Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Amsterdam/The Hague
As China rapidly changes from a closed territory of forbidden cities, the world -- including Indonesia -- has become increasingly aware of its economic might and the need to seek cooperation with this growing giant, said to be the world's strongest economy after the United States.
But only few have realized the importance of seeking knowledge about the cultural background of China which, with its population of 1,306,313,812 souls, borders such countries like Russia, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal, and stretches over 9,596,960 square kilometers.
Yet it is commonly accepted in international business practices that specialized knowledge of commerce should go hand in hand with a mutual respect for cultural values.
With currently 70 projects on architecture alone that involve Dutch architects, civil engineers and landscape designers, and an undisclosed number of projects in other fields, the Netherlands has every reason to launch a massive event such as the Amsterdam China Festival in October. The month-long event was preceded by activities starting as early as June, and will continue with extended events running through January 2006.
Comprising seminars, talks shows and exhibitions on music -- with concerts highlighting Chinese composers of pieces that resonates in simplicity, quietude and expressiveness, as well as an eclectic Chinese rock and pop -- films highlighting the realistic and the clash of generations, and visual arts exhibits -- including photography and high-tech video art -- taking place across 29 venues, the festival is supported by Dutch and Chinese authorities, an in-depth research team, a host of Dutch research institutions, banks, companies and the instrumental assistance of de Volkskrant newspaper.
Although there is a trend in racing toward international standards and beyond, with a tendency to leaving the conventional behind, it seems that there are those in the fields of Chinese, contemporary and even avant garde art who are rediscovering the value of their roots in a new artistic fashion.
Such was evident in the fascinating exhibition at Museum Beelden aan Zee at Scheveningen, The Hague, where works of 16 Chinese artists -- many of whom had already established a name since the 1980s -- are being exhibited in a show by curator and China cultural expert Cees Hendrikse.
Titled Xianfeng!, the exhibition focuses on conceptual art, with the artists trying to come to terms with their past as highlighted via themes of power, identity and the rise of consumerism.
Chinese Offspring (2003), an installation by Zhang Dali, features 20 life-size body casts made of resin hung upside-down on ropes tied around their ankles.
Meanwhile, Contemporary Terracotta Warriors (2000) by Yue Minjun -- whose worldwide fame is characterized by his almost insane grin -- features statues of today's youth in jeans and T-shirts made of synthetic resin and acrylic paint, reminding of China's artistic heritage and a cynicism shown in their unrealistic proportion, with slightly over-sized bodies, hands and arms.
Materialists (2001), an installation of seven sculptures in fiberglass by Wang Guanyi, makes a mark in picturing workers and peasants in heroic poses while consuming popular brands like Coca-Cola and Marlboro to indicate growing consumerism.
Yang Shaobin's sculpture series in fiberglass, Wound and Body of Flesh, illustrates his trauma over physical violence inflicted by one person on another's body.
Meanwhile, Liang Shuo's sculpture installation, Urban Peasants (2000), consisting of nine fiberglass statues, shows an impressive rendition of rural migrants in an urban setting. Dressed in contrasting style to the fashionable urbanites, their vacant, dazed eyes reinforce an expression of wonder.
Traditional handicraft techniques and varying forms of art found their way into the huge wall installation of tiny human shapes cut from red paper by Lu Shengsong. Compressed in an upside-down position to form an object linked to strands of other, separate shapes, Installation (2003), is supposed to represent the artist's unification of body and soul.
Endless (2004) by Lin Tianmiao -- said to be one of the most exhibited and successful conceptual women artists who used to bring women's handicraft techniques to play a role in her work, but also employs technological media like video and photography -- now shows her ability in impeccable sculpting.
Endless, consists of three life-sized nude sculptures made of fiberglass. The combination of their ascetic images and smooth pink silk fabric hanging from the head, the loins or the wrist renders a feeling of refinement, a sublimation of age and decline. This piece, as part of a larger installation titled Non Zero comprising a grouping of tableaux, occupied the entire 500-square-meter space of the Beijing Tokyo Art Project at Factory 798 in Beijing.
In the China festival, Lin's works appear in several other locations as well, such as De Balie and Canvas International Art.
The exhibition at Museum Beelden aan Zee also includes artwork by: Ai Weiwei, who designs new forms of traditional Chinese furniture; Liang Shuo, the youngest artist and currently a resident artist in Amsterdam; Li Zhanyang, with neo-realistic figurative sculptures in fiberglass; Liu Jianhua, with ceramic representations of obsessive memories; Lu Hao, whose works contain elements of tradition and folk art; Sui Jianguo, with his Greco-Roman sculpture in a Mao jacket; Wang Jin, with a PVC-made theatrical costume; Xu Yihui, with the porcelain Box of American Gold and Little Red Book; and Zhan Wang, with rocks encased in stainless steel.
As the festival shows, the opening up of China is posing new challenges in every aspect, including in arts and culture. That economic gains are an intricate part of this all, is an inevitable reality.
Xiangeng! Exhibition of Chinese Avant-garde Sculpture will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday, until Dec. 12 at the Museum Beelden aan Zee, Harteveltstraat 1, 2586 EL Den Haag -- Scheveningen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-70-3585857. For more information, visit www.beeldenaanzee.nl or www.sculptuurinstituut.nl/china.htm.
