History of New China's Fine Arts: 1949~2000

Author: Zou Yuejin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: This book is the first art history work in mainland China dedicated to the study of New China's art. The author centers the idea that New China's art is an expression of the new China, describing, interpreting, and analyzing the conflicts, struggles, compromises, and collusion that arise between different ideologies and artistic concepts in the understanding and expression of what constitutes China and its image. Through this, it reveals the complex interplay and multiple meanings of the interactions between politics and art, image and concept, China and Western traditions/modernity, and identity and institutions throughout the history of New China's art. The book sets 1949, the founding of New China, as its upper limit and 2000 as its lower limit, using a structure of three chapters and seventeen sections to describe, interpret, and analyze the history of New China's art. The main art categories covered include Chinese painting, oil painting, printmaking, sculpture, as well as installation, conceptual art, performance, photography, and video. The key cultural themes discussed are:
1. The function and role of ideology in New China's art;
2. "Art of the Maoist Era";
3. The expression of rural and urban life in New China's art;
4. The relationship between modernization and traditional art and culture;
5. The interactive dynamics between institutional nature and construction and the art ecosystem;
6. The impact of Western influence, the context of globalization, and the identification of national cultural identity.