the biggest fake of them all

Inside Shanghai's gallery district on Moganshan Road is a doorway that leads into another world. You walk into a narrow hallway and see some random paintings on the wall, then you enter the larger space and it is like whoa--a complete one-to-one scale copy of a famous Taoist wall painting (not a mural technically since it is on cloth) done by one artist over a period of ten years. It is technically very accomplished and absolutely amazing to see in person. I am currently working on a contemporary art show for a venue here in Beijing about fakes and copies so this really blew me over. In Lorenz's words: "the biggest fake of them all".

rise and shine

more fun with the new camera....this is the tea I drink every morning now. I have been off coffee for ages (though I still enjoy and afternoon cappucino now and then) and used to religiously drink PG tips black tea with milk and sugar--mm, mm, good. so much so that I brought a whole stash of PG tips teabags (pyramid shaped, of course) with me to china. But now, I have switched almost completely over to green tea and most recently, green tea with goji berries. the goji berries (from tibet) are filled with minerals and vitamins and are supposed to help your eyesight and promote longevity, but mostly I am drawn to the aesthetic side - they make a darn pretty cup of tea.

JZ bar

I am somehow used to seeing displays of Martell VSOP, X.O., Ballantine's, etc but for Macallan's it seems sort of out of place, plus wonder how much paid to have this crazy display INSIDE a bar/club. in shanghai

JZ bar

Zeng Hao show

one of the 14 window projections from Zeng Hao's show in Shanghai Gallery of Art

apartment windows

I bought a new camera recently...still having fun with the panoramic 16:9 aspect ratio.

shanghai is colder than you think

I am in shanghai for a few days doing some Fulbright research and meeting with artists for my upcoming show. took the train down on wed night and have been running around ever since. Coming from frigid temperatures in Beijing, I thought that somehow it wouldn't be as cold here but I was dead wrong. It is an entirely different kind of cold, the kind of wet, damp cold that seeps into your bones and is increasingly hard to shake. it reminds me a lot of the bay area. There is no central heating here and really poor old uninsulated buildings so even when you are inside you get no relief. The temperature is definitely lower in BJ but there everything is (over)heated and dry so one just has to bear the outdoors in short spells on your way to or from something or somewhere, peeling off layers once you arrive. Here, you just bundle up in the morning and stay that way all day, and I mean ALL DAY. the overcoat does not come off. some friends here talk about buying more and more space heaters and then maxing out their power and experiencing blown fuses 5-6 times day because the houses/apts here are old and cannot handle all that capacity. All I can say is, I feel very lucky I am staying in a comfortable apartment with air conditioner type heating units! Still you walk out of that one room and eeech--it feels downright icy!

so far have met up with some interesting artists trying to meet collectors but so far nobody on that end. Did manage to go out last night to Shanghai MOCA for some free jazz event. it was literally free (with the exception of drinks) but it was also a bit too 'free' if you know what I mean (foreigners in weird suits playing 'free jazz'). I ended up in the corner talking to friends mostly, and somehow managed to get into a in-depth discussion with an artist until like 2:30am. Stumbled home and had to wake up the doorman to get in the gate. as a result I am feeling quite lazy today and just bought a few DVD's that I might indulge in later in my heated pad.

tomorrow heading to Hangzhou, again to meet with some artists for my show and just generally touch base with some folks. I hope to bring my CCA class through there in July so need to get a sense of what is good in terms of timing, housing, etc.

checking email at the shanghai library near where I am staying but no way to upload photos...more to come!

Urban chaos

over the weekend paid a visit to the Beijing Urban Planning Museum just south of Tiananmen Square. this place is so insane. the displays and exhibits are conceptual art pieces in themselves! there is a huge scale model of the city, with nearly every building, not unlike the one of New York city in the Queens Museum of Art (which rocks, by the way) but aside from actual models there are lengthy exhibits concerning energy consumption, alternative energies, water systems, etc, some of which are interesting, but most are just a jumbled mess of mindboggling information...it is barely discernible what actual message is being conveyed. total information overload and yet, somehow beautiful renderings of chaos. there are excessive charts, graphs, lighted maps, dioramas with weird LED's that look like lasers and, oh yeah, crazy mannequins with bad hair.

Old houses in Beijing

Right around the corner from my apartment, sandwiched between tall apartment buildings and shops, are some old colonial Western style buildings. Since I moved in, I wondered what those buildings are but there is no signage or anything anywhere and a big metal gate prevents me from entering and looking around. They look like old mansions, all rundown and overgrown with ivy and weeds. Once I noticed they were shooting in a film in there but I was rushing by and didn't have time to stop and check it out. A friend who lives in the neighborhood once sent me an email with a link to an article (which I have since deleted-duh) that gave a little bit of history of the buildings. But curiosity prevails and I just found something else here that explains the history a little bit more. Apparently they compound was the former site of California College in 1924 and later served as an the office of the Ministry of Culture. During its heyday it is where Pearl Buck spent time, where modern thinker Hu Shi and other political leaders held meetings and so on.

Reading this article I realize that there is some connection between California College and Claremont College in Claremont, CA where I studied as an undergraduate!

sans internet

the internet connection has been down at my house for about a week and it has been nearly unbearable. I didn't realize how dependent I am upon the internet not only for email but for everything else - Skype, buying plane tickets, looking up info on artists, translating things into chinese, etc. Actually it is sort of depressing how dependent I have become and how little I feel I can accomplish without it. I keep calling the landlord about getting it fixed and it is a complicated mess to explain over the phone, especially in my limited Chinese. The last conversation I had with them had them telling me it won't be working again until Feb. 1. I don't know if I can make it!

Beijing flower market

finally made it to the flower market on nuren jie...bought this little one and another big one that was delivered to my house within an hour. so excellent!

taxi to airport

The taxi driver I had on my way to the HK airport was so completely decked out. Look at the photo closely - he had the Top Gun-like aviator sunglasses going, driving gloves, earphone thingy and-count 'em THREE cell phones mounted on the dashboard around the steering wheel. I think the kleenex box mounted overhead is my favorite. he was so incredible. when we arrived at the terminal he not only took my bag out of the trunk but went and got me a cart and put it on the cart for me. I love hong kong service.

HK construction site

construction sites in HK are so insane. check out this huge crane and digging operation squeezed in between two existing buildings. taken in causeway bay.