China's other cultural revolution: history and Chinese art

The modern portion of the Guggenheim Museum's massive historical survey of Chinese art, now on view in its entirety in Bilbao, recounts a complex 150-year struggle by artists attempting to reconcile traditional Chinese styles with Western concepts and forms.

As part of "China, 5000 Years" [see A.i.A., Aft June '98], the Guggenheim SoHo recently mounted a groundbreaking exhibition of modernism in Chinese art -- a relatively unknown subject. The term "modernity" in this context encompasses the intellectual impact of Western arts and technology and, from within the culture, the effects of successive revolutions on China's government. A momentous series of events have shaped the arts in China since 1850, and a powerfully affecting overview is presented in the show.

Julia Andrews and Kuiyi Shen, the curators for "A Century in Crisis: Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth Century China," organized a vast body of work into four sections: traditional calligraphic scroll paintings, Western-influenced oil paintings, Socialist Realism under the Communist regime and, finally, art from the period of reconciliation after the Cultural Revolution, characterized by the reappearance of traditional ink painting,

The earliest section of the show (which is currently at Bilbao) presents painters attempting to incorporate certain Western concepts into established Chinese modes, an effort which started in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, many artists studied abroad and worked in oil paint, adapting a variety of early modern styles. Somewhat later, Western ideas were reinforced when the conventions of woodblock printing were used for social and political ends, reflecting China's take on the turmoil of the interwar period. With the triumph of Communism after World War II, Socialist Realism became the official style and oil paint the official medium. The Cultural Revolution that broke out in 1966 tried to annihilate previous art practices -- all equally held as anathema -- in favor of a militant "little red book" propaganda style, and in this period creative activity was severely crippled. Starting in the '80s, there was an attempt to revive the arts in China, with traditional painting encouraged for the first time by the Party. More recently, younger artists have reconnected with international tendencies, but work of the new generation, initially planned as the shows conclusion, was not seen.

The projected final section, "Post-Maoist Art," which would have included contemporary works influenced by Western art and technologies, was cancelled late in the game. It was widely surmised that the Chinese ministry of culture objected to the inclusion of the contemporary section and threatened to withhold crucial elements of the larger show. The Guggenheim denied pressures from the Chinese, citing lack of space (many, of the contemporary works are large-scale) and shortness of time, and also noting that there are currently many other venues for contemporary Chinese artists. (This month in New York, the Asia Society, in association with P.S. 1, is opening an exhibition of contemporary Chinese art from the mainland and from Chinese diaspora communities around the world; it will travel to the San Francisco MOMA, where the show's concept originated. In addition, commercial galleries have been active in showcasing the new generation [see sidebar, pp. 117-18, for a sampling of today's Chinese art seen in New York galleries].) Meanwhile, curators Andrews and Shen are arranging an exhibition of contemporary Chinese artists working in Western mediums from oil painting to installations, to appear at the Guggenheim SoHo in 1999. This show, designed to offer "unofficial art" from the mainland and other countries, will include works excluded from the current, official exhibition.

Standing like a guardian spirit over the first section, called "Innovations in Chinese Paintings, 1850-1950," an undated scroll self-portrait by the pioneering Ren Xiong (b. 1823) is the embodiment of the spirit of his generation. The artist looks out full face, defiant, with jutting cheekbones and feverish gaze, his shaven head masking his traditional queue. Modestly draped, he assumes a stance both martial and monkish, soft hands with long fingernails folded together. His face is painted with vivid quasi-photographic precision, his clothes rendered schematically in bold rhythmic strokes. This romantic figure died in 1857, at age 34, of tuberculosis, an illness which might be prefigured in his razor-sharp features.

Ren Xiong founded the Shanghai School, which, early on, boldly experimented with Western influences in both technique and subject matter, incorporating them into traditional Chinese brush-and-ink painting. Shanghai was then a largely Western city, with Western newspapers, advertisements and schools -- an enclave on the coast of an Imperial China with an isolationist policy. From this settlement, international military, and commercial traffic eventually forced the country to open to the outside world.