fluktor -|||- study - office - newsletter October 29, 2005

CNN, October 26, 2005
Images from a country in transition
From CNN's Diana Magnay

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Not so long ago, showing images of China like those currently on display in an exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert museum could have meant a prison sentence for the artists and the curators.

[image] In his Buddha series of self-portraits, An Hong mixes images taken from Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism with elements of popular culture.
[image] Qiu Zhijie believes that: "signs and codes have overpowered actual human beings, and our bodies have become merely their vehicles."
[image] Sheng Qi lost his little finger before leaving China, after the Tiananmen Square massacre. His photographs suggest that, for his generation, personal and historical memory are connected.

Avant-garde art was officially banned after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

But after years of suppression, China's cultural and technological barriers are falling, and artists are bridging the digital divide.

The exhibition, called "Between Past and Future," shows new photography and video from China.

Co-curator Wu Hung told CNN that in the past 15 years or so, huge strides had been made for artists to express themselves more freely.

"In the mid-90s, the government had a very hostile attitude toward this kind of work, but right now, since (the) late 90s, the situation has been changing," he said.

"So like anything else, everything changes very fast in China, including the status of this kind of art."

Artists have been quick to react to the relaxation of censorship, exchanging traditional art forms for the opportunities offered by emerging technologies.

Mark Goldstein, editor of the Web site photographyblog.com, told CNN that digital art was still dependant on age-old photographic techniques.

"The creative view behind photography has been there since the days of film and is still there today, and digital photography will not change that in any way."

It is no surprise Chinese artists are turning to photography and video to express how they feel about modern day China -- both are mediums that capture in an instant a society that is changing by the second.

Former watercolor artist Miao Xiaochun now uses the latest photographic technology to reproduce carefully modified images on an enormous scale.

"I made many many negatives and then scanned them and manipulated them together in the computer," he told CNN.

"It is between the traditional photography and the digital photography so this is a mixture."

Co-curator Christopher Phillips told CNN that transformation was a recurring theme in the art on display at the V&A.

"I think there's a very ambivalent attitude on the part of many Chinese artists about the changes that the country is going through," he said.

"I think everyone takes enormous pride in the great economic progress that the country is making, at the same time they're seeing the most beautiful parts of their cities fall to the bulldozer literally overnight."

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/10/26/spark.chinese.art/

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Vietnam unearths 2,000-year-old bronze drum
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-27 13:39:02

HANOI, Oct. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- A bronze drum and a bronze jar datedback some 2,000 years ago have just been found in northern Vietnam, local newspaper People reported Thursday.

The bronze, unearthed in northern Hai Duong province by local residents on Sunday when they were building roads, is 42.5 cm in height, and 56.7 cm in diameter of its bottom. It belonged to the Dong Son Culture, important prehistoric culture of Indochina, which is named for a village in northern Vietnam where many of itsremains have been found.

The jar's height is 41.5 cm, and its biggest diameter stands at35.5 cm. Both the antiques are not intact.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/27/content_3690675.htm

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Eastern Zhou grave pit unearthed in Luoyang
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-26 13:51:52

[image] Archaeologists and workers excavate cultural relics from an Eastern Zhou Dynasty grave that was found in Luoyang of Central China's Henan Province on October 25, 2005. Bronzeware, jade, and horse pit unearthed from the burial site are in good shape, which is peculiar in this ancient city of Luoyang, as usually 90 percent of the graves are empty upon discovery. [newsphoto]

[image] According to the experts, it is a a scholar-bureaucrat's grave in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256BC) judging from the funerary objects. All the relics have been sent to a safe place and further excavation is being carried out around the site.

[image] Two worker clear up the relics in the newly unearthed pit. [newsphoto]

[image] The horse-and-vehicle pit excavated in this cultural relics discovery [newsphoto]

[image] Newly excavated bronze wares are tagged and classified. [newsphoto]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/26/content_3685792.htm

***************************

Ruling center of Tang Dynasty to be restored
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-25 16:03:13

XI'AN, Oct. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- China will invest heavily in restoring Daming Palace, the ruling center of the Tang Dynasty dating back 1,100 years, and will build a park there.

