Figure 5: Wang Hongjian, Yang Guan San Die, 1998-1999, oil on canvas,
190 x 179 cm. (Source: http://www.rbzarts.com/rbzhtml/NO9/no9.htm)

267
Figure 6: Qin Wenqing, Soldiers, 1997, oil on canvas, 152x204 cm.

267
Figure 7: Zheng Feng, Immortals, 1999, oil on canvas, 160 x 160 cm.

268
Figure 8: Yuan Wu, Memorial of the 1998, 1998, Chinese painting, 283 x 156 cm.

268
Figure 9: Shao Yachuan, Inspecting the dyke, 1998, oil on canvas, 267x232 cm.

269
Figure 10: Qiu Ruimin, Ma Hongdao, & Shi Qiren, Looking into the Future,
1999, oil on canvas, 168x252 cm. (Source:
http://www.rbzarts.com/rbzhtml/NO9/no9.htm)

269
Figure 11: Ai Minyou & Zhang Qingtao, Inspection, 1996, oil on canvas, 359 x
227 cm. (Source: http://www.rbzarts.com/rbzhtml/NO9/no9.htm)

270
Figure 12: Wang Pi, The Old Song-I Dedicate Oil to My Motherland, 1999, oil on
canvas, 168x168 cm.
(Source:http://www.dlgallery.com.cn/dalian/exhibit/ninth/ninth.chnyh.h
tm)

270
Figure 13: Yang Jinxing, Date, 1999, Chinese painting, 201 x 130 cm. 271
xv

Figure 14: Zhang Zhenggang, Space, 1999, oil on canvas, 113 x 145 cm.

271
Figure 15: Zheng Yi, Blazing Heart, 1999, oil on canvas, 176 x 162 cm.

272
Figure 16: Lin Sen, Feast, 1999, oil on canvas, 170 x 110 cm.

272
Figure 17: He Yunchang, Making An Appointment-Golden Sunshine, 1998, oil on
canvas, 225x174 cm. (Source:

273
Figure 18: Cao Jigang, Mountain As Ocean, 1999, oil on canvas, 225x177cm.

273
Figure 19: Wu Jingchu, The Unyielding Character of Plum Blossoms, 1999,
Chinese painting, 230 x 158 cm. (Source:

274
Figure 20: the billboard on the road to Song Zhuang that is entitled Welcome to
[Song Village] Chinese Contemporary Artist Community. (Source:
photographed by Yu Jiantao (an independent artist resides in Song
Zhuang))

275
Figure 21: Xu Bing, Tobacco project: shanghai, 2004, installation. (Source:
photographed by the author)

276
Figure 22: Wang Guangyi, Great Castigation Series: Coca-Cola, 1992, oil on
canvas, 200 x 200 cm. (Source: Doran, Valerie C., ed. China's New art,
Post-1989. 1993)

277
Figure 23: Yu Youhan, The Waving Mao, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 145 x 130 cm.
(Source: Doran, Valerie C., ed. China's New art, Post-1989. 1993)

277
Figure 24: Fang Lijun, Series II, No. 2, 1992, oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm.
(Source: Gao, Minglu, ed. Inside/Out: New Chinese Art. San
Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 1998)

278
Figure 25: Liu Wei, The Revolutionary Family: Dad in front of A Poster of Zhu
De, 1990, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm. (Source: Doran, Valerie C., ed.
China's New art, Post-1989. 1993)

278
Figure 26: Cai Guoqiang, Rent Collection Courtyard, 1999, installation. 279
xvi
(Source: http://www.caiguoqiang.com/project_detail.php?id=33&iid=0)

Figure 27: Ye Yushan with a team of sculptors from the Sichuan Academy of Fine
Arts. Detail of the Rend Collection Courtyard, 1965, clay in life-size.
(Source:http://www.morningsun.org/stages/rent_courtyard_intro.html)

279
Figure 28: Sun Weimin, Nuanyang [warm sunlight], 1996, 180x190 cm, oil on
canvas. (Source: Ershi Shiji Zhongguo you hua [Chinese Oil Painting
of the Twentieth Century], eds. Art Department of the Culture Ministry
of the PRC & Chinese Oil Painting Society. 2001)

280
Figure 29: Liu Xiaodong, Weigui [get out of line], 1996, 180x230 cm, oil on
canvas. (Source: Ershi Shiji Zhongguo you hua [Chinese Oil Painting
of the Twentieth Century], eds. Art Department of the Culture Ministry
of the PRC & Chinese Oil Painting Society. 2001)

280
Figure 30: Shen Ling, Life's companion, 1996, oil on canvas. (Source: Ershi Shiji
Zhongguo you hua [Chinese Oil Painting of the Twentieth Century],
eds. Art Department of the Culture Ministry of the PRC & Chinese Oil
Painting Society. 2001)

281
Figure 31: Chen Yifei, Father and Son, Tibet, 1995, oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm.
(Source: http://www.marlboroughfineart.com/artists/view.asp?id=29)

281
Figure 32: Wang Shu, Between Dismantle and Construct, 2003, installation.
(Source: http://cn.cl2000.com/subject/wnssnz/chzp/zp.shtml)

282
Figure 33: Zhan Wang, Urban Landscape, 2003, installation.

282
Figure 34: Yang Fudong, three stills from Heaven Heaven, Jasmine Jasmine,
2002, video. (Source:
http://cn.cl2000.com/subject/wnssnz/chzp/zp.shtml)

283
Figure 35: Lu Shengzhong, Landscape Study, 2003, installation.
(Source: from the artist)

283
Figure 36: Liu Jianhua, Daily-Fragile, 2003, installation.

284
Figure 37: Lu Shengzhong, Propitious Omen Descending, installation.
(Source: http://arts.tom.com/zhanlan/lsztw/index.php)

284
Figure 38: Wang Yingsheng, Strolling II, 2001, Chinese painting, 200 x 270 cm.
(Source: The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale
[exhibition catalogue], ed., the Chinese Artists Association, 2003)
285
xvii
Figure 39: Zhang Chenchu, Brothers and Sisters, 2001-2002, oil painting, 200 x
475 cm. (Source: The Album of the First Beijing International Art
Biennale [exhibition catalogue], ed., the Chinese Artists Association,
2003)

285
Figure 40: Guo Zhenyu and his twenty-eight handicapped students from the
Special Education Vocational School at Shandong province, The
Chinese Roots, 1999-2003, sculpture, 400 x 2000 x 150 cm. (Source:
The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale [exhibition
catalogue], ed., the Chinese Artists Association, 2003)

286
Figure 41: Zheng Li, Intellectual Family-2, 2002, Chinese painting, 170 x 248
cm. (Source: The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale

286
Figure 42: Leng Jun, Century Scenery-4, 1996, oil on canvas, 105 x 200 cm.

287
Figure 43: Georg Baselitz, Attacking II, 1986, oil on canvas, 250 x 200 cm.

287
Figure 44: Sam Francis, right: 23, oil on canvas, 1967, 58x82.5cm; left: 29, 1979,
oil on canvas, 91 x 61.5 cm. (Source: The Album of the First Beijing
International Art Biennale [exhibition catalogue], ed., the Chinese
Artists Association, 2003)

288
Figure 45: Omer Galliani, New Anatomy, 2003, 300 x 200 cm each. (Source: The
Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale [exhibition

288
Figure 46: Nosratollah Moslemian, Series of Untitled, 2002-2003, acrylic, left:
189 x 259 cm; right: 155 x 245 cm. (Source: The Album of the First
Beijing International Art Biennale [exhibition catalogue], ed., the
Chinese Artists Association, 2003)

289
Figure 47: Matti Kujasalo, Untitled, acrylics on canvas, 2002, 200 x 200 cm each.

289
Figure 48: Yuri Kalyuta, Melissa, 1997, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm. (Source:
The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale [exhibition

290
Figure 49: Fernandez Arman, Discus Thrower, 2002, bronze sculpture, H: 180 290
xviii

Figure 50: Kurt Schwager, Transzendenz, 2002, marble sculpture, 140 x 130 x 40

291
Figure 51: The logo of the first Beijing Biennale (Source: The Album of the First
Beijing International Art Biennale [exhibition catalogue], ed., the
Chinese Artists Association, 2003)

291
Figure 52: Liu Liyun, Landscape scroll, 2004, sculpture/installation, 90x510x4
cm. (Source:
http://www.bjbiennale.com.cn/artists/ArtistS_detail-e.asp?ArtistID=77
8)

292
Figure 53: Hu Mingzhe, Natural Traces, 2005, sculpture/installation,
200x400x1.5x30 cm. (Source:
http://cn.cl2000.com/subject/2005BIAB/images/005.jpg)

292
Figure 54: The entrance of the Artist Group Reception Center of Song Zhuang.
(Source: http://www.chinasongzhuang.cn/html/2006-08/152.htm)

293
Figure 55: The archway with Song Zhuang China over the street in Xiaopu
Village of Song Zhuang.

293
Figure 56: Poster of the Fist Song Zhuang Culture and Art Festival. The big
Chinese character in yellow that dominates the scene is a variation on
the character Song of Song Zhuang.
(Source:
http://www.ionly.com.cn/pro/news/info3/20051024/012441.html)

294
Figure 57: Poster of the Second Song Zhaung Culture and Art Festival.
(Source: http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2006-09-08/16121237662.html)

294
Figure 58: The exterior view of the Beijing Song Zhuang TS1 Art Center.
(Source:
http://club.qingdaonews.com/cachedir/41/30/52/3052861_1.htm)

295
Figure 59: The inaugural show of the Beijing Song Zhuang TS1 Art Center, with
sculptural works by Fang Lijun in front.
(Source:
http://club.qingdaonews.com/cachedir/41/30/52/3052861_1.htm)

295
Figure 60: Exterior view of the Song Zhuang Art Museum. (Source: 296
xix
http://blog.artron.net/attachments/2006/06/15/2006615_d940ff118077f
df275b1f64855f1a414.jpg)

Figure 61: The architectural piece with the name of Shangshang Art Museum, in
Li Xiantings calligraphic script.
(Source:
http://arts.tom.com/uimg/2006/11/29/peigang/pgszzz01_62421.jpg)

296
Figure 62: The exterior view of Beijing East Zone Art Center.
(Source: http://www.yahqq.com/article/view.asp?id=1105)

297
Figure 63: Exterior view of Song Zhuang Private Art Museum.

297
Figure 64: The main street of the Xiaopu Village where the commercial plaza is
located. The view of artists setting up their exhibits, October 6, 2006.

298
Figure 65: A view of a show on the main street of the Xiaopu Village where the
commercial plaza is located. The front figure was a peasant who
probably came to see the show, October 6, 2006. (Source:
http://www.chinasongzhuang.cn/html/2006-10/402.htm)

298

1

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Accompanying the tremendous attention that the rapid economic growth of China has
gained at a global level since the 1980s and particularly the 1990s, Chinese art has also
emerged as a category of great interest in the international art world. Since the late 1990s,
a large number of exhibitions have been dedicated to art from China by major museums
and art galleries in Euro-American countries;
1
reports and reviews on the recent
development of Chinese art have constantly appeared in western media such as Art in

1
For example, Splendors of Imperial China by Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) in 1996,
Reckoning with the Past, Contemporary Chinese Painting by Fruitmarket Gallery (Edinburgh) in
1996, China Now by Kulturprojekte ( Basel) in 1997, China: 5000 Years by Solomon
Gugenheim Museum (New York and Bilbao) in 1998, Inside Out: New Chinese Art by Asia
Society and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (New York) in 1998, Urban Yearnings: Portraits of
Contemporary China by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco) in 1999, China:
Fifty Years Inside the Peoples Republic by Asia Society (New York) in 1999, Living in Time by
Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum fr Gegenwart (Berlin) in 2001, Paris Pekin by Espace Pierre
Cardin (Paris) in 2002, Text & Subtext by Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre
(Copenhagen) in 2002, Alors, la Chine? by Pompidou Center (Paris) in 2003, China: Dawn of a
Golden Age, 200-750 by Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) in 2004, All under Heaven:
China Now! by Museum of Contemporary Art (Antwerp) and Royal Museum of Fine Arts of
Antwerp (Antwerp) in 2004, Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China
by Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago) and Smart Museum of Art (Chicago) in 2004,
Dreaming of the Dragon's Nation: Contemporary Art from China by Irish Museum of Modern
Art (Dublin) in 2004, Between Past and Future by Victoria and Albert Museum (London) in 2005,
Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection by Kunstmuseum Bern (Bern) in
2005, On the Edge: Contemporary Chinese Artists Encounter the West by Davis Museum and
Cultural Center at Wellesley College (Massachusetts) in 2006, Chinese Painting on the Eve of the
Communist Revolution by Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University (California) in 2006, and
Inside Out Year of the Pig 2007 by London Trocadero Centre (London) in 2007. This list is far
from complete; a few more exhibitions on Chinese art are scheduled to open this year.
2
America, Art Journal, Art News, Flash Art, and The New York Times; the demand and
prices for Chinese art in the international art market have also seen spectacular increases,
particularly in recent years;
2
the number of students and scholars in the West who have
taken up Chinese art as their academic research topic is swelling as well.
3
In the trend to
understand China from the aspect of art, among many other disciplines and perspectives,
a good proportion of energy has been devoted to Chinese unofficial art, including
avant-garde art in the 1980s and underground/contemporary art in the 1990s, which only
started to make its presence felt in the international art world in the early 1990s.
Unofficial art, a general term coined to describe art produced without sponsorship from
state-funded institutions and, by extension, without merely echoing official ideology, has
become an entry point for many scholars in the West to seek an understanding of the new
cultural scene in China. It allows them to compare the differences between cultural
production under Maoist Communist ideology and under socialist market ideology, or
even capitalism as some would prefer to call the latter, promoted by Chinas second

2
For recent report on the record breaking sale prices of Chinese art at the international art market,
see Carol Vogel, Sothebys Bets on a Windfall for Todays Chinese Art, The New York Times,
Mar 29, 2006; David Ebony, Chinese Contemporary Art Prices Skyrocket, Art in America, vol.
94 iss. 5 (May 2006): 45; Simon Elegant, The Great China Sale, Time Magazine, Nov 19, 2006;
Carol Vogel, China Celebrates the Year of the Art Market, The New York Times, Dec 24, 2006;
David Barboza, In Chinas New Revolution, Arts Greets Capitalism, The New York Times, Jan 4,
2007; and Jonathan Napack, An Art Market with Chinese Characteristics, Yishu=Journal of
Contemporary Chinese Art, Spring Issue (Mar 2007): 16-18; and Katya Kazakina, Zhang
Xiaogang and Yue Minjun Lead Sotheby's Asian Art Sale, Bloomberg News, Mar 22, 2007.
<M:\Chinese Art Market\Kazakina, Katya. Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun Lead Sotheby's Asian
Art Sale.htm> (Accessed May 3, 2007).

3
Based on the number of scholarly publications on Chinese art appearing in journals and
magazines and presentations in all kinds of academic conferences and symposia held in the West.
3
leader Deng Xiaoping and continued by his successors.

For quite a while, Chinese unofficial art has been at the center of newly obtained interest
in Chinese art from reporters, critics, and scholars outside of China; Chinese official art,
on the other hand, has been largely neglected as if there were nothing new worthy of
discussion. When it is actually mentioned, it has been described as conservative, static,
and not responding to contemporary life and has usually been associated with cultural
authorities and the Chinese Communist Party, against which the energetic, dissident and
rebellious unofficial art positions itself.
4
I would not argue that this interpretation of the
relationship between Chinese official art and unofficial art has no historical basis at all.
On the contrary, it carries certain validity in analyzing the Chinese art world in the 1980s.
However, things have changed in China since the 1990s and this politically charged
binary formula between official art and unofficial art, which constitutes the foundation
upon which most interpretation about contemporary art from China evolves outside of

4
For examples, see Andrew Solomon, Their Irony, Humor (and art) Can Save China, The New
York Times Magazine, Dec 19, 1993 and Lynn MacRitchie, Report from Beijing: Precarious Paths
on the Mainland, Art in America (Mar 1994): 51-57. Also, as late as 1999, the senior Chinese art
historian John Clark, in his 1999 catalogue essay for the exhibition Beyond Exile, applied
self-enclosed to describe Chinese official art world and commented: Official art concerned itself
with the aesthetics of the well-made, a performative, academic and ultimately vacuous definition of
artistic achievement devoid of the contemporary contestation or at least engagement with the
frictions of the modernizing lived world of Chinese which would give it meaning. He then
presented his great appreciation of art made by a few unofficial Chinese artists (he called them
modern artists) that showed a very serious concern for art and its critical relation to social life.
John Clark, Beyond Exile, in Modern Chinese Art Foundation Catalogue (Provincie Bestuur van
Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium, 1999). John Clark, however, was soon going to publish an in-depth and
updated essay on the Chinese art world that shed light on the changing nature of Chinese unofficial
art; see note 10.
4
China, has greatly lost its applicability. Hou Hanru, an art critic and curator who
originates from China, has pointed out that in the West there is not only a lack of
knowledge and understanding of contemporary art of China, but that current studies
about it had not been able to avoid the Western clich that modern Chinese art is tainted
by ideological preoccupations and that in China the official establishment maintains a
monolithic approach in art production.
5
His critique certainly was directed at the kind of
reviews on contemporary Chinese art in which official art was often formulated as an
integrated entity whose modality and appearance were clearly defined and determined by
the political authorities while unofficial art was described as a dissident art or avant-garde
art that embodied a different political agenda and free creative inspiration.
6

In the past couple of years, however, there has been a much deeper and revised
understanding of Chinese unofficial art in the West, as the further opening of China and the
convenience of global communication and transnational travel enable much closer
observations. Some critics and reporters have started to question the outwardly anti-official
political nature of Chinese unofficial art and to explore its hidden intentions;
7
some have

5
Hou Hanru, Entropy, Chinese Artists, Western Art Institutions: A New Internationalism, in
Global Visions: Towards a New Internationalism in the Visual Arts, Jean Fisher (ed.)
(London: Kala Press, 1994), 79-88.

6
In his seminal study of the avant-garde, Ralph Croizier discussed this western preoccupied
fascination of Chinese avant-garde art in the early 1990s. See Ralph Croizier, The Avant-garde
and the Democracy Movement: Reflections on Late Communism in the USSR and China,
Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 51 no. 3 (1999): 483-513.

7
For example, in her review of the exhibition New Art in China, Post-1989, Susan Platt questioned:
5
also discussed the relaxed governmental attitude towards contemporary art practice and the
resulting flourishing of the art scene;
8
they have also discovered the market-driven nature
of much contemporary art produced by young Chinese artists who now have maneuvered
their art as one kind of business.
9
Nonetheless, not much energy has been invested in the
consideration of Chinese official art, a category that itself has undergone no less dramatic
and complex transformation than unofficial art from China.
10
This dissertation is
dedicated to the study of official art in contemporary China, in relation to changing
unofficial art, changing Chinese society, and changing Chinese politics. I believe that the
new direction that Chinese official art has taken since the beginning of the twenty-first
century has, to a great extent, epitomized the Chinese governments newly conceived
cultural policies and multiple administrative approaches towards art and its modified
vision of the function of art in Chinese society in the age of globalization.

Is the work that has been exported for New Art in China, with the epithet Post-1989 actually a
protest against the government? Or is it nothing but a game, a game that the Chinese artists are
playing for a place in the international art worldthe same game that all artists play? See Susan
Platt, New Art in China, Post-1989, Art Papers, vol. 22 no. 2 (Mar/Apr 1998): 37.

8
A few examples here: Meg Maggio, Bullish In Beijing, China Review Magazine, iss. 26,
October, 2003. <http://www.gbcc.org.uk/iss26art1.htm> (Accessed May 8, 2005);, Craig Simons,
Amid Ghosts of the Red Guard, The Avant-garde Now Blooms, The New York Times, Sep 1, 2004;
Jonathan Napack. Young Beijing, Art in America, vol. 92 iss. 6 (Jun/Jul 2004): 142-145.

9
For this point, see Jonathan Napack: An Art Market with Chinese Characteristics,
Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, Spring Issue (Mar 2007): 16-18. Also see Charlotte
Higgins, Is Chinese Art Kicking Butt or Kissing It?, The Guardian, Nov 9, 2004 and Simon
Elegant, The Great China Sale, Time Magazine, Nov 19, 2006.

10
A notable exception is John Clarks essay analyzing the transformation of the Chinese art system
in the 1990s and discussing the blurring tendency of the boundary between official art and
unofficial art. See John Clark, System and Style in the Practice of Chinese Contemporary Art: The
Disappearing Exterior?, Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 1 no. 2 (Summer
2002): 13-31.
6
1. The Starting Point
In order to understand the complex development/transformation of contemporary official
Chinese art in recent years, it is necessary to take a quick look at the basic structure and
main dynamics of the Chinese art world since the late 1970s, which consisted of the
dominant official art and the growing unofficial art. As it is well-known, during Mao
Zedongs reign from 1949 to 1976, there was scarcely any dissenting voice in the entire
Chinese art scene. The dominant ideological guideline for artistic creation was the social
realist doctrine formulated in Maos 1942 Yanan Talks on Literature and Arts and
elaborated by certain art administrators after 1949.
11
However, different voices began to
be brought into the Chinese art scene when a relaxed social and political environment
precipitated as a result of Deng Xiaopings Reform and Open-door Policy in 1978.
12

11
For the talk delivered by Mao Zedong, see Mao Zedong, Zai Yanan Wenyi Zuotanhui shang de
Jianghua [Talks on the Conference of Literature and Arts at Yanan] (Yanan: Liberation
Publishing House, 1943); a few scholars have done extensive analysis in their book-length study in
examining Mao Zedong art theory and its application in the Chinese art world, including Julia
Frances Andrews, Painters and Politics in the People's Republic of China, 1949-1979 (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1994); Arnold Chang, Painting in the People's Republic of China:
the Politics of Style (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1980); Maria Galikowski, Art and Politics in
China, 1949-1984 (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1998); and Ellen Johnston Laing, The
Winking Owl: Art in the People's Republic of China. Berkeley (University of California Press,
1988).

12
Reform and Open-door policy, Gaige Kaifang, was launched by Deng Xiaoping in 1978,
which aimed to reform Chinas economic system for higher productivity and to open Chinas door
to the entire world including Western capitalist countries. For more readings of the new
developments in the Chinese art and cultural world under Deng Xiaopings reform policy, see
Hans Van Dijk, Painting in China after the Cultural Revolution: Style Developments and
Theoretical Debates, China Information, vol.VI, no.4 (Spring 1992):1-18; Gao Minglu, Shu Qun,
and others in their collaborated book, Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese
Contemporary Art 1985-1986] (Shanghai: Shanghai Peoples Publishing House, 1991); Wang
Jing, High Culture Fever: Politics, Aesthetics, and Ideology in Deng's China (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1996), and Zhang Xudong, Chinese Modernism in the Era of
Reforms (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997).

7
Various unofficial art groups emerged across the nation and they involved themselves in
agendas different from those advocated by the official art establishment. Through
questioning and challenging established models, norms, and standards, unofficial art kept
expanding the tolerance and taste of the art establishment in China and grew into an
important component of the Chinese art world.
13
Simultaneously, the confrontation
between official art and unofficial art constituted a very significant characteristic that
greatly shaped the further development of art in China in the 1980s. As analyzed by many
scholars, there were relatively distinct differences between unofficial art and official art, in
terms of content, style, and the function that art was expected to perform.
14
Officially
acknowledged art concentrated on traditional Chinese painting and oil painting developed
under the influence of European classical art and Soviet socialist realism. The subject
matter of official art reflected the states overall ideological requirements and stressed the
positive representation of Chinese society. Unofficial art, on the other hand, mainly
focused on experimental forms, largely derived from Western modern and contemporary
art, and aimed to subvert established aesthetic standards. In terms of the content, it tended
to address individual and social problems and challenged official ideological criteria.

13
For an extensive study of the emergence of Chinese unofficial art and its relevant activities in the
1980s, see Gao Minglu, Shu Qun, and others in their collaborative book, Zhongguo Dangdai
Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese Contemporary Art 1985-1986] (Shanghai: Shanghai Peoples
Publishing House, 1991); Gao Minglu, The '85 Movement: Avant-Garde Art in the Post-Mao Era
(Ph.D. diss. Harvard University, 2000).

14
See Julia Andrews and Gao Minglu, The Avant Gardes Challenge to Official Art, D. Davis et
al (eds), Urban Spaces in Contemporary China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995),
221-278.
8
The first unofficial art group was The Stars, consisting of 23 amateur artists who were
basically self-taught instead of being trained in any art academies.
15
They held their first
formal exhibition Xingxing Huazhan [Star Exhibition] in 1979 in a public park in
Beijing without official permission and became the first influential avant-garde group in
China after 1949. The exhibition presented art works that largely applied formerly
maligned Western styles such as Postimpressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and Abstract
Expressionism,
16
thus challenging both the aesthetic conventions and the political
authority of the art establishment.
17
After that, many young artists and critics who were
trained in the national academies joined avant-garde art movements. These avant-garde
artists organized themselves into numerous art groups. Though their individual causes
differed, these groups shared the position of challenging the officially established art, that
is, essentially socialist realism, and of seeking new aesthetic possibilities.
18

15
Chang Tsong-zung, Hui Ching-shuen, and Don J. Cohn (eds.), The Stars: 10 Years (Hong Kong:
Hanart, 1989).

16
In Maos era, these western art trends and styles were condemned as decadent Western
Capitalist art and were officially criticized.

17
A lot of writings have been devoted to The Stars and their art by scholars like Geremie Barm,
Gao Minglu, and Li Xianting. For a contemporary and earliest review of The Stars exhibition by a
young critic who would become one of the leading supporter of Chinese unofficial art, see Li
Xianting, Guanyu Xingxing Meizhan [about The Stars exhibition], Meishu [fine arts] (Mar
1980): 8-10; for retrospective accounts of The Stars activities and their significance in Chinese art
history , see Joan Cohen, The New Chinese Painting, 1949-1986 (New York, Harry Abrams, 1987);
Geremie Barm, The Stars in Retrospect, in The Stars: 10 Years, 76-82; Gao Minglu, Shu Qun,
et al., Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese Contemporary Art 1985-1986]; and
Li Xianting, Major Trends in the Development of Contemporary Chinese Art, in China's New Art,
Post-1989, Valerie C. Doran (ed.) (Hong Kong: Hanart T Z Gallery, 1993), X-XXII.

18
For a comprehensive understanding of the avant-garde movement in the 1980s in China, see
notes 24 and 25. Also see Lauk'ung Chan, "Ten Years of the Chinese Avantgarde: Waiting for the
Curtain to Fall," Flash Art, vol 25 (Jan/Feb, 1992): 110-14.
9
With the emergence and development of unofficial art movements in the 1980s came a
political response: the Chinese political authorities applied harsh censorship in order to
curb and limit the significance of the unofficial avant-garde movement. The level of
control and the resulting oppressiveness of governmental art policies towards unofficial art
practice vacillated as the Chinese state was itself struggling to find a suitable route to
modernize China, and thus it constantly shifted its attitude from repression to co-operation
towards Chinese cultural workers (meaning all kinds of professionals who produce
certain types of culture such as art, film, literature, music, etc.).
19
Most well-known, of
course, was its notorious suppression of Chinese intellectuals in the Tiananmen Square
Incident in 1989 and the consequent harsh policies towards unofficially sanctioned artistic
activities.

In order to cope with the hostile political situation, unofficial artists invented new formats
and sought new possibilities to continue their activities, resulting in so-called underground
art.
20
Different from avant-garde art, which sought direct confrontation with the
authorities and official art, underground art, as its name implies, proceeded with great care
to avoid inviting attention from officials. A range of artistic practices can be roughly

19
For an elaborated analysis of the Chinese states vacillation of its cultural policies and their
effects in the cultural domain, see Maria Galikowski, Art and Politics in China 1949-1984 (Hong
Kong: Chinese University Press, 1998); Geremie Barm, In the Red: On Contemporary Chinese
Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999).

20
Underground art is also understood as underground exhibitions. Both refer to Chinese
contemporary art that was prohibited to exhibit in public museums or galleries in the 1990s.
10
incorporated under this term: apartment art, studio art, and underground exhibition art.
21

All of these actually deal with the way contemporary artists exhibit their work. Their use of
non-officially sanctioned contemporary media, including installation, video, and
performance art predestined that they could not get a public display space for their art; and
in order to avoid authorities interference, neither could they openly publicize their
exhibitions. So these artists held experimental, short-term, and very provisional exhibitions
in some unconventional places, including artists studios, their private apartments,
warehouses and workshops on the border areas between urban and suburban districts.
22

Only audiences qualified as quan nei ren would be invited for their temporary shows.
Quan nei ren literally means people within ones social circle and refers to close
artist-friends, domestic and overseas critics and curators who are sympathetic to
contemporary art. Though faced with a hostile official attitude, the continuous
development of underground art in China actually benefited somewhat from the
governments new diplomatic policies since the 1990sno matter how much the
government and underground artists may dislike acknowledging thisas it further opened
Chinas door to the rest of the world and gradually applied a supportive attitude towards
international exchanges and mutual communications.

21
For detailed discussion on the origin, development, and major representatives of apartment art,
please see Gao Minglu, Inside and Outside Public Walls: The Living Space of the Chinese
Avant-Garde,in The Wall: Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art [exhibition catalogue] (Beijing:
China Millennium Art Museum, 2005), 59-84.

22
Feng Boyi, Di Dixia ji Qita Guangyu 20 Shiji 90 Niandai Yilai de Zhongguo Qianwei
Yishu [Underground and Others: On Chinese Avant-Garde Art since the 1990s], Yishu Tansuo
[Art Exploration], iss.4 (2003): 23-26.
11
Since the beginning of the new century, however, the Chinese state has taken up a new
attitude towards unofficial contemporary art and has invested considerably in exhibiting
and promoting the formerly restricted category. As the following chapters suggest, this
change of attitude has to be understood in relation to the states new cultural agenda and
global discourse in a changing social and political environment. As a result of this new
process that I call the officialization of contemporary art, the boundary between official
and unofficial art has largely been blurred. In fact, I argue in this dissertation that these
terms such as unofficial art and underground art have lost their original meaning and
significance since the mid 1990s and especially since the beginning of the new century.
As China experiences the increasing impact of marketization and globalization, and
especially the intervention of the international art world, changes are happening in both
official and unofficial camps, and the relationship between them has become more one of
complicity than of polar opposition, more of imbrication than clear division.

A new examination of art from contemporary China should involve the extensive
transformation of social mechanisms that condition both the production of official and
unofficial art. They both respond, in particular ways, to the intertwined pressures and
demands as well as opportunities coming from marketization, globalization, and the
revival of cultural nationalism, the three major movements that are steering the direction
12
of China.
23
As this dissertation aims to illuminate, official art can no longer maintain a
defined and unchanging status in China. It is becoming ambiguous, polymorphous, and
inclusive, in order to keep up with new developments. This is most evident in the domain
of art exhibitions, a prominent component of the art world in our time. Since 2000, there
have been many examples of state-sponsored exhibitions that increasingly include
various types of art originally banned in formal representations of Chinese official art.
Unofficial art, in the meantime, no longer carries sincere political messages that would
come from dissident artists with alternative social ideals and artistic inspiration. Indeed,
as argued by some scholars, the impetus of the market has become the foremost
motivation in Chinese unofficial art practice, whose relationship with official art in turn is
becoming less oppositional and sometimes even reciprocal.
24

The same is true for unofficial arts relationship with the cultural authorities. As some
scholars have noted, since the mid 1990s, for many young artists whose essential goal is to
maximize personal gains in the thriving art market instead of attacking official art and its
ideology, unofficial art has already become a self-claimed makeover.
25
In order to achieve
the status of unofficial art, some artists have purposely sought the authorities disapproval
and condemnation, with which they can paint themselves as rebellious and politically

23
See chapter three for elaboration on these issues.

24
Geremie R. Barm, Packaged Dissent, Artful Marketing, in In The Red: On Contemporary
Chinese Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999).

25
Ibid.
13
dissident in order to add international credentials to their art, which without this official
condemnation might simply be read as platitudinous. For instance, in 1995, the journalist
Sang Ye interviewed one of the resident painters from the Yuan Ming Yuan Artists Village,
the first one of its kind in Beijing and probably in China, and got the following response:
I know this guy [who] was really hoping to create some kind of disturbance so
he could be picked up by the authorities. Once he set up a stall opposite the China
Art Gallery [now known as the China National Museum of Fine Arts] to exhibit
his black paintings. He wanted to confront the government, but nowadays the
authorities are as cunning as you are. When Old Ma [Desheng] and the Stars
were detained for putting on their exhibition, it was really explosive. Now here
you have this wannabe lining up his works along a wall in an alley, and the
authorities simply ignore him. They didnt want to give the kid a break. They
didnt allow him a chance to stir up any trouble or to make a name for himself.
26

The changing nature of Chinese unofficial art and its relationship with the authorities has
indeed already drawn the attention of a few critics and scholars who have a keen awareness
of the transformation of Chinese society. Li Xianting, himself a leading critic-supporter of
unofficial art since the 1980s, once warned:
Foreigners [i.e. westerners] who are given to collecting, or studying, Chinese
modern art are, in many cases, inclined to pay undue attention to unofficial
artists who do not belong to state-run art organizations. Their judgment, however,
is suspect, for they tend to be attracted to anything that is unofficial, and they
are surrounded by a group boasting that they are Chinas artistic avant-garde,
although they may be far from that.
27

Li here reminds us of the existence of pseudo avant-garde artists and the international

26
Sang Ye, Fringe-Dwellers: Down and out in the Yuan Ming Yuan Artists Village, trans.
Geremie R. Barm, Art AsiaPacific, no.15 (June 1997): 77.

27
Quoted from Geremie R. Barm, The Stars in Retrospect, in The Stars: 10 Years, 81.
14
fascination with Chinese unofficial art. This fascination has in fact promoted the successful
careers of a great number of Chinese unofficial artists at the international marketplace in
the 1990s. Unofficial art, the term that implies a strong political message or at least
rhetoric of anti-official, dissident, and rebellious sympathies, seems to be naturally
attractive in international communities. To many international art professionals and the
general public, unofficial art from Communist China seems to automatically carry an
implication of democratic sentiment. Therefore, much has been invested in supporting and
promoting the production and circulation of Chinese unofficial art in international art
circuits, which has the effect of encouraging more artists from China to take up an
unofficial reputation. The sudden and massive presence of Chinese unofficial artists at
international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale, the Johannesburg Biennale,
Documenta, and the Sao Paulo Biennialstarting abruptly in 1993 when fourteen artists
from Mainland China were presented at the Venice Biennalecannot be separated from
this enthusiastic international interest in unofficial art.
28
Overseas fascination with
unofficial art has already created an ironic phenomenon in the Chinese art world. After
their return from the Venice Biennale in 1993, artists like Wang Guangyi and Fang Lijun,
representatives of Political Pop and Cynical Realism respectively,
29
became superstar
artists and soon they began living a life no less sumptuous than those nouveau riche who

28
See chapter four for elaboration on Chinese artists participation in the 1993 Venice Biennale.

29
For detailed discussion on Political Pop and Cynical Realism and their representative artists,
see Li Xianting, Major Trends in the Development of Contemporary Chinese Art, in China's New
Art, Post-1989, Valerie C. Doran (ed.) (Hong Kong: Hanart T Z Gallery, 1993), X-XXII.
15
acted quickly in the early period of Chinas economic reforms to profit financially.
30

Chinese art critic Zhu Qi describes them as piously entrepreneurial artists who have
managed to become quite well-off by painting portraits of Mao Zedong and depicting
similar political parodies.
31

Writing in his 1999 examination of unofficial cultural groups, Geremie Barm perceptively
described:
As economic atavism consumed the country, the relationship between official
and alternative, mainstream and marginal cultures continued their
metempsychosis. In 1995, many nonofficial artistic hopefuls, young men and
women anxious to achieve the local and international recognition that had
launched so many brilliant careers since the late 1970s, actively courted official
displeasure as part of their presale publicity. Although in the past, this strategy
had worked wonders for many artists, filmmakers, and writers of middling talent,
it was no longer necessarily effective.
32

Barms insight echoes Sang Yes. The so-called unofficial or dissident art can be the
product of a premeditated scheme and has nothing necessarily to do with unofficial art. A

30
Wang Guangyi was reported to check in to five-star hotels just to experience the life of luxury;
Fang Lijun was heard to hire some less-lucky artists to replicate paintings in his typical style in
order to meet the increasing market demand for his art works. A recent update by David Barboza
reports that Wang Guangyi drives a Jaguar and owns a 10,000-square-foot luxury villa on the
outskirts of Beijing; Fang Lijun owns six restaurants in Beijing and operates a small hotel in
western Yunnan province. See David Barboza, In Chinas New Revolution, Arts Greets
Capitalism, The New York Times, Jan 4, 2007.

31
Zhu Qi, "Do Westerners Really Understand Chinese Avant-Garde Art?Post '89 Essay,"
Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol.2, iss.3 (2001).
<http://www.chinese-art.com/volume2issue3/index.html> (Accessed July 20, 2003).

32
Geremie R. Barm, In The Red: On Contemporary Chinese Culture (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1999), 204.
16
note should be added here: What those artists aim to achieve is, of course, not just the
disapproval of the authorities, but ways in which they can obtain attention from the
public and eventually from overseas art professionals. With the label of unofficial
artists they had the chance to draw interest from international critics, curators, and
dealers who were seeking alternative art in China. Thus we see two phenomena: First, as
early as the mid-1990s, some Chinese artists had already started consciously to
manipulate the technology of unofficial art to increase their personal profile; second, by
that time the authorities had already changed their policy in dealing with occasional
unauthorized cultural activities. They became skillfully tolerant, without having to always
resort to political enforcement of cancellation and public condemnation, which some
unofficial artists purposely expected to achieve.

As such, since the mid-1990s, the main drive of the Chinese art world has no longer been
geared by the opposition between official art and unofficial art, but by the dynamics of
the art market. In this market-oriented context, new kinds of artists have emerged, who
neither have any ideological issue with official art, nor have the goal to be labeled
dissident artists.
33
They also prefer not to have any affiliation with official institutions.
Instead, they position themselves as independent artists, and endeavor to explore an

33
Here I particularly refer to the type of artists who are consciously engaged in producing what
is normally regarded and discussed as high art. The new kinds of artists I apply here do not
include the more familiar, not so new artists who produce kitsch, craftwork art, and decorative
items, marketed towards the masses and domestic or foreign tourists.
17
apolitical, personalized approach to artistic expression. Many of them chose to directly
respond to the international art world and art market. The number of these kinds of artists
is increasing rapidly in China, in parallel with the countrys move in an evidently less
political but more market-oriented direction. In the meantime, there also appear artistic
practices that actually cannot be easily categorized. In some cases, a single artist can be
engaged in several types of artistic activities and simultaneously maintain two or three
identities, putting up different faces for different conditions.
34
All these changes have
inaugurated a significantly different and much more complicated Chinese art scene, in
comparison to that of the 1980s and early 1990s.

2. Main Objectives and the Methodology
This study examines the changing institutional context of contemporary official Chinese
art through two momentous official art exhibitions: the first Chinese Pavilion of the
Venice Biennale (Chinese Pavilion) and the first Beijing International Art Biennale
(Beijing Biennale), respectively authorized by the Ministry of Culture and the Chinese
Artists Association in 2003. By investigating the sociopolitical and institutional context
against which the two exhibitions were mounted and the actual staging, display and
reception conditions, the study explores the complicated and intertwined relationship
between official art and unofficial art and aims to redefine conventional understanding

34
I regard this as a kind of internal complicity, which I believe to be a typical product of Chinas
current politics.
18
about the conditions and modality of official art from China. In particular, I examine the
evident divisions in these state newly sponsored exhibitions in terms of curatorial
concepts and artistic production and try to articulate how the Chinese government
attempts to make use of contemporary art for its national cultural project, how the old art
establishment endeavors to update its operating system in order to maintain its dominance
over the Chinese art world, and how newly emerging artistic groups make use of recently
available resources to compete with the old mainstream and to claim an officially
sanctioned space. The main issues that this study is concerned with include the way
official art has operated since the 1980s, the function of the market economy in the
transformation of the Chinese art world, the impact of globalization on the ongoing
dialogue between official art and unofficial art, cultural nationalism and the changing
status of underground/contemporary art in the view of the cultural authority, and the new
types of relationships among official art, unofficial art, and art by those who have tried to
commence a discourse between the two since the mid 1990s.

Ultimately I want to illuminate that in China official art is still being controlled, but the
government is taking on different approaches and presenting itself with a different
appearance. The main objectives of this dissertation are to uncover these newly invented
strategies and to differentiate old and new governmental directives, to articulate the effect
of the extensive social transformation on the operating system of official art, and to analyze
the kind of art that has responded to these processes.
19
I believe that this study is particularly important and timely since the majority of recent
interest and attention devoted to Chinese art has focused on diasporic and transnational
artists (many of whom are former unofficial artists), particularly a narrow range of artists
visible in the global marketplace. This often results in a view that sees movements within
the scope of official art as unchanging and non-responsive to new developments in the
contemporary world. I aim to overturn these assumptions and stress internal dynamism and
complexity. Exploring a broader array of producers, including artists, critics, curators, and
cultural officials, I examine the competing institutional and individual agendas that have
framed their relation to the domestic and international political strategy of the Chinese state.
I argue that Chinese official art is no longer a unified, self-contained domain and is no
longer isolated from the rest of the world. Rather, it has become a site of intense
competition, negotiation, and interaction of various forces with different agendas coming
from the central government, local art institutions, global market forces, and international
art communities.

Because of the nature of this project, there is no single body of established scholarship
upon which I can base my work. Especially, in relation to the Chinese Pavilion and the
Beijing Biennale, there are scarcely any systematic scholarly works that have been done
yet, both in China as well as outside of China. Neither is there a single library or archive
that I can depend on for written materials or images concerning the exhibitions of
Chinese art in which the state and the official art establishment have played a significant
20
role since the late 1990s. This study seeks to begin the work that will help to shape a new
but important field of art historical study.

As a result, contact with the current Chinese art world has become my most imperative
archive. My primary sources come from many interviews I conducted with people
involved in the two exhibitions of 2003 in summer 2004 and 2005 in Beijing. I also
interviewed artists of importance in this dissertation project and obtained their personal
diaries or comments on their individual works in question and on that of other artists. I
visited art museums, galleries, artist villages, and attended various official and unofficial
exhibitions. I had conversations with a wide range of artists, critics, and curators in order
to examine their view of the exhibitions and their experience in encountering the art
market and the international art world. All existing materials, such as official documents,
press releases, catalogues, and critical writings in newspapers, magazines, and on the
internet inevitably became major resources for this dissertation. In other words, the
literature that this project depends on covers a broad range of primary materials such as
exhibition catalogues, interviews, reviews, and personal statements, the majority of which
were produced by participants who are closely engaged in the making of the Chinese
contemporary art scene.
35
Thanks to internet publications, both from local sources and

35
I use Chinese contemporary art [zhongguo dangdai yishu] instead of contemporary Chinese
art, which has been widely used overseas, for the reason that Chinese contemporary art is a
common usage applied by Chinese artists, critics, and curators, in reference to contemporary art
by Chinese artists differing from contemporary art produced by other nationals such as African,
Latin American, or Western artists. On the other hand, contemporary Chinese art [dangdai
21
international observers, I was able to obtain many reviews and responses from viewers
including artists, critics, and regular audience members who expressed themselves freely
in cyber space, which serves as a significant platform for critical discussion of
contemporary Chinese official art. My resources would otherwise not be so plentiful,
varied, and sometimes poignant if only regular printed publications were available.

In achieving the goals of this dissertation, I combine an analysis of the artistic products of
official art with an articulation of its institutional particularity and sociopolitical
significance in the Chinese context. I am concerned with the social mechanisms that
condition the kind of art produced, in which way and to what extent it is disseminated, and
how it is received and viewed. I believe this is a crucial perspective to understand the
transformation of the Chinese art world at this moment.

Since the early 1980s, Chinese art historians and theoreticians, haunted by the imposed
state ideology of vulgar Marxist historical approaches for decades, have understandably
taken up formalistic, psychoanalytic, semiotic, and iconographic and iconological
approaches with great enthusiasm, and happily abandoned the enforced Marxist approach.
From then on, any new attempt to address art with an explicit sociopolitical perspective
tended to be labeled as vulgar, outmoded or stereotyped. That may explain why theories

zhongguo yishu ] is used in a broader sense, referring to art created by artists at the contemporary
time and its counterparts are traditional Chinese art or modern Chinese art.
22
such as formalism, structuralism and post-structuralism, postcolonial theory, and feminist
theory have been eagerly taken up by newly emerging scholars since China launched its
Reform and Open-door Policy in 1978, while there is little interest in new Marxist art
history, even that coming from the West. The fondness for new theories except Marxism,
on the one hand, is a counterbalance to the diversity missing in the past; on the other hand,
it is motivated by the desire to keep up with the new developments in art theory in the West.
In recent years writers who are engaged in new art history and art criticism have mainly
focused their efforts on how to fit Chinese phenomena into western theoretical
paradigms.
36
Being aware of the new perspectives and tools that these paradigms have
provided for examining Chinese phenomena, I nonetheless want to point out a notable
negative result, which is the production of a large amount of writings that are flooded with
highly complex terms and phrases in a rush to master the newest theoretical trends in art
history and criticism.
37
Much less attention has been invested in observing the social
mechanisms that motivate, regulate, and channel multifaceted flows of the contemporary
Chinese art world. This is where my dissertation can fill the gap and point to new
possibilities and perspectives for understanding the formation of the current status of the
Chinese art scene.

36
This phenomenon is very apparent in many articles published in the 1990s in a few art magazines
that position themselves as standing at the forefront of Chinese contemporary art history and art
criticism, including Jiangsu Huakan [Art Monthly in Jiangsu], Yishu Yanjiu [Art research], Meishu
Guancha [Art Observation], and others.

37
This phenomenon, unfortunately, reflects the publish or perish, imperative in academia.
23
I am convinced as I carry out the research of this study that no current theory is adequate to
describe or explain the characteristic dynamism of the Chinese art world. It seems that an
empirically directed observation would be the most effective approach, based on which
conclusions can be made. My empiricism, however, is guided by my concern with the
socio-anthropological aspects of the Chinese art world, which are playing crucial roles in a
less and less politically charged contemporary China. In the art world, as in other realms,
the influence of a few major figures and their connective network can be overwhelming
and far-reaching, sometimes deciding the maintenance or change of the status quo. An
awareness of this phenomenon is an important prerequisite for an in-depth understanding
of the complex scene found in the Chinese art world. One may discover that the major
players are almost the same group of people in various ostensibly diverse and even
opposite roles. In my writing the names of some key personnel will come up again and
again, together with their affiliated institutions. In China, any discussion of the
mechanisms of the current art world cannot bypass the function of particular individuals, in
this case, a few art officials who carry double or even multiple identities. Geremie R.
Barm, the Chinese expert who himself has spent decades studying and working in China
and is deeply conversant with the fluctuating intellectual undertakings in Chinese society,
gives an illuminating description in his study of Chinese official and unofficial culture
since the early 1990s:
I was thrilled and dejected in turn as mainland culture flourished and foundered at
the whims of party leaders; I also learned more about the mechanics of
manufactured dissent than probably is good, even for a healthy cynic. To witness
24
famous critics of the party reach accommodations with the authorities in private
while putting on the brave face of the dissident to foreign journalists and scholars
was also an educational experience.
38

This is a telling and revealing description of the operating mechanism of Chinese society
and the complex relationship among intellectuals, the authorities, and outsiders. In the
Chinese art world, without exception, we witness the similar machinations of individual
critic-curators who manage, using only available resources, to set themselves up as
prominent figures in the avant-garde field, while at the same time maintaining allegiance to
the established structure and receiving the corresponding benefits. Marveling at the scale
of multipolar developments in the cultural domain, Barm expresses his surprise:
There is, however, no adequate nomenclature to describe the disparate range of
cultural material produced over the past twenty years, for it has grown,
metamorphosed, and developed within the orbit of an avowedly socialist state
whose gravitational pull is often all too irresistible and that has itself undergone
an extraordinary transformation. Both [official culture and unofficial culture] have
matured together and used each other, feeding each others needs and developing
ever new coalitions, understandings, and compromises.
39

This is exactly the dynamic condition of cultural production that I take into account and
within which the transformation of the Chinese art world is happening. With this
understanding, I go on to examine how the cultural authorities, art establishment, and
individuals accommodate new circumstances with particular strategies, how the old
definitions and boundaries have been challenged, and, at the same time, how new

38
University Press, 1999), xiii.

39
Ibid.
25
ramifications have been created within the scope of official art.

3. Literature Review
In the process of constructing the theoretical framework for my research and writing of
this dissertation, I have been informed by a range of scholarship from different
disciplines, including art history and exhibition studies, history, political science,
anthropology, and cultural studies in various ways. Among them, the main body of
historical and critical literature that my dissertation engages can be categorized into three
groups: studies on Chinese contemporary art history, studies on Chinese cultural
nationalism and culture since the 1990s, and studies on contemporary international
exhibitions in the context of globalization. I will highlight some key figures and texts and
analyze their relevance to my study.

Chinese Contemporary Art History
Among the existing scholarship on Chinese contemporary art history, the works by a few
figures stand out in my study. Chinese scholars such as Gao Minglu, Hou Hanru, and Wu
Hung have worked extensively on Chinese contemporary art and exhibitions of it and
have contributed greatly to a rising body of literature that contains precious first-hand
observations and descriptions, informed interpretations of particular artists and their art,
26
and critical reviews of the Chinese contemporary art scene.
40
In particular, the work by
art historian, critic, and curator Gao Minglu on Chinese avant-garde art and contemporary
art is an important body of literature that my dissertation relies upon. Gaos close
involvement in the avant-garde movement (as a critic and an exhibition organizer) in the
1980s has allowed him to construct an authoritative study on the social, historical, and
political background of the avant-garde art movement, its development and the activities
of the groups and artists. His study on this significant movement in Chinese art history
was first presented in his books Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese
Contemporary Art 1985-1986]
41
[with other authors] in 1991 and the anthology
Zhongguo Qianwei Yishu [Chinese Avant-garde Art]
42
in 1996 and further developed in
his PhD dissertation The 85 Movement: Avant-Garde Art in the Post-Mao Era in
2000.
43
Even though the time period that I deal with in my dissertation is more than a
decade later, many issues he brought up in his early work, such as the sustained dialogue
between Chinese official art and unofficial art, the close interaction between political and
artistic currents in Chinese avant-garde practices, and the co-dependent relationship
between Chinese art and Western art, still have their currency in the contemporary

40
All these figures are active as both art critics and curators and they write in both Chinese and
English.

41
Gao Minglu, et.al., Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese Contemporary Art
1985-1986] (Shanghai: Shanghai Peoples Publishing House, 1991).

42
Gao Minglu, Zhongguo Qianwei Yishu [Chinese Avant-garde Art] (Jiangsu Fine Arts
Publishing House, 1997).

43
Gao Minglu, The '85 Movement: Avant-garde Art in the Post-Mao Era (PhD Dissertation),
Harvard University, 2000.
27
Chinese art world. It is from his work that I draw language such as Chinese
Contemporary Art, Chinese unofficial art, and Chinese avant-garde art, and major
concepts regarding the perception of the avant-garde art movement as part of the
intellectual discourse of the 1980s, the differentiation between official art and unofficial
art in respect to content, style, and the basic concepts and functions of art, and the
commercialized nature of Chinese contemporary art since the early 1990s.
44

Gao Minglu has continued his participation in Chinese art as it evolves and changes in
response to the shifting Chinese sociopolitical and economic context since the 1990s,
through curating exhibitions and writing about it. These more recent efforts have resulted
in two more exhibition catalogues, Inside/Out: New Chinese Art in 1998 and The Wall:
Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art in 2005, as well as many critical essays.
45
His
recent work examines new developments in Chinese art in relation to current issues such
as globalization, transnationalism, and commercialization. Throughout his writings and
his continuing curatorial practice on Chinese contemporary art, Gao clearly positions
himself from the perspective of the artists through narrating as an active participant of
Chinese art. He indeed maintains close personal relationships with many Chinese

44
Gao Minglu, Introduction, The '85 Movement: Avant-garde Art in the Post-Mao Era (PhD
Dissertation), Harvard University, 2000.

45
Gao Minglu, ed., Inside/Out: New Chinese Art (San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art, 1998); The Wall: Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art [exhibition catalogue]
(Beijing: China Millennium Art Museum, 2005).
28
contemporary artists and his interpretations of their art often evolve from their personal
experiences and explanations. He invests a great deal in investigating the subjectivities of
his artists and positions them as protagonists who act with a conscious awareness and
responsibility of being a participant and creator of the history. His writing manifests his
strong interest in constructing a grand narrative of Chinese contemporary art history that
centers on artists, their experiences, and their works and his conviction that every artist
must be given his or her due historical significance. It is here that I separate myself from
his scholarship, for I apply a different approach to looking at art history. Rather than
focusing on the individual agency of artists, I chart artists and art movements within a
social and political perspective in the context of changing economic and institutional
mechanisms. I am interested in exploring how the meaning of art can be produced,
circulated, received, and changed by the context within which it is both staged and
viewed, how art is made relevant to Chinas national and global politics, and eventually
how not only artists, but a wide range of people including Chinese officials, cultural
entrepreneurs, critics, curators and audiences from China and elsewhere participate in the
making of Chinese art history.

Chinese Cultural Nationalism and Culture since the 1990s
Another important body of scholarship that my work draws upon is literature on the new
revival of Chinese nationalism since the 1990s in relation to globalization by historian
Wang Gungwu and political scientists Zheng Yongnian and Guo Yingjie, whose writings
29
offer thoughtful examinations on Chinese nationalism and provide the political and social
background for understanding the Chinese states cultural discourses since the 1990s. In
particular, Guo Yingjies book Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary China: the Search
for National Identity under Reform, released in 2004, is a timely study on Chinese
cultural nationalism in contemporary China, a movement that has played and is still
playing a prominent role in the governments present domestic and international
policies.
46
In this first ever book-length study on the subject, the author illuminates the
Chinese Communist Partys necessity to embrace and promote cultural nationalism as an
alternative and supplemental ideology since the Party has had to shift away from its
traditional Marxist-Maoist basis of ideology since the 1990s.
47
In light of these scholars
works, I frame the Chinese states recent art-related policies and projects, including the
active support of Chinese contemporary art and the investment in international biennales,
as part of the states cultural project in cultivating a new sense of national art in response
to the influx of transnational capitalism and its culture in a globalized era.

In this respect, my interest in and focus on the Chinese states role in the creation of an
official artistic cultural nationalism is also inspired by anthropologist Aihwa Ongs book

46
Guo Yingjie, Preface, in Cultural Nationalism In Contemporary China: The Search for
National Identity Under Reform (London and New York: Routledge, 2004).

47
Zheng Yongnian holds similar opinion in his study of Chinese nationalism. See Zheng
Yongnian, Discovering Chinese Nationalism in China: Modernization, Identity, and International
Relations (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999).

30
Flexible Citizenship: the Culture Logics of Transnationality. In this important study of
states and citizenship regimes in Asia, Aihwa Ong provides theoretical analysis of the
adaptation of new policies by a few Asian states, including the Chinese state, in their
mobilization of various transnational resources for nationalistic projects. She
problematizes the popular view that globalization has weakened state power and argues
instead that the governments of relevant states have developed flexible strategies to
accumulate capital and power.
48
Drawing from Ongs perspective and framework, on the
one hand, I frame Chinese state power as an active generative force that has responded
eagerly and even creatively to the challenges of globalization, and examine the effect of
its newly invented engagements in the art domain; on the other hand, I have cast the
internal movements and sways of Chinese contemporary art, official and unofficial, as the
products of transnational and external processes, rather than solely the outcome of insular,
isolated and self-reflexive stimuli.

