The Peking puzzle- navigating Beijing’s art scene during the Olympic period
Here’s a general overview of the Beijing art scene
Currents of change
China’s art community is in a constant state of flux, buoyed by an increasing talent pool of diverse artists, they are swept this way and that by various forces, such as the over heated market, investment, government, foreign intervention, political issues, the Olympics, critical and philosophical arguments, various local, regional and international art movements and trends, and the normal self introspection expected of artists.
All this activity means there is now no settled theme or framework within which to examine Chinese art. The artists, dealers, collectors, galleries, critics and museums are all aware of the situation, and are diversely and collectively struggling to make their mark on history while at the same time protecting and projecting their own unique take on the arts to the local and international art scenes.
At the forefront of this hotbed of artistic endeavor is Beijing, the city, which is expanding its boundaries to allow various art communities space to grow and expand. Here and there around the city are a constantly growing series of art villages, communes, vast studio complexes, art gallery districts as well as educational establishments and museums.
“If you think Beijing is the center of a country of 1.5 billion people, it is still not enough, if all the art teachers in China visited only once every five years, already this place would be too busy,” said Lorenz Heibling of Shangart, who has recently opened a new space in the city’s Caochangdi art village.
The recent scene has been exacerbated by the security build up for the Olympic games, with the city going down into lockdown. The government has said it will not authorize events with more than 40 people, a series of large scale events, such as the annual midi music festival, have been cancelled or postponed, and foreign artists who planned to show in Beijing during the games have been experiencing difficulties securing visas.
Beijing is a city of many undercurrents, with art being a mainstay of the city’s culture, and the city attracts creatives from around the country. It is home to tens of thousands of artists, hundreds of galleries, leading art schools and is the center of mainland China’s collection and auction industries.
The Panjiayuan antiques market is a good place to get a start to get an idea of the scale and monumental size of nick knackery to art that is available in Beijing. Endless stalls selling fake, replica Mao memorabilia, fake copies of revolutionary art, fake copies of contemporary artists, your correspondent, for research purposes, bought a hand painted fake Yue Minjun for $10. Yue’s work sells for millions of dollars at auction, yet copies are sold all over town. Decent replicas of cultural revolution woodcuts sell for about $1 each. Alongside this cornucopia of fakes and counterfeits sit some genuine items, usually tucked away in some old fellows shop on the second floor, around the back. But if you have no way to measure if something is fake, assume it is, and you won’t go far wrong. Some owners will let you photograph their real items for a small fee, to get it appraised, before purchase. The bar in the Beijing Grand Hyatt was introduced as ‘the best bar in Beijing because it is guaranteed they don’t sell fake alcohol,’ by one local bon vivant. Fakery is rampant, and visitors are advised to be cautious with all purchases.
The massed ranks of revolutionary memorabilia also raises a moral question for the causal tourist -purchasing a little red book, or lithograph of Jian Qing (Mao’s wife and one of the cultural revolutions gang of four) is akin to buying mein kampf and waffen ss posters in Europe. The sellers are usually nonchalant or oblivious to the context of what they are selling, on questioning them, they usually find it amusing or even hilarious, some of the phrases on the posters, like destroy the capitalist class, or attack foreign imperialists, or attack the traitor Liu Shaoqi, arouse titters from the vendors.
Nevertheless numerous artists you will see in Beijing paint similar stuff to try and create a market amongst foreigners. Yet other artists try to subvert and ridicule this trend, or try to make real commentary on the historical precedents of this work, such as Wang Guanyi. How can you tell the difference? Again, as a non expert, better to take a photo and ask someone who knows what it means and put the work in context. The buyers in the Chinese market have, on meeting this trend, have usually just wet their big toe in the heady world of Chinese art.
Beijing is a city consumed with the idea that everyone else is everyone elses ‘gemer’ or ‘mate.’ This pervades all levels of society, and the level of matiness, and complex interrelating concentric relations between mates needs to be navigated.