The palace is similar to the Yuanmingyuan Palace of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in terms of historical value and size. The project is expected to be completed in five years, according to sources with the Xi'an Department of Cultural Heritage in Shaanxi Province

The palace covers an area of 3.5 square kilometers. It was the largest of the three major palaces in Chang'an, the then capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It had served as the political center for the Tang emperors for about 240 years.

Chinese archeologists have been restoring Hanyuan Hall, Linde Hall Sanqing Hall, the palace gates and an imperial road at the site. The site was first excavated in 1959 and put under state protection in 1961. No high rises have been allowed to be built there since then.

Li Shimin, the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, commenced construction of the Daming Palace for his retired father, Li Yuan, in 634 in the northeastern part of Chang'an, basically today's Xi'an.

Later, in 663, Li Zhi, the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty, completed construction on the Daming Palace, and moved his court there from the former imperial palace of Taiji, making the Daming Palace the political center of the dynasty.

The palace was abandoned after the Tang Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, basically at today's city of Luoyang in Henan Province, in 904.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/25/content_3681920.htm

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Ancient art works excavated from Java Sea
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-27 10:01:51

Rare Chinese art works excavated from Java Sea (1)
A rare ceramic from China's Five Dynasties period from 907 to 960 AD excavated from an an ancient cargo which sunk more than 1,000 years ago in the Java Sea.

[7 images]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/27/content_3689707_6.htm

__________________

with kind regards,

Matthias Arnold
(Art-Eastasia list)

http://www.chinaresource.org
http://www.fluktor.de

__________________________________________

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For postings earlier than 2005-02-23 please go to:
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	October 29, 2005: [achtung! kunst] Yet again: "Between Past and Future"