In addition, my critical understanding of the contemporary Chinese culture scene benefits
from cultural critic and China specialist Geremie Barms investigation of Chinese
intellectual discourse and popular culture in the 1990s and his descriptions of the shifting
status of unofficial culture in relation to official culture and state censorship.
49
As a

48
Aihwa One, Introduction, in Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of Transnationality
(Durham: Duke University Press, 1999).

49
University Press, 1999).
31
Chinese expert who spent decades studying and working in China and is thus deeply
aware of the fluctuant intellectual undertakings in Chinese society since the 1970s, his
1999 book In the Red bears some timely observations on the contemporary Chinese
cultural scene and its active participants in the 1990s. Barm maps out the ways that
Chinese people have developed channels to express themselves in popular culture such as
Chinese rock and roll, cartoons, television shows, films, commercial ads, and T-shirts and
explores negotiations and conflicts that Chinese writers and artists have experienced as
they try to accommodate the authorities vacillations between repression and
liberalization. His insights inform my critical examination of various art
profession-related discourses in China since the late 1990s and their interaction with
global art marketing and the local cultural administration. However, in delineating the
dynamic and changing contemporary Chinese cultural scene, Barm does not attempt to
articulate or scrutinize the fundamental connections that link all these seemingly
disparate cultural phenomena together. His writing focuses on a variety of individual and
spontaneous cultural productions. My dissertation, however, aims to seek a deep
understanding of the institutional and social mechanisms that make all the
transformations and the current pluralistic phenomena possible.

Contemporary International Exhibitions in the Context of Globalization
My dissertation also participates in the newly growing body of studies on international
exhibitions in the context of globalization. This scholarship looks at the very recent
32
development of international exhibitions in which the exhibitions have left behind
museums and have taken on their own lives and exerted great effects in the production
and reception of contemporary art. In my observation, the movement of international
exhibitions and the accompanying global curatorial discourse advocated by a few
international curators have become one of the major forces that affect contemporary art
and contemporary art history on a global level today.

Here I realize a necessity to differentiate between the studies on international exhibitions
and on museums and their exhibitions. In the past several decades, there has been a
bourgeoning scholarship on the latter. From the pioneers of the field such as J. Cardner, C.
Heller and Pierre Bourdieu in the 1960s, to the most recent scholars such as Brian Wallis,
Emma Barker and Sharon Macdonald, a solid body of scholarship on museum and
exhibition studies has been established. However, in those studies, the major and dominant
attention has been devoted to the museum as an institution of ideological control and
identity construction, mainly in colonial or postcolonial discourses. The exhibitions
themselves are mainly regarded as plastic contents that can be used to fulfill the function of
the museums, and are mainly studied in terms of the way art works are arranged and of the
message these arrangements display.

The exhibitions that I am concerned with in this study are large-scale international
exhibitions, including biennials, triennials, and transnational touring exhibitions, that have
33
flourished in the contemporary art world since the 1980s and 1990s. These types of
exhibitions have moved beyond the spaces defined by concrete art museums and have
gained their own independence as powerful forms of communication, a medium through
which most art becomes known.
50
Yet, the theoretical analysis and summaries on this kind
of exhibition practice have yet to flourish in scholarship, even though the wide interest in
these matters has increasingly appeared in recent years in seminars, symposiums, and
exhibition catalogue essays produced for a few international exhibitions. In this sense,
Thinking about Exhibitions, an anthology published in 1996, is an important text which
aims to mark out the emergence of new discourses surrounding the exhibition and
illustrates the urgency of the debates centred on and fostered by exhibitions today.
51
At
the very beginning of the introduction, the editors make a relevant statement about the
importance of the exhibition in contemporary cultural life by pointing out that the art
exhibition is one of the two (the other one would be the anthology) primary vehicles for
the production and dissemination of knowledge, and it has become the epitome of recent
intellectual and cultural manifestations.
52
As a collection of writings on current
exhibition practice, this anthology includes some insightful essays by active art curators
such as Bruce E. Ferguson and Mari Carmen Ramrez addressing issues that are crucial to

50
Reesa Greenberg, Bruce W Ferguson, and Sandy Nairne (eds), Thinking about Exhibitions
(London and New York: Routledge, 1996), 2.

51
Ibid.

52
Ibid.

34
my project, such as the increasingly important status of temporary exhibitions, the pursuit
of nationalistic discourse via the vehicle of international exhibitions, and the connection
between the transnational market for contemporary art and the so-called globalist
curatorial discourse.

Most recently in 2004, art historian and curator Charlotte Bydler published her book
under the title The Global ArtWorld Inc. It is a pioneer art historiographic study on
international exhibitions and the newly established transnational networks of the art
world that she calls the biennial industry.
53
In particular, she seeks to delineate the
globalization of contemporary art through analyzing a few established international
exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale, the Havana Biennale, the Istanbul Biennial,
the Kwangju Biennale, and Manifesta (the so-called European Biennial). In her
exploration of the place of avant-garde art practice within a dynamic and interactive
global context, she highlights the contradictory ways in which the art world-system has
been conceptualizedsimultaneous homogenization and diversification, expansion and
contraction.
54
She argues that the new expectations from audiences, critics, and artists
and the widening cultural labor-market have further challenged the authoritative literature
created within the traditional western art concept, and that the art world is no longer

53
Charlotte Bydler, The Global ArtWorld Inc.: On the Globalization of Contemporary Art
(Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2004), 150.

54
Ibid., 265.
35
stable, and less identifiably western.
55
Eventually, she calls for a rewriting of art history
by taking into account the multiple discontinuities and contradictions of this
contemporary art world that are so evidently presented in these international
exhibitions.
56

Inspired by the complexity of the international art world that Bydler describes in her
study, I position recent international exhibition projects assembled by the Chinese state in
a dynamic and interactive global context that mingles with local, national, and
transnational tendencies. Within a Chinese milieu, but of course in relation to the
omnipresence of global connectivity, I explore the political, cultural, and institutional
motivations of the Chinese government and different artistic groups surging interests in
participating in this international biennial industry. In opposition to Charlotte Bydlers
attempt to seek a universally applicable narrative for the recent developments in
contemporary art at the global level, in my study, however, I am concerned with local
appropriations and manipulations of these global trends and the resulting artistic
production.

4. The Shape of the Dissertation

55
Ibid., 266.

56
Charlotte Bydler, The End: Relating the International International Relations, in The
Global ArtWorld Inc.: On the Globalization of Contemporary Art (Uppsala: Uppsala University,
2004), 265-270.
36
This dissertation is divided into six chapters addressing the gradual but inevitable
complication of the contemporary Chinese art scene, the changing institutional framework
and scope of official art, the governments updated approach and concept towards culture
and art, and different levels of complicity among various agencies in an overtly
commercialized and globalized society. Close observation and analysis of a few cases are
supported by broader exploration of the sociopolitical, cultural, and international
circumstances within which they gain their particular significance.

Chapter two lays out the tradition of Chinese official art and the mechanism of its operation.
It traces the domination of the Chinese Artists Association (CAA) in the Chinese art world
back to its inseparable relationship with the Chinese Communist Partys ascent to power
and to its contributing role in the consolidation of the current states authority. Sanctified
by the state, the CAA has functioned as a nationalized organization that mobilizes art
professionals throughout the country. It has monopolized art authority and the art
establishment in China. The chapter explores the social relationships and institutional
structure of the Chinese art world, which have been constructed so as to allow the CAA to
maintain its unchallenged status and monolithic practice in the art domain before 2000.
With a close examination of the Ninth National Art Work Exhibition, this chapter also
maps out the scope of authoritative artistic expressions and officially sanctioned themes in
art as displayed in the CAAs most important exhibition system.

37
Grounded upon the dynamic economic, political, and cultural transformations of Chinese
society since the mid 1990s, chapter three explores the most influential forces in the
transformation of the Chinese art world. It illuminates how marketization, globalization,
and cultural nationalism have introduced contemporary media, formats, and issues, as well
as western modes of curating exhibitions, thereby transforming the operating system of
Chinese official art. It also examines how the interactive impact of these forces have
complicated the relationship between official art and unofficial art, shaken the supremacy
of the CAA in presenting state sanctioned art, and created room for new discourses from
various artistic groups with different agendas.

Chapter four examines the history of Chinese governmental participation in the Venice
Biennale with a focus on the Chinese Pavilion in 2003, namely the first national pavilion
ever staged by the Chinese government for the Venice Biennale. It looks at the staging
process, the content of the Pavilion, and its reception. Curated by two art officials, the
Chinese Pavilion featured four installation works and a piece of video art work and
addressed the unprecedented large-scale of urbanization and new cultural concerns that
arose from Chinas rapid economic development. This chapter explores a series of new
practices in this official project including non traditional media, individual curatorship,
and the presentation of personal and psychological interpretations of contemporary China,
and investigates the Chinese governments newly invented strategy and new mode of
control towards contemporary art.
38
Chapter five investigates the assemblage of the first Beijing Biennale in 2003, as a
project orchestrated by the CAA, by looking at the representative art works on view, the
staging process of the show, and the cultural and political ideology involved. In
comparison with the first Chinese Pavilion, the first Beijing Biennale pursued a more
traditional representation of Chinese official art by featuring only painting and sculpture,
under the claim of creating a biennial that was differentiated from other international
exhibitions by the specification of having Chinese characteristics, a term that has been
mobilized in political discourse to signal a preservation of Chinese cultural integrity in
the face of rapid marketization. A committee of thirty high cultural officials and art
experts was formed such that the Beijing Biennale conformed to the CAAs tradition of
collective curatorship. This chapter explores the meaning of these Chinese characteristics
and the fundamental logics that motivated the CAA into introducing an international
biennale as a new exhibition format in the official art domain.

Finally, chapter six of this dissertation summarizes and highlights the compelling traits of
the art world in contemporary China. This chapter concludes the dissertation by opening a
few new discussions that are essential to understanding the further transformation of the
Chinese art world and future shifts.

39

CHAPTER II
OPERATING TRADITIONAL OFFICIAL ART

1. Introduction
This chapter looks into the way Chinese official art has operated since the 1980s, by
focusing on the major art agency, the Chinese Artists Association (CAA),
1
which is in
charge of the production, explanation, and promotion of art in China. In China most art
professionals are aware of the supremacy of the CAA, even though currently the
organization is witnessing the decline of its influence over the Chinese art world. To
become a member of the CAAwhich requires much effort for most peoplehas been
regarded as a favorable preparation for an artist to enter the right track for future national
recognition and circulation. Certainly, there are other art institutions in China, such as the
art academies, painting academies, art research institutes, art publishing houses, and art
museums, that also function to produce, theorize, or propagate art. None, however,
functions as comprehensively, systematically, and nationally as the CAA. This
organization, uniquely, maintains various levels of connection with other art and cultural
institutions, and controls most social resources and passages that can lead an artist to career
success, personal fame, and financial return.

1
The Chinese Artists Association is known as Zhongguo Meishujia Xiehui in Chinese.
40
In her recent book on the relationship of art and politics in China, modern and
contemporary China specialist Maria Galikowski pays unprecedented attention to the
origin of the CAA, its political nature, and its function in achieving the political goals set
by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from the late 1940s onwards.
2
She insightfully
argues that the CAA originated from the need of the CCP to institutionalize the Chinese art
world under a unified political ideology, which is Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought.
3
Her
examination, however, was mainly devoted to the Chinese art world controlled under Mao
Zedongs politics first regime and to how the Party managed to put the whole Chinese art
world under close scrutiny through the CAA. What I am interested in is to look at how the
CAA, as an active art producer with its own institutional agenda, establishes and practices
absolute power over the Chinese art world by actually leaning upon and even utilizing its
political nature when necessary. In particular, I explore how the CAA maintained its
national network of dominance, how its influence was exerted and received, and what kind
of art it promoted and publicized in the 1990s.

With its headquarters in the political and cultural center of China, Beijing, the CAA has
radiated its influence through its nationwide branches at every administrative level. It is
the only national organization of artists, art historians, and critics, and its members

2
Maria Galikowski, Art and Politics in China, 1949-1984 (Hong Kong: Chinese University
Press, 1998).

3
Maria Galikowski, From Small Lu Yi to Big Lu Yi: The Formative Stage, 1949-1956, in
Art and Politics in China, 1949-1984, 9-47.
41
include people who hold important positions in all kinds of art institutions. For many
years, the CAA has served as the intermediary between the government and individual
artists. When it presents itself to the art world, it claims to represent the will of the
Chinese state. It also claims the status of art expert agency and asserts the position of
consultant for art-related affairs, when it addresses itself to the government. Its history, its
organizational structure and the function it has served since 1949 have sustained its
prestigious and dominant status in the Chinese art world for decades. Before 2000,
presenting Chinese official art had been the monopoly of this organization and its
branches, except during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, when, like other
sectors, most art institutions stopped functioning. Understanding how this organization
operates is the first step in probing into Chinese official art and examining its
transformation in contemporary times.

2. CAA: The Nationalized Art Institution
Founded in July 21, 1949, a few months before the founding of the Peoples Republic of
China (PRC), the Chinese Artists Association was originally to serve as part of the
organizational structure of the Chinese Communist Party for exerting its absolute power
over mainland China. Purporting to be a voluntary organization, it was formed and
controlled by some of the veteran Party members who were artists at the same time.
4
It

4
Its voluntary identity was probably referring to its unofficial status towards the Guomindang
government at that time.
42
was established as, and still is, a member of the China Federation of Literary and Art
Circles (CFLAC), which was established in response to the Partys need to unify the
whole cultural world under a consistent ideological guideline. The Communist Party
attached such great significance to creating a concerted cultural front out of disparate
cultural groups that a large number of leading political figures, including Mao Zedong,
Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De, respectively gave speeches at the First National Congress of the
CFLAC in 1949.
5
In speeches that emphasized the shared purpose and common ground
of all participating writers and artists, these political leaders regarded them as
progressive cultural workers of the people. These cultural workers were then
encouraged to use their special talents to serve the revolutionary needs of China.
6
Their
speeches were actually the restatement of the policies and guidelines laid out in Maos
famous lecture Yanan Talks on Literature and Arts in 1942, which systematically
spelled out ideological instruction for writers and artists. In his very influential lecture,
Mao clearly defined the social function of the arts and outlined the role of artists in
socialist China, which was to serve the needs of the revolution and the needs of the
people.
7

5
The congress was in session from June 30 to July 28. At that time, Mao Zedong was the
chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhou Enlai was the chief of
staff, and Zhu De was the commander in chief.

6
Xinhua News Agency, ed, Zhonghua Quanguo Wenxue Yishu Gongzuozhe Daibiao Dahui
Jinian Wenji [festschrift of the national congress of Chinese literary and art workers] (1950), 3.

7
Mao Zedong, Zai Yanan Wenyi Zuotanhui shang de Jianghua [Talks on the Conference of
Literature and Arts at Yanan] (Yanan: Liberation Publishing House, 1943).
43
Like other members of the CFLAC, the CAA contributed greatly to the mobilization of
renowned artists in producing and promoting the kind of art that supported and legitimized
the Partys rebellion against the then-ruling party, the Guomindang.
8
With the Chinese
Communist Partys successful takeover of Mainland China, the CAA automatically
became the official federation of the whole Chinese art world. In the following years, the
CAA devoted itself to the consolidation of the Partys absolute power over the Chinese art
world. In the process of shaping and structuring the art world according to the Partys
schema, the CAA also secured its own dominant status.

From the very beginning, the actual power of the CAA was under the control of Party
members. The Executive Committee of the CAA did include well-known artists who were
based in non-Communist areas and had already established nationwide reputations, like Xu
Beihong, known for his promotion of realistic oil painting in China and his role in the
reform of Chinese traditional painting; Liu Kaiqu, the founder of modern Chinese
sculpture; and Wu Zuoren, one of the representatives of modern Chinese art. All three had
received solid academic training in France and other European countries during the 1920s
and 1930s. Xu was even appointed as the first chairman of the CAA. However, it was
widely believed that they were given the prestigious posts mainly because it was
imperative for the newly found CAA to enhance its reputation and attract more art

8
The Guomindang, or the Nationalist Party, was the dominant party in Mainland China from
1912 until 1949 when it was defeated by the CCP. The period between 1912 and 1949 is generally
known as the Republican Era. Although the Nationalist Party never thoroughly consolidated their
control over all of China, the years 1927-1937 are often referred to as the Nationalist Decade.
44
professionals from the former Guomindang occupied territories.
9
In practical operation,
actual power lay in the hands of veteran artist-members of the Party, such as Cai Ruohong,
Jiang Feng, Wang Chaowen, and Ye Fu, who were active in the Chinese revolutionary base
Yanan and had long built up their status as ardent supporters of the Party.
10
The latter
group outweighed the former in the Executive Committee, and they were the real decision
makers in the Association. Particularly, a Communist Party Branch, known as Party Group,
was established within the Executive Committee, as in all other cultural organizations, and
it is this Party Group that held the ultimate power of the organization. This Party Group
was directly accountable to its superior the Propaganda Department of the CCP and it
conveyed political messages ordained by the Department to every member of the
organization.
11
In other words, its establishment was to guard the political correctness of
all art affairs conducted by the CAA. This practice has continued from that time to the
present day.
12
As pointed out by Maria Galikowski, by exercising strict control, the CCP

9
Scholars such as Maria Galikowski and Michael Sullivan hold this opinion. See Maria
Galikowski, Art and Politics in China 1949-1984, 13. Michael Sullivan, Art and Artists of
Twentieth-Century China (Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1996), 129-130.

10
For a detailed discussion on these individuals and their position in the CAA, please see Maria
Galikowski, From Small Lu Yi to Big Lu Yi: The Formative Stage, 1949-1956, in Art and
Politics in China 1949-1984, 9-54.

11
The Propaganda Department of the CCP is the top state apparatus in China that is responsible
for supervising the production and circulation of politically and ideologically correct cultural
goods and activities. The Ministry of Culture is also subjected to its supervision.

12
On the front page of the CAAs official website established in 2004, it states: Chinese Artists
Association is directed by the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist
Party, and under the supervision the Propaganda Department of the CCP. For the very first time,
the close relationship between the CAA and the Propaganda Department has been clearly stated,
while in its previous several versions of the constitution the CAA maintained its claim that it was
a voluntary nongovernmental organization. This seems to suggest that the CAA is emphasizing its
45
guaranteed its authority over the aesthetic ideas and ideological principles to which art was
required to conform.
13
It is equally important to remember that during the course of
carrying out the Partys art policy, the CAA gathered all social resources under its
command and built up firm and broad institutional networks over China. All these would
sustain the CAA even years after the Party itself started to relax political control over the
art world.

The constitution of the CAA clearly articulates the political nature of this organization.
14

The first article of the constitution starts with: The Chinese Artists Association is led by
the Chinese Communist Partyfunctions as bridge and ligament between the Party and
the government and artists and art workers in a broad sense.
15
The second article
continues: The Chinese Artists Association takes the important thought of
Marxist-Leninism, Maoist thought, Deng Xiaoping theory, and Three Representives as

political identity at the contemporary time, probably as a response to its declining influence in the
Chinese art world. <http://www.caan.cn/showcontent.asp?text=jj&id=1&subid=1&test=1>
(Accessed March 10, 2006).

13
Maria Galikowski, Art and Politics in China 1949-1984, 11-16.

14
The constitution of the CAA was first issued in 1953. After that there were two formal
modifications passed by the CAAs National Congress in 1979 and 2004, but only slightly
changed its initial version in order to keep up with new political developments, such as adding the
second-generation leader Deng Xiaopings theory and the third-generation leader Jiang Zemins
Three Represents thought.

15
Zhongguo MeishuJia Xiehui Zhangcheng [The Constitution of Chinese Artists Association]
was passed by the CAAs National Congress in 2004 and then disseminated in pamphlets to its
members nationwide; it is now available online at CAAs official website http://www.caan.cn.
46
guidance.
16
By setting up the Communist ideology as the guideline for operation, the
CAA positions itself as a loyal cultural apparatus of the state. Like the centralized polity,
the CAA asserts supreme power over nationwide branches at every administrative level:
province, city, autonomous region, and prefecture. The lower branches directly respond to
superior branches, and a strictly tiered power structure has been established and practiced.

According to the constitution, the task of the CAA is to organize and guide artists
throughout the country for art creation and art theory studies, to undertake the
responsibilities of organization, operation, selection, and award for all art-related activities,
to conduct large scale national exhibitions and all manner of research-oriented exhibitions,
to publish academic periodicals, to host academic researches, to train young people with
artistic talent, and eventually to promote the development and prosperity of Chinese art.
17

Internationally, the CAA is also responsible for developing broad international art
exchanges, holding and participating in various international art exhibitions, receiving
visiting artists and organizing Chinese artists for overseas visits.
18
This constitution
outlines the scale of involvement of the CAA in the Chinese art world, including every
process in the circle of production, circulation, and reception. Through this multi-faceted

16
Three Represents was the theory brought forward by president Jiang Zemin in 2000 and was
added to the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China in 2004. This theory will be
discussed again in chapter three.

17
This is a summary from the Constitution of Chinese Artists Association in 2004.

18
Ibid. In the past, the CAAs emphasis has mainly focused on domestic affairs.
47
administration of the art world, the CAA has been able to impose its favored concepts,
perceptions, and evaluation of art, and thus establish and maintain the dominance of its
ideology in the art sector.

In terms of its financial operation, the CAA is funded by the government, with an
insignificant income from member fees.
19
Currently it is run by a Party Group of three
people, an office of the Secretary General of four people, a Presidium of fourteen
members, and a Consultative Committee of fifteen members.
20
The positions for the
Party Group, Secretary General, and the Presidium are mainly nominated or appointed
directly from top. Upon appointment, they become art officials/bureaucrats who receive
stipends, housing, and other benefits associated with their ranks. They have powers
similar to cultural officials from the Ministry of Culture, although their power is only
exerted in the art world. For years, leading members of the CAA actually have enjoyed
double benefits brought by their double identities: art experts and administrative officials.
This is a characteristic, or problem, of the art world as well as other cultural fields in

19
In recent years, the CAA has also started accepting sponsorships from corporations for its
activities, which itself is a good example of the commercialization of the official art world in
China.

20
The Party Group is virtually the most powerful team among all these structures, for it controls
the political and ideological aspects of the CAA; the Secretary General is an executive position in
charge of communication with the CAAs branches and members nationwide; the Presidium is a
decision-making team responsible for the CAAs institutional affaris; and the Consultative
Committee offers advice for the Presidium. The particular numbers that I have here are based on
the official announcement released at the CAAs National Congress in 2004. For a complete list
of members who hold positions, please see the report on Artists Newsletter, iss.1 (2004). The
information is also available at http://www.caan.cn.
48
China, where administrative power and professional (ie, artistic) expertise are inseparable
from one another and centralized in the hands of a small group of people. The conflation
of administrative capacity and professional authority indeed endows the CAA with
tremendous practical power in controlling the careers of art professionals.

For years the CAA has enjoyed the power to determine the careers of individual artists
through the social resources it controls, such as the right to grant prestigious titles to
artists, opportunities for training, advanced study and research, access to new theories
and new development from the outside world, and the channels for publicity and
recognition. Generally speaking, one may be able to get formal training and advanced
study by going to an art school, where, if the school is staffed by people with open minds,
he or she may still be able to access new theories and art. In terms of publicity, in
particular publication and exhibitions, however, no single art school could reach as far as
the CAA. In order to gain considerable recognition, especially at the national level, young
art professionals often have had to take the paths of publicity regulated by the CAA,
including publication and exhibition.

In China, before the 1990s, it was virtually impossible for artists to publish images of
their work in established periodicals if their art did not conform to the acceptable
49
standard of themes and styles of art that were recognized by the CAA.
21
All publishing
houses were state-owned, as were a few art journals, magazines, and newspapers. The
CAA had inextricable interrelations with these artistic public media and often they only
published pieces recommended by members of the CAA, if not from them directly. This
explains why being a member of the CAA was often regarded as a necessary step to
significantly progress in ones artistic career. The CAA itself has two art periodicals,
Artists Newsletter [Meishujia tongxun], which was intended for members but now
circulates publicly, and the monthly journal Fine Arts [Meishu], which has been
circulating as the most authoritative national art journal for many years. The latter
combines the organizations dual tasks of visualizing the Partys policies and representing
officially sanctioned achievements in art. Often, the prominent pages of the journal are
devoted to addressing new cultural policy, political movements, and sometimes just
speeches given by state leaders at occasions such as the National Congress of the CAA
and the opening of exhibitions. Other main types of published articles include reviews,
often complimentary, of art by established official artists; art pieces by emerging artists
that positively respond to official ideology and the established artistic norms; and art
historical essays, and critiques often directed towards unofficial art.

It has been common knowledge in Chinese art circuits that in order to be published in

21
The only exception was the weekly newspaper Zhongguo Meishu Bao (Fine Arts in China),
which was established by the Research Institute of Fine Arts at the China Academy of Arts in
Beijing in July 1985. It published a great deal of Chinese avant-garde art practice and was
compelled to close down by the authorities at the end of 1989.
50
Fine Arts or other official art journals, art works have to be creative and yet not radical.
Simply following the standard will not help one to stand out among numerous hopefuls;
yet, being too radical would shock the orthodox and rather conservative editors and board
members. Skillful creativity and acceptable breakthroughs of the old stereotypes are often
required and expected. Therefore, an artist should not only be familiar with the existing
repertoire of official art, but also be able to contribute to the renovation and enrichment
of it.
22
Through the continuous study and input of artists, the established capacity of
Chinese official art is developed and expanded. Sometimes, of course, being properly
creative is not a guarantee of recognition; one must often have connections to influential
CAA members. This is certainly another way in which the CAA extends its influence
over artists.

In terms of public exhibition, it was equally necessary for individual artists to get sanction
first from the CAA or its branches, before they could attend any type of exhibition,
nationally or provincially. As so clearly stated by Maria Galikowski, Artists were
themselves effectively precluded from organizing their own exhibitions due to the
monopoly exercised by the Artists Association and the Ministry of Culture over all

22
No systematic study has ever been devoted to looking at how Chinese artists manage to
technically conform to the CAAs artistic standards. What I have here is based on my reading of
the Fine Arts and Artists Newsletter, and on my conversation with art professionals who are
attached to the CAA.

51
suitable public display areas.
23
Of course, exhibitions that happened within the scope of
art academies were exceptions, which nonetheless were often in the name of art research
and experiment and exposed only to a limited school audience. Usually, the only chance an
artist had to bring his work to the public, local or national, was to participate in exhibitions
organized by the CAA, sometimes in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, such as
national art work exhibitions, annual youth art exhibitions, and national exhibitions of
particular media like oil painting or Chinese painting.
24
These exhibitions were often held
in the most prominent and prestigious exhibition space of China, the National Museum of
Fine Arts.

The reward for being accepted into exhibitions sponsored by the CAA was significant,
especially for the young artists who were eager to work their way through. Once accepted,
they could have their works displayed in top museums, have opportunities to meet
renowned critics, and get their art published in well-known art journals. In addition,
participation in three such exhibitions would qualify an artist to apply for membership in
the CAA, which, if successful, would then lead to further publicity for the artist.

23
Maria Galikowski, Art and Politics in China 1949-1984, 17.

24
The first well known exception certainly was the exhibitions organized by the first unofficial
artistic group The Stars in 1979 and 1980 in Beijing. The second one was the 1989
China/Avant-Garde Exhibition. Both the 1980 Starss exhibition and the 1989 exhibition took
place in the National Museum of Fine Arts and stirred up sensations. Nonetheless, they were
allowed to open only after the organizers, through a very difficult approach, got approval from the
authorities including the CAA. For further details, see Chang Tsong-zung, Hui Ching-shuen, and
Don J. Cohn (eds.), The Stars: 10 Years (Hong Kong: Hanart, 1989) and Gao Minglu, The '85
Movement: Avant-Garde Art in the Post-Mao Era (Ph.D. diss. Harvard University, 2000).
52
Simultaneously, the market value of artists work often increased in direct proportion to the
frequency of their presence in the CAAs exhibitions. This has been an unwritten rule since
the 1980s. Many domestic collectors and dealers consider winning awards at the national
art exhibition as their main selection and pricing criterion, and they tend to seek after the
works by artists who have won prizes before.

For an artist to enter into and, especially win prizes in large CAA-sponsored exhibitions
would bring more than simply opportunities for publicity. It is also directly related to the
career development and promotion of young artists working in individual colleges or
other art institutions in China. This is another example of how the influence of the CAA
extends beyond its own administrative system and reaches a national level. Individuals
who have works published in a national art journal like Fine Arts or who have obtained
certain awards at national CAA exhibitions are granted certain privileges for career
promotion. For example, Zheng Pin, a talented young artist who holds a teaching post in
an art institute in Fujian Province, had been struggling for two years to pass the National
English Test for Professional Title Promotion (one kind of standard foreign language
requirements that college and university art teachers in China have to meet in order to
obtain promotion), only to find that all his efforts were in vain.
25
Luckily, at the Tenth
National Art Work Exhibition in 2004, his piece won the bronze medal (third place).
26

25
Personal communication with Zheng Pin over phone on June 11, 2005.

26
Dishijie Quanguo Meizhan Huojiang Mingdan [the awardee list of the Tenth National Art
53
This third place award was prestigious enough to substitute for passing the national
English language exam. At the last year of his trial period, Zheng Pin got his promotion
smoothly.
27
Meeting the criteria of the CAAs exhibition and winning awards are
approaches that many young artistic talents would prefer to passing a language exam,
which, many of them complain, is meaningless.
28
Graduates of various art schools or
artists holding an official post often see making a presence at the CAAs nationwide
network of publication and exhibition as a necessary path for their career development.
This, in turn, strengthens the dominance of the CAA in the Chinese art world and the
significance of its undertakings. As such, by controlling and manipulating the
opportunities of publicity, and other social resources, the CAA has exercised its
monopoly on official art, art establishment, and art authority.

3. A Case Study: the Ninth National Art Work Exhibition
Of all exhibitions held by the CAA, the National Art Work Exhibition (NAWE) is
definitely the most important and influential one. Inaugurated in 1949, it runs roughly once
every five years, purposely coordinated with every fifth and tenth anniversary of the
founding of the PRC itself. A collaborative project of the CAA and the Ministry of Culture,

Work Exhibition], November 10, 2004.
<http://arts.tom.com/1002/2004/11/10-37452.html> (Accessesd May 20, 2005).

27
Personal communication with Zheng Pin over phone on June 11, 2005.

28
Many artists that I know who are working in official art institutions complained that their
promotion has to do with foreign language proficiency. However, unless they abandon their posts,
they have to deal with it.
54
this exhibition has always been a grand celebration itself.
29
It displays works from artists
associated with various levels of cultural institutes throughout the country and has been
declared to be the largest and most significant official exhibition in China, and not only by
its organizers: considering the real impact of this exhibition on the Chinese art world, such
a description is hardly hyperbolic.

A close study of the Ninth NAWE held by CAA in 1999 has special significance in this
dissertation. Certainly there is nothing dramatically different between the 1999 one and
the 2004 one in terms of the sponsorship of the show, its organization and its selection
procedure, and the kind of art which was presented and promoted. Nor does the
difference between the two shows represent a watershed that suddenly divides two
different periods of official art. Indeed, all the new forces coming from various parties
had already begun to pressure official art, even though the effect only became evident at
the beginning of the twenty first century. Symbolically, however, it is the last exhibition
in which the CAA could still claim, even feebly, its monopoly of presenting official art in
China. Since 2000, the presentation of official art in China seems to be multifold and the
CAA could claim to only partially represent all official art. With the proliferation of
state-funded exhibitions hosted by other parties, such as the International Exhibition

29
The Ministry of Culture and its various departments and bureaus are the PRCs administrative
organ responsible for implementing the policies, organizing and overseeing all kinds of cultural
events and activities. In the case of the national exhibition, it works with the CAA at a national
level and has its subordinate cultural bureaus work with branches of the CAA at a local level.
55
Agency,
30
provincial art museums, and other art agencies, the significance of the NAWE
is necessarily decreasing in China. The CAA itself has also initiated a new type of
exhibition, notably the Beijing Biennale, in order to respond to the new situation.
31
As a
result, NAWE probably no longer occupies its previously pivotal status within the CAAs
overall agenda nor in the Chinese art world as a whole.

As intended, the 1999 NAWE was prepared as a summary and response to significant
achievements that China had accomplished by the end of the century: the continuous and
fast development of the economy, the take-over of Hong Kong and Macao, the buildup of
its international profile, and other achievements.
32
Furthermore, in 1999 China celebrated
the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the PRC, an occasion of the utmost significance.
In fact the exhibition was organized as one of the chief celebrations of this anniversary. Let
us not forget that this year was also the fiftieth anniversary of the CAA itself. Charged with
so much importance, the exhibition was certainly dealt with and promoted as one of the
most significant cultural events in twentieth-century China.

The preparation for the exhibition started one year earlier, and works were selected and

30
For more discussion about the International Exhibition Agency and its activities, please see
chapter six, under the section Multiple Official Art(s).

31
See chapter five for discussion on the Beijing Biennale.

32
Anonymous, Di Jiu Jie Quanguo Meizhan Huojiang Zuopinzhan zai Beijing Kaimu [the
exhibition of award-winning works from the ninth national art work exhibition opens in Beijing],
Renmin Ribao, Shichangbao [Peoples daily, market version], December 11, 1999.
56
assembled for formal display in October 1999 during the National Holidays.
33
The
selection process of the NAWE was laborious and highly hierarchical. Art works had first
to be accepted at the local level, then went through scrutiny from regional and provincial
levels before they could go up to the national level, and were then shown at the exhibition.
However, with the support of the Propaganda Department of the CCP and the Ministry of
Culture, and especially the efforts of its nationwide branches, the CAA was able to carry
out this energy-consuming task without much difficulty. Every province was allotted a
number of art works that could be sent to at the exhibition. This process was intended to
guarantee the participation of those areas that were less active in the art field and therefore
to make sure that the influence of the CAA could reach as far as possible.
34
Selection
committees were also formed at different administrative levels. The committee at the
regional level was organized with the cooperation of local branches of the CAA and local
cultural bureaus. It recruited locally known artists and art critics as its selection members.
The general selection committee, the final judge for awards, was co-directed by Pan
Zhengyu, the vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, and Jin Shangyi, the chairman of the
CAA. The two vice directors were Liu Dawei, the vice chairman of the CAA, and Wang
Wenzhang, the director of China Academy of Arts, which is Chinas most comprehensive

33
Starting from October 1998, the preparation and progress of the exhibition were updated
monthly in Fine Arts and Artists Newsletter. Also, the CAA issued formal documents about the
exhibition including calling for submission, requirements, selecting process, and others that
reached every local Cultural Bureaus and local Artists Associations across the country.

34
This also showed that the CAA is still carrying out its operation procedure that was formulated
under the condition of the state planned economy in Maos era, which China has largely
abandoned now.
57
research center of the arts. The 42 committee members of the committee included noted
artists and critics throughout the country, many of them coming directly from the CAAs
presidium and consultative committee.
35

Artists nationwide took part in the exhibition with enthusiasm. As previously mentioned,
this was an important platform for publicity. For already established artists, this would be
another chance to demonstrate their leading status and strengthen their influence; for
nameless young ones, this was a precious opportunity to bring their art to critics and the
public. It was reported that initially 5970 pieces were chosen from myriad art works sent by
artists from across the country.
36
Among them, some 3249 pieces were finally selected to
be shown in the exhibition, which was installed according to media and genre categories,
including Chinese painting, oil painting, print, sculpture, watercolor, gouache, lacquer
painting, New Year painting, picture poster, comic book, caricature, illustration, and art
design. They were shown in museums of Chinas main cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou, Nanjing and so forth. At the same time, catalogues were published with artists
biographies and were sold and circulated widely. During the exhibition, the selection
process for prizewinners went on at each exhibition site. In all, the organizers gave out 19
gold, 72 silver, 192 bronze, and some 305 excellence prizes. Then, in December 1999, all

35
For a complete list of members of the general selection committee, please see the report on
Artists Newsletter, iss.10 (1999).

36
Anonymous, Di Jiu Jie Quanguo Meizhan Huojiang Zuopinzhan zai Beijing Kaimu [the
exhibition of the award-winning works from the ninth national art work exhibition opens in
Beijing], Renmin Ribao, Shichangbao [Peoples daily, market version], December 11, 1999.
58
the prize-winning works were collected together and shown again for one month in Beijing,
where they were conferred award certificates in a grand ceremony. During the session of
the exhibition, either the separate media and genre shows in disserent cities or the last
prizewinners show in Beijing, artists, art critics, art students, art dealers and alike travelled
across the country to view the exhibition. In some art schools, this travel had been
established as an important extra-curricular activity for students.

Accompanying the redisplay of prize-wining works in December, a symposium entitled
Looking Back at the Century: National Art Theory Conference was organized, among
other seminar conferences. More than 60 artists, art historians, and theorists participated.
Besides addressing the exhibition itself, the main theme of the conference was to
scientifically review, illuminate, and summarize the achievement of socialist realist art in
the last fifty years since the founding of the PRC and in the past twenty years since the
Reform and Open-door Policy, and to strengthen the construction of art theory, promote
art creation, and welcome the new century with new gestures.
37
Apparently, much official
rhetoric was applied to magnify the whole event and increase the significance of the
exhibition. Throughout the event, from the preparation to the actual show to the
symposium, major art magazines and newspapers published exhaustive reports with
subsequent issues. Thus, the names of the prize winners, especially those who won the first

37
Ibid.
59
three ranks of prize, spread throughout the nation.
38

A close reading of the selection criteria gives one a clear image of what kind of ideology is
guiding this official exhibition. Issued in a document released on February 5, 1999:
The selection and awards for the Ninth National Art Work Exhibition should follow
the direction of art serves the people, art serves socialism and follow the
guideline of letting one hundred flowers bloom and one hundred schools of
thought contend, promoting the mainstream theme and at the same time
advocating diversification. We should encourage more fine works that reflect the
colorful life of the people, manifest the spiritual features of the great era, and that
unify ideology and artistry, content and form. We should call for great works that
can benefit the construction of the two civilizations [material and spiritual], inspire
the peoples enthusiasm and edify the peoples morality and sentiment.
39

It is obvious that the criteria are centered on the people and socialism and art works are
expected to be inspirational and educational, and essentially, beneficial for the
development of Chinese society as a whole.
40
The spiritual features that present the
achievements of the great era is always an emphasis for this kind of state-funded cultural

38
This explains why the exhibition always gets huge number of submissions.

39
The Operating Ordinance for the Selection and Awards of the Ninth National Art Work
Exhibition, Artists Newsletter, iss.1 (1999).

40
A quick look at the criteria from the last three National Art Work Exhibitions (1984, 1989,
1994) since the end of the Cultural Revolution shows that the two principles, art serves the
people, art serves socialism, and letting one hundred flowers bloom and one hundred schools of
thought contend, were restated again and again. Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of
the nation by announcing that the Chinese people have since stood up at the founding day of
the PRC in October 1, 1949. Therefore, art in the country must also be for the people, though the
meaning of the people changes during the course of time. Socialism is the identity that the
state still claims for itself, even though now large portions of the Chinese economy run on the
wheels of the free market. These are the twinbases of the identity of socialist China. The notions
of hundred flowers and hundred schools are official rhetorics, applied here to demonstrate
that the state is allowing different types of artistic expression.
60
activity, which glorifies the accomplishments of the current regime. Promulgating the
positive spirit of the society is supposed to unify individuals more closely. Art here is not a
business of personal expression, it is considered to be a form of social commission. The
unification of ideology and artistry is also important: art has its own special rules and limits
which should not be neglected, but it should be channeled to better serve the presentation
of positive spiritual features that the state wants to promote.

A detailed analysis of major art works that were promoted and awarded at the Ninth NAWE
will illustrate how these criteria have been pursued. It is hardly possible to discuss every
one of even the 19 gold prize winners, not to mention the more than 500 pieces that won
various awards. Since most of the heated debates in China about art and its development in
the twentieth century have been centered on Chinese painting and oil painting,
41
and since
today these two art categories are still charged with importance in Chinese official art and
art history, I shall focus on them as objects of analysis, which will give a representative
image of the exhibition. In this way, I am narrowing the scope of my examination to three

41
The differentiation between Chinese painting and oil painting is mainly based on medium and
format. Chinese painting means painting executed in traditional Chinese stone-ground ink and
water-based pigments on rice paper or silk with Chinese-made soft, pliable brushes. Oil painting
means applying oil pigments on linen canvas with relatively stiff European-made brushes.
Chinese paintings are usually mounted as scrolls, while oil paintings are mounted as framed
pictures. In the meantime, they both bear historical and cultural significance. The term Chinese
painting was created to indicate traditional Chinese painting as the national one at the beginning
of the twentieth century when Western oil painting was largely introduced into China. Oil
painting was largely promoted as an advanced art by progressive intellectuals in China then,
while the debates about the superiority of each category never ended in the first half of the
century. In the Peoples Republic of China, both categories have been promoted as national art
formats and they have been regarded as high art in the Chinese art world.
61
Chinese paintings and three oil paintings, all of which were gold-prize winners.

Shu Xiang Men Di [Intellectual Family] [figure 1] by Zheng Li, a professor from the
Chinese Academy of Fine Arts in Zhejiang province, represents a corner of a study in a
classical setting: traditional windows, ceramic vase with plant and flowers, bamboo and
scholar rocks. The study has long been regarded as an indispensable part of a literatis life.
It is a place where he obtains knowledge, develops thoughts, composes writings, and
contemplates. What the artist focuses on is constructing an atmosphere of tranquility and
peace, an essential quality of this space. In front of the window, bamboo, one of the
literatis favorite plants because of its symbolic association with the fine character of a
noble-minded person, forms the framework of the painting. The Yulan tree (a kind of
magnolia beloved by literati for its fragrant white flowers) behind the back window is
shining in the sun and forms the furthest layer of space. The opened book and cup with
the cover aside suggest the temporary absence of the owner. There is no distinct spatial
construction in the painting; all objects are rendered in a planar way and the depth of
space is suggested by different objects and subtle differences in shade and color. What the
painting delivers is a mood related to the Chinese literati tradition. The goal of the artist,
as he said, is to present the elegant and refined aspect of Chinese culture.
42
Through
the window, the audience can look into the room. Obviously, they are not facing a real
space, but an eminent tradition.

42
Zheng Li, Notes on Composing Shu Xiang Men Di, Guangming Daily, April 2, 2000.
62
Min Bing Shi Hua [The Epic of the Militia] [figure 2], a collaborative undertaking by Yu
Changjiang, Chen Rong, Qian Zongfei, and Wu Taoyi, four artists from the Chinese
Peoples Liberation Army (PLA),
43
addressed one episode in the history of the Chinese
revolution. The contribution of militia was noteworthy in the victory of China against the
Japanese invasion in the 1930s and the 1940s. In those difficult years, militia not only
devoted themselves in warfare, but also had to produce living materials they needed
during the temporary cessations of battles. The description of this painting reads:
This painting depicts their special way of spending armistice time: training,
farming, spinning, studying and doing housework. The painters arrange various
activities into one overlapping space, implying the intimate relationship between
comrades and at the same time their actual awkward and arduous living
environment, both were realities of the time.
44

The purposely-fabricated visual effect of ambiguity and blurring, as the figures and scene
of the painting are rendered, indicates the remoteness of the time, imitating the way
memories work in peopless minds. The monochromatic images strengthen the perception
of being historical and unrepeatable. In reviews, the painting was praised for its revelation
of the greatness of those early revolutionaries and its creation of sublime beauty.
45
The
painting is about a classical revolutionary theme in Chinese official art.

43
The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is the general term referring to the military of
the Peoples Republic of China. PLA has its own museum and art school and artists who serve in
these institutions are usually referred with the collective affiliation the PLA.

44
Wang Chunli, On Chinese Painting of The Ninth National Art Work Exhibition, Artists
Newsletter, iss.6 (1999).

45
Cao Huimin, Painting the Zeitgeist, Liberation Army Newspaper, October 3, 2000.
63
Re Xue [Hot-blooded] [figure 3] by Han Shuo, a professional painter from the Academy
of Chinese Painting in Shanghai, visualizes seven elitist representatives of patriotic
intellectuals during the Guomindang reign. A short description of the painting was
offered and I summarize as follows: in 1936, patriotic intellectuals formed an
anti-Japanese organization and pronounced an open manifesto against the Guomindang
governments concessions to Japan. They called for a union between the Communist
Party and Guomindang in order to resist the Japans invasion. The Guomindang
government arrested the seven directors of the organization and put them in jail. These
people were looked upon by their contemporaries as national heroes who would sacrifice
themselves for the sake of the nation. They were given the respectful appellation, Seven
Junzi.
46
Junzi has been used in China to describe people with outstanding and noble
character. The artist titles the painting Hot-blooded, again with the intention of glorifying
these Junzis spirit of self-sacrifice and heroic conduct. He arranges six men and a
woman in an abstract landscape setting, thus giving prominence to their persona. The
captivating representation of the facial features of these seven heroes allows people to
recall actual historical figures. The skillful mastery of brush and ink, lines and form, and
the picturesque composition contribute to the charm of the painting. The artist was
appreciated for standing right before the tide of the time and expressing his concern

46
Wang Chunli, Shidai de Maibo, Renmin de Yishu [The Eras Pulse, the Peoples Art], Artists
Newsletter, iss.1 (2000).

64
about the fate of the nation.
47
This critic, certainly, is addressing the patriotic theme of
the painting.

Wu Jiao Xing [Pentagram] [figure 4] by Leng Jun, a professional painter from the
Painting Academy in Wuhan, is a superrealist painting with the quality of visual
verisimilitude. In China, the pentagram has long been a special symbol of communism,
revolution and hope, and now is the emblem of the nation and its authority. The state uses
it in a broad way such as on the national flag, as the national emblem, and on all kinds of
official medals and certificates. Originally, the pentagram was associated with the color
red, symbolizing the blood of heroic revolutionists. Now, the pentagram is often
represented in shining red, gold, or yellow color, suggesting sublimity, approbation, and
prominence. The artist, however, portrays the pentagram with a new perspective through
his super representational technique, which comes from long years of strict academic
training. On the canvas, a big, rusty and plaited, iron pentagram with marks of bullets
dominates the whole scene. The Chinese audience would associate it with the gun
fighting and shellfire of the past revolutionary era at the first glance, as a critic says: The
scraggy and scarred Pentagram is a metaphor for the great costs paid for the success of
the Chinese revolution.
48
In a later interview with Wuhan Morning Newspaper, the
painter explained that he saw the pentagram as not merely the embodiment of the Chinese

47
Ibid.

48
Tian Yue & Li Changjian, Wuhan Meishu: Caibi Hui Fengliu [Art in Wuhan: colorful brush
for brilliance]. http://www.cnhubei.com/aa/ca110642.htm (Accessed February 16, 2003).
65
revolution, but a symbol of human justice and fortitude that belongs to all human
beings.
49

Yang Guan San Die [Three Variations on the Yang pass] [figure 5] by Wang Hongjian, a
standing committee member from the CAAs branch, Artists Association of Henan
Province, takes a current social movement as its subject matter: the exploration of
Northwest China. Yang Guan or Yang Pass, originating from a widely known Chinese
poem by a famous poet from the Tang dynasty (618-907), refers to the passage that leads
to the frontier, undeveloped areas in northwestern China. Here, the Yang Pass is used to
imply the significance of this contemporary undertaking in which the Chinese people are
encouraged to engage. In the painting, tired crowds compact themselves in an apparently
desolate open area, from the foreground up to the horizon. The big sign in the middle
with a train number and schedule on it tells us that it is a train station, though nothing else
is visible. Exhausted travelers and their belongings fill this large oil composition.
According to an official description, these people are heading towards the northwest to
develop the hinterland of China.
50
From the way these people dress themselves, we can
tell that they come from lower social status. Apparently, the lower class people are the

49
Zhou Manzhen, Yishu Sangshi Guize Jiu Hui Zouxiang Fanzui [Art Will Commit Crimes If
It Loses Rules], Changjian Daily, July 26, 2002.
<http://www.cnhan.com/gb/content/2002-07/26/content_189112.htm> (Accessed February 16,
2003).

50
Xu Encun, Lengjun zhi MeiWang Hongjian Youhua Xiaoyi [The Beauty of Frostiness: on
the oil painting by Wang Hongjian], Meishu Guancha [art observation], iss.2 (2000): 18.
66
focus of this work, and as the artist himself states, are the favorite motif of his art.
51
He
arranges the environment in a simple but telling way with an overwhelmingly gray sky
and a frosty moon, suggesting the desolation and lonesomeness of the frontier, which thus
acts to foil the courage of the expedition. The technique of realistic representation is seen
in the vivid details of facial expressions, various gestures, clothing, and other objects.

Shi Bing Men [Soldiers] [figure 6] by Qin Wenqing, an artist again from PLA, presents a
snippet of contemporary military life, showing a group of high-spirited and vigorous
Chinese young soldiers. Right after the regular drill, the chief is explaining and analyzing
the merits and drawbacks of the drill. The soldiers show their enthusiasm and attention,
despite the fact that they are obviously exhausted after a days training. Rendering the
painting nearly life-size, the scene seems to happen right in front of the audience, as if to
invite them to join these young people and listen to their discussion. What dominates the
whole scene is an upward and positive spirit, a representative feature of Chinese socialist
realist art. One critic praised the painting for showing a close and harmonious
relationship between the officer and the soldiers, for the officer is surrounded by the
soldiers, and together they form a solid and interactive unity.
52
The Liberation Army
Newspaper commends that the painting realistically presents military preparation in

51
Wang Hongjia, Jingli yu Duanxiang [experience and though fragments], Meishu Guancha
[art observation], iss.2 (2000): 20.

52
Wang Chunli, The Eras Pulse, the Peoples Art, Artists Newsletter, iss.1 (2000).
67
China and manifests the glorious spirit of the peoples army.
53
The artist explains that he
aims to capture and express the beauty of unpretending simpleness, not necessarily from
valiant battles and heroic figures, but from the common soldiers who also bear
responsibility and mission in their mind.
54

By now, we have a concrete idea of the paintings that the selection committee regarded as
most successful. The themes of these paintings are about history, revolution, social and
military construction, whether imagined or realistic. If we believe that there is a national
identity being consciously constructed through the exhibition, especially through
paintings that won the gold-prize, we see here a unified image of China being shaped
through three layers. First, we see a cherished past with a characteristic culture and an
honorable history with national heroes and elitist intellectuals; secondly, a promising
present is shown with the high spirited young military generation who are expected to
inherit the glorious revolutionary tradition. Finally, new tasks as well as a new direction
for future development have been brought forward, as the state has launched programs to
help in developing the hinterland in the northwestern area of China in order to diminish
the economic discrepancy between it and the eastern coastal areas. Taking a quick look at
works that won the silver prize, we can see an all-around portrayal of China in positive
and uplifting terms, including: national heroes and the Peoples Liberation Armys heroic

53
Cao Huimin, Painting the Zeitgeist, Liberation Army Newspaper, October 3, 2000.

54
Qin Weiqing, Wo Hua Shibingmen [I paint soldiers], Meishu Guancha [Art observation],
iss.2 (2000): 35.
68
conduct during the 1998 flood disaster around the Yangtze River (Immortals; Memorial
of the 1998; Inspecting the Dyke) [figure 7, 8, 9]; significant military and social
construction (Looking into the Future; Inspection; The Old Song-I Dedicate Oil to My
Motherland) [figure 10, 11,12]; peaceful, joyful, and hopeful social life in urban areas
(Date; Space) [figure 13, 14] and rural setting (Blazing Heart; Feast; Making an
Appointment) [figure 15, 16, 17]; and natures sublime beauty (Mountain As Ocean; the
Unyielding Character of Plum Blossoms) [figure 18, 19].

Obviously, themes that convey politically-correct and proper social messages that conform
to the governments general ideology are favored. Controversial historical memories from
the past fifty years of the PRC and current realities that may suggest negative social
meanings usually could not find their presence in this official exhibition. However, by no
means should we believe that the right theme itself is decisive for winning the gold medal.
All these gold-prize winners are praised for the perfect integration of subject matter and
fine artistic representation. In other words, their art is believed to present the harmony
between content and form and between visual effects and spiritual elements. The statement,
made by Mao Zedong in his 1942 Yanan talk that Works of art which lack artistic quality
have no force, however progressive they are politically,
55
seems to be still meaningful to
the selection committee, even though art policies formulated under Maoism has been

55
Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong on Literature and Art, Peoples Literature Publishing House, 1992,
30.
69
largely abandoned since the late 1970s. That is why some paintings with an intense
political message but executed with an unimpressive and almost clichd artifice missed the
top prize. Favorable subject matter has to be strategically combined with artistic creativity
and innovative technical skills in order to be chosen.

Through selecting and awarding works that portray a comfortable and positive image of
China, the exhibition organizers made sure that the exhibition worked to glorify the nation,
and by extension, the good governmental administration. Through national channels of
publicity, the exhibition, the art it promotes, and the names of artists spread widely in the
art world, serving as reward for artists who made efforts to conform to the artistic standards
juried by the CAA. In this sense, the exhibition also functions as a motivation and approach
to regenerate the established repertoire of official art.

4. Conclusion
The CAA has long claimed to be the only practitioner of Chinese official art. Due to the
nature of the CAA itself as an artists organization, the leading members automatically
were seen as the art establishment, and their art was regarded as mainstream art in China. In
other words, the configuration of official art was relatively easy to identify through
analyzing the art produced and promoted by the CAA. Generally speaking, socialist
realism has been the most recognized and dominant artistic language; abstraction and
impressionism have also been promoted since the mid 1980s; in recent years, works of
70
expressionist and superrealist style have gained considerable admiration; a combination of
two or three of the above mentioned techniques and styles is also very popular. In terms of
content, themes with historical, social, and cultural significance dominate. Art works that
positively respond to the new social and political development have high appeal among the
art establishment. Subtly negative or critical representation of certain social aspects that
ultimately can be interpreted in a positive way are also acceptable. A perfect combination
of refined techniques and proper themes, of course, would be regarded as the most
successful case of official art, as exemplified by the award winning pieces analyzed above.

The CAAs primacy in the Chinese art world had been well sustained until the end of the
century, when all kinds of challenges gradually came into effect, arising from the
continuous commercialization of Chinese society and the increasing impact of
globalization. Since the late 1990s, the CAA has been increasingly confronted by the
rapidly rising impact of emerging private art galleries, semi-official and private museums.
These new institutions have provided Chinese art professionals with alternative
exhibition and publication opportunities and have gradually weakened the CAAs
centered command of social resources in the artistic industry and swayed its dominance
over the Chinese art world.
56
Moreover, the former unofficial art, including avant-garde
art since the 1970s and underground contemporary art in the 1990s, both of which have

56
Please refer to the discussion on the emergence of alternative art institutions and their status in
the transformation of Chinese art world in the 1990s in chapter three under section two
Marketization, Cultural Industry and Art.
71
been furiously condemned by some senior members of the CAA in Fine Arts, has
gradually conquered the hostility coming from the cultural authority and the state censors.
It has finally made its presence felt in various official spaces in China or overseas and
part of it has already managed to become a new component of Chinese official art.
57
All
these have created unprecedented challenges to the CAA and its established network of
dominance. The original definition of official art with definable styles and themes
promoted by the CAA is equally under challenge. How these challenges, brought up by
extensive transformations occurring in every aspect of Chinese society, work in the art
world will be addressed in chapters three and four. In response to new challenges as well
as new developments of the contemporary art world, CAA has also come up with new
agendas and programs, among which the most significant gesture was the establishment
of the Beijing Biennale in 2003. Borrowing a popular international art institution, the
biennale, the CAA is making efforts to update its operating system with a new type of
exhibition in order to maintain and reclaim its authoritative authorship of the official art.
The CAAs undertaking of an international biennale will be extensively discussed in
chapter five.

