Following the Cultural Revolution, Chinese Contemporary Art

Officially, the Cultural Revolution was over in 1976. However, the Cultural Revolution's shadow has persisted for more than 30 years. Chinese painters continue to exhibit works that are more in-depth than those from earlier times. The shadow used to be thought of as a calamity and tragedy, but in modern times, it is a temptation that permeates the entire environment. The Cultural Revolution pop is a popular brand in China, dating back to the 1988 Sydney, Australia, Contemporary Art Museum show "Mao Goes Pop." Such was experienced during the transformation of the Chinese state from the poverty of Cold War to higher levels of commercialism that affects the entire population.

Thesis

Artists who have experienced Cultural Revolution gradually became the leading figures not only in China but also the global art world in the past three decades. They were attempting to use art as their weapons to break through the cage of Cultural Revolution, but many of them were also trapped in the bubble of Cultural Revolution for the rest of their life.

Artists in the Cultural Revolution have engaged in the exploitation of the Chinese political theme. The Cultural Revolution power game is now seeing a new perspective where it is replaced increasingly by the insidious money game. When a person does not engage in the process of self-questioning, art is then considered to be plagiarism; through the adoption of the art movements and language of the Europeans or Americans, Chinese art plays a role in Western hegemony.

In 1979, artists from China were highly exposed to the art history of the west, which resulted in the development of a turnover on the issue of artistic styles. Different historians of art expressed different opinions about what happened after such an exposure of the Chinese artists to the west.

Considering the history of western art, the current artistic work in China could have been in existence for approximately five years. For thousands of years, China had its unique artistic developments based on its independent logic that cannot be interchanged with a model from the west. Nevertheless, during the late 20th century, the Chinese people focused on using the western framework as a way of institutionalizing and defining the Chinese art.

Youth

In 1984, at the Sixth Annual All China Art Exhibition and after that, the youth started organizing a lot of art exhibitions throughout China. At first, the exhibitions were small scale, but they later became a large scale, which led to the New Wave movement in 1985. The background of this art movement is very complicated because it is a reflection of the relevant studies of both the western and Chinese cultures that have flourished in China since the beginning of the 20th century. It also emerged because of clashes between the western and Chinese culture. The primary aim of this movement was to bring Chinese art to the modern world and reconsider tradition because people had borrowed traits from the Western Culture since China had opened to the West.

The post-Cultural Revolution led to the trends such as “pseudo-naturalism,” “scar art,” “for art's sake” and “stream of life.” The exhibition provided an overview of a creative period in the modern history of the Chinese. Therefore, it psychologically prepared the Chinese painters for the new wave. Factors that boosted the movement include the self-examination of culture since China had opened to the outside world, and the dramatic twists and turns that took place in China’s history. Young artists like Huang Yongping and Wang Guangyi formed their own groups with other artists who believed in same ideologies. Within the groups, artists inspired and stimulated each other to create unconventional works. They attempted to use art to break the deified imagery that was left from the Cultural Revolution. For these young people, there was no rules nor right or wrong in making art. They all worshiped their own philosophies and followed their own styles. The 80s’, without a doubt, was the most vibrant and lively period for Chinese art. Also during that time, Xu Bing, Ai Weiwei and Zeng Fanzhi, these big names were actively participating in the movement, who all later became the leading figures of contemporary Chinese art.

The Peak

During the peak period, most of the Chinese artistry was all about the cultural revolutions. In the transition process, they captured the Chinese identity. Using the paintings that depicted the landscapes of the Chinese lands and terrains, most of the world was exposed to the Chinese arts. At this point in time, most of the artist made their way to global art scene by virtue of their art reflecting their motherland. Another thing that most of the paintings during this period reflected was the culture of the Chinese people. Since Chinese is known for its attractive and unique housing structures, many artists found a commonplace for representing this on their paintings. Many of the art forms were informed by the cultural sites and paintings that are to show the world what the Chinese world looked like.

The exhibition provided a prototype for operations of the market and steps to be followed The Chinese felt extorted by the western countries. Therefore, they held the 1991 Annual Exhibition of Chinese Oil Painting. The exhibition included some classical and realist artworks that helped to shape the future of Chinese oil painting exhibitions. From September 1991 to March 1993, Christie’s and Sotheby’s held several successful auctions for Chinese paintings. For instance, Christie’s sold a painting for HK$1,980,000 which led to a new record of auction for Chinese oil paintings.

In 1991, a journal that is solely based on the art market was published. However, the debate about commercializing art failed to attract attention from the international market. Instead, it had a strong effect on critics and artists living in China. During this period, some artists were also arrested especially in the 1990s because they had conflicting ideas with the government. In some places, the exhibitions were shut down by the police in a controversial manner. However, as time went by the government became less stiff on the rules that they had set. Additionally, visual art also developed during this era. Visual art included things like films, calligraphy and painting, the news media (as mentioned above, production of magazines commenced) and finally folk art which involved the use of things like paper kites and other stone carvings.

It can, therefore, be concluded that this is the period that the Chinese art was at its prime. It is the period where improvements were made to the traditional works of art and artists started selling their products. Additionally, it is during this time that the flexed its rules about Chinese art. Artists were also able to sell their works to the outside market. Finally, it is when both the contemporary and visual arts developed. Indeed, the Chinese art was at its peak.

