www.artscenechina.com
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Problems & Challenges
I'm having a hard time getting responses from professional, Chinese contemporary artists. None of them have responded to my e-mails. I've been able to contact three art students at Jinan University, however it has taken awhile for two of them to get back to me. The other student responded to my questions and was able to send me one photo. So far, I only have Simone and tons of background information for my story. I've only been able to speak to her through myspace, because we both have conflicting schedules.
I also had a hard time clearing art work by Chinese artists. Most of the great contemporary art that I've found is on artscenechina.com. In order to reproduce them you have to get permission from the art gallery or the artist, and I managed to do so. Simone informed me to check out Song Zhuang artist village in Beijing. I found an article about the village and contacted the author, however I haven't been able to find anyone who lives there.
Currently I'm working on Simone Lee's story as an American born Chinese, aspiring contemporary artist and the challenges she's facing.
I also had a hard time clearing art work by Chinese artists. Most of the great contemporary art that I've found is on artscenechina.com. In order to reproduce them you have to get permission from the art gallery or the artist, and I managed to do so. Simone informed me to check out Song Zhuang artist village in Beijing. I found an article about the village and contacted the author, however I haven't been able to find anyone who lives there.
Currently I'm working on Simone Lee's story as an American born Chinese, aspiring contemporary artist and the challenges she's facing.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Song Zhuang Artist Village
Song Zhuang Artist Village is the most famous and largest artist community in Beijing, with nearly 400 artists living there.
In the beginning, most of the residents in the village were avant-garde painters. Now the area accommodates skecthers, painters and many other varying styles. Sculptors and photographers also call the area home.
Village painters believe that the quiet and independent environment in the countryside not only brings them closer to nature, but also allows for independence and the intellectual distance they feel is needed for the distraction-free practice of art.
For many of the village artists, nothing is more important than a steady, unhurried, and unrestricted life. They live as they like and each day they are among friends.
Coming from different areas of China, most of the artists don't have a stable job, but rather live by selling their works.
In the early 1990s, freelance artists from all over China began to come and settle in Song Zhuang. At that time, the old villagers were hostile to these newcomers, which was unavoidable in such a stable and closed village. Painters had to pay much more than other villagers at the time whenever the village built roads or installed ammeters (electricity meters).
After 2000, this condition greatly changed. Painters gradually obtained a relatively equal status in the village. Now, whenever some important things happen, some painters with a high prestige even are invited to discuss with the villagers.
*Courtesy of Ivana at www.chinaculture.org
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