57
Please refer to discussion of this issue in chapter four.
72

CHAPTER III
THE ART WORLD OF POST-DENG CHINA

1. Introduction
For The New York Timess most recent report on Chinese art, reporter David Barboza
applied a very enticing title: In Chinas New Revolution, Art Greets Capitalism.
1
What
is this New Revolution that Barboza is talking about? It is the skyrocketing price of
works by a few contemporary Chinese artists in the international art market and the
resulting revolutionary change in their economic situation and lifestyle. The author
reports on a series of record-breaking auctions of Chinese contemporary art held by the
worlds biggest auction houses, Sothebys and Christies, in New York, London and Hong
Kong over the past two years. Accompanying the huge market success, these leading
contemporary artists have morphed into multi-millionaires who show up at exhibitions
wearing Gucci and Ferragamo.
2

This striking success that Chinese contemporary art has recently achieved in the
international art market seems to correspond perfectly with the ever booming scene of

1
David Barboza, In Chinas New Revolution, Arts Greets Capitalism, The New York Times, Jan
4, 2007.

2
Ibid.
73
contemporary art back in China, to be discussed below. In recent years, new exhibitions,
galleries, art spaces, and artists studios open on an almost daily basis in big cities across
China. So many things are going on at the same time that visitors to one event have to
worry about missing other events of significance because of conflicting schedules.
3
In
Beijing, famous art districts such as 798 Factory, Song Zhuang Artist Village and many
other artist villages appear to be thriving. For instance, there is constant artistic activity
present at the 798 Factory, which is located in northeastern Beijing and runs parallel to the
most well-constructed highway in Beijing that connects the international airport to the city
center. Located in the Dashanzi area and also known as Dashanzi Art District, the 798
Factory was designed by East German architects in the 1950s as an arsenal factory for the
Chinese government. Like many state-owned enterprises in the period of economic
reforms since 1978, the business of the factory dried up and most of the warehouses and
workshops were abandoned and opened for alternative uses by whoever would pay the rent.
Starting from 1995, a few artists set up their studios in 798 Factory, attracted by the ample
space and cheap rent. In the past seven years, the attraction of this area has soared to an
unprecedented level. By 2005, this simply refurbished concrete complex housed around a
hundred galleries, experimental as well as commercial, and artists studios from China,
Germany, Britain, USA, Japan, Singapore, and elsewhere. The 798 Factory is now a
mini-global art world, a typical case that shows the accelerating speed of globalization.

3
Based on the authors research during the summers of 2004 and 2005 in China, visiting new or
old artist villages, art districts, art galleries in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing and attending a large
number of exhibition openings, symposiums, and lectures in Beijing.
74
Of course, not all excitement generated in this district is about art. Beside artists studios
and galleries, there are graphic design companies, furniture stores, architecture
companies, gift shops, bars, cafs, restaurants, and bookstores, most of which opened
after 2002. It has become a business enclave for the newly established Chinese middle
class to seek and consume alternative, trendy urban culture. Drawn by the reputation of
previous experimental spaces for contemporary art, this area has now attracted more
commercial enterprises and bears an overwhelming commercial flavor. This has
practically driven a few artists, who were the first to discover this area, to leave
permanently.
4
The 798 Factory vividly illustrates the speed of commercializationthe
main theme of Chinese societyand its striking power to devour any avant-garde or
experimental or alternative art in China.

Regardless of the evident encroachment of commercial forces in Beijing and elsewhere,
most artists seem to be very positive and anticipatory, with a strong-held belief that they
are at the greatest moment ever in Chinese art history.
5
This attitude likely comes from the
mixed appreciation of commercial and liberal approach that the government is taking
towards art production. They talk feverishly about the rapidly increasing potential of

4
For example, Sui Jianguo, a sculpture professor from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, was
among the first who moved in and the first who left, according to his students who now continue to
use the studio Sui left behind. Also see Aric Chen, A New Frontier for Chinese Art, The New York
Times, Apr 1, 2007, Sec. Arts, East Coast Edition.

5
Based on the authors personal communication with many artists and her observations at the 798
Factory and the Song Zhuang Artist Village.
75
purchasing capacity and interest for contemporary art from rising domestic entrepreneurs.
They are also excited about the recent official support of contemporary art, evident in
government-sponsored projects, domestic exhibitions and international shows.
Globalization and internationalization seem to be everyday words that casually
emerge in conversations without hesitation. Newly-established curators of contemporary
art are often involved in several exhibitions simultaneously and fly about China for
openings at different cities. Likewise, contemporary artists are racing to and from
exhibitions in other parts of the country and the world. One cannot help but think that they
actually have to spend more time on travel, openings, festivals and seminars than on
making art.

By all accounts, the exuberant atmosphere surrounding these art districts in China is no less
remarkable than the soaring auction prices of Chinese contemporary art in the global
marketplace. It is almost self-evident that the landscape of the Chinese art world is
undergoing rapid, extensive, and intensive transformation. What are the underlying forces
that have helped bring to the surface all of the excitement and anticipation, and condition
the unparalleled development in China? What is behind the breaking down of the originally
relatively uniform art world that had been constructed under the Marxist-Maoist ideology
since the 1940s and subsequently reformed by Deng Xiaopings Socialism with Chinese
76
characteristics in the 1980s and early 1990s?
6
Out of various mixed stimuli, I would like
to pinpoint three primary forces. First of all, the internal marketization and
commercialization of Chinese society has brought about a new wave of reform and
transformation in the cultural world. The emergence and legitimization of the culture
industry in China at the end of the century symbolizes a new drive towards a commercial
society, which is fundamentally changing the way art is made, viewed, and circulated in
China. Secondly, globalization as a compelling force has reinforced the above-mentioned
processes and at the same time has brought new complexity as well as opportunity, together
with new information, new concepts, new media and new materials into the Chinese art
world. Thirdly, as a way of responding to the encroachment of global culture and,
importantly, as a strategy of maintaining and reinforcing authority over the entire society,
the Chinese Communist Party has launched a broad movement of cultural nationalism,
which also sees its immediate resonance in the art world.

2. Marketization, Culture Industry, and Art
Following the Reform and Open-door Policy launched in 1978 by Deng Xiaoping, the
goal of the Chinese Communist Party since the 1990s is a more rapid and extensive

6
Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a phrase coined by the former leader Deng Xiaoping
in describing his reform policy. To differentiate the market economy in China from its western
capitalist counterpart, Deng applied a prefix socialist to market economy, which then became
market economy with Chinese characteristics, thus legitimizing his introducing of the market
economy into socialist China. Since then, the term Chinese characteristics has been broadly
used in Chinese society in almost every field for describing the essential feature of contemporary
Chinese national identity and Chinese way of doing things. In short, it is mainly used to
differentiate Western-originating free market capitalism in China from its international
counterparts.
77
construction of national market economy. The Partys eagerness and determination to
create a wealthy, materially-affluent society inevitably brought about social and cultural
relaxation. As is well-known, the administrative strategy of Chinas government under
the leadership of Deng Xiaoping was pragmatic. Its main concern was with practical
rather than ideological matters, and great emphasis had been placed on economic matters.
Dengs famous phrase it does not matter if it is a black cat or white cat as long as it
catches mice vividly illustrates his practical approach.
7
Under Dengs economic reform
policy, the Chinese central government systematically gave autonomy to previously
subordinate economic sectors, thus submitting them to market rule (i.e. the laws of supply
and demand). People from every walk of life were encouraged to explore their
imagination for creating marketable goods. Dengs famous Southern Tour and the
ensuing official announcement of market economy as a goal for further economic reform
in 1992 gave a further impetus to the already growing economy and profoundly changed
the social and cultural life of the Chinese people.
8

The essential impact of Dengs economic reform on the art world has been the emergence

7
This is a famous phrase Deng coined in order to legitimize the introduction of a market economy
in China. His main idea is that a market economy is not necessarily an exclusive property of
capitalist societies, and a planned economy is not necessarily an exclusive property of a socialist
country, and the only criterion to decide which one should be applied in China is its function in
the improvement of Chinese economy.

8
Deng Xiaopings Southern Tour in 1992 aimed to observe and evaluate the result of economic
development in several special economic zones in south China, which were designated as
experimental sites for a market economy in the early 1980s. Reportedly, he was very pleased with
the result and after his return back to Beijing, he decided to extend the special economic zones to
a national level.
78
of market/private patronage of art, which has in turn functioned as a rival to the original
state patronage of artists and their art works. In the Mao era, artists were labeled as
cultural workers and they worked for the people. The state, the representative of the
people, was their only patron. Because of the legislative denial of private property and
trading, the practice of private art galleries, art dealers, and collectors was not allowed.
Only state-owned museums and galleries were in operation, and they promoted art not for
the personal aggrandizement of artists or the sale of their works, but to promulgate state
ideology.
9
Individual artists did not sell their work. Actually there were no formal
mechanisms for pricing and selling artworks. Their artistic creativity was channeled
exclusively in the service of the people, of public education, and the construction of
socialist China.

This condition, however, was to be gradually changed after China implemented Reform
and Open-door Policy, which domestically relaxed the firm centralized control over the
economic sector and internationally sought to build up diplomatic relationships with
Western capitalist nations. In the early years, art dealers, primarily from Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and parts of South and East Asia, came to China searching for paintings, mainly
traditional painting and realistic oil paintings.
10
Then starting from the late 1980s, private

9
Annamma, Joy & John F. Sherry Jr. Framing Considerations in the PRC: Creating Value in the
Contemporary Chinese Art Market, Consumption, Markets and Culture, vol.7, no.4 (December
2004): 317.

10
The study of the Chinese art market is still in its nascent stage and there is no systematic research
79
art galleries emerged sporadically, scattered across a handful of big cities. After 1992,
many more private art galleries emerged and soon flourished across the country. Initially,
most of these galleries were invested in by art dealers coming from Hong Kong and
western countries. With the growth of the market economy in China, many domestic
entrepreneurs and businessmen also started to invest in art through funding private
museums and galleries or building up personal or corporate collections. Art fairs and
auctions also appeared in major cities. Some of these kinds of private institutions dealt with
or collected art works that have not been accepted by official institutions, and opened many
opportunities for young artists who did not want to follow the official route to career
growth and success.

New conflicts have inevitably emerged, as China, steered by the force of the market
economy, has rapidly moved forward to catch up with Western developed countries. In the
cultural field, traditional ways were not readily abandoned. The traditional cultural system
was established according to the demand of the planned economy and was under a
centralized administration. In this system, culture was seen as a tool for ideological shaping
and moral education. Other possible functions such as the critique of the state, trading, and

published on the field yet. What are available at the moment are some introductory books on very
basic concepts and terminologies of the art market in general or on art market operation outside of
China, published no earlier than the late 1990s such as Zhang Zhixiong (ed)s Churu Yishu
Shichang [art market basics] (Shanghai: Shanghai Publishing House on Calligraphy and Painting,
1997), Liu Xiaoqiong & Liu Gangs Yishu Shichang [art market] (Nanchang: Jianxi Fine Arts
Publishing House, 1998), and Zhang Liguos Yishu Shichang Xue [art market studies] (Hangzhou:
China Academy of Fine Arts Press, 2003). Other than these books, I have relied on conversations
with artists and gallery owners from China, as well as on my own observation.
80
consumption were denied, as were its role in contributing to the development of the
economy in market terms. Instead of letting cultural production be driven by market forces,
the authorities constantly issued governmental documents that worked to counterbalance
market influences in the cultural realm. In other words, the state still attempted to keep the
initiative in producing culture. In the 1980s and early 1990s, many literary and cinematic
works, from individuals and organizations funded by the state, were produced as critiques
of the corrupting power of the market in morality and ethics. They warned of the ill-fated
ends of the self-indulgent pursuit of money and material gain. In the art world, the desire to
keep a pure land free from market contamination was equally apparent, particularly in art
criticism published in major official media.
11
Official art institutions, including the CAA,
worked hard to produce the kind of art that corresponded to the governments ideological
preference. To a great extent, the evaluation systems, established under the guidelines of a
centralized administration in the planned economy era, was still valued and applied for
examining the merit of artists and their art in the 1990s.

This old way of controlling culture and art, however, would inevitably come under
transformation as a result of the continual and extensive social and economic reforms in
Post-Deng China. In particularly, the awareness of a new type of international competition
in the contemporary worldcultural competitionhas motivated the state administrators

11
Actually the 1980s avant-garde movements were also anti-commercially motivated. See Gao
Minglu, et.al., Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese Contemporary Art
1985-1986] (Shanghai: Shanghai Peoples Publishing House, 1991).
81
into seeking new potentials in Chinese culture. In a speech given on the occasion of the
Seventh National Congress of The China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC)
in December 18, 2001, President Jiang Zemin made a brief summary of the current
situation:
The drastic competition of comprehensive national strength in todays world
includes not only economic, scientific, and national defense strength, but also
culture. In general, the majority of developing countries are faced with not only
severe challenges in their economic development but also cultural development. It
is very important for developing countries to preserve and develop the excellent
traditions of their native national cultures, largely promote national spirit, actively
absorb the fine cultural fruits from other nations, and push the update of native
culture. All these are crucial for the future and fate of the developing countries.
12

He then continues his emphasis on the importance of developing Chinese culture:
Striving to construct our advanced culture and make it strongly appeal to people
nationwide even worldwide is an equally important strategic task for us to realize
socialist modernization, as to endeavor to develop our advanced productivity for
China to be enlisted as one of the developed countries. Only when we construct
an advanced socialist culture that is national, scientific, and public and that is
facing modernization, facing the world, and facing the future, can we meet our
peoples increasing demand of spiritual and cultural life, uplift their standards of
ethical morality and science and culture, and give correct direction and powerful
intelligent support for us to develop economy and advanced productivity.
13

A few years before his open and formal speech at CFLACs National Congress, Jiang and
his Premier had already delivered similar remarks on various occasions and had

12
Jiang Zemin, Zai Zhongguo Wenlian Diqici Quanguo Daibiao Dahui, Zhougguo Zuoxie Diliuci
Quanguo Daibiao Dahui shang de Jianghua [speech given at the Seventh National Congress of the
China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and at the Sixth National Congress of the Chinese
Writers Association], released by Xinhua News Agency on Dec 18, 2001.
<http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/20011218/629941.html> (Accessed on July 18, 2005).

13
Ibid.
82
repeatedly emphasized the strategic significance of culture in contemporary world
competition. Official intellectuals published theoretical analyses on this issue even
earlier.
14
Under the guidelines from the spirit of Jiang and other Premiers remarks and
alerted to the newly added significance of cultures status in global competition, Chinese
cultural administrators have been seeking ways to activate and encourage the development
of Chinese culture. Following huge successes in the economic realm since the market
economy was formally launched, China is finally considering a full scale collaboration
between market and culture. In 1998, the Ministry of Culture established a new sector, the
Culture Industry Bureau, responsible for investigating, researching, organizing, planning,
and making policies for the cultural market. In October 2000, a state proposal that was
passed by the Fifth Plenum of the 15th Communist Party Central Committee repeated the
term culture industry at least six times in describing the states policy for reforming
cultural production and administration in China.
15
It proposed that the government should

14
Earlier publications, in Chinese, on the relationship between culture and national sovereignty
and power are Wang Huning, Zuowei guojia shili de wenhua: ruan quanli [Culture as a
Component of National Strength: Soft Power], Fudan Xuebao [Journal of Fudan University], iss.3
(1993); Wang Huning, Wenhua Kuozhang yu Wenhua zhuquan: dui zhuquan guannian de
tiaozhan [Cultural expansion and Cultural Sovereignty: Challenges to the Concept of
Sovereignty], Fudan Xuebao [Journal of Fudan University], iss.3 (1994); Wang Ning, Dongfang
Zhuyi, hou zhimin zhuyi he wenhua baquan zhuyi pipan [Orientalism, postcolonialism and
criticism of cultural hegemony], Beijing Daxue Xuebao [Journal of Beijing University], iss.2
(1995); Zhang Yiwu, Chanshi Zhongguo de Jiaolu [The anxiety of interpreting China ],
Ershiyi Shiji [Twenty-First Century], vol.28 (April 1995); Xia Yinying, Zhimin Wenhua
Xianxiang yu Wenhua Zhimin Zhuyi [The Phenomena of colonial culture and cultural
colonialism], Wenyi Lilun yu Piping [Literary Theory and Criticism], iss.2 (1996).

15
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2001-2002 Nian Zhongguo Wenhua Chanye Lanpishu
Zongbaogao [the general blue-book report on the Chinese culture industry, 2001- 2002 ] (Beijing:
Social Science Documents Publishing House, 2002). Electronic version available at
http://www.china.org.cn/chinese/culture/99856.htm (Accessed June 8, 2006).
83
perfect policies of culture industry, strengthen the construction and administration of the
cultural market, and drive the development of the culture industry.
16
In the official report
of the Chinese Communist Partys 16
th
National Congress in 2002, it is clearly written: In
the current market economy, developing the culture industry is a very important way to
achieve socialist cultural prosperity and to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the
people.
17

Thus, culture industry, a term that has already seen its circulation in public media, has
finally entered into the Chinese governments strategic and legal documents.
18
From
various aspects, the result of researches funded by the state on cultural industries in other
countries seemed to confirm the necessity and urgency to develop culture industry in
China. It was reported that in western developed countries such as the United States,
Britain, and Canada, the production value created by the culture industry occupied a
significant portion in national production values and contributed greatly to an individual
countrys comprehensive national power. For example, one report states:

16
Ibid.

17
Jiang Zeming, Quanmian Jianshe Xiaokang Shehui, Kaichuang Zhongguo Tese Shehuizhuyi
Shiye Xinjumian [to construct a well-to-do society in full scale, to initiate a new phrase of Chinese
characteristic socialist undertaking], released by Xinhua News Agency on Nov 8, 2002. <
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2002-11/17/content_632239.htm > (Accessed on July 19,
2005 )

18
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2001-2002 Nian Zhongguo Wenhua Chanye Lanpishu
Zongbaogao [the general blue-book report on the Chinese cultural industry, 2001- 2002].
84
Through a developed culture industry, developed countries not only exert a subtle
but extensive influence on consumers but also make big profit out of it, and
subsequently increase and strengthen the discrepancy of national power between
them and the developing countries. Therefore, developing countries, including
China, should see the development of culture industry as a significant strategy for
strengthening comprehensive national power in contemporary time. Culture
industry is a mainstay of the economy in the twenty-first century.
19

Another author discusses the political significance of developing culture industry in
China:
Along with the entry of China into the WTO, there is an influx of foreign capital
and cultural products into our country, a higher level of international cultural
exchanges and cooperation, and a more drastic scale of infiltration and conflict
between different cultures. Provided with strong economic power and advanced
cultural dissemination system, Western developed countries have exported large
amount of spiritual and cultural products, political thoughts, and social values
with the intention to occupy the cultural market in China. We should be aware of
[the negative impact of] this process. In order to maintain the sovereignty and
independence of Chinese culture, to defend against the negative influence of
foreign culture, and especially to eliminate the [spiritual] contamination from
[Western] decadent cultures, we should vigorously develop our own culture
industry, enhance the market competitive power of our cultural products, and
increase the occupation ratio in the cultural market.
20

Here, the development of culture industry is heightened to an imperative and essential
status, directly related to national survival and independence. Upon the recognition of the
significant contribution that the culture industry can make to national economy and

19
Xu Gongcheng, Dang de Shiliuda wei Woguo Wenhua Chanye de Fazhan Zhiming Jiben
Fangxiang [the Sixteenth National Congress of the CCP gives principal directions for the
development of our cultural industry], December 11, 2002.
<http://www.china.org.cn/chinese/zhuanti/244905.htm> (Accessed on June 8, 2006).

20
Han Yongjing, Wenhuachanye Gainian de Zhengshi Tichu ji qi Beijing [the formal
application of the concept of cultural industry and its background], in Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences, 2001-2002 Nian Zhongguo Wenhua Chanye Lanpishu Zongbaogao [the general
blue-book report on the Chinese cultural industry, 2001- 2002].
85
strength, the government has turned it into an integral part of the overall economic plan for
China. Though the practice of culture industry actually started as early as 1979 in China,
21

this is indeed a national and official sanction of the implementation of market practice in
the cultural domain and the start of a cultural system reform. At the moment, experts are
still struggling with the definition, boundary, and evaluation of culture industry. However,
it is abundantly clear that culture is now expected to perform an important role in the
overall development of the national economy. As a result, the idea that culture is a kind of
spiritual or mental commodity and is comparable to other market commodities has finally
entered into the public mentality of Chinese society. Even though culture is still divided
into cultural undertakings (meaning cultural products/activities produced by non-profit
institutions/organizations for performing public services) and cultural industries (meaning
cultural products/activities produced by institutions/organizations for making profit), we
can see that starting from this, culture in China is no longer a domain exclusively reserved
for political ideologies, but open to the ideology of the market, in other words, the rule of
supply and demand.

In promoting the culture industry, the Chinese central government has encouraged its
subsidiary cultural institutions to handle their own financial responsibilities and respond to
the demand of the market directly. This tendency is seen in every level of government, and

21
Scholars trace the origin of practicing cultural industry in China back to 1979 when the first
music teahouse was opened in Guangzhou Oriental Hotel. Subsequently, other commercial spaces
for various cultural activities such as dance and music were opened in big cities.
86
it prompts the subsequent transformation of the cultural administrative system, from a
centralized and fixed system to a multiform and flexible one. Zhang XinJian, the director
of the Culture Industry Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, is reported to state:
The healthy development of culture industry will benefit from scientific and
systematic governmental administration and from the comprehensive and in-depth
art [cultural] popularization. Along with the entry into the WTO, Chinese
government is committing itself to functional transformation from producing
culture to managing culture, following the rule of art [culture], applying
macro-management to create a relaxing and active atmosphere for art [culture]; at
the same time, the government is zealously attracting foreign excellent art
[cultural] works in order to provide Chinese audiences with art [cultural] products
that are multilayer, multifold, and multiform.
22

From the statement we can see that the government is not only seeking an effective
administrative strategy corresponding to the demands of the new cultural development, but
also is interested in promoting collaborative relationships with international cultural
communities. Accompanying the new currency of culture industry, the government has
encouraged Chinese people to discover, manipulate, and create profitable cultural products
for material returns. As an important sector of culture, art in China has been unavoidably
called upon to respond to the new function of culture and to contribute to the development
of the new industry. Various official art institutions have started to take developing culture
industry as one of their institutional tasks. In the new constitution of the Chinese Artists

22
Wu Jing, Wenming Guguo de Jingshen Shengyan - Zhongguo Wenhua Chanye Rechao
Yongdong [the spiritual banquet of the nation of ancient civilization - Chinese cultural industry
is surging], October 6, 2002.
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2002-10/06/content_586247.htm> (Accessed June 8,
2006).
87
Association that was passed in 2004, for instance, article 15 says: [we] should strengthen
intimate cooperation with relational governmental branches and other social sectors to
develop the artistic undertakings of our country; [we] should develop the art culture
industry, according to state policy.
23
Certainly, theory came much later than actual
practice, as also in other sectors of culture. Still, this formal embracing of culture industry
in the art world will advance a vigorous wave towards the marketization of the Chinese art
world.
24

In the context of culture industry and transforming the cultural system, the structure of
the Chinese art world is also manifesting new features at the dawn of the new century.
Artists are no longer collective cultural workers, but individual market subjects; as such
they assume much more power, rights, and relative freedom in how, what, and for whom
to create art.
25
They can choose to be a regular state-stipend-receiver and maintain an
official job at some unit, or to be an independent artist who is relying entirely upon the
market, or both in order to take advantage of both mechanisms.
26
In the meantime, the

23
The Constitution of the Chinese Artists Association, article 15.

24
What should be added here is that the launch of the cultural industry is actually part of the
Chinese governments efforts in fostering an atmosphere conducive to global trade, through
which the Chinese art world greatly benefits itself in economic terms.

25
Certainly there is no absolute freedom here. Artists are still subject to restrictions placed by the
government in terms of what is marketable and what is not.

26
My interviews with artists show that many of them appreciate double identities, holding an
official post and practically being an independent artist. So, they can enjoy basic institutional
benefits such as housing, wages, publicity programs on the one hand, and on the other move among
different cities and being a member of artist groups of several cities at the same time. Chapter six
88
increasing mobility of society and the flexibility of market operation allow them to
choose their place of residence and thus many of them congregate in big cities such as
Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. There, they constitute artist villages or art districts
and enjoy advantages such as the ability to stay up-to-date with the newest experiments
and theories in the field, to be better informed of the newest market trends, and to be
easily contacted by art dealers and curators.

Accompanying this greater flexibility and mobility, a diverse and dynamic art scene has
inevitably emerged. Making art is no longer an official task with limited content and style.
Instead, choices are open to artists. If they still feel like responding to the official call and
producing works that express political allegiance or positive social message, that is fine.
They can still seek patronage and recognition through the established official way, such as
art exhibitions organized by the CAA and its local branches, official art magazines, and
public museums. If they decide to make art that responds directly to the market, they are
faced with a flourishing international art market for Chinese art. Some artists are even more
flexible and create different works answering to both. The previous simplistic evaluation
and judgment, such as the idea that good/healthy art that depicts a revolution scene or the
peoples life and bad/harmful art includes abstraction, expressionism, and the depiction of
the nude, have totally disappeared in todays Chinese society. Nudes, abstractions, and
expressionist works have already been appreciated as proof of openness and celebrated as

will elaborate on this issue with examples.
89
new achievements in official art. Today, hardly anyone speaks of good art or bad art simply
according to criteria of style or content. When the term good art is used, it does not
necessarily contain an imperative sense of political correctness, but likely refers to various
kinds of art, ranging from art that bears the purpose of critical interrogation of Chinese
society and culture to art that is witty enough to attract attention, evoke thought, and
succeed in the art market.

3. Globalization, Exhibitions, and Transnational Art
If marketization is an internal force that puts the Chinese art world into the wheel of
transformation, globalization is the external force that pushes the wheel moving forward
even faster. In China, marketization and globalization are indeed inextricably linked forces
that augment one another. On the one hand, with globalization as a driving force,
marketization automatically gains its importance as the way for China to ultimately
modernize itself and catch up with the rest of the world. Globalization stimulates and
speeds up the process of marketization and connects the Chinese domestic market to the
international one. On the other hand, with the aid of far-reaching marketization and culture
industry, globalization is able to exert its maximum influence on Chinese society,
particularly on individual artists. Leaving out the impact of globalization on the economic
and social domains, I will focus on how globalization has affected the practice and display
of Chinese contemporary art in China and beyond, and how Chinese artists have utilized
the opportunities presented through globalization. In the Chinese art world, the impact and
90
presence of globalization can be seen not only through the circulation of many new
concepts and practices, but also through social and market relationships that connect
Chinese artists directly with their international counterparts and the whole machinery of
the Western art industry, including curators, critics, dealers, galleries, art journals, auction
houses, and museums.

Actually, any study of contemporary art, no matter from which region, cannot afford to
ignore the effect of globalization. The whole contemporary art world is under
transformation, motivated by globalization and forces generated by it. In her book-length
study of the relation between globalization and contemporary art, art historian Charlotte
Bydler points out that since the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the growing popularity
of electronic communications and transnational travel and migration, globalization has
prompted new approaches to making art and displaying art, new theories for explaining
art and new perspectives for viewing art.
27
In particular, the international art world has
witnessed an explosion of large-scale temporary art exhibitions.
28
These exhibitions are
often devoted to creating a global platform for transnational cultural exchanges.
29
Being

27
Charlotte Bydler, The Global ArtWorld Inc.: On the Globalization of Contemporary Art.
(Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2004). Also similar discussions by leading curators and critics, see
Tim Griffin, Global Tendencies: Globalism and the Large-Scale Exhibition, Artform, vol.42,
iss.3 (November 2003):152-167.

28
Here I mean large-scale international exhibitions, including biennials, triennials, and transnational
touring exhibitions.

29
The basic assumptions behind the enthusiasm of this type of exhibition are that it possesses the
unique position of both reflecting globalism and taking up globalism itself as an idea and thus
91
seen as an effective method to engage in todays transnational cultural, social, ethical and
even political issues, they have absorbed more and more attention in todays art world,
and have acquired greater power in shaping and reshaping the structure and relationship
of the global art world.
30
Accompanying the increasing importance of international
exhibitions in the art world and contemporary cultural life come what Michael Brenson
calls the Curators Moment.
31
We have seen a passionate lift of the independent
curators social role and sphere of influence in the past decade. He or she no longer
operates invisibly behind the art works, but has become the central player in the broader
stage of global cultural politics.
32
He or she now travels internationally, stands in front
of various exhibitions, giving meanings, raising issues, interpreting art works, and
promoting what is claimed to be important for todays art as well as for society. It was in
this context, where curators and their exhibitions have become the principal arbitrators of
the global art world, that Chinese contemporary art made its presence and acquired its
transnational quality.

Emerging in the early 1990s, what is now regarded as Chinese contemporary art took a
very different direction from its predecessor avant-garde art or earlier unofficial art. The

speaks directly to contemporary issues. Tim Griffin, Global Tendencies: Globalism and the
Large-Scale Exhibition, Artform, vol.42, iss.3 (November 2003):152.

30
Ibid.

31
Michael Brenson, The Curators Moment, Art Journal, vol.57, iss.4 (Winter 1998): 17.

32
Mari Carmen Ramrez, Brokering Identities: Art Curators and the Politics of Cultural
Presentation, in Thinking about Exhibitions, 21-22.
92
Chinese avant-garde art movement, starting in the late 1970s and flourishing in the 1980s
as a direct result of the Reform and Open-door Policy and part of the intellectual
discourse in Post-Cultural-Revolution China, is characterized by collective activities and
an enthusiastic belief in an intellectual engagement with society and an interrogation of
political reality. The movements peak was marked by the China/Avant-Garde Exhibition
at the China National Museum of Fine Arts in Beijing in February 1989. The exhibition
was an ensemble of all kinds of unofficial art groups throughout the country and it
presented a wide range of works in various media including installation, video, and
performance.
33
At the same time, the exhibition was later referred to by scholars as an
announcement of the end of the avant-garde art movement in China, due to the two
forced closings during the exhibition by the Public Security Bureau and the large-scale
ideological and practical suppression of avant-garde art practice afterwards.
34
Any
practice related with avant-garde art was no longer allowed in public space and reviews
of it, unless reprehensive, were not allowed to be published.
35
Furthermore, the political

33
Gao Minglu, the renowned critic and curator who now teaches in the USA, was the chief
organizer of the exhibition. Many now internationally well-known artists, such as Gu Wenda,
Huang Yongping, Wang Guangyi and Xu Bing, had their works shown. For more detail about the
exhibition, see Gao Minglu, The '85 Movement: Avant-Garde Art in the Post-Mao Era (Ph.D.
diss. Harvard University, 2000).

34
The exhibition as a conclusion of the avant-garde art movement was first pointed out by Gao
Minglu, Shu Qun, and others in their book, Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese
Contemporary Art 1985-1986] (Shanghai: Shanghai Peoples Publishing House, 1991), and has
been generally agreed upon among Chinese critics.

35
Its strong supporter, the weekly newspaper Zhongguo Meishu Bao (Fine Arts in China), was
forced to close down by the authorities at the end of 1989. Those main critics, including Gao
Minglu and Li Xianting, who were involved in the avant-garde art movement and the
China/Avant-Garde exhibition later were asked to leave their official posts.
93
atmosphere among the Chinese intelligentsia was to be further tightened by the
Tiananmen Square Incident in June 1989, when that mass protest was defined as an
anti-revolutionary movement and was suppressed. The vigorous and sincere debates
among intelligentsia in their critical and introspective discourse on Chinese society came
to a sudden halt. The suddenly tense political situation disheartened many intellectuals,
including many artists, who were committed to social obligation and responsibility. It was
at this point that many of them who were engaged in the avant-garde art movement left
China for an environment more conducive to their artistic development.

In the early 1990s, those former avant-garde artists who stayed in China and some of the
newly grown young artists developed a very different art which, as generally agreed,
evidently discontinued the intellectual and political edge that characterized Chinese
avant-garde art in the 1980s. Instead, it bore a strong feature of satire, indifference,
cynicism and self-denial, and was broadly defined under two rubrics, Political Pop and
Cynical Realism, even though the diversity of actual art practices could not be simply
covered by these two terms.
36
Denied public access (exhibition or publication) to the
domestic audience, Chinese contemporary art remained largely unknown in China.
However, in 1993, Political Pop and Cynical Realism, together with other types of
contemporary art from China, were introduced to the Venice Biennale, the worlds most

36
See chapter four for more discussion of these two types of Chinese contemporary art.
94
renowned international exhibition for showing art.
37
These two types of art were
received with great enthusiasm in the West and they appeared in media such as The New
York Times and Art in America. As a result, an international market for this type of
Chinese art was mobilized. Since then, contemporary Chinese artists have been
frequently invited by curators to exhibit their works in long- or newly-established
international exhibitions, including Venice Biennale, Documenta, Sao Paulo Biennial,
Johannesburg Biennale, Kwangju Biennale, and others.

In addition, a few exhibitions entirely devoted to Chinese contemporary art were
assembled and brought more Chinese unofficial art into the international art world. In 1993
a large exhibition, entitled Chinas New Art: Post-1989, was organized by the Hong
Kong Hanart T ZGallery. After its initial showcase in Hong Kong, the works traveled to
London, Sidney, Chicago, Portland, and other sites, until 1997.
38
Between 1997 and 1998,
an exhibition entitled China! that presented several new schools of art by 31 artists from
China traveled to the Kunstmuseum in Bonn, the Kunstlerhaus in Vienna, and the
Singapore Art Museum.
39
In 1998, another important exhibition of Chinese contemporary

37
Chinese participation in the 1993 Venice Biennale was made possible through collaborative
work by Li Xianting, the ardent advocator of Chinese unofficial art, Francesca dal Lago, a then art
history PhD student from New York University, and Achille Bonito Oliva, an Italian curator and the
director of that years Venice Biennale.

38
Valerie C. Doran, ed., China's New Art, Post-1989.

39
Annamma, Joy & John F. Sherry Jr. Framing Considerations in the PRC: Creating Value in the
2004): 328.
95
art entitled Inside/Out: New Chinese Art, curated by Gao Minglu, was mounted by the
Asia Society in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, displaying
works by contemporary Chinese artists since 1989.
40
The show toured to New York, San
Francisco, Mexico, Seattle and several major Asian cities and brought the newest Chinese
contemporary art directly into contact with the international art community. These shows,
among many others, significantly increased international audiences experiences of
Chinese contemporary art and contributed greatly in making it a promising category for
market pursuit and academic studies.

As analyzed briefly above, since its inception Chinese contemporary art has been
associated with international exhibitions, which have in turn frame the understanding of
this art at the global art world. It consolidates its identity and gains its reputation during
the process of global culture exchange, a process that not only involves art and culture,
but also implicates political and ideological maneuvers. It would not be an exaggeration
to emphasize that the new global trends, such as multiculturalism, transnational markets
and economic and cultural globalization, have played as an important a role in shaping
the current status of Chinese contemporary art as the political situation in China has.
However, Chinese contemporary art does not exclusively develop through exhibitions
installed outside of mainland China. Transnational exchange has also introduced the

40
Modern Art, 1998).
96
concept and the practice of independent curatorship in China since the early 1990s. This
is also a moment when the notion of individualism started to gain prominence in Chinese
society, a necessary product of the growing commercial culture and advertised life.
41

Before, exhibitions were always organized by committees formed by various officials,
and it was the collective rather than the individual that was valued. In Chinese society in
the 1990s, motivated by the desire of let China go to the world, let the world go to
China, even greater efforts have been devoted to improve the investment environment to
attract more foreign capital and at the same time to raise the standard of product quality
to meet the needs of the international market.
42
In other words, a public call to be global
and to participate in internationally based projects and competition is pursued in various
realms such as sports, science and technology, economics, and, of course, cultural fields.
Necessarily, in the art world, catching up with the newest practices in the international art
world has also become an open desire. In particular, contemporary artists and critics, who,
as mentioned above, lacked public appreciation and institutional support in China, have
been eager to introduce the international art institution and its entire machinery into
China, in order to sustain their existence and survival.

41
For a detailed discussion on the growing advertised life in China since early 1990s, see
Geremie R. Barm, The Velvet Prison of Consumption, in In The Red: On Contemporary
Chinese Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 236-241.

42
Let China go to the world, let the world go to China was one of the phrases that Deng Xiaoping
often used since he launched the Reform and Open-door Policy and have been used broadly, almost
in every field, in sports, in films, in economic and cultural fields ever since. It indicates Chinas
determination to be more interactive with the rest of the world and to promote its visibilities in
international communities.
97
In the effort to build up close or parallel connections with the international art world,
independent curators, most of whom were originally art critics, have emerged, and they
gradually asserted their role as agents of change in transforming the Chinese art world.
They have worked as mediators among sponsors (entrepreneurs in many cases), artists,
media, and government officials. With their efforts, many short-term exhibitions have been
executed and catalogues published, through which contemporary art in China maintained
its continuity and vitality. A few notable examples are the Traces of Existence by Feng
Boyi in January 1998, Its Me!An Aspect of Art Development in the 1990s by Leng
Lin in November 1998, "Beauty Like Materialism" by Zhu Qi in April 1999, Art for Sale
by Xu Zhen, Yang Zhenzhong, and Fuck off by Ai Weiwei and Feng Boyi in 2000.
43

Some of the exhibitions curated by newly-established curators or artists themselves were
very controversial in both themes and forms. For instance, in the exhibition Fuck off,
artists used shocking materials such as living bodies, stillborn fetuses, parts of corpses, and
live animals to strengthen themes such as sex, death, violence, politics and power.
44
These
kinds of exhibitions often had very limited circulation among small groups of domestic
audiences and often were closed by the authorities or received furious criticism afterwards.
Nonetheless, via informal and underground distribution, a lot of attention and discussion

43
The Fuck off exhibition has a different Chinese title, which is Bu Hezuo Fangshi, meaning
uncooperative mode or method. As pointed out by Johathan Napack, the different Chinese title and
English title tell a lot about the contemporary Chinese art scene where there is calculated
sensationalism for foreigners, self-censorship for local consumption. Jonathan Napack, Report
from Shanghai: Its More Fashionable Underground, The Art Newspaper, no. 109, Dec 2000.

44
Feng Boyi, Di Dixia ji Qita Guangyu 20 Shiji 90 Niandai Yilai de Zhongguo Qianwei
Yishu [Underground and Others: On Chinese Avant-garde Art since the 1990s], Yishu Tansuo
[Art Exploration], iss.4 (2003): 23-26.
98
were aroused. In particular, the identity of being underground or unofficial actually drew
international audiences to this kind of exhibition. Curator Feng Boyi provides a vivid
description of the absurd situation:
Banned from exhibiting their works publicly, the artists had to invite Quan nei ren
[people within ones social circle] to visit their shows that were held in basements,
which made the shows seem mysterious. The more mysterious they seemed, the
more foreign reporters that came, which brought suspicious policemen lingering
around. And the police presence would attract even more foreign reporters, thus
resulting in art events, which would then draw more attention and coverage from
the international media.
45

This is an illustration of the complex relation between Chinese artists and their
non-Chinese audiences. International dealers, curators, and critics who travel around China
seeking new trends and sensibilities in Chinese art tended to sympathize automatically
with artists participating in underground exhibitions and tried to introduce them to the
global art world with greater enthusiasm. As a result, many underground artists have
gained considerable reputations in the international art scene and have benefited from the
consequent development of a market for their art, so much that they could totally rely on
the international art circuit and ignore their negative reception in China. In other words,
they took a path of going global in developing their careers, from underground in China
to international.

In short, the development of Chinese contemporary art cannot be separated from the many

45
Ibid.
99
kinds of exhibitions, international and domestic, that promote, nurture, and condition its
overall appearance. Gao Minglu argues that Chinese contemporary art was brought into the
international arena by the rapid economic globalization that ensued after the end of the
Cold War.
46
It is equally reasonable to argue that the globalization of contemporary art
exhibition practice and the art market has greatly motivated the continuous and vibrant
development of contemporary art in China. With the anticipation of going global and
nurtured by the international art institution, underground art was able to develop into a
prominent force, until it was brought above ground in China at the beginning of the
twenty-first century.

4. Cultural Nationalism and Pulling Back Chinese Contemporary Art
It may seem strange to talk about cultural nationalism after elaborating on the
overwhelming impact of globalization on the Chinese art world. However, this is what has
happened in contemporary China, where originally oppositional forces, be they from West
or East, past or present, have been managed to work collusively for either ideological or
pragmatic purposes. Just like the coexistence of a planned economy and market economy,
cultural nationalism and globalization is another pair of seemingly incompatible but
practically reciprocal trends in China. Nationalistic projects with intentions of presenting
the uniqueness of Chinese culture and civilization, asserting past glories and amplifying

46
Modern Art, 1998), 17.
100
present achievements go hand in hand with international projects that aim to present China
as an open and modern nation, to de-emphasize cultural and political differences and to
package China for its acceptance into the global system. The revival of centuries-old
Confucianism and the search for authentic Chinese spirit are trends that are actually
complementary to the huge efforts being mobilized to meet the standards for entering into
the WTO and to be the host of the Olympic Games of 2008. It can be described in this way:
nationalism is a particular way to circumscribe and practice globalization, while
globalization is used to evoke and manipulate the sentiment of nationalism. The two terms
have been equally promoted by the Chinese government in Post-Deng Chinese society.
47

Their connection is only one aspect of the complexity of todays economic, social, and
cultural conditions in China. Cultural nationalism, like marketization and globalization,
has played an important role in the overall transformation of the Chinese art world.
Essentially, it brings unofficial contemporary art into the scope of official art and
challenges the boundary of the art establishment in China.

Accompanying Chinas rapid economic growth and opening to the rest of the world,
nationalism has gained a new appeal in many aspects of social life. The state, intellectuals
who keep themselves in line with the state ideology, and intellectuals who have been

47
I develop my argument of the relationship between globalization and nationalism in China and
the Chinese states appropriation of both based on the anthropologist Aihwa Ongs study of the
adaptation of new policies by a few Asian states in the face of challenges brought up by the
process of globalization. Aihwa One, Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of Transnationality
(Durham: Duke University Press, 1999).
101
critical to the state seem to embrace nationalism as a societal necessity in order to ensure
Chinas further development in the globalized era. Various discussions on nationalism have
been organized and promoted, and have generated extensive responses in Chinese society.
Political scientist Gunter Schubert has summarized the situation in this way:
Nationalism is definitely a hot issue in present-day China. Government officials,
party cadres, intellectuals of both regime-critical and regime-supporting camps,
cultural conservatives, liberals, dissidents, and young entrepreneurs with populist
appeal all take part in this ongoing debate.
48

From the states side, as pointed out by many scholars, the revival of nationalism is a
necessary strategy for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to deal with many new
problems brought up by its economic reforms and openness to the outside world.
49
The
Marxist-Maoist ideology, which supported the founding and the consolidation of the
Peoples Republic of China in the past, is gradually losing its appeal in contemporary
China. The CCP is facing an urgent task of setting up a new central ideology for pulling
people from different racial backgrounds, social status, and professional and educational
levels together. In this special historical moment, cultural nationalism becomes a useful
ideology that can facilitate the CCP to maintain its authority in China. As Guo Yingjie
argues:

48
Gunter Schubert, Nationalism and National Identity in Contemporary China: Assessing the
Debate, Issues & Studies 37, no.5 (September/October 2001): 132.

49
For a comprehensive discussion of Chinese nationalism in the 1990s, see Zheng Yongnian
Discovering Chinese Nationalism in China: Modernization, Identity, and International Relations
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999); Gunter Schubert, Nationalism and National
Identity in Contemporary China: Assessing the Debate, Issues & Studies 37, no.5
(September/October 2001): 128-156.
102
Having shifted away from its traditional Marxist-Maoist basis of legitimization,
the CCP is compelled to reposition itself in relation to the people and nation. In
essence, this is the main thrust of Jiang Zemins recent theory of three represents.
As state nationalism is embraced as a supplement ideology, it has opened up
considerable space for cultural nationalism and enabled it to articulate its own
project under the protection of the official patriotic rhetoric.
50

Indeed, the party has been formulating new theory in response to new situations. In 2000,
the president Jiang Zeming put forward the theory of Three Represents, which says that
the Chinese Communist Party represents the most advanced productivity, advanced
Chinese culture, and the fundamental interests of the majority of the Chinese people.
51

Here, no longer only workers, peasants, and soldiers are represented, but the majority of
the Chinese people; no class struggle any more, but advanced Chinese culture and
advanced productivity.
52
The Sixteenth National Congress passed this theory as a state
proposal in 2002 and it was formally added into the Constitution of the PRC in 2004.
Apparently, the Party needs to reposition itself as representative of a broader range of
Chinese people, rather than workers, peasants, and soldiers as in the past. The ongoing
economic reforms have greatly changed the structure of dominating social classes in China.
The so-called masters of socialist China, the workers and peasants, whom the CCP claimed
to represent, used to be the dominating forces. In the past two decades, however, the

50
GuoYingjie, Cultural Nationalism In Contemporary China: The Search for National Identity
Under Reform (London and New York: Routledge, 2004), 2.

51
Sange Daibiao Sixiang [the thought of three represents], June 13, 2001.
<http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/252/5301/5302/20010613/488147.html> (Accessed
December 22, 2005).

52
While in Mao Zedong thought, only workers, peasants, and soldiers were regarded as the people
and class struggle was at the core of his politics.
103
priority of their function in developing the country has been replaced by newly emerging
classes such as business, technical, and intellectual ones. These newly established social
sectors assert increasingly significant influence in the society, which the party cannot
afford to ignore. Thus, the Chinese people and Chinese nation, two terms with more
open meanings, have been frequently used in all kinds of governmental speeches.

At this point, cultural nationalism seems to become an effective ideology that could be
applied to pull together Chinese people who were disappointed with the ideal of
communism.
53
In order to culturally legitimize itself, the Party has invested great effort
positioning itself as the inheritor and promoter of Chinese traditional culture.
54
The
energetic promotion of studies on Confucianism and other ancient schools of thought are
good cases in point.
55
Since the mid 1990s, Confucius has regained great popularity in
Chinese society.
56
The government has supported many projects whose aim is to articulate

53
GuoYingjie, Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary China: The Search for National Identity
Under Reform (London and New York: Routledge, 2004).

54
The revived interest in Chinese traditional culture has some earlier roots in Chinese society in
the 1980s, when the search for a non-Maoist source of native Chinese culture began with what is
known as the roots seeking movement, which itself was part of the larger culture fever
phenomenon of that period. For in-depth studies of the culture fever phenomenon in China, see
Wang Jing, High Culture Fever: Politics, Aesthetics, and Ideology in Deng's China (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1996) and Zhang Xudong, Chinese Modernism in the Era of
Reforms (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997).

55
These studies can be generally included under the term Guoxue (meaning national study), which
was coined and circulated rapidly in China in the early 20
th
century, in referring to the studies of
Chinese traditional culture. This term has seen its new popularity in contemporary China. Famous
scholars on the field are respected as Guoxue Dashi, meaning national study masters.

56
This point is evident in the large number of publications related to Confucianism, either in of the
form of scholarly research or for public education, that were released in the 1990s.
104
the philosophy of Confucius and its applicability in contemporary China. Many Confucius
statues have been set up in universities to honor this ancient thinker, educator, and
philosopher. Meanwhile, as discussed in the second section of this chapter, the government
also sets up many forward-looking programs that may appeal to all Chinese people and
promote the necessity of seeking a Chinese way of developing culture, one that will
contribute to the overall comprehensive power of China.

This state-launched cultural nationalism has its far-reaching influence among different
strata of Chinese society. It coincides with the kind of nationalism that has circulated
among certain intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and the public, who feel resentment about the
overwhelming impact of globalization, together with western cultures, commodities, and
social values.
57
The states call for discovering a Chinese way to develop contemporary
culture certainly appeals to these people. For them, the pursuit of national identity and
cultural autonomy should become one of the major focuses among the nations overall
tasks in order to counterbalance the overwhelming impact of western cultures in China
since the 1980s.
58
They argue that China, as a booming country in the new century, should
create its own brand of contemporary culture that is comparable to its glorious past.
Actually, they have been calling for governmental and public efforts to produce national

57
Gunter Schubert, Nationalism and National Identity in Contemporary China: Assessing the
Debate.

58
Ibid, 137-144.
105
culture and arts in order to enhance national self-esteem and self-confidence.
59
So here, in
term of cultural nationalism, we see a great degree of collaboration between the
government and people who are not necessarily in line with the CCPs political agendas. In
other words, cultural nationalism has become an influential ideology in contemporary
China.

In the art world, nothing seems to benefit more from the thriving Chinese cultural
nationalism than contemporary art. A few concrete examples will make this point
self-evident. In 2004, the local government of Tongzhou district established a billboard
standing at an intersection on the way to Song Zhuang Artist Village in the eastern suburb
of Beijing [figure 20]. In both Chinese and English (the bilingual sign itself is a very new
and popular trend in China), the billboard reads:
(Heading) Welcome to [Song Village] Chinese Contemporary Artist Community
(Subheading) A village that determines the status of Chinese contemporary art in
the world
(Content) Just as Barbizon in France, the East Village in USA, Dachau and
Worpswede in Germany, Song Village in Beijing, China has attracted good
concerns from domestic and international circles of art and cultures due to the
collection of numerous artists and enormously active artistic atmosphere. As the
main body of Chinese contemporary artist community, Song Village will represent
the status of Chinese contemporary art in the world.

Song Zhuang Artist Village is an area in Beijings eastern outskirts where there is

59
Xia Yinying, Zhimin wenhua xianxiang yu wenhua zhimin zhuyi [Phenomena of colonial
culture and cultural colonialism], Wenyi Lilun yu Piping [Literary Theory and Criticism] iss.2
(1996): 137.
106
convenient pubic transportation to downtown Beijing and inexpensive housing and living
expenses. It begun to attract artists since 1993 and they came to rent local peasants houses
as their living quarters and/or studios. In 1995, more artists moved in when the first artist
colony Yuan Ming Yuan [the Winter Palace of Qing Dynasty] artist village was banned and
artists dispersed by the government. By the summer of 2005, there were more than two
hundred artists living in ordinary single peasant houses in the Village, without counting
people practicing other cultural professions. This village has become a place where artists,
critics, musicians, movie producers and freelance writers expect to experience a kind of
self-imposed vagrant life, free from any institutional affiliation and conventional moral
restraints. At the same time, it is also a place where foreign curators and art dealers visit to
search for new Chinese art in recent years.
60

This local government-established billboard reveals an important message concerning the
official perception of contemporary art and artists in China. A few years ago, such kinds
of vagrant artists, who did not have an affiliation with any official unit, were regarded by
the authorities as a potential threat to the stability of the society and their gathering site a
problematic zone. The government tended to take a suspicious and vigilant attitude
towards them and their activities. The first artist village, as mentioned above, ended up
being forcefully dismissed by the authorities in 1995; another one called East Village had

60
For a detailed discussion about the origin, development, and major resident artists of Song
Zhuang Artist Village, please see Zhao Tielin, Heibai SongzhuangDuandai Qingnian de Yishu
Zhuiqiu yu Rensheng Ziyou [black and white Song villagethe art pursuit of new generation youth
and individual freedom], (Hainang: Hainang Publishing House, 2003).
107
the same fate. However, in 2004, the government legitimized and recognized the
existence of an artist community in Song Zhuang Artist Village by approving an official
road sign for it [figure 20]. Moreover, the text on the billboard sign reveal a very bold and
nationalistic tone, describing the village as being in a position comparable with a few
other well-known artist colonies in Europe and North America. Thus, Chinese
contemporary art has not only been legitimized but also lifted to a quite important status.

Broadly viewed, the Song Zhuang Artist Village is not a single case, but one of many
examples that show the governments modified strategy towards contemporary art. In
particular, in the field of art exhibition, this change is very notable. Starting from 2000,
the authorities began to officially lift their veto on contemporary art. The Third Shanghai
Biennale, sponsored by the Cultural Ministry of China and the Shanghai Municipal
Government, was seen as the first case.
61
The range of exhibited works included
photography, video works and installation works, plus conventional art forms such as
painting and sculpture. Many critics point out that this was a huge step in the specific
context of China where video and installation works have always been anathema to the
majority of Chinese officialdom.
62
Also, the biennale was an institutional experiment as

61
Shanghai Biennale was established in 1996 and originally was only open to Chinese artists. The
2000 Shanghai Biennale was made open to artists worldwide and became an international biennial.

62
For example, famous critic Jia Fangzhou comments: This breakthrough of the limitation on art
forms undoubtedly marks a new chapter in the exhibition history of China. Jia Fangzhou, Xin
de Biaozhi Xin de Kaiduan-Ping 2000 Shanghai Shuangnianzhan [A New Sign and A New
Beginning On the Shanghai Biennale].
<http://www.cnarts.net/SHANGHAIART/biennale/shb2002/critique_read.asp?id=12> (Accessed
108
it applied the international curatorial practice for the first time in an official exhibition in
China.
63
After the taboo of contemporary media was officially lifted, there were
increasing numbers of this kind of exhibitions on various scales in public exhibition
spaces.

In the meantime, contemporary art has also started to make its presence in the Chinese
governments international cultural projects. In 2001, the Ministry of Culture assembled
an exhibition of Chinese contemporary art entitled Living in Time, curated by Fan
Dian, a Chinese official who has gained prominent status in contemporary art
exhibitions in recent years, German curator Gabriele Knapstein, and Hou Hanru, as part
of the China Festival in Berlin, Germany, during the Berlin Asia-Pacific Week. This was
the first time that the authorities organized an overseas exhibition that included
contemporary art.
64
In the following year, the first Guangzhou Triennial opened at
Guangdong Museum of Art, which was actually a retrospective exhibition of
underground Chinese art in the 1990s.
65
Then, in 2003, the government assembled their

July 20, 2004).
Karen Smith, a close observer of Chinese contemporary art and exhibitions in China, states: it is
the first time for works by contemporary Chinese artists to be given official blessing to enter the
hallowed halls of a national art museum. Karen Smith, The Spirit of Shanghai,
<http://www.china-avantgarde.com/essays/Karen Smith/shanghai.html> (Accessed July 20, 2004).

63
A curatorial team of four curators was formed and headed by Hou Hanru, together with Zhang
Qing and Li Xu from the Shanghai Art Museum, and Toshio Shimizu from Tokyo.

64
Zhongguo Dangdai Yishuzhan Berlin Kaimu [Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Art Opens
at Berlin], Zhongguo Xinwen She [China News Report], September 19, 2001.

