Shortlist: China 推介館藏：中國

Jane DeBevoise, independent art historian
杜柏貞, 獨立藝術史學家
July 2010

Overview 中文版本

Material about contemporary Chinese art forms a substantial portion of Asia Art Archive’s collection. In order to assist our users navigate this rich resource, which consists of over 9,000 catalogued items, AAA created this introductory guide. This guide is aimed at students and generalists and consists of a selected bibliography of recommended readings about art from Mainland China. For recommended readings about Hong Kong, please see our separate Shortlists. To provide our users with numerous points of entry, the bibliography has been divided in eight initial sections: Chronological Development, Biographies of Artists, Survey Exhibitions, Major Biennials, Art Criticism, Media, Selected Periodicals, and Primary Documents.

The section entitled Chronological Development is further divided into time periods. 1949-1979 constitutes the initial period, from the founding of the People’s Republic of China to the years immediately following the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. The next period is the decade of the 1980s, which was characterised by the introduction of economic reform, the influx of Western thought in the form of art books, literature and philosophy, and a general atmosphere of intellectual curiosity and debate. Watershed moments in the development of experimental art in the 1980s included the ‘Stars’ exhibitions in 1979 and 1980, the ‘85 New Wave movement and the ‘China/Avant-Garde’ exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing in 1989. The result of a focused, four-year collection effort, AAA now holds the largest and most systematically organised archive of documentation and research materials about Chinese art in the 1980s. For in-depth information about this collection, which contains over 70,000 scanned images, users are directed to AAA’s dedicated website www.china1980s.org.

The third time period begins at the end of the 1980s, when Chinese society was changing rapidly and economic issues were becoming increasingly important. The Tiananmen incident of 4 June 1989 accelerated these changes, signaling a new era focused on rapid economic development and capitalist consumerist values. The catalogue for the 1993 exhibition ‘China’s New Art, Post-1989’ provides an overview of some of the most noteworthy artistic developments in the early 1990s, including Political Pop, Cynical Realism, and investigations into private concerns and personal angst. After 1993, experimental art from China began to appear with increasing frequency in significant overseas exhibitions. These exhibitions included ‘Silent Energy’ (1993) in Oxford, England; ‘Inside Out: New Chinese Art’ (1998) at the Asia Society, New York; ‘Transience: Chinese Experimental Art at the End of the Twentieth Century’ (1999) at the Smart Museum in Chicago; and the Venice Biennale (1994 and 1999). However, in contrast to the increasing public visibility in North America and Europe for experimental art from China, exhibitions of experimental art inside China during the 1990s often took place in do-it-yourself venues and private residences, hence Gao Minglu’s term ‘Apartment Art’. In the 1990s, performance art became an increasingly frequent form of artistic practice. Catalogues for some of the most cutting edge exhibitions of that time include 'Post-Sense Sensibility' organised by Wu Meichun and Qiu Zhijie, and 'Art for Sale' organised by Xu Zhen and Yang Zhenzhong, among others.

The status of experimental art inside China began to change by the beginning of the 2000s, with the appearance of large-scale government sponsored biennales in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Another milestone was the first dedicated auction of Asian contemporary art at Sotheby’s New York in March 2006. After this auction, prices for contemporary Chinese art skyrocketed, further legitimising the artistic efforts of certain mid-career artists, who were mostly painters. Despite these popularising trends, however, some curators have continued to organise shows that challenge the status quo and in particular, the commercialisation of art. These shows include ‘Fuck Off’ (2000), ‘Archaeology of the Future’ (2005), and 'The Real Thing' (2007).

The next part of the guide is arranged in broad categories or themes. For a quick introduction to a large number of artists and artworks, users can peruse books in sections called 'Biographies of Artists', 'Survey Exhibitions', and 'Major Biennials'. The reference books and catalogues in these sections testify to the rich diversity and impressive volume of art production in China over the past 30 years. This diversity has challenged critics and curators to develop a critical discourse with which to identify, articulate, and frame key concerns. A selection of these efforts is listed in the section entitled 'Art Criticism'.

