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Sustainable Imagination | ¿É³ÖĞø»ÃÏë Curatorial Eassy from Li Zhenhua A Sustainable Fantasy? --Li Zhenhua This article loosely states my incentives for this exhibition, or in other words, the clues to this exhibition. Like the clues in a murder scene, they are too difficult to be sorted out. Multiple clues point in multiple directions, yet don¡¯t seem to lead to any substantial discoveries. Those illusions and hypothesis became an obligation for this exhibition; of course this necessity might not be needed. A sustainable fantasy is merely a utopian moral victory. Constructing a relation between the meaningful and meaningless, I am hoping it will incite the development of the clues and arouse social responsibility. On Territory In 2004, I collaboratively curated the exhibition "Outside the Window" with Japanese and Korean curators; it was on exhibition in Tokyo and Seoul at different times. During that period, I paid more attention to the interactions and the geopolitical relationships between these nations, including their political, economical and military relations. In 2005, I was considering researching "Chinese Multimedia Art Since 1989," A first series of short films "Waves" and "Virtual China" was scheduled to be shown at the Walker Art Center in the United States in May 2006. In 2007, the topic of sustainable development and contemporary art became the focus of my work. There are a few academic fields that support the plate shifts on the mainland: human genetic research on the origins of human life, and a map of the origins of global disease, or dealing with the human prehistory outside of geography and politics, economy and military affairs. The current geopolitical doctrine stating important historical research is directly connected with geography and the chance to map out a virtual territory both equally inspired my attempt at this exhibition! Globalization becomes a scheme for research; academics are exploring the generalization beyond geographic borders, especially in the field of information technology. This also leads the categorization of "Chinese Multimedia Art since 1989". It may be categorized by type: experimental short films, feature films, video art, video installation, interactive video installation, interactive installation, etc. And also by location: Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Yuannan, etc., multimedia art can also by categorized by time and other elements. The artists we interviewed have not been creating multimedia art their whole career, but expressing their creativity through various practices. When the classifying borders become blurry again, "Sustainable Fantasy" can be seen as an analysis of the intersection of the development of multimedia art and contemporary art, and based on the social concern expressed by the participating artists, it gives us these clues: first, the sustainability of art amidst social development, and second, the sustainability of multimedia art in the development of contemporary art. Many works in this exhibition are related to the former, including "Architecture in Daily Life" by Wang Jianwei, "The West" by Qiu Zhijie, "Made in 1968" by Cao Kai, whereas "Strange Heaven" by Yang Fudong, "Survey in Jixi" by Zhang Yuanhan, and "Lunar Excursion Project" by Wang Yuyang touch on the latter, "Made in 1968" and "The West" also include multiple clues. By this timeline, we could order the work "Living Elsewhere" by Wang Jianwei (1999), "West" by Qiu Zhijie (1999), "Strange Heaven" by Yang Fudong (2002), "Made in 1968" by Cao Kai (2006), "Lunar Excursion" by Wang Yuyang (2007), "Survey in Jixi" by Zheng Yuanhan started in (2003). 1999 was the starting point for this project¡¯s time line: artist Wang Jianwei and Qiu Zhijie conducted their study of social diversity through the artist's personal perspective; Yang Fudong used film media to express the ideas influenced by a renaissance of humanism; Cao Kai used 3D graphics to visualize his political imagination, Wang Yuyang and Zheng Yunhan, based on the works mentioned above, independently explored the possibility of using multimedia based social surveys at the next level. They extended the social survey methods of Wang Jianwei and Qiu Zhijie, working in the realm of interaction between artists and society, and replacing political metaphor with the exposure of the truth in science, politics and society. The border between territories is constantly being redrawn, broken, reconstructed, and becoming more complicated in the development process of multimedia art and contemporary art. The work of determining the border, evaluating the impact of multimedia art and contemporary art on Chinese society, originated through tracing the development of these six persons, it becomes a study parallel with contemporary art and multimedia art. The Possibilities of Sustainable Development ¡°The relationship between national security and high yielding agricultural sectors is a question of long-term existence. An agricultural revolution is needed. We must face this problem to make the development of the agricultural sector ¡°sustainable.