65
To know more about this show, please see The First Guangzhou Triennial: Reinterpretation: A
109
first national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and chose exclusively works in
contemporary media for the pavilion.
66
A little later that year, the authorities assembled
another large exhibition entitled Alors, La Chine [Well, What about China?] for the
China Year staged by the French government. Curated by Fan Dian in collaboration with
two French curators, the exhibition presented a variety of media, both conventional and
contemporary. Through serial exhibitions, the authorities have shown their positive and
supportive stance toward contemporary art and automatically have absorbed a certain
portion of it into the presentation of contemporary Chinese official art. Consequently, the
status of contemporary art in China has changed significantly in just a few years: from an
underground milieu that was banned from entering into public exhibiting space in the
1990s to one that is officially sanctioned for national and international showcases.
67

What could have motivated the authorities in China not only to release previous restraint
but also to put a considerable amount of financial resources into supporting and
promoting contemporary art? One can think of many reasons, such as the further opening
of China and increasing influence from the international art world, a new leadership and
new ideological strategies, and the need for economic and cultural development.

Decade of Experimental Chinese Art (1990-2000) (exhibition catalog) (Guangzhou: Guangdong
Museum of Art, 2002).

66
Chapter four of this dissertation is entirely devoted to this first national pavilion.

67
Of course, this new sanction is not without control. Actually a new style of control has been
invented. Chapter four will elaborate on how the new control is applied to officially sanctioned
contemporary Chinese art.
110
Certainly they all play a role. Most specifically, however, I believe that it has to do with a
trend that is called pulling back Chinese contemporary art, which itself is a response to
the surging nationalistic sentiment. The idea of pulling back Chinese contemporary art
has been formulated as a counterbalance to the phenomenon of most contemporary artists
seeking their exposure, collectors, sponsorship and reception exclusively in the
international art world, while their art remained unknown, unrecognized, and confined for
exhibiting in China.
68

On October 20, 2004, at the International Academic Forum hosted by the Chinese National
Museum of Fine Arts, the director Fen Yuan announced that the Museum would invest 250
million RMB in art works created by Chinese artists in the 20
th
century within 5 years.
69

According to the director, the funding is to be used to stem the flow of good Chinese art
works to overseas collections and institutions.
70
This may be the biggest budget the
communist government has ever invested for Chinese art of the 20
th
century. In the period
of state-planned economy before the 1980s, the collections in state-run museums often
came at very low prices. With a rising market for Chinese art outside Mainland China in

68
A brief note to be made here is that pulling back Chinese contemporary art does not
necessarily mean just keeping contemporary art within China. The idea is about getting more
Chinese people to experience, understand, and have the initiative to interpret Chinese
contemporary art, either in China or on the international stage.

69
Zhang Shougang, Zhongguo Meishuguan Jiang Chizi 2.5 yi yuan Zheng Guonei Dashiji
Zuopin [China National Museum of Fine Arts plans to spend 250 million RMB on works by
domestic masters], Beijing Yule Xingbao/Stardaily [entertainment newspaper], October 21, 2004.

70
Ibid.
111
recent years, more artists have sold their works to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas
dealers and collectors for a better price. From a long-term perspective, some concerned
scholars have pointed out that this will be a problem for future research on art of this period.
They have been calling for the domestic collection of contemporary art works. Therefore,
this generous state investment could be logically seen as an answer to the call.

The Shanghai Gallery of Art, a private gallery in Shanghai, exhibited serially the art works
of some expatriate Chinese artists such as Xu Bing, Huang Yongping, Chen Zhen, and Yan
Peiming. For example, in August 2004, the gallery held Xu Bings solo exhibition
Tobacco project: shanghai, a work that traces the history of the tobacco industry in
Shanghai [figure 21]. It was the first time Xu had an open exhibition in China since 1989
when he moved to the USA.
71
According to the organizers, the basic goal for the serial
exhibitions of expatriate artists was to try to pull back Chinese contemporary art, to make
those internationally well-known artists and their works known by audiences in China.
72

Out of the same logic, in an article entitled Thinking of Pulling Back Chinese
Contemporary Art, an active critic and curator Pi Li expressed his idea of pulling back
Chinese contemporary art by organizing exhibitions that present art works
authenticallynot fictionally for the purpose of meeting internationally fabricated

71
In 1993, Xu Bing did his A Case Study of Transference in Beijing, but that piece only opened to
a small audience of close friends and alike. It had no open publicity. Theoretically, it was not an
exhibition. Xu himself said it was a case study.

72
My personal interview with people working in the gallery on August 30, 2004; the idea was also
stated in the flyer distributed by the gallery in the promotion of these serial exhibitions.
112
imagination about Chinaaddressing the contemporary context of Chinese society.
73

From the viewpoint of the artists, they have cultivated quite a positive anticipation towards
the reception of contemporary art within China in recent years. Yin Kun, a resident artist of
Song Zhuang Artist Village that I particularly interviewed, for example, seemed to be eager
to open his first retrospective exhibition in China.
74
Sponsored by an art gallery owned by
a Singaporean art dealer, the exhibition was scheduled to show first in Beijing at his special
request, and then it would tour to Singapore and elsewhere. Yin emphasized that it was
more meaningful to show his works first in China, where he expected Chinese people to be
the first audience.
75
This was quite a different mentality compared to the situation a few
years ago when Chinese artists would exclusively seek their exposure outside of China.

It seems that official institutions, private art galleries, and critics are sharing a unified
momentum: pulling back Chinese contemporary art, though for various reasons such as
political ideology, national interest, institutional reputation, marketing strategy, and
cultural critique. However, rising cultural nationalism is the fundamental motivation that
makes the momentum practicable and sensible. Riding on the wave of cultural nationalism,
the status of contemporary art in China has finally obtained much positive attention among

73
Pi Li. Xiang Ba Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu Chongxin La Huilai [Thinking of Pulling Back
Chinese Contemporary Art]. Jingji Guancha Bao [The Economic Observer], December 30, 2002.

74
The authors personal communication with Yin Kun, September 26, 2006, Song Zhuang Artist
Village.

75
Ibid.
113
Chinese society and pulling back Chinese contemporary art has become a public call. As a
result, we see that the history of contemporary art in China as an underground category,
opposed to official art, has finally come to an end. Indeed, it has actually entered into the
official presentation of Chinese art and comes to share a quota of the art establishment in
China.

5. Conclusion
From a socio-political and economic perspective, Post-Deng China continues most of the
legacies from Dengs market reform policy. What seems to be new, such as the legalization
of the culture industry and the heavy leaning upon cultural nationalism and globalization,
can be seen as rational developments as China moves ahead following the road Deng
conceived. It is clear that among the three major forces, marketization is most responsible
for the dynamism Chinese society is experiencing now. The state sees the market economy
as an effective mechanism to generate the kind of power that it needs and can harness, and
therefore spares no efforts in promoting it. Official artists, for their ideological allegiance
as well as personal economic gain, are enthusiastically embracing the market orientation.
On the avant-garde artists side, in their attempts to break away from the states ideological
control over artistic expression, many end up participating with the state to promote a
market orientation for the arts.
76
For contemporary artists active since the 1990s, the free

76
Hou Hanru, Towards an Un-Unofficial Art: De-Ideologicalisation of Chinas Contemporary
Art in the 1990s, Third Text, no.34 (Spring 1996): 37-52.
114
market, especially the international one, is what they rely on to sustain their development.

The cumulative effects of continuous economic, social, and cultural transformation and the
increasing impact of globalization have greatly changed the original structure of the
Chinese art world. It now operates in a different way and shows a dynamism that was
unseen before. A significant difference is that the CAA seems to have stopped being the
only player of the Chinese art world. This consequentially brings many changes to official
art and its relationship with other parties. Simply, as Joy Annamma and John Sherry have
argued, in their study of how the value of art is framed in the contemporary Chinese art
market, that since the mid-1990s, the framing process has been either an independent,
collaborative, or collusive one between artists and the state and between China and the
West.
77
This indeed precisely describes the new social relationship among artists of
different camps, official, unofficial, underground, independent, and international. The
conflict between official and avant-garde art of the 1980s, or underground art of the 1990s,
is finally absorbed into the new ideology that combines the desires of being global,
marketable, and nationalistic all at once.

Actually terms like unofficial art and underground art, which were applied to refer to art
that was different from official art in the 1980s and 1990s, have also lost their historical

77
Joy Annamma & John F. Sherry Jr., Framing Considerations in the PRC: Creating Value in the
2004): 312.
115
relevance in contemporary China. As Meg Maggio, a resident of China for almost 20
years and the director of an established contemporary art gallery in Beijing, the Courtyard
Gallery, recently reports:
The once underground Chinese contemporary art scene has moved well above
ground. It is not only widely exhibited internationally, but is also increasingly
embraced by Chinese officialdom. Avant-garde may no longer be the best term
to describe what is happening in todays Chinese contemporary art scene.
Whether one likes it or not, the hue and cry of the market is heard by all, and
nearly everyone has joined the race to art world fame and fortune.
78

Probably that is why, un-unofficial art, a new term preferred by some critic-curators
with awareness of the changing nature of avant-garde or underground art in China, seems
to be more relevant in describing the practice of contemporary art in China.
79
Regardless
of what kind of new terms are necessary or meaningful, it is obvious that the Chinese art
world has never been more dynamic, diverse, and spectacular, with the coexistence of
global and national inclinations at the same time. In the recent tide of transformation and
reconstruction, previous boundaries and conflicts dissolve while new divisions and
confrontations form. Among these, we see that the exhibition of contemporary art stands
out as the most attention-absorbing force, challenging the old practices of art-displaying
and-perceiving used by the CAA. Un-unofficial art has emerged onto the stage of the
Chinese art world, to a large degree replacing unofficial art. At the same time, within the

78
Meg Maggio, Bullish In Beijing, China Review Magazine, iss. 26, October, 2003.
http://www.gbcc.org.uk/iss26art1.htm> (Accessed May 8, 2005).

79
Hou Hanru, Towards an Un-Unofficial Art: De-Ideologicalisation of Chinas Contemporary
Art in the 1990s.
116
scope of official art, internal divisions emerge and grow, which seems to put the stability
and unification of the mainstream art in China (conducted by the CAA) on the track of
disintegration and reformation. These new internal divisions can be seen most clearly in a
comparison of two momentous official exhibitions, the first Chinese Pavilion for the
fiftieth Venice Biennale and the first Beijing International Art Biennale, in the same year
of 2003. Chapters four and five will address these two exhibitions respectively.

117

CHAPTER IV
MAKING INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

1. Introduction
2003 was an important year for Chinese artists, critics, and curators engaged in
contemporary art. In that year, the Ministry of Culture in China assembled the first national
pavilion at the Venice Biennale, the oldest international art exhibition and one known for
its showcase of contemporary art. In this pavilion five Mainland Chinese artists were
chosen by the authorities to exhibit their art worksfour installations and a piece of video
artas an official representation of contemporary Chinese art to international audiences.
The significance of the whole event is not only the founding of a national pavilion, but the
noticeable shifts in the scope of official art including content, style, medium, and curatorial
method. The establishment of the Chinese Pavilion was appreciated by many as a real
official acceptance of Chinese contemporary art, which had been practiced as an unofficial
and underground manner before. Due to the sudden breakout of SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome) in the summer of 2003, the government canceled the actual
installation in the pavilion to Venice. In the end, the Chinese Pavilion was still regarded as
one of many national pavilions featured by the Venice Biennale and it was included in the
118
exhibition catalogue;
1
but all the art works for the pavilion were shown at the Guangdong
Museum of Art (from 25 July to 31 August 2003), in Guangzhou, China, slightly
rearranged only to suit the new exhibition space. In an unexpected way, the incident
seemed to exemplify the 2003 Venice Biennales theme Dream and Conflict. Founding a
national pavilion at the Venice Biennale has been a dream of many Chinese contemporary
art professionals. At the moment when this dream was about to be realized, an unfortunate
epidemic broke out and impeded the process, thus creating a conflict between dream and
reality.
2

The establishment of a national pavilion for the Venice Biennale did not come easily.
Neither was the presence of installation and video art in an official art exhibition an easy
matter. It involved interactions among a series of internal and external forces including the
dynamic domestic development of Chinese contemporary art, the transformation of the
domestic sociopolitical context, and the increasing impact of globalization on the Chinese
art world. Complicated as it may be, however, I believe that the Pavilion was not so much a
result of the increasing official support of contemporary art as it was a product of the states

1
In all discussions about the significance of the 2003 Chinese Pavilion, it was referred to as the
first national pavilion. However, international audiences may regard the 2005 Chinese Pavilion as
the first one because that was the one that made it to Venice for the very first time. Back in China,
since 2005, some people started to refer to the 2005 Pavilion as the first national pavilion. I
regard the 2003 one as the first, as it was originally intended, because it already possessed all the
cultural, political, and artistic significance that can in no way be dwarfed by the later display.

2
Also see Zhang Yingguang, Zhongguo Meishu de Weinisi Kunju [The Venice Predicament of
Chinese Fine Arts], Xinwen Zhoukan [China news week], iss. 135, June 16, 2003.
<http://www.chinanewsweek.com.cn/2003-06-18/1/1650.html> (Accessed June 10, 2004).
119
modified strategy in controlling and appropriating contemporary art for its own cultural
projects and for the improvement of its international profile. Nonetheless, this
incorporation of contemporary art into official representation inevitably changed the
overall structure and appearance of official art in China.

2. A Brief Historical Review
Chinas governmental interest in being an active part of the contemporary international art
community became self-evident when it assembled its first national pavilion for the Venice
Biennale in 2003. Many people tend to see this as a sudden and abrupt break from the
previous isolated and inward-looking official art world. This, however, is by no means true.
The year 2003 was not the first year that the Chinese government attempted to participate
in the Venice Biennale, the so-called Olympics of the art world,
3
nor was it the first year
that Chinese artists made their appearance there. In other words, Chinas official
participation in 2003 is not a watershed moment that appeared out of nowhere. In fact,
there were a few earlier attempts to participate with different approaches starting from
1980. Thus, the 2003 Pavilion may well be seen as a stage in this trajectory of Chinese
participation in the Venice Biennale.

In 1980 when China had just opened its door to Western countries after three decades of

3
It is so referred in a short article entitled Relations between Biennales and the Olympic
Games, in The First Beijing International Art Biennale, China 2003, official brochure edited by
Beijing International Art Biennale Office, 4.
120
isolation, at the invitation from the Venice Biennale, the Ministry of Culture sent about
sixty-four embroideries for the show. They were all folk craft with traditional folk motifs
such as butterflies, chrysanthemums, and peacock, or Socialist themes such as revolution,
industrial construction, and farming proliferation. The commissioner Chang Kenyuan
particularly picked artifacts produced between 1964 and 1979, probably seen as the most
recent productions of Socialist China. He collected them from the provinces of Jiangsu,
Hunan, Sichuan, and Zhejiang, areas that were known for the production of this traditional
craft. No artists names were given, in all probability because the value of individual artists
was not seen as important at that time, and these artifacts stood collectively as art products
from China. Two years later for the Venice Biennale in 1982, another commissioner, Li
Guoqing, brought forty undated and anonymous paper-cuts on traditional themes including
auspicious animals and deities from fairy tales. These pieces probably came from rural
areas known for the preservation and continuity of this centuries-long traditional craft in
provinces such as Hebei, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guangdong, and Guizhou.
4

As one would expect, these two appearances of art/folk art from China at the Venice
Biennale did not bring any response. Both in China and elsewhere, no one ever reviewed or
talked about them in detail, except Monica Dematt, an Italian expert in Chinese art, who
wrote briefly about them in 2001 in her recount of Chinas participation in the Venice

4
Monica Dematt, Chinese Artists at the Venice Biennale: Then and Now, Chinese-art.com
(Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol.4, iss.4 (2001).
121
Biennale. In China, they were mentioned only once in one sentence by a Chinese art
historian Shui Tianzhong, while he was interviewed for the Beijing Biennale and the
Chinese Pavilion in 2003.
5
Apparently the cultural officials then in charge did not
anticipate or realize the significance of the Venice Biennale in the contemporary art world;
neither did they pay enough regard to appoint qualified commissioners. Both
commissioners had no record of previous experience doing anything related to art.
Probably out of their very personal interest or instruction from some high-ranking cultural
officials from the Ministry, they picked embroidery and paper-cuts, two very traditional
Chinese crafts. This, however, inevitably reflected the socio-political shift that China had
been going through at that particular moment. Starting from 1978, under the new
leadership of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese Communist Party launched implicit movements
criticizing part of Maos ideologies and legacies as well as correcting political and social
mistakes resulting from his policies. In the process of reexamining and retrospecting the
past, long criticized traditional culture as well as newly established Socialist realist art
produced under Maoist ideology was reassessed. In particular, most of the content of the
socialist realist art had been domestically suspect and criticized, for its excessive idolatry
of Mao and for containing praise of a few disastrous political movements such as the Great
Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution that were launched by Mao in person. In
addition, embroidery and paper-cuts would be politically safe choices for the CCP curators,

5
Shui Tianzhong, Guanyu 2003 Nian Jige Zhanlan Da Jizhe Wen [my answers to reporters on a
few exhibitions in 2003], posted July 31, 2003.
<http://arts.tom.com/Archive/1004/2003/7/28-23965.html> (Accessed September 12, 2004).
122
should radical politics return again.
6
It may be for these reasons that painting and sculpture
in typical Socialist realistic styles, the very product of Maoist doctrine on art and politics,
were not chosen.

These were the only two efforts that the Ministry of Culture made in the 1980s to
participate in the Venice Biennale. The third one would wait until 1997, only after a large
number of Chinese artists participated in the Biennale individually, and Chinese
contemporary art became an emerging category in the international art world. Monica
Dematt speculates concerning the long break:
The Chinese government's interest in the Biennial seems to have faded, probably
due to the enormous discrepancy between the intentions of "Socialist art" in China
and the prevailing sensibilities of the contemporary art scene elsewhere in the
world, so far removed from both the masses and from Mao's idea of what art
should be about as set out in his Yan'an Essays on Art and Literature (1942).
7

I want to point out, however, that the awareness of discrepancies between Socialist art and
Western capitalist art or international contemporary art may not alone be enough to explain
the temporary disappearance of governmental interest for the Biennale. As discussed above,
the works sent to Venice in 1980 and 1982 could by no means be seen as representative of
Chinese Socialist art. At the same time, beginning with 1978, when China opened its door
again to the rest of the world, the formerly forbidden modernist art as well as the then

6
This is a constant fear during the early post-Mao era.

7
Monica Dematt, Chinese Artists at the Venice Biennale: Then and Now.
123
contemporary art were introduced into China, largely through art magazines, exhibitions,
and personal travels. Thus, audiences in China had already had experiences, whether the
government liked it or not, witnessing the discrepancies between Socialist art and Western
modern and contemporary art.
8
Therefore, the contrast Dematt formulated did not
necessarily wait to occur right at the Venice Biennale. As far as I can see, the most probable
reason was the lack of sensibility concerning the important status that international
exhibitions like the Venice Biennale would have become mounted in the contemporary art
world and the subsequent transformations in the field globally a decade later. Shui
Tianzhong also believed that the lack of understanding of the status of the Venice Biennale
by Chinese cultural administrative personnel resulted in the absence of continuous
enthusiasm to participate.
9
This seems to be a reasonable result in the 1980s and early
1990s when the Chinese governments attentions and energies had been overwhelmingly
focused on economic development. Little official interest and investment had been
channeled to new cultural and art activities, especially to one like the Venice Biennale that
had never been heard of previously. In China during the whole decade of the 1980s, there
were no articles at all which ever talked about the Venice Biennale or what kinds of art
were shown at this site. Likewise, there were no reports written or released about the

8
The birth of unofficial art in the late 1970s and the avant-garde movement in the 1980s were
themselves products of Chinese artists who were greatly inspired by western modern and
contemporary art. For this issue, see Gao Minglu, Shu Qun, and others in their collaborated book,
Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese Contemporary Art 1985-1986] (Shanghai:
Shanghai Peoples Publishing House, 1991).

9
Shui Tianzhong, Guanyu 2003 Nian Jige Zhanlan Da Jizhe Wen [my answers to reporters on a
few exhibitions in 2003].
124
reception of Chinese pieces at the Venice Biennale in 1980 and 1982, as well as about art
from other countries.

In 1997 the Ministry of Culture organized the third showcase of Chinese art at the Venice
Biennale. This act probably had something to do with the increasing international cultural
and art exchange arising from the rapid globalization and the spectacular reputation
Chinese contemporary artists had made overseas since the early 1990s. Back in 1993, very
surprisingly, for the first time fourteen Chinese artists were invited by the director of the
Venice Biennale, Achille Bonito Oliva, to participate in the show. They exhibited a kind of
art that was strikingly different from the familiar face of Chinese Socialist realistic art.
These artists included Ding Yi, Fang Lijun, Feng Mengbo, Geng Jianyi, Li Shan, Liu Wei,
Song Haidong, Sun Liang, Wang Guangyi, Wang Ziwei, Xu Bing, Yu Hong, Yu Youhan
and Zhang Peili. Back in China many of them were not allowed to show their works in
public, and their art was part of the so-called underground art.
10
They participated in the
section called "Passaggio a Oriente" (A Passage to the Orient). In addition, there were two
other Chinese artists from Mainland China, Wang Youshen and Wu Shanzhuan, who
presented their works in the Aperto section. The section was entitled Indifference and
Non-Indifference and was dedicated to young and non-established artists.
11
Together,
these Chinese artists made a sensation in the international art community, not only with

10
Yu Hong was an exception. She maintained an official post at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

11
125
their impressive quantity but also by the content and style of the art they presented.

Many of these artists applied revolutionary themes and communist icons from the past
three decades under Maos reign in their art. However, the way they treated their Maoist
subject matter was rather irreverent and satirical, and they successfully attracted Western
audiences who had a great curiosity for what kind of art was produced in Socialist China
after the Cold War.
12
For example, Wang Guangyi created paintings that imitate the
solemn images of workers, peasants, and soldiers from the political propaganda art in the
past, and put them in random juxtaposition with contemporary commercial icons [figure
22]. Yu Youhan used the image of Mao Zedong, the sacred symbol of Chinese
Communism and revolution, in a very vulgar and playful environment [figure 23].
Another group of artists grounded their work in the realistic techniques that they learned
in art academies in China, but applied them for the purposes of self-denial, indifference,
and cynicism. Fang Lijun, for example, repeated paintings of big bald heads yawning or
showing humdrum expressions as a means of expressing boredom and meaninglessness
in his Series II [figure 24]. Liu Wei presented the distorted images of army cadres in
pretentious poses in his Revolutionary Family series [figure 25].

The renowned Chinese critic Li Xianting coined two termsPolitical Pop and Cynical
Realismto describe the above mentioned artists and their art. After their debut in Venice,

12 Dian Tong, China! New Art and Artists (Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2005), 32.
126
these artists came to be recognized as the representatives of Chinese contemporary art.
Much attention, as well as enthusiastic reviews, was devoted to them.
13
This in turn
brought a positive effect for the reception of Chinese contemporary art in the West.
Political Pop and Cynical Realism, however, for the same reason, was not even permitted
to be shown in public in China. Regardless of the reputation and active response the artists
gained at the Venice Biennale, in China they have never been seen as the representatives of
Chinese contemporary art.

In the following Venice Biennale of 1995 the scale of Chinese participation was smaller,
but with no less enthusiastic response at the site.
14
Again, the artists invited were not
officially recognized and not well regarded in the Chinese mainstream media. They
included Gu Wenda, Gu Dexin, Liu Wei, Zhang Xiaogang, American-based Cai Guoqiang,
and French-based Huang Yongping and Yan Peiming. Nonetheless, after the two shows,
the names of certain Chinese contemporary artists were probably imprinted in the minds of
some Venice Biennale visitors as well as art critics who were sensitive to any new trends in
the art world.

13
A few examples here: Andrew Solomon, Their Irony, Humor (and art) Can Save China, The
New York Times Magazine, Dec 19, 1993; Orville Schell, Chairman Mao as Pop Art, in
Mandate of Heaven: A New Generation of Entrepeneurs, Dissidents, Bohemians, and Technocrats
Lays Claim to China's Future (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994) 279-292; Wang Guangyi: La
Grande Critique (France: Galerie Bellefroid, 1993); and Lynn MacRitchie, Report from Beijing:
Precarious Paths on the Mainland, Art in America (Mar 1994): 51-57.

14 David Clarke, Foreign Bodies: Chinese Art at the 1995 Venice Biennale, ARTAsiaPacific, vol.
3, no. 1 (1996): 32-34.
127
Monica Dematt has suggested that Chinas official participation in the Venice Biennale
in 1997 was out of the dissatisfaction with the art presented by unofficial Chinese artists
at previous Venice Biennales and the desire to present proper artistic expression from
China to the international community.
15
I have not found enough evidence to support
this speculation. However, in China all zealous discussions about the representation and
misrepresentation of the image of China and Chinese contemporary art in the
international art community would wait until 1999, most likely triggered by the expatriate
Chinese artist Cai Guoqiangs Rent collection courtyard [figure 26], which won him one
of the three International Awards at that years Venice Biennale. His work was a
reproduction of one of the iconic group sculptures that aimed to expose the egregious
exploitation that Chinese peasants had suffered before the founding of the PRC. The
original sculpture, a collaborative work by professors and students from the Sichuan
Academy of Fine Arts, had been regarded as a masterpiece of Socialist Realism and was
frequently reproduced to circulate nationwide and even as diplomatic gifts for other
Socialist countries [figure 27]. Cais intention to reproduce this at the Venice Biennale, as
mentioned in the catalogue, was to "not only to emphasize how much Chinese art has
changed [since the Cultural Revolution] but also [to] underline how the temporal and
physical displacement of a work changes its meaning."
16

15

16
Quoted from Francesca Dal Lago, Of Site and Space: The Virtual Reality of Chinese
Contemporary Art, Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol.2, iss.4 (1999).
128
Regardless of whether Cais conceptual strategy succeeded in evoking the expected
response from the Biennale audiences at Venice, most of whom had no knowledge about
the ideological significance and visual impact of the sculpture, Cais work brought up
immense discussion and critique in art circuits back in China.
17
Added to this was the
lawsuit filed by the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts against the Venice Biennale and Cai
Guoqiang for the overseas breached copyright of the Rent Collection Courtyard.
18
Cai of
course was not the only one being caught up in discussions on issues such as the
appropriation of Chinese revolutionary icons and traditional cultural signs,
self-orientalization and colonialization, and Western cultural hegemony. Other expatriate
artists such as Huang Yongping, Xu Bing, Gu Wenda, and domestic artists who largely
applied Chinese traditional cultural and philosophical concepts and signs or revolutionary
icons in their art, had been brought up to the table of examination, criticism, and debate.
Enthusiasm on this matter continued to surge and drew more attention from people not
only active in the art world but also the cultural domain in general as China marched into

17
A few examples here: Wenhua zhijian de Yaobai: Cai Guoqiang Fangtanlu [Swing Between
Cultures: Interview with Cai Guoqiang], Diaosu [sculpture], iss.1 (2000); Wang Nanming, Na
Rouma Da Youqu-Zai Xifang Zhimin yu Zhongguo Bei Zhimin Wenhua Zhengce zhong de Cai
Guoqiang [The Disgusting as Interesting-Cai Guoqiang Under the Politics of Western Cultural
Colonialism], Chengyan Art, Dec 2001. <http://www.be-word-art.com.cn/page4.htm> (Accessed
Jun 28, 2003); Dao Zi, Shouzuyuan de Fuzhi yu Hou Xiandaizhuyi [The Copy of the Rent
Collection Courtyard and Postmodernism], Wenhua Yanjiu [Cultural Studies] (electronic journal),
iss. 3 (2003). <http://www.culstudies.com/rendanews/displaynews.asp?id=1474> (Accessed Dec
18, 2004);

18
The Rent Collection Courtyard Copyright Breached Overseas: Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts
Sues Venice Biennale, press release, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Chongqing, 20 May 2000;
also see Zhu Qi, We Are All Too Sensitive When it Comes to Awards! Cai Guoqiang and the
Copyright Infringement Problems Surrounding Venices Rent Collection Courtyard, in Chinese
Art at the Crossroads: Between Past and Future, Between East and West, ed. Wu Hung (Hong
Kong: New Art Media Limited, 2001), 56-65.
129
the twenty-first century.

In 1997 the above-mentioned issues barely arose in China and the official participation in
the Venice Biennale may also have had to do with some other reasons. Different from the
previous two in 1980 and 1982, this time the Ministry of Culture turned to a professional,
Sun Weimin, who was then the vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Sun
was also an artist professor who had established his reputation with his impressionist style
oil painting of figurative scenes [figure 28]. As the commissioner, however, Sun had very
limited power. He was not given freedom to decide what kind of art to present at Venice.
He was told, only two weeks in advance, to choose some oil paintings of high quality for
the Venice Biennale.
19
He finally picked dozens of oil paintings mainly executed in
academic styles by artists including Chao Ge, Hong Ling, Hu Jiancheng, Liu Gang, Liu
Xiaodong, Shen Ling, Wan Jiyuan, Wang Yuping, Xie Dongming, Yu Hong, Yuan
Yunsheng and Sun himself. All of them had teaching posts at the Academy and most of
them were well recognized in the Chinese art world.

Their paintings, definitely seen as the current mainstream back in China, were diverse in
terms of individual style and, in their own right, demonstrated the dynamic development of
Chinese oil painting in recent years. Especially, younger artists like Liu Xiaodong, Shen
Ling, and Yu Hong, known as the Xin Sheng Dai [New Generation] of the 1990s, were

19
Phone interview with Sun Weimin on September 03, 2006.
130
well regarded for their realistic-based but markedly personalized artistic language and
expressive sensibilities in their art [figure 29, 30]. Nonetheless, they did not bring any
enthusiastic response from the international audiences as the commissioner might have
expected.
20
Neither was any discussion about the reception of the Chinese art brought back
to China. Even today, not so many people know the event and probably it was not made
public then.
21
According to Dematt, perhaps the only one who looked closely at the
Chinese exhibition in 1997 in person and then mentioned it briefly in her research article
published in 2001, the obscure location where the exhibition was staged and the banal
arrangement of the works could very well be responsible for the lack of any special
attention derived from Chinese art.
22
At the same time, she believes that, for those who
bothered to search for and get to see the Chinese exhibition, the monothematic nature of the
showonly academic paintingsactually reinforced the impression that Realism was still
the principal and only acceptable artistic practice in China.
23

Very interestingly, Chen Yifei, an American-based Chinese artist who was known for his
distinctively realistic oil painting with a strong commercial flavor, also presented his
works of Tibetan themes at the Venice Biennale, not as an individually invited artist by

20

21
I could not find any written materials published in Chinese discussing the event.

22

23
Ibid.
131
the Biennale but as part of the Chinese show [figure 31]. According to my interview with
Sun Weimin and Monica Dematts review, Chens works occupied a whole roomas a
solo exhibitionthat itself was a more significant space than the side room where the
works of other Chinese artists were gathered.
24
In the biography provided by Chens
dealer the Marlborough Fine Art Gallery, London, under the Selected Solo Exhibitions,
we read Painting of Tibet, Pavilion of the Peoples Republic of China, XLVII Venice
Biennale, 1997.
25
Apparently, it was intended to be a solo exhibition for Chen, and his
presence at Venice Biennale actually contributed greatly to his personal reputation in the
international art market, even though we know that the 1997 show was not a real pavilion
of the PRC.
26

Very likely, the lack of response from international audiences towards the officially
recognized Chinese art, which has developed rather rapidly on its own terms, discouraged
the cultural authorities enthusiasm for participation in this renowned international art
platform in the successive years. After 1997, the Ministry of Culture stopped sending art to
the Biennale. Accordingly, another two exhibits of the Venice Biennale (1999 and 2001)
passed, with only a few Chinese artists participating in the Biennale on their own behalf as

24
Phone interview with Sun Weimin on September 03, 2006; also see Monica Dematt, Chinese
Artists at the Venice Biennale: Then and Now.

25
Chen Yifei, provided by Marlborough Fine Art Gallery, London.
http://www.marlboroughfineart.com/artists/view.asp?id=29 (Accessed June 20, 2006).

26
Based on the materials about Chen Yifei provided by Marlborough Fine Art Gallery, London.
132
invited individuals. This mobilized more passionate interest towards Chinese
contemporary art, but mainly at the international level. Then, as if gestating for a few years,
in 2003 the Chinese cultural authority came to a totally new attitude and idea towards
representing Chinese art at the Venice Biennale. Very probably, it had to do with the change
of officials who were in charge of the art affairs at the Ministry of Culture. At the same time,
as discussed in chapter two, culture had become a new domain that the government aims to
incorporate into its overall developing project at the beginning of the new century.

Instead of just sending art works at some cultural officials will as in the previous three
times, in 2003 the Ministry of Culture consulted with a group of experts to establish a
national pavilion and had a professional exhibition agency to operate the whole event. This
first Chinese Pavilion was meant to really respond to the concept and significance of the
Venice Biennale itself in the contemporary art world. It was very clear that the desire to
reclaim the right of representing Chinese art into the Chinese authorities own hands played
a major role in the establishment of the Pavilion. With this Pavilion and the presentation of
a totally new type of official art, the Chinese government not only showed its support of a
prestigious international art exhibition, but also created a new platform where its
refurbished idea of art could be conveyed and disseminated.

3. The First Chinese Pavilion
In August 2002, the Ministry of Culture authorized the China International Exhibition
133
Agency (CIEA), an institution directly under the supervision of the Ministry, to start the
procedure of establishing the first Chinese Pavilion for the 50
th
Venice Biennale in 2003.
The CIEA was a professional exhibition agency established as early as 1950, but only
became active and known in the art world in recent years as a result of the large number
of art exhibitions that the Ministry has commissioned it to organize. Quite different from
the previous practice of appointing a commissioner directly by the Ministry who would
be in charge of choosing art works, this time the process was much more formal and
serious, involving selecting a proposal and chief curators. Feng Yuan, the director of the
Art Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, formed and headed an Expert Committee of senior
art historians and critics. The other members of the committee were Liu Xilin (art critic
and research fellow from the China National Museum of Fine Arts), Liu Xiaochun
(curator, art historian, and research fellow from the Research Institute of Fine Arts at
China Academy of Arts), Shao Dazhen (art historian, critic, and the editor in chief of one
of the mainstream art journals Fine Arts Research), Shui Tianzhong (art critic, art
historian, and research fellow from the Research Institute of Fine Arts at China Academy
of Arts), and Wang Yong (art historian, critic, and the deputy director of the Research
Institute of Fine Arts at China Academy of Arts). Their responsibility was to create a
proper proposal for the Pavilion. In order to be seen open and democratic, and of course
to best present the nation (perhaps with the lesson of three previous tries in mind), the
Committee openly called for a proposal, though only among certain critics and curators.
Finally, the Committee chose a collaborated proposal by Wang Yong, Fan Dian, and
134
Huang Du.
27
Wang Yong and Fan Dian were then appointed as the curators of the first
Chinese Pavilion with Huang Du as the assistant curator.

Here we see an obvious shift from the conventional practice of the official art exhibitions
operated by the CAA. In place of a large official government committee, formed to
supervise the whole process of assembling the first Chinese Pavilion, obviously an
important international project, the Pavilion was left in the hands of three curators who
were art experts (though Wang Yong and Fan Dian were also officials at the same time).
This is clearly a domestic exercise of what has been standard practice in the international
art exhibitionsthat of having individual curators. The practice, however, is not
unprecedented in China. Since the third Shanghai Biennale in 2000, China has seen more
and more official exhibitions curated by individual curators or small-specialized
committees. The way the Chinese Pavilion was curated seems to reassure the continuity
and legitimacy of this practice in the official art domain.

The basic theme of the working proposal was to present a sense of new home,
corresponding to the setting of the Chinese Pavilion for the first time at Venice. A coined

27
The proposal submitted by Fan Dian and his student Huang Du was entitled Reorientation.
However, the Committee was not very satisfied with it, even though it seemed to be the best among
the submissions. Therefore, Wang Yong, member of the Expert Committee, contributed his
proposal for the pavilion. His proposal, entitled New Home was accepted by the Committee, and
was especially appreciated by Feng Yuan. Then, Wang Yong was asked to work with Fan Dian to
perfect the final proposal. In the end, the Chinese Pavilion actually carried out most of Wang
Yongs original opinion even though Fan Dian was later known as the executive curator who
watched closely the materialization of the Pavilion. Source for the above information came from
my interview with Wang Yong and Shui Tianzhong in summer 2005.
135
noun was given as the title of the Pavilion, Synthi-Scapes, in Chinese Zaojing, literally
meaning to create environment, referring to the founding of the Chinese pavilion at the
most renowned international biennale. In order to be seen really as contemporary and
perhaps to prove to the international art community that realistic art in the formats of
painting and sculpture is not the only officially accepted artistic expression in China,
installation and video works were featured. At the same time, no longer were Socialist
subject matter or traditional folk motives was included, but issues relating to contemporary
sensibility and mentalities. In fact, the Pavilion aimed at presenting the kind of art that
addressed the profound social transformations happening in contemporary China,
accompanying rapid urbanization and globalization.
28

After the theme for the Pavilion was decided, the curators called for proposals of art works
among a small group of artists who have more or less established their names in China.
Finally, the proposals of four artists and an architect were selected. They were Liu Jianhua,
an associate professor from Yunnan Art Academy in Yunnan province, Lu Shengzhong, a
senior professor from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, Yang Fudong, an
independent artist who graduated from the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts in Zhejiang
province, Zhan Wang, a teacher from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the architect
Wang Shu, an associate professor from the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts. Their works

28
Fan Dian, Synthi-Scape, in Dreams and Conflicts: the Dictatorship of the Viewer [Exhibition
catalogue] (Venice: 50
th
Venice Biennale, 2003), 582.
136
were arranged in the form of a two-floor house, and each of them conceptually represents a
real space, as it would be in a functional house. As if to greet the theme of the fiftieth
Venice Biennale Dream and Conflict, the works chosen focused on such issues as
conflicting relations between human beings and nature, modernity and tradition,
emergence and disappearance, construction and destruction, and the psychic perplexity
experienced by Chinese people in rapidly transforming modern cities.
29

Starting from the entrance of the Pavilion, architect Wang Shu constructed his
architectural installation work Between Dismantle and Construct [Chai Zhu Jian] [figure
32]. He transformed the entrance into a stylized doorway that is characteristic of classical
Chinese gardens. He then altered the corridor of the Pavilion into a space marked by
perforated walls that were able to introduce natural light from the courtyard. The
materials he used for his re-construction included traditional and modern stuff: gray
bricks, material largely used in traditional southern houses and gardens in China, and
steel and glass, very modern construction materials. With naturally changing light
glinting through the perforated walls at different times of day and reflected by the glass
installed on the ceiling, the corridor was turned into another courtyard, one that would
often be seen in a traditional Chinese housing complex, with constantly shifting light and
shadow. Walking in this space, the audience not only encountered Wang Shus artistic

29
Synthi-Scapes: China Pavilion of the Fiftieth Venice Biennale at Guangdong Museum of Art,
Century Online: China Art Networks. <http://cn.cl2000.com/subject/wnssnz/wench001.shtml>
(Accessed July 22, 2004).
137
creation, but also would simultaneously see sculptures, architectural objects, and garden
views from outside when they looked at, or through, the holed walls. This is a common
method used in traditional Chinese gardens, which is called jiejing [borrowing view],
meaning to consider the visual effect of the existent environment and objects in advance
and consciously incorporate them as organic components for the plan of a new
construction. In this installation Wang at once dismantles the original architectural forms
and constructs new forms, thus blurring the boundaries between demolition and
construction. Through the work Wang Shu pursues a kind of imaginary experience that
his audiences may perceive when they walk through this space. He expects his audiences
not to look at the architectural work as man-made stuff that could be analyzed, but to
look at it as the embodiment of a kind of consciousness and as an invitation to sense and
experience an assumed world.
30
His work was praised because it perfectly exemplifies
the wisdom and verve of Chinese architectural culture.
31

After the audiences passed Wang Shus architectural work, they would come to a space
that could be seen as a conceptual kitchen. Here, Zhan Wang displayed his installation
work Urban Landscape [Chengshi Shanshui] [figure 33]. He sometimes called this piece
Landscape Banquet, which I believe to be more visual. Dealing with traditional concepts

30
Fan Dian, The Age of Zaojing, Century Online: China Art Networks.
<http://cn.cl2000.com/guard/idea/wen35.shtml> (Accessed January 22, 2004 ).

31
Di 50 Jie Venice Biennale Zhongguoguan Jiangzai Guangdong Meishuguan Zhanchu
[Chinese Pavilion for the fiftieth Venice Biennale will show at Guangdong Museum of Art], press
release material provided by Guangdong Museum of Art.
138
and modern materials, he used stainless steel to replicate scholar rocks, an important
object in Chinese literati culture and often found in classical gardens. In two separate
rooms, the artist installed rock formations made of stainless steel and brand-new metal
table wares bought from the market, imitating the forms of mountains and rivers in
traditional landscape painting; a big glass wall is installed in each room to increase the
dazzling effect of those sparkling objects. The placement of dry ice creates a visual effect
of mist and fog, representing another significant element in traditional landscape painting.
The substitution of modern material for traditional rock formations and landscape
painting reflects both the transformation of cultural symbols in China and the physical
transformations that are visible in every aspect of todays Chinese society. What I am
concerned with in my works is the psyche in the process of modernization, Zhan Wang
explains as he discusses his interest in the material. Not so many people really
understand the transformation of the industrialization represented by stainless steel and
its effect on our life, so I use it as my primary material.
32
Seemingly dazzling and
exciting, this transformation, however, is not necessarily meaningful. The attempt to use a
lifeless and almost imperishable industry product, steel, to represent organic
naturemountains and riversitself is a controversial concept, probably satirizing the
fabrication of many small man-made nature scenes in modern cities where jungles of
skyscrapers established by steel and concrete dominate.

32
Jiang Yifan, Shijian zhihou Haiyou Yishu [After the Event, There Is still Art], October 21,
2003.
<http://cul.sina.com.cn/s/2003-10-21/44576.html> (Accessed January 22, 2004).
139
On the second floor, first, in the supposed living room, the audiences will encounter a
video work entitled Heaven Heaven, Jasmine Jasmine [Tianshang Tianshang, Moli Moli]
[figure 34] by the Shanghai based independent artist Yang Fudong, who is regarded as
one of the representatives of young video artists in China. Originally shown at the
Shanghai Biennale in 2002, the work presented the life style and love of young urbanites
in Shanghai. In a very poetic and melancholic manner, a quality that many of Yangs
video works possess, the artist filmed a young man and a young woman and their story in
three separately running but interrelated footages. Yang focuses on recording the couples
psychological and emotional paths, achieved by lyric narratives and sentimental
background music. Combining the technique of documentary and fiction, Yang arranges
the two characters and city buildings into a certain kind of abstract and ethereal space,
resonating to the title heaven. There is no concrete scene and context in the
presentation and the audiences cannot tell when and where exactly every episode takes
place. The city view, with all its distant high rising profiles and close-up concrete terraces
and steel railings, seems to be simultaneously realistic and abstract. It is always there
dominating the screen and is the crucial element for the spatial setting where the story of
the two young people unfolds. At the same time, the city seems to be unattainable and
offish, full of uncertainties. So is the future of these two lovers, whose emotion and youth
would probably get lost in this city very soon.
33
No clue of possibility for a fruitful

33
Guo Xiaoyan, Zhongguo Zaojing: Guanyu Kongjian de Mengxiang yu ChongtuDi 50 Jie
Venice Biennale Zhongguoguan Guangdu [China Synthi-Scapes: Concerning the Dreams and
Conflicts of spaceOn the Chinese Pavilion of the Fiftieth Venice Biennale], September 9, 2003.
140
future for the two lovers is suggested by the artist or by the two actors facial expression.
A sense of alienation and strangeness dominates various episodes. In the end, what has
been presented is the feeling of the ambiguous, and actually unstable, psychological
experiences of todays young people.

Next, Lu Shengzhongs work Landscape Study [Shanshui Shufang] [figure 35] created a
space full of the atmosphere of a traditional literatis study room. In the middle of the room,
there was a desk, chair, lamp, and other objects, all in Chinese traditional style. Big
bookshelves were installed on three sides of the room, functioning as the walls of the study.
On these bookshelves there were books of various subjects in various languages: history,
philosophy, science and technology, sociology, art and architecture, etc. All books were
wrapped with a cover page that had a portion of a classical Chinese landscape painting,
created by the famous painter Dong Yuan from the Five Dynasties Era (907-960). The artist
carefully arranged these wrapped books so that their spines connected together forming the
landscape painting in giant version, emerging on the surface of bookshelves surrounding
the room. Landscape painting, the symbol of nature and a conceptual space for intellectual
contemplation, is an important component of Chinese cultural and art tradition. However,
the simple reappearance of tradition is not the goal of Lus installation here. Confrontation
between traditional intellectual ambience and contemporary audiences who are not

<http://www.gdmoa.org/info/list.asp?id=238&classid=21&Nclassid=32> (Accessed January 22,
2004).
141
relevant to this culture is expected to happen in this carefully constructed study. Audiences
are invited to pick up books to read at will and eventually the classical landscape would be
dismantled into unrelated fragmentations. Therefore, the artists reconstruction of the
tradition here is for the sake of showing how this tradition is going through the process of
dismantling and disappearance in the end. The work seems to comment on the current
random appropriation of Chinese tradition as well as the inevitable disappearance of this
tradition.

Finally, audiences will come to the last piece of the Pavilion, which is installed in a
conceptual bedroom. Liu Jianhuas Daily-Fragile [Richang-Yisui] [figure 36] composed
of various daily objects in white ceramic that he made himself by applying the famous
traditional Jingdezhen porcelain technique.
34
Things that we see and use in our everyday
life such as telephones, bags, bulbs, toys, shoes, hats, etc, spread randomly from the floor
to the ceiling, and all over the three sides of the walls. In the middle of the room, a big
pillow is hanging from the ceiling, giving the flavor of a bedroom to this space.
Displayed into the monochromatic whiteness and out of their normal context, those
things create a dream-like world, evoking conflicting feelings between familiarity and
alienation, concreteness and abstractness. These feelings are rather personal and
contingent, depending on different audiences and their daily life as well as their past.

34
Jingdezhen is the name of a well-known ceramic from the city Jingdezhen located in Jiangxi
province. The history of Jingdezhen dates back to the middle of the Northern Song dynasty in
960-1127.
142
What the artist intends is to evoke personal psychological experiences and private
memories that may be associated with those ordinary things.
35
Many of these objects are
purposely left in broken or unfinished condition.
36
To a certain extent, the artist
compares the fragile nature of those externally hard porcelains to many aspects of our life
that may seem solid but actually are easily breakable under ordinary circumstances.
37

Overall, uncertainty, alienation, and fragmentation are the main themes that the Chinese
Pavilion conveys, which actually correspond to the perplexed feelings Chinese people may
experience in a rapidly transforming society. What is really new in this Chinese official
exhibition and distinct from the CAAs version of official art exhibition is the
representation of the individual mentalities that are personal, psychological and internal,
and sometimes negative. We dont see any pretentious uplifting spirit from a Socialist
society that is obviously positive and inspiring, even though in official press release only
positive readings were provided.
38
In terms of content, the five works do not base their
themes on a social moment or cultural cohesiveness or any grand political narratives, as

35
Jiang Yifan, Shijian zhihou Haiyou Yishu [After the Event, There Is still Art].

36
Liu Jianhua, Liu Jianhua Personal Statement, June 20, 2003. Obtained by the author from Liu
Jianhua.

37
Zhongguo Dangdai Yishuzhan zai Fa Juxing [Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition Held in
France], posted September 4, 2003. <http://heritage.tom.com/1257/1383/200394-20797.html>
(Accessed June 22, 2004).

38
See Di 50 Jie Weinisi Shuangnianzhan Zhongguoguan Zai Guangdong Meishuguan Zhanchu
[the Chinese Pavilion of the 50
th
Venice Biennale will be exhibited at Guangdong Museum of Art].
Press release provided by Guangdong Museum of Art, June 26, 2003.
143
many official art exhibitions have attempted to advocate. Rather, we see a focus on the
individual psyche and personal experience, suggesting futile efforts, lost tradition, and lack
of confidence in the future. In terms of artistic language, there are no recognizable or
nameable styles that can be used to define these pieces. They are conceptually charged
experimental works that resist clear labels and conventional readings, a quality that is one
of the characteristics of contemporary art at the global level. Perhaps, that is the exact
intention for this Pavilion, which was designed to reach the international audience.

Unlike previous official participations at the Venice Biennale, the establishment of a
Chinese Pavilion in 2003 drew much attention from both official and non-official sides.
Lots of press releases, numerous reviews, and comments have been published.
39
It was one
of the hottest topics in the Chinese art world that year. Not only was it listed as one of the
top ten items of domestic art news of that year, but also it was included as number five in
the top ten pieces of cultural news of the year.
40
Considering the interest that has centered
on Chinese contemporary art in recent years, this Pavilion would certainly have evoked
great attention from the international art world as well, had it not been relocated to
Guangzhou and thus missed the chance of meeting a broad range of international

39
They included articles published by Chinas mainstream newspapers such as Renmin Riba
[Peoples Daily], Nanfang Dushi Bao [Southern City Newspaper], and Wenyi Bao [Newspaper of
Literature and Art], and appeared in two major websites on art in China http://arts.tom.com and
http://cn.cl2000.com.

40
Top Ten Art News Stories in China in 2003, Meishu Bao [China Art Weekly], January 3, 2004;
Huang Zhaohui, Top Ten Cultural News Stories in China in 2003, Nanfang Dushi Bao [Southern
City Newspaper], December 29, 2003.
144
audiences.
41

In terms of the real audiences who physically visited the Pavilion when it was shown at the
Guangdong Museum of Art, no specific number is available. The museum spent huge
efforts in promoting the exhibition by advertising it throughout the city of Guangzhou, on
major bulletin board stations, in local newspapers and TV stations.
42
People working at the
museum recalled that they had a very high attendance. Audiences from various
backgrounds seemed to receive the exhibition as a kind of festival and view it with
excitement. Perhaps it was because of the big reception in Guangzhou that the Pavilion was
mounted again in Beijing immediately after its closing. Probably the curator Fan Dian,
who was then the vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, played an important
role in the second display of the show because it was exhibited in the university museum of
the Academy. Unfortunately, it collided with the even bigger excitement of the first Beijing
Biennale, whose grand opening was almost at the same time. The publicity campaign of the
Beijing Biennale was unbeatable and definitely dwarfed that of the second show of the
Chinese Pavilion at Beijing, if indeed there was any. In the first place, it seemed odd to me

41
Most international audiences who went to Venice Biennale in 2005 would probably only
recognize that years Chinese Pavilion as the first one because that was the first time they saw it at
site.

42
I was mostly informed about the promotion of the Chinese Pavilion and the reception at
Guangzhou when I interviewed Wang Huangsheng, the director of the Guangdong Museum of Art,
Guo Xiaoyan, the section director who was in charge of the show, over telephone in summer 2004.
Also my personal interviews with curators and artists who visited the museum during the period
when the show was running seemed to confirm with the two museum personnels account. I have
been trying to get a concrete number of audiences by contacting other staff working in the museum.
Unfortunately I was finally told that they had no record.
145
that the Pavilion would be scheduled to open at the same time as the Beijing Biennale,
since Fan also served as one member of the Curatorial Committee for the Biennale. Or, as
Julian Kreimer, an American painter who happened to be in Beijing during the fall of 2003,
observed, many shows were scheduled intentionally to coincide with the Biennale and took
advantage of the international attention the Biennale would attract.
43
This may be true for
shows curated by independent curators in unofficial spaces all over Beijing. But for the
second display of the Chinese Pavilion, that was not the case. Very few people noticed that
it was shown again in Beijing, and no reviews in Chinese ever discussed the second show.
44

Despite the lack of publicity for the second display, however, many people, particularly
artists, critics, and curators, got to know the Pavilion and works on display through the
convenience of internet circulation and newspapers and were very excited about the whole
undertaking. Overall, the first Chinese Pavilion was received with great enthusiasm and
was extensively discussed. The discussions concerned the change of governmental attitude
towards contemporary art, the victory of contemporary art in achieving a legitimate status
in China and being accepted into the mainstream art, and the states openness towards the
international art system. Most of reviews were congratulatory and anticipative about the

43
Julian Kreimer, Wholeheartedly Support Flourishing Art Scene. Modern Painters, vol.16,
no.4 (Winter 2003): 47.

44
I myself learned of the second display of the Chinese Pavilion from Wang Yong when I
interviewed him in 2004. As the other curator of the Pavilion, he himself could not show up at the
opening of the Chinese Pavilion in Beijing because he was over-occupied with the showcase of the
Beijing Biennale at that time. Julian Kreimer probably was the only one who mentioned briefly
about the Pavilion in her review of the Beijing Biennale. Still, she was not giving the correct
information when she said that the Pavilion contained five unofficial artists.
146
great future of the further development of contemporary art in China. Still, a few artists and
critics have also pointed out the potential disadvantage of being officially accepted. For
example, Wang Su warned that entering into the mainstream is not automatically a
blessing, for it may kill art by praising it; also the art may lose its mobility as more
regulations will be placed upon it.
45
Young critics Wang Nanming and Pi Li both pointed
out that the institutionalization of contemporary art could mean the loss of its vitality.
46

Nonetheless, all seemed to agree on one thing, that is, the founding of the Chinese Pavilion
announced the full-scale official acceptance of contemporary art, a category that has been
going underground for years.

4. The Officialization of Contemporary Art
As stated by the curator Fan Dian, the establishment of a national pavilion itself
underscores the social and cultural changes that are taking place in China today.
47
It does
not just present the confusion, alienation, and other personal psyches of Chinese people,
evoked by the rapid change of their physical environment. It also epitomizes the effect of

45

46
Pi Li, Huoshankou Zhong de Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu [Chinese Contemporary Art in the
Mouth of the Volcano], posted January 2, 2004.
<http://arts.tom.com/1002/2004/1/2-35423.html> (Accessed June 12, 2004) Wang Nanming,
Gua Yangtou Mai Tulou: Beijing Shuangniangzhan yu Zhongguo Yishu de Tizhihua [Hanging
International Brand and Selling Local Stuff: Beijing Biennale and the institutionalization of
Chinese art], posted December 10, 2003.
<http://arts.tom.com/1004/2003/12/10-40911.html> (Accessed June 12, 2004).

47
Fan Dian, Synthi-Scape, in Dreams and Conflicts: the Dictatorship of the Viewer [Exhibition
catalogue] (Venice: 50
th
147
complicated social and cultural developments on the art world in the past decade. The
selection of installation and video art in this first national pavilion, the practice of the
individual curatorial approach, and the showcase of art whose meaning is open to
conflicting interpretations indicate a significant change in terms of the official imagination
about contemporary art as a whole in China. The most obvious result of this change is the
end of Chinese contemporary art as an underground category and the formal sanction of it
into the official art presentation. Since 1989, contemporary art in the forms of installation,
performance, etc, had been labeled as a category with harmful potential for Socialist China
and as contrary to the social and aesthetic values promoted by the authorities.
48
As a result,
it had been forbidden to enter into public exhibition spaces. Now in 2003, in the national
pavilion that is charged with the responsibility of presenting to the world the newest
developments in art from China, the state exclusively chooses formerly prohibited media.
This is a noteworthy move. One can easily point out that installation and video have long
been the major media applied to contemporary art worldwide and that this is actually
nothing new. In the specific context of China, however, this did not come automatically as
a result of the internal development of art. Rather, it is a product of the ongoing political
and social transformation in China as well as the result of increasingly intense exchanges
between China and the rest of the world that involve global information sharing, border
crossing travels, transnational operations, and international art market.

