Homi Bhabha's Location of Culture

Reading Homi Bhabha’s Location of Culture to pass the time while waiting the cable guy this morning, I was struck by a question posed by Bhabha.

Bhabha asks “are the interests of ‘Western’ theory necessarily collusive with the hegemonic role of the West as a power bloc? Is the language of theory merely another power ploy of the culturally privileged Western elite to produce a discourse of the Other that reinforces its own power-knowledge equation?” (Bhabha, Location of Culture, pg. 20-21)

This is the same exact question that has plagued me since starting my research into Contemporary Chinese Art. Throughout my research for my thesis, I have applied the language of Western theory such as Stuart Hall, Derrida,Foucault among others, to my analysis of Contemporary Chinese Art. In doing so, I have felt as if I am using an inadequate system of theoretical critique. Does my use of Western theory to analysis Chinese art “produce a discourse of the Other that reinforces its own power-knowledge equation?” I am not sure I know the answer to this question but the best answer at this juncture I can give is that the aim of my thesis is to discuss the perception of Chinese Contemporary Art in the West and therefore perhaps it is appropriate to place Chinese Contemporary Art within the theoretical frameworks of the West. I do not view my project as an assertion of Western power or knowledge but as an exploration of Contemporary Chinese Art in the global context. Either way I think it is important for me to consider this question as I continue my research.

HONG KONG: Fo Tan Artist Studios

Fo Tan Artist Studios

HONG KONG: The Endless Possibilites of Calligraphy: An Afternoon with Fung Ming Chip and Yim

Material Number 747 (Zone Script) (FMC-223)

http://www.hanart.com/artistArtwork.php?artist_number=47&page_number=1

Never formally trained as a calligrapher, Fung Ming Chip (b. 1971) plays with the calligraphic tradition to explore time, space, and water. Using over 100 different styles of calligraphy, his work expands on the definition of calligraphy. The only thing traditional in his work is the materials: paper, ink, water, and brush. Using traditional materials in a non-traditional calligraphic process, Ming questions what is "Chinese" in which work and what is "contemporary". The process is what is important in his work. In addition to being compositionally rich, his work portraysthe boundless possibilities of calligraphy in the contemporary context.

HONG KONG: Visit to Asia Art Archive

(photo courtesy of http://www.aaa.org.hk/contact.aspx)

The Asia Art Archive, conveniently located across the street from my hotel on Hollywood Rd in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, is an amazing source of information on contemporary Asian art. Started in 2000, AAA strives to make information about contemporary Asian art available to the public. I could have spent my entire 18 days in the AAA however my time was quite limited leaving me only one morning to explore the breadth of material.

At the moment, the AAA has an exhibition of archival materials on the start of the avant-garde movement in China. Organized into four sections: Reading Fever, Zhejiang Academy of Fine art, Art Groups (Northern Art Group, Xiamen Dada, Southwest Art Research Group, Southern Artists Salon, and Pond Society), and finally the 1989 China/Avant-Garde exhibition, this exhibition is an excellent way to explore the start of the avant-garde in China. A trip to the Asia Art Archive is essential for anyone interested in viewing primary materials on the beginnings of Chinese contemporary art and was the perfect way to start of my journey through the contemporary art world in China.

To learn more about the Asia Art Archive visit their website http://www.aaa.org.hk/home.aspx

Asia Art Archive

11/F Hollywood Centre,

233 Hollywood Rd,

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

(On the junction of Possession Street and Hollywood Road)

Tel: (852) 2815 1112
Fax: (852) 2815 0032
Email: info@aaa.org.hk

Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 10am-6pm
Open to the public, free of charge. 
Closed Public Holidays and from 25th December to 1st January

Zhang Huan's Three Heads Six Arms Explored

Three Heads Six Arms, 2008, currently displayed in the Civic Center plaza in San Francisco, reflects the shift away from performance art to sculpture. In place of his own body, Zhang build a 26’3 x 59’ x 32’9-3/4” copper sculpture of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, with six arms and three heads. “Bodhisattvas are future Buddha’s whose role it is to help all sentient beings along their paths to Buddhahood.”[1] One of the heads is a portrait of Zhang himself. The inspiration came from finding broken Buddhist statues in a Tibetan market. Broken during the Cultural Revolution, these Buddhist statue fragments represent to the artist the destruction of the Chinese culture during the Mao era. [2] But in these Buddhist fragmented sculptures, Zhang saw that they were still potent images. The incorporation of his own portrait emphasizes the idea of Buddhism as a part of Zhang’s individual memory and thus part of his cultural identity. Zhang appropriates the image of the Bodhisattva not as a reference to principles of Buddhism, but as a means to construct his own personal identity.

The use of Buddhist references in the work of Zhang is not to convey the principles of Buddhism but is used as a way to construct his personal identity. The basic philosophy of Buddhism is to end the endless cycles of rebirth and enter nirvana through the suppression of the individual (ego). The work of Zhang portrays the opposite, as his work is a search for his individuality.

Throughout his oeuvre, Zhang Huan portrays the notion of identity as a ‘production’ whether in Beijing, New York, and Shanghai. While in Beijing, Zhang Huan used performance as a means to make political statements and express his individuality, a radical statement in an oppressive state. The work produced in New York explores feelings of isolation due to the Diaspora experience. His most recent work produced since returning to Shanghai reflects the search for his cultural identity through recollection and memory. Not only do changing political and social conditions play a key role in the work of Zhang Huan but location whether in Beijing, New York, or Shanghai greatly informed the ‘production’ of Zhang Huan’s identity.

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[1] Huntington, Susan, The Art of Ancient India, pg. 97.

[2] Holmes, Pernilla, Zhang Huan: Beyond Buddha, Haunch of Venison, 2008, UK.