chinese contemporary art: a state of control
DESCRIPTION
An analysis of the extent to which the Chinese government has used censorship to limit artistic freedom in China.TRANSCRIPT
Greta Nicholls s3283207
CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART: A STATE OF CONTROL
Study in Perspective (Tiananmen), Ai Weiwei, 1995
School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning DATE OF SUBMISSION: 31st May 2013
Bachelor of Arts (International Studies): International Research Project SOCU 1042
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“Political art is a freedom of expression that challenges totalitarian violence and lies.” The Gao Brothers, 2013
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CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 4 Methodology 8 Chapter One: History of Chinese Contemporary Art 11 Chapter Two: The Relationship Between Art and Politics 14 Chapter Three: Government Censorship 16 Conclusion 24 Bibliography 26 Appendix 31
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ABSTRACT Despite commercial viability, the advent of new museums and international
exposure, the Chinese government continues to restrict Chinese artists’
freedom. Censorship is sporadic, unpredictable and enforced by different
levels of government. This research project seeks to explore the extent to
which artistic freedom is currently being limited by the Chinese government,
and the ideological basis of enforcing censorship. There is an inherent focus
on the experiences of those directly involved in the Chinese art scene, namely
artists, gallery owners and curators. Current censorship issues are explored
through analysing documentary films, books, reports, in-depth interviews with
Chinese artists and government policy. The analytical framework is based
upon the Freedom of Speech provisions outlined in The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. Particularly, the notion that ‘everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom to hold opinions without
interference.’ Based on the Chinese artists’ experiences, it is clear that
censorship continues to affect their capacity to exert free speech.
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INTRODUCTION
Contemporary Chinese art remains haunted by the ghosts of the Cultural
Revolution. Since the 1980’s artists have been creating ‘artworks that reflect
on current government policies.’ (Watters, 2013) Art’s role as a means to
‘analyse’ and ‘critique’ (Keurt, 2008) has caused the government to exert
extensive control over the production and display of contemporary art.
Chinese contemporary art has experienced a renaissance, as the
commercialisation of the market encourages an influx of new artists and
buyers. During the last three decades, the contemporary art scene has
developed from a small field to a large scale affair, showcasing thousands of
artists, curators, and dealers producing solo exhibitions and biennials, art fairs
and auctions, both in China and abroad. (Zheng, 2012) The overarching aim
of this research is to assess the extent that government censorship is limiting
artists’ capacity to exert freedom of speech.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a Communist state, with a mandate
to govern based on the Chinese Constitution. The Constitution forms a legal
foundation, guaranteeing the Communist Party ‘as the supreme political
authority in the PRC through its comprehensive control of the state, military,
and media.’ (Ralph Folsom, 1992) Internet censorship has been enforced
systematically, with The "Freedom on the Net 2012" report, issued by
Freedom House ‘ranking China as the third most restrictive country in the
world when it comes to internet access, after Iran and Cuba.’ (House)
Accordingly, art censorship is another facet of control exerted by the
government in preventing criticism of the regime.
Since the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government has continued to
punish artistic dissidence. Whilst, liberties were granted under the Deng
regime in the late 70’s, the use of these liberties continued to be regarded by
both the communist regime and foreign observers, as a form of political
dissidence. (Michael Hockx, 2005, p. 4) Perhaps, the ongoing desire to
control art can be attributed to official Chinese Ideologies, which focus on art
as a reflection of the social and political reality. Chinese art has rarely been
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produced for pure aesthetic purposes. Confucianism interpreted art as a
method of either appraisal or condemnation of the government. (Selmenkari,
2004, p. 242) The communist regime of Mao interpreted art as purely a
propaganda tool, famously saying that ‘as communists we gain control with
the power of the gun and maintain control with the power of the pen.’ (Weiwei,
2012) The government’s perceptions of art appear to be rooted in ideology, a
driving force in perpetrating censorship.
Rather than government restrictions decreasing in recent years, in many
instances the government has increased control over artistic freedoms.
Through censoring works that ‘criticize the party, its leading members and
their ideology’, (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art
Censorship, 2012) the government is clearly limiting freedom of speech based
on a political ideological agenda. Artists have experienced this censorship
through raids on exhibitions, the banning of shows and physical violence. The
government has been effective in stymieing domestic and international
exhibitions and prohibiting political sensitive work. While dissident artists
remain active, their capacity to criticise the government continues to be
restricted. In private galleries, museums and studios artists have been
censored due to contravening political, moral and aesthetic censorship
standards. Censorship is not implemented systematically. Its executed
through different levels of government from the local police to state on a
seemingly indiscriminate and sporadic basis.
Artists who have expressed their right to freedom of speech have never
received a clear explanation of why such art is censored. Article 35 of the
Chinese Constitution states that ‘Citizens of the People's Republic of China
enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of
procession and of demonstration.’ (Government, 2004) Whilst there is a
constitutional guarantee of free speech, each day it’s contravened by the
government implementing artistic censorship; an act that could easily be
perceived as unconstitutional.
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LITERATURE REVIEW Criticism of the Chinese government’s art censorship has amplified with the
Western media. However, this critical sentiment isn’t equally visible in
Chinese literature, nor does censorship appear to be a topic explored by the
mainstream state media. The chosen literature is indicative of the experiences
of artists within China; the most effective gauge of how the Chinese
governments’ actions have constrained the production of contemporary art.
Given the topical nature of this issue, digital secondary sources such as
documentaries and news articles have proved invaluable in understanding the
current situation. The following review will focus on dissecting the prevailing
attitudes on contemporary Chinese art history, the extent of censorship
practices and their affect on the capacity of Chinese artists to exert freedom of
speech.
The history of the Chinese contemporary art scene has been widely explored,
predominantly in reports, books and journals. Michael Hockx’s book, The
Contemporary PRC, offers an insight into the artistic environment in the early
post Mao years. He asserts the use of new artistic liberties granted under the
Deng government, ‘continued to be interpreted, by the communist regime and
by foreign observers, as a political stance of dissidence.’ (Michael Hockx,
2005, p. 4) Selmenkari’s journal article Implementing and Avoiding Control:
Contemporary Art and the Chinese State, stresses that Mao’s government
developed an inherent relationship between art to serve official ideology.