48
The new cultural policies against the contemporary art were a reaction against the avant-garde
art movements in the 1980s and resulting China/Avant-Garde Exhibition in 1989.
148
On the one hand, immediately following the 1989 Tiananmen Square Incident, the
Chinese state tightened its control over the intellectual world and its collective activities.
It launched large-scale ideological campaigns that aimed to clear so-called spiritual
contamination from Western capitalist ideology and culture, which had flooded into
China since the country applied the Reform and Open-door Policy in 1978. As a direct
response against the 1989 China/Avant-garde Exhibition, among which the most
controversial and trouble-making pieces took the formats of installation and performance,
the Ministry of Culture made a new regulation that all exhibitions from then on must
apply for a license in advance, otherwise they would be regarded as illegal and be
subjected to enforced closure by the police.
49
At the same time, official art journals and
newspapers were flooded with all kinds of critiques and condemnations of contemporary
art, particularly installations and performance art in the subsequent years right after
1989.
50
Under the double attacks of cultural policies and public media, the practice of
contemporary art was pushed into the status of underground, for the exhibitions of it
could by no means get a license for its legal display in state-run exhibiting spaces, nor

49
For detailed information about the China/Avant-Garde Exhibition, please see Gao Minglu, The
'85 Movement: Avant-garde Art in the Post-Mao Era (Ph.D. diss. Harvard University, 2000). For
the role the Ministry of Culture played in the closure of the China/Avant-Garde Exhibition, see
Hans Van Dijk, Painting in China after the Cultural Revolution: Style Developments and
Theoretical Debates, China Information, vol.VI, no.4 (Spring 1992): 1-18.

50
For examples, see Yang Chengyin, Xin Chao Meishu Lun Gang [On New Wave Art],
Wenyibao [Art and Literature Newspaper], Jun 2, 1990; Li Qun, Dui Xin Chao Meishu Zhi Wo
Jian [My Opinion towards the New Wave Art], Wenyibao [Art and Literature Newspaper], Mar
30, 1991; Zhong Yun, Xishan Huiyi de Zhuchizhe Jianchi Senmo Yishu Fangxian? [What
Kind of Artistic Direction Is Held by the Host of the Xishan Meeting?], Zhongguo Wenhua Bao
[Chinese Cultural Newspaper], September 15, 1991.
149
could they get any public media support. For example, the China National Museum of
Fine Arts in Beijing, the most prestigious museum in China, even made its own
regulation forbidding the entry of installation and performance art into its exhibiting
hall.
51
Video art was left out only because at that time there was scarcely anyone
applying this medium for making art in China.

On the other hand, contrary to the reinforced ideological control over the cultural field,
soon the country was becoming more open and available to influences coming from the
international world in various aspects of social life. Many governmental policies showed
that the state was eager to integrate itself into the international economic system and to
perform an active role in the increasingly globalized world. As elaborated in chapter three,
the impact of market economy soon affected the production and reception of art, as well as
other cultural fields and social mentality as a whole. The economic movement has greatly
facilitated the practice of contemporary art in a number of particular ways that mix with
local and transnational operations. First, private art galleries, as a very new commercial
cultural institution, prospered in big cities, offering alternative spaces and chances for
artists in China. Some of them, especially those funded by art dealers and businessmen
abroad, have become important sites for exhibitions of contemporary art. Secondly, more
and more international curators and dealers visited China and introduced artists and their

51
This was an unwritten but firm regulation that the museum has applied ever since 1989.
Following the establishment of the first Chinese Pavilion and the first Beijing Biennale, the
museum started to abandon this regulation. In 2004, it started to accept exhibitions using
contemporary media.
150
works to international exhibitions, collectors, and art galleries. In doing so, they opened
other alternatives for domestic artists who wished to work with contemporary media, since
there was a much bigger market for contemporary art outside of China. Last, but not least,
many official art museums that were sponsored by the state have to gradually finance their
own operations. Some of them have developed new programs to support contemporary art
in order to make themselves more contemporary and open-minded.
52
All these have
created new dynamisms as well as new tensions in the art world in China as various new
artistic groups are growing into competing forces that challenge the standards, criteria, and
practices established and maintained by the old art establishment in the production of art.

Internationally, with the further opening of the country, mutual communication and
information exchange between China and the rest of the world have been largely
extended. Transnational travel and migration have become a common phenomenon
among certain social groups of Chinese people. Among them, contemporary artists have
become a very active border-crossing group. They often travel abroad, showing their
works in all kinds of international exhibitions and working with foreign galleries.
Working collaboratively with some expatriate artists and curators who emigrated to the
West around or after 1989, those artists have become active players in the international
art world. Since the mid-1990s, a few Chinese contemporary artists have made their

52
Wu Hung, Reinventing Exhibition Spaces in China, Museum International, vol.53, iss.3
(2001): 21.
151
appearance in major art magazines and newspapers in Euro-American countries and some
of them have even obtained prestigious awards from renowned international exhibitions
and cultural institutions. For example, Fang Lijuns Series II [figure 24] were published
and reported on the cover page of The New York Times on December 19, 1993; Wang
Guangyis work was featured on the cover page of Art AsiaPacific in June 1993;
53

Huang Yongping was covered by Art in America in 1995, 1998, 1999 and Flash Art in
1999;
54
Art Journal published a seminal essay on Zhang Huan and Ma Liuming and their
performance art in summer issue and immediately another long essay on Xu Bing and Gu
Wenda in fall issue in 1999;
55
Gu Wenda and Xu Bing were also constantly reported by
Art In America and other media such as ARTnews and Art Papers;
56
again in 1999, Xu
Bing won the MacArthur Fellowship and Cai Guoqiang won the International Award at

53
Nicholas Jose, Hong Kong Report-Chinas New Art Post-1989, ArtAsiaPacific, vol. 30 no. 4
(Jun 1993): 11-16.

54
See Janet Koplos, Huang Yongping and Chen Zhen at the New Museum, Art in America, vol.
83 iss. 1 (Jan 1995): 104-105; Nancy Princenthal, Huang Yongping at Jack Tilton, Art in America,
vol. 86 iss. 3 (Mar 1998): 101-102; Jonathan Goodman, Zhang Huan at Max Protetch, Art in
America, vol. 87 iss. 9 (Sep 1999): 130-131; and Wvelyne Jouanno, Huang Yongping, Cultural
Differences and Negotiation, Flash Art, vol. 32 iss. 207 (Summer 1999): 114-115.

55
Qian Zhijian. Performing Bodies: Zhang Huan, Ma Liuming, and Performance Art in China,
Art Journal, vol. 58 iss. 2 (Summer 1999): 60-81; Simon Leung, Pseudo-Languages: A
Conversation with Wenda Gu, Xu Bing, and Jonathan Hay, Art Journal, vol. 58 iss. 3 (Fall 1999):
86-99.

56
A few examples here: Daniel Bischoff, Rewriting the script, ARTnews, vol. 97 no. 8 (Sep
1998): 158-159; Christina Cho, Xu Bing Jack Tilton/ New Museum of Contemporary Art,
ARTnews, (Dec 1998): 147; Claire Daigle, Plural Speech, Art Papers, vol. 23 no. 3 (1999): 48;
Jonathan Goodman, Xu Bing at Jack Tilton and the New Museum, Art in America, vol. 87 iss. 1
(Jan 1999): 95; and Simon Leung, Pseudo-Languages: A Conversation with Wenda Gu, Xu Bing,
and Jonathan Hay, Art Journal, vol. 58 iss. 3 (1999): 86-99.
152
the Venice Biennale in 1999.
57

All these, however, were largely unaware, or neglected, by the mainland Chinese until
1999 when copy right debates were launched surrounding the expatriate Chinese artist
Cai Guoqiangs Rent Collection Courtyard. Through Cais award winning work, domestic
media began to talk about the big hit of Chinese contemporary art at the international art
world.
58
It was at this time, more people came to realize the discrepancy of the reception
of contemporary art in China and outside China. In its native land the art, created by both
expatriate artists and local underground artists, was disqualified by the authorities for
entering in the state-run exhibiting spaces and discredited by the mainstream media.
Outside of China it was well received in the international art world and seen as the
representative of new developments in art from China. This in turn raised debates among
Chinese art and cultural circuits concerning the representation of Chinese cultural images
internationally and the problems of cross-cultural interpretation.

57
My narrative stops at 1999 here in this section; however, since 2000 even more impressive
developments concerning Chinese contemporary art have been achieved outside of China,
including new art galleries opened, new periodicals established, and new websites launched. Most
recent and noteworthy certainly is the record breaking sale prices of art works by Chinese
contemporary artists such as Fang Lijun, Liu Xiaodong, Xu Bing, and Zhang Xiaogang in 2005 and
2006, which were operated by the worlds most well-know fine arts auction houses Sothebys and
Christies. See note 2 in chapter one.

58
For more discussions, see Hou Hanru, 2000 As the Theme, Chinese-art.com (Electronic
Journal, no longer available), vol. 2 iss. 6 (1999); Peng De, Zhou Huo Ri Mo de Shouzuyuan
[The Obsession of the Rend Collection Courtyard], Century Online: China Art Networks, Mar 26,
2001. <http://cn.cl2000.com/guard/espial/shouzuyuan/wen10.shtml> (Accessed Mar 18, 2004).
153
Some critics argued that the meaning of certain types of art, such as Political Pop and
Cynical Realism, the two most well known contemporary Chinese art styles since 1993,
had been over-politicized by international curators and critics according to their
ideological preference and specific agenda.
59
In his writing that attempts to point out what
is really at the root of Political Pop and Cynical Realism, Gao Minglu states:
Political Pop and Cynicism are nothing more than a combination of ideological
and commercial practices. They glorify the persuasive power and unique
aesthetic of Maos ideology. Although Political Pop allegorizes the Mao myth
and Maos utopia, the artists by no means criticize the discourse of power in
Maos communist ideology and propagandist art, as many Western critics have
pointed out. Rather the artists still worship and desire to gain this power. From an
ideological perspective, Political pop is a continuation of pre-Tiananmen Incident
avant-garde red-humor, but neutralizes its criticism of reality by utilizing its
strategy of imitating both propagandist and consumer discourse while exhibiting
an ambivalence toward the nationalism that is increasing among Chinese
intellectuals in the nineties.
60

This kind of contextualized understanding of Political Pop was often missing when this
art was discussed in the international art world. Chinese contemporary artists were
generally pictured as avant-garde artists and dissenting figures who used their art to
express their different political views against the Chinese government, and eventually

59
Art historian Wu Hung discussed this issue in his essay entitled Memory and Reality, which he
wrote for the exhibition catalogue Reinterpretation: A Decade of Experimental Chinese Art
(Guangdong Museum of Art, 2002), 142-145. In China, Fan Dian and people alike from the
official establishment mostly hold this attitude. For example, he was reported to say: Some
Western curators, art museums and galleries organize exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art
according to their prejudiced standards, which in a way leads to a misreading of Chinese
contemporary art in the West." Quoted from Living in Time: 29 Contemporary Artists from
China, China Daily, September 17, 2001.

60
Modern Art, 1998), 29.
154
fought for freedom. The most noticeable example is the review on Fang Lijuns work in
The New York Times. Fang Lijuns painting Series II, No. 2 [figure 24] depicts the head of
a bald man extruding at the front and proceeding into big yawn, while four heads behind
him show similar distant and banal expressions. This was used as the magazines cover
picture with a printed title The Howl that could free China.
61
The article apparently
exaggerated the political and ideological significance of Fangs art simply because Fang
came from Socialist China and his art did not conform to the mainstream art in China. In
practice, what the majority of Chinese contemporary artists from the 1990s, including
Fang himself, were seeking was a kind of individual and personal artistic language,
different from the art establishment. Their art is far from being the so-called politically
rebellious expression of ideological struggle. Many of these artists are actually the
beneficiaries of both the states rapid reform and multiple international exchanges, and
are currently enjoying very much the fruit of the successful marketing of their art.

In the meantime, many Chinese scholars began talking about the negative impact of this
international success, especially market success, on the domestic art world. They pointed
out that many young Chinese artists saw getting exposed in the West as a short cut to their
personal fame and financial success. As a result, they tended to speculate upon the interest
for Chinese art in the international art world and created works that meet the existent

61
Andrew Solomon, Their Irony, Humor (and Art) Can Save China, The New York Times
Magazine, Dec 19, 1993.
155
expectations about Chinese culture and art. In doing so, they often applied stereotyped
Chinese cultural signs or icons coming from Chinas cultural tradition or most recent
revolutionary heritage in order to gain the attention of international curators and dealers.
62

On the other hand, those who appreciated contemporary art practice also expressed regret
that domestic audiences had no chance to experience the artistic creativity and innovations
by a few highly talented Chinese artists. They called this phenomenon qiangwai kaihua
qiangwai xiang [meaning blossoming outside of the wall where the fragrance is only
appreciated by outsiders], which refers to the current condition of Chinese contemporary
art that was exclusively exhibited outside of China.
63
No matter what comments critics
might have, they unanimously attributed the primary responsibility to the authorities
hostile attitude towards contemporary art and the lack of public support for contemporary
art in China. For years this kind of critique has become commonplace when the situation of

62
This is a prevailing opinion among the newly emerging generation of art and cultural critics, who
have appeared the scene since the mid-1990s. For example, Wang Nanming criticizes the
appropriation of Chinese traditional culture among those internationally known Chinese artists
such as Cai Guoqiang and Xu Bing in his article Na Rouma Da Youqu-Zai Xifang Zhimin yu
Zhongguo Bei Zhimin Wenhua Zhengce zhong de Cai Guoqiang [The Disgusting as
Interesting-Cai Guoqiang Under the Politics of Western Cultural Colonialism] and Why We
Should Criticize Xu Bings New English Calligraphy and Acknowledge Liu Chaos Machine
Calligraphy; young critic and curator Pi Li also criticizes this kind of phenomenon in Xiang Ba
Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu Chongxin La Huilai [Thinking of Pulling Back Chinese Contemporary
Art].

63
See Liu Xiaochuns article Cong Dixia Zouxiang Guowai de Zhuangtai yinggai
gaibianShanghai shuangnianzhan de Jiazhi [The Situation of Underground Going
International Should Be Changedthe Value of Shanghai Biennale], November 26, 2000.
<http://arts.tom.com/look1/ysxw/cul_ytxw_zlzz_wokanwoshuo1_10.htm> (Accessed March 10,
2006).
Some critics also use qiangnei kaihua qiangwai xiang, literally meaning blossoming inside of the
wall but the scent is appreciated by the outside. Those slightly different phrases were coined to
express the dissimilar status of Chinese contemporary art in and outside of China.
156
contemporary art in China is discussed.

Against all these discussions, debates, and concerns, the founding of the first Chinese
pavilion received great appreciation. Many people see the founding of the Chinese pavilion
as a response to the kind of critique being directed toward the state, and as an effort to
diminish the gap in the reception of Chinese contemporary art in China and outside. The
Pavilion has been highly appreciated in the Chinese art world, especially among those who
are sympathetic with contemporary art practices. The year 2003 was believed to be
remarkable because it witnessed the victory of contemporary art in China.
64
In other words,
by 2003, the once banned Chinese contemporary art had finally gained a fully legitimized
status for entering into official exhibition spaces, physically as well as conceptually. The
authorities favor of contemporary art for Chinas international showcase suggests the
possibility of incorporating contemporary art into its formal repertoire. This cooperation,
seemingly or virtually, between the cultural authority and contemporary art can be called
the officialization of contemporary art. Many people have positively predicted that this
would fundamentally improve the social conditions for the development of contemporary
art, in terms of open circulation, normal viewing, and public education. In return, the
Ministry of Culture, the state cultural administrator that authorized the Pavilion, has been
seen as becoming more open and tolerant than before, and even more updated than the art

64
Pi Li, Huoshankou Zhong de Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu [Chinese Contemporary Art in the
Mouth of the Volcano]. Some other critics and many reporters applied a similar language.
157
establishment.

Particularly, high appreciation has also been given to a few cultural officials who were
drawn into the process of the achievement of an official status for contemporary art. As the
executive curator of the Pavilion, Fan Dian has been seen as the representative figure of
contemporary art. Surely, the Chinese Pavilion was not the only exhibition of
contemporary art that he has been involved with, but it certainly contributed significantly
to his personal reputation in the contemporary art world. I discover that he, more than
anyone else, is the double winner in this officialization of Chinese contemporary art. On
the one hand, he was credited as the most crucial supporter of contemporary art who
endeavored for the cause. On the other hand, he also gained governmental authorization as
the official spokesman for Chinese contemporary art and he has presented his newly gained
identity internationally. Being prominent suddenly in recent years, some even argue that
Fan has outweighed the influence of Li Xianting, the most renowned supporter of Chinese
contemporary art. Li Xianting was one of the representative critics who advocated
unofficial art in the 1980s, and was involved in curating the earliest exhibitions of Chinese
contemporary art overseas in the 1990s.
65
He has been known for his continuous support

65
Li Xianting was one of the earliest critics who supported unofficial art or avant-garde art
movement in the 1980s, even though he had an official post as an editor at that time. He lost his
official job in 1989 because of his involvement in avant-garde art activities and has been active as
an independent critic and curator ever since. His contribution to Chinese contemporary art after
1989 was crucial for the current status of it in the international art world. The most well-known
exhibitions that he has been closely involved with include the 1993 Venice Biennale and China's
New Art, Post-1989.
158
for young avant-garde/contemporary artists both theoretically and practically. Therefore,
the passing on of the reputation as the most influential supporter of contemporary art from
the hand of an unofficial critic (Li) to that of an art official (Fan) seems to strengthen the
argument for the officialization of contemporary art in China.

5. The New Cultural Arena
Being aware of the significance of the first Chinese Pavilion for the development of
contemporary art in China, I nonetheless intend to evaluate the event from another
perspective. Considering the officially designated function of art in China, I believe that
much more has to be investigated than simply seeing the Pavilion as unconditional
governmental support of contemporary art. I argue that the establishment of the Pavilion is
not so much a compromise made by the Chinese authorities in order to attract and thus keep
the dynamism of Chinese contemporary art in China, as many have considered, but an
active political and cultural strategy that is based on careful manipulation of the production
and presentation of contemporary art. In other words, I feel it is imperative to see the
Pavilion itself as a product of the modified strategy of control that the state of China has
adopted in order to extend its authority in the contemporary art sphere.

Art, like other cultural products, has always been under the direct supervision of the state
in China. The close tie between art and politics actually had its particular historical
context in China. Starting from the beginning of the 20
th
century when progressive
159
Chinese intellectuals started to urge artists using their art for the purpose of social
transformation and revolution, against the centuries-old literati tradition where art was
mainly reserved for the highly educated scholars as an embodiment of their elitist cultural
life. Many artists voluntarily responded the call and this close relationship between art
and politics had been built up as a new tradition in modern China.
66
In the Peoples
Republic of China, this notion was strengthened and made mandatory by Mao Zedongs
famous Yanan Talks on Art and Literature in 1942 and has been consolidated in actual
practices ever since. Current state administrators have largely inherited Maos definition
of art and its function in society as an important Socialist tradition. The function of art, as
well as all other cultural forms, is defined to serve the people, serve Socialism, even
though concrete strategies concerning how to implement this policy vary in different
historical contexts. Like other communist regimes, the Chinese Communist Party sees the
cultural field as an important domain where its preferred ideologies can be disseminated,
conveyed, and received. Politics needs the coat of culture to be made accessible and
legible to the masses. Therefore, the cultural field has been closely supervised to
guarantee that the correct political messages are passed on. The idea of two hands work
together, one on Socialist material civilization and the other on Socialist spiritual
civilization conveys the Chinese governments desire to keep the cultural domain under

66
For more discussion, see Michael Sullivan, 1900-1937: The Impact of the West, in Art and
Artists of Twentieth-Century China, 5-80 and also see The Modernist Generations, 1920-1950,
in A Century in Crisis: Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China, Julia
Frances Andrews and Kuiyi Shen, eds (New York: Guggenheim Museum: Distributed by Harry N.
Abrams, 1998), 146-213.
160
proper control in an era when economic development seems to be the focus of the overall
national plan.
67
Chinese Communist leaders have constantly emphasized that the right
ideology is a guarantee to the success of economic development as well as societal
stability. Where and how to convey the right ideology? In various cultural domains,
through cultural means. Art has been seen as an important sector where political
messages are transferred into visual representations and, through cheap reproduction,
achieve the maximum reach to the masses.

In the light of all that has been said here, I want to emphasize that the Chinese state is far
from ready to give up its control over the art field, even though both domestic and
international circumstances have changed greatly since the 1990s. With the introduction of
the market economy and the practice of culture industry, the Party is relaxing its previous
firm control over the cultural field, but only to a level that is believed to be beneficial for
economic development. In a sense, this seeming looseness is more like an adapted
flexibility than a real letting go. That is to say, the current regime is flexible in terms of how
to carry out its art and cultural policies. It opens more space for its cultural administrators
to accommodate new strategies towards new cultural phenomena that are motivated by

67
Two-hand theory was one of the characteristics of Deng Xiaopings political ideology. The idea
of Socialist spiritual civilization emerged as early as 1979 and has been continuously addressed by
different communist leaders in their public speeches ever since. Deng Xiaoping then theorized the
concept of Socialist spiritual civilization and established it, in relationship to Socialist material
civilization, as one of the fundamental principles for Socialist construction. His theory was
formally emphasized and elaborated by the Sixth Meeting of the 14
th
Central Committee of the
Communist Party in 1996. For Dengs theory on Socialist spiritual civilization, see Constructing a
Socialist Material and Spiritual Civilization, in Deng Xiaoping Wenxuan [Selected works of Deng
Xiaoping], v3, Beijing: Renmin Chubanshe [Peoples publishing house], 1994, 27-28.
161
new economic and social situations. The construction of the Chinese Pavilion is a good
example showing the cultural authorities maneuver of unofficial art/alternative culture for
the representation of a more open and democratic image of the government. When
contemporary art was excluded from the state sanction, as it was in the whole decade of the
1990s, the states ideology was simultaneously excluded from the field as well. This can be
clearly seen in the art produced by contemporary artists exclusively for showing in
exhibitions outside of China or only circulated underground in China. When the cultural
authority relieves the ban over contemporary media, it actually becomes convenient for the
cultural officials to implement the state ideology in the production of contemporary art. In
the case of the Chinese Pavilion, the state volition is carried out from root to branch
through the minds of the cultural officials in charge of the project.

Yan Dong, the vice director of the International Exhibition Agency and chief coordinator
of the Pavilion, stated that the Ministry of Cultures decision to establish a national pavilion
was based on the following considerations:
The status Chinese contemporary art should possess in the international art
community; the negative international impression caused by not-so-good art works
from individual Chinese artists who participated in the biennale; Taiwan has a
regional pavilion at Venice.
68

Simple but straightforward, the statement tells a lot about the logic behind this

68
Zhang Yingguang, Zhongguo Meishu de Weinisi Kunju [The Venice Predicament of Chinese
Fine Arts], Xinwen Zhoukan [China news week], iss. 135, June 16, 2003.
162
governmental establishment of an official platform for Chinese contemporary art. It is
politically charged, mixed with nationalistic sentiments. Firstly, the Ministry of Culture is
also calling upon nationalistic sentiment to increase the significance of the Pavilion.
Accompanying the rising status of China in the world economy, the authorities are now
thinking to exert more influence in the international cultural field. Since the Venice
Biennale is such an important international event, the official presence of China becomes
meaningful and necessary for those who believe that China is ready for international
cultural competitions after the two decades development. Secondly, there was already the
undesired presence of Chinese art from individual Chinese artists. Many argued that the
small category of Chinese contemporary art circulating in the international world had
caused misunderstandings about Chinese art as a whole. Thirdly, the sensitive Taiwan issue
was also called into play. As it is known, the central government of China stresses a One
China policy and sees Taiwan as part of China, particularly in international affairs.
Accordingly, Taiwan is not believed to have the right to establish a pavilion at the Venice
Biennale. Nonetheless, the Chinese authorities cannot stop the entry of Taiwan at Venice, if
nothing politically practical can be done in opposition.
69
The only way to express the

69
In the 2002 Sao Paulo Biennial, Fan Dian brought four artists from Mainland China attending
the show. Upon arrival at San Paulo, they saw that Taiwan had established a Taiwan Pavilion. They
contacted the biennial organizers, probably through the Chinese embassy at Brazil, and finally
succeeded in pressing the organizers to expel the Taiwan Pavilion. In the end, Taiwan artists had to
show under the name of provincial museum. Note: No one knows exactly how this happened and
what kind of role Fan played in the event. In China, there is no published material discussing or
mentioning this issue. But I have been informed by some Taiwanese websites, where very resentful
language was applied. Also, I happened to hear the story in person through conversations with a
couple of students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts who had been Fans students. His
students implied that through playing the political card at San Paulo, meaning that he called to the
163
political sense of territorial integrity at the Venice Biennale seems to be building up a
national pavilion and claiming it the authentic and only one. On all accounts, establishing a
Chinese Pavilion seemed to be an answer to many politically related concerns.

In an interview for the Chinese Pavilion, the curator Fan Dian states:
From the perspective of Chinese art, the establishment of Chinese Pavilion is
beneficial for China to promote its native artists independently and to change the
previous situation of being chosen. I believe that the long history of being
chosen in the past has caused limited understanding and misunderstanding of
Chinese contemporary art in the world. Reorientation (the title of the original
proposal by Fan Dian and Huang Du) will bring a total new recognition of
Chinese contemporary art through Chinese peoples involvement in the
international biennale on their own initiatives.
70

Here, what really at stake is who has the right to represent Chinese art. From Fans
perspective, apparently, only officially authorized artists can represent the right image of
Chinese art. The Chinese people in his statement does not literally mean every Chinese
person, only certain officially sanctioned ones. The art that has been exhibited by a few
artists chosen by international curators should not count. However, the audiences, the
viewers who visit the Venice Biennale may not think in this way. They may not care what is
official and what is not in China. They see what they have to see. Meanwhile, the Chinese
authorities cannot stop the continual participation of individual Chinese artists at the

Chinese governments attention Taiwans presence in the name of a sovereign state, Fan was able to
establish his position as an officially trusted spokesman for Chinese contemporary art.

70
Zhang Yingguang, Zhongguo Meishu de Weinisi Kunju [The Venice Predicament of Chinese
Fine Arts].
164
Biennale, no matter how much the cultural officials dislike the art presented by them. The
only way left, if the top cultural officials want to compete for recognition in the field of
contemporary art, is to sanction an official presence in this international cultural game
formally. By setting up a national pavilion, the cultural authority gets to choose the
representative artists and present exactly the kind of art it wants. Thus the establishment of
the Chinese Pavilion is indeed a manifestation, showing on one hand, the openness of the
authorities towards contemporary art and on the other hand, the intention to correct the
misrepresented image of Chinese art being presented by the individual participation of
Chinese artists.

Even this openness, however, is under the firm control of the cultural administrators who
are aware of the political significance of building up a Venice-based official platform.
Starting from the selection of the proposal for the Pavilion, the state ideology is working
itself through. As mentioned earlier, the Expert Committee adopted one proposal among
five entries. Other than the chosen one Zaojing that focuses on urbanized cultural life in
China, there were Zhang Xiaolings proposal of a live show of the lives of ordinary people,
Wang Huangshengs proposal that recorded the hardship of handicapped people and their
struggles for personal achievement, and Chen Lushengs idea of presenting a Cultural
Revolution related theme.
71
Probably these other proposals were denied because they were

71
Zhang Xiaoling is an art critic, and one of the vice directors of the Institute of Fine Arts at China
Academy of Arts; Wang Huangsheng is the director of the Guangdong Museum of Art; Chen
Lusheng is an artist and critic from China National Museum of Fine Arts.
165
difficult to control and manipulatesuch as the live show proposal, or did not present the
best image of Chinasuch as the representation of handicapped people, or were
controversialsuch as the Cultural Revolution theme.
72
The Zaojing one was selected
because it had the potential to present China in a promising and desirable way. It focused
on Chinas most current reality: modernization and urbanization. Apparently, when the
Expert Committee was selecting the proposals, the members automatically functioned as
state censors and bore in mind the goal of presenting a proper image of China to the
international communities. Equally serious criteria were applied to which artists would be
selected to present their art for the Pavilion. Not everyone was eligible for consideration for
this privileged opportunity. Only a limited number of artists were informed and asked to
submit their proposal for selection. Among the five chosen participants, Liu Jianhua, Lu
Shengzhong, Wang Su, and Zhan Wang all have official posts in art academies. Yang
Fudong is the only independent artist, who nonetheless graduated from a prestigious art
school and has maintained a close connection with the official world. The combination of
those representative artists suggests that the officially recognized contemporary art is still
very much within the scope of art academies.

The curator Fan Dian offered a reason for choosing these artists: The common point they
share is that they all apply the elements or spirit of Chinese traditional culture into the

72
There was no published material available about these other proposals. What I know about the
other proposals came from my personal interviews with a few members from the Expert Committee
members in summer 2004 and 2005.
166
experiments of contemporary art.
73
The presence of Chinese traditional culture in a work
is the criterion for being chosen, as the Pavilion aims to present an authentic visual China.
The four installations are all more or less associated with Chinese traditional culture, either
traditional materials such as gray brick and porcelain or concepts related with classical
landscape painting and the Chinese garden. However, only interpreting traditional culture
is not enough; it should also have a modern motif, as China is eager to show that todays
China is a rapidly developing modern nation. The dominant task of the Pavilion itself was
to demonstrate a real contemporary version of Chinese art to the international communities.
Most of the pieces on view are about contemporary issues such as industrialization,
urbanization, city reconstruction as well as problems associated with them. Modern
building materials such as steel and glass, or concepts such as alienation and psychic
perplexity that are particularly related with modern life have played major roles in those
works. In other words, an artist whose work combines Chinese tradition (highly valued
cultural quintessence) and contemporaneity (either materials or concepts that suggest
development and progress) is believed to properly represent the new image of Chinese
official contemporary art.

Beyond the overall guidelines for selecting an artist, the individual artwork included was
also carefully screened so it would not to be in conflict with the overall political agenda of

73
Quoted from Zhang Yingguang, Zhongguo Meishu de Weinisi Kunju [The Venice
Predicament of Chinese Fine Arts].
167
the Pavilion. The curators clearly bore in mind that this newly built official platform was
not just about presenting a few Chinese artists. It carried another important goal: to break
through the internationally recognized stereotype of Chinese contemporary art.

An example will make this point clear. Artist Lu Shengzhong was asked by the curators
to submit a proposal based on a term they providedink installation. Just as the name
implies, ink installation means the combination of installation, a contemporary art
format, and ink painting, the classical Chinese art. According to the artist, originally he
did not feel comfortable with the idea of making an ink installation.
74
Instead, he
submitted a complete proposal entitled Propitious Omen Descending [figure 37], which
he declared to be very well thought out and he had been working on a similar motif for
years, together with a cursory proposal on ink installation, the given theme. The
Propitious Omen Descending would be a large installation composed of 500,000 little
red men, his artistic creation largely inspired by the Chinese folk craft of paper-cut and
funeral ritual practice. He believed that his little red men, which were endowed with
the implications of fortune and auspice by traditional culture and practice, would pass on
warm and auspicious feelings to audiences who were supposed to pick up one of them if
they so desired. He particularly addressed in his proposal his preference of the Propitious

74
Lu Shengzhong, Shanshui Shufang Jingguo [The Creation of Landscape Study], February
15, 172003. Personal diary obtained by the author from the artist.

168
Omen Descending and hoped to work on the piece.
75
To his disappointment, however, he
was still asked to work on the ink installation, which he finally completed and named
Shanshui Shufang (Landscape study).
76

The reason that his little red men was denied for inclusion into the first Chinese Pavilion
has nothing to do with the lack of artistic creativity or inspiration. Lu Shengzhong has been
one of the most innovative artists since late 1980s. He made his fame when he started to
explore the new possibility of folk art tradition, paper-cuts, and endowed them with
contemporary sentiments. His little red men, small human figures made of red
paper-cuttings, has been well known since the first time he showed it in the China National
Museum of Fine Arts in 1990. Connoting complex traces of Chinese folk art, traditional
spirit, and contemporary cultural sentiment and artistic creativity, his little red men have
gained much praise and he has been seen as an artist who has carried forward Chinese folk
culture and has brought it into the field of contemporary art. In this way he stands out
against the heady trend of taking reference from or directly imitating Western modern and
contemporary styles in China. Normally, his little red men would be a good example of a
contemporary artistic innovation firmly based on Chinese sources to show at the Venice
Biennale. Lu put down his thought:
I feel Propitious Omen Descending is very suitable to show at Venice. The red
paper-men are descending from the sky. Audiences pick up one and take it with

75
Ibid., February 262003.

76
Ibid., March 52003.
169
them. They will have a stronger impression about this exhibition from China: red
China, red men, very fitting!
77

However, it is exactly the red color and its association with the idea of red China that
makes Lus well-known artistic innovation problematic to the original intention of the
Chinese Pavilion. As I mentioned above, one purpose of the founding of a national pavilion
was to correct or break through the stereotyped representations of Chinese contemporary
art in the international art world. What is the stereotype that the authorities wanted to
confront? The kind of art works that extensively apply Chinese Communist icons such as
Chairman Mao, workers, peasants, and soldiers in revolutionary fashion, and, of course,
the concept of red China. This type of art, introduced by a few curators and rampantly
circulated in the international art world since the early 1990s, was labeled as the most
avant-garde part of Chinese contemporary art and has become a popular category in the
international art market ever since. This, in turn, evokes more Chinese artists to follow this
trend and produce a lot of similar visual materials.
78
A whole set of recognizable imagery
of the so-called Chinese contemporary art or avant-garde art has been accumulating and
exhibited in Euro-American countries, and also available in some domestic art galleries
and artist districts where foreign visitors are expected.

77
Ibid., February 17, 2003.

78
Ma Xiu, Inside Out, New Chinese Art, Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer
available), vol. 2 iss. 1 (1999).
170
Back in China, many scholars have criticized this type of art as a product of orientalism or
self-colonization. Curators of the Chinese Pavilion were very certainly aware of this
controversial trend that originated in China but popular only overseas, and therefore they
aimed to mobilize a different and authentic representation of Chinese contemporary art.
Lu Shengzhongs little red men was thus caught in the sensitivity of denying externally
fabricated imagery of Chinese contemporary art. In the two-day symposium accompanying
the opening of the Pavilion at Guangzhou, Fan Dians address clearly demonstrated his
dislike of the association of red with China, which he believed to be very superficial and
stereotyped. Recalling his experience of curating Chinese exhibitions overseas, he said:
Since long time ago, the design for [exhibition presswork of] Chinese art in the
West has been always red. Red equals China, China equals red. Red is used to
evoke fearful or worshipful feelings, depending on different occasions. In most
cases, however, red is a standard. It is like Chinese restaurants in other countries:
there are always red lanterns, which can be seen from far away. The same rule has
been applied to exhibition of Chinese art [mounted outside of China]. In the last
couple years, I particularly pay attention not using red too much in the exhibitions
that I curated. It is ok to use red in China, but do not feel readily to use red outside
of China. I am determined to change the color of the covers of exhibition
catalogues, brochures, and invitations. On this issue, the cooperating museum
directors or curators often have difficulty understanding or accepting. They have
prefabricated expectation and imagination about China. They have a whole history
and conventions of imagining China.
79

Following a brief description of a few exhibitions he curated in different countries, he cited
a concrete example:

79
Symposium on Zaojingthe Chinese Pavilion of the fiftieth Venice Biennale at the
Guangdong Museum of Art, ed. by Liu Junjie, based on recordings of the symposium,
Guangdong Museum of Art, July 26, 2003. < http://www.gdmoa.org 2003-8-20 > (Accessed July
08, 2006).
171
It was an exhibition that I co-curated with a German curator and showed in
Germany. I asked him again and again to send me the designs of the invitation and
catalogue in advance. Nonetheless, he did not send me the sample, and finally he
still printed a red cover. If you did not watch closely enough, there would be all red
covers. I wrote an article for the exhibition catalogue, in which I directly
addressed the different views between him and me and expressed my critique.
Using red for the cover of the exhibition catalogue of Chinese art has been their
convention and has not changed hitherto.
80

Accordingly, Fan emphasized that he preferred having all exhibition presswork designed
in China whenever possible, which would result in designs much more correspondent
with the theme of the exhibitions rather than an obsessive use of red.
81
Fan was not alone
in seeing the restless use of red for things related with China to be problematic. Other
symposium participants like Gu Zhenqing, a quite established curator of contemporary art,
expressed a similar point of view.
82
Lu Shengzhong himself attended the symposium and
I believe that he most likely caught on to the reason his Propitious Omen Descending,
with its overwhelming red tone, was rejected. In contrast, his Landscape Study, contains
traditional intellectual practice, classical art tradition, contemporary deconstructive
approach, and nationalistic sentiment, which would be a much more preferable work for
the Chinese Pavilion.
83

80
Ibid.

81
Ibid.

82
Symposium on Zaojingthe Chinese Pavilion of the fiftieth Venice Biennale at the
Guangdong Museum of Art, ed. by Li Cong, based on recordings of the symposium, Guangdong
Museum of Art, July 25, 2003. < http://www.gdmoa.org 2003-8-20 > (Accessed June 08, 2006).

83
In this work, audiences are invited to pick up books and read them. In doing so, they will find all
kinds of diverse content in those books and in different languages. The artist actually implies that
172
Lu Shengdongs case actually illustrates how works were carefully chosen to meet the
double-purposed representation of Chinese contemporary art at the Chinese Pavilion. It is
reasonable to argue that the founding of the pavilion and showing contemporary art is not a
retreat of the states control from the cultural field. Rather, the whole event shows that the
state is taking steps to better put the field under its regulation. Through providing an
official platform, the cultural authority secures a space to present the type of contemporary
Chinese art that it wants to present, thus controlling the origin of the meaning. It tolerates
the originally banned media with the reward of being able to extend its authority over the
contemporary art world, an area that was not under its control before. Just as governmental
support for participation in many other international cultural events such as films, theater,
and music, that serves to manifest rich tradition and current achievement in Socialist
construction, contemporary art finally becomes another arena where the state sees its
ideology being carried out.

6. Conclusion
The first Chinese Pavilion was successful in achieving the designated goals and conveying
positive messages to art communities. In establishing a national pavilion, on the one hand,
the cultural officials got to exercise the power of choosing artists and art works and they

the concept of Chinese landscape painting can contain the various human civilizationsthe
worldas represented by books in all kinds of subjects and languages.

173
claimed that their selection was based on Chinese aesthetic values and cultural standards.
84

Fan Dian summarized that by providing an official platform, China would be able to
promote its native artists based on its own reality and therefore made a change on the
situation of certain Chinese artists being selected by individual international curators out of
their prescribed expectation without a comprehension of the contemporary Chinese art
world.
85
The project was well received by the participating artists as well as the majority of
contemporary artists and critics, though some have commented that the political meaning
of this Pavilion surpasses the artistic meaning.
86
In any case, artists have captured the
message of the governments positive attitude towards contemporary art.

Lu Shengzhong, for example, writes cheerfully in his personal diary of the very beginning
when he was notified of his participation: I am willing to participate in this exhibition, but
this willingness does not come from the longing for Venice; rather, it comes because this
time it is a choice of Chinese themselves.
87
The artist continues in his diary that he is

84
Di 50 Jie Venice Biennale Zhongguoguan Jiangzai Guangdong Meishuguan Zhanchu
[Chinese Pavilion for the fiftieth Venice Biennale will show at Guangdong Museum of Art], press
release material provided by Guangdong Museum of Art. Also see Feng, Yuan, Guanyu Wenhua
Chuangxin de Beijing Guoji Meishu Shuannian Zhan [Related to Cultural Creation, the First
Beijing International Art Biennale], Meishu [Fine Arts], no. 11 (2003): 5-9; and Pi Li, Xiang Ba
Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu Chongxin La Huilai [Thinking of Pulling Back Chinese Contemporary
Art], Jingji Guancha Bao [The Economic Observer], December 30, 2002.
<http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20021230/1306296348.shtml> (Accessed July 28, 2004).

85
Fan Dian, The Age of Zaojing.

86
Some artists and curators that I interviewed expressed this point of view. Also see Jiang Yifan,
Shijian zhihou Haiyou Yishu [After the Event, There Is still Art].

87
174
upset with the situation that Chinese contemporary artists have been plunged into the
shadow of being chosen (according to western standards), and has been calling for the
arrival of the day when the Chineses own standards for art will be acknowledged and
practiced in the international art world.
88
A similar statement is that of another participant
Liu Jianhua:
The founding of the Chinese Pavilion will help to establish the image of Chinese
contemporary art and back up the presence of individual artists with a national
background. It does not matter who attends the first national pavilion. The real
important thing is the institution has been established and will go on.
89

Another artist Zhang Wang is reported to say:
In the past, Chinese artists were able to attend important international exhibitions
only through the selection of Western curators, so their art often catered to those
curators mindset. This time the governments formal involvement helps to offer
another aspect of Chinese contemporary art [in addition to the one already known
and accepted in the West].
90

On the other hand, as China has accelerated its speed in economic development and its
integration into the international community since the 1990s, the state is eager to
participate in international programs and make its presence in as many fields as possible.
The tremendous efforts being made for entry into the WTO, the holding of the 2008

242003. Lu was rather frustrated by the unexpected delay of governmental funds designated for
his piece during the process when he was working on the piece. He still expressed his resentment
about that when I interviewed him in the summer of 2004.

88
242003.

89

90
Ibid.
175
Olympic Games and the 2010 World Expo are good examples. Besides, the states strong
support can be seen in Chinese participation in world-level athletic games, competitions,
and international programs for music and performance. In terms of Chinese contemporary
art, the state has delayed incorporating it into the overall national project, probably because
of its previous reliance on rather conservative art experts. Since 1993, Chinese artists as
individuals started to participate in the Venice Biennale, but the state had not yet fully
opened its vision to this renowned international art event. The event finally reached the
states agenda a decade later, with the cultural administrators being more and more aware
of the significance of the Venice Biennale in the international art world. Specifically,
contemporary Chinese art, without the support of the state, had already obtained
considerable fame in the international art circles. Thus the construction of the national
pavilion, to a certain degree, is a convenient appropriation of the reputation that had been
gained by the individual Chinese artists who attended the biennale in previous years.

By choosing contemporary media for the Venice Biennale, the cultural authority not only
showed its interest in following the custom of this renowned international art institution,
but also counteracted its image as a suppressor of contemporary art in the past. By selecting
five contemporary art works for the anticipated international audience, it tried to convey a
message that the government not only promoted social realist art, but also contemporary art,
thus manifesting the new freedom that Chinese artists enjoy in their creative activities. In
doing this, the authorities present an open and up-to-date image in the art world. Without a
176
doubt, its efforts invested in contemporary art have been received positively among the
majority of contemporary artists. Many of them believe that the emerging official
institutional support of contemporary art marks a significant progress in history and will
greatly facilitate the further development of Chinese contemporary art. At least,
non-traditional formats such as installation and video are now accepted as categories of
official art. This definitely suggests a change of the concept of art in a general sense in
Chinese official mentality: the definition of art is becoming more open and multiple, more
responsive with our contemporary society; in the mealtime, it is very clear that art is still
managed to be in line with the states particular goals at this moment.
177

CHAPTER V
FORMING CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS

1. Introduction
If the first Chinese Pavilion can be seen as a sign of the increasingly opened mindset that
cultural authorities has come to show towards international art practice as well as
contemporary art, the Beijing Biennale, doubtless, is a strong gesture from the art
establishment represented by the CAA to reclaim authority over the Chinese art world and
to even expand its influence at an international level. Sharing the same goal with the
Chinese Pavilion of representing official art from contemporary China, the Beijing
Biennale pursues a surprisingly different, and to many, rather conservative overall
appearance. It is operated with a totally different approach, with respect of the curatorial
method, art presented, and institutional function of the show.

Compared to the Chinese Pavilion, the Beijing Biennale definitely received much more
attention and coverage from the mainstream media in China during its preparation and
actual showcasing. Witnesses who were in Beijing in the fall of 2003 would agree that the
Beijing Biennale was the grandest international art exhibition that had ever been
assembled by the official art establishment. As the CAAs first international biennale, it
178
succeeded in drawing great attention from the art world, both favorable and critical. This
should not come as a surprise, considering the abundant resources upon which it was
drawing. As a child of the CAA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of the
Peoples Republic of China (PRC), the Institute of Fine Arts at the China Academy of
Arts, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture, the Academy of Chinese Painting, the
China International Exhibition Agency, and the China Central Television Station, it had
financial, researching, organizational, and publicizing advantages that no other exhibition
could compete with. All these guaranteed that the Biennale was smoothly carried out in
every aspect until it reached its final ceremonial presence, regardless of the threat from
SARS.
1
As the sponsorship list shows, the Biennale gained its support from the top
cultural organizations, prestigious institutions, and the largest Chinese media. It therefore
enjoyed many conveniences such as a generous budget, a professional operating system,
an effective and far-reaching publicity program, prestigious exhibition spaces, and much
more. The biennale received a budget of more than 9 million RMB from the Treasury
Department of the PRC that was specially established for the project.
2
The two venues
for the show were the China National Museum of Fine Arts (CNMFA) and the art

1
In the case of the first Chinese Pavilion, as mentioned in the previous chapter, the outbreak of
this same disease fundamentally affected its original plan of presenting the Pavilion at the Venice
Biennale.

2
The Biennale also got more than one million RMB from some corporations. This total 11,800,000
RMB (then around 1.44 million US Dollars) may not seem competitive compared with other
established international biennials such as the Venice Biennale. However, taking into account the
low cost in labor and other resources in China, the amount is very impressive, especially since no
exhibition before had ever received so much money.
179
museum at the Chinese Millennium Monument (CMM).
3
The former, an art institution
that was built as the sanctum of Socialist Realistic Art, has enjoyed the most prestigious
status since its inauguration in 1959; the latter, a multi-functional building funded by the
Beijing Municipal Government, was an important construction completed in 2000 that
responded to a Western-originated but now globally popular concept: the millennium.

Officially, the first Beijing Biennale opened and closed with voices of ebullient
compliments surrounding it. According to my personal statistics based on the materials
from the Biennale Office and other channels, it gained more than 60 different kinds of
media coverage, including overseas art journals and newspapers, and generated more
than 300 reviews, not counting reviews posted on the internet. It was listed as one of the
top ten domestic art news stories of that year, as was the Chinese Pavilion.
4
The majority
of these reviews were positive and congratulatory. Actually there is a reason for this. At a
press conference before the opening of the Biennale where most of the media in Beijing
were invited, the mayor of Beijing gave a speech and openly requested them not to report
the Biennale negatively.
5
Therefore, there are not many contesting voices in the
mainstream media and it is hard to tell the sincerity of their reports. However, even
without the mayors speech, it is still difficult to expect many critical voices, considering

3
The China National Museum of Fine Arts was originally known as the China Art Gallery or the
National Art Gallery.

4
Top Ten Art News Stories in China in 2003, Meishu Bao [China Art Weekly], January 3, 2004.

5
Personal interview with Wang Yong, July 26, 2004.
180
that most of the art magazines, journals, and newspapers in Beijing are directly or
indirectly subordinated to institutions who involved themselves in the Biennale. Many
reporters from these media simply repeated language that the organizing committee had
disserminated about the Biennale. Nonetheless, the Internet, press outside of Beijing, and
a few more independent art magazines discussed the merits and flaws of the Biennale
with more independent observation and commentary. They make good supplemental
materials for understanding the overall reception of the Beijing Biennale.

2. The Show and the Award Winners
With the title Originality: Contemporaneity and Locality, the first Beijing Biennale
presented 405 paintings and sculptures by 270 artists from 45 countries, not counting the
series of concurring thematic exhibitions in eight other important venues throughout
Beijing. Works were assembled together for the goal of presenting multiple, fresh faces of
visual art of different countries and regions as colorfully as possible.
6
Collectively
curated by twenty-seven curators, including Vincenzo Sanfo from Italy, the only foreign
curator, under the direction of three high-ranking Chinese cultural officials, this Biennale
bears a strong accent that is particular to the Chinese official art world, even though the
number of art works from other countries actually outweighed those of China.
7

6
The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale, edited by the Chinese Artists
Association (Beijing: Peoples Fine Arts Publishing House, 2003), 9.

7
Vincenzo Sanfo is the president of the Art and Cultural Center of Italy (Centro Italiano per le Arti
e la Cultura) and a curator. Other than Beijing Biennale, he also aided in arranging a proper
181
The art works in the Beijing Biennale came through two methods: public submission and
special invitation. Only a small portion was open to public submission for domestic
artists and was very competitive by nature. It was reported that the Beijing International
Art Biennale Office received more than 1200 submissions in all for that portion. In the
end, the curatorial committee only picked 13 Chinese paintings, 21 oil paintings, 16
sculptures, and 4 other type of paintings. Other than these, all works came through
special invitation, which meant that the artists were first invited, and they got to decide
which piece to submit. The list for domestic special invitation directly came from the
committee, based on the reputation that individual artists had gained either in China or in
international art circuits. The sources of foreign participants came through three channels:
the names provided by foreign embassies in Beijing, Chinas embassies worldwide, and
the artist repertoire from the foreign curator Vincenzo Sanfo.
8

The Biennale was divided into a domestic section and an international one, respectively
showing at CNMFA and CMM. In China the CNMFA has been the most desired space for
art exhibitions, particularly in the formats of painting and sculpture, and in terms of
spatial arrangement and light setting it is a more professional location compared to that of

exhibition site for the first Chinese Pavilion, though finally China did not go to Venice due to SARS
disease and did not need the building.

8
This paragraph is based on press release documents and exhibition brochures released by the
Beijing International Art Biennale Office, and the interviews conducted by Meishu Xingkong [Fine
Arts Star and Sky] Column from the China Central Television Station [CCTV] and Meishu
Jianshang [Fine Arts Appreciation] Column from China Education Television Station with each
curator in April, 2003.
182
CMM. According to the organizers, there was no thematic reason for separating domestic
art from international art, and the only reason for the separation was that there was not
enough space in CNMFA.
9
The artists presented by the domestic section were mainly
from various art academies and art institutions. The paintings and sculptures in this
section were diverse in terms of artistic language and subject matter, but most of them
fell into the category of art that had already been officially sanctioned and been often
shown in various art exhibitions and magazines since the 1990s. Many works would look
familiar to domestic audiences who had been following the kind of art presented by the
National Art Work Exhibition. No obvious shift of trend or emergence of new artistic
sensibility can be seen from the show. Many works did show a high level of mastery of
artistic technique and medium. This can be seen from the three winners of the Award for
Chinese Young Artists Work, which is a prize especially set for honoring excellent
Chinese young artists. Based on the practice of other international biennales, the Beijing
Biennale gave all its other awards, including three first rank awards (the Award for the
Best Work), six second rank awards (the Award for Excellent Work), and a Memorial
Award to artists outside of China. An International Awarding Committee composed by Jin
Shangyi, Liu Dawei, Wang Yong, Vincenzo Sanfo (Italy), Ylva Hallback (Sweden), and
Jean-Francois Larrieu (France) was established to carry out the task. Among them, the
first four also served on the Curatorial Committee.

9
CNMFA is planning to undergo a massive expansion and it is said that probably all works for the
third Beijing Biennale will be housed there in 2008.
183
The three winning works by young Chinese artists are a Chinese painting, an oil painting,
and a sculpture. Following the sequence offered by the Biennale brochure, I will start
with the Chinese painting. The then 40-year-old artist Wang Yingsheng, an associate
professor from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, obtained the award for his
2001 work Strolling II [figure 38], a diptych Chinese painting in traditional media but
with assorted images and symbols extracted from the Chinese and European art traditions.
In the foreground of the painting, four life size urban young people, one man and three
women, pose themselves in different stances, two in a resting position and the others
moving. Behind them, in much smaller but still various sizes, cultural signs and figural
images of women and men from Chinese traditional mural paintings and from famous
works by Western masters like Titian, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Gustave Courbet,
Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse and others fill up the space. Those pictorial icons in art
history were more or less reproduced in their original styles and they contrast with the
artists own rather realistic representation of the four young Chinese. The erratic
juxtaposition of unrelated images from different artistic styles, eras, and areas gives the
work a flavor of a collage-like surrealist painting. Nonetheless, it is actually aesthetically
pleasing in terms of formal composition and color arrangement. The combined
background that is full of historic art works in the painting seems to comment on the
current reality of China where people, especially intellectuals, are consciously coping
with the collusion of Eastern and Western cultures.

184
The oil painting Brothers and Sisters [figure 39] was a set of five paintings by Zhang
Chenchu, a thirty-year-old artist who teaches at Shanghai Teachers University, completed
in 2001 and 2002. Similar in height to Strolling II, the piece features five giant facial
close-ups. Brothers and sisters here do not mean real family members, but the way young
Chinese people refer to their friends or classmates who have a relationship with them just
like sisters and brothers. Two young female and three male faces were depicted in a
manner of high verisimilitude but at the same time very picturesque abstractness,
benefiting from the interestingly distinct contrast of light and shadow on each face. The
artist captured and represented on the canvas five different facial features that seem to
express each personality and innermost feelings without any additional elements such as
clothing, hair style, or background. The only detail is their individual facial expressions
and the mindset each face seems to speak. The painting was highly regarded for its
successful portraiture of five young persons. Wang Yong explained the curatorial
committees discussion of the painting to the reporter: The work only shows segments of
the normal head portraits. However, audiences only need to take a glance to tell that they
are Chinese, and even more, contemporary young Chinese. That is not easy.
10

The third piece The Chinese Roots [figure 40] was a soft sculpture collaborated by the
teacher Guo Zhenyu and his twenty-eight handicapped students from the Special

10
Quoted from Hou Ningning, Jiedu Shuangnianzhan: Huojiang Zuopin yu Ren Youguan
[Understanding the Biennial: the Awarded Works Involve Humanity], Beijing Chenbao [Beijing
morning news], September 23, 2003.
185
Education Vocational School at Shandong province. Originally, the work was created to
celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the PRC in 1999. This is a work of
spectacular size: four meters in height, twenty meters in length, and one and a half meters
in depth. It resembles the roots of rong, one type of banyan that has been regarded as a
divine tree in southern China. The whole piece was made of a common, traditional
material, linen, in its original color. Those roots, varying in size and shape, appear to
gravitate toward the center, where the biggest roots bind all together. As if responding to
the centripetal force calling towards even the tiniest root at the farthest corner, every root
seems to struggle to swim closer and closer to the dominant ones in the center. In the
meantime, among those roots, numerous human figures can be identified, though
indistinctly. In this sense, the work gives a symbolic meaning of the expansion of endless
offspring and the continuity of centuries-old Chinese history, a very favorable theme in
Chinese culture. Occupying a whole wall of the exhibition hall, it had a striking visual
effect on the audience when they stepped in. According to Wang Yong, the work got
unanimous assents for the award from the International Awarding Committee for its
excellent combination of theme and form and its amazing visual impact.
11

There were actually more impressive works in the domestic section which, in their own
right, successfully manifested the mastery of the technique and the deep understanding of
individual motif chosen. Particularly, there were some sculptures that show real artistic

11
Ibid.
186
creativity and expressive power, and that demonstrate the development of sculpture in
recent years. In this section, a lot of artists were participants in the Ninth National Art
Work Exhibition in 1999, some of whom obtained awards from that show. They included
the three gold-prize winners Leng Jun, Wang Hongjian, and Zheng li, whose specific
works were discussed in detail in the first chapter. For the Biennale, Wang Hongjians
participating work was still the Yang Guan San Die [Three Variations on the Yang pass],
which won his great honor in 1999. Zheng Lis work was a continuation of his former
work Shu Xiang Men Di [Intellectual Family] and was titled Shu Xiang Men Di zhi Er
[Intellectual Family-2] [figure 41], a work with similar theme and style but in slightly
different composition. Leng Juns participating work Shiji Fengjing zhi Si [Century
Scenery-4] [figure 42] was still a highly representational piece. He applied his
superrealistic technique in depicting a quite disturbing image of the world map entirely
covered and outlined by some kinds of industrial and medical wastes, obviously a critique
of the side effects of modern industrial development.

