Inside Out: New Chinese Art

Average Customer Rating: Find Out More Info Manufacturer: University of California Press
Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 709.5107479461 EAN: 9780520217485 ISBN: 0520217489 Label: University of California Press Manufacturer: University of California Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 204 Publication Date: 1998-11-15 Publisher: University of California Press Studio: University of California Press
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Editorial Reviews: The late twentieth century has been marked by momentous political, economic, and social change throughout the Chinese world. Deeply rooted cultural assumptions and ancient visual traditions have been challenged by rapid modernization and conflicting global, ethnic, and local identities. Inside/Out: New Chinese Art was the first major international exhibition to explore the impact of these challenges on artists in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and those of the 1980s Diaspora. The multifaceted exhibition and accompanying catalog encompass an extensive range of artistic forms, including installation, video, and performance art as well as more traditional media such as oils and ink. The art is grouped according to themes, some specific to regions and others that reflect widespread and overlapping trends. With the inclusion of ambiguous territories like Hong Kong and Taiwan, the exhibition opens up a perspective of modern Chinese art from the "outside" as well as a looking-out from the "inside." The catalog features essays by eminent Chinese art scholars and curators along with leading curators and historians of Western art. Together they promote Chinese art's rightful place in the contemporary global cultural arena and at the same time acknowledge the influence of its rich heritage. The diversity and freshness of the exhibition reflects the explosion of creativity among Chinese artists during the past decade. The ironic social commentary of Li Shan's The Rouge Series, no. 24, the "apartment art" of artists reacting against the traditional patronage of large museums and corporations, and Wang Jin's sly humor in portraying consumer fetishes in today's China are a few examples of the spirited artistry awaiting the viewers of Inside/Out.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: new = mid-eighties onward Comment: This catalog presents a wide range of 'new' Chinese art (1985 onward). Some of it may be familiar to readers only casually acquainted with Chinese art, but most of it will not. In fact, even gallery goats are likely to find much new material. They have included the hanging scrolls (Zoon) of Huang Chih-Yang, the rouged, flower biting comrade by Li Shan, Fang Lijun's rage against conformity (the Chinese version of Munch's Howl), and Zhang Yu's elegant meditation. They have also selected pieces that look like rock album covers from the sixties, several more that express current turbulant feelings about Mao and his legacy, and many others that show this developing nation is growing up quickly...perhaps too quickly for its own psychic good. There are several essays to provide background and cultural context, but frankly, they're a bit lengthy and repetitive. This collection is certainly worth a look, but for every piece likely to raise an eyebrow and draw you in, there will be two that are quite forgettable. More Reviews