1993 APT1 Conference : Identity, tradition and change

The in fluence of politics on art; its a ttra c tio n and domination, is a fundamental c h a r a c te r is tic of 20 th century Chinese a rt. The m an ifesta tion of this influence has changed ove r tim e with a rtis ts sometimes actively and consciously engaging with po litics and a t o th e r times a t being forced and 'co n s c rip te d 1by po litics. Having re c a lled th e experience of having lived through a tu rbu len t and d ifficu lt h isto rica l period , such as the Cultural Revolution, a rtis ts a re beginning to p lace an emphasis an a r tis tic p rac tice . Yet th e multifarious problems inheren t in con tem po rary Chinese society continue to disturb. A rtis ts canno t divorce them selves from socie ty and y e t it is d ifficu lt fo r them to c learly and forcefu lly express th e ir own opinions. As a re su lt a rtis tic sty les such as 'ir r e v e r e n t rea lism ' have em erged in which a rtis ts are employing th e realism taugh t which has been taugh t in a r t academ ies in a c ritica l manner, for example work by Fang Lijun and Wang Jingsong and 'po litica l pop1 in which a rtis ts have adopted a keen in te re s t in po litica l sub jec t m a tte r as expressed in these works by Song Yonghong, Ren Jian , Liu Wei, Liu Dahong, Zhang Peili and Wang Guangyi. Like the con temporary ink paintings th a t I showed you earlier, these works may also be regarded as some of the more successfu l experiments in contemporary Chinese a rt. 'P o litic a l pop1 is th e product of a society th a t is free r and more open to outside influence than it was previously, but which s till experiences stringen t control. Of course such a product has a very complex social and h istorica l con tex t. It must be acknowledged th a t a more open environment has encouraged individuals to re ­ consider th e ir own history and life experience. In re c en t years 'M ao -fev e r1has re - emerged. This is evidenced by the pro liferation of journals, songs and paintings which fe a tu re Mao Zedong as the primary subject. Whilst th e a rtis ts critique of Mao is c lea rly appa ren t in the ir works one. cannot dismiss m a rk e t-p lace opportunism in re la tion to th e appearance of political pop and the imagery of Mao Zedong as the prim ary sub jec t. Whilst th e a rtis ts critique of Mao, is c learly apparen t in these works, one canno t dismiss m a rk e t-p la c e opportunism in re la tion to th e appearance of 'p o litic a l pop1 and th e im agery of Mao Zedong. Chinese socie ty is obsessed w ith models or guides which a re th ru s t forward to be emulated and followed. One canno t help bu t consider the focussed in te re s t of western a r t critics and historians on th is artwork in this con tex t. Ju s t think , if th e fac to rs which d ic ta te openness and con tro l in China disappear and disturb th e cu rren t curiously balanced equilibrium, a s ty le such as 'p o litic a lp o p ' will no t be ab le to ex ist, or people will lose in te re s t in it as a sub jec t. It would become ano ther s ty le th a t en tered into the history of con temporary Chinese a rt. Conversely, if th e Chinese economy continues to open up and expand and if a policy o f con stric tion and control is forced upon the a rts , then 'p o litic a lp o p ' and irrev e ren t rea lism will have an even riche r field in which to develop. 'P o litic a l pop' like much of the o ther a r t th a t I have re fe rre d to today, rep resen ts a tiny f ra c tio n of th e to ta l a rtis tic output in China. There is a saying "looking a t a leopard through a bamboo tube, you can only see one spot"