From the domestic section we move to the international one, which was an amalgamation
of both famous figures and less-known artists. The Biennale does have a list of
impressive names such as Georg Baselitz, Sandro Chia, Sam Francis, Joerg Immendorf,
Markus Lupertz, Mimmo Paladino, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andrew Wyeth.
12
These

12
These artists were all brought in by curator Vincenzo Sanfo, so it very likely has a great deal to
do with his personal taste. However, these figures were not new to the Chinese audience at all.
They had actually been introduced into China before and they have enjoyed a high reputation and
187
people, however, have well-established names in the art world. Most of their works on
show were basically non significant ones in their individual artistic careers. It is probably
reasonable to think that the inclusion of their names was simply a necessity to boost the
status of the Beijing Biennale and increase its attraction. The presence of these people,
however, inevitably increased the impression of the audiences to see the Biennale as a
show that presented the development of art in the past, or as a kind of retrospective show.
The Beijing Biennale even gave Georg Baselitz the first rank award for his 1986 oil
painting Attacking II [figure 43], as if to pay belated respect to this German
New-Expressionist master. So was the case of American abstract artist Sam Francis, who
was given the Memorial Award. Baselitzs work was awarded for his expression of
eeriness, horror, and absurdity of modern life through the unusual pose, upside down as if
falling, of a human figure, and strong contrast of color composition.
13
Franciss pieces
included four abstract compositions he made during different periods from the 1960s to
the 1980s, which were only given numerical titles 23, 27, 29, and 30 [figure 44].

popularity in the Chinese art world. For example, Andrew Wyeths style inspired a group of
Chinese young artists such as He Duoling and Ai Xuan who established themselves in the early
1980s known as rustic realism; Robert Rauschenbergs retrospective exhibition at the China
National Museum of Fine Arts in November 1985 and his lecture at the Central Academy of
Graphic Art in Beijing had a profound impact on the avant-garde art movement in the mid and
late 1980s; since the 1990s, work by Neo-Expressionist artists such as Joerg Immendorf, Georg
Baselitz, Sandro Chia, Markus Lupertz, and Mimmo Paladino have been discussed with great
interest among Chinese art circles and have inspired many young Chinese artists such as Mao Yan,
Wang Yuping, Shen Ling. For the last point, see Yi Ying, 25 Years Distortion-The
Expressionism in China, Arts Criticismno. 11 (Nov 2006): 11-12.

13
Ibid.
188
Other than Baselitzs work, the works by the other two first rank award winners were
created in recent years. Italian artist Omer Gallianis triptych painting New Anatomy
[figure 45] from 2003 was praised for his combination of European classical portrait style,
presented by the way the human figure was rendered and sculpted, and surrealist
approach, shown by the exposed blood vessels and stitches on the skin. The visible
physical dissection on the canvas was believed to refer to modern peoples mental
wounds.
14
Iranian artist Nosratollah Moslemians work Series of Untitled [figure 46]
was awarded for the surprising level of freedom shown from an artist coming from Iran, a
country believed to be relatively conservative.
15
In these collage-like paintings, there
were female heads, nude, and some segments from traditional Persian miniatures. All
these un-related and freely flowing elements were connected by various color patches and
lines running through them. It was said that the three Western jurors were particularly
shocked by the free spirit and artistic expression shown by Moslemians works.
16

From the award winning works, including both domestic and international sections, we
certainly see a focus on human figures. This has been the orthodox heritage of Chinese
official art since 1949. In general, the domestic section seems to be a reinforcement of the
established artistic merit system that has been promoted by the CAA in the past, one that

14
Ibid.

15
Ibid.

16
Ibid.
189
is grounded upon the favor of solid realistic/representational techniques and seeking a
combination of artistic innovation with proper and socially meaningful themes. These
themes include aspects of contemporary social life, events of historical significance,
perceptions of Chinese cultural traditions, etc. This evaluation system, however, is not
applied to art works in the international section, so we see a mingling, or even random
mixture, of art works with various themes and styles. Some probably came because of
their reputations in the international art world or in their own countries; others, probably
out of individual curators preference. For example, Finnish artist Matti Kujasalos highly
black-and-white abstract compositions Series of Unitled [figure 47] and Russian artist
Yuri Kalyutas representational portrait Melissa [figure 48] were both granted the second
rank award. No specific explanation was given for awarding these two, though it is
obvious that Kalyutas work looks similar to the kind of portraiture genre in socialist
realism that originated from the former Soviet Union, which had served as the basis of
Chinese official art for about three decades. That may be a possible explanation for the
particular award.

The two sculptural works that won the second rank award were French artist Fernandez
Armans Discus Thrower [figure 49] and Swiss Kurt Schwagers Transzendenz
(transcendental meditation) [figure 50]. Fernandez Armans subject was of a classical one,
a naked male body throwing a discus, but the artist purposely cut the athletes body into
several barely linked portions. Thus, the originally solid and muscular body seems to be
190
falling apart and the athlete seems to suffer tremendous pain in a position that would
otherwise be seen as containing immense force that is necessary for him to throw the
discus. In Schwagers 2002 marble sculpture, a solemn face emerges from the
stream-patterned surface, or it is sinking itself from this material world into a spiritual
one, if understood from the title. It seems that the artist is trying to capture the formless
spiritual activitymeditationthrough the presence of the ambiguous face in a kind of
abstract status.

Overall, the Beijing Biennale, even with many interesting pieces and indeed showing a
variety of themes and styles, did not entail a close investigation and critical engagement
of the most dynamic, and in many cases controversial, issues of the contemporary art
world. Considering many of the very active contemporary art practices would have
involved media other than just painting and sculpture, this may be a necessary price paid
by a biennale that only opens itself to painting and sculpture.

The official report said that there were twenty thousand visitors per day on average visiting
the two sites during a months exhibition period.
17
This number itself seems rather
grandiloquent than practically reliable, just like the language applied in the statement that
praises the Biennale as: the highest level, largest scale, most visited international art

17
Anonymous, Beijing International Art Biennale Witness the Graceful Bearing of Chinese
Contemporary Art and the Glamour of International Easel Art, released by the Beijing
International Art Biennale Office through pamphlets in 2003.
191
exhibition up to now in China.
18
Nonetheless, as a highly publicized event, through
national television stations, art magazines and newspapers, and major public bulletin
boards throughout Beijing, the Biennale doubtless got a huge attendance. However, artists
who were well established in the contemporary art world seemed to hold a scornful attitude
towards the Biennale, seeing it simply as another version of the National Art Work
Exhibition that includes foreign participants. Some of them even called it ridiculous for
its constitution of only accepting painting and sculpture, the two most traditional media.
19

My interviews showed that many of contemporary artists did not even bother to visit the
Biennale, though some of them were invited to submit their work for the show.
20

From my point of view, rather than simply dismissing it, I believe the biennale deserves a
more critical investigation. It is significant in its own right, as the first international
biennale held by the CAA, the major agent of Chinese official art. The meaning of it
should be understood from several perspectives, including the type of art assembled,
nationalistic motivation, institutional strategy and accommodation. Fundamentally, it is a
move by the CAA to promote not only the kind of art it favors, but also its own status as
the conduit of official art. The Biennale is not simply an exhibition that presents art, but

18
Ibid.

19
Li Shuo, Art gala debuts in Beijing, China Daily, September 12, 2003.

20
For example, Liu Jianhua, Yang Fudong, and Zhan Wang, artists who were featured in the first
Chinese Pavilion did not visit the Beijing Biennale; artists like Yin Kun and Yu Jiantao who
reside in Song Zhuang Artist Village told me that they did not go either. Based on my interview
with Liu Jianhau on June 6, 2005, Yang Fudong on June 26, Zhan Wang on June 17, 2005, and
Yin Kun and Yu Jiantao on September 26, 2004.
192
one that contains responses and strategies of its author the CAA in dealing with the new
changes emerging in the contemporary art world and the accompanying challenges facing
its authority. Like the Chinese Pavilion, the establishment of the Beijing Biennale
involves interactive international and domestic forces and itself is part of the
transforming art world in contemporary China.

Accordingly, the examination of the Beijing Biennale should not be limited to looking at
what kind of art was presented. Many more issues and concerns were involved that
conditioned the staging of the show and affected its overall appearance. These have to be
taken into consideration in order to understand the meaning of the establishment of this
international biennale, as a new program, for the CAA as well as the Chinese official art
world. To start, I will focus on the origin of this program.

3. The Nationalistic Proposal
The origin of the idea for founding a Beijing Biennale may seem quite accidental.
However, it is more likely that it was destined to happen, considering the nationalistic
mentality that has been gathered to support the whole undertaking as well as the rapid
transformation of the Chinese art world. In late 2001, a few members of the Chinese
Artists Association, led by the chairman Jin Shangyi, visited the 10
th
Dacca Biennale in
193
Bangladesh.
21
Jin was invited to be a member of the Dacca Biennales Jury Committee
and also one mediator for the associated international conference. Subsequently, Wang
Yong, a senior member of the CAA and the deputy director of the Research Institute of
Fine Arts at the China Academy of Arts, visited the Biennale and gave a presentation at
the conference. Probably, certain discussions went along among these cultural officials
about the status of Chinese art in the international art world. Then, as Carol Lu described:
the idea for the first Beijing International Art Biennale was born out of a feeling of
being left behind by a less-developed country.
22
When struggling with this feeling that
Bangladesh was moving ahead of China in terms of hosting an international biennale,
certainly the cultural officials did not take into account the Third Shanghai Biennale in
2000, which was made an international one and has already gained quite a name in the
international art world. Soon after their return to China, Wang Yong worked out a
proposal and submitted it to the CAA. With the CAAs approval and support, the proposal
was re-submitted to the central government and was ratified as an official project. How
the proposal reached the hand of a particular decision maker from the top authority of the
government, who this person was, and what kind of process it might involve are not
known. Instead, I will take a close look at the proposal itself and examine the strategy and

21
The Dacca Biennale is also known as the Asian Art Bangladesh Biennale. Established in 1981
and sponsored by the Bangladesh Department of Fine Arts, National Academy of Fine &
Performing Arts, The Dacca Biennale aims to showcase the artistic heritage and contemporary art
at Asia and kindred regions. The major concept of the Biennale is based on the desire to reflect
continuity and change and to embrace modernity and tradition simultaneously.

22
Carol Lu, First Beijing Biennale, Flash Art, vol.36 (November/December 2003): 41.
194
language that Wang Yong applied to propose, convince, and legitimize the necessity of
the biennale project. In this proposal that is entitled Suggestions on Preparing the
Beijing International Art Biennale, China, Wang Yong starts with:
Considering the strategic status of China in the development of global culture,
if China wants to lead the direction of the cultural development in the
contemporary world and contribute to the Eastern renaissance and the progress
of human civilization in the twenty-first century, one of the most important
cultural strategies to take is to hold a large scale international biennialthe
International Art Biennale in Beijing, China (the Beijing Biennale).
23

The proposal then goes on in detail, explaining the significance and urgency of holding a
Beijing biennial through four sections, out of a total of six: 1. The inspiration from Dacca
Biennale in Bangladesh; 2. Biennial as one of the most effective means in contemporary
international cultural communication; 3. The global cultural strategic significance for
China to hold the Beijing Biennale; 4. The analysis on the feasibility of holding the
Beijing Biennale. The other two sections contain suggestions on the schedule and
preparation work for the Biennale. The first section focuses on issues related to the Dacca
Biennale including governmental support, institutional sponsorship, political leaders
involved, the increasing international cultural profile achieved through the Dacca
Biennale, organizational structure, and the content of the Biennale. It emphasizes that:
most of the developing countries in the East are confronted with the challenges from the
economic globalization and the invasion of Western culture, and representatives from

23
Wang Yong, Guanyu Chouban Zhongguo Beijing Guoji Yishu Shuangnianzhan de Jianyi
[Suggestions on Planning the Beijing International Art Biennale, China], in Transplantation and
Variation (Beijing: Chinese Peoples University Press, 2005), 344.
195
various nations have come to a common understanding in terms of how to confront the
challenges, how to carry on native art traditions, and how to develop Eastern
contemporary art.
24
The section comes to a conclusion that
Most artists from developing countries have high expectations for China to have
an international art biennial. From my opinion, thinking that a small and
not-rich country like Bangladesh has consistently held ten runs of the Biennale,
we the magnificent China have every reason to hold the Beijing Biennale in order
to live up to the hope of most artists from developing countries.
25

In the second section, Wang Yong concentrates on the function of the international
biennial. Taking a few well-established ones including the Venice Biennale, the Sao Paulo
Biennial, the Sydney Biennial, and the Istanbul Biennial as examples, he argues that the
international biennial as a form of art display has become one of the most effective ways
for international cultural communication with its large number of participating countries
and persistent influence.
26
In the third section, which is the pivotal part of the proposal,
he elaborates what the Beijing Biennale can bring to China, or what can be achieved
through holding it. As summarized below, he argues that by holding the Beijing Biennale,
1. China can exert significant influence in the development of a balanced world
culture with multicultural tendencies, and demonstrate the force for
participating in contemporary cultural competition, which is a fundamental
part of the overall competition of comprehensive national power in todays
world.
2. China can occupy an advantageous position in the global cultural sphere.
Chinese artists who have participated in biennials in Western countries often

24
Ibid., 345.

25
Ibid..

26
Ibid., 345-346.
196
have to struggle with Western curators ideological or political prejudice. With
the Beijing Biennale, we hold the cultural initiative and can decide the
exhibition theme, selection, evaluation standard or the rule of game.
3. China can promote international cultural exchange. Particularly, we can
emphasize the contemporary art from vast developing countries, which share
similar challenges and opportunities with China in their process toward
modernization.
4. China can further boost Beijing, the political and cultural center of China into
one of the global contemporary art centers and the base for a new renaissance
of Chinese culture and the whole oriental culture.
27

After illuminating the cultural and political significances of holding the Beijing Biennale,
Wang Yong does a brief analysis of Chinas economic strength, Beijings cultural
facilities, art research capacities, and its organizational resources for a large-scale
international exhibition in section four. He finally argues that with all necessary resources,
Beijing is ready to hold its international biennial. In section five, he proposes a time line
for the first three Beijing Biennales: the end of 2003 or the beginning of 2004, 2006, and
2008, with themes Contemporary Art from the East, Contemporary Art from the East
and the West, and Contemporary Global Art respectively.
28
Under his schema, the
Beijing Biennale will start with artists from the East, then from both the East and the
West, and finally extend to artists from every continent on the globe. This particular
schema was not carried out, and the first Beijing Biennale was immediately made open to
artists from every continent on the globe, which very likely was due to the overwhelming
desire of the majority of the Curatorial Committee to include global art as soon as

27
Ibid., 346-347.

28
Ibid., 348.
197
possible. However, Wang Yongs suggestion of a collective curatorial system in the last
section of his proposal was accepted and actually increased to a number (thirty curators)
that no other international biennial had ever experienced.
29

In this carefully structured proposal, attention was centered on points that would evoke
nationalistic sentiment among its readers, the top-ranking officials in the central
government. This sentiment corresponds to the revival of Chinese nationalism, which
sees its circulation in both state-funded institutions and independent ones since the 1990s.
As many scholars have noted, the Chinese state has relied greatly on nationalism in order
to legitimize and maintain the Communist regime in contemporary China where
tremendous social transformation has occurred.
30
This nationalism, when it comes to
official international relationships, is presented by governments investment in promoting
Chinas global profile, international recognition and status.
31
The above account must
have been the major reason that Wang Yongs proposal was approved. The Beijing
Biennale was soon placed on the governmental agenda.

29
Wang Yong suggests a collective curatorship based on the fact that there is a lack of worldwide
established art critics in China and he actually proposes a curatorial group consisting of a limited
number of renowned art critics and theorists from the Research Institute of Fine Arts at China
Academy of Arts and famous artists from the CAA.

30
See section 4 in chapter three under Cultural Nationalism and Pulling Back Chinese
Contemporary Art.

31
For detailed discussions about the revival of Chinese nationalism in the 1990s and its effect in
Chinas international relationships with the rest of the world, see Gungwu Wang, The Revival of
Chinese Nationalism (Leiden: International Institute for Asian Studies, 1996) and Yongnian Zheng,
Discovering Chinese Nationalism in China: Modernization, Identity, and International Relations
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
198
After the proposal gained the eventual approval from the central governmental, the CAA
became the executive organization and took full charge of the event. It set up a curatorial
committee, which was responsible for deciding the theme and selecting art works, and a
Beijing International Art Biennale Office, which took care of all other concrete
operational processes. As main coordinator of the Beijing Biennale, Wang Yong was to
serve only as one of the thirty curators, and saw the realization of the Biennale not always
following his initial proposal which would open at least a small portion for nontraditional
media and would have had a significantly smaller curatorial committee. The Biennale
turned into a project that was fully supported by the government and involved the
enthusiastic engagement of the art establishment that is represented by the CAA. This
wholehearted support for an unprecedented international program from the authorities
and the art establishment in China has to be examined in light of the politics of the
international biennial and the specific needs of the CAA.

4. The Politics of the International Biennial
The art world at a global level has experienced dynamic transformations and
reconfigurations since the 1980s and particularly in the 1990s under the impact of rapid
globalization, the belief and practice of multiculturalism in various fields, and the
convenience of transnational travel and information exchange of all kinds. Most
spectacularly, there comes into sight the movement of large-scale exhibitions at the global
level. Accompanied by and interrelated with a series of new phenomena in the art world,
199
such as the emergence of global curatorial discourse, the increasing collaboration of art
and non-art categories such as architecture and computer science, the rise of
contemporary art from non-Western countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, this
movement has resulted in the proliferation of international exhibitions.
32
New rising
international exhibitions outside of the West, such as the Havana Biennale, the Istanbul
Biennial, the Johannesburg Biennale, the Kwangju Biennale, the Shanghai Biennale, and
the Yokohama Triennale, have become new sites for formation and contestation of the
meaning of contemporary art. They have actively diverted the attention that had been
monopolized by a few well-established Western exhibitions such as Venice Biennale and
Docummenta in previous years.
33
Some artists and curators argue that these international
exhibitions are dissolving the historically established boundaries in art between Western
center and non-Western periphery and put the structure of the global art world under the
process of reformation.
34
Many have enthusiastically heralded the popularity of
international exhibitions as a new global tendency.
35

32
iss.3 (November 2003): 152-167. Also see Charlotte Bydler, The Global ArtWorld INC: On the
Globalization of Contemporary Art (Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2004), 96.

33
The Havana Biennale was established in 1984, the Istanbul Biennial in 1987, the Johannesburg
Biennale in 1995, the Kwangju Biennale in 1995, the Shanghai Biennale (the first international one)
in 2000, and the Yokohama Triennale in 2001.

34
iss.3 (November 2003): 152-167.

35
Ibid.
200
International exhibitions, especially in the form of biennial, indeed, have become a more
and more practiced method of cultural communication across national boundaries. To a
great degree, the boom of biennials constitutes one of the most spectacular aspects of
contemporary cultural representation and has become a prominent part of contemporary
art itself. As summarized by art critic Michael Brenson in 1998, biennials worldwide
have brought up the most attention-absorbing issues in the contemporary art world, such
as nationalism versus internationalism or transnationalism, indigenous cultures versus
global culture, handmade traditions versus technological networks, belief in the intrinsic
value of art versus an obligation to put art in the service of social and political needs, and
much more.
36

In particular, a few internationally acclaimed curators regard the practice of international
biennials as a good chance for transforming the old hierarchical art world and its
accompanying value systems.
37
International curators such as Francesco Bonami, Okwui
Enwezor, Hou Hanru, and Hans-Ulrich Obrist have involved themselves in the discourse
of curatorial globalism.
38
They see international biennials as an experimental apparatus

36
Michael Brenson, The Curators Moment, Art Journal, vol.57, iss.4 (Winter 1998): 17.

37
iss.3 (November 2003): 152-167.

38
A good case in point is Hou Hanru, an international curator who emigrated from China to
France in 1990 and had been based in Paris ever after until July 2006, when he took up his new post
as the director of Exhibitions and Public Programs of San Francisco Art Institute. He is known for
his influence in the promotion of Chinese contemporary art at a global level, but he often claims
himself to be a globalist curator who promotes an entirely new type of art that would transcend all
201
for global-level social transformation that will function to crumble all established
boundaries, including national, geopolitical, racial, cultural, and disciplinary. Since the
1980s, the master narrative of Western art history has been questioned, examined, and
criticized by art historians one after the other, informed by theories of post-structuralism,
post-colonialism, feminism, and multiculturalism. Global curatorial and biennial
discourse seems to be the last blow that fundamentally calls for the abandonment of this
already greatly discredited narrative. In practice, throughout the world, international
biennials have not only rapidly called into question the old structure and order of the art
world that placed the West at the center and non-West at the peripheries, but altogether
transformed the way that art is produced, perceived, and disseminated in the
contemporary world. Therefore, this powerful cultural apparatus has been seen by many
as an important indicator for deciding the status and visibility of art from a country or a
city in the global map of contemporary art. Simply put, having an international biennial
has almost become a symbol of a culture that is contemporary and updated.

Along with all those utopian notions that have been associated with international
biennials in terms of breaking down old boundaries and transforming the current status

established boundaries and become multi-transdisciplinary and multi-transcultural. He is seen
committing himself to implementing concepts that are related with globalization such as glocal
in-between in the exhibitions that he is involved in curating. Together with other curators such as
Francesco Bonami, Okwui Enwezor, and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, they are steering a global curatorial
discourse that has exerted considerable influence on the reformation of the global art world today.
For Hou Hanrus main ideas about global art, see the anthology Hou Hanru, On the Mid-Ground,
Yu Hsiao-hwei (ed.) (Hongkong: Timezone 8 Limited, 2002). Other curators remark can be seen
in Tim Griffin, Global Tendencies: Globalism and the Large-Scale Exhibition.
202
quo of the art world, I would also like to point out that new boundaries have also been
built up. The global art world has not yet been transformed into an egalitarian one with
the proliferation of international biennials. New exclusions have been created right upon
the ruins of old ones. For the people who have convenient access to or sharing of the
transnational information network, who are capable of international traveling and
communicating, and who can change their artistic concept fast enough to meet the new
cultural sensibility, unprecedented opportunities have brought them right to the center of
the global art stage. The rest, however, have been necessarily excluded and marginalized
from the hottest debates of art globalism as well as the desirable status of being an
avant-garde figure. For the latter, the rule of the art world remains the same, if not more
confusing. These international biennials are very effective in terms of launching the
career for a range of people including curators, critics, gallery dealers, and artists, and
eventually mobilizing a totally new profession that the art historian Charlotte Bydler
called the biennial industry.
39
This new industry in turn has institutionalized a proper
position for each of its active promoters. For anyone who does not want to be denied by
this newly consolidated mainstream, a good choice would be to come to terms with the
new rules and processes and be part of it. In other words, this industry is still a
hierarchical one, only with new terms and codes.

Furthermore, these biennials and the utopian discourse around biennials have

39
Charlotte Bydler, The Global ArtWorld Inc.: On the Globalization of Contemporary Art.
203
unfortunately accelerated the process of commercialization of the entire art world,
resulting in the expansion of a few central institutions. The curator Hou Hanru himself,
like a few others, seems to be aware of the predicament of the global curatorial discourse
that he is deeply involved. He once pointed out:
In face, the globalization of a number of art institutions is now a major debate.
Such institutions attempt to ally themselves to the strategies of global expansion
used by trans-national corporations by setting up branches in key cities in the
global network. At the same time, conceptions and organizations of art events
within such institutions begin to resemble operations practices by business
enterprises.
40

This monopolization of the central institution in turn has brought what he described
homogenization of the global visual experience and environment at the price of the
expression of differences from local cultures and experiences.
41
All these certainly are the
downsides accompanying the globalization of the art world.

Within the biennial industry, there are many intertwined motivations and expectations
behind those newly emerging or established international biennials, rather than simply the
utopian notion of a borderless and egalitarian art world. In her study on the globalization of
contemporary art, Charlotte Bydler summarizes that a biennial often involves national or
regional politics, local personal interest, invited curators motivations, and the coming

40
Hou Hanru, Beyond the Chinese, Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available),
vol. 2 iss. 6 (1999).

41
Ibid.
204
artists desire to expand market for their art.
42
In addition, biennials often feature an
opening seminar that creates a perfect environment for guest lecturers to promote their
names and ideas; and the exhibition catalogues themselves offer another opportunity for
contributors to raise their voice and present their special interest.
43
All these have become
the inseparable basics of the thriving biennial industry.

Accordingly, the biennial itself has not been an innocent space where simply art is
produced. New social relationships, positive or negative, have been produced as well.
What future art world will evolve from of this trendy biennial discourse is still uncertain at
the moment. Nonetheless, the international biennial as a powerful contemporary art
institution is gaining more and more attention by different social groups and organizations,
and its capacity of mobilization is well recognized by its host cities or countries throughout
the world.

The establishment of Beijing Biennale cannot be separated from this global tendency in
the art world. It actually should be seen as one among many new biennials that have been
established throughout key cities in the non-western world aiming to promote the
visibility of native art and to play a part in contemporary cultural communication and
exchange at the international level. Indeed, Chinese authorities interest and investment in

42
Ibid.

43
Ibid.
205
the international art biennial is a very recent thing, first shown in the Third Shanghai
Biennale in 2000, then in the Chinese Pavilion for the fiftieth Venice Biennale in 2003. It
may well be said that the efforts being invested in biennials is actually an active response
to the changing domestic and international landscape of art. More directly, it is a response
to the increasingly important status of the international biennial as a contemporary art
institution in todays art circuits, as pointed out by Wang Yong in his proposal. In the
meantime, the establishment of the Beijing Biennale also serves as a good example of
how a so-called global discourse can be used for nationalistic purposes.

The cultural authority and the majority of the art establishment in China seem to respect
the international biennial as a new and useful institution for representing Chinese art to
the world as well as to its own people. Many of them believe that it is necessary to
upgrade the existent art system in China with this current developmentinternational
biennialin order to keep up with the rapid development of the global art world. This
interest in international affairs should be attributed to the new governmental style in
China in recent years, which is becoming more flexible and outward. The Chinese state,
applying a positive and supportive attitude towards international cooperation, shows great
enthusiasm in participating in all kinds of international activities, out of the desire to raise
a voice in the international community. This should be taken as the primary motivation
for the authorities to deliver their sanction to the proposal of the Beijing Biennale and
other international exhibitions in the past couple years. In this sense, I agree with Karen
206
Smith, a close observer of Chinese contemporary art and exhibitions, when she
commented that such exhibition events are part of Chinas proactive drive to get on
cultural track with the rest of the world in the wake of opening and reform.
44
In fact,
to get on cultural track with the rest of the world may not be enough to describe all the
enthusiasm; rather, to be one of the leading nations who steer the direction of this cultural
track may be more appropriate.

This recent inclination of the Chinese governmental strategy has been fully captured by the
Beijing Biennale organizers. In all official materials distributed by the CAA informing
domestic audiences of its undertaking of the Beijing Biennale, emphasis is placed upon the
desire and impetus for China to go global and for Chinese art to be a (significant) part of the
global art world. A short article About Art Biennale opens a nicely published brochure
for the Biennale, in which one reads this paragraph: Holding a biennial is the symbol of
comprehensive national power as well as placing emphasis on the status of a nation and
local culture.
45
Giving the Biennale such high status, associated with national power and
social enlightenment, the CAA justifies itself to receive generous funding from the state
and is able to establish the Beijing Biennale as a standing program. To further legitimize its
engagement in holding a biennial, the brochure offers an explanation of the functions of

44
Karen Smith, Review of the Inaugural Beijing Biennale, Yishu-Journal of Contemporary
Chinese Art, vol. 2, no. 4 (Winter 2003): 88-90.

45
The First Beijing International Art Biennale, China 2003, official brochure edited by Beijing
International Art Biennale Office, 1.
207
international biennial:
1. Protecting the rich and diversified cultures of the world and promoting the
normalized supplementation of advanced concepts and excellent works
through multidirectional international transmission;
2. Creating an obstacle-free path for the convergence of pioneering thoughts of
different nations and countries via the exchanges of visual arts, which are less
restricted by language barriers;
3. Maintaining and promoting the peace of human beings through worldwide
emotional connectivity;
4. Highlighting the local culture and national art, winning the initiative rights of
voices in the cultural circles of the world, thus developing the cultural vision
of local residents;
5. Expanding the reputation of the hosting city, enhancing its culture and
promoting the economic development through advocating local tourism;
6. Performing the basic duties that should be undertaken by big cultural powers
in international society.
46

Here we can see the development of Wang Yongs original proposal, only more systematic
and specific. From all these functions defined by the Beijing International Art Biennale
Office, one can see that the Biennale endorses for itself many grand responsibilities, from
global to local and from cultural to economic, which presents a familiar tone of diplomatic
speeches commonly given by government spokesmen in some important national
occasions. All items listed are echoing the governments interests, either for practical
purpose such as the potentiality of local tourism or ideological one such as performing its
obligation as one of the biggest countries in the world and thus enhancing Chinas global
profile.

46
Ibid.
208
What is of particular relevance to the domestic art world is a point included in item 4,
which is described as winning the initiative rights of voices in the cultural circles of the
world. This note contains a contested topic in Chinese art circles in recent years,
accompanying the increasing number of Chinese artists who have been invited to
participate in international exhibitions held outside of China. The center of the debate is
whether Chinese artists have been fairly presented in their own right or merely invited to
represent the prefabricated and prejudiced image of Chinese art held by international
curators mainly working in western art institutions with their own agenda and ideological
preference. One common understanding, agreed upon by differing opinion groups within
the Chinese art communities, is that merely participating in international exhibitions
would inevitably lead to a disadvantageous situation, but participation as one who makes
the rules will lead to an advantageous situation.
47
In all press releases or printed materials,
the significance of the Beijing Biennale has been associated with the commanding of
initiative power. It is emphasized that through holding the Beijing Biennale, Chinese artists,
via the CAA, can carry out their own selecting rules, make their own artistic standards, and
present Chinese art of their own choice. The logo [figure 51] for the Beijing Biennale
addresses this particular concept of owning the initiative rights, together with the desire to

47
See Yang Xiaoyan, Gaobie Jihui ZhuyiCong Jige Yishu Gean Kan Jiushi Niandai Zhongguo
Yishu de Zouxiang [Leaving Opportunism behindLooking at the Status of Chinese Art in the
1990s through a Few Cases], Huachen, iss 3 (1997): 6-15; Liu Xiaochun, Cong Dixia Zouxiang
Guowai de Zhuangtai yinggai gaibianShanghai shuangnianzhan de Jiazhi [The Situation of
Underground Going International Should Be Changedthe Value of Shanghai Biennale],
November 26, 2000. <http://arts.tom.com/look1/ysxw/cul_ytxw_zlzz_wokanwoshuo1_10.htm>
(Accessed March 10, 2006); Wang Nanming, The Shanghai Art Museum Should Not Become a
Market Stall in China for Western HegemonismA Paper Delivered at the Shanghai Biennale
2000, Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 3 iss. 6 (2000).
209
present a globally integrated art scene, no matter how infeasible one might think. The
brochure offers an explanation of the logo:
Two angles converge to a platform, on which the colored pattern [yellow, blue,
and green] on the left represents international fine arts and the red pattern with a
brushstroke resembling Chinese calligraphy [which is called flying white] on the
right represents Chinese fine arts. The two patterns interlock at an angle of ninety
degrees and constitute a solid body of four sides, which symbolizes the
participants coming to Beijing from countries worldwide. The red shape
refers to the autonomous right for selection and evaluation of international fine
arts from a Chinese cultural standpoint and perspective. Two intersecting up-down
lines represent the fluctuating development of contemporary art.
48

Since 1999, art critics and artists in China have been accusing the representation of
Chinese contemporary art in the international arena mounted by international curators of
being a product of western hegemony and prescribed concepts about art from China.
49

Many argue that the Western point of view dominates various established biennials and
the meaning of Chinese contemporary art represented there is more or less twisted in an
undesired direction.
50
In order to change the situation, they have argued that it is

48
Ibid.

49
This is a quite prevailing opinion circulating in the Chinese art world, among the art
establishment as well as the growing independent art groups. For examples, see Yang Xiaoyan,
Gaobie Jihui ZhuyiCong Jige Yishu Gean Kan Jiushi Niandai Zhongguo Yishu de Zouxiang
[Leaving Opportunism behindLooking at the Status of Chinese Art in the 1990s through a Few
Cases], Huachen, iss 3 (1997): 6-15; Ma Xiu, Inside Out, New Chinese Art, Chinese-art.com
(Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 2 iss. 1 (1999); Li Xiaoshan, Zhongguo Qianwei
Yishu Xianzhuang [The Status of Chinese Avant-garde Art], in Women Miandui Shenme [What
Art We Facing] (Changsha: Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 2002), 132-135; and Zhu
Qinsheng, Fandui Wenhua ShiminSigg Mingdan: Yige Wenhua Shimin An [Rejecting
Cultural Colonizationthe List of Sigg: a Case of Cultural Colonization], in Era of Criticism:
Selected Works of Chinese Art Critics in the End of 20
th
Century, Jia Fangzhou (ed.) (Guangxi Fine
Arts Publishing House, 2003), 340-343.

50
This kind of language indeed elaborates upon a perceived dialectic between China and the
210
necessary to have platforms where the Chinese point of view can be exercised. Therefore,
the explanation for the logo highlights rights for selection and evaluation and the
standpoint and perspective of Chinese culture, claiming the initiative right to select
rather than merely being selected. The desire to seek a kind of fairnessto have the right
not only of being selected, but also as a sponsor who selectsin forming an international
network for cultural communication and exchange really has become Chinas important
concern, evident in its recent efforts to join the international circuit and to be part of the
globalized world. As in business and science, the state has demonstrated a keen
commitment to achieving international recognition and to promoting the status of China
in other domains. The exceptional efforts being invested to win the bids, first by Beijing
for the 2008 Olympic Games, and then by Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo, are two
examples that show the governments willingness to boost Chinas global profile and to
be an active player in significant international programs.

This is the point where the CAA manages to meet the state interest. In order to further
demonstrate and legitimize the necessity of hosting such an international event as the
Beijing Biennale, the CAA has made a predated connection with the Olympic Games:

West. By setting up a unified West, without acknowledging the fact that the West itself has
been much complicated and diversified in the past two decades, as many Chinese art world
professionals do, an overwhelming and threatening West is maintained and many art projects are
thus legitimized. In Chen Xiaomeis Occidentalism, a pathbreaking study of the various ways that
official and unofficial discourses in the PRC deploy and manipulate images and notions of the West,
she terms the above mentioned phenomenon official Occidentalism. Chen Xiaomei,
Occidentalism: A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China (Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, 2003).
211
During the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing, 2008, Beijing will hold the third
biennial, which undoubtedly will become a helpful (cushion and promotion for)
[adjunct to] the realization of the concept of humanistic Olympics. Beijing
International Art Biennale will inevitably become an organic component of the
cultural construction of the Olympic Games.
51

The CAAs efforts in assembling an international biennial really take the trend of
nationalistic sentiment into the art world. In this regard, Karen Smith makes a logical
point when she states: The visual arts continue to be viewed as an instrument of
nationalism in the battle for securing international cultural prestige
52
In all the
statements about the definition, status, and function of the biennial and the interpretation
of the logo, the CAA apparently aims to create a cultural, political, and national
significance for its new undertaking. During the process, the form of an international
biennial actually functions as a tool for pursuing a nationally bound, politicized agenda.
The utopian associations made with the international biennial certainly see their failure in
the Beijing Biennale. Eventually we see that an international biennial does not essentially
contain the power of cultural transformation or boundary crossing. Instead, it is merely a
cultural apparatus and is subjected to whatever modification and appropriation its users
may apply. In this sense, the Beijing Biennale is not alone among many cases worldwide.
In the case of the Beijing Biennale, emphasis has been focused on Chinese characteristics
for the sense of being independent. In the brochure listing the regulations for the Beijing

51
Brief Introduction of Beijing International Art Biennale, in The First Beijing International Art
Biennale, China 2003, official brochure edited by Beijing International Art Biennale Office, 4.

52
Karen Smith, Review of the Inaugural Beijing Biennale, 88.
212
Biennale, we read:
Many countries have held biennials and used them as a window and opportunity
for promoting native culture and understanding cultures from other countries.
China is now a member of the WTO, standing on the stage of world economy and
culture with a full-scale openness. As an eastern country with a history that
reaches back to ancient civilization and being the largest developing country in
the world, China should have considerable effect in the multicultural development
of contemporary world. We should establish a new biennial style with Chinese
characteristics, in referring to the practices and customs of international biennials,
and contribute to the healthy development of world art and human civilization.
53

Rhetorically stated in this paragraph, the Beijing Biennale is presented as a means for
China to exert its influence in the contemporary art and cultural world. It is also described
as a new project that can show the full-scale openness of China in the new century. At the
same time, it is a forum where the characteristics of Chinese civilization will be
constructed and displayed through a biennial whose style is different from other popular
international biennials. The international customs will be applied, but under significant
modification based on Chinese ways, in order to create Chinese characteristics.
Eventually, globalist project and nationalistic project are arranged to meet here on the
same platform.

Besides the nationalistic motivation that may be shared by other recently emerged
biennials worldwide, the CAA has its own imperative motivation in establishing the
Beijing Biennale, which can only be understood in light of the specific context and the

53
The First Beijing International Art Biennale, China 2003, official brochure edited by Beijing
International Art Biennale Office, 10.
213
power structure of the art world in China. In other words, the Beijing Biennale is not
merely an exhibition arising from the impetus of nationalism, even though all the CAAs
texts of publicity tend to lead in this direction. In practice, not only does the state
constantly make use of the function of nationalism, but also this organization carefully
harnesses it for its own particular interest. Fundamentally, I argue that the Biennale is an
attempt to maintain the established power structure in the Chinese art world where the
CAA is centralized and plays a primary role; it is an effort invested by the CAA in
competing for primacy in the Chinese art world against newly emerging forces in a
changed social-political situation, both domestically and internationally. This will be
elaborated in the following section.

5. The Reality of Chinese Characteristics
As is repeatedly emphasized in official press releases and in curators interviews, the
Beijing Biennale does not adopt the format of international biennial as a wholesale
category. It takes the name, the large scale and the internationality, and hopes to inherit the
reputation that the international biennial as a contemporary art institution has gained. At
the same time, it does not follow the well-know features of international biennials such as
focusing on new and experimental media and applying individual star curators. Instead, the
Beijing Biennale limits itself to only painting and sculpture, the two most traditional art
formats in art history, and applies a large collective curatorial group of 30 members. These
two aspects make it remarkably different from the approach of the first Chinese Pavilion.
214
For these differences, the organizers explain that they are seeking an international biennial
with Chinese characteristics. Written in the brochure for the Biennale, it says:
Beijing Biennale promotes global communication in the art on the ground of
searching for Chinese characteristics. As an exhibition system that reflects the
academic exploration of middle aged and young artists, the Beijing Biennale
creates its uniqueness by applying collective curatorship, in order to pursue bigger
social and cultural effect.
54

Probably with the critiques brought up by the third Shanghai Biennale in mind, Tao Qin,
the general secretary of the organizing committee, states: Beijing Biennale is the first
platform where Chinese people can apply the power of selecting international art. This
procedure itself guarantees the Biennale not falling into the category of a Chinese
booth/market stall of Western biennials.
55

The third Shanghai Biennale was the first in China to have an international curator (Hou
Hanru) as the chief among four curators and presented a biennial much like those in the
West by gathering international artists (including established Chinese expatriate artists)
who were often featured at other renowned international biennials. Some domestic critics
questioned the identity of the Shanghai Biennale and saw it as a product of Western
hegemony. The most vehement criticism came from Wang Nanming, a young critic who

54
Brief Introduction of Beijing International Art Biennale, in The First Beijing International Art
Biennale, China 2003, 4.

55
Tao Qin, Chief Curators, Members of the Curatorial Committee Answering Reporters.
Conducted by Meishu Xingkong [Fine Arts Star and Sky] Column from the China Central
Television Station [CCTV] and Meishu Jianshang [Fine Arts Appreciation] Column from China
Education Television Station, April 25, 2003.
215
is always sensitive to the potential of western cultural colonization in China and has been
very critical of those Chinese emigrant artists who use a lot of Chinese cultural signs in
their works. He criticized the third Shanghai Biennale as merely a reduction of the
well-known international biennials such as the Venice Biennale or even a market stall in
China for Western Hegemonism.
56
Other critics pointed out that the biennial failed to
realize its promise to create an international biennial of Chinas own format and to seek a
balance between the international and the Chinese.
57
In other words, they believed
that the third Shanghai Biennale bore too strong an international/Western accent.
Understandably, the organizers of the Beijing Biennale would focus on holding a biennial
different from others, to be free from the suspicion of being another market stall of
Western biennials, and eventually to create Chinas own type of international biennial.

The so-called Chinese character of the Beijing Biennale was attained via a limitation on art
media. As discussed in the first section of this chapter, the Beijing Biennale only accepted
painting and sculpture and presented an exhibition with a much more traditional tone. As a
result, the Biennale seemed rather conservative to both domestic and international

56
Wang Nanming, The Shanghai Art Museum Should Not Become a Market Stall in China for
Western HegemonismA Paper Delivered at the Shanghai Biennale 2000, Chinese-art.com
(Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol.3, iss.6 (2000).

57
See Jia Fangzhou, Xin de Biaozhi Xin de Kaiduan-Ping 2000 Shanghai Shuangnianzhan [A
New Sign and A New Beginning On the Shanghai Biennale].
July 20, 2004);
Xu Hong, Xuanze yu Bei Xuanze[Choosing and Being Chosen].
July 20, 2004).
216
contemporary art communities. Accordingly, the most debated aspect of the Beijing
Biennale is the conflict between its desire for contemporaneity and originality and its
emphasis on the two traditional art formats: painting and sculpture. Explained by the
organizers, this is a strategy to create an international biennial with Chinese characteristic,
or Chinese sensibility, in order to differentiate it from numerous other international
biennials.
58
Thus, the locality in the theme finds a place for itself. Tao Qin explained the
organizational strategy: There are over 100 biennials around the globe. We hope that the
Beijing Biennale can stand out fresh and unique by stressing the importance of painting
and sculpture, Because all other biennials focus too much on new forms of contemporary
art, we want to be different from them and construct our own characteristics.
59
Certainly,
it is easy to point out the arbitrary nature of this account. Painting and sculpture certainly
cannot be credited as the creation of Chinese people, especially when a large portion of the
paintings on show are not even Chinese painting, and sculpture was not even regarded as
art until the 20th century in China. Therefore, painting and sculpture really have nothing
necessarily attributable to locality or to be characterized as Chinese.

Another supplemental note offered by the organizers is from the perspective of art itself:

58
Richard Vine applied Chinese sensibility in his review on the Beijing Biennale. See Richard
Vine, The Academy Strikes Back, Art in America 92, no. 6 (June/July 2004): 134.

59
Quoted from Li Shuo, Art gala debuts in Beijing, China Daily, September 12, 2003; also see
Tao Qin, Chief Curators, Members of the Curatorial Committee Answering Reporters, conducted
by Meishu Xingkong [Fine Arts Star and Sky] Column from the China Central Television Station
[CCTV] and Meishu Jianshang [Fine Arts Appreciation] Column from China Education Television
Station, April 25, 2003.
217
Although new art formats, such as multi-media, have opened up possibilities for
contemporary art, it does not mean that painting and sculpture have lost the space
for further development and innovation. Particularly, in countries like China and
Japan, paintings in the name of a countryChinese painting and Japanese
paintingare very much in the new stage of development.
60

This explanation positively suggests that the organizers consciously take into consideration
the specific context of the local and stress the peculiarity of Chinese/Eastern art history.
However, I personally believe that the most convincing explanation is an account offered
by Wang Yong, the initiator and one member of the Curatorial Committee, which focuses
on pragmatic reasons:
Other formatssuch as performance art and video artare difficult to control.
Beijing is the political center and is sensitive. Also, ordinary people do not accept.
After all, this is the first run. We decided to have only painting and sculptures
after taking many elements into consideration. We want to be safe and have a try
first.
61

In another occasion, he explains: considering the aesthetic standards and viewing habits in
China, we decided to focus on just painting and sculpture for the first couple runs. For
future Beijing Biennales, we may extend our coverage to other media.
62
This was indeed
his original ideal. He proposed that the first Beijing Biennale include a limited amount of

60
The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale, edited by the Chinese Artists
Association (Beijing: Peoples Fine Arts Publishing House, 2003): 7.

61
Canran, Shuangnianzhan, Shui Shouyi?[Biennial, Who Is Benefited?], Xinwen Zhoukan
[China News Week], iss. 153, October 27, 2003.

62
218
contemporary media, but was denied by other members of the Curatorial Committee.
63

Remembering that the budget of the biennial comes entirely from the government, it is
reasonable to be cautious about political correctness and safety in order to secure further
funding, even though it is still questionable that there is necessarily something politically
wrong or innately dangerous to installation, performance, and video art. If this is the case,
there would be no Chinese Pavilion for the Venice Biennale at all.

However, it is certainly a good point to accommodate the local audiences interest. To think
of the short survival of the Johannesburg Biennale, which responded more to the interest of
the international community and more or less ignored what the local art community wanted,
I am sympathetic with this concern.
64
In a proposal that aims to revive the spirit of the
Johannesburg Biennale, South African artist Kendell Geers points out that the lack of local
interest and reception caused the demise of the once acclaimed enterprise:
On the one hand the 2nd Johannesburg Biennial curated by Okwui Enwezor was
hailed as an unprecedented success by the international art community whilst it
was almost entirely misunderstood if not rejected by the South African art
community. The difference in reception was so extreme that the show has since
been indefinitely postponed.
65

There is certainly a lesson to learn from pandering exclusively to the international

63

64
The Johannesburg Biennale only survived two runs in 1995 and 1997 respectively.

65
Kendell Geers, Proposal for the First Johannesburg International, 2000.
<http://www.terrorealism.net/bm_b_jnbINTL.htm> (Accessed April 18, 2005).
219
community and neglecting local interest and involvement. Nonetheless, the notion that
most Chinese audiences only accept painting and sculpture seems equally arbitrary. The
component of the Chinese population, especially educated population, has changed
significantly, as have their tastes and interests in art. The section of the urban population in
China, who closely connect themselves with the new developments of the contemporary
world in the areas of culture, taste, fashion, and life style, is growing very fast. Serious
studies on what Chinese audiences really like to see in art exhibitions have yet to be done.

From the historical point of view, this emphasis on painting and sculpture makes the
Beijing Biennale a rather conservative exhibition among other recently established
biennials, moving away from its claim to be contemporary. As is well known, the most
capturing characteristic of contemporary art is the disappearance of boundaries of different
art formats and the hybridization of whatever media or materials are available. For the
Biennales other goal, original, the works on view are much less exploratory than
pronounced to be in the press releases. In the end, as a report says: though the first Beijing
Biennale chose Originality: Contemporaneity and Locality as its theme, the result [works
on show] seemed to demonstrate the opposite
66
The problematic curatorial approach is
not the focus of my study here, but this limitation on media certainly became the focus of
criticism and disparagement. Many contemporary artists and critics attribute the

66
Anonymous, Shuangnianzhan Zhuangtai xia de Beijing he Venice [Beijing and Venice under
the condition of biennale], January 2, 2004.
<http://arts.tom.com/1002/2004/1/2-35346.html> (Accessed March 10, 2005).
220
fundamental reason to the CAAs outmoded concept of exhibitions, possible
misunderstanding about international biennials, and its nature as a conservative state
cultural organ. Karen Smith shows her understanding of the CAAs dilemma in receiving
funding from the state, but nonetheless attributes the conservatism to their readiness to
surrender to state control:
Admittedly, this was perhaps prompted by a necessarily pragmatic approach on
the part of the organizers, but in acquiescing to perceived protocols and
conventions, the organizers consigned the Biennale to conservatism all too readily
ascribed to state control.
67

She continues:
Responsibility for the resulting mediocrity must rest squarely on the shoulders of
the organizing committee, whose vision revealed little grasp of the state of
contemporary art, locally or globally, of what to convey to a local audience in
meaningful terms about the significance of a biennale in general, or of what this
could mean for China and Beijing as an internationally respected city of culture.
68

In Smiths opinion, the lack of vision about contemporary art and the ignorance of the
significance of international biennial resulted in the mediocrity of the Beijing Biennale.
69

Such criticism is popular among both domestic and international critics who disagreed
with the approach of the Biennale. Carol Lu asserts in more straightforward terms: The
Chinese Artists Association is reputedly conservative, ill-informed, and disapproving of

67
Karen Smith, Review of the Inaugural Beijing Biennale, 88.

68
Ibid.

69
Ibid.
221
mediums other than painting and sculpture.
70
Many Chinese contemporary artists
simply dismiss the Biennales limitation on painting and sculpture as ridiculous and
strange.
71
Zhan Wang, a quite established contemporary artist who was actually invited
to participate in the Beijing Biennale, commented in an interview with the reporter from
China Daily newspaper:
If you call this event a biennial, you should follow the international rule - the
definition of a biennial is that it is the key stage for contemporary art. Otherwise, it
is much better to call this event an 'International Art Expo'. It is not really a
biennial.
72

I have no less suspicion of the rationality of the convenient accusation of the Beijing
Biennale as being ignorant of contemporary practice than of the congratulatory narrative
about purposely pursuing a sense of uniqueness among the family of biennials. I would
rather see the Beijing Biennale as a well-confined practice within the institutional scope
of the CAA. Instead of simply seeing the Beijing Biennale as a product of the
conservatism and ignorance of the CAA, I would like to ask: Does the CAA absolutely
ally itself with the state ideology as it is pronounced or is there a subtle division at stake?
What is the institutional motivation behind the CAAs decision? Does the CAA operate
entirely out of ignorance or out of careful consideration? Is the CAA not able to make
sense of the contemporary world or does it make its own sense with its own terms?

70
Carol Lu, First Beijing Biennale, Flash Art, vol.36 (November/December, 2003): 41.

71
Li Shuo, Art gala debuts in Beijing, China Daily, September 12, 2003.

72
Ibid.
222
The key to answer the above-mentioned questions is to see the CAA not only as a state
cultural organ, but also as an established art institution of its own right, an institution that
wants to sustain itself, enrich itself, and maintain its status as the authority of the Chinese
art world. The specific regulations formulated for the Beijing Biennale are neither merely
a surrender to state control nor an unawareness of the status of contemporary art or the
cultural significance of an international biennial. Instead, the CAA is largely acting out of
its own institutional concern. Headquartered in Beijing, the political, cultural, and
information center of one of the most rapidly developing countries, the CAA is by no
means isolated from the contemporary art world and the political and cultural
significance of now popular international biennials or how they operate. Particularly, its
leaders have been traveling around the world with the agenda of observing the practice of
other international biennials such as the Venice Biennale and Sao Paulo Biennial before
they kicked off the first Beijing Biennale. Wang Yong himself did research on major
international biennials worldwide before putting up his proposal.
73
In all press releases
and other documents provided by the Beijing International Art Biennale Office, the
significance of the international biennial, whether in terms of culture, politics, or
economy, has been emphasized and called upon for the necessity of having the Beijing
Biennale.

73
I myself was involved with this research in early 2002 when I was a graduate student at the China
Academy of Fine Arts, under Wang Yong. He published a few articles on the Venice Biennale and
the Sao Paulo Biennial afterwards.
223
Therefore, I would argue that the preference of painting and sculpture is not a choice
made out of ignorance or unconsciously conservative practice. Instead, it is a deliberate
choice made out of the CAAs institutional considerations and operational limitations.
What is really at stake here is not simply art formats, but the structure whereby the CAA
legitimizes itself and exerts its own right. As I discussed in the first chapter, the CAA is
an organization dominated by artists, most of whom have been trained in the art
education system that emphasizes Socialist Realism and values the importance of realistic
artistic technique. Painting and sculpture are the two major focuses in the various art
academies in China, whose graduates have been the recruiting repertoire for the CAA.
There is a small number of art critic and art historian members in the organization, who
have long established their taste and receptivity exclusively in painting and sculpture,
preferably in realistic style. They are able to tolerate the variation and new experiments
towards abstract and expressionist direction, for many of them also appreciate the long
tradition of abstraction and expressionism in Chinese art history. In other words, they are
versed in evaluating and assessing paintings and sculptures. However, when it comes to
contemporary art with multi media that are applied in video, installation, and
performance art, they definitely are not in the position of being experienced in assessing
and selecting these media. This is the essential reason that the CAA would, to the
disappointment of thriving domestic contemporary art communities, place a ban on
contemporary medias entry into the Beijing Biennale. The choice actually has been the
only one that the CAA could make for the best interest of its members, and ultimately, for
224
the legitimization of the institution itself.

A close analysis of the members of the Beijing Biennales curatorial committee will make
the point self-evident. The committee was under the artistic direction of three
high-ranking cultural officials. Jin Shangyi, chairman of the CAA and former president of
the Central Academy of Fine Arts, has been well known for his achievement in realistic
oil painting and has been regarded as an exemplary model in the nationalization of oil
painting in China since the 1980s.
74
Liu Dawei, vice chairman and the executive of the
CAA, specializes in Chinese painting, or modern Chinese painting.
75
Feng Yuan,
director of the Art Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, also specializes in Chinese
painting.
76
Among the 26 members of the curatorial team that are drawn from all kinds
of art institutions, the majority are experts in painting, either doing painting or writing on
painting. Only Wang Huansheng, the director of Guangdong Museum of Art, and Fan
Dian, the vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, have been engaged in
curating contemporary art in recent years.
77
Fan Dian, however, strongly supported the

74
The idea of transforming western oil painting into Chinese oil painting was first brought forward
in the 1950s and since then both artists and art historians have constantly addressed the issue with
enthusiasm. The history of the introduction of oil painting into China is studied as the history of the
nationalization of oil painting.

75
Modern Chinese painting refers to paintings that apply traditional media such as ink and brush
for the expression of modern or contemporary motives or sentiments.

76
Feng Yuan was the director of the Art Bureau at the Ministry of Culture when the Biennale was
held; he later was later appointed as the director of the China National Museum of Fine Arts.