Moreover, Hilary Binks’ commentary on the All Stars movement is important in
understanding the role of art movements in contributing to the growth of
political art is. Of particular interest, she asserts that the All Stars group were
instrumental in ‘setting the stage for the future freedom of artistic expression
in China.’ (Binks)
Literature exploring the last decade in Chinese art, often inherently lacks a
critical analysis on government censorship during this period. When
presented with history concerning the last decade of Chinese art, there is
often a lack of in-depth insight provided by many scholarly articles and
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essays. In the essay, ‘Thread of Art History: Transgression of Chinese
Contemporary Art in the Sigg Collection’, the author claims that ‘after 2000,
the rapid development of the contemporary art system brought tremendous
momentum and capacity for artists to produce and exhibit art.’ Despite an
exploration of the history of Chinese art, it fails to critique the extent to which
this artistic freedom has been limited by the government.
An understanding of the government’s official stance on censorship can be
ascertained through primary documents produced by the Ministry of Culture.
Of particular interest is the general vagueness of the Ministry’s main duties,
‘to guide and administer literary and artistic undertakings, guide artistic
creation and production, promote the development of all kinds of art and to
administer major national cultural activities’. (Ministry of Culture of the
People's Republic of China, 2009) The problem presented by this document is
that it fails to outline policies, and instead is left to the liberty of the enforcer’s
interpretation. In this sense, it was a useful comparative source between the
Ministry’s vague assertions and the reality of censorship. Article 35 of the
Chinese Constitution outlines the basic provisions for freedom of speech,
‘Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the
press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration.’
(Government, 2004) This provides a theoretical framework for exploring the
extent to which the Chinese government contravenes artists’ basic rights to
expression through ongoing censorship.
Secondary news media sources, offer an insight into the current relationship
between art and politics in China. The advent of the internet has provided a
platform for a perspective on the overarching reach of the Chinese
government. In particular, sites such as The New York Times have published
pertinent articles regarding the censorship of art on a domestic and
international level. In articles such as To Get Noticed, Chinese Artists Look to
Internet, Ella Delany asserts that online promotion of artworks is severely
constrained by the government. On a similar note Stout examines artist
attitudes towards censorship in an CNN article, Art in China: On Script and
Cutting Edge? In which, artist Lui Xiandong reveals that artists need to ‘stay
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on script and veer away from the politically taboo, for example such as the
Tiananmen Square and erotic subjects.’ (Stout, 2013)
Interviews with artists offer an insight into the affect of censorship on the
capacity of artists to produce work freely without interference from the
government. This process has been undertaken through a conjunction of
semi-structured interviews, documentaries, books and news articles. Digital
media, such as the SBS Program Dateline, has offered further enlightenment
into the political current pressures faced by artists. The Dissenters provides a
pivotal analysis of the struggles faced by Chinese artists in their quest for
individual artistic freedoms. It asserts that despite the political struggles faced
by artists, they are determined to continue their struggle, even if it means
persecution. In a similar vein, the documentary ‘Censorship in Contemporary
Chinese Art’ produced by students at New York University, is concerned with
interviewing artists and galleries to understand the first hand effects of
censorship, exploring a holistic approach about the affects of censorship on
the entire art market. In a pioneering approach, gallery owners speak out
about the affect censorship has had on their capacity to exhibit politically
sensitive works. It investigates the motivations of artists, and explores the
notion of politics being central to the production of Chinese contemporary art.
(Hsu, 2010) Interviews with practicing artists enable the observer to
comprehend the extent that Chinese contemporary art forms a wider part of
the political dissidence movement within China.
The literature discussed provides an understanding of the political and social
motivations for government censorship. On the other hand, the notion of
censorship itself being censored proved to be a major obstacle. This notion is
discussed within the book, The Party and the Arty in China: The new politics
of culture, which contends that ‘given the centrality of censorship to public life,
the scholarly literature on contemporary offers surprisingly little analysis or
even detailed description.” (Clause, 2004)
Considering the existing literature, the following research provides an
innovative perspective on the extent to which censorship is impacting on
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current artistic practices. Previously, literature has focused on the growth of
the Chinese contemporary art market, yet there remains a critical lack of
understanding of the role the government’s continued censorship is having in
this growth.
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METHODOLOGY The premise of the research is to understand the degree to which censorship
has affected artistic practices and society as a whole. This comparative
investigation is based upon a qualitative approach, relying on a combination
of both primary and secondary sources. The analytical framework is centred
upon the extent to which the Chinese government’s censorship undermines
article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). ‘Everyone
has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom
to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’
(Nations) This assumption broadly frames the investigation into how
censorship inhibits Chinese artists’ creative freedoms.
Primary data research has been focused on the policies of the Chinese
Cultural Department. The Ministry has produced broad guidelines for the
administration of cultural policies, which are available online. These
documents provide a basis for comparison, between the official response to
dissident art, and the reality reported by those within the industry. In
particular, the notion that the policies purported by the Department, are often
starkly different to the experiences of this directly involved in the art world.
Document analysis forms a crucial element of secondary sources for the
project. Considering, the extent of media censorship within China these
documents were used as an insight and not objective facts. Thus, the main
document sources relied upon are a range of mainly international media
articles, reports, journals and books. It must be noted that the majority of
secondary sources came from outside China, potentially ensuring a
predominately Western viewpoint. Accordingly, attempts were made to source
Chinese secondary sources, however, these often failed to offer a reliable
critique of censorship within China. These were, however, crucial in painting
the picture and context for the other types of research methods, such as
interviews.
