Military Museum
We went to the Military Museum today, over in the West of Beijing, easily accessible by the underground which is handy. I don’t tend to visit these places, although I do love a big museum with large displays. Jake can be interested up to a point, and it can be revealing to see how different countries display their military might, past and present. I think so far Vietnam has been the country with the least concern for the sensibilities of visitors, local or foreign. This museum was really a propaganda forum [aren’t they all?] to illustrate the great achievements of China [Zhong Guo]. Some of the painted backdrops are intriguing and are intended to place the machines in a specific context – see images. Quite effective really. There are also quite a few silk banners, which reminded me of the military nature of Garry’s work at Pickled Art Factory. These banners seem to be rewards to certain battalions for great achievements, as far as I could tell.
Siri Hermansen at China Platform, Caochangdi
Cathy, Garry, Jake and I went over to Siri’s today. Siri [Siri Hermansen] is a Norwegian artist and is the current resident with China Platform. Xian Lei introduced us a few weeks ago, and we all get on well. Siri said she would show us around the Caochangdi area, as it can be very difficult to find the art galleries around there. She showed us Three Shadows Photography Centre [designed by Ai Wei Wei] which I had come across previously. Also Gallery Urs Meile which is one of the movers and shakers in Beijing and represents some major Chinese artists [no current exhibition unfortunately]. This gallery was also designed by Ai Wei Wei. Siri then took us to Universal Studios Beijing, which we would never have found ourselves and the show was Qiu Anxiong’s ‘Staring into Amnesia’. This was a very interesting work that showed spliced Chinese documentary and film with sound through the windows of an old [50s?] train carriage.
All these contemporary galleries, cavernous and impressive, suddenly appear out of a dustbowl of unsealed roads, digging and building work. Caochangdi is a small, poor village in NE Beijing yet is in the midst of huge change as the art scene moves in in a serious way. This of course will change the dynamic of the area, and Caochangdi will start to become highly desirable.
More interviews Saturday morning
I conducted more interviews in Tuanjiehu Park this morning. It was rather cold and grey, and then started raining quite heavily, but the curiosity and warmth of the locals meant I completed another 15 or so. I also recorded some of the conversations and discussion that took place. A group of women were very enthusiastic, talked about the insects, and taught me some Chinese words. They all wanted a postcard [I hand out postcards of my work as a ‘thank you’. My name and website are on the back as a kind of legitimation of the enquiry.] Unfortunately the minidisk ran out of batteries at this stage so I did not capture any of this! Ah well, c’est la vie.
Cathy and Garry’s opening at Pickled Art Centre, Bei Gao
Both Cathy and Garry have produced very interesting shows based on their experiences during the residency here in Beijing. They have made the work in an impressively short time. Both their practices respond primarily to the socio-political experiences of ordinary people at the hands of those in power.
Garry’s work looks at the banners that were used as a form of military organization by the Manchu leader Nurhachi from the beginning of the Qing Dynasty [1600s].
Cathy’s work responds to the street culture that she has observed around Tuanjiehu, where we live, and 798, the arts precinct. She has used t-shirts [worn by ordinary people out and about that incorporate the English language] as the basis of her enquiry. The work reveals how [predominantly] younger people are responding to the rapid and extensive changes that they [and China as a whole] are experiencing as capitalism gains a stronger grip on the country each day.
See Cathy’s blog here on this site – Cathy Busby, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing
Beijing Ancient Observatory
Further images
