Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary China Publications The International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) is a research and exchange platform based in Leiden, the Netherlands. Its objective is to encourage the interdisciplinary and comparative study of Asia and to promote (inter)national cooperation. IIAS focuses on the humanities and social sciences and on their interaction with other sciences. It stimulates scholarship on Asia and is instrumental in forging research networks among Asia Scholars. Its main research interests are reflected in the three book series published with Amsterdam University Press: Global Asia, Asian Heritages and Asian Cities. IIAS acts as an international mediator, bringing together various parties in Asia and other parts of the world. The Institute works as a clearinghouse of knowledge and information. This entails activities such as providing information services, the construction and support of international networks and cooperative projects, and the organization of seminars and conferences. In this way, IIAS functions as a window on Europe for non-European scholars and contributes to the cultural rapprochement between Europe and Asia. IIAS Publications Officer: Paul van der Velde IIAS Assistant Publications Officer: Mary Lynn van Dijk Asian Cities The Asian Cities Series explores urban cultures, societies and developments from the ancient to the contemporary city, from West Asia and the Near East to East Asia and the Pacifijic. The series focuses on three avenues of inquiry: evolving and competing ideas of the city across time and space; urban residents and their interactions in the production, shaping and contestation of the city; and urban challenges of the future as they relate to human well-being, the environment, heritage and public life. Series Editor Paul Rabé, Urban Knowledge Network Asia (UKNA) at International Institute for Asian Studies, The Netherlands Editorial Board Henco Bekkering, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Charles Goldblum, University of Paris 8, France Xiaoxi Hui, Beijing University of Technology, China Stephen Lau, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Rita Padawangi, University of Social Sciences, Singapore Parthasarathy Rengarajan, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Gujarat, India Neha Sami, Indian Institute of Human Settlements, Bangalore, India Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary China Urbanized Interface Edited by Minna Valjakka and Meiqin Wang Amsterdam University Press Publications asian cities 8 Cover illustration: Jin Feng, Wordless Petitions, 2006, photograph. Courtesy of the artist. Cover design: Coördesign, Leiden Lay-out: Crius Group, Hulshout isbn 978 94 6298 223 9 e-isbn 978 90 4853 213 1 (pdf) doi 10.5117/9789462982239 nur 630 © Minna Valjakka & Meiqin Wang / Amsterdam University Press B.V., Amsterdam 2018 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Every efffort has been made to obtain permission to use all copyrighted illustrations reproduced in this book. Nonetheless, whosoever believes to have rights to this material is advised to contact the publisher. Contents List of Figures 6 Engagement with the Urban 13 Visual Arts as a Form of Cultural Activism in Contemporary China Minna Valjakka and Meiqin Wang Part I Representations 1 From Sidewalk Realism to Spectral Romance 35 Yang Lina’s Beijing and Beyond Zhen Zhang 2 Urban History from Below 61 The Artworks of Zhang Dali, Jin Feng and Dai Guangyu Maurizio Marinelli 3 The Transient City 87 Urban Transformation in Chinese Contemporary Photography Jiang Jiehong 4 Shadow of the Spectacular 115 Photographing Social Control and Inequality in Urban China Meiqin Wang 5 China Dreaming 147 Representing the Perfect Present, Anticipating the Rosy Future Stefan Landsberger Part II Urban Interventions 6 Urban Insertion as Artistic Strategy 181 The Big Tail Elephant Working Group in 1990s Guangzhou Nancy P. Lin 7 Cao Fei’s ‘Magical Metropolises’ 209 Chris Berry 8 Relocating Further or Standing Ground? 