Chinese Art at the Crossroads: Between Past and Future, Between East and West [Paperback]

Wu Hung (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

Like the society from which it was born, Chinese art is at a crossroads, between East and West. Against the backdrop of the world's oldest civilization, artists in China today are at the forefront of what is also the world's newest civilization. Their works grapple with issues of the global and local, the past and the future, but more than anything, with issues of collective and individual identity. It is their unique position as individuals (and as a group ) at the vortex of the powerful forces converging in China today that makes their work so vibrant, powerful, evocative and even shocking at times, but above all, worthy of the art world's attention.

This volume is comprised primarily of the contents of Chinese-art.com, an online magazine started in 1997 and brings together images, essays, interviews, rountable discussions, eyewitness accounts and biographies published on the web in 2000. It's timely and diverse "insider" views are those of Chinese art critics living and working in China, but also include scholars outside the China context. To such a broad and diverse compilation of material, professor Wu Hung brings both an "insider" point of view and an international sensibility. His careful editing and organization of the material, along with the six introductory essays he wrote for this volume, make the book understandable and enjoyable to both the art scholar and the art enthusiast.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Crossroads makes essential reading for anyone interested in ...the global contemporary art scene. -- Gilane Tawadros, Director of the Institute of International Visual Arts

I invited more than 20 Chinese artists [to the Venice Biennale '99, because of their]...spirit of subversity & poetry. -- Harald Szeemann, Curator of the 48th & 49th Venice Biennale

In China today, experimental art is one of the most exciting cultural phenomenas...The swiftness of change is exhilarating. -- Chang Tsong-zung, Curator of the Hong Kong Pavilion at the 2001 Venice Biennale

About the Author

About the Editor - Wu Hung received his B. A. and M. A. in art history from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and obtained his Ph. D. in art history and anthropology from Harvard University. In 1987 he began to teach art history at Harvard, where he was promoted to full professor. He is now the Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor in Chinese Art History at the University of Chicago.

A scholar well-known for his work on traditional Chinese art, Wu Hung has published books and articles on contemporary Chinese art and have organized many exhibitions of this art. His recent curatorial undertakings include Transience: Chinese Experimental Art at the End of the Twentieth Century (1999) and Canceled: Exhibiting Experimental Art in China (2000). The catalogues he wrote for these two exhibitions provide in-depth analyses of the recent development of experimental Chinese art. Currently he is the chief curator of the forthcoming First Guangzhou Triennial.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9628638815
• ISBN-13: 978-9628638819
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,121,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)