An Intercultural study of Chinese Contemporary Art

刘娜

Abstract：This essay focuses on contemporary art in a narrow sense. Chinese contemporary art is closely related with Western art, which promoted the development of domestic art but caused a lose of  discourse to a certain extent. By sorting out the concepts, types and characteristics of contemporary art, this paper draws out the lineage of Chinese contemporary art development, analyzes the influence of the West and the dilemma of development, and points out that the sustainable development of Chinese contemporary art needs to be rooted in national culture.

Keywords： Chinese Western contemporary art influence dilemma culture

一、Characteristics of contemporary art

1、What is contemporary art

To study the issue about contemporary art, it is necessary to understand what contemporary art is. Generally speaking, there are two senses--broad and narrow. In a broad sense, contemporary art refers to the art that emerged after the end of the modernist period, from the second half of the 20th century to the present, including  painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance and video, which is an open and inclusive concept. The narrow sense refers to the art with a "contemporary consciousness or form, through a variety of artistic experiments and expressions, in which the artist conveys ideas and expresses views that are no longer limited to aesthetic considerations, but a specific, non-traditional, non-mainstream avant-garde art.

2、The major Contemporary Art Types

The earliest and most mainstream art style is Pop Art, which is a combination of commercial and modern art, in which artists reproduce some details of popular culture, such as comic strips and trademarks. The most representative works include Andy Warhol's "Marilyn Monroe Bi-Fold". Similar to Pop Art is Realism, which generally refers to photographic paintings, which enables them to accurately reproduce portraits, landscapes and so on. The representatives include Chuck Close's portraits. Unlike Pop Art, in Conceptual Art the idea behind the work takes precedence, rejecting the idea of art as a commodity. Representative works include Ai Weiwei's Animal Circle, etc. In addition, there are minimalism, installation and performance art, the former uses simple, abstract aesthetic ideas, while the latter conveys messages or ideas by shaping the physical environment or forming of performance. Also with the development and progress of the society, artists have innovated more forms of artistic expression, including earth art, digital art and street art, etc.

2、Characteristics of contemporary art

As a kind of aesthetics, art reflects the current times, trends, morals and emotions. Therefore, the recording of current life experience has became the backbone of the development of contemporary art. Artists not only record the new era, but also express and reproduce the world by new technology, new language and new method. Thus, what we can see in art today，including the painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance, concept, and new media art created by contemporary artists, is what artists feel about themselves in the new era and is full of innovation.

I believe that the main characteristics of contemporary art are conceptual, free and innovative, critical and pluralistic.

First, contemporary art pays more attention to the expression of ideas. Contemporary art connects life more directly and creatively, in which reflects humanistic care, such as concern and thinking about human survival and the environment.

Second, contemporary art is more free. It has greatly broadened the scope of beauty. Life is art, which has changed the usual way of thinking. This pronts people th think and Contemporary art has greatly broadened the scope of beauty, and life is art, which has changed people's usual way of thinking, and prompt people to think inside and innovate and ask more question.

Third, contemporary art is critical. Contemporary artists have an advanced keen vision, a strong sense of social responsibility and a good ability to explore social issues, and their works are critical to the times. For example, works-"Big Family Series", "Comrade Series" and so on by Zhang Xiaogang, all reflect the living conditions of people in an era. To a large extent, contemporary art works will surely resonate with the current society, and at the same time play an important role as an enlightened and spiritual guidance for the future life.

The Characteristics of Pluralism

Fourth, the artistry of contemporary art, due to its special context, has dissolved into the pluralistic confluence of artistic expression, and it is impossible to refer to artistry as a formal concern by one method or form; it is precisely the psychological form, conceptual form, and emotional form that transcends form, and is formed due to the construction and accumulation of art history and culture. The pluralism here includes warmth pluralism, or that originates from the collision of multiple cultures, such as a work that incorporates Chinese and Western elements. The second fragmentation, the deconstruction of tradition, the dissolution of the classics. Once again there is a tendency to return to artistic aesthetics while persifying and deconstructing.