“As a woman, I am able to stay out of this mate system, so when I curate shows, I can mix them up, this is how it has been for many years. There are not enough women in this art scene,” said Victoria Lu, former director of Shanghai and Taiwan MOCA.
Different factions of mates struggle against each other, but the groups are quite fluid, and everyone knows everyone else. But as with all complex social friends networks, there is no helmsman, no leader, so it is difficult to ascertain which direction or movement an artist belongs to or adheres to. This back ground needs to be established before purchase or real discussion of a work begins.
This is Beijing, different for instance to Shanghai, which works more on a secretive triad based model, with colonialist undertones, in the view of many in Beijing.
So for those who wish to survive these complex surroundings it is imperative to go with the flow and not try to buff against the current, to sway like bamboo with the wind. Individuality is a growing trend and challenge being taken up by many of the younger artists, which means their work often meets resistance and is difficult to place within the established status quo. Those of the 70s and 80s generations already see themselves as the products of a golden age, and their younger brothers and sisters are spoilt, unchallenged. ‘But our hope lies with them,’ as Guan Yi, China’s top collector told the art newspaper. This phrase, first popularized by Chairman Mao, at the beginning of the cultural revolution, shows how China’s youth are the target of the attentions of every generation of leaders. To influence and lead the youth is the imperative of every leader, and they are a difficult and tenacious bunch, with the current generation being the most complex and contradictory to date, with their high fashion tastes, nationalism, internet connections and exposure to foreign travel and education. As yet, the Chinese art world has yet to see the latest generation explain themselves. So be on the look out for video art, plastic sculptures and other diverse means of expression in some of the smaller galleries and spaces representing this young avant guarde. A good sampler would be stroll down some of the old lanes which are an international mixture of bars restaurants shops and mini galleries mostly run by business minded youths.
The current bastion of old and modern schools is 798, a huge gallery district and now an official designated tourist site. This official stamp has taken some of the edginess off, as building codes are being implemented, and ramshackle streets and alleys are being cleaned up and gentrified. But as prices move up the artists move out, meaning several other rival districts have arisen, such as The East Village and Art Brewery Center.
Beijing locks down for the Olympics
On first impressions preparations for the Beijing Games appear authorities are expecting a serious zombie outbreak rather than a global festival of sport.
Large 3 meter high fencing and concrete barriers surround key points resembling the Bagdhad green zone, while hotels are installing high security screen doors, with armed police dotted on most street corners to prevent ‘photo taking.’
“Its normal Olympic policy, to install these types of fencing, but it seems they are doing it a bit early,” one engineer commented.
“Beijing maybe before wanted to put on a wonderful games, a dream Olympics, but now, after what has happened, they have given up that idea and want to just have a safe Olympics,” one restaurant owner said, having just been told he needs to close for 3 months.
Even more serious for the foreign visitor is the very ambiguous situation on visas. An avalanche of complaints from China’s expat community, with residents of years standing finding it hard to secure visas, is mirrored by complaints by visitors trying to get visas from Chinese embassies worldwide. Twelve hour queues are being reported, even for those whose visa application has been approved. One senior source said that journalist visas for arts and culture journalists will not be issued. “Only sports journalists will now be allowed,” the source said.
In the words of the title track of the just released album “Coming to Beijing” by Beijing band Brain Failure “The roads lead somewhere new, but it is still slow, Yeah! The place is the same but the bars are all closed.”
Shows of Note:
If time is short, try to visit the following venues:
UCCA Ullens Center will host a retrospective show of the collection of these Belgian billionaires
Red Gate Gallery, based in an old watch tower, focused on more established mature artists
Gallery Continua- one of Beijing’s leading contemporary sites
Long March - the base of a revolutionary movement to bring art to the masses
Arario Gallery- Korean financed site of avant guarde
Shanghart Beijing - home of China’s top selling artists such as Zeng Fanzhi
Boers Li - well managed and curated site of leading new media and cutting edge artists, as well as some more traditional contemporary artists
Art Now - home of punk rockers and many of Beijing’s new and established artists