Since we have already begun to get acquainted with contemporary art in China, I thought it would be appropriate to quote one good article by a friend of mine who is researching this issue.
Olga Merekina: "Contemporary Chinese Art: 30-Year Path from Socialism to Capitalism. Part I"
Zeng Fanzhi's "A Man jn Melancholy" sold at Christie's for $1.3 million in November 2010
Perhaps, at first glance, the use of economic terms in relation to art, especially Chinese, may seem strange. But, in fact, they more accurately reflect the processes by which China in 2010 became the largest art market in the world. Back in 2007, when it overtook France for third place on the podium of the largest art markets, the world was surprised. But when, three years later, China overtook the UK and the US, the market leaders for the past fifty years, to become the world's top art seller, the global art community was shocked. It's hard to believe, but Beijing is currently the second largest art market after New York: $2.3 billion in turnover versus $2.7 billion. But let's look at everything in order.
Art of New China
Poster from the late 50s - an example of socialist realism
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Celestial Empire was in deep crisis. Although, since the end of the 19th century, a group of reformers have been trying to modernize the country, which at that time was helpless before the onslaught of foreign expansion. But only after the revolution of 1911 and the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty, changes in the economic, socio-political and cultural spheres began to gain momentum.
Previously, European visual art had practically no influence on Chinese traditional painting (and other areas of art). Although at the turn of the century, some artists were educated abroad, more often in Japan, and in several art schools they even taught classical Western drawing.
But only at the dawn of the new century did a new era begin in the Chinese art world: various groups appeared, new trends formed, galleries opened, exhibitions were held. In general, the processes in Chinese art of that time largely repeated the Western path (although the question of the correctness of the choice was constantly raised). Especially with the beginning of the Japanese occupation in 1937, among Chinese artists, the return to traditional art became a kind of manifestation of patriotism. Although at the same time absolutely Western forms of fine art were spreading, like a poster and a caricature.
After 1949, the first years of Mao Zedong's rise to power also saw a cultural upsurge. It was a time of hope for a better life and the future prosperity of the country. But this was soon quickly replaced by total control over creativity by the state. And the eternal dispute between Western modernism and Chinese guohua was replaced by socialist realism, a gift from the Big Brother - the Soviet Union.
But in 1966, even harsher times came for Chinese artists: the Cultural Revolution. As a result of this political campaign, initiated by Mao Zedong, education in art academies was suspended, all specialized journals were closed, 90% of famous artists and professors were persecuted, and the manifestation of creative individuality became one of the counter-revolutionary bourgeois ideas. It was the Cultural Revolution that in the future had a huge impact on the development of contemporary art in China and contributed to the birth of even several artistic movements.
After the death of the Great Pilot and the official end of the Cultural Revolution in 1977, the rehabilitation of artists began, art schools and academies opened their doors, where streams of those wishing to receive an academic art education poured in, printed publications resumed their activities, which published works by contemporary Western and Japanese artists, as well as classical Chinese paintings. This moment marked the birth of contemporary art and the art market in China.
Through the thorns to the stars"
Cry of the People, Ma Desheng, 1979
When at the end of September 1979 in the park opposite the "temple of proletarian art", the National Museum of Art of the People's Republic of China, an unofficial exhibition of artists was dispersed, no one could even imagine that this event would be considered the beginning of a new era in Chinese art. But a decade later, the work of the Zvezdy group will become the main part of the retrospective exhibition dedicated to Chinese art after the Cultural Revolution.
As early as 1973, many young artists began to secretly band together and discuss alternative forms of artistic expression, drawing inspiration from the work of Western modernism. The very first exhibitions of unofficial art associations took place in 1979. But neither the exhibition of the "April" group, nor the "Nameless Community" dealt with political issues. The works of the Stars group (Wang Keping, Ma Desheng, Huang Rui, Ai Weiwei and others) fiercely attacked the Maoist ideology. In addition to claiming the artist's right to individuality, they denied the "art for art's sake" theory that was prevalent in artistic and academic circles during the Ming and Qing dynasties. "Every artist is a small star," said one of the founders of the group, Ma Desheng, "and even the great artists in the universe are just small stars." They believed that the artist and his work should be closely connected with society, should reflect its pains and joys, and not try to avoid the difficulties and social struggles.