77
In the Guangdong Museum of Art directed by Wang Huangsheng, the first Guangzhou Triennial
was held in 2002, which was a retrospection exhibition of contemporary art since the early 1990s;
225
idea of having only painting and sculpture in the Biennale.
78
The lone foreign curator
Vincenzo Sanfo seemed to be quite in line with other members and was respectful of the
regulations set out by the CAA for the Biennale.
79

To be able to maintain the juridical right within the resources of the CAA may be the most
important consideration when they come to decide to exclude other non-painting and
non-sculpture formats. In doing so, the Biennale is constructed as a new platform (in terms
of international biennial) where the established rules of assessment and aesthetic standards
within the system of the old institution can be applied, dominated, and carried on. I believe
this to be particularly at stake for the CAA in its attempt to reclaim a new territory of
prestige in the ever transforming and reconfiguring domestic art world. This, of course,
was left unspoken in all officially released materials. Unfortunately, it also slipped away
from the critical observations of most people who disparaged the way the CAA operated
the Biennale, or simply equated the CAAs approach as the result of the state cultural
policies and ideological control. Their accusation that the CAA cannot make sense of the
contemporary world is nonetheless too simplistic a point of view. On the contrary, I argue

when the plan for the presentation of the first Chinese Pavilion at Venice was cancelled due to
SARS outbreak in summer 2003, Wang Huangsheng had it exhibited in his museum. Fan Dian has
been the curator of several significant exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art sponsored by the
state. See chapter three for these exhibitions that he has been involved under section 4 Cultural
Nationalism and Pulling Back Chinese Contemporary Art.

78
Based on my personal interview with Wang Yong on July 24, 2004.

79
Vincenzo Sanfo actually highly praised CAAs intention to build up an international biennial
with distinct characteristics. He was reported to say that the first Beijing Biennale was one of the
most successful international biennials.
226
that the leaders of the CAA have tried to make sense of contemporary art in their own terms,
and have attempted to create a new space where they can integrate themselves and position
themselves as agents of changes in the contemporary world. Therefore, the association of
Chinese characteristic with painting and sculpture indeed is the strategy for the CAA to
have an international biennial that resembles its own interests and makeup.

6. Conclusion
In the end, I believe it is safe to argue that the establishment of the Beijing Biennale
reflects the CAAs efforts to maintain and extend its authority in a transformed and
globalized Chinese art world. The preference for painting and sculpture and the claim of
creating Chinese characteristics are all part of these efforts and of their new language of
participation. Other than the fulfillment of nationalistic sentiments that the Beijing
Biennale may perform, it functions for the benefits of the CAA in particular ways. First
of all, it serves as a bridge that connects the Chinese art world represented by the CAA to
the international art world. As discussed in the first chapter, the CAAs major focus has
been the domestic art world since its founding in 1949. In an increasingly globalized
world, the art officials of the CAA may feel the limits of domestically based operations
and feel the need for a new way of presenting the organization to a broader audience. The
Beijing Biennale serves this need. In a speech given by Liu Dawei, the vice president of
the CAA, at the Sixth National Congress of the Chinese Artists Association in 2003, he
referred to the Beijing Biennale as one of the two symbols that indicated the
227
transformation of the CAA, from an organization that deals with domestic matters to one
that takes the globe as its stage.
80
The other symbol he referred to is the CAAs new
entry as a member of the Association Internationale des Arts Plastiques (AIAP) from the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He
emphasized the transformation as a historical achievement for the CAA.
81
As the leading
members of the CAA may have realized, the international biennial has not only become a
very effective and popular form for displaying contemporary art and exchanging culture,
but also an approach for constructing the profile and asserting the visibility and
importance of the hosting city, and of course, of the organization that holds it. Through
the establishment of the Biennale, the CAA thus owns a new art institution through which
it can market its name to the international art arena, and make itself a new and significant
site in the contemporary cultural map. Wang Yong said in an interview: The first Beijing
Biennale opens for Chinese contemporary art a passage towards the globe.
82

Simultaneously, I believe that it also opens a passage for the CAA to go global.

80
The Chinese Artists Association, The Ceremonious Session of the Sixth National Congress of
the Chinese Artists Association in Beijing, Meishu [Fine Arts], iss. 1 (January, 2004): 1-3.

81
Ibid.

82
Anonymous, Chief Curators, Members of the Curatorial Committee Answering Reporters.
Conducted by Meishu Xingkong [Fine Arts Star and Sky] Column from the China Central
Television Station [CCTV] and Meishu Jianshang [Fine Arts Appreciation] Column from China
Education Television Station, April 25, 2003. A note to be added here: the contemporary art that
Wang Yong refers here is a general term, referring to Chinese art in contemporary time as a whole
in stead of contemporary art with its particular meaning of art developed after modernism since
the1960s and 1970s.
228
Secondly, by hosting an international biennial, the CAA can present an updated image of
itself in the domestic art world. This is particularly meaningful for the CAA, a national
organization that has faced the decline of its influence in the Chinese art world since the
mid-1990s. With the rapid development of the market economy and increasingly liberal
state administration in cultural sectors, Chinese artists have experienced an influx of
opportunities to promote, exhibit and publish their art, and are no longer limited to
publicity venues controlled by the CAA. Many of them have been able to claim the status
of independent artists and build up their market-oriented network without relying on the
CAAs membership. As a result, critical voices have been raised questioning the principle,
function, and concept of art that have been defined, guarded, and promoted by the
organization. The credibility and attraction of its most important exhibition, the National
Art Work Exhibition, is also decreasing. Many critics have written articles criticizing or
expressing their disappointment over the way the exhibition operated and the clich of
works shown in recent years. Jia Fangzhou, a renowned art critic pointed out:
In the contemporary context, the National Art Work Exhibition has no longer been
national, because a considerable amount of excellent artists and art works are
denied to enter into the show. It has evolved into an arena exclusively for
officially recognized art models. It is satisfied with the diversity of styles, but
ignores the real significant part of Chinese contemporary art. Simply for this
aspect, its claim for representing the highest achievement in Chinese art is no
longer convincing.
83

83
Jia Fangzhou, Shengcun Yu Tizhi Zhiwai de Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu [Chinese
Contemporary Art that Exists outside of the System], Journal of Nanjing Arts Institute, iss. 1
(2000): 17.
229
This kind of critique has become common in recent years and published in various art
journals. It has become less and less convincing for the CAA to post itself as the absolute
art authority in the Chinese art world, even though it never stops trying. The introduction of
an international biennial offers an opportunity for it to remold itself, at least to improve the
image of itself by applying a contemporary/international art institution. As an alternative
and a new practice, the Beijing Biennale could be a tool through which its discredited
authority over the Chinese art world can be regained, if possible.

The Beijing Biennale indeed drew a huge amount of attention from the art world, be it
critical or celebratory. However, whether it succeeded in drawing the faith of those people
who have lost their confidence in the CAA and its undertaking is questionable. Some critics
and artists argued that it was just another National Art Work Exhibition, only with an
international section. This kind of critique actually makes sense considering the similarity
of the organizational structure and the general appearance of art presented between the
Beijing Biennale and the NAWE as well as the overlap in prize winners. However, in terms
of the specific function of each show via which the different messages are to be conveyed,
it is not likely that the CAA would make the Beijing Biennale another NAWE. Rather, the
Beijing Biennale is expected to work in ways that the NAWE could not perform. In the
CAAs overall agenda, the two shows relationship is more complementary than
230
exclusionary.
84

Maneuvered as a product of nationalistic sentiment and global desire, the Beijing
Biennale speaks to an interest shared by state decision makers, art officials from the CAA,
and many artists as well. The significance of it cannot be sought by examining what kind
of new art it introduces or prompts. As is obvious, a critical engagement into the
contemporary art world has not been the purpose of the Beijing Biennale. Nonetheless, it
introduces one of the most current international art institutions into the very heart of the
old art establishment in China, the CAA. It is still not clear whether this new institution
will be totally absorbed by the mechanism of a half-century old national organization that
was grounded upon the ideology of state socialism or it will eventually transform this
organization. At the moment, many people, even those with reservations towards the first
Beijing Biennale, seem to hold a positive attitude towards the establishment of this
exhibition institution. For example, independent curator Gu Zhenqing, who curated a
concurrent independent show entitled Second Hand Reality outside the official sites of
the Beijing Biennale, says it in this way:
Every exhibition has its merits and demerits. The Beijing Biennale showed the
acceptance of biennial institution from the Beijing municipal government and is a
good start. After two or three times exercises, it is a possibility for the Beijing

84
Beijing Biennale is an important exhibition with parameters and customs similar to those of
biennial international, which complement with the National Art Work Exhibition in China, quoted
from Brief Introduction of Beijing International Art Biennale, in The First Beijing International
Art Biennale, China 2003, official brochure edited by Beijing International Art Biennale Office, 4.

231
Biennale to develop into an international biennial.
85

Denying the real international quality of the Beijing Biennale, Gu nonetheless appreciates
the significance of the event itself. His remark echoes what Wang Yong says in a
language of hope: At least we established the Beijing Biennale, and it will live on as an
institution subjective to reform by the new comers.
86

It can be expected that for years to come, the Beijing Biennale will continue to be an
important tool for the CAA to promote the image of itself in front of a broad range of
international audiences. It will also be a space where it competes against the newly
consolidated establishmentthe increasingly aggressive presence of contemporary art by
independent curators, critics, and the increasing number of artists who have chosen not to
have affiliation with the CAA but have managed to achieve considerable support from the
cultural authority, local government, or market forces. For all the advantages the CAA
owns such as public reaching network, nationwide membership, big projects planned by
this organization are naturally attractive to the rising private sectors in China. This is the
case of the Beijing Biennale, which is getting more and more private sponsorship for
commercial advertisement. For example, the second Beijing Biennale in 2005 already

85
Quoted from Fei Banren,Yibaner shi Kangfen, Yibaner shi GangaZhuanfang Beijing
Shuangnianzhan Waiweizhan Duli Cezhanren Gu Zhenqing[Half Excitement, Half
EmbarrassmentInterview with the Independent Curator Gu Zhenqing, the Curator of One
Concurrent Independent Exhibition of the Beijing Biennale], Guoji Xianqu Daobao [International
Herald Leader], December 18, 2003.

86
232
achieved private sponsorship that was no less than the state designated budget. It is very
possible for the office to get even more funds from private sources for the third Beijing
Biennale, which was deliberately set to coincide with the 2008 Olympic games. According
to the office, many entrepreneurs have already contacted the staff for sponsoring the 2008
run of the Beijing Biennale before the actual opening of the 2005 one.
87
Together with the
designated funds from the state, the affluence of the budget will definitely sustain the
continuity of the Beijing Biennale as a grand official exhibition in China for the near future.

87
Personal communication with the staff working in the Beijing International Art Biennale Office,
summer 2005.

CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION: CONFRONTATION AND COMPLICITY

The contrast between the first Beijing Biennale and the first Chinese Pavilion in 2003 is not
a typical one between official culture and unofficial culture. Both exhibitions were
sponsored by authoritative governmental organizations and were meant to present
authentic Chinese official art. However, the remarkable difference between the two shows
indicates a significant change in terms of the structure, condition, and modality of official
art in China. It marks an end of more than two decades of overt conflict between official art
and unofficial art. I have argues that Chinese unofficial art has been gradually transformed
into an officially sanctioned category, a new member in the family of official art. At the
same time, the difference suggests a new confrontation between the old art mainstream and
the newly consolidated mainstream within the scope of the official art world. The old art
establishment, mainly represented by the CAA, is facing a new challenge that is no longer
coming from the unofficial art camp, but from emerging contemporary art groups. Mainly
consisting of independent artists, curators, and critics, these groups have managed to obtain
official approval in recent years. With substantive support from the Ministry of Culture and
its art expert consultants, the newly emerging establishment is also assuming the right to
represent Chinese official art.

In this context, the CAAs long-term primacy in Chinese official art is inevitably declining.
234
It certainly finds itself less convincing to claim the art it promotes as the one and only
representative of official art, and the idea of mainstream art can no longer be taken for
granted as a product of the organization. In other words, the official art is no longer a
monopoly of the CAA. Other art groups, be they unofficial, underground, or independent,
have started to receive diverse governmental supports, either from the central authority or
local government, and have assumed the identity of official art. They have exerted more
and more influence in the Chinese art world and have competed against the CAA for the
right to present official art. As a result, there appear multiple mainstreams in China and
official art is no longer a uniform entity that can be easily defined. It includes a variety of
artistic expressions, from very traditional to most contemporary, from conservative to
experimental, from social and political to individual and commercial. As the government
has lifted its veto on nontraditional media and at the same time become tolerant of art of
non-socialist themes and exhibitions by independent curators and artists, the ground upon
which unofficial art legitimized itself is also dissolving. Thus, Unofficial art, a term that
has been endowed with a political meaning as dissident art from socialist China and
enjoyed a general appeal especially in Western countries, has ceased to be a historically
relevant term in describing its artist groups. In the contemporary Chinese art world, what
have become most evident are the multiplexd official arts and the different levels of
complicity among official art, unofficial art, and among groups with different agendas.

As a result of the cultural authoritys more flexible and opportunistic attitude toward
different approaches to art production, the art world in contemporary China has really
turned into an ongoing melting pot that allows all kinds of artistic discourses to coexist.
235
Choices have become diverse for art professionals, and no matter what one targets, either to
please the authorities, to create fame in art academies, to speculate domestic or
international market demand, to achieve personal self-fulfillment, or simply to be a
maverick without a concrete agenda, one can receive attention from certain groups who
would be impressed for various reasons. Yet government censorship still exists there and
once in a while it may intervene.
1
In a market oriented and globalized context, however,
censorship and governmental intervention are also subjected to metamorphosis and even
retroaction. In fact, they have become negotiable and transferable, and when skillfully
manipulated, will turn into a marketable ornament and add appeal to a single artist and
his/her works. In fact, since the 1990s the authorities interdiction usually does not bring to
an end to an individuals career, rather, the start of a career with new dimensions. It is
already nothing new in the Chinese art world that purposely pursuing official
condemnation has been a popular approach among those groups who claim themselves to
be unofficial or avant-garde.

The two official shows of 2003 discussed in detail in previous chapters largely exemplified
the dynamism, the spectrum, and the complexity of transfiguration that the Chinese art
world is experiencing today. As for continuing exploration of the reality of the Chinese art
world, I would like to delineate a few correlated phenomena that are most noticeable at the
moment. They serve as a tentative conclusion of this dissertation but more importantly as
main points that map out the complexity and dynamism of the contemporary Chinese art

1
The most recent case of governmental intervention happened in the 798 factory, the thriving
district in Beijing where the energies of contemporary art and commerce are mixed together. It was
reported that in April 2006 a few art galleries were ordered by the authorities to remove from
exhibition hall paintings that portrayed Mao Zedong in suspicious settings. For detail, please see
Jonathan Watts, Chinese Artists Cross the Red Line, Guardian Weekly, April 28 May 4, 2006.
236
world.

1. Multiple Official Art(s)
The emerging division between the CAA and the Ministry of Culture, the two institutions
that used to share the same line in guiding artistic production, in turn implies the coming
plurality in the Chinese art world and the complication of contemporary official art. The
old mainstream strives to promote the established norm in themes, style, and the way art is
exhibited. As exemplified by the Beijing Biennale, the CAA still prioritizes traditional art
formats such as painting and sculpture, easily identifiable styles such as realistic or abstract,
and themes that more or less record and respond to positive and meaningful aspects of
Chinese social life. The rising new mainstream consists of artists mainly working in
nontraditional media, self-described independent curators and critics. They are engaging in
practicing and promoting alternative and experimental art that breaks the established
standards and practices regulated by the CAA. Their attempt to introduce contemporary
media and exhibition practices, which are popular in the international art world, into
official sanction has achieved remarkable success since 2000, and particularly in 2003 with
the establishment of the Chinese Pavilion. With the support of the Ministry of Culture, their
original underground status has been changed and they now can well assert their identity of
art establishment in China. These people do not have a powerful institutional organization
as the CAA yet. However, many of them maintain various, close or loose, affiliation with
all kinds of official institutions, and new institutions have been under construction for them.
The influence of this new mainstream has been penetrating into museums, publishing
houses, art schools, as well as into commercial spaces such as galleries, auction houses,
237
and art fairs. Through exhibitions, publications, and art festivals, the new mainstream is
acquiring more and more attention throughout the Chinese art world. The complexity of
this newly established mainstream necessarily complicates the overall condition and
modality of Chinese official art in contemporary time and has brought in much ambiguity,
plurality, and complicity.

The confrontation shown by the CAA and the Ministry of Culture in their different agendas
and concepts of presenting official art, however, is a very complex and negotiable one.
They do not have ideological conflicts between them. Both are claiming to advocate art
that presents the national interest of China in their exhibitions. What is at stake then is a
competition for the power of presenting official art and a demand of sharing the status of
being an authoritative artistic conduit, both of which were commanded by the CAA before.
The Chinese Ministry of Culture has been very actively holding art exhibitions in recent
years and sponsoring art projects, some of which may still operate in cooperation with the
CAA, but most do not. Instead, it has reactivated or established its own sub-organizations,
institutions, and committees for various cultural projects. For example, one of its
subordinate organizations the China International Exhibition Agency (CIEA), which was
established in 1950, has started to claim an important status in conducting exhibitions only
in recent years after being inactive and almost unknown in the art world for five decades.
The Ministry of Culture has commissioned the CIEA to undertake a series of important
exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art since 2001, including Living in Time, Alors, la
Chine, and the Chinese Pavilion.
2
The CIEA has now claimed an important status as a
competitive professional agency in operating domestic and international exhibitions in

2
For more details about Living in Time and Alors, la Chine, please see chapter three.
238
China.

In this competition for presenting official art, the Ministry of Culture has won a reputation
of being more open-minded, tolerant, and informed than the CAA. Its gesture of bringing
in nontraditional media and exhibition practice seems to suggest a different approach
towards administrating and supervising art production, radically different from
traditionally official conventions. Simultaneously, it has brought a challenge to the status
of the CAA, through its direct sponsorship of art and especially through its support of
independent artists, curators, and critics. In 2005 when the Ministry of Culture assembled
the second Chinese Pavilion for the Venice Biennale, the renowned expatriate artist Cai
Guoqiang, whose art has stirred lots of debates in the Chinese art world, was appointed as
the main curator of the show. Obviously, Cais tremendous reputation in the international
art world granted him this prestige regardless of his diasporic identity. This strengthens the
impression that in terms of the Chinese Pavilion, the authorities are willing to leave it
totally to the hands of individual curators. It is equally true that the authorities are eager to
appropriate whatever reputation that is available in order to achieve maximum success of
their undertakings. This built-in complicity is evident in many official projects in recent
years. This second Chinese Pavilion followed the direction of the first and even went
further. It continued to feature non-traditional art works or projects, including a video
installation, a light installation, an architectural work, a sculptural installation that actually
was a non-successful scientific invention, and an on-spot fengshui project that examined
the geomantic merits and flaws of national pavilions at the Venice Biennale.
3
The last

3
Zhu Xiaojun, Zhongguoguan gei Venice Shuangnianzhan Dailai le Shenme? [What Does the
Chinese Pavilion Bring to the Venice Biennale?], Chinese Culture Daily, June 7, 2005.
239
piece bears the quality of performance art. If one simply looks at the art presented by the
Chinese Pavilions, one can definitely see the fundamental discord between the CAA and
the Ministry of Culture and easily perceive their conflicting stances in the contemporary art
world.

This, however, is only part of the whole picture. Supporting contemporary art for
international competition is by no means the only undertaking in which the Ministry of
Culture is engaged. Particularly, as I elaborated in chapter four, the sudden interest and
support of contemporary art from the cultural authority, to a great extent has to do with
strategic response and adaptation in a challenging environment. The seeming support of
contemporary art is the byproduct of its modified approach to intervene in art production
and dissemination. It does not guarantee that the Ministry of Culture really prioritizes
contemporary art over traditional official art and works against the CAA. Neither does it
intend to abandon the system via which official art has operated. Rather, it still supports
similar art projects that the CAA has been promoting and operates in the same way. A very
good example is a large art project that was launched by the Ministry of Culture in January
2005, in cooperation with the Treasury Department of PRC. Entitled The Art Project of
National Significant Historical Themes, the project funds the creation of 100 pieces of
Chinese painting, oil painting, and sculpture from individual artists and art institutions
nationwide. This is a four year project and participant artists are required to submit their
works by May 2008, probably as part of the cultural programs for the 2008 Olympics
Games. When the time comes, there will be exhibitions, symposiums, and publications for
the works chosen. Works are required to focus on significant historical events starting

<http://www.ccdy.cn/news/detail.php?newsid=16114&id=38&tid=7> (Accessed July 10, 2005).
240
from 1840 to the present day that would demonstrate the Chinese peoples valiant spirit in
anti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, anti-colonialism, communist revolution, and socialist
construction.
4
A Leading Group of 17 members, cultural officials from the two sponsor
institutions and others, was established to supervise the project. An Art Committee of 28
members was formed by nationally well known art experts, again under the leadership of
those cultural officials, to offer artistic consultants and to select final works. So far, we see
that this ongoing project is nothing different from art projects hosted by the CAA, such as
the national art work exhibition. It takes the same approach as the CAAs exhibitions often
take: advocates art works that address themes of social and political significance, promotes
painting and sculpture, and is supervised and operated by a large number of governmental
officials and art expert committees, many of whom at the same time hold important
positions in the CAAs art programs.

The multifaceted engagement of the Ministry of Culture in art production suggests that
Chinese official art can no longer be easily defined or predicted. What may appear next is
very contingent, and may rely greatly on the interest of the individual officials who are in
charge or on micro political trends in China. As such, there seems to be no standard
principle that could be used to guide every official art project. In other words, the approach
taken by the cultural authority towards art events has become flexible, negotiable, and
opportunistic. It changes its language and tones in its publicity programs according to
different occasions instead of adhering to conventional ideological schemas. As in recent
years the Ministry of Culture has played a more and more important role in launching art

4
The Art Project of National Significant Historic Themes (official brochure), edited by the Office
of the Leader Group of the project and issued on January 19, 2005.
241
related projects, particularly in the form of exhibitions, its ambiguous and multimode
approaches towards art have greatly complicated the condition of Chinese official art. In its
various programs, we see a mix of avant-gardism with conservatism, internationalism with
nationalism, genuine creation with pretentious parody, and commercial speculation with
academic sincerity.

The potential of becoming complex exists in the Beijing Biennale as well, though less
conspicuously so. I am suspicious that the appearance of the first Beijing Biennale will be
a direction that its followers will ultimately continue. Will the Beijing Biennale maintain
its claim of advocating merely painting and sculpture as Chinese characteristics and
continue to leave out the practice of contemporary media? Maybe not. In the second
Beijing Biennale in 2005, sculptures that could also be seen as installations were already
featured and some even won awards. For example, artist Liu Liyuns Landscape scroll
[figure 52], which won her an Award for Chinese Young Artist, consists of 20 pieces of
low relief scrolls in various sizes hanging on the walls and soft three-dimensional objects
still in different sizes suspending above the ground as the center piece of the work. They
are all hand made with white silk, aiming to create the atmosphere of Chinese ancient
landscape painting.
5
Another female artist Hu Mingzhe used polymethyl methacrylate to
create Natural Traces, a large screen standing among cotton-like white layers. Through
the effect of light, the audience sees various traces surfacing on the screen [figure 53].
Therefore, even though right now the curatorial committee was still pronouncing its
emphasis on painting and sculpture as a national characteristic, one has every reason to

5
Li Jing, Zhongguo Beijing Guoji Meishu Shuangnianzhan: Shuwei Yishujia Huojiang [China
Beijing International Art Biennale: Several Artists Receive Awards], Dongfang Zaobao [Eastern
morning newspaper], September 26, 2005.
242
doubt the sustainability of this claim in the near future when nontraditional media
continue and popularize its influence in the Chinese art world.

The obvious division between the CAA and the Ministry of Culture in their attitude
towards contemporary art practice results in the internal diversity of official art and has
resulted in a very complex Chinese art world. The original uniform and defined identity
(with fixed themes, contents, and styles) has dissolved in the desire for and pursuit of many
discourses simultaneously. For different art groups in China today, there exist different
mainstreams, depending on to which group people align themselves. In other words,
Chinese official art since the beginning of the twenty-first century has become dynamic,
multiple, and contingent.

2. Flexible Individuals and Flexible Administration
The current multiple and transformative condition of the official art world in China
presents itself in various aspects and through diverse ways. Among them, the most
illuminating presentation is the emergence of various individuals who charge themselves
with multiple identities simultaneously and become super flexible individuals. These
people, including curators, critics, and artists, have ascended to be the major players in the
art world, engaging in distinct and sometime conflicted discourses. If I would say, that is a
real spectacle of contemporary Chinese practice of flexibility and pragmatism, or I may say,
an internalized complicity that is built in within an individuals mentality. This flexibility is
no longer a necessity to survive, but a strategy, an approach, and a philosophy for more
gains that would often be seen in a real entrepreneur. In the case of art entrepreneurs, as
243
many actually can be called, their pursuit is endless expansion of personal influence and
infinite enhancement of individual profile. I believe that sincere opportunism is a good
term to describe the engagements of numerous art professionals who are manipulating the
social resources, the art world, and themselves in contemporary China at different levels.

My case study of flexible individuals include three figures: Fan Dian, a high ranking art
official who also claims the identity of critic and (international) curator; Feng Boyi, a
writer and editor of the Artists Newsletter published by the CAA who at the same time
positions himself as a freelance curator; and Chen Qiulin, a freelance artist who also
holds an official job at Chengdu Painting Academy in Sichuan province. They by no
means represent the entire scope of complicacy that the Chinese art world is presenting,
but their cases demonstrate the widely practiced complicity among Chinese intellectuals.

Fan Dian, discussed earlier in his role as the curator for the first Chinese Pavilion, was
born in Fujian and received his undergraduate education in the Art Department at the
Fujian Teachers University.
6
Some years later, he pursued his graduate study at the
Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and achieved a master degree in art history. He
continued his study for a doctoral degree, but still has not completed it. During his stay at
the academy he worked as a faculty member and later became the vice president of the
academy. In 2005 he was appointed as the director of the China National Museum of Fine
Arts and he still assumes this position. He is also affiliated with various official art

6
Fan Dians resume, in various versions that I can get either from publications or the internet,
does not include his undergraduate educational background. I was able to trace this, because I
myself was a graduate of the Fujian Teachers University and knew his name in conversations with
professors from the Art Department back in the 1990s.
244
organizations, including the CAA, and has been involved in the CAAs Beijing Biennale as
one of the curatorial committee.

However, his educational background and history of official posts that he has taken do
not make him stand out among numerous high rank art officials in Beijing. Many
members of the CAA have similar or more impressive careers and scholarship
contributions compared to his. What suddenly makes him a prominent figure in the
Chinese art world in recent years is his involvement in a few groundbreaking Chinese
contemporary art exhibitions that the cultural authority has executed. For certain reasons,
since 2001 he has been chosen as an official representative to oversee a few new
international art projects, including Living in Time in Germany in 2001, the Chinese
exhibition for the Sao Paulo Biennial in 2002, Alors, la Chine? in France in 2003, the
first Chinese pavilion for the Venice Biennale in 2003, and the second one in 2005. His
personal name has skyrocketed to an unprecedented level as a result. Naturally, he has
claimed the identity of an international curator and arguably is the first art official who
appointed to curate contemporary art exhibitions. In some occasions, he is described as
an independent curator in some domestic as well as overseas media. Apparently, the
reporters were ill-informed.

Fan Dians climb to personal eminence corresponds with the Chinese states increasing
support of contemporary art and its exhibitions, out of various motivations as discussed in
previous chapters. This fact is often overlooked by people who talk about the
officialization of Chinese contemporary art enthusiastically and credit him as the single
245
hero, or a primary one among a few, who has realized the whole discourse. Quite a
number of people that I interviewed advocated that the current situation of Chinese
contemporary art is due to the effort of a few individuals. They often ended up picking
Fan as an example and described him as a person who occupies advanced sensibility
about Chinese contemporary art and who endeavors to support Chinese contemporary
art.
7
This kind of talks denies any personal agendas that may actually be involved and
ignores his identity as a governmental official. In fact, this official identity grants him
many opportunities that other real independent curators wont have. In the meantime,
showing a supportive face towards contemporary art in the exhibitions that he was
commissioned to curate, he also differentiated himself from other art officials and has
enjoyed a special reputation in the contemporary art world. Fluently utilizing these
double identitiesan art official and an independent curatorFan has greatly boosted his
personal profile in the Chinese contemporary art world and among media outside of
China that report on contemporary Chinese art. His name is even included on the editorial
board of the Yishu Journal of Contemporary Chinese art, an English language journal
based in Canada. This is a typical example of the snowball effect of personal reputation
in the contemporary art world.

The case of Feng Boyi is another very revealing example of strategic opportunism that is
prevailing in the art world. Graduated from the History Department of the Beijing
University of Education, Feng has been working as a writer and editor for the Artists
Newsletter, the CAAs internal journal for its members. As part of his job duties, he has

7
No accident, in a recent slide show in The New York Times Magazine, Fan Dian was still
described as he will most likely face the onerous task of legitimizing contemporary art in the eyes
of the state. See The New York Times Magazine, February 21, 2007.
246
been involved in exhibitions organized by the CAA, including the most ambitious one,
the Beijing Biennale. He served as the head of the publicity and advertising group for the
Biennale. Holding his official post for years, Feng has only become known in recent
years through his involvement in a few underground exhibitions and inside publications
(non-public). Particularly, he has been active since the late 1990s in the Chinese
contemporary art world, negotiating among official censorship, real estate corporative
sponsorship, and artist groups to carry out his exhibitions.

Feng Boyi now is claiming himself to be a freelance curator and art critic, while still
maintaining the official post at the CAA and receiving associated benefits and security
offered by the institution. He devotes his energy to organizing contemporary art
exhibitions (also called underground exhibitions and avant-garde exhibitions) that
sometimes are really radical and offensive to the officially established aesthetic and
artistic standards. At the same time, he is still working and is partially in charge of the
very conservative journal Artists Newsletter. It is really amazing to see how he
compromises himself constantly by being involved in two seemingly conflicted
discourses and being so flexible to maintain both identities. Certainly his compromise is
rewarded by being able to appropriate double social resources and achieve a personal
name of being one of the most up-and-coming art critics in contemporary China, as
some called him.
8
His writing, if not for publication in the Artists Newsletter, often
provides insightful observations and critiques on the problems in the official art world.
He and many alike, probably have exemplified what Geremie Barm describes as the

8
Harris Kondosphyris, Meeting Interesting People.
<http://www.harriskondosphyris.com/archive_neweng.php/9/2006> (Accessed Novermber 12,
2006).
247
Chinese avant-garde often chose to bite the hand of the state that nurtured it.
9

Chen Qiulin, the youngest among the three, graduated from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute
with a major in print making. She soon gave up print making and started to apply new
media art and performance and has become an active artist in the contemporary art world.
Mainly dealing with the relationship between women and the consumer society in the
transforming Chinese society, she has made quite a reputation in a short period of time and
been known as a freelance artist. Not being well known, however, she holds an official post
in the Chengdu Painting Academy, a post she actively pursued by taking certain
competitive public examinations.
10

The Painting Academy I am speaking of here is different from art academies that function
as educational institutions. It is mainly a place that gathers established artists who produce
art works for the state. The Painting Academy has a long tradition in China, with its origins
dating back to the Five Dynasties Era in the Tenth Century. In dynastic China there was one
Imperial Painting Academy, where young students were trained and established artists
were hired to produce art works for the court. In the Republican Era between 1912 and
1949, the practice of royal academy was basically discontinued, replaced by various art
schools in the modern sense introduced from the West and by a few private painting
academies. Since the founding of the PRC in 1949, lots of public painting academies have

9
University Press, 1999), xviii.

10
Conversation with Chen Qiulin on October 20, 2005 when she came to Buffalo, New York, for
her participation in Gao Minglus most recent large exhibition The Wall: Reshaping
Contemporary Chinese Art.
248
been established throughout the country to serve the state and the people. These academies
provide stipends, housing, and even materials for its artists. In return, artists are supposed
to complete and turn in a certain number of art works to their academies. That is their only
duty to the academies and there is no teaching responsibility, no research quota, and no
pressure of publication. Artists are in charge of their own time and schedule. These
painting academies have been an ideal place that many artists compete vehemently to enter,
though since the 1990s some people have started to talk negatively about the value of the
existence of this kind of academy. Probably because of that critique, in contemporary
China various painting academies have begun to include artists whose specialty is not
limited to painting, even though they are still called painting academies. This opens the
academies to people who are dealing with non-traditional media.

In the case of Chen Qiulin, this post in the Chengdu Painting Academy provides her
stipend, studio, and other related institutional benefits. She only needs to turn in one or two
pieces of work each year and has the freedom to sell the rest of her works to whomever she
likes. She is in control of her own work schedule. Like many other provincial artists, she
spends lots of her time each year in Beijing for art related activities. She actually also owns
an apartment in Beijing. My research in the summer of 2005 surprised me deeply that so
many artists and critics have more than two constant residences, a phenomenon that was
unimaginable a decade ago. Chen is one of these who divide their time each year in several
places according to the season of the local art activities in order to maximize their
opportunities to be exposed to the top curators and their shows. As such, Chinese artists
nowadays are as busy as movie stars or singers who have to constantly travel from one
249
place to another to promote and show themselves.

The three people discussed above are by no means the only examples. On the contrary, this
kind of opportunism and complicity is really common in the flourishing art world of
contemporary China. More and more art professionals like to claim themselves to be
independent persons, while at the same time many of them still hold on to welfare
associated with certain official institutions. It may be proper to argue that the identity of
being independent has nothing to do with reality, but it is simply a marketing strategy.
Apparently in an increasingly market-oriented context, being a freelance or independent art
professional itself, just like being an unofficial figure, has become a marketable and
negotiable item and has been greatly utilized for personal promotion.

To add to the complexity of the situation, there are many real independent art professionals
with considerable reputations who have been hired by different levels of government or
various institutions to take up official posts. In recent years, a few well known freelance
critics and curators have started to serve official organizations. Li Xianting, for instance,
the authentic independent critic and curator since 1989, was reported to assume the
position as the first director for the Song Zhuang Art Museum in 2006, a museum that is
sponsored by the local village government. This is also true for these people who
expatriated China around 1989 and have then established their scholarship and reputation
either as artist, or critics, or curators outside of China. In recent years, more and more
expatriate Chinese have been invited to assume leading posts in art institutions or
supervising certain newly designed art projects. These people with their special
250
experiences have been called upon to serve various institutions in China, while their
previous cultural and artistic conflict with the authorities has been largely ignored. The
institutionalization of these people who endeavored to break from the old institution in the
1980s once again reemphasize the movement of officialization in the art world, the
de-politicization of the cultural domain in China, and the pragmatism of governmental
policies. Deep down, pragmatism has been the most prevailing reality of Chinese society
since the 1980s and is now really the main mechanism in the art world.

3. Opportunistic Spaces
The reason that I look back again to the Song Zhuang Artist Village, the area that I
discussed partially in chapter three, is because what is happening in this area is very
illuminating for anyone who is interested in the dynamism of the Chinese contemporary art
world and curious about its further direction. Since my visit to Song Zhuang in the summer
of 2004, amazing development continues in this eastern outskirt of Beijing. With the
Chinese central governments calling on developing culture industry, its tolerant approach
towards alternative cultures, and its corresponding support of contemporary art projects,
different levels of local governments throughout the country have launched various
campaigns to support and make use of their local cultural resources. Song Zhuang, with its
resource of contemporary art and artist communities, is proving to be a typical and most
spectacular example. Developing at a rapid speed, this rural area has now created a Song
Zhuang Phenomenon, showing the overwhelming force of turning a local autonomous art
district into an affirmative art industry.
11

11
My use of terms such as autonomous and affirmative here and complicity elsewhere in
describing the Chinese art scene was inspired from my reading of Johanna Druckers Sweet Dreams:
251
According to public report, the Song Zhuang regional government has designed a long
term plan from 2004 to 2020, aiming to nourish and develop the local culture industry in
order to harness culture to develop the region.
12
Right now it is devoted to setting up
necessary infrastructures that will facilitate the development of the local art industry. In
2004, the government established a new office, Wenhua Zaozhen Bangongshi (the office of
harnessing culture to build the town). This office is in charge of researching and
developing local culturemainly contemporary art at the moment. In September 2005, the
Song Zhuang Art Promotion Center was established and has been led by local officials with
a few art professionals as its consultants. In March 2006, the Promotion Center established
the Beijing Song Zhuang Creative Culture Development Co., Ltd. to monitor cultural
production and dissemination. In July 2006 the Artist Group Reception Center of Song
Zhuang was established to receive and channel visitors [figure 54]. This Center is located
in the central area of the commercial plaza in Xiaopu Village, the nuclear village of Song
Zhuang in which the majority of artists congregate. With local governments wholehearted
supports, Song Zhuang is well on its way to become the first rural area in China that is
experimenting with the art industry. At the same time, this is also a process of
institutionalizing the original independent art groups.

Compared to what I have observed in the summer of 2004, Song Zhuang presents a
conspicuously booming condition. By October 2006, the number of artists living here was

Contemporary Art and Complicity (Chicago; London: University Of Chicago Press, 2005).

12
Li Yan, Song Zhuang: Yishu Bing Fuyu Zhe [Song Zhuang: Artful and Wealthy], Invest
Beijing, no. 12, 2005.
<http://www.bjinvest.gov.cn/bjinvest/tzbjzz/2005/2005n12q/200603/t113695.htm> (Accessed
July 20, 2006).
252
reported to reach around 1000, while in 2004 it was around 200.
13
Still more artists are
planning to move in and they are waiting for the completion of local construction that will
either provide housing facilities or studios. This original peasant region is now not only
saturated with art professionals, but also filled with art institutions and programs. In 2004,
the only landmark of Song Zhuang Artists Village was the bulletin board I mentioned in
chapter three. By October of 2006, this road sign seemed to be overwhelmingly dwarfed by
numerous grand buildings that ostentatiously demonstrated the existence of such a
booming artist village, including the big archway over the road [figure 55]. The following
are a few examples of projects and architectural pieces that were started in the last two
years.

The Song Zhuang Culture and Art Festival was founded in October 2005 [figure 56].
Sponsored by Song Zhuang regional government in collaboration with the renowned critic
Li Xianting and other art professionals, the Festival was a showcase of works by freelance
artists living in this region. Aiming to create a festival that could be experienced and shared
by local peasant audiences, the show and other related events such as music performance
and party were held on the main street of Xiaopu Village. Established as an annual festival,
the local government held the second Festival in October 2006 in the same village [figure
57]. This time, more programs were designed in order to increase the scale and significance
of the festival. They included art shows, musical performance, symposium and forum, and
open studios.

13
Sun Linlin, 1000 Ming Yishujia de Xin Song Zhuang [a new Song Zhuang with thousand
artists]. <http://news.sina.com.cn/c/cul/2006-10-09/172211191177.shtml> (Accessed December 1,
2006)
253
In September 2005, the construction of Beijing Song Zhuang TS1 Contemporary Art
Center was initiated by Liang Kegang, a real estate businessman who has also been
involved in city planning and architectural design. This ambitious program includes an art
museum, an art gallery, artist studios, a comprehensive dining hall, a youth hotel, and an
office hall. The most amazing part of the construction is not how great the building is
furnished with modern exhibition equipment (it is), but the shocking speed that is involved.
By November 2005, within eighty days, the main part of the whole projectthe art
museumwas completed and the museums inaugural exhibition was held in the same
month [figure 58, 59].
14
The exhibition and the space immediately caused a sensation
among the Beijing art circuits.

Probably impressed and encouraged by the success of the Song Zhuang TS1 Art Center,
local authorities also initiated various construction projects with surprising speed. In
October 2006, Song Zhuang Art Museum was completed and opened by Xiaopu Village
government [figure 60]. This piece of modern architecture will be necessarily recorded as
the first art museum in China that is ever constructed and owned by a village, the lowest
administrative unit in China. The museum has hired Li Xianting as its first director, and a
few exhibitions and series lectures have already been held in the space.

Other than the above mentioned exhibitions sites, there are the Shangshang Art Museum,
the Beijing East Zone Art Center, Song Zhuang Private Art Museum that have been
opened at various times during 2006 [figure 61, 62, 63]. Constantly, there are exhibitions

14
Yige Qingdao Xiaohuo zai Jing de Zuowei [the undertaking of a young man from Qingdao in
Beijing]. <http://club.qingdaonews.com/cachedir/41/30/52/3052861_1.htm> (Accessed in October
12, 2006).
254
in these newly built spaces. Also, a few large projects that include an artist studio
complex, an artist housing complex, two gallery and office buildings, either invested in
by local government or businessmen or institutions coming from the other parts of China
or from overseas agencies, are still under construction. They are expected to open in a
couple of years. Song Zhuang regional government also launched two periodicals
Zhongguo Yishu Mingzhen Song Zhuang [Chinas famous art town Song Zhuang] and
Song Zhuang Art. A few websites, either launched by the government or local artist
communities, have been functioning as major media that report and promote the products
of this spectacularly rising Chinese contemporary art district.
15

As a result of this successive constructing and programming, the local villagers who had no
previous experience of art may be absolutely surprised to see how close they have been
drawn into an environment saturated with art space, art events, and art works in a very short
period of time. Art exhibitions are happening on the main village street where peasants
used to sell their produce [figure 64]. Wooden handcarts that local peasants used to carry
goods such as vegetables and fruits now carry a brand new item: art works [figure 65], for
showing and selling as well. Mixed with ambitious local officials and incoming investors,
established critics and curators, hopeful artists, and amazed local peasants, Song Zhuang is
creating a miracle in China. The dazzling expansion speed of Song Zhuang more or less
predicts the future of the Chinese contemporary art world, a combination of officialization,
institutionalization, and commercialization. In her discussion of the shifts of critical
suppositions underlying contemporary artistic works, scholar Johanna Drucker states:

15
For example, the three main websites that feature exclusively Song Zhuang Artist Village are
http://www.paintervillage.net.cn/index.asp, http://www.chinasongzhuang.cn/, and
http://www.szfeeling.com/chinese/company.asp.
255
These shifts have now outstripped even the formulations we identify as the orthodoxy of
1980s postmodernism. They mark a turn away from autonomy, opposition, or radical
negativity and toward attitudes of affirmation and complicity.
16
Even though Druckers
observation focuses on contemporary art in the West, the turn she notices definitely
coincides with what is happening in Song Zhuang and elsewhere in the Chinese
contemporary art world.

4. Final Remarks
In discussing the condition of cultural production in the 1990s, Geremie R. Barm states:
Since the Communist Party officially enshrined the socialist market economy
in its political program in October 1992, one could only speculate: How long will
it be before the authorities finally abandon the role of censor and don the guise of
promoter, championing the hundred flowers of sanctioned Chinese culture?
17

His insightful prediction in 1999 has now been largely realized in contemporary China, in
official exhibitions of contemporary art, in Song Zhuang artist village, and in many other
sites. By 2006, it is apparent that the Chinese state has well donned the guise of being a
promoter of Chinese art. However, it is still too early to assert the disappearance of
censorship. As I mentioned earlier, the censorship is still there, but has been carried out
through strategically flexible and tolerant methods. The change of censoring methods,
however, has opened spaces where forces from different art camps, communities, and
individuals intersect and bring Chinese official art to an unprecedented dynamic status.

16
Johanna Drucker, Sweet Dreams: Contemporary Art and Complicity
(Chicago; London: University Of Chicago Press, 2005), pxi.

17
Geremie R. Barm, In The Red: On Contemporary Chinese Culture, 217.
256

GLOSSARY

Ai Minyou

Ai Weiwei

Beijing

Cai Guoqiang

Cai Ruohong
Cao Jigang

Chai Zhu Jian

Chao Ge

Chen Lusheng

Chen Qiulin

Chen Rong

Chen Yifei

Chen Zhen

Chengdu

Chengshi Shanshui

Dangdai Zhongguo Yishu

Dashanzi
Deng Xiaoping
Ding Yi
Ershi Shiji Zhongguo you hua 21
Ershiyi Shiji
21
Fang Lijun
Feng Boyi

Feng Mengbo

257
Feng Yuan

fengshui

Fujian

Gaige Kaifang

Gao Minglu

Geng Jianyi

Gu Dexin

Gu Wenda
Gu Zhenqing

Guangdong

Guangzhou

Guizhou
Guo Zhenyu

Guomindang
GuoYingjie

Han Shuo

Han Yongjing

Hangzhou
He Yunchang

Hebei

Hong Ling

Hou Hanru
Hu Jiancheng

Hu Mingzhe

Huang Du
Huang Yongping

Hubei

258
Hunan

Jia Fangzhou

Jiang Feng
Jiang Zemin

Jiangsu

Jianxi

jiejing

Jin Shangyi

Jingdezhen

Junzi

Leng Jun

Leng Lin

Li Guoqing
Li Shan

Li Xianting
Liang Kegang

Lin Sen

Liu Dawei

Liu Gang

Liu Jianhua

Liu Kaiqu
Liu Liyun

Liu Wei

Liu Xiaochun

Liu Xiaodong
Liu Xiaoqiong

Liu Xilin

259
Lu Shengzhong

Ma Desheng
Ma Hongdao

Ma Liuming

Mao Zedong
Meishu

Meishujia tongxun

Min Bing Shi Hua

Nanchang

Nuanyang

Pan Zhengyu

Pi Li

Qian Zongfei

qiangwai kaihua qiangwai xiang

Qin Wenqing
Qing

Qiu Ruimin

quan nei ren
Re Xue

Richang-Yisui
-
rong
Sang Ye
Shandong

Shanghai

Shangshang

Shanshui Shufang

Shao Dazhen

260
Shao Yachuan

Shen Ling
Shi Bing Men
Shi Qiren

Shiji Fengjing zhi Si
Shu Qun
Shu Xiang Men Di

Shu Xiang Men Di zhi Er
Shui Tianzhong
Sichuan

Song

Song Haidong

Song Zhuang

Sui Jianguo

Sun Liang

Sun Weimin

Tao Qin

Tianshang Tianshang, Moli Moli

Wan Jiyuan

Wang Jing

Wang Chaowen

Wang Guangyi
Wang Hongjian
Wang Huangsheng

Wang Huning

Wang Nanming

Wang Ning

261
Wang Pi

Wang Shu

Wang Wenzhang

Wang Yingsheng

Wang Yong
Wang Youshen

Wang Yuping

Wang Ziwei

Weigui
Wenhua Zaozhen Bangongshi

Wu Jiao Xing

Wu Jing

Wu Jingchu

Wu Shanzhuan

Wu Taoyi

Wu Zuoren
Xiaopu

Xie Dongming

Xin Sheng Dai

Xingxing Huazhan
Xinhua

Xu Beihong
Xu Bing

Xu Gongcheng

Xu Zhen

Yan Dong

Yan Peiming

262
Yanan
Yang Fudong

Yang Guan San Die

Yang Jinxing

Yang Zhenzhong

Ye Fu

Ye Yushan

Yishu

Yin Kun

Yu Changjiang

Yu Hong

Yu Jiantao

Yu Youhan

Yuan Ming Yuan
Yuan Wu
Yuan Yunsheng

Yue Minjun
Yulan

Yunnan

Zaojing
Zhan Wang

Zhang Chenchu

Zhang Huan

Zhang Liguo

Zhang Peili

Zhang Qingtao

Zhang Xianjian

263
Zhang Xiaogang
Zhang Xiaoling

Zhang Yingguang

Zhang Yiwu

Zhang Zhenggang

Zhang Zhixiong

Zhejiang

Zheng Feng
Zheng Li

Zheng Pin

Zheng Yi

Zheng Yongnian

Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu

Zhongguo Meishujia Xiehui

Zhongguo Yishu Mingzhen Song Zhuang

Zhou Enlai
Zhu De
Zhu Qi

264

FIGURES

265

Figure 1: Zheng Li, Intellectual Family, 1999, Chinese painting, 170 x 248 cm.

Figure 2: Yu Changjiang, Chen Rong, Qian Zongfei, & Wu Taoyi, The Epic of the Militia,
1999, Chinese painting, 246 x 243 cm.
266

Figure 3: Han Shuo, Hot-blooded, 1999, Chinese painting, 189 x 211 cm.

Figure 4: Leng Jun, Pentagram, 1999, oil on canvas 130 x 130 cm.
267

Figure 5: Wang Hongjian, Yang Guan San Die, 1998-1999,
oil on canvas, 190 x 179 cm.

Figure 6: Qin Wenqing, Soldiers, 1997, oil on canvas, 152x204 cm.
268

Figure 7: Zheng Feng, Immortals, 1999, oil on canvas, 160 x 160 cm.

Figure 8: Yuan Wu, Memorial of the 1998, 1998, Chinese painting, 283 x 156 cm.
269

Figure 9: Shao Yachuan, Inspecting the dyke, 1998, oil on canvas, 267x232 cm.

Figure 10: Qiu Ruimin, Ma Hongdao, & Shi Qiren, Looking into the Future, 1999,
oil on canvas, 168x252 cm.
270

Figure 11: Ai Minyou & Zhang Qingtao, Inspection, 1996,

Figure 12: Wang Pi, The Old Song-I Dedicate Oil to My Motherland, 1999,
oil on canvas, 168x168 cm.
(Source: http://www.dlgallery.com.cn/dalian/exhibit/ninth/ninth.chnyh.htm)
271

Figure 13: Yang Jinxing, Date, 1999, Chinese painting, 201 x 130 cm.

Figure 14: Zhang Zhenggang, Space, 1999, oil on canvas, 113 x 145 cm.
272

Figure 15: Zheng Yi, Blazing Heart, 1999, oil on canvas, 176 x 162 cm.

Figure 16: Lin Sen, Feast, 1999, oil on canvas, 170 x 110 cm.
273

Figure 17: He Yunchang, Making An Appointment-Golden Sunshine, 1998, oil on canvas,
225x174 cm. (Source: http://www.rbzarts.com/rbzhtml/NO9/no9.htm)

Figure 18: Cao Jigang, Mountain As Ocean, 1999, oil on canvas, 225x177cm.
274

Figure 19: Wu Jingchu, The Unyielding Character of Plum Blossoms, 1999,
Chinese painting, 230 x 158 cm.

275

Figure 20: the billboard on the road to to Song Zhuang that is entitled Welcome to [Song
Village] Chinese Contemporary Artist Community.
(Source: photographed by Yu Jiantao (an independent artist resides in Song Zhuang))
276

Figure 21: Xu Bing, Tobacco project: shanghai, 2004, installation.
(Source: photographed by the author)
277

Figure 22: Wang Guangyi, Great Castigation Series: Coca-Cola, 1992, oil on canvas,
200 x 200 cm. (Source: Doran, Valerie C., ed. China's New art, Post-1989. 1993)

Figure 23: Yu Youhan, The Waving Mao, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 145 x 130 cm.
278

Figure 24: Fang Lijun, Series II, No. 2, 1992, oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm.
(Source: Gao, Minglu, ed. Inside/Out: New Chinese Art. San Francisco: San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art, 1998)

Figure 25: Liu Wei, The Revolutionary Family: Dad in front of A Poster of Zhu De, 1990,
279

Figure 26: Cai Guoqiang, Rent Collection Courtyard, 1999, installation.
(Source: http://www.caiguoqiang.com/project_detail.php?id=33&iid=0)

Figure 27: Ye Yushan with a team of sculptors from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts.
Detail of the Rend Collection Courtyard, 1965, clay in life-size.
(Source:http://www.morningsun.org/stages/rent_courtyard_intro.html)
280

Figure 28: Sun Weimin, Nuanyang [warm sunlight], 1996, 180x190 cm, oil on canvas.
(Source: Ershi Shiji Zhongguo you hua [Chinese Oil Painting of the Twentieth Century],
eds. Art Department of the Culture Ministry of the PRC & Chinese Oil Painting Society.
2001)

Figure 29: Liu Xiaodong, Weigui [get out of line], 1996, 180x230 cm, oil on canvas.
2001)
281

Figure 30: Shen Ling, Life's companion, 1996, oil on canvas.
2001)

Figure 31: Chen Yifei, Father and Son, Tibet, 1995, oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm.
(Source: http://www.marlboroughfineart.com/artists/view.asp?id=29)
282

Figure 32: Wang Shu, Between Dismantle and Construct, 2003, installation.

Figure 33: Zhan Wang, Urban Landscape, 2003, installation.
283

Figure 34: Yang Fudong, three stills from Heaven Heaven, Jasmine Jasmine, 2002, video.

Figure 35: Lu Shengzhong, Landscape Study, 2003, installation.
(Source: from the artist)
284

Figure 36: Liu Jianhua, Daily-Fragile, 2003, installation.

Figure 37: Lu Shengzhong, Propitious Omen Descending, installation.
(Source: http://arts.tom.com/zhanlan/lsztw/index.php)
285

Figure 38: Wang Yingsheng, Strolling II, 2001, Chinese painting, 200 x 270 cm.
(Source: The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale [exhibition catalogue],
ed., the Chinese Artists Association, 2003)

Figure 39: Zhang Chenchu, Brothers and Sisters, 2001-2002, oil painting, 200 x 475 cm.
286

Figure 40: Guo Zhenyu and his twenty-eight handicapped students from the Special
Education Vocational School at Shandong province, The Chinese Roots, 1999-2003,
sculpture, 400 x 2000 x 150 cm. (Source: The Album of the First Beijing International Art
Biennale [exhibition catalogue], ed., the Chinese Artists Association, 2003)

Figure 41: Zheng Li, Intellectual Family-2, 2002, Chinese painting, 170 x 248 cm.
287

Figure 42: Leng Jun, Century Scenery-4, 1996, oil on canvas, 105 x 200 cm.

Figure 43: Georg Baselitz, Attacking II, 1986, oil on canvas, 250 x 200 cm.
288

Figure 44: Sam Francis, right: 23, oil on canvas, 1967, 58x82.5cm; left: 29, 1979, oil on
canvas, 91 x 61.5 cm. (Source: The Album of the First Beijing International Art Biennale

Figure 45: Omer Galliani, New Anatomy, 2003, 300 x 200 cm each.
289

Figure 46: Nosratollah Moslemian, Series of Untitled, 2002-2003, acrylic,
left: 189 x 259 cm; right: 155 x 245 cm.

Figure 47: Matti Kujasalo, Untitled, acrylics on canvas, 2002, 200 x 200 cm each.
290

Figure 48: Yuri Kalyuta, Melissa, 1997, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm.

Figure 49: Fernandez Arman, Discus Thrower, 2002, bronze sculpture, H: 180 cm.
291

Figure 50: Kurt Schwager, Transzendenz, 2002, marble sculpture, 140 x 130 x 40 cm.

Figure 51: The logo of the first Beijing Biennale

292

Figure 52: Liu Liyun, Landscape scroll, 2004, sculpture/installation, 90x510x4 cm.
(Source: http://www.bjbiennale.com.cn/artists/ArtistS_detail-e.asp?ArtistID=778)

Figure 53: Hu Mingzhe, Natural Traces, 2005, sculpture/installation, 200x400x1.5x30
cm. (Source: http://cn.cl2000.com/subject/2005BIAB/images/005.jpg)

293

Figure 54: The entrance of the Artist Group Reception Center of Song Zhuang.

Figure 55: The archway with Song Zhuang China over the street in
Xiaopu Village of Song Zhuang.
294

Figure 56: Poster of the Fist Song Zhuang Culture and Art Festival. The big Chinese
character in yellow that dominates the scene is a variation on the character Song of
Song Zhuang. (Source: http://www.ionly.com.cn/pro/news/info3/20051024/012441.html)

Figure 57: Poster of the Second Song Zhaung Culture and Art Festival.
(source: http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/2006-09-08/16121237662.html)
295

Figure 58: The exterior view of the Beijing Song Zhuang TS1 Art Center.
(Source: http://club.qingdaonews.com/cachedir/41/30/52/3052861_1.htm)

Figure 59: The inaugural show of the Beijing Song Zhuang TS1 Art Center, with
sculptural works by Fang Lijun in front.
(Source: http://club.qingdaonews.com/cachedir/41/30/52/3052861_1.htm)
296

Figure 60: Exterior view of the Song Zhuang Art Museum. (Source:
http://blog.artron.net/attachments/2006/06/15/2006615_d940ff118077fdf275b1f64855f1a
414.jpg)

Figure 61: The architectural piece with the name of Shangshang Art Museum, in Li
Xiantings calligraphic script.
(Source: http://arts.tom.com/uimg/2006/11/29/peigang/pgszzz01_62421.jpg)
297

Figure 62: The exterior view of Beijing East Zone Art Center.
(Source: http://www.yahqq.com/article/view.asp?id=1105)

Figure 63: Exterior view of Song Zhuang Private Art Museum.
298

Figure 64: The main street of the Xiaopu Village where the commercial plaza is located.
The view of artists setting up their exhibits, October 6, 2006.

