shanghai part II

went to see the Shanghai Biennial and there was a line out the door! At first I was excited by the crowds because usually after the opening you are never sure people actually go to see the show. Apparently this is one of the most well attended Biennials ever. But then, once inside, I immediatelybegan to resent this popularity not only because it was jammed packed and it was hard to see things but because EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM was under 20 years old and carrying either a camera or cell phone or, on occasion, both. The Shanghai Museum allows photography in its galleries and I dare say that it has gotten out of control. The preponderance of cameras clicking away (on artworks as well as wall text panels) was entirely disruptive to actually viewing the show and made the whole experience completely unpleasant.

I did not like the exhibition for a variety of reasons--poorly installed, lack of structure holding together the already weak artworks--but I wonder if might have liked it more had the experience of seeing it not been so chaotic. I sometimes think that most of the people there were just taking photos because they could and not really because they wanted to--I mean, who is going to go home and read wall texts on their computer screen? Also a large number of folks were just posing with artworks and having their photo taken which is annoying on the surface but I suppose expected given how the show was marketed. Titled "Hyperdesign", the show is aimed to attract interest in contemporary art, especially among the young and hip set, but to see it in action, it was as though everything was just set up for a photo shoot. Nobody seemed to show any respect towards the works in the exhibition, instead it felt like a total circus atmosphere.

visit to Sancha - hike to the Great Wall

view from the Great Wall Hostel in Sancha


exterior of cabin

Welcome to Dior, I mean Shanghai

went for a walk down huaihai road, the glitzy shopping area of Shanghai...and couldn't resist this photo. such blazen placement of advertisements--pretty hilarious. that and the store I saw called "Crackstep"--you gotta love it!

Shanghai part 1

Hello from Shanghai! Just arrived last night. Just before coming to Shanghai I went up to a friend's cabin in a small village by the Great Wall. It was so amazing an beautiful (and COLD)...pictures of that trip to come soon.

So anyway, I arrived in Shanghai yesterday late afternoon and went to hear a talk at Shanghai MoCA by Shanghai/New York artist Zhang Jianjun. Zhang worked at the Shanghai Museum of Art as a curator in the 80s and later moved to New York in 1989. Since the late 90s he has been working back and forth between NY and Shanghai. His talk brought a rare historical perspective to the arts scene in Shanghai and especially the development of the mega exhibition we now know as the Shanghai Biennial. What was most revealing about Zhang's talk was that it was actually in itself unique. Most often the narratives one hears about the development of contemporary or "avant-garde" art in China are often quite skewed towards Beijing (with the inclusion of Xiamen, Hangzhou and occasionally Guangzhou). Somehow, dialogue about Shanghai is usually not part of the mix. Zhang reasons that this is in part because artists were working individually instead of collectively like the Stars art group or Xiamen Dada gorup; and that, more importantly, Shanghai artists tended to steer away from political subjects, favoring abstraction or abstract forms of painting. This formulation is rather new to me, and thus, very intriguing and something I would like to have time to research more.

Today, I bopped around Shanghai, taking in the sights--walking down Huaihai Road, wandering in the French Concession, and Duolun Road. All of my previous trips to Shanghai have been 2-3 days long, either to see the biennial or for a conference, and I spend all of my time rushing to galleries/museums and rarely have time to see the historical spots. So I decided to visit-of all things-the site of the first CCP (Chinese Communist Party) meeting, the former home of Sun Yatsen and Duolun Road where writers Mao Dun, Ding Ling and Guo Moruo used to hang out (also contains the site of the Left-Wing Writers Society). The first was actually very interesting, filled with lots of history and memorabilia ranging from early publications and printed matter to a life size replica of the members of the meeting itself sitting around a meeting table. Sun Yatsen's residence was predictable and somewhat dull--trudging through rooms (wearing plastic booties over the shoes, of course) with a droning tour guide pointing out each photograph of Sun Yatsen and Soong Qingling and what year they were taken. Furniture, art, and personal effects were all safely sequestered behind plexiglas barriers so it is far from an interactive experience. The only remotely odd thing was the tour guide's introduction to his library and many bookshelves, citing his love of reading because when you looked closer to see the books all you could see was a photograph of the books glued to the glass shelves. Presumably the books have been removed and put into an archive but it just struck me as odd that they went so far as to take photos of each shelf and print them up on foamboard.

So tomorrow I will hit the Shanghai Biennial, the Shanghai Museum, the Duolun Museum and if there is time, Lu Xun's former residence. it will be a long day...

Xisi electronics market

Went yesterday with Rania to check out the electronics market in Xisi on the western side of the city. It was my first venture west of the center and well worth it. this place is like an electrician's or robot builder's wet dream--stall after stall of batteries, components, resistors, wire, cable, motors, mini cameras, circuit boards--you name it! The mind boggles at the thought of what one could build...Rania bought some little stuff (not sure exactly what, since I know nothing about electronics) all for like a few bucks. then afterward we went up the street to Xinjiekou, sort of young hipster kid shopping area to look for clothes and DVD's but no more DVD shops (or graffiti walled skateboard shop), only clothes which were, as usual, too overly embellished. Please give me a plain simple design with no patterns or embroidery or sewn on flowers!