¡± ¡ª¡ªJohn H. Perkins ¡°Geopolitics and the Green Revolution¡± The third international meeting on sustainable development was concerned with environmental destruction; in 1972 the United Nations hosted this important conference. Above are the explanations for sustainability borrowed from different fields, which are all regarding the question of human life. "Sustainable Imagination" is a more utopian proposition, discussing how the economy provides the resources for the sustainable development of art, and how geopolitics and cultural diversity provide it with a larger space to grow. Discussing sustainable development, we need to identify its roots and the social demand for it, for example, when contemporary art appears at all kinds of auctions as a luxury object for one¡¯s modern collection, it indicates the demand from the market. In relation to the agricultural problem discussed by John H. Perkins: does a sustainable producing power exist in China? Can a healthy relationship between supply and demand last in the long run? To answer these questions, we need to have a basic knowledge of sociology and a roadmap of Chinese art. From the ¡°Stars Group¡± exhibitions in the late 70's, to the ¡°No Name Painter's Association¡± in the 80's, to the Painter's Village in 90's, to 798¡¯s existence after the year 2000, and the Song Village phenomenon, etc., through these important milestones, geographical and historical, contemporary art, through various collective and oppressed behaviors, superficially made its transformation into a recognized art form that earned the participation of commercial and government interests. In a new era of web prosperity, in the global scope, multimedia becomes a new means of creation for many artists. New Media Art can be categorized into video art, sound art, multiple reality, robot art and many other forms related to sociology, physics, micrology, archeology, genetics research¡ all which can not be defined as simply visual art. It also includes the fast developing Internet and astronomy technology. When contemporary art is combined with these scientific fields, it is in a system, and possesses a methodology. With this exhibition, and through social examination, we hope to extend our exploration beyond visual art into a broader field of knowledge. Research and sociological categories of work have begun to compete with the original creations of artists, in the artists work time possesses an increasingly important role, putting two sides together, how can we seek the essential problems of objects and how can we validate the solutions to these problems? These are all necessary for constituting the research and development of sustainable development. There are two co-existing theories: one believing that every individual is special, respecting the uniqueness of each individual and acknowledging differences between every individual's creation. Another theory argues that uniqueness cannot be proved through example; it simply doesn't exist. This theory does not respect the uniqueness of each individual or his or her difference in appearance. There are certain phenomena that we cannot avoid admitting: a similarity in the taste, in style, of media, of techniques, etc. of artists from China. A large number of artists emerge from China, but with very few unique works, this is similar to the global art environment. Unique thoughts, proved only by time, are indeed precious. Sustainable imagination, in response to these problems of contemporary art, and in the current situation where imagination is lacking in art, in the direction of the development of new media art in China, it gives up on so-called uniqueness, looks into the process of a particular creation of particular artist's work, and searches in retrospect for the various possibilities of sustainable development. The Citizen and the Intellectual Adam Michnik said: ¡°My temporal path has its origins in realism. The reality of geopolitics is that we cannot storm into Poland and force out the Soviet troops. My temporal path has its origins elsewhere. It is built upon a kind of self-assurance, multiple intricate and complex realities and convergences that a democracy is forced to deal with. Temporal studies are a philosophy that recognizes hesitation. Comparatively, exactly like I¡¯ve already explained something, it¡¯s already fallen back on the guillotine and is non-democratic.¡± These problems directly reflect the relationship between the intellectual and the citizen. Do the two have different responsibilities and values? They all have social responsibilities, whether intellectual or for the masses. Here is another factor of this exhibition: documentary films and the extensible non-linear style assembly, and to a certain extent, the existence of elites and widespread opinions. What is a better social model? How does the individual or a collective idea-which represents a certain class and group-evolve? "Living Elsewhere" by Wang Jianwei and "Survey in Jixi" by Zheng Yunhan, from different perspectives, conducted their research by blurring border lines, misplacing life and the concepts of "peasant" and "worker" in Chinese modern history. "The West" by Qiu Zhijie, from the viewpoint of "The East", presents a utopian "West", or at the same time, proves a utopian "East. "Strange Heaven" by Yang Fudong, examines utopian scenery under a microscope. "Made in 1968" by Cao Kai constructs a utopian mirage mixed in with