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5. China's Avant-Garde Art: Differences in the Family

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China's New Cultural Scene
This chapter is in the book China's New Cultural Scene
5 China's Avant-Garde Art Differences in the Family One sees the wagon dragged back, The oxen halted, A man's hair and nose cut off. Not a good beginning, but a good end. Hexagram 38, "Opposition," Yijirzg The meaning of avant-garde in China Since the late 1980s, China has produced what is termed "avant-garde art" 'qianwei yishu.' It was so called after the 1989 Beijing ChinajAvant-Garde exhibition, showing 297 works by 186 artists from all over China. This exhibition was the first and the last large-scale exhibition of its kind in China. This art has more detractors than admirers, and they come from official sources. But there are also critics from within who deny its existence. Indeed, many Chinese critics and artists claim there is no such thing as an avant-garde in China. For example, the concep-tual artist and art promoter Ai Weiwei says, "I don't believe there is an avant-garde in China. Well, the real meaning of an avant-garde move-ment doesn't exist because there is almost no contextual background for it. Any kind of idea, if it has a new, or individual perspective, can
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

5 China's Avant-Garde Art Differences in the Family One sees the wagon dragged back, The oxen halted, A man's hair and nose cut off. Not a good beginning, but a good end. Hexagram 38, "Opposition," Yijirzg The meaning of avant-garde in China Since the late 1980s, China has produced what is termed "avant-garde art" 'qianwei yishu.' It was so called after the 1989 Beijing ChinajAvant-Garde exhibition, showing 297 works by 186 artists from all over China. This exhibition was the first and the last large-scale exhibition of its kind in China. This art has more detractors than admirers, and they come from official sources. But there are also critics from within who deny its existence. Indeed, many Chinese critics and artists claim there is no such thing as an avant-garde in China. For example, the concep-tual artist and art promoter Ai Weiwei says, "I don't believe there is an avant-garde in China. Well, the real meaning of an avant-garde move-ment doesn't exist because there is almost no contextual background for it. Any kind of idea, if it has a new, or individual perspective, can
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. 1. Literary Experiments: Six Files 7
  6. 2. Away from Literature I: Words Turned On 49
  7. 3. Away from Literature II: Words Acted Out 72
  8. 4. Colorful Folk in the Landscape: Fifth Generation Filmmakers and Roots Searchers 91
  9. 5. China's Avant-Garde Art: Differences in the Family 126
  10. 6. Rock Music from Mao to Nirvana: The West Is the Best 154
  11. Conclusion: A World Wide Web of Words 182
  12. Glossary of Chinese Terms 195
  13. Notes 213
  14. Index 247
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822396314-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. 1. Literary Experiments: Six Files 7
  6. 2. Away from Literature I: Words Turned On 49
  7. 3. Away from Literature II: Words Acted Out 72
  8. 4. Colorful Folk in the Landscape: Fifth Generation Filmmakers and Roots Searchers 91
  9. 5. China's Avant-Garde Art: Differences in the Family 126
  10. 6. Rock Music from Mao to Nirvana: The West Is the Best 154
  11. Conclusion: A World Wide Web of Words 182
  12. Glossary of Chinese Terms 195
  13. Notes 213
  14. Index 247
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