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In order to gain a more in depth understanding of the current situation, the
researcher conducted semi structured interviews were conducted with artists,
curators and academics. The method used to select participants for the
interviews was convenience sampling, based upon their availability or the
researcher judging that they are representative of the sample required. The
interviews were designed with the aim of gaining ‘a certain richness and
subtlety, that can lead to great insights within human society’. (Nicholas,
2011, p. 73) The successful gathering of data is reliant on the assumption of
being direct and ensuring that the questions are highly relevant to the topic
area being studied. It is clear that the complexity of the issues can only be
understood through focusing on "how" and "why" questions. (Benbaset, 1987)
Due to the logistical concern of the majority of interviewees being based in
China, many of these have been conducted via an email exchange. In terms
of ethics, the research has to be aware of the risks involved in interviewing
vulnerable people. There remains a possibility that they may be persecuted
for their politically sensitive views expressed within this report. In order to
mitigate potential ethical issues surrounding representing their opinions, it is
explicitly clear that interviewees were able to review consent to the writer’s
representation of their opinion, prior to the final report being published.
An efficient means of gathering first hand accounts of artists was through
video documentaries. These documentaries provided interviews, commentary
and analysis regarding the phenomena of art censorship. Moreover, new
mediums such as film have the capacity to present a current perspective that
is sometimes lacking in traditional sources, such as books or journals. Payne
describe the documentary method as the’ techniques used to categorise,
investigate, interpret and identify the limitations of physical sources, most
commonly written documents whether in the private or public sphere.’ (Geoff
Payne, 2004) Perhaps, the most pressing concern of documentaries is that
the producer may be showing a degree of bias in their presentation of a story.
This limitation presents itself, however, in most forms of secondary data
sources. On the other hand, documentaries are an accessible means of data
to enable a range of views from artists, and decrease the logistical difficulties
involved in translating and arranging the interviews.
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Ultimately, the relationship between art and politics in China is complex.
There is an awareness that the widespread internet censorship exerted by the
Chinese state may have undermined some aspects of gathering data
pertaining to censorship. It is evident that in understanding the relationship
between censorship, artistic freedoms and the government, one method could
not be employed at the expense of another. Considering the lack of pre
existing literature exploring the overarching effects current censorship is
having on Chinese artists. This approach, through combining artist interviews,
with document analysis has produced a unique examination of the situation
facing contemporary Chinese artists.
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CHAPTER ONE: THE HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART
During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) artists were forced to give up any
form of individual self-expression. Individuals labelled ‘Intellectual partisans’
were sentenced to periods of hard labour in the country and forbidden to
practice their art. During this period, Mao made it explicitly clear that art and
politics were integrally related. Art was seen purely as a means to serve the
government’s communist political ideology. In the 1942 Yan’an Forum on
Literature and Art, Mao asserted that art ‘must only serve society and the
Marxist ideological cause.‘ (Selmenkari, 2004, p. 242) Thereafter, a tangible
link between art and politics developed in the production of Chinese art. The
advent of the Deng era in 1978 heralded increased liberties and access to
exterior cultural trends. However, ‘artists use of these liberties often continued
to be interpreted, by the communist regime and by foreign observers, as a
political stance of dissidence.’ (Michael Hockx, 2005, p. 4)
Chinese contemporary art, as we know it today, emerged from the ‘All Stars’
exhibition in September 1979. After being denied official space in the Chinese
National Gallery, the artists, including Ai Wei Wei and Huang Rui hung their
works on the fence outside the National Gallery. One of the participating
artists, Ma Deshung pronounced, ‘every artist is a star. Even great artists are
stars from the cosmic point of view. We called our group "The Stars" in order
to emphasize our individuality. This was directed at the drab uniformity of the
Cultural Revolution.’ (China, 2011) The government declared the exhibition
illegal, one day after opening. In spite of apparent government changes
towards freedom of speech, censorship to limit expression continued into the
post Mao regime. The All Stars responded by organising a protest march for
individual human rights under the banner We Demand Democracy and Artistic
Freedom’. Eventually, bowing to public pressure, the artists were allowed to
hold their first exhibition at the Huafang Studio in Beihei Park in 1979.
The following year, the Chinese Artists' Association allowed the Stars to
exhibit for a second time within the China Art Gallery, with the belief that the
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show would be self defeated by a lack of public interest. The chairman of the
association, Jiang Feng noted, ‘when The Stars realise that the mass of the
people don't understand their work, they will learn and change their ways.’
Contrary to his assertion, within two weeks the exhibition attracted nearly
200,000 visitors. (Binks) Despite the artists’ popularity, continued political
pressure forced the group to disband in 1983. Many of the twelve founding
members, moved overseas. Huang Rui moved to Japan and Ai Wewei to
New York; with the intent of to practicing their art free of government
interference.
The ‘New Wave Movement’ of 1985 was dominated by attempts to
appropriate foreign artistic styles, whilst paradoxically engaging in cultural
criticisms. These avant-garde artists ‘saw themselves as cultural pioneers
whose task was to enlighten the masses, fight for social reform, and rebel
against the past. They criticised the state-dominant ideology, which had long
suppressed individuality.’ (Minglu, 1998) Even though the 1980’s precipitated
a growth in artistic experimentation, their freedoms continued to be
suppressed by the government. The intrinsic relation between artistic freedom
and democracy is noted by Gao Minglu, who asserts with ‘the failure of the
democracy movement in the 1980s, and under the unexpected rise of mass
culture, many artists abandoned their humanist passion.’ (Minglu, 1998)
Increased political freedom, coupled with economic advances in the 1990’s
paved the way for international influences to permeate the Chinese
contemporary art scene. Chinese contemporary art underwent a dramatic
stylistic change, and artists begun to gain international appeal. In the early
1990’s curators and dealers discovered China, leading to international
exhibitions (Wu Hung, 2010). In her 1992 essay, ‘New Generation and Close
up Artists’ Yin Jinan, claims that this period was ‘the moment when
histological memory collides with reality, anyone can directly observe the
fundamental source material belonging to the scope of art history. The literary
worlds ‘age of prose’ corresponds directly with the art worlds period of
manifesto-free realism.’ (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 155)
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However, despite the burgeoning art scene, figures within the official art
bureaucracy remained critical of political art. In this period, Yang Yingshan the
Vice President, Central Academy of Arts and Crafts noted that ‘art has to be
beautiful.’ (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 211) Clearly, there remained a perception that
contemporary art had to be beautiful, as opposed to being an outlet for
criticism. Despite many artists and curators resting their hopes in the
promises of liberalisation during the early 1990’s, ‘toward the later part of the
decade such optimism increasingly gave way to disappointment and
suspicion.’ (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 358) Due to official pressure, those unwilling
to conform to government ideals were left without a means to publicise their
work, leading to the rise in prominence of ‘unofficial art’. Subsequently, artists
begun to show in invite-only private homes, or circulate digital forms of their
artworks. These strategies minimised problems encountered as a result of
authorities raiding or closing public exhibitions. (Selmenkari, 2004, p. 245)
After 2000, the inception of curatorship, opening of new museums and the
Biennale system, contributed to the commercial success of the Chinese art
market. Critically, the 2000 Shanghai Biennale finally ‘legitimised and
publicised’ Chinese work on an international scale. (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 351)
This rapid expansion facilitated ‘new artists, new creativity and new
exhibitions’ (Zhenqing, p. 17). This prosperity continued with commercial
galleries, museums and art organisations showcasing Chinese artists
internationally and domestically, with art spaces such as District 798
becoming budding cultural hubs. Currently, the Chinese government is
placing a renewed emphasis on developing the Chinese art scene. However
artists’ producing work that challenges government ideology, are being
excluded from these state based artist developments.