natural scenery and political metaphor. "Lunar Excursion Project" by Wang Yuyang questioned the factualness of the American 1969 lunar landing. All of these interwoven direct and indirect clues can be inter-referenced and mis-interpreted, displaying possibilities in a multi-dimensional space of imagination. By showing these works, I would like to challenge Michnik¡¯s theory: Not considering any possibility of revolution, and only concerned with the individual¡¯s questioning, and reaction according to the fact. Self-consciousness is the basis of a pluralistic society and democracy. It demonstrates the relationship among different theories regarding intellectuals. According to the following definitions of intellectual, not a single one is sufficient to deal with the complexity of the current social problems. Specialist researcher of intellectuals Edward Shils defines intellectuals as either society¡¯s considerably, often useful, abstract symbols that represent how people interpret people, society, nature and the universe. Lewis A Coser more definite assertion, college professors are not always intellectuals, but intellectuals are defined by the necessity of ¡°in the name of ideology, not rely on their ideology to earn a living.¡± Arab-American cross-cultural critic Edward Said¡¯s definition is: ¡°Intellectuals have the concrete ability to represent, concretely manifest and express information, opinions, attitudes, philosophy or opinions towards and for the popular masses. When playing that role they must be conscious of other territories, bringing into the public any problems that make people awkward, rebel against (and not produce) orthodoxies and religious dogma, and must not be easily fooled by governments or organizations. The intellectual¡¯s reason for existing is to represent people and the topics that we have forgotten or have been accustomed, simply in spite of the fact. Intellectuals do this in accordance to the most common principals: when touching on freedom and righteousness, all of humanity has the right to wish for the standard in validity, must boldly point out mistakes, and to revolt against any intentional or unintentional infringements on these basic rights. Foucault: ¡°The job of the intellectual is to put into shape the political will of others, and through his personal analysis and research, to call into question the rules, to shake up the spiritual customs of the people, their conduct and ways of thinking, to disperse those things that are familiar and that we¡¯ve already accepted, and to reestablish those rules and systems. In these new foundations (he has, in the midst completed the special mission of the intellectual), he participates in the process of realizing the political will (and in the process acting out the role of the citizen). Sartre: When a scientist is in his laboratory carrying out core studies, he is not an intellectual. But when he is rebelling against atomic war with a name on a petition, then he is an intellectual. Max Weber: The intellectual is limited at the people who are called ¡°cultural treasure¡± because of their incredible accomplishments; they are the spiritual leaders of the social masses. The path for intellectuals and citizens is perhaps in itself a problem lying somewhere between utopia and reality. It is a compromise or an iota of elitism that will perhaps one day reach the goal of a beautiful realistic society. Intellectuals have expressed their dreams about utopia or for 1984. In contemporary art today, there are two concepts: the masses and the elite, but the ideas of the elite are missing. Therefore, there are questions such as "where has the intellectual gone?¡± It may also indicate that a group is mature when the transformation in concept is achieved. Or, this is invisible, as we cannot deduce a collective will from individual's will, as there are too many possibilities in the collective will, the diversity exists in the similarities. The World Map of New Media Ancient Chinese worked in the "24 styles of poem" as the foundation of a system in poem writing, there are a large number of theories and generalizations. However, there are very few theories to support the development of contemporary art, which emerges in various new forms. Mr. Michael Naimark used to conduct a survey of global new media art for the Rockefeller Foundation, and provided a virtual world map based on the development of new media art. The two texts from different equally inspire the current "Chinese new media art since 1989", which also shoulders different responsibilities in the area of studies of artists, technologies and others. I would like to first clarify the meaning of ¡°new media,¡± first its constructs. My definition of new media may differ from some others: I think some works only use multimedia as a means for presentation; it doesn't contribute to the contemporary art or new media art. The creators may not understand what new media art is. Including living organism technology, Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality and other essential principals, or perhaps those involving more profound knowledge of physics, quantum theory and other related art forms. For instance, considering body movements or painting in video form, or accompany with audio sound as new media. This kind