Wall · A History and Boundary of Contemporary Chinese Art

Author: Gao Minglu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This book is a contemporary art history work with comprehensive historical materials and a unique methodology. The author attempts to integrate modernity studies with art history writing, proposing the "unity" characteristic of Chinese modernity and using the difference of Chinese modernity as a methodology. Based on the spatial concept of the "wall," the book analyzes how Chinese modernity, as a spatial awareness, continuously constructs the history and boundaries of contemporary Chinese art. The book addresses many important issues in the study of contemporary Chinese art, such as how Chinese avant-garde art survives in the complex space of dual systems, how realistic art adjusts its representation philosophy in a rapidly changing society, how traditional symbols are repurposed for contemporary art spaces, how Chinese conceptual art integrates Zen Buddhism and anti-art theories to transcend the boundaries between art and life, how contemporary art "virtualizes" modern urban spectacles and their dislocations, and how to understand the cultural "marginalized" and "female art" phenomena under global cultural impact.