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CHAPTER TWO: THE INTRINSIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND POLITICS
When artist work, it reflects their perception of society and culture. In doing
so, they often come into conflict with the official government ideology.
Chinese curator Han Si, observes that ‘of course everything is political, but
not everything is about politics.’ (Han, Interveiw with Si Han, Curator
China/Sweden, 2012) In other words, whilst all Chinese art may not be
political, creative expression always reflects its social context to an extent.
Throughout history, repressive regimes have persecuted artists undermining
their right to freedom of expression. Whilst artist Ai Weiwei has become
somewhat of a poster boy in the West for dissident art, he is certainly not
alone. In March 2012, Kuwaiti artist Shurooq Amins’ exhibition “It’s a Man’s
World” was closed three hours after opening by authorities due to being
deemed pornographic and anti-Islamic. (Randol, 2013) Sidd Joag asserts that
many acts of artistic dissidence go unnoticed by foreign and domestic media
every day, and that the celebrity fetishism of artists often does not promote
understanding of the deeper issues at hand. ‘We must not forget that for every
persecuted culture worker whose story hits mainstream media, dozens of
stories remain unheard, and those change-makers remain without access to
networks of support or the means to defend themselves.’ (Joag, 2012)
Therefore, it is important to note that China is not isolationist in its repression
of political art; it occurs every day, across the globe.
Capacity for freedom of speech within China has increased since abolishing
the Mao instigated crime of counter-revolution. Yet, it has often been replaced
with government controlled artistic networks and beaurocracy. Huang Rui, a
member of the All Stars movement, contends that ‘the collaborators of artists,
also collaborate with political power, this makes the definition and
classification of politics extremely complicated.’ (Rui, 2013) Furthermore, he
notes an intrinsic need for artists to express freedom of speech, which may
not be possible through other outlets within China. Political art ‘is not just
obligations, but the nature for modern artists to express their liberalism and
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freedom of thoughts throughout their artworks. They have to express their
contrary thinking toward politics, let it to be released spontaneously from their
bodies, especially in China, which is a country under heavy political
pressures. ‘ (Rui, 2013) Art can be seen as a means for individuals to express
their freedom of speech, a notion which has greater emphasis in China, due
to censorship outlets, such as the internet.
Ai Weiwei is arguably the most prominent Chinese artist to emerge this
century. His controversial anti-Chinese government antics have facilited
widespread international attention. Despite this fame, he has been subjected
to harsh punishments by the government for his criticisms of the current
regime. Ai has asserted that the state has diminished any capacity for artists
to practice freedom of speech. ‘Widespread state control over art and culture
has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60
years, anyone with a dissenting opinion has been suppressed. Chinese art is
merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger
context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity. ‘ (Weiwie,
2012) This highly critical analysis of the Chinese art scene questions the
function of Chinese art itself, whether or not it is flawed due to the regime in
which it is produced. ‘In a society that restricts individual freedoms and
violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a
pretence’ (Weiwie, 2012) Yet, to digress to this level, all art within China
would be not be considered art. This leads to the question of whether or not
creativity can exist with a repressive regime. It is difficult to assert the later, as
history has highlighted that sometimes the most progressive political art is a
product of a highly restricted regime. Consequentially, even though the
government exerts tight control over production, contemporary art exists
within a restrained and limited context.
Inevitably, Chinese art will be inherently political, a reaction to some degree of
the government control over artistic production. Even if the subject matter isn’t
an outwardly political issue, it’s a reaction in some form to censorship.
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CHAPTER THREE: GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP
Censorship is not immediately evident within China. Government authorities
enforce censorship through banning exhibitions, limiting the capacity to export
work and sometimes resorting to violent retributions for dissident artists. It is
difficult to assert a systematic pattern of censorship; it can be as vague as
‘anything that harms the interests of China’. (Hsu, 2010)
Within China, government censorship is sporadic and often unpredictable.
The Ministry of Culture broadly outlines censorship rules, which are usually
enforced through local authorities. The Ministry has stated that their main duty
is ‘to guide and administer literary and artistic undertakings, guide artistic
creation and production, promote the development of all kinds of art and to
administer major national cultural activities’. (Ministry of Culture of the
People's Republic of China, 2009) Yet this ‘guidance’ has resulted in
numerous cases of government censorship of galleries, museums and artists.
Enforcement
Commercial galleries are often the targets of censorship perpetrated by local
authorities. Many galleries and exhibitions are routinely inspected to ensure
they are not exhibiting works regarded as contrary to government interests.