237 Unofficial Artists and Independent Film-makers in the Beijing Periphery Judith Pernin 9 Out of Service 261 Migrant Workers and Public Space in Beijing Elizabeth Parke 10 Translocal Site-Responsiveness of Urban Creativity in Mainland China 285 Minna Valjakka Index 317 List of Figures Figure 1.1 Yang Lina, Old Men, 1999. Courtesy of the artist. 43 Figure 1.2 Yang Lina filming in the park, ca. 2007. Courtesy of the artist. 46 Figure 1.3 Yang Lina, The Loves of Lao An, 2008. Courtesy of the artist. 47 Figure 1.4 Yang Lina, Longing for the Rain, 2013. Courtesy of the artist. 51 Figure 1.5 Yang Lina, Longing for the Rain, 2013. Courtesy of the artist. 53 Figure 2.1 Jin Feng, A History of China’s Modernisation Volumes 1 and 2, 2011, rubber, marble, rice paper installation. Courtesy of the artist. 64 Figure 2.2 Jin Feng, Wordless Petitions, 2006, photograph. Courtesy of the artist. 65 Figure 2.3 Zhang Dali, Demolition, no. 65B, 1999. Courtesy of the artist. 71 7 Cao Fei’s ‘Magical Metropolises’ 209 Chris Berry 8 Relocating Further or Standing Ground? 237 Unofficial Artists and Independent Film-makers in the Beijing Periphery Judith Pernin 9 Out of Service 261 Migrant Workers and Public Space in Beijing Elizabeth Parke 10 Translocal Site-Responsiveness of Urban Creativity in Mainland China 285 Minna Valjakka Index 317 List of Figures Figure 1.1 Yang Lina, Old Men, 1999. Courtesy of the artist. 43 Figure 1.2 Yang Lina filming in the park, ca. 2007. Courtesy of the artist. 46 Figure 1.3 Yang Lina, The Loves of Lao An, 2008. Courtesy of the artist. 47 Figure 1.4 Yang Lina, Longing for the Rain, 2013. Courtesy of the artist. 51 Figure 1.5 Yang Lina, Longing for the Rain, 2013. Courtesy of the artist. 53 Figure 2.1 Jin Feng, A History of China’s Modernisation Volumes 1 and 2, 2011, rubber, marble, rice paper installation. Courtesy of the artist. 64 Figure 2.2 Jin Feng, Wordless Petitions, 2006, photograph. Courtesy of the artist. 65 Figure 2.3 Zhang Dali, Demolition, no. 65B, 1999. Courtesy of the artist. 71 Figure 2.4 Dai Guangyu, Geomancy: Ink, Ice, 2004/05. Courtesy of the artist. 72 Figure 2.5 Dai Guangyu, The Kidnapped, 2011, ink acrylic on xuan paper. Courtesy of the artist. 74 Figure 2.6 Zhang Dali, Demolition, no. 25, 1998. Courtesy of the artist. 75 Figure 3.1 Rong Rong, Liulituan, no. 8, 2003. Courtesy of the artist. 96 Figure 3.2 Zhang Dali, Demolition, no. 125a, 1998. Courtesy of the artist. 98 Figure 3.3 Zhuang Hui and Dan’er, Yumen: Laojun Temple Oilfield, 2006-2009. Courtesy of the artists. 99 Figure 3.4 Wang Qingsong, Skyscraper, no. 2, 2008. Courtesy of the artist. 101 Figure 3.5 Miao Xiaochun, Surplus, 2009. Courtesy of the artist. 102 Figure 3.6 Jiang Pengyi, All Back to Dust, no. 2, 2006. Courtesy of the artist. 105 Figure 3.7 Chen Shaoxiong, Streetscape I, 1997-1998. Courtesy of the artist. 106 Figure 3.8 Zhang Peili, The Entryway of Hangzhou Parterre One Year Apart, 2000-2001. Courtesy of the artist. 109 Figure 4.1 Ni Weihua, Keywords – Chinese Dream: Shanghai Jiangdong Road, June 7, 2015, 2015. Courtesy of the artist. 119 Figure 4.2 Ni Weihua, Keywords – Development: Shanghai Zhongshan Road East No. 1, December 15, 1998, 1998. Courtesy of the artist. 121 Figure 4.3 Top: Ni Weihua, Keywords – Development: Shanghai Xin Kezhan, May 23, 1999, 1999; Bottom: Ni Weihua, Keywords – Development: Qingdao Shangdong Road, Shangdong, October 15, 2003, 2003. Courtesy of the artist. 122 Figure 4.4 Top: Ni Weihua, Keywords – Harmony: Shanghai Zhouzhugong Road, April 10, 2008, 2008; Bottom: Ni Weihua, Keywords – Harmony: Hangzhou Jiefang Road, 14 September 2008. Courtesy of the artist. 127 Figure 4.5 Selected pieces from Ni Weihua’s Keywords – Chinese Dream series, 2013-2015. Courtesy of the artist. 129 Figure 4.6 Ni Weihua, Landscape Wall – Shanghai Puming Road, 11:46, September 4, 2013, 2013. Courtesy of the artist. 132 Figure 4.7 Ni Weihua, Landscape Wall – Shanghai Hengfeng Road, 15:00-15:30, April 18, 2009, 2009. Courtesy of the artist. 