The Western avant-garde art has long been solidified into history, after World War II until 1970s, the contemporary arts of Europe and the United States continued to the shock of the outbreak, but also passed away. 80s and 90s so far, their contemporary art is more and more clean, good-looking, smart, diverse, but it is really lack of "wild", Chinese contemporary art after late so it is strong and eye-catching, so exciting, like China’s economy wonder.
In 9th April, Sotheby's Hongkong 2008 Spring Auction, Liu Xiao-dong’s eighteen link painting 《War sketching: new eighteen Arhats》 auctioned HK $61 million 927 thousand and 500, become the second high price of Chinese contemporary art rank only second to Cai Guo-qiang’s 《APEC landscape fireworks show fourteen drafts》.
A Argentina collector has the largest number of Chinese contemporary image works. She said, do not mistakenly believe that Asian art is static, old things, they are reflecting the changing times of the artists. Collectors are willing to spend a million pounds on those items that “carry historical fragments”.
All though the way from the middle of 80s, Chinese contemporary artists from imitating the west, to invent a set of personal symbol, and then the respective symbols turn into a huge glory and huge profits. They tested dazzling international style and means, what creativity can stimulate in the local and how fresh or bizarre products; Try out the business profits and collector’s moneybag, how amazing actually? Maybe the important is, in such a crowd land, some of them are finally able to stretch their personalities to the distance.
"Still in the opposition," the artist Chen Dan-qing and our reporters explored this topic.
Western artists can’t get anything higher then this exhibition.
People weekly: Recently, a New York magazine in an article about 5 contemporary Chinese artists said, Zhang Xiao-gang is early Picasso, Magritte and Pixar (after Disney's most influential animation company) mixture; Ai Wei-wei Duchamp, Geoff· Koons (American avant-garde artists) and Rock band "sexy boy" mixture, etc., although there are funny ingredients, but can inspire us to think about the origin of Chinese contemporary art: how does it come?
Chen Dan-qing: this comment is quite interesting. The problem is, for example, China has more than 30 decent art magazines at least, each listed, at least 300 articles, most of them talk about American art, then there was an American who quoted one of them, say to the American people: look, the Chinese people like this to evaluate the American art! – do you feel accurate?
Zhang Xiao-gang is diluted effect from Magritte indeed, but can be detached from Picasso; Ai Weiwei get from Andy warhol more than Duchamp, he is more brilliant than Jeff· Koons. The above is just my personal bias, insignificant.
The "blood" of several generations Chinese oil painters, or "blood transfusion", Of course, all from the west, some from Japan —— Japan also from the West —— I want to immediately correct: It is not really "blood", but a copy of Western art.
People Weekly: Phillips Christopher, curator of the New York international photography center, first saw Chinese contemporary artists and their works in Beijing in 1999, feel "a kind of wild nature, and full of power; shocked by the the works of imagination and originality ", he realized that the event belongs to a century in the history of art will appear one or two times "blowout". Do you think this judgment is exaggerated, or just right?
Chen Danqing: Philips said is right. "Ambition", "power", "imagination" is the impression that excellent Chinese contemporary art gave outsiders indeed. But there is a premise: the Western avant-garde art has long been solidified as history, after World War II until 1970s, Europe and the United States contemporary art continued to shock of the outbreak, but also passed away. 80s and 90s so far, their contemporary art is more and more clean, good-looking, smart, diverse, but it is really lack of "wild nature"", later Chinese contemporary art so it is strong and eye-catching, so exciting, like China economic miracle.
People weekly: you called Liu Xiao-dong and Fang Li-jun “hero” in the 《back set》.To be honest, those people today appear in Western collectors on the list, was the chance of being chosen by this age, or a kind of inevitable result of the personal characteristics?
Chen Danqing: only talk about the realistic figure painting, I don't know whether Liu Xiao-dong can find his opponent in the world from the same kind of artist in the world, he is far beyond the Freud and Eric·fisher. Partly because of Xiao dong’s powerful traits", partly because the world's realistic figure painting has already fallen.
People Weekly: this time back to New York, have you seen some Chinese contemporary art exhibition?