	CNN, October 26, 2005 Images from a country in transition From CNN's Diana Magnay LONDON, England (CNN) -- Not so long ago, showing images of China like those currently on display in an exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert museum could have meant a prison sentence for the artists and the curators. [image] In his Buddha series of self-portraits, An Hong mixes images taken from Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism with elements of popular culture. [image] Qiu Zhijie believes that: "signs and codes have overpowered actual human beings, and our bodies have become merely their vehicles." [image] Sheng Qi lost his little finger before leaving China, after the Tiananmen Square massacre. His photographs suggest that, for his generation, personal and historical memory are connected. Avant-garde art was officially banned after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. But after years of suppression, China's cultural and technological barriers are falling, and artists are bridging the digital divide. The exhibition, called "Between Past and Future," shows new photography and video from China. Co-curator Wu Hung told CNN that in the past 15 years or so, huge strides had been made for artists to express themselves more freely. "In the mid-90s, the government had a very hostile attitude toward this kind of work, but right now, since (the) late 90s, the situation has been changing," he said. "So like anything else, everything changes very fast in China, including the status of this kind of art." Artists have been quick to react to the relaxation of censorship, exchanging traditional art forms for the opportunities offered by emerging technologies. Mark Goldstein, editor of the Web site photographyblog.com, told CNN that digital art was still dependant on age-old photographic techniques. "The creative view behind photography has been there since the days of film and is still there today, and digital photography will not change that in any way." It is no surprise Chinese artists are turning to photography and video to express how they feel about modern day China -- both are mediums that capture in an instant a society that is changing by the second. Former watercolor artist Miao Xiaochun now uses the latest photographic technology to reproduce carefully modified images on an enormous scale. "I made many many negatives and then scanned them and manipulated them together in the computer," he told CNN. "It is between the traditional photography and the digital photography so this is a mixture." Co-curator Christopher Phillips told CNN that transformation was a recurring theme in the art on display at the V&A. "I think there's a very ambivalent attitude on the part of many Chinese artists about the changes that the country is going through," he said. "I think everyone takes enormous pride in the great economic progress that the country is making, at the same time they're seeing the most beautiful parts of their cities fall to the bulldozer literally overnight." http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/10/26/spark.chinese.art/ ************************* Vietnam unearths 2,000-year-old bronze drum www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-27 13:39:02 HANOI, Oct. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- A bronze drum and a bronze jar datedback some 2,000 years ago have just been found in northern Vietnam, local newspaper People reported Thursday. The bronze, unearthed in northern Hai Duong province by local residents on Sunday when they were building roads, is 42.5 cm in height, and 56.7 cm in diameter of its bottom. It belonged to the Dong Son Culture, important prehistoric culture of Indochina, which is named for a village in northern Vietnam where many of itsremains have been found. The jar's height is 41.5 cm, and its biggest diameter stands at35.5 cm. Both the antiques are not intact. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/27/content_3690675.htm *********************** Eastern Zhou grave pit unearthed in Luoyang www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-26 13:51:52 [image] Archaeologists and workers excavate cultural relics from an Eastern Zhou Dynasty grave that was found in Luoyang of Central China's Henan Province on October 25, 2005. Bronzeware, jade, and horse pit unearthed from the burial site are in good shape, which is peculiar in this ancient city of Luoyang, as usually 90 percent of the graves are empty upon discovery. [newsphoto] [image] According to the experts, it is a a scholar-bureaucrat's grave in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256BC) judging from the funerary objects. All the relics have been sent to a safe place and further excavation is being carried out around the site. [image] Two worker clear up the relics in the newly unearthed pit. [newsphoto] [image] The horse-and-vehicle pit excavated in this cultural relics discovery [newsphoto] [image] Newly excavated bronze wares are tagged and classified. [newsphoto] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/26/content_3685792.htm *********************** Ruling center of Tang Dynasty to be restored www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-25 16:03:13 XI'AN, Oct. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- China will invest heavily in restoring Daming Palace, the ruling center of the Tang Dynasty dating back 1,100 years, and will build a park there. The palace is similar to the Yuanmingyuan Palace of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in terms of historical value and size. The project is expected to be completed in five years, according to sources with the Xi'an Department of Cultural Heritage in Shaanxi Province The palace covers an area of 3.5 square kilometers. It was the largest of the three major palaces in Chang'an, the then capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It had served as the political center for the Tang emperors for about 240 years. Chinese archeologists have been restoring Hanyuan Hall, Linde Hall Sanqing Hall, the palace gates and an imperial road at the site. The site was first excavated in 1959 and put under state protection in 1961. No high rises have been allowed to be built there since then. Li Shimin, the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, commenced construction of the Daming Palace for his retired father, Li Yuan, in 634 in the northeastern part of Chang'an, basically today's Xi'an. Later, in 663, Li Zhi, the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty, completed construction on the Daming Palace, and moved his court there from the former imperial palace of Taiji, making the Daming Palace the political center of the dynasty. The palace was abandoned after the Tang Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, basically at today's city of Luoyang in Henan Province, in 904. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/25/content_3681920.htm ************************* Ancient art works excavated from Java Sea www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-27 10:01:51 Rare Chinese art works excavated from Java Sea (1) A rare ceramic from China's Five Dynasties period from 907 to 960 AD excavated from an an ancient cargo which sunk more than 1,000 years ago in the Java Sea. [7 images] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/27/content_3689707_6.htm __________________ with kind regards, Matthias Arnold (Art-Eastasia list) http://www.chinaresource.org http://www.fluktor.de __________________________________________ An archive of this list as well as an subscribe/unsubscribe facility is available at: http://listserv.uni-heidelberg.de/archives/art-eastasia.html For postings earlier than 2005-02-23 please go to: http://www.fluktor.de/study/office/newsletter.htm