Found image of bamboo replica of Herzog & de Meuron's National Stadium
Mountain Village Hermeneutics:
Derivations, Fabrications, and Transactions in Recent Chinese
Art
A presentation by
ISP Residents
Philip Tinari and Luluc Huang*
Wednesday, 11 March 2009 / 19:00
Nedre gate 7 / Oslo
About the Presentation
Philip Tinari, writer, curator and contributing editor for Artforum and founding editor of the magazine's Chinese-language web site, and Luluc Huang, writer and critic based in Beijing, explore four concepts drawn from Chinese internet and e-commerce subcultures as a way to approach recent trends in production and circulation of contemporary art in China. These concepts – the vibrant trade in used goods and garbage, a proliferation of 'fake' and pirated goods, the notion of 'shanzhai' (a new term that literally means 'stockaded mountain village' but has come to stand for improvised or unofficial solutions), and the liquidity of human time, bodies, and ultimately lives-form the basis for an interpretive framework that grounds an aesthetic sensibility predicated upon, though not directly referential to, this specific national context. Tinari and Huang will develop their talk around the works of several Chinese artists including Xu Zhen, Chu Yun, Gu Dexin, Kan Xuan, Ai Weiwei, Wang Yuyang, and Yang Fudong as a way of articulating this framework.
About the Speakers
Philip Tinari (b. 1979, Philadelphia, USA) is a writer and curator based in Beijing. He is a contributing editor to Artforum, and founding editor of artforum.com.cn, the magazine's Chinese-language website. In 2007, he opened Office for Discourse Engineering, an editorial studio focused on publishing, research, and translation related to contemporary art in China. Tinari has written for publications including The New York Times Magazine, Parkett, Art AsiaPacific, McSweeney's, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chinese journal Dushu, as well as exhibition catalogues for museums including the Guggenheim and the Serpentine. He is Asia advisor to Art Basel and editor of U-TURN, a serialized history of Chinese art 1978-2008. Last year he curated 'Delirious Beijing' (PKM Gallery, Beijing) and 'CYLWXZ' (Esther Schipper, Berlin). He holds a master's in East Asian studies from Harvard and was formerly a Fulbright fellow at Peking University.
Luluc Huang's (b. 1980, Nanjing, China) writings on international art, film, and fashion are widely syndicated across the Chinese cultural media, and her blog is well known throughout the Chinese art and literary world for its characteristic mix of cultural commentary, criticism, and gossip. She has worked as Asia representative for Artforum International (2006-08); curator at the non-profit art space UniversalStudios-Beijing (now Boersli Gallery; 2005-06); and editor of Rear Window (2003-05), then China's leading online film discussion forum. She holds a master's in comparative literature from Nanjing University.
*Philip Tinari and Luluc Huang's residencies are supported with 03-funding. The purpose of the 03-funds as allocated by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to OCA is to further develop cooperation and professional networking between OCA and the constituency of artists, independent cultural producers, and organizations that are located in designated countries or associated with 03-countries.
International Visitor Programme
The International Studio Programme Oslo is available for international artists and curators by invitation for a stay from two weeks up to six months, independently or in connection with research in Norway.
Office for Contemporary Art Norway
The Office for Contemporary Art Norway is a private foundation and was founded by The Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs and The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in fall 2001. The main aim of the Office for Contemporary Art Norway is to develop collaborations in contemporary art between Norway and the international art scene. The Office for Contemporary Art Norway aims to become a profiled contributor to the discourses of contemporary art.