of theory comes generally from definitions of time and concepts derived from photography. In addition, some artists are fascinated by the new technology, learning certain new techniques and transforming them into works that can be appreciated in the scope of visual art. This kind of works make use of the most advanced technology, e.g., Jeffery Shaw's early work "Web of Life", which used the newest interactive technology, and similar functions of palm reading. But is it new media art? It remains questionable, because besides the confirmation of artists knowing the technology itself, it doesn't prove anything, or any contribution to technology. This kind of work is more of a visualization manifestation of the scientific research than an artwork. Here¡¯s a simple example to illustrate my point: when a simpler and more open technology is discovered, it will replace the existing complicated and more impractical ones, just as Linux will replace Microsoft's platform. But people may question why the final replacement is not completed. It is because the collective behavior of a large number of users, which is the reaction to a new technology, is dictated by their social environment, living conditions, and other people's influence, of course including the threshold of the technology itself, this touches on sociology and praxeology. It results in the root of conflicts between freedom and the limited freedom concepts, i.e., obtaining absolute freedom will at the same time mean losing conventional behaviors and our existing profit model. I think this is a dilemma, if we give up the benefits from our existing physical and our mental states for freedom, does this prevent us from the exploration of freedom? In order to prove the scope of the relationship between new media art and technology in society, we need to identify the essential differences between new media art works and the existing technical products, for example, the difference between ¡°Game Art¡± and ¡°Gaming¡± is very straightforward, it can be distinguished by the graphic user interface and interactive content, and what we mentioned earlier about the interactivity and virtual reality. The other is the inspiration we get from a deeper level than the appearance of art. This may require more knowledge outside the scope of art, but it is very necessary. Reflecting on Sustainable Imagination There are some limitations in the concepts of the exhibition and the display of works. These limitations come from the lack of general knowledge, from the practical problem of realization these concepts, the misunderstanding of existing concepts and technologies, and the misinterpretation of the artists. As this can't be described in detail in this article, it may lead to an understanding barrier in the lecture. As a research in the clues of time/history/genre, this exhibition presents these artists¡¯ explorations in different directions between the years of 1999 to 2007, establishing the categorization of possible forms of contemporary new media art. There is no parallel comparison for these works in a global scale, although there exists similarities, i.e., contemporary art expressed in a similar way world wide, is a cultural phenomena known as the ¡°global village,¡± or ¡°pop art¡± and conceptual art/performance art... However, in this cultural context and historical background, this exhibition has its unique points: all the artists in the exhibition are focusing on current situations in today's China, both their individual imaginations, experience and sociological study clearly demonstrate this effort. Although their contributions are not as obvious as they should appear (which is a pity), nevertheless, it provides more methodology and possibility to the field of contemporary art, no matter whether in the format of a sociological study, poetic expression or an interactive activity. It provides a foundation for the development of public art and social responsibility. This exhibition does not focus on the topics in contemporary art today such as globalization, cross-border issues, or regional surveying. However, as the artist's work apparently includes these questions, without mentioning these concepts it is impossible to provide an interpretation or analysis of the tension happening in the culture. Inevitably, these topics must be discussed. Other topics include the contemporaneity of contemporary art, the ¡°Chinese¡± style of Chinese artists, and the social responsibility of an artist, democracy, the public and other practical questions. This exhibition can by no means cover or illustrate all of these aspects, which is indeed a limitation in its own. It can only display several important points in a trajectory, providing clues for the further study of new media. Hopefully, the questions raised by this exhibition will incite more divergent thoughts in various knowledge areas. Curated as a sectional exhibition, shown here is inevitably only a fragment of the new media art available in China. This exhibition can be taken as a first experimental example in Chinese contemporary art. A singular breath of the manifold, a clue to the plentiful social realities in Chinese contemporary art, a remix of the essence of original versions from the homestead.
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