134 Figure 4.8 Top: Ni Weihua, Landscape Wall – Shanghai Songhu Road, 10:45, April 4, 2013, 2013; Bottom: Ni Weihua, Landscape Wall – Shanghai Langao Road, 16:00-16:30, November 26, 2009, 2009. Courtesy of the artist. 136 Figure 5.1 Designer unknown. Title: Tong yige shijie tong yige mengxiang (One world, one dream). Publisher: Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Date of publication: July 2008, ISBN: 978-7- 80716-715-0. Nr. of copies printed: 200,000. Available online: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008- 07/18/content_8570590.htm 156 Figure 5.2 Designer unknown. Title: Tong yige shijie tong yige mengxiang (One world, one dream). Publisher: Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Date of publication: July 2008, ISBN: 978-7-80716-715-0. Nr. of copies printed: 300,000. Available online: http://news.xinhuanet.com/ english/2008-07/18/content_8570590_1.htm. 157 Figure 5.3 Designer unknown. Title: Geng kuai geng gao geng qiang (Citius – Altius – Fortius). Publisher: Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Date of publication: 2008. Print nr.: 780716.36. Available online: http://news.xinhuanet. com/english/2008- 07/18/content_8570590_2.htm 159 Figure 5.4 Designer: Public Service Advertising Art Committee; figurine designed by Lin Gang. Title: Zhongguo meng – wode meng (The Chinese Dream – my dream). Publisher: China Internet Television Station. Date of publication: 2013. No print number. Available on web- site of the Civilization Office under the CCP Central Committee: http://www.wenming.cn/jwmsxf_294/ zggygg/pml/zgmxl/201309/t20130930_1501267.shtml 167 Figure 5.5 Designer: Public Service Advertising Art Committee; image designed by Liu Zhigui. Title: Zhonghua meide – Xiao (Chinese virtue – filial piety). Publisher: China Internet Television Station. Date of publication: 2013. No print number. Available online on website of the Civilization Office under the CCP Central Committee http://www.wenming.cn/jwmsxf_294/zggygg/pml/ ctmdxl/201309/t20130929_1500525.shtml 169 Figure 5.6 Designer: Public Service Advertising Art Committee; image designed by Ren Mingzhao. Title: Ren jing lao ji de fu (The people honour the old for their own happiness). Publisher: China Internet Television Station. Date of publication: 2013. No print number. Available online on website of the Civilization Office under the CCP Central Committee http://www. wenming.cn/jwmsxf_294/zggygg/pml/tmdxl/201309/ t20130929_1500644.shtml 172 Figure 6.1 Lin Yilin, Safely Maneuvering Across Lin He Road, 1995, performance, 90 min, Guangzhou. Courtesy of the artist. 182 Figure 6.2 A group meeting in 1993, Guangzhou. From left to right: Chen Shaoxiong, Liang Juhui, Xu Tan and Lin Yilin. Courtesy of Lin Yilin. 185 Figure 6.3 Lin Yilin, Standard Series of Ideal Residence, 1991, installation, brick, iron, wood. Courtesy of the artist. 187 Figure 6.4 Xu Tan, The Alteration and Extension of Sanyu Road No. 14, 1994, installation, photographs, floor plan, video, text, Guangzhou. Courtesy of the artist. 189 Figure 6.5 Detail of Xu Tan, The Alteration and Extension of Sanyu Road No. 14, 1994. Courtesy of the artist. 189 Figure 6.6 Chen Shaoxiong, Streetscape I, 1997-1998, photograph, photo collage, Guangzhou. Courtesy of the artist. 193 Figure 6.7 Liang Juhui, One Hour Game, 1996, installation and performance, white cloth, chair, television, video game, Guangzhou. Courtesy of Liang Juhui Memorial of Libreria Borges Institut d’Art Contemporain. 197 Figure 6.8 From left to right: detail of Figure 6.4 showing Xu Tan; detail of Figure 6.7 showing Liang Juhui; and photograph of Chen Shaoxiong holding Streetscape II, 1997-1998. Courtesy of Luo Qingmin, spouse of Chen Shaoxiong. 202 Figure 7.1 Cao Fei, Hip Hop Guangzhou, 2003, video. Courtesy of Vitamin Creative Space, 2015. 215 Figure 7.2 Moonwalking in Cao Fei’s Whose Utopia, 2006, video. Courtesy of Vitamin Creative Space, 2015. 216 Figure 7.3 Cao Fei, RMB City, 2007 onwards, moving image. Courtesy of Vitamin Creative Space, 2015. 219