But in addition to the avant-garde artists who openly opposed the authorities, after the Cultural Revolution, new trends also emerged in Chinese academic art, based on the critical realism and humanistic ideas of Chinese literature of the early 20th century: "Scars" (Scar Art) and "Soil" ( Native Soil). The place of the heroes of socialist realism in the work of the "Scars" group was taken by the victims of the Cultural Revolution, the "lost generation" (Cheng Conglin). "Soilers" were looking for their heroes in the provinces, among small nationalities and ordinary Chinese (Tibetan series by Chen Danqing, "Father" Lo Zhongli). Adherents of critical realism remained within official institutions and tended to avoid open conflict with the authorities, focusing more on technique and the aesthetic appeal of the work.
The Chinese artists of this generation, born in the late 40s and early 50s, personally experienced all the hardships of the Cultural Revolution: many of them were exiled to rural areas as students. The memory from the harsh times became the basis of their work, radical like the "Stars" or sentimental like the "Scars" and "Soilers".
New Wave 1985
Largely due to the small breeze of freedom that blew with the beginning of economic reforms in the late 70s, often informal communities of artists and creative intelligentsia began to be created in cities. Some of them have gone too far in their political discussions - even to the point of categorically speaking against the party. The government's response to this spread of Western liberal ideas was the political campaign of 1983-84, which was aimed at combating every manifestation of "bourgeois culture", from eroticism to existentialism.
China's arts community responded with a proliferation of informal art groups (estimated at over 80), collectively known as the 1985 New Wave Movement. The participants of these numerous creative associations, different in their views and theoretical approaches, were young artists, often just leaving the walls of art academies. Among this new movement were the Northern Community, the Pond Association, and the Dadaists from Xiamen.
And although critics differ in regard to various groups, most of them agree that it was a modernist movement that sought to restore humanistic and rationalist ideas in the national consciousness. According to the participants, this movement was a kind of continuation of the historical process that began in the first decades of the 20th century and was interrupted in the middle of it. This generation, born in the late 50s and educated in the early 80s, also survived the Cultural Revolution, albeit at a less mature age. But their memories did not serve as a basis for creativity, but rather allowed them to accept Western modernist philosophy.
Movement, mass character, the desire for unity determined the state of the artistic environment in the 80s. Mass campaigns, declared goals and a common enemy have been actively used since the 50s by the Chinese Communist Party. The New Wave, although it declared goals opposite to those of the party, in many ways resembled the political campaigns of the government in its activities: with all the variety of artistic groups and directions, their activities were motivated by socio-political goals.
The culmination of the development of the New Wave 1985 movement was the China / Avant-Garde exhibition (China / Avant-garde), which opened in February 1989. The idea to organize an exhibition of contemporary art in Beijing was first expressed back in 1986 at a meeting of avant-garde artists in the city of Zhuhai. But only three years later this idea was realized. True, the exhibition was held in an atmosphere of strong social tension, which, three months later, resulted in well-known events on Tiananmen Square, well known to foreign readers. On the opening day of the exhibition, due to the shooting in the hall, which was part of the performance of the young artist, the authorities suspended the exhibition, and its re-opening took place a few days later. "China / Avant-Garde" has become a kind of "point of no return" of the avant-garde era in Chinese contemporary art. Already six months later, the authorities tightened control in all spheres of society, suspended the growing liberalization, and put an end to the development of openly politicized art movements.
Canvases by Chinese artists of the 21st century continue to sell at auctions like hot cakes, and expensive ones at that. For example, contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi painted The Last Supper, which was sold for $23.3 million and is on the list of the most expensive paintings of our time. However, despite its importance on the scale of world culture and world fine arts, modern Chinese painting is practically unknown to our people. Read about ten significant contemporary artists in China below.