It seems that once authorities have censored one incident at a gallery, they
are likely to be continually subjected to harassment and scrutiny. Rebecca
Catching, curator of Shanghai’s OV (Oriental Vista) Gallery has observed that
‘different rules exist for different people’. Government pressure emerged after
her gallery being shut down in 2007 for an exhibition “Re-visioning History”,
that included a painting by Sheng Qi depicting a tank—a verboten reference
to Tiananmen Square. Prior to this incident the gallery had operated without
incident for a few years. (Movius, 2011) Subsequently, when the gallery held
an exhibition in November 2010, it endured a succession of cultural bureau
raids. The exhibition, “Shifting Definitions” examined social issues concerning
Chinese women Shanghai's OV Gallery curator Rebecca Catching has
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encountered different levels of censorship depending on the origin of the
artist. ‘For local art you to the district cultural bureau, if you have foreign you
must seek approval from Shanghai’. Catching cites incidents of ‘art spies’,
government employee who pose as artists to infiltrate events, often leading to
censorship of works deemed unsuitable. In November 2010, after spies
visited the OV Gallery, the staff we called to a meeting with the cultural
bureau and asked to present information regarding the exhibiting artists’
nationalities. (Movius, 2011) This is not an isolated case; private galleries
within China have to operate within government regulation to prevent
continual scrutiny and censorship.
Even the jewel in china’s cultural crown, district 798 is subject to government
censorship. Since opening in 2002, it is estimated to have attracted over 75
million visitors. The 798 Art District has marketed the district as an alternative
art space. ‘District 798 symbolize the country's cutting edge art movement led
by the Chinese vanguard, unchained artistic personalities with alternative life
goals. The largest, most influential art district in China the space hosts world
class international and Chinese exhibitions in the midst of former weapons
factories.’ (District) Whilst District 798 exits under the premise of holding world
class exhibitions, art that challenges government ideology is prohibited. In an
undercover interview, in which the reporter purported to be a French Gallery
dealer, The Bureau of Art Management revealed the extent to which art has
being routinely censored. ‘We decide what can be displayed, it’s a routine
procedure. It isn’t a highly censored area – there aren’t many restrictions.
Only to the works of art that touch on the subject of the government and the
Party, we have to say “No.” Also, we don’t approve low-taste and
pornographic shows, the rest is okay. If there is no political issue, it’s all
okay.’ (Yi, 2013) These ambiguities in the Chinese governments’ censorship
policies, undermine the potential for freedom of speech within the newly
formed platform, that is District 798.
Public Art Museums are particularly scrutinised when producing international
touring exhibitions. Shuxia Chen, a curator of international exhibitions at the
Himalayas Museum in Shanghai, noted that international artist from Hong
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Kong and Taiwan would need to be reported to the local cultural authorities.
This process involved ‘handing in documents of bios and images/DVDs of
works of all the artists as well as curators in the show,’ in conjunction with
‘officers from this department would come to inspect the show a day or two
before the opening’. (Chen, 2013) Despite these procedures, there was an
instance of a Chinese artists being asked to remove their photograph due to it
being perceived a too violent. The picture depicted the restaging of a local
murder, including fake blood and body. Shuxia notes that ‘it was interesting to
ponder what violence was according to these cultural officials.’ (Chen, 2013)
Evidently, the notion of free speech when participating in public exhibitions
remains dictated by the ideology of the government.
Ideological Foundations for Censorship
Government censorship is broadly based upon prohibiting the exhibition of
works against the party, upholding the four cardinal principles (the socialist
path, the people's democratic dictatorship, the leadership of the Communist
Party of China and Mao Tse–Tung thought), performance art and
pornographic or obscene art’. This ideological platform was dictated by the
Ministry of Culture for the second All Stars exhibition in 1980, and still remains
relevant today. Generally the censorship of works arise from the depiction of
subjects such as nudity, Tibet, Tiananmen Square and depictions of Mao and
political leaders. Occasionally, some artists have been able to explore these
issues without retribution. If the government close a show, however, it’s due to
images relating to these issues. (Pollack, 2010, p. 176) Enforcement of
censorship can be divided into political censorship, aesthetic censorship and
moral censorship. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art
Censorship, 2012) Censorship of political art has gained the most profile in
the West. High profile cases of art which ‘criticise the party, its leading
members and their ideology’ are often what the is reported as the cause for
censorship. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art
Censorship, 2012) Artists frequently criticising the government such as Ai
Weiwei and The Gao Brothers have faced consistent government hurdles in
exhibiting their works.
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Case Studies in Political Art: Ai Weiwei and The Gao Brothers
Ai has gained the disdain of the government through circulating works on the
internet such as, ‘Grass Mud Horse Covering the Middle’, which phonetically
sounds similar in Mandarin to “F*** your mother, the Party Central
Committee’. In conjunction with works ‘One Tiger with Eight Breasts ‘, which
depicts the artist with four naked women. This was interpreted by the netizens
(individuals active online) as ‘the nine members of the Standing Committee of
the Politburo of CCP’. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art
Censorship, 2012) Consequentially, he has ‘spent time in jail, was not allowed
by the government to leave Beijing for a year and cannot travel without official
permission.’ (Stevens, 2012) Weiwei’s passport remains in the possession of
government, ensuring he cannot travel to his international exhibitions
The major body of the Gao Brother’s work is based upon on recasting the
figure of Chairman Mao. A figure who is ‘simultaneously capable of arousing
deep emotions of pain and despair, as well as admiration, love, and pride —
as a flawed figure.’ (Wang, 2009) In recent years, they have been forced to
hold secret exhibition openings, to prevent raids from local authorities to
remove the controversial works. When interviewed the Gao Brothers
emphasised the fact that restrictions have continued to thwart their artistic
freedoms. ‘From our personal experiences and feelings, the officials have
strengthened the review and control of art exhibitions. Prior to 2007, our
studio in Beijing 798 Art District has been an open space, where we can do
some public exhibitions (which have suffered from reviews), but due to
various pressures, after 2007, we had to close the room, and use it as just a
private space, no longer open to the public.’ (Brothers, 2013) Furthermore,
they have been restricted from exporting work to overseas shows, sculptures
of Mao with breasts, which cannot be exhibited and have been held in
customs prohibited from being exported abroad. However, they remain in
relatively good spirits, considering their treatment by the government. Gao
Qiang, one half of the group notes that ‘if we made sculptures like these
during the Cultural Revolution, we would have been beheaded but at the
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present we can make sculptures just not show them to the public.’ (Pollack,
2010, p. 188)
Artists have been subject to physical violence due to their political stance. In
2010, Lui Yi a supporter of Ai Weiwei was violently attacked by thugs in his
Beijing studio. Using iron bars seven or eight men beat him, breaking his leg
and causing serious head injuries. After he called police several times. Yet Lui
noted that ’it took a long time for the police to arrive - they were clearly
collaborating with the thugs. At a demonstration once, the police said to me
“Just be an artist, don’t get involved in this stuff it is too risky.” (Yi, 2013)
Moral Censorship
Moral censorship concerns the showing of art exploring issues of sexuality,
it’s a sensitive subject frequently censored by the government under the guise
of pornography. The naked body, homosexuality and sex are censored for
‘moral’ reasons. Even if the general atmosphere has loosened, the authorities
have by no means stopped monitoring the exploration of sexuality in the
contemporary art scene. In May 2001 the government systematically
implemented policies prohibiting violent or sexual art.
