Chinese Contemporary Video Art Research Project

Time: 20 May, 2008

In the last few years, Chinese contemporary art has increasing focused on the international art scene and the Chinese art market has reached unprecedented records. This phenomena was intensified by multiple biennials, art fairs, and exhibitions held in China and abroad. Although many publications on this matter have been written, most of them consist of cataloging Chinese artists without critical analysis. The development of new technologies has allowed video art to became more and more accessible, and has become one of the most popular medium used by artists. While the work of Yang Fudong is widely known, but there has been no research on the history of video art in China.

Focusing on these initial thoughts, BizArt with Arthub began a project to research the history of Chinese video art from its beginning until contemporary work. To enlarge the accessibility of information about Chinese contemporary art, this study will be made available on the online contemporary art forum Art-Ba-Ba. On the forum, users will be able to read, comment, and discuss the topic. Through this online confrontation with other professionals from the art field (including artists, curators, critics, etc.), this research will be continuously developed and cover various aspects of Chinese video art history.

The research working process is described below:

Interviews and collected information analysis (from 2008 to 2010):

General features: Outline video art development process, collect any related documents as well as artists’ own descriptions about video art history.

Background: Video art history is closely related to artists’ social background and the artists will be classified according to their artistic evolution and thoughts. Main works will be analyzed from their initiation conception to their production in relation to their social and historical context. Furthermore, links between the works — whether continuous, transitional or discontinuous — will be studied.

Artists community: Through this study, figure out relationships between the artists, their common points, their background and understand their choice for this medium.

Key artists: Individual research will be conducted to analyze each artist’s style and particularities, their different creating methods, ways of facing issues, aesthetic requests, and specific use this medium.

Exhibitions/Activities: Research exhibitions and events featuring these video artists, analyze their influences on other artists and the art society.

West-East differences: Focus on the differences between Eastern and Western world, how Chinese video artists reflected upon Western video art system, their judgement and choices.

Relevant Issues (to be modified according to the interviews):

— Video as a medium
— Source of the assimilated information and studies’ history
— Experimenting with new media language – is this a progress? Does it stimulate creation’s development? Are there other technical possibilities? How to use new technologies?
— How technique, artworks’ topics and means of expression correspond to various periods’ thoughts, how to convert and handle these materials?
— Are there any radical political views? What are the political orientations and beliefs values?
— What are the best media to express these topics? Relation between video art’s form and content.
— Gather artworks; analyze artists’ individual creating process, rules, lines, break-thoroughs and other issues.
— Relation between video and narration, video and time, video and images, issues related to the structural completion of a video.
— Relation between video art and other art field: number of artists use more than one medium, interrelation and influences between these different lines.
— What are the criteria of perfection for video art in China? How to face and handle the relationship between East and West.

1990s: Apparition of video art in China:

Phase I – the first year of research

Video Language starting as an exploitation of medium
Zhang Peili, Wang Gongxin, Wang Jianwei, Li Yongbin

New media art and the use of interactive installation
Zhou Xiaohu, Hu Jieming, Shi Yong

Phase II – the second year of research

Combination of video art with various art fields
Xu Tan, Li Juchuan, Lin Yilin, Yan Lei, Chen Shaoxiong, Song Dong, Zhu Jia

After 2000s: Development of video art in China, video art movement

Yang Fudong – Seven intellectuals in bamboo forest (5 parts), Shi Qing – Anorexia, Jiang Zhi – First Finger, Chen Xiaoyun – Queen’s Lily’s Garden, Lu Chunsheng – History of Chemistry

Phase III – third year of research

Video art movement (recent period)
Qiu Zhijie

Pursuing traditional video language, emphasis on narration and aestheticism, the technique is hidden and artists focus on symbols
Yang Fudong – Seven intellectuals in bamboo forest (5 parts), Shi Qing – Anorexia, Jiang Zhi – First Finger, Chen Xiaoyun – Queen’s Lily’s Garden, Lu Chunsheng – History of Chemistry

Performance artists which focus on individuals and lived experiences
Xu Zhen – Rainbow; Shouting; Shouting, 18 Days, Kan Xuan – Kan Xuan, Eh!, Liang Yue, Song Tao, Birdhead – My pretty Zhang Jiang, Zhang Ding – Tools, Yang Zhenzhong – Watching store; Don’t Move, Shao Yi

Animation, computer games and other artists using new media elements
Feng Mengbo, Cao Fei – China Tracy, Tang Mahong – Orchidaceous Finger, Sun Xun – Magician, Qiu Anxiong – New Classic of the Mountains and Seas, Cao Kai, Wang Peng, Zhang Liaoyuan

About Art-Ba-Ba Contemporary Art Community

In 2006, Art-Ba-Ba was created by a group of young artists dedicated to the promotion of contemporary art. Art-Ba-Ba’s target users are artists, curators, art critics, collectors, art organizations, art lovers, and students. Free, liberal-minded, and interactive — Art-Ba-Ba has built an artistic platform with a lively art community. Sharing the same objectives, BizArt Art Center and Art-Ba-Ba Contemporary Art Community work in partnership.

Art-Ba-Ba’s main objective is to promote contemporary art in China and abroad. The forum collects both Chinese and worldwide archival art information. Everyday, numerous international news and events are reported online, while artistic events and backgrounds are analyzed under different angles. Lively discussions between users, exchange of ideas and points of view, all contribute to creating a stimulating intellectual dialogue.

To maintain the dynamism of these discussions, Art-Ba-Ba regularly organizes academic activities and studies. Internet users have the opportunity to directly debate with artists and the Art-Ba-Ba team in topics related to the contemporary art scene, increasing their knowledge of this field.

Bizart/Arthub research allowed with the generous support of the Prince Claus Fund.