For contemporary art, the pursuit of beauty is in the genes of art itself, and whichever art form or characteristic is given a form of beauty by the artist, thus having a fascinating charm.

二、The development of Chinese Contemporary Art

Given the definition of "contemporary art," people might think that it has a short history, but in fact contemporary art has a relatively long history. The beginnings of contemporary art today remain controversial, as different people's understanding of " contemporary " may vary widely. From my point of view, the origins of contemporary art can be traced back to the transition from modernism to postmodernism after the Second World War.

In the mid-19th century, The Star Exhibition in Beijing indicated the slowly start of the trend of exploring contemporary art in China, which pushed the art style and exhibition space of art museums gradually changed. At that time, Chinese artists began to travel to Europe to study western art, trying to eliminate the disharmony between traditional painting and the time. The representative artists are Xu Beihong and Lin Fengmian. Xu Beihong, who was in pursuit of truth and science, emphasized the transformation of Chinese painting through realism and studied the conservative classical realism in the West at that time. On the other hand, Lin Fengmian, emphasized the combination of Chinese traditional painting spirit and western modern form. Their different stances on western art result in the two parallel threads in Chinese art class, that is monism and pluralism, conservatism and openness.

In the 1980s, under the influence of western modern art thoughts, domestic attempted to establish a non-mainstream ideological artistic expression. At that time, there was a distinguished movement, called "Eighth Five New Wave", which has inspired many young artists in China to study, learn and refer to Western modernism, and the enthusiastic creative atmosphere and research environment has laid the foundation for the development of contemporary art in China. It was later regarded as the starting point of Chinese contemporary art. The artists absorbed various ideas of western modernism and launched a vigorous modernist art movement. During this time, the Western theoretical circles had entered the postmodernist period. In spite of the dislocation of time and space, the "Eight Five New Wave" obtained the value of Chinese contemporary due to examine the truth, inpiduality, freedom, and the ontology of art.

The 1990s was a turbulent year for the development of contemporary art in China. The mutual relationship between "contemporary art" and "market" impacted the old domestic perceptions. While domestic exploration of contemporary art was still ongoing, it began to participate in the world art system, and art, money and power became interconnected with each other. During this period, some artists preferred to stay in China while some chose to study abroad. Those who stay in China were represented by "F4"-Wang Guangyi, Zhang Xiaogang, Fang Lijun and Yue Minjun. Some of their works were enthusiastic political pop, some were gloomy political scars, and some were self-playing "cynicism" after the collapse of idealism. The paintings of "F4" were very inpidualized, which satisfied the Western to view Chinese contemporary art as a marginal culture. However, those who develoed overseas formed a group, represented by Huang Yongping, Xu Bing, Cai Guoqiang, Gu Wenda and so on.Through Chinese traditonal cuture, western contemporary art language and the symbals from different regions, they expressed their opinions in a unique way. This stirred the home of western contemporary art.

After entering the new millennium, the success of "Shanghai by the Sea" Biennial in Beijing marks the official recognition of contemporary art. Chinese contemporary art has finally entered the mass and cultural consumption market.With Western intervention, galleries, museums, auctions and collection systems were established in China. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games saw a spurt in the Chinese contemporary art market, which was built in collaboration with China and the West, but with the Western financial crisis in the post-Olympic era, the art market sank quickly in China. The lag in domestic art concepts and the Western-dominated commercial model reinforced the reality of "Western cultural supremacy" which made Chinese contemporary art lost its control and the right of decisions about cultural values.

三、The influence of Western contemporary art

From the perspective of the development history of contemporary, different from the sequential development of "pre-modern", "modern" and "post-modernization" in the West, Chinese modernization process is a transition from a traditional society based on agricultural civilization to a modern society characterized by industrial civilization. Thus, it embodied great cultural differences and completely unique development logic from the very beginning. During this time, tradition, modernity and post-modernity are intertwined at the same time, and even there was a phenomenon that both inversion and confusion appeared Simultaneously. For example, Lin Fengmian, who is in sync with the development of modern Western art and tried to build up a connection between the two, was marginalized, while Xu Beihonghad became the mainstream of artistic thought, who held a relatively conservative position. When the "Eight-Five New Wave" followed Western modernism as its standard, the West had already view modernism as the object of criticism. After entering the new millennium, there was not enough time to construct our own contemporary art standpoint. Western art business models had implanted by the global economic wave sweeping across China, and eager to push the immature marketization of contemporary art.