For users interested in specific media, the sections on ‘Ink’, ‘Calligraphy and Word’, ‘Performance Art’, and ‘Video and Photography’ provide a representative selection of introductory texts. Books about art based on, or inspired by, China’s ink painting tradition are of special note, offering a wealth of information about this often-overlooked field. Performance and video represent other areas of rich activity. Artists working in these areas have generally resisted the pressures of commoditisation and produced some of the most challenging work in China today.

The publishing industry in China is as vibrant as the art scene it promotes. However, despite the large volume of art periodicals, the quality of these publications is distinctly uneven. Of the five periodicals we have highlighted, three are chosen for their historical relevance: Meishu (Art), published from 1954; Zhongguo Meishubao (Fine Arts in China), published between 1985-89; and Chinese-art.com, published online from 1998-2003. The other two periodicals, Yishu and Contemporary Art and Investment, are chosen for their contemporary relevance.

The final section of this guide is dedicated to primary documents. Two important developments in this area include Wu Hung's Contemporary Chinese Art: Primary Documents published in 2010 by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Asia Art Archive's ongoing online documentary project 'Materials of the Future'.

This guide is meant as a starting point, and while the type of material listed is broad, consisting of exhibition catalogues, reference books, periodicals, and video, this list represents only a small fraction of what is available at AAA. Other materials collected at AAA include monographs, leaflets, invitations, letters, clippings, slides, and other ephemera. For information about how to retrieve these and other items, please contact the library staff.

概述

在亞洲藝術文獻庫的館藏中，與中國當代藝術有關的資料佔了相當一部份。目前，經整理編目的資料已超過9,000項，本指南正是為方便使用者瀏覽這批豐富的資料而編寫的。它以在中國創作的藝術為着眼點，為學生及有興趣研究這個課題的人士，羅列了一份精心挑選的推介館藏。至於有關香港的資料，請參考「推介館藏：香港」。為了提供多種查找方式，此推介館藏共分為八個欄目：「發展階段」、「藝術家生平」、「綜合展覽」、「主要雙年展」、「藝術評論」、「媒介」、「特選期刊」及「原始文獻」。

「發展階段」一欄又再細分為若干歷史時期。第一個階段始於1949年新中國成立，以1976年文化大革命結束至1979年為終點。第二個階段是二十世紀八十年代，其特色是開始推行經濟改革，西方思想亦通過藝術書籍、文學和哲學等途徑湧入中國，社會上普遍彌漫着對知識的渴求和知性辯論的氣氛。八十年代實驗藝術的發展里程碑包括1979及1980年的《星星美展》和「85美術新潮」，以及1989年在北京的中國美術館舉行的《中國現代藝術展》。憑着四年多的努力，文獻庫現存有關八十年代中國藝術的文獻記錄和研究材料，均以規模龐大和條理清晰而著稱。這批藏品包含七萬多幀掃描圖像，使用者只要登入文獻庫的專設網站 www.china1980s.org，即可了解相關藏品的詳情。

第三個階段以八十年代末為起點，當時中國的社會發展日新月異，經濟議題亦變得日趨重要。1989年6月4日發生的天安門事件，則進一步加快了變革的步伐，預示着一個經濟快速增長和資本主義消費文化至上的新時代即將來臨。以1993年的《後89中國新藝術展》為例，其圖錄概括地介紹了九十年代初最為矚目的藝術思潮，如政治波普、玩世現實主義等，以及對個人關注和不安情緒的探討。自1993年起，中國實驗藝術在海外大型展覽亮相的機會日漸頻繁，如《靜穆的力量》(Silent Energy，1993年英國牛津)、《蛻變與突破》華人現代藝術大展 (1998年紐約亞洲協會)、《瞬間：二十世紀的中國實驗藝術》(1999年芝加哥史瑪特美術館) 及威尼斯雙年展 (1994和1999年)。在九十年代，中國實驗藝術在北美洲和歐洲備受關注；相比之下，當時中國本土的實驗藝術展卻常於自助式的展覽空間或私人宅邸內舉行，故高名潞稱之為「公寓藝術」。至於行為藝術這種創作模式，也是在九十年代開始日漸普及的。當時最具前鋒性的展覽包括由吳美純、邱志杰策劃的《後感性，異形與妄想》(2000年)及由徐震、楊振忠策劃的《超市》(2000年)等。