Zhang Xiaogang
Zhang popularized Chinese painting with his recognizable works. So this contemporary artist became one of the most famous painters in his homeland. Once you see it, you too will never miss his unique family portraits from the Pedigree series. His unique style has amazed many collectors, who are now buying up Zhang's contemporary paintings for fabulous sums.
The themes of his works are the political and social realities of modern China, and Zhang, who survived the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of 1966-1967, tries to convey his attitude to them on canvas.
You can see the artist's work on the official website: zhangxiaogang.org.
Zhao Wuchao
Zhao's homeland is the Chinese city of Hainan, where he graduated with a degree in Chinese painting. The most famous are the works that the modern artist devotes to nature: Chinese landscapes, images of animals and fish, flowers and birds.
Modern Zhao painting contains two different areas of Chinese fine art - these are the Lingnan and Shanghai schools. From the first, the Chinese artist retained dynamic strokes and bright colors in his works, and from the second - beauty in simplicity.
Zeng Fanzhi
This contemporary artist gained recognition in the 90s of the last century with his series of paintings called “Masks”. They feature eccentric, cartoon-like characters with white masks on their faces that confuse the viewer. At one time, one of the works in this series broke the record for the highest price ever sold at auction by a painting by a living Chinese artist - and this price was 9.7 million dollars in 2008.
"Self-portrait" (1996)
Triptych "Hospital" (1992)
Series "Masks". No. 3 (1997)
Series "Masks". No. 6 (1996)
Today, Zeng is one of the most successful artists in China. He also does not hide the fact that German expressionism and earlier periods of German art have a strong influence on his work.
Tian Haibo
Thus, this artist's contemporary painting pays tribute to traditional Chinese fine art, in which the image of fish is a symbol of prosperity and great wealth, as well as happiness - this word is pronounced in Chinese as "yu", and the word "fish" is pronounced in the same way.
Liu Ye
This contemporary artist is known for his colorful paintings and the figures of children and adults depicted in them, also made in a "childish" style. All of Liu Ye's works look very funny and cartoony, like illustrations for children's books, but despite all the external brightness, their content is rather melancholic.
Like many other contemporary Chinese artists, Liu was influenced by the Cultural Revolution in China, but he did not promote revolutionary ideas in his work and fight against power, but focused on conveying the inner psychological state of his characters. Some of the artist's modern paintings are written in the style of abstractionism.
Liu Xiaodong
Contemporary Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong paints realist paintings depicting people and places affected by China's rapid modernization.
Liu's modern painting gravitates toward small, once industrial cities around the world, where he tries to look for characters in his canvases. He draws many of his modern paintings based on scenes from life, which look quite bold, naturalistic and frank, but truthful. They depict ordinary people as they are.
Liu Xiaodong is considered the representative of the "new realism".
Yu Hong
Scenes from her own daily life, her childhood, the lives of her family and her friends are what contemporary artist Yu Hong has chosen as the main subjects of her paintings. However, do not rush to yawn, expecting to see boring self-portraits and family sketches.
Rather, they are some kind of vignettes and individual images from her experience and memories, which are captured on canvas in the form of a kind of collage and recreate general ideas about the past and present life of ordinary people in China. From this, Yu's work looks very unusual, both fresh and nostalgic at the same time.
Liu Maoshan
Contemporary artist Liu Maoshan presents Chinese painting in the landscape genre. He became famous at the age of twenty, organizing his own art exhibition in his hometown of Suzhou. Here he paints delightful Chinese landscapes, which harmoniously combine traditional Chinese painting, European classicism, and even contemporary impressionism.
Liu is now Vice President of the Academy of Chinese Painting in Suzhou, and his watercolor Chinese landscapes are in galleries and museums in the US, Hong Kong, Japan and other countries.