Decline

This period started at the beginning of the 21st century. This is the time Chinese art started declining.. There are many reasons that have contributed to the decline in the art forms of the Chinese. One of the factors that was a huge source of the decline, was the inability of these contemporary artists to come up with new concepts of arts. Their inability to create art that would address some of the themes that are of the present days, played a big role in the Chinese artistry decline.

Artist like Ai Weiwei has been criticized for his form of art. He has so much dwelled in the past despite the fact that times have changed. Most of the critics asserts that it is due to the fact that his early childhood was characterized by the quest for identity during the Cultural Revolution. Apart from him, there is Xu Bing. Xu Bing is a renowned Chinese contemporary artist. Most of his works are informed by the motifs that there existed in the past. Motifs like communism ideologies are known to be some the major thematic concerns that informs most of his works. Due to the fact, the Xu Bing’s works have gone on the world market. Most of the Chinese populace feel that he is still stuck in the past that is evident all over his arts.





Another reason for the decline of Chinese art is the lack of creativity. Many recent Chinese artists’ creativity is too limited, which leads to the creation of something that has been produced over and over again. When a person is given the same thing continuously, he or she will get tired of it after a while no matter how good the item is. Consequently, the same thing applies to art. If people are shown the same type of art for years, they become bored. Therefore, Chinese artists need to grow more creative and come up with new forms of art which will make people more interested.

Another reason for the decline in Chinese art is the opening of China to other parts of the world. This has been greatly helped by the introduction of new technology. The opening up has led to the interaction of various people which leads to an exchange of culture and traditions. This will make some Chinese artistes forget about their form of art and learn a new one hence leading to the decline of the Chinese art. Artists like Ai Weiwei have been criticized for their form of art. This is because Ai Weiwei has incorporated western aspects of culture into his work. It has also been observed that of all Chinese artists Ai’s work is the most familiar with the western culture. Additionally, he is labeled as a lazy artist because of his creative methods since he mostly uses ready-made products in his art. Another artist who is influenced by the Western world is Zeng Fanzhi (See appendix for some of his paintings). It is reported that while at school, Zeng got inspired by modern western artists like Picasso and other pop artists. This made him different from his classmates who were inspired by the Chinese landscape (see appendix for landscape painting), and it was evidently seen when his classmates chose the then-trendy topics like landscapes and portraits, but he followed a different path- the western world.

Conclusion

The Chinese artists are caught up in a nostalgia that is gradually rendering them irrelevant. Most of the artists are still caught up reminiscing about their past mostly in the art forms that they have been doing. This has been the case for a good period of time, something that has made them unaware of the need for shifts in the art forms. The possible remedy out of the stupendous conundrum that there are now caught in is to have a critical look at the contemporary issues that surround the modern-day life. This should provide for them a good start for them to redefine their art forms to address some of the realities that are most familiar with what most of the people can relate to. If they can do that this, then they are bound to be playing the role of apt artistry, which is to reflect on the society and address the needs of the same society. The whole situation begs the question, what is the next move for the Chinese artists? Well, there is one intelligent answer to this, and that solely lies in the ability of them to fuse the old art with modern day motifs, and by so doing, they will remain relevant.





























Bibliography



Adhikari, Saugat. “Top 10 Marvelous Ancient Chinese Art.” Ancient History. https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/china-history/top-10-marvelous-ancient-chinese-art/ (Accessed November 10, 2017).



GBTimes. "Global Auction Sales of Chinese Art Sees Decline for Third Year." GBTIMES. Last modified Aug 18, 2017. https://gbtimes.com/global-auction-sales-chinese-art-sees-decline-third-year (Accessed November 10, 2017).

Kiely, Jan, Goossaert, Vincent, and Lagerwey, John. Modern Chinese Religion II: 1850 - 2015 (2 vols). Netherlands: Brill, 2015.

Wang, Lin, and Yongqing Ye. "Chinese Art and the Market in the 1990s (1996)." MoMA. Last Modified 1996. https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/learn/intnlprograms/3.%20CCA_Web_Chinese%20Art%20and%20Market.pdf (Accessed November 10, 2017).

Ratnam, Niru. "Ai Weiwei: the Perfect Asian Artist for Lazy Western Curators." The Spectator. Last modified August 22, 2015. https://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/08/ai-weiwei-the-perfect-asian-artist-for-lazy-western-curators/ (Accessed November 10, 2017).



Chen, Vivian. "Artist Zeng Fanzhi Portrays Life Amid a Drastically Changing China." South China Morning Post. Last modified June 4, 2015. http://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1811267/artist-zeng-fanzhi-portrays-life-amid-drastically-changing-china (Accessed November 10, 2017).

Zhang, Songren. China's New Art, Post -1989: [With a Retrospective from 1979-1989: Hou-Ba-Jiu-Zhongguo-Xin-Yishu. Hong Kong: Hanart T Z Gallery, 1993.















Appendix: Popular Paintings by Chinese Artists



Zeng Fanzhi's Last Supper fetched HK$180.4 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2013

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This self-portrait painting by Zeng shows his style of painting.

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Paintings that Portray China’s landscape

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