Figure 65: A view of a show on the main street of the Xiaopu Village where the
commercial plaza is located. The front figure was a peasant who probably came to see the
show, October 6, 2006. (Source: http://www.chinasongzhuang.cn/html/2006-10/402.htm)
299

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I. Primary Sources

1. Reports, Reviews, Official Documents, and Catalogues on Exhibitions of Major
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2. Reports, Reviews, Official Documents, and Catalogues on Relevant Exhibitions

3. Articles, Books, and Theoretical Texts on Artists

4. Articles, Books, and Theoretical Texts Focusing on Chinese Art after 1989

5. Articles, Books, and Theoretical texts Focusing on Chinese Art before 1989

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1. Articles, Books and Theoretical Texts on Exhibitions and Curatorialship

2. Articles, Books, and Theoretical texts on Modern and Contemporary Chinese Culture
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3. Articles, Books, and Theoretical Texts on Modernism, National Identity, and
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4. Books, and Theoretical Texts on Diaspora and Globalization

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Bernab] and Chinese Art Circle. Brochure released by Beijing Biennale Office,
Aug 22, 2003.

. Zhongguo Beijing Guoji Meishu Shuangnianzhan Cehua Weiyuan Bida
Benjizhe Wen [Members of the Beijing Biennale Curatorial Committee
answering the Reporter. Brochure released by the Beijing International Art
Biennale Office, Sep, 2003.

Cash, Stephanie & David Ebony. Beijing Biennale Set to Launch. Art in America, vol.
91 iss. 9 (Sep 2003): 144.

Feng, Yuan. Guanyu Wenhua Chuangxin de Beijing Guoji Meishu Shuannian Zhan
[Related to Cultural Creation, the First Beijing International Biennale]. Meishu
[The Fine Arts], no. 11 (2003): 5-9.

Hou, Ningning. Jiedu Shuangnianzhan: Huojiang Zuopin yu Ren Youguan
[Understanding the Biennial: the Awarded Works Involve Humanity]. Beijing
Chenbao [Beijing morning news], Sept 23, 2003.

Jin, Yongquan. Yihuo de Zhongguo Beijing Guoji Meishu Shuannian Zhan [The
Doubt of the First Beijing International Art Biennale, China]. Zhongguo
Qingnian Bao [Chinese Youth Newspaper], October 9, 2003.

Kreimer, Julian. Wholeheartedly Support Flourishing Art Scene. Modern Painters, vol.
16 no. 4 (Winter 2003): 47-49.

Li, Shuo. Picture of Success. China Daily, Jul 18, 2003.

. Cutting Comments. China Daily, Sep 12, 2003,

. Art Gala Debuts. China Daily, Sep 12, 2003.

Lu, Carol. First Beijing Biennale. Flash Art, vol. 36 (Nov/Dec 2003): 41, 50.

Smith, Karen. 1
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Beijing Biennale. Art AsiaPacific, no. 39 (Winter 2004): 78.

. Review of the Inaugural Beijing Biennale. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary
Chinese Art, vol. 2 no. 4 (Winter 2003): 88-90.

Tao, Qin. Chief Curators, Members of the Curatorial Committee Answering Reporters.
Conducted by Meishu Xingkong [Fine Arts Star and Sky] Column from the China
Central Television Station [CCTV] and Meishu Jianshang [Fine Arts Appreciation]
Column from China Education Television Station, Apr 25, 2003.

Vine, Richard. Report from China: The Wild, Wild East. Art in America, vol. 91 iss. 9
305
(Sep 2003): 40-49.

Wang, Jian. Beijing Shuangnianzhan Zhanhua Daibiao Dangqian Shijie Meishu Chaoliu?
Fang Cezhanren Sanfo [Do the Works Showed on Beijing Biennale Represent
the Leading Trend of Contemporary World Art? Interview with Curator Sanfo].
Conducted by Beijing Yule Xinbao [Beijing Entertainment Newspaper]. Sep 29,
2003.

Wang, Shanshan. A Feast for the Eyes. China Daily, Sep 29, 2003.

Wang, Yong. Guanyu Chouban Zhongguo Beijing Guoji Yishu Shuangnianzhan de
Jianyi [Suggestions on Planning the Beijing International Art Biennale, China].
In Transplantation and Variation. Beijing: Chinese Peoples University Press,
2005, 344-249.

Yang, Yingshi & Wang Shanshan. Bigger, Better Biennale Planned for Beijing. China
Daily, Aug 18, 2003.

2. Reports, Reviews, Official Documents, and Catalogues on Relevant Exhibitions

Chinese Participation at the Venice Biennale

Anonymous. Panel Discussion: Looking Forward from Venice: The Prospects of
Contemporary Chinese Art. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 2
no. 3 (Fall/Sep 2003): 48-61.

Borysevicz, Mathieu. Hyp in Venice. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer
available), vol. 2 iss. 4, 1999.

Chang, Johnson. L'Altra Faccia: Three Chinese Artists at Venice (catalogue). Zanzibar,
1995.

Clarke, David. Foreign Bodies: Chinese Art at the 1995 Venice Biennale. ART Asia
Pacific, vol. 3, no. 1 (1996), pp. 32-34.

Dematt, Monica. Chinese ArtIts DAPERTutto!. Chinese-art.com (Electronic
Journal, no longer available), vol. 2 iss. 4, 1999.

. Chinese Artists at the Venice Biennale: Then and Now. Chinese-art.com
(Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 4 iss. 4, 2001.

Erickson, Britta. Cai Guo Qiang Takes The Rent Collection Courtyard From Cultural
Revolution Model Sculpture To Winner of The 48
th
Venice Biennale International
Award. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 2 iss. 4,
1999.
306
. The Rent Collection Courtyard Copyright Breached Overseas: Sichuan
Academy of Fine Arts Sues Venice Biennale. Chinese-art.com (Electronic

Lago, Francesca Dal. Of Site and Space: The Virtual Reality of Chinese Contemporary
Art. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol.2, iss.4, 1999.

. Contemporary Chinese Art: Neither Panda Bears nor Students.
Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol.2, iss.4, 1999.

. Open and Everywhere: Chinese Artists at the Venice Biennale. ART
AsiaPacific, iss. 25 (2000): 24.

Napack, Jonathan. Chinese Artists May Sue Venice Biennale: 1999 Appropriation of a
1965 Socialist Realist Work Cause Anger. The Art Newspaper, vol. 11 no. 106,
2000.

Peng, De. Zhou Huo Ri Mo de Shouzuyuan [The Obsession of the Rent Collection
Courtyard]. Century Online: China Art Networks, Mar 26, 2001.
<http://cn.cl2000.com/guard/espial/shouzuyuan/wen10.shtml> (Accessed Mar 18,
2004).

The Third Shanghai Biennale

Barrett, David. Shanghai Biennale 2000. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no
longer available), vol. 3 iss. 6, 2000.

Bull, Hank. The 3
rd
Shanghai Biennale Nov 2000 Reviewed. Chinese-art.com

Hou, Hanru. 2000 As the Theme. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

Jia, Fangzhou. Xin de Biaozhi Xin de Kaiduan-Ping 2000 Shanghai Shuangnianzhan
[A New Sign and A New Beginning On the Shanghai Biennale], 2000.
<http://www.cnarts.net/SHANGHAIART/biennale/shb2002/critique_read.asp?id=1
2> ( Accessed Jul 20, 2004).

Jordan, Francesca. China Report No.1 The 3
rd
Shanghai Biennale. Chinese-art.com

Lum, Ken. Shanghai Biennale. Art & Text, iss. 65 (1999): 88-89.

Ma, Qinzhong, ed. Zhongguo Shanghai 2000 Nian Shuangnianzhan ji Waiweizhan
Wenxian [Documents of 2000 Shanghai Biennale and Periphery Exhibitions].
307
Hunan Fine Arts Publishing Houes, 2003.

Napack, Jonathan. Report from Shanghai: Its More Fashionable Underground. The Art
Newspaper, no. 109, Dec 2000.

Smith, Karen. The Spirit of Shanghai.
<http://www.china- avantgarde.com/essays/Karen Smith/shanghai.html>
(Accessed Jul 20, 2004).

Vine, Richard. After Exoticism. Art in America, vol. 89 iss. 7 (Jul 2001): 31-37.

Wang, Nanming. The Shanghai Art Museum Should Not Become a Market Stall in
China for Western HegemonismA Paper Delivered at the Shanghai Biennale
2000. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 3 iss. 6,
2000.

Xu, Hong. Xuanze yu Bei Xuanze [Choosing and Chosen], 2000.
<http://www.cnarts.net/SHANGHAIART/biennale/shb2002/critique_read.asp?id=
13> (Accessed Jul 20, 2004).

Zhang, Zhaohui. Shanghai All at Sea? The Biennale and Its Dilemmas.
Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 3 iss. 6, 2000.

Zhu, Qi. Nobody Wants [Their Works] Not to be Considered Contemporary Art: The
Third Shanghai Biennale. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

. Weve Become True Individuals An Interview with Hou Hanru Curator of
Shanghai 2000 Biennale. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

Alors, la Chine

Art contemporain Alors, la Chine? Released by Radio Chine Internationale, Sep 16,
2003. <http://cri6.cri.com.cn/france/2003/Sep/159212.htm >
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Bertagna, Marion. Artists Chinois 1979-2003. Art Press, no. 290 (2003): 19-24.

Chong, Daniel. Alors, la Chine?.
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Edwards, Natasha. Alors, La Chine?: Centre Pompidou. Modern Painters, vol. 16 no. 3
(Autumn 2003): 121.
308
Piguet, Philippe. Alors, la Chine? Eh bien, la voila!. L'Oeil (Lausanne, Switzerland), no.
550 (Sep 2003): 26-27.

Others

Acret, Susan. Inside Out, the Dream of China. Art and Australia, vol. 38 iss. 2 (Dec
2000): 223-225.

Anonymous. Hou Hanru Interview. for the occasion of the 2nd Biennale
Johannesburg, conducted by Universes in Universe, Jul 5, 1997.
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2004).

. Hans Ulrich Obrist Interviews Heri Dono in Helsinki, 1999.

. China: 5,000 Years: An Interview with Sherman Lee. Orientations, vol. 29
(1998): 30-32.

. Zhongguo Dangdai Yishuzhang Berlin Kaimu [Exhibition on Chinese
Contemporary Art Opens at Berlin], Zhongguo Xinwen She [China News Report],
Sep 19, 2001.

. China Avantgarde: Contemporary Art from China. Kunst & museumjournaal,
vol. 4 iss. 5 (1993): 78.

Araeen, Rasheed. Dakart 1992-2002: The Problems of Representation,
Contextualisation, and Critical Evaluation in Contemporary African Art as
Presented by the Dakar Biennale. Third Text, vol. 17 iss. 1 (2003): 93-106.

Atagok, Tomur & Susan Platt. The Digestible Other: the Istanbul Biennial. Third Text,
no. 55 (Summer 2001): 103-109.

Beyond Exile [Modern Chinese Art Foundation Catalogue]. Provincie Bestuur van
Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Barandiaran, Maria. Between Ego and Society: An Exhibition of Contemporary Female
Artists in China. New Art Examiner, vol. 25 (1998): 49-50.

Berns, Marla C. Africa at the Venice Biennale. African Arts (Los Angeles), vol. 36 iss.
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Bolton, Andrew. Not Enough Chaos? Cities on the Move: Urban Chaos and Global
Change-East Asian Art, Architecture and Film Now. Blueprint, vol. 162 (1999):
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2002): 373-376.

Chang, Tsong-zung and Jean Marc Decrop, et al. Paris-Pkin [exhibition catalogue].
Paris: Espace Cardin, 2002.

Chapman, Chris. The World Really is Fantastic; Biennale of Sidney. Art and Australia,
vol. 40 iss. 2 (Dec 2002): 229-231.

Cibulski, Dana. Canceled: Exhibiting Experimental Art in China. Sculpture, vol. 20 no.
5 (Jun 2001): 67-68.

Dewar, Susan. Contemporary Art Exhibitions in China. Orientations, vol. 31 no. 7 (Jul
2000): 138-140.

Dixon, Robert. Exhibition in China. Studio Potter, vol. 24 no. 2 (Jun 1996).

Doran, Valerie C., ed. China's New art, Post-1989. Hong Kong: Hanart T Z Gallery,
1993.

Driessen, Chris & Heidi van Mierlo, eds. Another Long March: Chinese Conceptual and
Installation Art in the Nineties. Breda: Fundament Foundation
(Netherlands), 1997.

Eckholm, Erik. Celebrating a Decade of Chinese Artists Experiments. The New York
Times, Nov 25, 2002.

Fenner, Felicity. Valencia Biennial. Art AsiaPacific, no. 39 (Winter 2004): 80.

Ferrara, Annette. New Art in China, Post-1989. New Art Examiner, vol. 25 (1997): 47.

Gao, Minglu, ed. Inside/Out: New Chinese Art. San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art, 1998.

. The Wall: Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art [exhibition catalogue].
Beijing: China Millennium Art Museum, 2005.

Geoffroy-Schneiter, Berenice. Paris-Pekin: les Passe-Muraille. Beaux Arts Magazine,
no. 221 (2002): 16.

Goodman, Jonathan. From the Outside In Inside Out: New Chinese Art. ART
AsiaPacific, iss. 24 (1999): 28.

. China: Fifty Years Inside the Peoples Republic at the Asia Society (Oct 8,
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Identity, Politics and history Upside Down. San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Feb
1999, 29.

Hanussek, Christian. The Context of the Dakar Biennale?. Third Text, vol. 18 iss. 1
(2004): 84-85.

Heartney, Eleanor. Into the International Arena (Contemporary Art, Kwangju Biennale,
South Korea). Art in America, vol. 84 iss. 4 (Apr 1996): 50-54.

Hou, Hanru & Hans Ulrich Obrist, eds. Cities on the Move. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje; New
York, N.Y.: Distribution in the US, D.A.P. Distributed Art Publishers, 1997.

Jana, Reena. Between Past and Future: International Center of Photography and Asia
Society. ARTnews, vol. 103 no. 9 (Oct 2004): 185-186.

Jim, Alice Ming Wai. Inside Out: New Chinese Art. Parachute, iss. 95 (Jul 1999):
48-49.

Jordan, Francesca. China Report No.2 Satellite Exhibitions. Chinese-art.com

Jouanno, Evelyne. Out of the Centre or Without the Centre. Third Text, no. 28/29
(Autumn/ Winter 1994): 196-198.

Larsen, Lars Bang. Istanbul Biennial (Asian Artist). Artforum International, vol. 40 iss.
7 (Mar 2002): 148.

Li, Jing. Zhongguo Beijing Guoji Meishu Shuangnianzhan: Shuwei Yishujia Huojiang
[China Beijing international art biennale: several artists receive awards].
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Mansfield, Janet. Young Chinese Artists Exhibition 98. Ceramics, Art and Perception,
no. 37 (1999): 27-29.

Melvin, Jeremy. The Ever-Changing City: Cites on the Move: Urban Chaos and Global
ChangeEast Asian Art, Architecture and Film Now. The Architectural Press,
vol. 209 no. 21 (1999): 52.

Napack, Jonathan. Forbidding Past, Promising Future. The Art Newspaper, no. 114,
May 2001, 20.

Obrist, Hans-Ulrich. The Art of Frenzy. Blueprint, vol. 161 (May 1999): 49-51.

Oguibe, Olu. The Failure of DAKART?. Third Text, vol. 18 iss. 1 (2004): 83-84.

Phillips, Christopher. Crosscurrents in Yokohama. Art in America, vol. 90 iss. 1 (Jan
311
2002): 84-91.

Pollack, Barbara. Inside Out: New Chinese Art. ARTnews, vol. 98 no 1 (Jan 1999): 125.

Preiwerk, Regi. Letter One from Shanghai: Satellite Exhibitions. Chinese-art.com

Puel, Caroline. Deferlante Chinoise sur Paris. Beaux Arts Magazine, iss. 235 (Dec
2003): 107.

Sun, Xiaofeng. Dialogue with Hans Ulrich Obrist and Hou Hanru on the 2nd
Guangzhou Triennial. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 4 no. 1
(Spring/Mar 2005): 5-11.

Wang, Nanming. Ba Zhongguopai Dahui Laojia Qu-Kan Weinisi Shuangnianzhan
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. Guojia Yishu Xiangmu Yu Juece Gongkai: Weinisi Shuangnianzhan
Zhongguoguan De Zhengzhi [National art projects and transparent policy: the
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Wei, Lilly. Inside Out: New Chinese Art. Art Papers Magazine, vol. 23 no. 2 (Mar/Apr
1999): 52.

Wu, Hung. Transience: Chinese Experimental Art at the End of the Twentieth Century.
The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, 1999.

. Exhibiting Experimental Art in China. Chicago: The David and Alfred Smart
Museum of Art, the University of Chicago, 2000.

. ed. Chinese Art at the Crossroads: Between Past and Future, Between East
and West. Hong Kong: New Art Media Limited, 2001.

Yan, See Zhou. Chinese Brand and Chinese Method: On the Exhibition The Wall:
Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese
Art (Mar 2006): 11.

Zhu, Xiaojun. Zhongguoguan gei Venice Shuangnianzhan Dailai le Shenme? [What
Does the Chinese Pavilion Bring to the Venice Biennale?], Chinese Culture Daily,
Jun 7, 2005.

3. Articles, Books, and Theoretical Texts on Artists
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Cai Guoqiang

Anonymous. Wenhua zhijian de Yaobai: Cai Guoqiang Fangtanlu [Swing Between
Cultures: Interview with Cai Guoqiang]. Diaosu [sculpture], iss. 1 (2000): 23-27.

Barm, Geremie. Flying Dragon in the Sky. In Cai Guoqiang: Flying Dragon in the
Heavens [exhibition catalogue]. Louisiana, 1997.

Cochran, Rebecca Dimling. Cai Guo-Qiang. Sculpture, vol. 17 no. 2 (Feb 1998): 65-66.

Dao Zi. Shouzuyuan de Fuzhi yu Hou Xiandaizhuyi [The Copy of the Rent Collection
Courtyard and Postmodernism]. Wenhua Yanjiu [Cultural Studies] (electronic
journal), iss. 3 (2003).
<http://www.culstudies.com/rendanews/displaynews.asp?id=1474> (Accessed
Dec 18, 2004);

Friis-Hansen, Dana, Octavia Zaya and Serizawa Takashi. Cai Guoqiang. London and
New York: Phaidon Press, 2002.

Goodman, Jonathan. Cai Guo-Qiang An Explosion Event: Light Cycle Over Central
Park at The Asia Society. ART AsiaPacific, no. 39 (Winter 2004): 84.

Heartney, Eleanor. Cai Guo-Qiang: Illuminating the New China. Art in America, vol.
90 iss. 5 (May 2002): 92-96.

Leydier, Richard. Cai Guo-Quiang: Muse dart Contemporain. Art Press, iss. 275
(2002): 81-82.

Richardson, Joan. Reckless Doing: Cai Guo-Qiang: Contemporary Art Gallery Charles
H. Scott Gallery. Vie des Arts, vol. 45 no. 184 (2001): 74.

Schwabsky, Barry. Tao and Physics (The Art of Cai Guoqiang). Artforum International,
vol. 35 no. 10 (Summer 1997): 118-121 and 155.

The Rent Collection Courtyard Copyright Breached Overseas: Sichuan Academy of Fine
Arts Sues Venice Biennale. Press release, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts,
Chongqing, 20 May 2000.

Wang, Nanming. Na Rouma Da Youqu-Zai Xifang Zhimin yu Zhongguo Bei Zhimin
Wenhua Zhengce zhong de Cai Guoqiang [The Disgusting as Interesting-Cai
Guoqiang Under the Politics of Western Cultural Colonialism]. Chengyan Art, Dec
2001. <http://www.be-word-art.com.cn/page4.htm> (Accessed Jun 28, 2003).

Yang, Shiying. Luangao de Xianquzhe: Cai Guoqiang Xianxiang Jie [Predecessor of
Chaos Producing: Understanding Cai Guoqiang Phenomenon]. Feb 20, 2002.
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Zhang, Qing. History Challenges Reality: the Life and Art of Cai. Yishu=Journal of
Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 1 no. 1 (Spring /Apr 2002): 52-59.

Zhang, Zhaohui. Cultural Transformation: A Research Comparison of the Artistic
Practices between Xu Bing and Cai Guoqiang (second half). Art Museum, vol. A
(2003): 122-133.

Zhu, Qi. We Are All Too Sensitive When it Comes to Awards! Cai Guoqiang and the
Copyright Infringement Problems Surrounding Venices Rent Collection
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East and West, ed. Wu Hung, 56-65. Hong Kong: New Art Media Limited, 2001.

Chen Zhen

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Andony, Keith. Taking a Look Behind the Scenes: An Interview with Li Xu.
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Anonymous. Differences without Separation-A Travelling Talk between Chen Zhen and
Ken Lum, 2000. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol.
2 iss. 6, 1999.

Heartney, Eleanor. Chen Zhen: Painting to Save His Life. Art Press, no. 260 (2000):
22-26.

Hill, Shawn. Institute of Contemporary art Boston: Chen Zhen: Inner Body
Landscapes. Art New England, vol. 24 no. 1 (2003): 31.

Fang Lijun

Fang Lijun: Human Images in an Uncertain Age. Tokyo: Japan Foundation, 1996.

Funken, Peter. Fang Lijun: Asian Fine Arts Berlin, Pruss & Ochs Gallery. Kunstforum
International, no. 54 (2001): 381.

Goodman, Jonathan. Fang Lijun at Thomas Erben. Art in America, vol. 92 iss. 6
(Jun/Jul 2004): 174.

Solomon, Andrew. Their Irony, Humor (and art) Can Save China. The New York Times
314
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Gu Wenda

Cateforis, David. An Interview with Wenda Gu. In Wenda Gu: Art from Middle
Kingdom to Biological Millennium, ed. Mark H.C. Bessire, 143-61. Cambridge:
MIT Press, 2003.

Chiu, Melissa. China Reinvented; the Art of Overseas Chinese Artists in the United
States. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 2 no. 4 (2003): 7-10.

. The Crisis of Calligraphy and the New Way of Tea: An Interview with Wenda
Gu. Orientations, vol. 33 no. 3 (2000): 100-104.

Gao, Minglu. Seeking a Model of Universalism: The United Nations Series and other
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Kember, Pamela. A battle with existence itself: The work of Gu Wenda. In Chinese Art
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Kuo, Jason. The Peripatetic Artist: 14 Statements-Gu Wenda. Art in America, vol. 77
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Leung, Simon. Pseudo-Languages: A Conversation with Wenda Gu, Xu Bing, and
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Yang, Xiaoneng. New And Old: Gu Wendas Art and Chinese Traditions.
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Huang Yongping

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Jouanno, Wvelyne. Huang Yongping, Cultural Differences and Negotiation. Flash Art,
vol. 32 iss. 207 (Summer 1999): 114-115.

Koplos, Janet. Huang Yongping and Chen Zhen at the New Museum. Art in America,
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Princenthal, Nancy. Huang Yongping at Jack Tilton. Art in America, vol. 86 iss. 3 (Mar
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Wang Guangyi

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M.E. Sharpe, 1996.

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Wang Guangyi: La Grande Critique. France: Galerie Bellefroid, 1993.

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Xu Bing

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Borysevicz, Mathieu. Xu Bing at the Sackler. Art in America, vol. 90 iss. 9 (Sep 2002):
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. Raleigh, NC: Xu Bing: North Carolina Museum of Art. Sculpture, vol. 20 no.
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Others

Anonymous. Ai Weiwei on the First Annual Chinese Contemporary Art Awards, Identity
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Borysevicz, Mathieu. Zhang Huan at Deitch Projects. Art in America, vol. 88 iss. 10
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Chen, Tong. Chen Wenbo: To Imagine by Means of Painting. Chinese-art.com
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. Ai Weiwei. The New York Times, Oct 1, 2004, 31.

Erickson, Britta. Zhan Wang. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available),
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Goodman, Jonathan. Wei Dong at Jack Tilton. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no

. Zhang Huan at Max Protetch. Art in America, vol. 87 iss. 9 (Sep 1999):
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. Zhou Chunya: Heading Neither West Nor East. Chinese-art.com (Electronic

Hamlin, Jesse. Chinese Artist Sui Jianguo Puts Mao to Rest in Colorful Metaphor. San
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Hou, Hanru. Dazao Yige Tiantang: Qin Yufen Zuopin Shixi [create a heaven: on Qin
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Hou, Hanru and Evelyne Jouanno. Material Performance. In Shen Yuan [exhibition
catalogue], eds. Sarah Campbell and Gilane Tawadros, 50-69. London: Institute of
International Visual Arts and Arnolfini, Bristol, 2001.

Huang, Du. Qin Yufeng: A New Look at the Chaos of the World of the Mind.

. Sheng Qis Body and Discourse. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no

. Special Focus Zhang Peili. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

. Special Focus Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Peili. Chinese-art.com (Electronic

Lago, Francesca Dal. Cai Jin: Embroidering with Paint. Chinese-art.com (Electronic

. Contemporary Chinese Art: Neither Panda Bears nor Students Homework
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Pollack, Barbara. The Venus de China. The New York Times, Jun 6, 2004, 28.

Qian, Zhijian. Performing Bodies: Zhang Huan, Ma Liuming, and Performance Art in
China. Art Journal, vol. 58 iss. 2 (Summer 1999): 60-81.

Smith, Karen. Lin Tianmiao. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available),
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Szeemann, Harald. Young Award Recipients: Zhou Tiehai, Xie Nanxing and Yang
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Wang, Nanming. Are Chinese People all Panda Bears? A Criticism of Yung Ho Changs
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Welland, Sasha. Traveling Artists, Traveling Art, Ethnographic Luggage.
Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 1 no. 2 (Summer/Jul 2002):
4-12.

4. Articles, Books, and Theoretical Texts Focusing on Chinese Art after 1989

Annamma, Joy & John F. Sherry Jr. Framing Considerations in the PRC: Creating Value
in the Contemporary Chinese Art Market. Consumption, Markets and Culture,
vol. 7 no. 4 (Dec 2004): 307-348.

Barboza, David. In Chinas New Revolution, Arts Greets Capitalism. The New York
Times, Jan 4, 2007.

Bertagna, Marion. Artists Chinois 1979-2003. Art Press, no. 290 (May 2003): 19-24.

Bianpoen, Carla. Chinese Contemporary Art: Lure of the Young. The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta (Indonesia): Oct 22, 2004, sec. Features News.

Chan, Lauk'ung. Ten Years of the Chinese Avantgarde: Waiting for the Curtain to Fall.
Flash Art, iss. 162 (Jan-Feb 1992): 110-114.
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Chen, Aric. A New Frontier for Chinese Art. The New York Times, Apr 1, 2007, Sec.
Arts, East Coast Edition.

Chen, Chaos Y. Women Art Watch: China. Make, vol. 92 (2002): 20-21.

Chen, Elsa Hsiang-Chun. Identity Politics? Allegorical Existence? On the Way to the
Fantastic. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 1 (Summer 2002):
93-94.

Chen, Lvsheng. Piping Shiheng de Shidai Ruhe Piping [How to Criticize in the Age of
Criticism Being Unbalanced]. Wenyi Bao [Newspaper of Literature and Art], Jun
27, 2003.

Clarke, David. Art and Place: Essays on Art from a Hong Kong Perspective. Hong Kong
University Press, 1996.

. Hong Kong Art: Culture and Decolonization. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 2002.

. The Culture of a Border within: Hong Kong Art and China. Art Journal, vol.
59 iss. 2 (Summer 2000): 88-101.

Clark, John, ed. Chinese Art at the End of the Millennium. Hong Kong: New Art Media
Ltd., 2000.

. Official Reactions to Modern Art in China since the Beijing Massacre.
Pacific Affairs, vol. 65 no. 3 (Autumn 1992): 334-352.

. System and Style in the Practice of Chinese Contemporary Art: The
Disappearing Exterior?. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 1 no.
2 (Summer 2002): 13-31.

Cocks, Anna. A Brief Guide to Chinese Contemporary Art. The Art Newspaper, vol. 8
no. 69, Apr 1997, 41.

Cohen, Joan. Chinas Flowering Galleries. ARTnews, vol. 96 (Oct 1997): 146-147.

Combs, Nicky. Report from Shanghai. Orientations, vol. 32 no. 2 (2001): 71-72.

Cotter, Holland. Art Thats a Dragon With Two Heads. The New York Times, Dec 13,
1998.

Cros, Marcel. An Interview with Guy Ullens. Orientations, vol. 33 no. 8 (2002):
76-77.

Croizier, Ralph. Great Leap Forward for Modern Chinese Art History? Recent
320
Publications in China and the United States -- A Review Article. The Journal of
Asian Studies, vol. 57 iss. 3 (Aug 1998): 786-793.

Datou. Right of Criticism 12 Views about the Issue of Right. ArtChina, vol. 3 no. 2
(2004): 28-29.

Daozi. Xingwei Yishu de Guojihua yu Bentuhua Jingyu [The Internationalization and
Localization of Performance Art]. In the Chinese Culture Map of 21
st
Century,
wolume 1, eds. Zu Dake & Zhang Hong, 124-131. Guangxi Teachers University
Press, 2003.

Doar, Bruce. Hans Van Dijk (1946-2002). Orientations, vol. 33 no. 7 (Sep 2002): 88.

Doar, Bruce and Hwang Yin. Confronting History in the Contemporary: An Interview
with Wu Hung, Wang Huangsheng and Feng Boyi. Orientations, vol. 33 no. 9
(2000): 68-71.

Ebony, David. Chinese Contemporary Art Prices Skyrocket. Art in America, vol. 94 iss.
5 (May 2006): 45.

Elegant, Simon. The Great China Sale. Time Magazine, Nov 19, 2006.

Ellen J. Laing. Is There Post-Modern in the Peoples Republic of China?. In Modernity
in Asian Art, ed. John Clark, 207-221. Sydney: Wild Peony, 1993.

Erickson, Britta. Recent Riffs on the Cultural Revolution in Chinese Art.

Evans, Harriet. Mao: Art for the Masses. Orientations (Hong Kong), vol. 34 no. 9 (Nov
2003): 64-65.

Fan, Dian. Zai Quanqiu yu Bentu Zhijian de Dangdai Meishu [Contemporary Art
between Global and Local]. Wenyi Bao [Newspaper of Literature and Art], Jul
24, 2003.

Fang, Zhenning. Dangdai Yishu Chaoliu Zhong De Zhongguo Wenhua Shenfen - Zai
Dongjing Fang Zhongguo Zhuming Meishu Pinglun Jia Li Xianting [Chinese
cultural identity in contemporary art trends interview with Chinese famous art
critic Li Xianting in Tokyo]. Century Online: China Art Networks, 2004.
<http://cn.cl2000.com/forum/qnpiping.php?id=75> (Accessed Dec 18, 2006).

Feng, Boyi. Di Dixia ji Qita Guangyu 20 Shiji 90 Niandai Yilai de Zhongguo
Qianwei Yishu [Under-Underground and Others: On Chinese Avant-garde Art
Since the 1990s]. Yishu Tansuo [Art Exploration], iss. 4 (2003): 23-26.

Frerot, Christine. FIAC: The Rise of Contemporary Chinese Art. Art Nexus, vol. 2 no.
321
51 (Dec 2003/Feb 2004): 121-124.

Gao, Minglu. Extensionality and Intentionality in a Transnational Cultural System. Art
Journal, vol. 57 iss. 4 (Winter 1998): 36-39.

. et al. Fragmented Memory: The Chinese Avant-garde in Exile. Ohio State
University, 1993.

. Meisu, Quanli, Gongfan: Zhengzhi Bopu Xianxiang [Vulgarity, Power,
Complicity: the Political Pop Phenomenon]. Xiongshi Meishu [Lion Fine Arts],
vol. 297 (Nov 1995): 36-57.

. Zhongguo Qianwei Yishu [Chinese Avant-garde Art]. Jiangsu Fine Arts
Publishing House, 1997.

. Zou Xiang Houxiandai Zhuyi de SikaoZhi Ren Jian Xin [Reflections on
Approaching Postmodernisma letter to Ren Jian], Ershi Yi Shiji [Twenty-First
Century], Aug 1993: 60-68.

Gao, Minglu and Shu Qun, et al. Zhongguo Dangdai Meishu Shi [The History of Chinese
Contemporary Art 1985-1986]. Shanghai Peoples Publishing House, 1991.

Gao, Shiming, ed. Dangdai Yishu yu Bentu Wenhua [Contemporary Art and Indigenous
Culture]. Jiangshu Fine Arts Publishing House, 2001.

Heartney, Eleanor. One to One: Visions-Recent Photographs from China at Chambers.
Art in America, vol. 92 iss. 6 (Jun/Jul 2004): 172-173.

. The Costs of Desire. Art in America, vol. 86 iss. 12 (Dec 1998): 38-43.

Higgins, Charlotte. Is Chinese Art Kicking Butt or Kissing It?. The Guardian,
Manchester (UK): Nov 9, 2004, 10.

Horton, David. Shanghai, China. Art Papers Magazine, vol. 28 iss. 4 (Jul 2004): 61.

Hou, Hanru. Ambivalent Witnesses: Art's Evolution in China." Flash Art, no. 61
(Nov-Dec 1996): 61-64.

. Beyond the Chinese. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer
available), vol. 2 iss. 6 1999.

. Beyond the Cynical: China Avant-garde in the 1990s. ART AsiaPacific 3, no.
1 (1996): 44.

. Entrophy; Chines Artists, Western Art Institutions, A New Internationalism.
In Global Visions: Towards a New Internationalism in the Visual Arts, ed. Jean
322
Fisher, 79-88. London: Kala Press in association with the Institute of International
Visual Arts, 1994.

. Le Plaisir du Texte: Zen and the Art of Contemporary China. Flash Art
(International Edition), vol. 26 no. 173 (Nov-Dec 1993): 64-65.

. Micro-Urbanism: Dialogue between Hou and Chang. Chinese-art.com

. On the Mid-Ground, ed. Yu Hsiao-hwei. Hongkong: Timezone 8 Limited,
2002.

Hou, Hanru. The City and the Artists. Flash Art (International Edition) vol. 34 no. 223
(Mar- Apr 2002): 92-96.

. The Political Become Personal: Chinese Artists Are Moving beyond Diatribe
and Mao Tableaux to Address New Social Realities with courage and
inventiveness. Time International, vol. 156 iss. 16 (Oct 2000): 83.

. Time for Alternatives. Feb 25, 2003 (email communication).
<http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0302/msg00130.html> (Mar 10,
2003).

. Towards an Un-Unofficial Art: De-Ideologicalisation of Chinas
Contemporary Art in the 1990s. Third Text, no. 34 (Spring 1996): 37-52.

Huangfu, Binghui. In and Out. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

Huang, Du. Existence of Art and Cultural Identity: The Position and Changes of Chinese
Contemporary Art. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available),
vol. 3 iss. 2, 2000.

. Post-Material: Our Idea and the Pale of Reality. Chinese-art.com (Electronic

. The Acoustical Eye: Interpretation of the Video Installation Context of
Chinese Artists. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 3
iss. 2, 2000.

. Xin Jiaobu [New Steps]. Jiangsu Huakan [Jiangsu Art Monthly] (Apr 1995):
3-14.

. Zai Zi JianJiao: Guanyu Haiwai Zhongguo Yishujia De Chuangzuo Dong
Yin [in between: about the motivation of overseas Chinese artists].
<http://arts.tom.com/1004/2003/12/26-4316.html> (Accessed Dec 15, 2004).
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Jia, Fangzhou. Shengcun Yu Tizhi Zhiwai de Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu [Chinese
Contemporary Art that Exists outside of the System]. Journal of Nanjing Arts
Institute, iss. 1 (2000): 15-18.

, ed. Era of Criticism: Selected Works of Chinese Art Critics in the End of 20
th

Century, Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House, 2003.

Jin, Qiu. Zhongguo Dandai Yishu De Guojihua Zhuangtai [the internationalization
status of Chinese contemporary art]. Mar 28, 2003.
<http://arts.tom.com/Archive/1004/2003/3/28-61513.html> (Accessed Dec 12,
2005).

Jose, Nicholas. "Next Wave Art: The First Major Exhibition of Post-Tiananmen Vanguard
Chinese Art Seen Outside the Mainland." New Asia Review (Summer. 1994):
18-24.

Kaplan, Janet A. On Translation, Art Journal, vol. 58 no. 3 (Autumn, 1999): 3.

Karetzky, Patricia. Art and Political Expression in China at the End of the 20th Century:
Art of the 90s. Oriental Art, vol. 47 no. 1 (2001): 54-62.

Kazakina, Katya. Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun Lead Sotheby's Asian Art Sale,
Bloomberg News, Mar 22, 2007. <M:\Chinese Art Market\Kazakina, Katya.
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May 3, 2007).

Kimmelman, Michael. Party Revisionism. The New York Times (May 20, 2004): 40-41.

Kunitz, Daniel. Chinas New Revolution. Art & Antiques, vol. 21 (Nov 1998): 82-86.

Lago, Francesca Dal. Images, Words and Violence: Cultural Revolutionary Influences
on Chinese Avant-Garde Art. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

. Of Site and Space: The Virtual Reality of Chinese Contemporary Art.

. Personal Mao: Reshaping an Icon in Contemporary Chinese Art. Art Journal,
vol. 58 iss. 2 (1999): 46-59.

. Space and Public: Site Specificity in Beijing. Art Journal, vol. 59 iss. 1
(Spring 2000): 74-87.

Laing, Ellen Johnston. An Index to Reproductions of Paintings by Twentieth-Century
Chinese Artists. Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan,
1998.
324
Lee, Darlene. A Bid for Empowerment: Feminist Artists in Beijing. N. Paradoxa, vol.
11 (2003): 19-29.

Leigh, Bobbie. Asian Exports: Contemporary Chinese Artists Find A Western
Audience. Art & Antiques, vol. 25 no. 2 (Feb 2002): 44-47.

Leng, Lin. Its Me!. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 2
iss. 1, 1999.

. Nine Chinese Artists. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer
available), vol. 1, iss. 5, 1998.

. Random Thoughts on Chinese Contemporary Art. ArtChina, vol. 3 no. 2
(2004): 24-27.

Li, Qun. Dui Xin Chao Meishu Zhi Wo Jian [My Opinion towards the New Wave Art].
Wenyibao [Art and Literature Newspaper], Mar 30, 1991.

Li, Xianting. Dangdai Yishu zhong de Sheying Meijie Re [The Passion of Photographic
Media among Contemporary Art]. In The Chinese Culture Map of 21
st
Century,
wolume 1, eds. Zu Dake & Zhang Hong, 110-115. Guangxi Teachers University
Press, 2003.

. Import & Exit. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available),
vol. 3 iss. 1, 2000.

. Zhongyao de Bushi Yishu [What Is Important Is Not Art]. Jianshu Fine Arts

Li, Xiaoshan. Women Miandui Shenmo [What Are We Facing], Hunan Fine Arts

Li, Xu. Chinese Contemporary Art That Has Transcended Identity Limits. ArtChina,
vol. 3 no. 2 (2004): 30-31.

Lin, Xiaoping. Those Parodic Images: A Glimpse of Contemporary Chinese Art.
Leonardo, vol. 30 iss. 2 (1997): 113-122.

Liu, Gang & Liu Xiaoqiong, eds. Yishu Shichang [Art Market]. Jianxi Fine Arts

Liu, Xiaochun. Cong Dixia Zouxiang Guowai de Zhuangtai yinggai
gaibianShanghai shuangnianzhan de Jiazhi [The Situation of Underground
Going International Should Be Changedthe Value of Shanghai Biennale].
November 26, 2000.
<http://arts.tom.com/look1/ysxw/cul_ytxw_zlzz_wokanwoshuo1_10.htm>
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(Accessed March 10, 2006).

Lok, Susan pui san. Towards the Chinese British Isles, a Round Trip. Chinese-art.com

Lum, Ken. Interview with Hou Hanru. Yishu=Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art,
vol. 2 no. 2 (Summer 2003): 52-57.

Ma, Qinzhong. ZouXiang Shangye Wenhua de Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu [Towards
Commercial Culture: Chinese Contemporary Art]. Chengyan Art, no. 8, Oct 2002
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2003).

MacRitchie, Lynn. Report from Beijing: Precarious Paths on the Mainland. Art in
America, vol. 82, iss. 3 (Mar 1994): 51-57.

Mazurkewich, Karen. Chinese Art Excites Bidders From U.S., Europe. Wall Street
Journal, Nov 3, 2004, 4.

Napack, Jonathan. The Average Run of an Art Show Is a Few Hours: China: the Cutting
Edge. The Art Newspaper (International Edition), vol. 10 no. 97, Nov 1999, 28.

Ni, Tsai-chin. Globalization and Chinese Contemporary Art. Yishu=Journal of
Contemporary Chinese Art, vol. 2 no. 2 (Summer/Jun 2003): 99-104.

Page, Amy. Goedhuis Brings Chinese Contemporary Art to New York. Art & Auction,
vol. 23 no. 6 (2001): 149.

Pi, Daojian, ed. Yishu Xin Shijie 26 Wei Zhuming Pipingjia Tan Zhongguo Dangdai
Meishu de Zoushi [New Field of Vision in Art- 26 Famous Critics on the Trends
of Chinese Contemporary Art]. Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 2004.

Pi, Li. My Life, My Decision: The Political Nature of Chinese Contemporary Art.

. Xiang Ba Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu Chongxin La Huilai [Thinking of
Pulling Back Chinese Contemporary Art]. Jingji Guancha Bao [The Economic
Observer Observation], Dec 30, 2002.

Platt, Susan. New Art in China, Post-1989. Art Papers, vol. 22 no. 2 (Mar/Apr 1998):
37.

. Vancouver. Art Papers, vol. 26 no. 1 (Jan/Feb 2002): 56.

Qiu, Zhijie. Zhongyao de Shi Xianchang [The Scene Is Most Important]. Chinese
Peoples University Press, 2003.
326
Roberts, Claire. Towards Self-Reliance? A Selective View of Contemporary Chinese
Art. In Modernination of the Chinese Past, eds. Mabel Lee and A. D.
Syrokomla-Stefanowska. Broadway, NSW, Australia: Wild Peony; Honolulu,
Hawaii: (Distributed by) University of Hawaii Press, 1993.

Robertson, Iain. A Tour of the Shanghai and Beijing Galleries. The Art Newspaper, vol.
10 no. 97, Nov 1999, 31.

. Chinese Contemporary Art: a Very Exclusive Commodity. The Art
Newspaper, vol. 8 no. 76, Dec 1997, 52.

. Out of China. The Art Newspaper, vol. 5 no. 42, Nov 1994, 32.

Rockwell, John. The Demise of the Peony Pavilion. Orientations, vol. 29 no. 8 (1998) :
102.

Ruas, Charles. Chinas Other Cultural Revolution. Art in America, vol. 86 iss. 9 (Sep
1998): 112-117..

. New art from China: Goedhuis Contemporary. ARTnews, vol. 101 no. 4
(Apr 2002): 136.

Ryor, Kathleen M. Transformations. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

Sausset, Damien. L'art chinois d'aujourd'hui. Connaissance des Arts, no. 598 (Oct
2002): 24.

Shen, Kuiyi. Modernist Movements in Pre-War China. Paper for symposium on Urban
Cultural Institutions in Early Twentieth Century China.
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2004).

Simons, Craig. Amid Ghosts of the Red Guard, The Avant-garde Now Blooms. The
New York Times (Late Edition, East Coast), Sep 1, 2004, 3.

Smith, Karen. Breaking the Silence: New Art from China. Art Monthly, no. 186 (May
1995): 24-25.

. Engaging Traditions. Art on Paper, vol. 7 no. 1 (Sep/Oct 2002): 62-67.

Solomon, Andrew. This Diverse Realm, This Melting Pot, This China?. The New York
Times, Dec 19, 1993, 30.

. The Howl that Could Free China, New York Times Magazine, Dec 19, 1993.

Thea, Carolee. The Extreme Situation Is Beautiful: An Interview with Hou Hanru.
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Sculpture, vol. 18 no. 9 (Nov 1999): 30-37.

Tan, KokMeng. Beyond Critical Regionalism. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no

Tao, Margaret. Gallery News: New York. Orientations, vol. 32 no. 6 (2001): 72-79.

. Gallery News. Orientations, vol. 33 no. 7 (2002): 108-113.

Tasch, Stephanie. Art for Sale. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer

Tong, Dian. China! New Art and Artists. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2005.
Villeneuve, Paquerette. De la Chine Contemporaine a L'avant-garde Asiatique. Vie des
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Vine, Richard. Post-Mao Artists in New York. Art in America, vol. 86 iss. 9 (Sep 1998):
117.

. The Academy Strikes Back. Art in America, vol. 92 iss. 6 (Jun/Jul 2004):
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. Sixty Ways of Looking at China. Art in America, vol. 92 iss. 6 (Jun/Jul
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Vogel, Carol. Feng Shui in Venice? China Lands at Biennale. The New York Times, Jun 11,
2005.

. Sothebys Bets on a Windfall for Todays Chinese Art. The New York Times,
Mar 29, 2006.

. China Celebrates the Year of the Art Market, The New York Times, Dec 24,
2006.

Wang, Chunli. Shidai de Maibo, Renmin de Yishu [The Eras Pulse, the Peoples Art].
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Wang, Dan. Canceled: The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art. New Art Examiner,
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Wang, Lin. Conceptual Art and the China Experience. Chinese-art.com (Electronic

. Conceptual Art in Chinas Southwest Region. Chinese-art.com (Electronic
328
Wang, Nanming. How to Deal with Rights-a Criticism of the Violent Trend in Chinese
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vol. 4 iss. 2, 2001.

Wang, Yong. Zuoyou 21 Shiji Zhongguo Meishu Zouxiang de Sanzhong Wenhua Taidu
[Three Cultural Attitudes that Decide the Trends of Chinese Art of the 21
st

Century]. Wenyi Bao [Newspaper of Literature and Art], Feb 12, 2004.

Wu, Hung. Contesting Global Local: Chinese Experimental Art in the 1990s.
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. To Taste the Food as Arts A Conversation between Zhang Zhaohui and Wu
Hung. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no longer available), vol. 3 iss. 1,
2000.

Wu, Liang. Xingwei Yishu shi Yizhong Qiangpozheng [Performance Art Is a Kind of
Coercivol. e Symptom]. In the Chinese Culture Map of 21
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Century, wolume 1,
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Xu, Wang. China: From Badge to Coke. AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, vol. 17 no.
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Yang, Chengyin. Xin Chao Meishu Lun Gang [On New Wave Art]. Wenyibao [Art
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Yang, Wei. Getting Close to the Times: A Look at Chinese Contemporary Art after the
Move from the Region of Yuan Ming Yuan to Song Zhuang. Chinese-art.com

Yang, Xiaoyan, Gaobie Jihui ZhuyiCong Jige Yishu Gean Kan Jiushi Niandai
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Yang, Zhong. Yi Yishu de Mingyi: Zhongguo Qianwei Yishu de Qiongtumolu [In the
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Yi, Ying. First Annual Chinese Contemporary Art Award: a New Perspective.

. Xiandai Zhuyi Zhihou yu Zhongguo Xiandai Yishu [Post-Modernism and
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. Yishu de Zhenshi yu Zhengzhi de Shenhua: Zhengzhi Popu de Yuanqi yu
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329
and Evolvement]. San Lian Sheng Huo Weekly, iss. 4, 1995.

. Zhongguo Shehui Biange yu Zhongguo Xiandai Yishu [The Change of
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. Yi, Ying. 25 Years Distortion-The Expressionism in China. Arts Criticism
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Yin, Jinan. Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu de Yixing Di [The Abnormity of Chinese
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Zhang, Zhaohui. Globalization, Urbanization, and New Chinese Art. Yishu=Journal of
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Zhu, Qi. Do Westerners Really Understand Chinese Avant-garde Art? Chinese-art.com

. Putting On and Taking Off: How the Mao Suit Became Art. Chinese-art.com

. Why Has Art Become So Pretty Of Late?.-An Analysis of Chinese
Avant-garde Art in the Late Nineties. Chinese-art.com (Electronic Journal, no

. Xin Yishushi yu Shijue Xushi [New Art History and Visual Narrative], Hunan
Fine Arts Publishing House, 2003.

Zhong, Yun. Xishan Huiyi de Zhuchizhe Jianchi Senmo Yishu Fangxian? [What Kind
of Artistic Direction Is Held by the Host of the Xishan Meeting?]. Zhongguo
Wenhua Bao [Chinese Cultural Newspaper], Sep 15, 1991.

5. Articles, Books, and Theoretical texts Focusing on Chinese Art before 1989

Andrews, Julia Frances. Painters and Politics in the People's Republic of China,
1949-1979. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.

Andrews, Julia F. and Gao Minglu. The Avant Gardes Challenge to Official Art. In
Urban Spaces in Contemporary China, eds. D. Davis et al, 221-278. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Andrews, Julia Frances and Kuiyi Shen, eds. A Century in Crisis: Modernity and
Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China. New York: Guggenheim
Museum: Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, 1998.

330
Barme, Geremie. Arrire-Pense on an Avant-Garde: The Stars in Retrospect. In The
Stars: 10 Years, ed. Janny Hui Ching-shuen, 76-82. Hong Kong: Hanart Gallery,
1989.

Cai, Yuanpei. Yi Meiyu Dai Zongjiao Shuo [Placing Religion with Aesthetic
Education]. Public lecture in 1917. This lecture was reprinted in Meiyu Lunji (Art
Education), Changsha: Hunan Educational Press, 1987.

Chang, Arnold. Painting in the People's Republic of China: the Politics of Style. Boulder,
Colo.: Westview Press, 1980.

Clark, John. Postmodernism and Recent Expressionist Chinese Oil Painting. Asian
Studies Review, vol. 15 no. 2 (Nov 1991): 104-129.

. Realism in Revolutionary Chinese Painting. Journal of Oriental Society of
Australia (Jul 1991): 1-30.

Cohen, Joan Lebold. The New Chinese Painting, 1949-1986. New York: H.N. Abrams,
1987.

Galikowski, Maria. Art and Politics in China, 1949-1984. Hong Kong: Chinese University
Press, 1998.

Croizier, Ralph. The Avant-garde and the Democracy Movement: Reflections on Late
Communism in the USSR and China. Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 51 no. 3 (1999):
483-513.

Fong, Wen C.. Why Chinese Painting is History. The Art Bulletin, vol. 85 no. 2 (Jun
2003): 258-280.

Holg, Garrett. China Perspective. New Art Examiner, vol. 13 (Jun 1986): 43-44.

Joya, Jose. A Hundred Flowers Blossoming: Contemporary Art in China. Impact, vol.
14 no. 3 (Mar 1979): 90-94.

Kilian, Michael. Chinese Art Rides Latest Wave of Interest in Asian Culture. Chicago
Tribune, Jul 18, 1997, 1.

Knight, Christopher. Groping Toward the Significant; In an Uneven Survey of New East
Asian Art, What Stands out Is the Full-throttle Transformation of China. Los
Angeles Times, Dec 12, 2004, 51.

Laing, Ellen Johnston. The Winking Owl: Art in the People's Republic of China. Berkeley:
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. Wenhua Kuozhang yu Wenhua zhuquan: dui zhuquan guannian de tiaozhan
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. Ethics after Idealism: Theory-Culture-Ethnicity-Reading.
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. The Chinese Way: Chinas Position in International Relations. Oslo,
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4. Books, and Theoretical Texts on Diaspora and Globalization

Ang, Ien. To Be or Not to Be Chinese: Diaspora, Culture, and Postmodern Ethnicity.
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. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization.
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Araeen, Rasheed. A New Beginning: Beyond Postcolonial Cultural Theory and Identity
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Chow, Rey. Writing Diaspora: Tactics of Intervention in Contemporary Cultural Studies.
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. Routes: Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century. Cambridge,
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. Traveling Cultures. In Culture Studies, eds. Lawrence Grossberg, Cay
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. The End of the History of Art, trans. Christopher S. Wood. Chicago:
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. Encounters and Reflections: Art in the Historical Present. New York:
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. Philosophizing Art. University of California, 1999.

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. Brazil Pakistan India: Contemporary Artists/Historical Contexts. Art Papers,
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Puri, Madhu. At Asian Arts Cutting Edge. Art & Auction, vol. 24 no. 11 (2002): 135.

Ramrez, Mari Carmen & Theresa Papanikolas. Collecting Latin American Art for the 21
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6. Articles, Books, and Theoretical Texts on Contemporary Cultural Studies in
General

Bloom, Lisa, ed. With Other Eyes: Looking at Race and Gender in Visual Culture.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1999.

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2003.

Dirlik, Arif. The Postcolonial Aura: Third World Criticism in the Age of Global
Capitalism. Critical Inquiry, vol. 20 no. 2 (Winter 1994): 328-356.

Foster, Hal, ed. The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture. Port Townsend,
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Garca Canclini, Nstor. Remaking Passports: Visual Thought in the Debate of
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Harootunian, Harry. Historys Disquiet: Modernity, Cultural Practice, and the Question
of Everyday Life. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

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Lewis, Richard D. The Cultural Imperative: Global Trends in the 21st Century. Yarmouth,
Me.: Intercultural Press, 2003.

Markonish, Denise. Defining a New Cultural Language. Art New England, vol. 21 iss.
3 (2000): 24-25.

Miyoshi, Masao. A Borderless World? From Colonialism to Transnationalism and the
Decline of the Nation-State. Critical Inquiry, vol. 19 no. 4 (Summer 1993):
725-751.

Vattimo, Gianni. The End of Modernity: Nihilism and Hermeneutics in Post-Modern
Culture. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988.

7. Dissertations and Master Theses

Gao, Minglu. The '85 Movement: Avant-garde Art in the Post-Mao Era. Harvard
University, 2000.

Kendzulak, Susan. Borrowing the Enemy's Arrows: Strategies of Contemporary Chinese
Conceptual Artists (Cai Guo Qiang, Huang Yong Ping, Xu Bing). California State
University, 2000.

Kim, Jina. Invitation to the Other: the Reframing of American Art and National
Identity and the 1993 Whitney Biennial in New York and Seoul. State University of
New York at Binghamton, 2004.

Li, I-Hao. Modernism and Post-Modernism in Contemporary Chinese Art. California
State University, 1996.

Mao, Jianxiong. A Study about the "Cultural Orientation" in Chinese Avant-garde Art.
West Virginia University, 2000.

Welsh, Eduardo. Negotiating Culture: The Discourse of Art and the Position of the Artist
in 1980s China. University of London, 1999.

Yang, Yingshi. Duli Cezhanren zai Dangdai Zhongguo Dalu Yishu Zhanlan Tizhi zhong
de Yiyi [Independent Curators in Art Exhibition Institution in Mainland China].
Beijing University, 2003.

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