Fongwei Liu
The gifted and ambitious Fongwei Liu, a contemporary Chinese artist, moved to the United States in 2007 in pursuit of his art dreams, where he graduated from an art academy with a bachelor's degree. Then Liu participated in various competitions and exhibitions and received recognition in the circles of painters.
The Chinese artist claims that the inspiration for his works is life and nature itself. First of all, he seeks to convey the beauty that surrounds us at every step and lurks in the most ordinary things.
Most often he paints landscapes, portraits of women and still lifes. You can see them on the artist's blog at fongwei.blogspot.com.
Yue Minjun
In his paintings, the contemporary artist Yue Minjun tries to comprehend the significant moments in the history of China, its past and present. In fact, these works are self-portraits, where the artist depicts himself in a deliberately exaggerated, grotesque form, using the brightest color shades in the spirit of pop art. He paints in oils. On all canvases, the figures of the author are depicted with wide, even gaping smiles that look more creepy than comical.
It is easy to see that such an artistic movement as surrealism had a great influence on the artist's painting, although Yue himself is considered one of the innovators of the "cynical realism" genre. Now dozens of art critics and ordinary viewers are trying to unravel and interpret Yue's symbolic smile in their own way. Recognizability of style and originality played into the hands of Yue, who also became one of the most "expensive" Chinese artists of our time.
You can see the artist's work on the website: yueminjun.com.cn.
And the following video shows a modern Chinese painting on silk, the authors of which are the artists Zhao Guojing, Wang Meifang and David Li:
In continuation of the article, we bring to your attention:
Take it, tell your friends!
Read also on our website:
show more
What names of modern Russian painting should be paid special attention to? What modern artist has created the most expensive among the paintings of living Russian authors? How well you are familiar with the domestic fine art of our time, find out from our article.
Exhibition “Alienated Paradise. Chinese Contemporary Art of the DSL Collection” will open in Moscow at the end of October. On the eve of its opening, we talk about Chinese contemporary art, the success of which is not only due to the talent of artists.
In 2012, Chinese artist Qi Baishi's "Eagle on a Pine Tree" sold for a then-record $57.2 million. Asian art auctions are now crowded: collectors are ready to shell out millions of dollars to acquire a painting by Zhang Xiaogang or Yu Mingzhua. We tried to find out why Chinese art is booming.
1. Auction houses
In the economy, China is rapidly catching up with the United States and has every chance in the near future to displace them from the first place. This was confirmed by the new survey of the International Comparison Program (ICP). Chinese businessmen are actively investing in contemporary art, considering it more promising than the real estate market and stocks.
In 2012, experts from the largest analytical company Artprice calculated how China's economic growth has changed the structure of the global art market. China's total art sales revenue in 2011 was $4.9 billion. China outperformed the US ($2.72 billion) and the UK ($2.4 billion) by a wide margin.
Already five auction houses in China are in the top world leaders in sales of contemporary art. Over the past ten years, the market share of Christie's and Sotheby's has decreased significantly - from 73% to 47%. The third place in importance is occupied by the China Guardian auction house, which sold the most expensive lot of 2012, the painting “Eagle on a Pine Tree” by Chinese artist Qi Baishi ($57.2 million).
Eagle on a pine tree, Qi Baishi
The artistic value of the paintings by Qi Baishi and Zhang Daqian, whose works are sold at auction for fabulous sums, is undeniable. But this is not the main reason for the prosperity of Chinese auction houses.
2. Nationality of collectors
This point is not about tolerance at all, but rather about the psychology of buyers. It is logical that Russian collectors prefer Russian artists. Likewise, Chinese businessmen invest more in the work of their compatriots than in others.
3. "Yahui" and bribes in Chinese
Among Chinese officials, there are "cultivated functionaries" who accept bribes in the form of works of art. Before announcing the auction, the appraiser declares a very low market value of the painting or sculpture, so the artwork cannot be the subject of accusations of bribery. The process of such bribery is called "yahui". Ultimately, thanks to the machinations of officials, yahui became a powerful driving force in China's art market.