Artistic practice has been curbed through the authorities banning
‘pornographic’ artworks. In 2006, Wang Qingsong staged a shoot featuring
hundreds of naked actors outside Beijing, yet two days later his negatives
were destroyed after an investigation by the Beijing police. A local journalist
wrote an article depicting the shoot as an out of control public demonstration.
They received a tip ‘that hundreds of nude people were gathered in a hanger
outside of Beijing, a violation of pornography laws as well as a circumvention
of rules requiring a permits for crowd to assemble for any reason’ (Pollack,
2010, p. 174) Consequentially, the Mayor of Beijing begun an investigation,
resulting in Wang being interrogated for three days and his negatives being
seized. Ultimately he was cleared, yet he never got his negatives back. Since
the harsh crackdown by authorities, Wang has never again featured nudity in
his work. It is clear that censorship has had an affect on his capacity to
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Greta Nicholls
produce work, as well as his psychological health. Wang noted, ‘I want to
forget about the incident but sometimes it still looms large in my dreams.’
(Pollack, 2010, p. 174)
Fear of producing works deemed to be ‘pornographic’ has ensured that
printing and distributing sexual works can be risky. Pioneering photographer
Ren Hang, whose works include genitalia, has faced immense difficulties in
printing his works in Beijing. Many feared if they did so, it would be considered
spreading pornographic material’, a criminal offense in China.
Moral censorship was the premise used by the government to prohibit an
exhibition by Zhang Huan at the Shanghai Art Museum in 2009. The intended
sculptures depicted mammoth pregnant women created from horse hides.
Yet, when representatives from the Shanghai Municipality saw these, they
were deemed unsuitable for public display. The official reasoning for such
censorship is problematic, as illustrated by Feng Yuan the Vice Chairman of
the Federation of Artistic and Literacy Circles (affiliated with the Ministry of
Culture). In relation to the censored show, he argued ‘we cannot show a lot of
provocative works with nudity, novelty and violence. Artworks should remind
people of something beautiful, something important such as human virtue.’
(Pollack, 2010, p. 178) The notion of art being solely a form of aesthetics
beauty, poignantly disregards the rights of artists to enjoy freedom of speech.
Punishment for producing ‘immoral’ art appears to be inexplicably harsh.
Cheng Li, a Chinese performance artist was sentenced to one year of re-
education through labour for an explicit performance art exhibition in March
2011. The exhibition, "Art Whore" consisted of Li and a female partner
engaging in sex acts for a private audience at the Contemporary Art Exhibition
Hall in Beijing. (Performance Artist Sentenced To A Year in A Labour Camp
For 'Art Whore' Exhibition, 2011) Administrative records claim that he
‘conducted obscene performance in public. His activities attracted multiple
people to look on and caused public order in chaos, with the aim of trying to
cause disturbance.’ (Chang, 2011) However, his lawyer Mr. Wang Zhenyu,
contends that Li’s exhibition was designed ‘to ridicule the situation that art is
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Greta Nicholls
over commercialized and to call people not to evilize, uglify the normal sex.’
(Chang, 2011) Furthermore, the artist claims that the exhibition was private,
rather than causing a public disturbance as argued by the authorities.
Regardless of the exhibitions purpose, the consequences are clear. Artists
producing ‘sexual’ work, are risking losing their capacity to produce art, or
worse still, be incarcerated in a labour camp.
Aesthetic Censorship
Aesthetic censorship of art is based upon the notion of art itself being used as
a censorship strategy. Certain styles of work have been favoured by the
public and the government, setting the scene for the mass production of
certain styles. For instance, before the late 1970’s social realism was
dominant, with impressionism deemed bourgeoisie. (Han, The Invisible Red
Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) However, recent history
has demonstrated that aesthetics are going to be heavily aligned with
consumerism. In reaction to a growing trend towards pictures deemed ‘pretty’
and ‘non threatening’. Feng Boyi and Ai Weiwei staged an alternative art fair
during the 2000 Shanghai Biennale, with the desire to inspire a new aesthetic
style, citing they ‘wanted to show the fuck off style, not working for the
government, or in a western style, but a third way.’ (Pollack, 2010, p. 64)
Performance and installation art remain the styles likely to be aesthetically
censored by the government. Artist Huang Rui, has asserted that the
bureaucratic system prevents artists from practicing these styles. ‘Nowadays,
performance art and installation art are still prohibited by Chinese (art)
Museum. The biggest artist party, Songzhuang Art Centre, forbids the public
activities of installation art. The students from China central academy of fine
arts (CAFA) are also prohibited from participating in any social experimental
activities that is out of the system.’ (Rui, 2013) Evidently, the government
bureaucratic art system is another vehicle for initiating aesthetic censorship.