From the perspective of art styles and forms, Western art has had a tremendous influence on Chinese art. In terms of techniques, there are painting, abstraction, etc. In terms of phenomena, there are political pop, performance art, etc. And in terms of materials there are oil painting, printmaking, etc. Because of the continuous influx of these new things from the West into China, the materials and techniques of Chinese contemporary art have become more liberal and perse, forming a pluralistic situation. This has greatly broadened the horizons of artists and expanded the development of Chinese art.

From the perspective of value selection, the West has always dominated the operation of the Chinese contemporary art market. For art, whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, when people are confronted with a work of art, they have a sentiment or intuitive judgment as to where its artistic value lies. People judge artistry by whether it aptly meets the artist's pursuit, whether it incorporates the artist's perceptive ability, and whether it conveys the artist's empirical response and understanding of the artistic journey. Different values lead to different evaluation results. When some Western critics, curators, collectors and art brokers came to China and selected Chinese contemporary art, they did so according to their interests and imagination of China, and this incomplete selection brought opportunities and success to some artists, and such works became popular, and in turn this trend influenced domestic artists. This has given contemporary art the resources and goals to create, but it has also become its limitation.

Under the influence of the West, the materials and skills of Chinese contemporary art were more free and formed a persified situation. For example, oil painting has been introduced to China for more than a century. It had quickly completed the development of western oil painting for hundreds of years in technique and style. However, at the same time, Chinese contemporary art gradually lost its own subjectivity. On one hand, in the process of modernization, China had carried out comprehensive learning from the West as a reference. While admiring Western civilization and trying hard to pursue it with all the strength, Chinese art ignored and even made a contemptuous  attitude toward the traditional spirit of our nation, which had became the root of the lack of self-confidence in Chinese art culture for a long time. On the other hand, western modernity also penetrated into Chinese art in the spiritual level, shaping the contemporary character from posing questions to resolving methods under such circumstances,. Therefore, both contemporary artists and contemporary art critics were in a state of "aphasia" , with only a shell of "contemporary" art and no "Chinese" spiritual.

四、The dilemma of Chinese contemporary art development

The uniqueness of art dictates that it is a particular expression of the pursuit of change. Whether it is artistic creation or theoretical output, contemporary Chinese art has always strayed at a superficial level, lacking in-depth humanistic spiritual support and obsessing over artistic confrontation, to a certain extent imprisoning a deeper understanding and communication of life and art. While it is reasonable for contemporary artistic expression and the use of materials and media changing with technological advances, changes in tools do not become a criterion for evaluating art. As we see the West as a powerful historical reference point for art, the grasp of artistic overview and psychological fit becomes the key for the artist to be able to enhance his or her artistic expression, which became the limitation. And from the current situation in China, most people think that the art made by people in places like 798, Songzhuang, Caochangdi and Heiqiao is the contemporary art, but in reality it has no relation with region. 

As contemporary art expresses the reality of existence, it naturally touches on social issues related to themselves and the survival of the people they are concerned with, so sociology seems to be inextricably linked to contemporary art. The intervention of sociology has brought opportunities but also dilemmas to contemporary art, which has become less of an inpidual work and more of a collective, communal thing. Western art had a complete line of development, whereas the concepts of Chinese modern and contemporary art were foreign, without being introduced systematically, and were simply imitated from the West, blindly implanted with symbols and simply repeated, ignoring the deeper transformation of art. In the 1980s and 1990s, as long as it was rebellious, it was seen as a pioneering, contemporary art. Art cannot be criticised for the sake of criticism, nor can it be expressed for the sake of expression, so sociology has to some extent hindered the development of contemporary art. 