4. The unique style of Chinese art - cynical realism
Chinese artists managed to accurately reflect the cultural and political phenomena of the modern Asian world. The aesthetics of their works are of interest not only to the Chinese themselves, but also to Europeans and Americans tempted by contemporary art.
Cynical realism arose in response to socialist realism, traditional in communist China. Skillful artistic techniques turn the political system of the PRC inside out, its indifference to the individual. A striking example is the work of Yu Mingzhua. All his paintings depict heroes with unnaturally laughing faces during terrible tragedies.
The Chinese authorities continue to suppress any criticism of the political system. In 2011, it seemed that the government had made some indulgence in respect of artists: the sculpture “Officer” by Zhao Zhao was exhibited in Beijing. It consisted of scattered pieces of an eight-meter statue of a Chinese military man, on the form of which the date of Ai Weiwei's arrest was engraved. It was soon announced that the sculpture was confiscated at the border while the artist's work was being transported to his exhibition in New York.
Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes of Eternity has been removed from an exhibition in Shanghai. The curators were unable to convince the Chinese government that the painting was not meant to disrespect Mao Zedong.
Having looked a bit at the main context of Chinese contemporary art, it's time to move on to the authors so much admired by the Western world.
1. Ai Weiwei
A real hero of our time who took Chinese art to a new level and tops our list for a reason. Previously, no one had the courage to speak so sharply and skillfully against the Chinese government.
In the famous "Fuck Off" photo series, the artist gives the middle finger to symbols of state power, including the Imperial Palace in Beijing. This, on the one hand, is naive, and on the other hand, a very strong gesture expresses the attitude towards the hated Ai Weiwei to the Chinese authorities.
Accurate illustration of Ai Weiwei's attitude towards the Chinese government
There are also quite harmless, but no less memorable actions. When the artist was forbidden to travel outside his yard, he began to put flowers in the bicycle basket every day and called them "Freedom Flowers". Weiwei intends to do so until he is released from house arrest.
There are no boundaries for this author: we are already talking about how, being under house arrest, he is actively preparing for the opening of his exhibition in the UK. Its 3D copy will greet the visitors of the exposition and move with them through the halls.
2. Liu Wei
In 2004, critics were esthetically shocked when Liu Wei presented "Indigestion II". It's a pile of tar excrement and Chinese petrochemical residues. The artist himself describes the work as follows: “The idea of the composition comes from the image of a giant who ate everything that appeared in his path. If you pay attention, you will see that not everything that he so greedily swallowed was digested. This excrement is the scene of a war.” Upon closer inspection, you can see that hundreds of toy soldiers, aircraft and weapons turned out to be “not digested”.
Indigestion II
In his works, Liu Wei urges people not to place high hopes on the development of high technology. Unfortunately, they only waste natural energy resources, and do not save them.
3. Sun Yuan and Peng Yu
This creative union is known worldwide for the use of non-traditional materials in their work: human fat, live animals and corpses.
The most famous work of the duo is the installation "Nursing Home". Thirteen life-sized sculptures in wheelchairs move chaotically around the gallery space. In the characters, world political figures are guessed: Arab leaders, American presidents of the 20th century and others. Paralyzed and powerless, toothless and old, they slowly run into each other and frighten the visitors of the exhibition with their realism.
"Nursing home"
The main idea of the installation is that, despite many decades, world leaders have not been able to agree with each other in the name of peace for their citizens. Artists rarely give interviews, explaining this by the fact that in their work you do not need to think of anything. Before the audience, they present a real picture of the future of diplomatic negotiations, the decisions of which are not valid for both sides.
4. Zhang Xiaogang
The Pedigree: Big Family series, launched in the early 1990s, is the most popular of his work. These paintings are a stylization of old family photographs taken during the Cultural Revolution in 1960-1970. The artist developed his own technique of "false portrait".
Pedigree: big family
On his portraits you can see the same, as if cloned faces with the same facial expressions. For the artist, this symbolizes the collective nature of the Chinese people.