Chen Danqing: during March, New York's Museum of Contemporary Art held a large retrospective exhibition for Cai Guo-qiang, the number of visitors to the museum only since the German Boyce exhibition. At the same time, New York's top galleries Mary Boone City Gallery held Liu Xiao-dong branch exhibition, the next city gallery for Ai Weiwei's solo exhibition——Western artists can't get anything higher than this exhibition. I think these three comrades are exactly the most exciting contemporary Chinese artists.
People weekly: what a coincidence, Cai and Liu two people are sitting on the first two spot of China contemporary art auction record. What are the effects on artists of these astronomical figures?
Chen Dan-qing: I contact with Xiao dong, they don't talk about money, at the same time being in a state of vigorous. I can't get into their stomachs, but the market is good, in any case will increase confidence, but for the real stronger, no market still inspire confidence, self confidence is an intrinsic endowment, it will be accompanied by anxiety, but not for the outside world. Difficult is the debut of the new, the art market looks too much like gambling and dreams, but few people are willing to thinking the behind of a successful artist is how lonely and hard work.
Chinese artists only talk about price not talk about art?
People weekly: Mr. Phillips has a later story, he said:” The world has discovered the Chinese contemporary art, but it's changing fast. It's incredible. Some artists, they were almost in poverty when I saw them in 1999, but now they are extremely rich, often employ a large number of assistants to help complete the work. However, the sweep of money has only driven the 'price' of the work, but it doesn't make Chinese contemporary art better or more interesting, frustrating is that now I'm going to visit the artist, rarely heard about the conversation of art, it is usually the result of a recent auction, or who and whose work has been bought by the millions of collectors Saatchi or not (In 2006, Saatchi spent 680 thousand pounds to bought Zhang Xiao-gang’s 《Big family》).” How do you feel about this?
Chen Dan-qing: no matter familiar or not, I get to know about 20 American artists, includes immigrants from Europe, Japan and the Middle East, almost all have the gallery. No matter what occasion, atmosphere, after their introduction, the topic immediately into the art, never ask each other or talk about price, not to talk about the auction market. Media reports on the auction has 100 year history, has long been the public familiar daily news, so the artist in a purely capitalist society is very clear about the market, but not keen to talk about money. They are about three group of people, three kinds of topics: A category is a broad sense of the artist, whether poor, rich, famous, no famous, just talk about literature and art, or politics and sex; one is the gallery industry, talk about market, but the tone never stirred up, just calm the exchange of information; Another category is the auction house, shrewd and sharp, highly professional to talk about business, I do not understand.
In my few humble, above experience is likely to be one-sided. Stock, auction, the topic of a handful of people in the United States, China public streets and lanes talk about the stock, Chinese artists talk about the price and the auction, the people will make do not understand. Except young artists, I have not encountered idiot only talk about the art. In order not to be silly, I also learn to drag in all sorts of irrelevant matters, despite years of friends, and I do not go along with art circles.
This world is crazy: two groups of goat, from morning to night to talk about women, or not talk about women at all.
People weekly: there are some collectors think that some contemporary Chinese artist’s work was undervalued. Do you think after 50 years ago, will be ratified a few Chinese Duchamp or Andy Warhol?
Chen Dan-qing: if anyone is buried, it is a romantic story. Now the story is enough to break the glasses, but not romantic. Big owe justice is to the older generation. The painter of the Republic of China, the Republic first generation artists, many famous are still not in the list of the market. The west is in addition to the generation of van·gogh and Cezanne, since then almost no grievances over the true genius.
Contemporary art is almost do everything, but not free.
People weekly: according to statistics of the Saatchi Gallery, Chinese existing more than twenty thousand artists, every year at least 10 thousand students graduated from art academy. But contemporary art galleries in Beijing and Shanghai add up to less than 200. If you just graduated, what is the state of mind?
Chen Dan-qing: growth in the number of China art College is growing faster than art gallery. If the national various provinces and cities art students of non humanities university to count in, then mark off their design practical art students, every year, more than 10 thousand graduates of pure art, right? My students are looking for jobs in forestry, politics and law, agricultural colleges and Universities under the Academy of Fine Arts, and so on. I don't know which country in the world has so many art schools. If I graduated now, my mind just like a wild dog. Although I do not know there is no dog "mentality", but I remember their eyes.