The lack of a theoretical system for Chinese contemporary art is also one of the factors that hinders the development of Chinese contemporary art. Due to the specificity of the development of Chinese contemporary art, there is a lack of understanding and awareness of theory, and the theoretical system as 'knowledge' obscures the fact that 'theory is an ability'. In fact, theory is not a self-imposed limitation but a methodology. Chinese contemporary art not only suffers from a reliance on Western concepts and ways of thinking, but also from a lack of basic understanding and application of theory. From academic boundaries and disciplinary constructions to the mission and function of theory, these are the problems that contemporary art is bound to face when it takes root and flourishes in China. Whether in the comparison of Chinese and foreign theories, in the local construction of art discourse, or in the debate over disciplinary boundaries in the construction of disciplines, there are many aspects of the Chinese contemporary art theory system that need further improvement. 

The greatest obstacle to the development of contemporary art is the market. Chinese contemporary art has yet to have a benign environment for development, either combined or antagonized by politics or by capital. The core value of art should be freedom and independence, and once it steps into commerce it inevitably cedes some of that freedom. The Western art market has developed and accumulated over a long period of time, and artists maintain a normal mentality and distance themselves from the market. Therefore, in Chinese contemporary art market, a symbol emerges, initially in good faith, and once selected by the market, it will remain unchanged, so that the artist's creation becomes less free under the hostage of capital and profit.

五、The development direction of Chinese contemporary art

If we hold art in a global perspective, it is obvious that the decentralization is the condition for the survival of contemporary art. The vital thing is that there is no longer a core to be imitated and control the right to speak. Art emerges from all over the world, and the ever-increasing number of art production areas no longer need to be recognized by a distant art production "center" for survival, but are connected in a persified ways, rooted in culture, ethnicity, and locality.

Culture is the soul of contemporary art, and nationality is the "root" of culture. It embodies the humanistic characteristics of a specific cultural group of a nation, such as morality, values, codes of conduct, customs and aesthetic tastes. Art can go further and further by combining the study of national culture only. There are a number of national differences between China and the West. China is a country with a long civilization, rich history and tradition, and its character is reserved, introverted, and unobtrusive. Our country has respected Confucianism, emphasizing the nation the family and collectivism, which are the core values Since ancient time. While, in the West, the national character, especially in USA, is mainly exposed, frank, and direct. They advocate "inpidual value" because western countries had experienced a long periods of battle and migration in history, which aroused the passion of exploration and the courage to conquer others. Such values highlight the positive side of art in the continuously exploring outward, creating inward and advancing forward.

Therefore, we often regard " China -Western " and "tradition art-contemporary art" as a pair of contradictory relationships when talking about the national cultural differences with the West. It greatly restricts the development of art culture. It is not only easy to fall into narrow nationalism, but it is also not conducive to absorb the advanced western art ideas. Art is soft that establishes relationships through confirming each other in mutual communication. The interaction, influence, and even conflict between national cultures and art ideas would improve the development of contemporary art. Chinese characters of culture, such as "moderation" and "no extremely peaceful", all displays the conservative attitude in the process. This is what Chinese culture emphasizes-a state of equilibrium. It is inevitable that there are both good and bad in result of exchanges for the cultural mutual influence and penetration, and the key is to grasp it dialectically.

Building up the self-confidence of contemporary art, it should begin with the establishment of our own cultural subjectivity. The core reason why porcelain became popular in the West during the pre-modern period lies in the spirits of Chinese classical aesthetics condensed behind porcelain. Contemporary art is not yet a mainstream state in China, and art has been changing with the times of Western art concepts, the development in the historical and cultural contexts of China and the West, and the image of China. Artists have to realize that the modernity of Chinese contemporary art must start from the "root" culture, create works that are in line with the mother land, Chinese aesthetics and national culture. It is time that abandon the West as a reference, and develop towards persity, so that the light of classical Chinese wisdom will be revealed again in the new historical stage.

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