Zhang Xiaogang is one of the most expensive and best-selling contemporary Chinese artists and is in demand among foreign collectors. In 2007, one of his paintings sold at auction for $3.8 million, the highest price ever paid for a work by a contemporary Chinese artist. Bloodline: Big Family #3 was bought by a Taiwanese collector for $6.07 million at Sotheby's.
Pedigree: Big Family #3
5. Cao Fei
Cynical realism in Fay's work takes on new meanings associated with the process of globalization. The most striking embodiment of her ideas is the video "Raging Dogs". In her works, the girl breaks the stereotype about diligent and executive Chinese. Here, her compatriots appear a little crazy and deeply integrated into the system of global production and consumption. In the process of globalization, they remain "obedient dogs" capable of accepting the roles imposed on them.
The text that precedes the work "Raging Dogs" says: "We are tame, patient and obedient. The host can summon or disperse us with one of his gestures. We are a miserable pack of dogs and are ready to be animals caught in the trap of modernization. When will we finally bite the owner and become real mad dogs?
Cao Fei in his movie "Reservoir Dogs"
The film is a noisy staged performance in which corporate employees, disguised as dogs, crawl around the office on all fours, bark, throw themselves at each other, roll on the floor and eat from a bowl. All of them are dressed in suits of the British brand Burberry. European pop hits, performed in Chinese, play in the background.
Thanks to the above economic, political prerequisites and the talent of the leaders of the Chinese art movement, collectors from all over the world dream of owning works of contemporary Chinese art. The West is still rethinking the Asian world, including culturally. And China, in turn, is rethinking the actions of its government against the backdrop of globalization.
These are Chinese traditional musical instruments.
(Actually, there are many more varieties.)
Contemporary illustrations by artist Wang Kongde show how these tools were used.
Erhu (二胡, èrhú), a two-stringed violin, has perhaps the most expressive voice of all bowed stringed instruments. The erhu is played both solo and in ensembles. It is the most popular stringed instrument among various ethnic groups in China. When playing the erhu, many complex technical bow and finger techniques are used. The erhu violin is often used as the lead instrument in traditional Chinese national instrument orchestras and in the performance of string and wind music.
The word "erhu" consists of the characters for "two" and "barbarian" because this two-stringed instrument came to China about 1000 years ago thanks to the northern nomadic peoples.
Modern erhus are made of precious wood, the resonator is covered with python skin. The bow is made of bamboo, on which a string of horsehair is pulled. During the game, the musician pulls the string of the bow with the fingers of his right hand, and the bow itself is fixed between two strings, making up a single whole with the erhu.
Pipa (琵琶, pípa) is a 4-string plucked musical instrument, sometimes also called the Chinese lute. One of the most widespread and famous Chinese musical instruments. The pipa has been played in China for more than 1500 years: the ancestor of the pipa, whose homeland is the region between the Tigris and Euphrates (the region of the "fertile crescent") in the Middle East, came to China along the ancient Silk Road in the 4th century BC. n. e. Traditionally, the pipa was used mainly for playing solo, less often in folk music ensembles, usually in southeast China, or as an accompaniment to storytellers.
The name "pipa" refers to the way the instrument is played: "pi" means moving the fingers down the strings, and "pa" means moving them backwards. The sound is extracted with a plectrum, but sometimes with a fingernail, which is given a special shape.
Several similar East Asian instruments are derived from the pipa: the Japanese biwa, the Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà, and the Korean bipa.
______________________________________________________
Yueqin (月琴, yuèqín, i.e. "moon lute"), or ruan ((阮), is a kind of lute with a round resonator body. The ruan has 4 strings and a short fretboard with frets (usually 24). also known as the octagonal-shaped ruan, played with a plectrum, the instrument has a melodic sound reminiscent of a classical guitar and is used both solo and in an orchestra.