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Greta Nicholls
International Censorship
Remarkably, Chinese artists exhibiting internationally have been subjected to
censorship by Chinese authorities. The government authorities extend their
influence to the United States, as highlighted by recent case of censorship in
the United States in September 2011. In an exhibition co-organized by the
John F Kennedy Centre and the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic
of China, the works of Wu Jian’an’ were censored due to ‘explicit sexual
references’. (Zhang, 2011) The exhibition “Landscape in Mind” was part of a
series, “China: The Art of a Nation”, a program of cultural performances
celebrating Chinese traditional and contemporary arts. Wu’s dealer in New
York, Christophe Mao the director of Chambers Fine Art in New York,
expressed his expressed his disbelief about the censorship. ‘Given all the
recent criticism of China about freedom of expression, I was shocked to see
that a Chinese artist selected by the National Art Museum of China can be
censored here in the US as well.’ (Zhang, 2011) The Chinese government’s
international power and influence has allowed them to censor art outside of
their borders. Poignantly, this creates a precedent for the showcasing of
Chinese art across the globe, it seems likely that government censorship will
continue to dictate what an audience views outside China.
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Greta Nicholls
CONCLUSION In conclusion, the creation of Chinese contemporary art remains restrained by
the government. Censorship remains a topical issue. Creativity cannot
prosper within China due to limitations placed upon citizens’ freedom of
speech. The present state of control prohibits the use of taboo subjects, and
favours aesthetic beauty over anything presenting a challenge to the
government ideology. In this sense, contemporary art exists, albeit curtailed
by the parameters of control set by the government.
Chinese artists operate within a complex paradigm, many censoring their own
works to precede government restrictions. Recently, the Director of the Ullens
Center for Contemporary Art, Philip Tinari contended that ‘Chinese artists
know where the line is and they are not going past it. (Tinari, 2013) To reach
official recognition, artist must sacrifice their right to freedom of speech.
Wang Chunchen, a leading curator at China's Central Academy of Fine Arts
notes that ‘to be an officially recognized contemporary artist in China, you
must stay on script and veer away from the politically taboo.’ If this sentiment
is correct, artists cannot paint their own story. Instead, their art must not
contravene the party line.
In order to prevent censorship and government restrictions, many artist have
resorted to being implicit in working within the government’s notion of
censorship. Prominent artists who criticise the government, have risked
ostracising themselves from the artist community, as well as harsh
professional and personal retribution. Accordingly, the darlings of the Chinese
art world such as Lui Xiandong, have been outspoken in their opposition of
fellow artists who create highly politicised works. When AI Weiwie was
detained two years ago, Xiandong told the Financial Times: ‘I really don’t
know about Ai Weiwei’s situation and I’m not really interested in politics.’ He
went further, at the U.S.-China Forum on Arts and Culture in 2011, calling
Weiwei a ‘naughty boy’. However, despiting Xiandong claiming a neutral
political stance, Ai contends that artists such as Xu are inherently political, just
furthering the government interests, rather than wider society. ‘They tolerate
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Greta Nicholls
every wrong act the government makes. They know in China no museum can
be called a museum, but they enjoy in the next few years, and they will make
a lot of money.’ (Emani, 2012) Henceforth, it is clear that censorship has been
a decisive issue within the Chinese arts community. Moreover, not all artist
are critical of the government. An artist standing up to such an influential
government must recognise the potential for this decision to irrevocably
impact on their artistic life.
Paradoxically, it may be argued that the extensive state control develops a
struggle making the art more exciting. As Jonathon Stone, Christie's
International Chairman of Asian Arts contends, ‘there is indeed a vibrant
contemporary art scene in China -- not just despite the restrictions -- but
because of them.’ In a metaphorical sense, ‘It's the sand in the oyster which
creates the pearl,’ he further notes to that the restrictions are ‘something
which is rather exciting.’ (Stout, 2013) This notion equates censorship to
forcing the creation of cutting edge political art. Yet, this argument is
fundamentally flawed. If this were the case then any nation producing without
political restrictions, would have be producing ‘less exiting’ contemporary art.
Restrictions cannot be used as a fount of inspiration for contemporary art. It
is not a product of politics, merely a way to express freedom in an otherwise
repressive regime.
Art censorship forms one facet of the control exerted daily, by the Chinese
government. While voices of discontent exist, they are often drowned out by
the government. In spite of receiving widespread press in the West, China’s
art scene remains in a state of control. As Si Han observes ‘increasing
awareness of individual rights and respect for human desires will finally
change the landscape of art and set it free. In this process, fighters in the front
line are needed, but it requires also many, many more to stand behind.’ (Han,
The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012)
Therefore, in order for Chinese art to be a vehicle for freedom of speech, the
government must not only put the paintbrush in the artists’ hands, but also
allow them to use it at their own free will.
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Nations, U. (n.d.). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved
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APPENDIX ONE: INTERVEIW WITH HUANG RUI 29 March 2013 Translated by Sophia Huang
Despite the fact that political dissidence seems to have decreased in the period post 1979, do you think engaging people politically with artwork remains equally as relevant? ��1979�����议��������认为��让�们�过艺术�������义� It’s not just obligations, but the nature/instinct for modern/contemporary artists to express their liberalism/freedom of thoughts through out their artworks. They have to express their contrary thinking toward politics, let it to be released spontaneously from their bodies, especially in China, which is a country under heavy political pressures. ��艺术�应该�创�������觉�这�仅�义务�����������这��满��压��环�����对������������������释���� Whilst Chinese art has evidently undergone a massive increase in popularity, are the capitalistic values diluting artistic social commentary? ������艺术�欢���显����认为资��义�值观�����艺术���评论� Nowadays, Chinese cultures tend to re-enter into a retro trend. (I don’t really understand the red sentence, but I think he wants to say that Chinese cultures didn’t really develop a new style/trend, they now going back to old things/trends) Also, the whole society supports that arts should be more closely aligned with economic systems, politics, economies and cultures. 现������倾�进��������传统������们�������������艺术�紧��结�经济�统����经济����������节��� It appears that many of the emerging Chinese contemporary artists are creating politically based works. Some have argued, that artists just doing politically based art to appeal to western audiences. Do you agree with that assertion? �����兴��艺术���创�����������认为这�艺术����创����艺术��为�����观�����吗� The profits/benefits of doing politically based art should be considerable, especially between 2000 ~ 2007, western art markets had increasingly interests in Chinese politically based art, compare to the sudden loss after 2007.