Lastly we went to Xin gallery to see Liu Xiaodong's exhibition. Xin gallery is housed in a few old Ming dynasty buildings right smack in middle of the city, near Dongsishitiao bridge. It was a nice show and sort of understated. Liu Xiaodong is an exceptional artist and in this show he painted a series of portraits of young hip "kids" on the wall. A film in one space documented (perhaps a little too rigorously) the process of him working with live models and the painting/installation was in another space next door. Mostly though, I was just into checking out the architecture. It is hard to not take note of the profound juxtapositions of these old granary buildings set against the supermodern highrises going up all around them.

by the numbers

an interesting article by Wall Street Journal on IKEA in China...http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114132199911087764-tW3WPLa1lyRELapS_f_cceNiv4s_20060309.html?mod=regionallinks

IKEA flashbacks

When moving into an apartment in Beijing (or anywhere for that matter) there is always the requisite trip(s) to IKEA. Yesterday was my first time in IKEA in China. The experience was completely surreal because it was totally identical to the IKEA I am used to in Emeryville, CA...so much so, that, right there in middle of the linens section looking at sheets, I totally forgot where I was. I was searching for tupplur pillowcases to go with my tupplur sheets and got distracted and started looking around...I thought to myself, "wow, there are really a lot of Asian people here today" and then I was like WAIT, I am not in oakland, I am in CHINA. It completely threw me off. I even heard people speaking chinese and signs and everything were in Chinese but I somehow didn't notice. I guess I was just engrossed in that IKEA world and was bogged down into the mode where I had to find the tupplur pillowcases (because, vila and gopa just will not do, you know). Actually it is pretty understandable why I would forget where I was because the IKEA here looks exactly like the one back home in Oakland (or Emeryville)--the products are the same, and the even the layout of the store is the same. The thought that tons of people around the world are living in different houses but sitting on the same furniture, eating off the same dishes and sleeping on the same sheets is just so bizarre.



To be fair, some slight differences remain. In the states IKEA is code for cheap and sorta crappy, whereas here it is seems to be more upscale and "modern". Other distinctions would have to be the huge bin of house slippers as you enter and go up the escalators and the fact that you have to pay 1 yuan per plastic bag at check out. Other than that, you might as well be in oakland.

photos of my new apartment in Beijing

I found an apartment!!

2bdrms near Dongsishitiao area...off Chaoyangmennei beijie. pictures to come soon...

Jianbing revisited

Today I ate my first jianbing in 15 (maybe 14) years. whoa. And they are still amazingly delicious. What is jianbing, you ask? it is a little slice of heaven that consists of a very thin batter poured onto a hot round flat griddle (think crepes) and with added elements of egg, green onions, cilantro, some hot sauce and then all wrapped around some crispy fried dough. this Beijing street food at its best and it can be found around town for a whopping 25 cents. In 1991-92, when I was a student in Beijing studying Chinese these were a staple part of my diet as there was a woman who made them on her mobile cart which was often parked outside my school. We were all addicted to them and, for awhile, convinced that we needed to find a way to bring them to the U.S-- "should we learn her technique and steal it? what's in that sauce? Or maybe we just bring the whole cart over and go from there? there must be a way!" I have been back to beijing many times since but the jianbing has always eluded me, perhaps because they are no longer made using the mobile cart setup and now can be found in small storefront stalls. Well, today I finally made good on my promise to find one. Aside from the fact that they longer wrapped in brown paper (vast improvement in terms of the unsightly grease factor), the jianbing hasn't changed a bit. it is every bit the tasty savory breakfast treat I remember. Strange though, because I never knew that a taste could take me so far back in time. Uh oh, I am starting to get nostalgic...

apartment hunting in beijing is fun...

interior included...

I always find it interesting to visit Tiananmen during National Day celebrations. It can get crazy crowded with local and international tourists but the displays are usually interesting, if kitschy representations celebrating China's recent or future accomplishments. Of course, there is the requisite Olympics display (bottom image), complete with a small scale version of the "bird's nest" stadium (designed by Herzog and deMeuron and Ai Weiwei) in bamboo; then you have a miniature version of the Himalayas and the Potala Palace with a flower covered train celebrating the 2006 opening of the first train route from Beijng to Tibet; and lastly (and apparently this one has been on display before) there is a small scale version of the Three Gorges Dam. Maybe I just tend to get overly excited about things represented in miniature, but to me, these are fascinating examples of visual culture-giving a glimpse, quite literally, of how the Chinese government presents itself to its fellow countrymen and, by extension, the world.

art for sale? part of the songzhuang art festival

the new Songzhuang Art Museum

arrived in beijing the other day and hit the ground running...went to see the Songzhuang Art Museum (which just opened) and then to the Songzhuang Art Festival which had, among other things, a show curated by Qiu Zhijie. Songzhuang is a small town about an hour east of Beijing city center. Lots of artists have moved there and set up studios in recent years and I guess the local officials are catching on to the art hype--thus the birth of the Songzhuang art center and festival. From there I went to ART Beijing art fair with local and international art galleries and then to a party for collector Guan Yi who was having the first exhibition in China of his private collection. Whew! it was a long art filled day. some pictures to come soon.