In ancient times, ruan was called "pipa" or "qin pipa" (i.e. pipa of the Qin dynasty). However, after the ancestor of the modern pipa came to China along the Silk Road during the reign of the Tang Dynasty (circa 5th century AD), the name "pipa" was assigned to the new instrument, and the lute with a short neck and a round body began to be called " ruan" - named after the musician who played it, Ruan Xian (3rd century AD). Ruan Xian was one of the seven great scholars known as the "Seven Wise Men of the Bamboo Grove".
Xiao (箫, xiāo) is an upright flute usually made from bamboo. This very ancient instrument appears to be derived from the flute of the Tibetan Qiang people of southwestern China. An idea of this flute is given by ceramic funerary figurines dating back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). This instrument is even older than the di flute.
Xiao flutes have a clear sound suitable for playing beautiful, pleasing melodies. They are often used solo, in ensemble, and to accompany traditional Chinese opera.
______________________________________________________
XUANGU - hanging drum
______________________________________________________
Paixiao (排箫, páixiāo) is a type of pan flute. Over time, the instrument disappeared from musical use. Its revival began in the 20th century. Paixiao served as a prototype for the development of the next generations of this type of instrument.
______________________________________________________
The Chinese suona oboe (唢呐, suǒnà), also known as the laba (喇叭, lǎbā) or the haidi (海笛, hǎidí), has a loud and shrill sound and is often used in Chinese music ensembles. It is an important instrument in the folk music of northern China, especially in the provinces of Shandong and Henan. Suona is often used at weddings and funeral processions.
______________________________________________________
The kunhou harp (箜篌, kōnghóu) is another plucked stringed instrument that came to China along the Silk Road from Western Asia.
The kunhou harp is often found on the frescoes of various Buddhist caves of the Tang era, which indicates the widespread use of this instrument during that period.
She disappeared during the Ming Dynasty, but in the 20th century. she was revived. Kunhou was known only from frescoes in Buddhist caves, ritual funeral figurines, and engravings on stone and brickwork. Then, in 1996, in a tomb in Qemo County (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), two whole onion-shaped kunhou harps and a number of their fragments were found. However, the modern version of this instrument is more reminiscent of the Western concert harp rather than the old kunhou.
______________________________________________________
Guzheng (古箏, gǔzhēng), or zheng (箏, "gu" 古 means "ancient") is a Chinese zither with movable, loose string rests and 18 or more strings (modern zheng usually has 21 strings). Zheng is the ancestor of several Asian varieties of zither: Japanese koto, Korean gayageum, Vietnamese đàn tranh.
Although the original name of this painting is "Zheng", it is still depicted here guqin (古琴) - a Chinese seven-string zither. The guqin and guzheng are similar in shape, but they are easy to distinguish: while the guzheng has a support under each string, like the Japanese koto, the guqin does not have supports.
Since ancient times, the guqin has been a favorite instrument of scientists and thinkers, it was considered an exquisite and refined instrument and was associated with Confucius. He was also called "the father of Chinese music" and "the instrument of the sages".
Previously, the instrument was simply called "qin", but by the 20th century. the term has come to refer to a range of musical instruments: the cymbal-like yangqin, the huqin family of stringed instruments, the Western pianoforte, and so on. Then the prefix "gu" (古), i.e. "ancient, and was added to the name. Sometimes you can also find the name "qixiaqin", i.e. "seven-string musical instrument".
_______________________________________________________
Dizi (笛子, dízi) is a Chinese transverse flute. It is also called di (笛) or handi (橫笛). The di flute is one of the most common Chinese musical instruments, and can be found in folk music ensembles, modern orchestras, and Chinese opera. It is believed that dizi came to China from Tibet during the Han Dynasty. Dizi has always been popular in China, which is not surprising, because. It is easy to make and easy to carry around.
Today this instrument is usually made of high quality black bamboo with one blow hole, one membrane hole and six playing holes cut along its length. In the north, di is made from black (purple) bamboo, in the south, in Suzhou and Hangzhou, from white bamboo. Southern di's tend to be very thin, light and have a quiet sound. However, it would be more correct to call the di "membrane flute", since its characteristic, sonorous timbre is due to the vibration of a thin paper membrane, which is sealed with a special sound hole on the body of the flute.
