Contemporary Chinese art : a history, 1970s>2000s / Wu Hung.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wu Hung, 1945- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art, Chinese--20th century.

Art, Chinese.

Art, Chinese--21st century.

Art, Chinese--Pictorial works.

Avant-garde (Aesthetics)--China--History--20th century--Sources.

Avant-garde (Aesthetics).

Avant-garde (Aesthetics)--China--History--21st century--Sources.

History.

China.

Genre:

History.

Pictorial works.

Sources.

Illustrated works.

Physical Description:

456 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 31 cm

Other Title:

Contemporary Chinese art, a history, 1970s-2000s

Contemporary ©hinese Art

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Thames & Hudson, 2014.

Language Note:

Text in English.

Summary:

In this first systematic introduction to contemporary Chinese art, Wu Hung provides an accessible, focused and much-needed narrative of the development of Chinese art across all media from the 1970s to the 2000s. From its underground genesis during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), contemporary Chinese art has become a dynamic and hugely influential force in a globalized art world where the distinctions between Eastern and Western culture are rapidly collapsing. The book is a richly illustrated and easy-to-navigate chronological survey that considers contemporary Chinese art both in the context of China's specific historical experiences and in a global arena. Wu Hung explores the emergence of avant-garde or contemporary art as opposed to officially sanctioned art in the public sphere after the Cultural Revolution; the mobilization by young artists and critics of a nationwide avant-garde movement in the mid-1980s; the re-emphasis on individual creativity in the late 1980s; the heightened spirit of experimentation of the 1990s; and the more recent identification of Chinese artists, such as Ai Weiwei, as global citizens who create works for an international audience.

Contents:

INTRODUCTION: SPHERES OF CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART

Contemporary Chinese art as a domestic movement

Contemporary Chinese art in the global sphere

Individualized spaces of contemporary Chinese art

PART ONE: 1970s>1980s

1. BEYOND THE REVOLUTION

Art of the Cultural Revolution and its antitheses

Proliferation of Coterie Art Clubs and Exhibitions

Reinventing the Art Academy

2. '85 ART NEW WAVE

Conditions of the '85 Art New Wave, Contours of the '85 Art New Wave

New Wave groups and activities

The China/Avant-Garde Exhibition

3. REBIRTH OF THE ARTIST

From collectivity to individual creativity

Wang Guangyi

Zhang Peili and Geng Jianyi

Huang Yong Ping

Wenda Gu

Wu Shanzhuan

Xu Bing

PART TWO: 1990s

4. A CONTEMPORARY TURN

From "modern" to "contemporary"

New generation painting and cynical realism

Reprocessing history

World image

Go conceptual

5. AN AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION (1): RETURN OF THE REAL

Conditions for experimental art

The state of being

Conversation with the city

Body and self

Against monumentality

6. AN AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION (2): REDEFINING CHINESE ART

Challenging the system

Women experimentalists

Experimental photography and video

Experimental painting

Experimental exhibitions

PART 3: 1990s>2000s

7. CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART BEYOND CHINA

"A craze for going abroad"

Chen Zhen

Cai Guo-Qiang

8. CONVERSATION WITH TRADITION

Historical background

Experimental ink painting

Internalizing tradition

9. AFTER NORMALIZATION

The 2000 Shanghai Biennale: A new beginning

The world of contemporary Chinese art after 2000

Art forms and works

CONCLUSION.

Notes:

Title page uses a symbol instead of a "C" for Chinese (Contemporary ©hinese Art) and a greater than sign instead of a hypen 1970s>2000s.

"425 illustrations, 323 in color."

Includes "Illustration Credits" and "List of Artists, Critics, and Curators."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 444-446) and index.

Chinese American Librarians Association Annual Best Book Award - Non-fiction, Best Book, 2014

ISBN:

9780500239209

0500239207

OCLC:

881214904