See from the success rate，the painters of 1/1000 can sell paintings, to fend for themselves, is thankfully. At present, there are not too many opportunities for young artists in China, also very many, of course, these cases are not very bad. In short, an ambiguous successful game suddenly come, but a knockout mechanism has not yet appeared in the normal way. Far more than art, too many ambiguous industries and individuals benefit from the recent dream market in Chinese, such as algae……On the probability of the population, the western artists are far more than Chinese, on the success probability of the artist, Chinese people seem to be higher than the western peer, do not forget, no country has such a huge college system and the official institutions have long suffered thousands of artists career flow", and will suffered for long time. On the tax to watch, the United States policy is favorable for the artists, because poor artists accounted for the vast majority, annual income is often less than the amount of tax.
People Weekly: Wu Hong used to mention the danger of "work", he said that now the young people worry, nothing to do and will be bigger works, this is very worrying. What do you think of this situation?
Chen Dan-qing: who wants to draw a big picture, please. the driving force of painting is physical, not mental. But whatever how big picture, can’t bigger than advertising, now computer printing advertising can be big enough to cover the entire skyscraper. Europe and the United States in 80s and 90s possibly making super large size, the reason is very simple, the modern gallery and Museum exhibition space are several times or even dozens of times for the past. Nearly more than 10 years, the big painting is not popular, I have seen small oil painting like postage stamp, paint very good.
I am the generation of big painting, at the age of 14 in a large factory painted leader portraits on six or seven meters or even ten meters big iron, chairman Mao’s eyebrow are one meter long. Chinese artists are now in high spirits, plus worry: Look at the same class or the next graduation buddy made a fortune, you are difficult to pretending to nothing had happened, even you are Bodhisattva reincarnation. Paint big picture, if you can not sell, soon you'll find no place to store these big, heavy, dusty wastes.
People weekly: in the eyes of the curator Feng Bo, Indeed there is a group of 80, 90 after contemporary art works are fresh, passionate, creative. In Your vision, do you have found some seed can start a prairie fire?
Chen Dan-qing: youth is not equal to the talent, but talent was encouraged by youth. Young crops come up, there are always have people full of wit. I hate the set of Art academy, it is the massacre of the youth. Take what bird degree! About 20 years old should be let go to the creation, in the history of fine arts, most of the classics were made by young people before and after the age of 25. As for start a prairie fire or not, I don’t know. Eaten in 70s is born after 80s, now after 90 come up, A mouth of hair, tender skin and tight meat. The tension between generations is trend in recent years, I often met 20 years old girl in the campus said: Oh, I am old.
On the whole, ninety-nine percent of every generation art students will become Lu Xun's so-called "a plate of green bean sprouts".
People Weekly: what do you think is the fatal problem of Chinese contemporary art? What kind of relationship between it and reality?
Chen Dan-qing: Chinese contemporary art is the reality of china. The real “contemporary art” has internal logic, self discipline, "Chinese contemporary art" is one of the texture of the national conditions. It has long been suppressed and distorted for long time, because it comes from national conditions and limited by national conditions; it is turbulent, rich vitality, trying to break the national conditions; It jumps strongly, but can’t see the trajectory clearly from the growth to the maturity; It is almost do everything, but not free; and it is full of desire for the Western paradigm that it pursued, but always in their own way to breed and spread; It is suddenly exaggerated, but it's better than never happened, and better than be regulated severely; It is far from the attack, but avoid chaos, capsized, otherwise it is bad...... these symptoms are not national conditions?
The reform and opening-up policy is the way out. Chinese contemporary art is cool and bully nowadays, a face of acne, is it a bit like the birth of a child born outside the family planning policy? What to do, It seems to be in the "Scientific Outlook on Development" to see if the "sustainable development", although a variety of essential conditions in fact very suspicious, but the "fatal" word it is heavy. Which areas are tied together with the national conditions, contemporary art is just one of them, now it is being attributed to the economic indicators, any conscious data are difficult to resist the dizziness, dizziness is not normal.