Globalization
The 1990s saw a period of transformation in China in many areas of life, including art. Major cities have completely changed their appearance: the country was flooded with foreign goods and their Chinese counterparts, a wave of people seeking work and a better life poured from rural areas into cities. If in the 80s Chinese modernism was primarily associated with the socio-political situation in the country, then since the 90s the border between Chinese and international contemporary art began to actively blur. As in the economic and artistic life of China, the process of globalization has begun.
In contrast to the heroic and idealistic sentiments of the New Wave, in the 1990s, art in China took on a cynical tinge. The ban after 1989 on any public activity without the permission of the authorities caused many artists to turn to sarcasm. Another important factor that influenced the art world at that time was the rapid commercialization of Chinese society, which also affected the artist's relationship with the public.
As a result, a group of young artists, mostly graduates of the Central Academy of Arts, deliberately refused to put deep meaning into their work, making the so-called transition from "depth" to "surface". Named after the 1991 exhibition of the same name, the New Generation group in their works reflected sarcasm in relation to various problems of society. And the most extreme example of this trend was cynical realism ( Liu Xiaodong, Fang Lijun and others).
Born in the 60s, the artists of this generation did not have the spiritual wounds left by the events of the Cultural Revolution. They contrasted everyday life with the great ideas and goals of the New Wave: abandoning any overt political statements and theoretical systems, they simply focused on creative practice.
Another important artistic movement in the early 90s was pop art, which later developed into two independent directions. Political pop art (eg. Wang Guangyi) showed a rethinking of the past political visual culture: the images of the revolution were revised and combined with the images of the Western market culture. Cultural pop art focused more on the present, drawing images and styles from various areas of popular visual culture, especially advertising.
Cynical realism and political pop art are the most well-known trends in contemporary Chinese art in the West. But in the 90s, another direction was developed - conceptual art, originally presented by the New Analyst group ( Zhang Peili and Qiu Zhijie).
Since the mid-1990s, performances have also spread, which were mainly concentrated in the so-called East Village in the suburbs of Beijing. This is the period of masochistic "65 kg" Zhang Huang,
rethinking the calligraphy tradition of Qiu Zhijie, family series Zhang Xiaogang.
By the mid-1990s, most artists had freed themselves from the burden of the Cultural Revolution. Their work began to reflect the problems of modern Chinese society more. The result was a new movement called Gaudy Art, which, by combining the visual elements of cynical realism and cultural pop art, both ridiculed and exploited the vulgarity of commercial culture. Works of artists ( The Luo Brothers, Xu Yihui (Xu Yihui)) in this direction have become very popular with both galleries and foreign collectors. On the one hand, the "colorful" works were directed against the consumer society, on the other hand, they themselves were the objects of this consumption.
At the same time, a group of performance and installation artists gave impetus to the development of non-commercial projects that represented active interaction with society. But instead of simply reflecting the changes in society, as the New Generation artists did, they sought to express their own attitude towards these social transformations (Zhang Huan, Wang Jinsong, Zhu Fadong).
During the 80s, avant-garde artists and critics used the term "modernism" to refer to contemporary art, while in the 90s, especially after 1994, the terms "actual" or "experimental" art began to be used more and more often. That is, Chinese contemporary art has gradually become part of the world. And when a significant number of artists left for the USA, Japan and European countries (many of whom returned to China in the 2000s), those who remained in their homeland also got the opportunity to travel around the world. From that moment on, contemporary Chinese art ceases to be an exclusively local phenomenon and merges into the world.
The publication
1992 proved to be an important year for China, not only in terms of economic reforms, but also in the art world. The first to pay attention to the Chinese avant-garde were (of course, after the authorities) foreign collectors and critics, for whom the main criterion for artistic evaluation of the works and the artist himself was "informality". And, first of all, avant-garde artists, instead of waiting for recognition from the state, turned their eyes to the international market.