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Greta Nicholls
�说�艺术���应该������别�2000����2007��间���艺术�场对���������兴����胀��2007����丧��觉��� Upon your return from exile in Japan, to what degree has the government’s attitudes towards contemporary art practice changed? What affect has this had upon your art practice? �����������对��艺术�态����变��这对��艺术创����样���� I’ve kept finding myself by thinking rational. After I went through the political darkness, those days before 1979 and the days after 1989, and the harsh time when I lived in Japan, there’s nothing that can threat my work. My goal is to keep working, and anything else is less important. ������������寻����觉��经历�1979����1989�����������时�������经历����������������������胁�扰����������标�继续���������������� Broadly, what limitations are currently still being imposed towards artists by the government? 总��讲�����对艺术����约�� Nowadays, performance art and installation art are still prohibited by Chinese (art) museum. The biggest artist party –Songzhuang Art Centre, forbids the public activities of installation art. The students from China central academy of fine arts (CAFA) are also prohibited from participating in any social experimental activities that is out of the system. ���术馆���为艺术���艺术������艺术���������为艺术����动����术������们�������������实验��� In recent times, to what extent have you experienced censorship on a global and domestic level? �������������审查������ Since I live in Beijing, I sort of feel nothing about the oversea censorship. Although I think my works are really peaceful, I still under the influence of censorship sometimes. The latest one happened in March. I called the investigators (people who doing the censorship) “shadow”, and of course “shadow” will check this email as well. ������对���审查�����觉����认为�����������审查���扰��������发���������������审查��“��”�“��”�����这�邮�� Even though China appears to have increased the capacity for freedom of speech. Do you think this environment has made it more difficult to be an artistic dissident? 虽���������论�������觉�现�环����为����见�艺术����难� Since the crime of counter-revolution has been abolished, the capacity for freedom of speech does increase in China. In the past, the crime of counter-
33
Greta Nicholls
revolution will be sentenced. But now, the collaborators of artists are also collaborate with political power, this makes the definition and classification of politics extremely complicated. (�����论���������经������������������过�����场�����艺术������������权������这�����见��类��义�为�杂� 在中国,言论自由度确有增加。已经从法律上取消了反革命罪了嘛。反革命罪
过去是会上刑场的。当下,艺术家的市场合作者或许首先是政治审查权力的座
上客,这使得不同政见的分类和定义极为复杂。) same words 卡夫卡说:“我有许多可能性,这是确实的;可是谁知道被压在哪块石头之下呢?” a quote from franz kafka, I don’t know the original words, but the translation is like “I got lots of possibilities, and this is for sure; but who know which stone they will be buried.” Potentially: This tremendous world I have inside of me. How to free myself, and this world, without tearing myself to pieces. And rather tear myself to a thousand pieces than be buried with this world within me.”
APPENDIX 2: INTERVEIW WITH THE GAO BROTHERS 24th March 2013
Translated by Brianna Charles
Do you think that censorship has increased or decreased in the last few years? Or is it just being enforced in a different manner? ��们���经历����说,����,���强�对艺术�览�审查����2007�����们���798艺术��������对�����间��们���������览(虽�����审查)��������压��2007�����们����闭�������为���间�����对���,�
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Greta Nicholls
From our personal experiences and feelings, in recent years, the official strengthen the review and control of art exhibitions. Prior to 2007, our studio in Beijing 798 Art District has been an open space, where we can do some public exhibitions (which have suffered from reviews), but due to various pressures, after 2007, we had to close the room, and use it as just a private space, no longer open to the public. Do you think the increased publicity surrounding the censorship of art, has actually backfired for the Chinese government? That is to say that it has created greater anti-government sentiment. �们���这���������这�����厌恶�� We don’t know if this is counterproductive, but it certainly is disgusting. Why is the government is so threatened by political art? �权������������慑�谎���骗����艺术�为��������对�权���谎���战 � We do not want to exaggerate the role of art. However, we believe that the art of social change in China will play the witness catalytic role. Is art an effective vehicle for change within China? �们����艺术������们��艺术对�����变���见证������� The role of art is limited. If you were not artists, do you think you would be political activists? �������� I do not know. It's possible. Do you think art is an effective means of politically engaging society, or is it limited to those directly involved within the cultural scene? 艺术�������� We do not want to exaggerate the role of art. However, we believe that the art of social change in China will play the witness catalytic role.
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Greta Nicholls
Do you think the increased commercial popularity of ‘political’ art with the West, has somewhat decreased it’s power as a form of dissidence? �们认为�对��������说�艺术���������为��业�值�����强�����为��业�值������� We believe that, in their right mind, the appeal of the works of art will not be enhanced because of the increase in the commercial value, it will not be reduced because of the increase in the commercial value. That’s the direct translation which I assume means this: We believe that the appeal of works of art should not be reduced or enhanced based on their inherent commercial value.
APPENDIX THREE: INTERVEIW WITH SHUXIA CHEN 17th March 2013 Ai Weiwei has stated that ‘Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity.’ Do you agree? It involves the issue of the functionality of art or what art is. In Ai’s case, his “meaningful engagement” and “larger context” refer to society and politics or social activism. It is one important aspect on art production but not every artist in China is producing art in that domain.
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Greta Nicholls
Do you think the function of art is mainly social commentary? Can it be separated from the society in which it was created? You have previously mentioned your experience of censorship in Shanghai, what and why did this occur? My main role in the museum was to put up international touring exhibitions. When artists from overseas particularly from Taiwan or Hong Kong, we would need to report this (handing in documents of bios and images/DVDs of works of all the artists as well as curators in the show) to some culture department to the local government. A day or two before the opening, officers from this department would come to inspect the show. In one exhibition, one photographic work by a Chinese artist was asked to put down from the wall because it was too violent. This photograph was a photograph showing the re-staging scene of a street murder, which was in the local newspaper. There were fake blood and knife and body of that “murder scene”. It re-staged the scene of the murder, not a real one! It was interesting to ponder what violence was according to these cultural officials. In your opinion, is censorship by the government still commonplace? Please refer to the recent report by SBS program: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601636/n/The-Dissenters Broadly, what limitations are currently still being imposed towards artists by the government? Please refer to the recent report by SBS program: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601636/n/The-Dissenters