Artists as Active Participants in History

---- Thoughts on the “Interval of Silence” Exhibition

Wang Lin

Since the nineteen-nineties, contemporary Chinese art has gradually become a cultural tool in international politics. Because of the continual development of China’s economy, its greater opening to the outside world, and advancements in the popularization of communication tools and transmission methods, contemporary Chinese art has become the focus of the international art world because it is keenly synchronized to these changes. At the juncture of two centuries, three forces are competing for cultural resources in contemporary Chinese art, especially as political cultural resources.

Force One: Academic Authority. This is particularly evident in the western academia’s selection of contemporary Chinese art for museums and exhibitions. Their judgment is influenced by their preference for multiculturalism and their post-colonialist perspective. While the participation of overseas Chinese scholars ought to strengthen the quality of academic research in terms of localized contextualization, their work is inevitably compromised by opportunism and by their roles as cultural middlemen. They willingly cooperate with the mainland authorities and do not hesitate to compromise for practicality sake, which sometimes suppresses the untamed quality of contemporary Chinese art.

Force Two: Authority System. As a marginalized creative force, contemporary Chinese art has always been a critic of the official art system and mainstream ideology since the nineteen-eighties.This is not to say many people within contemporary Chinese art do not want to enter the official system. The underground or semi-underground art force is growing under austere social pressures; it created a new epoch in Chinese art with its sense of individuality. Due to the influence of international feedback, mainland officials have no choice but to accept achievements of contemporary art and subsume it into the so-called domain of “creative cultural property.” The use of this term and concept is not only economic in purpose, but also a political tactic. On one hand, this recognition legitimizes contemporary art to the public. On the other hand, this categorization confuses and blurs the distinction between contemporary art and other cultural forms, and thereby strips away the vanguard position of contemporary Chinese art. If contemporary art is placed alongside things such as traditional painting and calligraphy and animation films, and is supervised by “cultural property” officials, can contemporary art still retain its critical and rebellious stance against the mainstream? Maybe it is still possible, but the key is to retain a public forum that challenges and struggles against official ideology.

Force Three: Art Market. Contemporary Chinese art was first collected by Hong Kong and Taiwan painting merchants as well as diplomatic envoys in China. Their initiation subsequently created a sudden boom in the contemporary art market in the mainland. The intervention of international capital has altered the course of history with the financial interest of large corporations in mind. Many in the contemporary art world have suddenly gone from starving artist to new rich noblemen and popular stars. The advantages brought by revolution easily become the revolution’s disadvantages. Suddenly, artists flock to the scene in great numbers to participate in reform, putting all their thoughts, wishes, mental efforts, and calculations into the contemporary art. The only difference now is that idealism has been changed into opportunism. Academies and non-academies, governmental and non-governmental organizations, academic bodies and commercial galleries, domestic and external capital are blended into one large muddle. The situation can be described as, “Heroes of troubled times rise up from all directions, and whoever rich will dominate” or “I’ll steal the show after yours falls into noisy disorder and I will take this foreign land as my hometown.” When the successful opportunists are unable and unwilling reflect on their success, once the avant-guard has now become obstruction to art. Just take a look at the extravagant exhibitions that unhesitatingly exploit cheap labor for the economic gains of the rich, you will understand the basis of peasant rebellions. The attitude is grab what you can because you may not have another chance. Such revolutionary attitude is quite demoralizing; Chinese people should really erect an Ah-Q statue in Tiananmen Square!

These three forces have brought vital energy to contemporary Chinese art, but have also created confusion. The confusion besieging the Chinese intelligentsia is unavoidable because Chinese society is still in a state in which pre-modernism, modernism and post-modernism exist simultaneously. Issues of pre-modern intellectual enlightenment; modern social structure, and post-modern cultural status and rights are placed before us and challenge us simultaneously.Besides, the primary market economy and cultural consumption are bringing tremendous influence to the art world. We cannot rely on Chinese intellectuals who have neither traditional religious belief nor have yet become the middle class to become the backbone for building a contemporary Chinese culture. We can only hope artists, critics and cultural scholars with a certain sense of historical responsibility will evaluate the era from their individual perspectives to offer creative and valuable ideas. No matter how we say it, the problem here still remains: What is the starting point of art? And where will it end up?

Even though it is based upon the post-modernist criticism of enlightenment thinking and modernist thought, academia needs to set aside the myth of artistic essence and we all need to closely examine every starting point of art. Although contemporary art must inevitably compete against the three above-mentioned forces, it is not only vying for rights and gains. Art is an innate human necessity in that a person needs to grow spiritually on his or her own by unceasingly seeking after deeper meaning and the sublime.This is similar to the Marxist thought that people naturally lean toward a full-scale development. It is precisely because that the index of this necessity is historical and cultural, the powers that manipulate and control people’s minds, whether it is political pressure, cultural tradition, intellectual norms, or ideology must be kept at bay. Cultural industry, mass media, and fine art must be on guard and preserve their critical voice so as to defend the value of art for people, for life, and for humanity comprised of innumerable individuals. If this is not accomplished, there would be no freedom in art, no independence and in essence no contemporary quality in art. The final resting place of art, therefore, can only be history. The relationship between art and history is not outside of art but within art. Art history is not only created through formal criticism and interpretative writing, it is more important that art always places itself within history and at the same time creating history.History is not determined by the belief in the final outcome and objective patterns, instead, it is created by the combined experiences of individuals and mankind and also by the varied interpretations of people on the scene and that those that come after.The trust of art for history is the trust for human spiritual need and spiritual value. So-called artistic belief is only individuals' pursuit of spirituality; so-called art pattern is only a visual interpretation of changes in the psychology. For contemporary Chinese art, the key to balancing to reality and history, present and future, the connection of art and historical text lies in individual consciousness and skeptical consciousness. Because of individual consciousness, history is changed from macroscopic narration into microscopic, specific and authentic text; because of skeptical consciousness, history is changed from linear description into non-linear, multiple-tracked, and actual text. Contemporary art synchronously has historical text quality and textual history quality. Today, the difference between the new historicism attitude and the new opportunism strategy is that the former examines reality and engages in introspection to constantly rebuild the center; whereas the latter is acclimated to reality and utility and is quick to collaborate with the third party. Because Chinese society is in an era eager for quick success and instant benefit, we should ask, “Those going with the flow are everywhere, who among them can change the current?” Although I am personally very disappointed with the present situation of Chinese contemporary art, I still hope a few exceptional artists can maintain their independence and strive hard in a collapsing system, whether they are working under dire circumstances or riding the crest of success.

----I wrote the above words because the artists of the “Interval of Silence” exhibition have a countercurrent spirit and the courage, strength and ambition to actualize their goal. I am simply trying to say that criticism and creation can take many paths, often times contentious with one another, but can be mutually complimentary if there are evenly matched. As for the original intention of the exhibition, the curators have stated their views and it is up to audience members to make their own judgments on the works. As for the exhibition, I just want to say: artists as active participants in history have a responsibility which they are happy to take on.

Tomb Sweeping Day, April 4, 2008