隨着政府支持的大型雙年展相繼在上海和廣州崛起，中國本土實驗藝術的發展在二十一世紀初出現了新的轉機。另一個重要里程碑，則是紐約蘇富比於2006年3月舉辦的首場亞洲當代藝術專拍。自該場拍賣會後，中國當代藝術作品的市場價格旋即飆升，進一歩肯定了一批中年藝術家 (以畫家居多) 的創作成果。但在這些推廣普及的嘗試之外，仍有一批策展人在堅持不懈地舉辦一些質疑現狀的展覽，尤其針對藝術商業化的活動，如《不合作方式》(2000年) 、《第二屆中國藝術三年展：未來考古學》(2005)及《The Real Thing》 (2007年)等。

本推介館藏的其餘資訊，亦是按若干概括的類別或主題來編排的。使用者只要瀏覽「藝術家生平」、「綜合展覽」及「主要雙年展」等欄目內的書籍，即可迅速掌握大量有關藝術家及重要作品的資料。這些欄目內的參考書籍和圖錄，見證了中國三十多年來的藝術創作是何等豐富多姿及數量驚人。這種百花齊放的局面，促使評論家和策展人開始着手為藝術批評創立一套論述形式，去辨識、陳述和表達一些備受關注的課題。就此而言，「藝術評論」一欄列舉了這方面的一些工作成果。

對特定媒體感興趣的使用者，「水墨」、「書法與文字」、「行為藝術」及「攝影與錄像」等欄目為他們提供了一些具代表性的入門簡介。尤須一提的是集中探討或內容涉及中國傳統水墨畫的書籍，它們在這個常為人忽略的範疇裏，提供了大量寶貴的資料。此外，行為藝術和錄像藝術的發展亦精采紛呈，而從事這類創作的藝術家們，一般皆能抵擋商業化的洪流，並創作了一批當代中國最具挑戰性的作品。

中國的藝術出版業亦生機勃勃，與在其推動下茁壯成長的藝壇不遑多讓。然而，藝術期刊雖多如雨後春笋，但這些出版物的水準卻極為參差。我們重點推介的五份期刊中，有三份是以其歷史意義而入選的，它們包括1954年創刊的美術、1985至1989年期間出版的中國美術報，以及1998至2003年期間在網上刊行的Chinese-art.com。其餘兩份期刊分別是Yishu典藏國際版和當代藝術與投資，兩者均是以其對當代藝壇的影響力而被納入了推介館藏。

本指南的最後一欄目旨在介紹原始文獻。這方面的重要發展成果包括由巫鴻編輯、2010年紐約現代藝術博物館出版的Contemporary Chinese Art: Primary Documents，以及亞洲藝術文獻庫「未來的材料記錄」專門網站。

作為入門導讀，本指南羅列的資料雖種類繁多 (如展覽圖錄、參考書籍、期刊和影音資料等)，但它僅代表了文獻庫館藏的很少一部份。除了上文所述，文獻庫的館藏還包括個人專集、傳單、邀請卡、信札、剪報、幻燈片及其他雜項收藏。如欲索閱上述及其他館藏，請向文獻庫圖書館職員查詢詳情。

（翻譯：袁昭）

Shortlist: China 推介館藏：中國

Overview 中文版本

概述

Recommended Readings

Overview

Recommended Readings

This feature is coming soon. Please visit again later or join our mailing list to receive website updates.