Socially Engaged Art in Contemporary China: Voices from Below

261 Pages·2019·27.252 MB·English

by  Meiqin Wang

Socially Engaged Art in
Contemporary China
This book provides an in-depth and thematic analysis of socially engaged art in
Mainland China, exploring its critical responses to and creative interventions in
China’s top-down, pro-urban, and profit-oriented socioeconomic transformations. It
focuses on the socially conscious practices of eight art professionals who assume the
role of artist, critic, curator, educator, cultural entrepreneur, and social activist, among
others, as they strive to expose the injustice and inequality many Chinese people have
suffered, raise public awareness of pressing social and environmental problems, and
invent new ways and infrastructures to support various underprivileged social groups.
Meiqin Wang is Professor in the Department of Art at California State University,
Northridge, USA.
Cover image: Jin Jin and children from People’s Kindergarten, “Chapter Three,
Neglected Road”, 2016. Courtesy of Qin Ga.
Routledge Research in Art and Politics
Routledge Research in Art and Politics is a new series focusing on politics and govern-
ment as examined by scholars working in the fields of art history and visual studies.
Proposals for monographs and edited collections on this topic are welcomed.
Constructing the Memory of War in Visual Culture since 1914
The Eye on War
Edited by Ann Murray
Contemporary Citizenship, Art, and Visual Culture
Making and Being Made
Edited by Corey Dzenko and Theresa Avila
Socially Engaged Art in Contemporary China
Voices from Below
Meiqin Wang
The Danish Avant-Garde and World War II
The Helhesten Collective
Kerry Greaves
For a full list of titles in this series, please visit https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-
Research-in-Art-and-Politics/book-series/RRAP
Socially Engaged Art in
Contemporary China
Voices from Below
Meiqin Wang
First published 2019
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Taylor & Francis
The right of Meiqin Wang to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wang, Meiqin, 1974– author.
Title: Socially engaged art in contemporary China : voices from below / Meiqin
Wang.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Routledge research in art and
politics | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018050051 | ISBN 9781138314344 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780429457074 (ebook : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Art and social action—China—History—21st century. | Arts and
society—China—History—21st century.
Classification: LCC NX180.S6 W36 2019 | DDC 701/.03—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050051
ISBN: 978-1-138-31434-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-45707-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To those who believe in the potential of individual efforts
and strive for “living in truth.”

Contents
List of Illustrations x
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Voices from Below: The Potential of Art Activism 1
Socially Engaged Art as A Concept and Practice 1
The Social and Public Turn of Contemporary Chinese Art 3
Ai Weiwei and Art-Political Activism 7
Citizen Intellectuals and Art for Civic Participation 10
PART I
Art and Social Criticism 19
Overview 19
1 Art Criticism, Exhibition, and Citizen Politics: Wang
Nanming and the Theory of Critical Art 21
Poisonous Food, Public Mistrust, and the “Reassurance” Campaign 21
Social Criticism and the Theory of Critical Art 23
Contemporary Art as Public Opinion and Artists as Public Intellectuals 26
“Chinese Symbols” Art versus “Chinese Problem Situation” Art 29
The Case of He Chengyao 34
The Case of Qu Yan 37
Exhibition As a Strategy for Social Engagement 40
Critical Art and Citizen Politics 45
2 Waste, Pollution, and Environmental Activism: Wang Jiuliang
and the Power of Documenting 53
Problematizing Urban Waste Production 53
Waste and Contemporary Chinese Art 57
Beijing Besieged by Waste 60
The Dark Reality of Plastic Waste Recycling 64
Pollution, Inequality, and the Trap of Consumerism 67
Censorship of Civic Activism 71
The Possibility of Public Mobilization and Change 74
viii Contents
PART II
Art and Place Construction 83
Overview 83
3 Art, Urban Renewal, and Grassroots Community Building: Zheng
Dazhen and Lifestyle Activism 85
Cultural Heritage and Historic Downtown Conservation 85
Old City and New Industries 89
The Good Life Creation Society and Slowness as a Choice 92
Infrastructure for Grassroots Community Building 96
Art, “Artification,” and Urban Development in Quanzhou 102
Cultural Entrepreneur, the Maker of Lifestyle, and Informal Life
Politics 107
4 Rural Reconstruction through Art: Zuo Jing and Place-Making
for the People 116
Rural Crisis and the New Rural Reconstruction Movement 116
Rural Reconstruction through Art 118
Zuo Jing and the Bishan Project 120
The Bishan Project Dispute and Its Closure 124
The Maogong Project and an Alternative to Rural Reconstruction 127
Culture Tourism and the Jingmai Mountain Project 133
Place-Making for the People 137
PART III
Art and Personal Development 147
Overview 147
5 From Representation to Collaboration: Wen Fang and
Her Participatory Art 149
The Creators of “Heaven” and Wen’s Collaborative Approach 149
Cement Bricks and Migrant Workers 152
From Representation to Direct Engagement 157
Collaboration for Poverty Alleviation and Beyond 163
Charity Reinterpreted and Reactivated 169
Small-Scale Individual Work and the Global Public Sphere 175
6 Art Education for Children: Hu Jianqiang, Wang Jun, and
the Nurture Effect 181
Education Inequality in Rural China and the Rise of Volunteerism 181
Hu Jianqiang and Kindergarten for the Marginalized 184
Community-Based and Socially Engaged Art Education 188
Wang Jun and the Founding of Mentors Academy 196
Contents ix
Creative Activities and Informal Learning for Personal Growth 201
Nurture Effect, Art Education, and Activism in the Making 207
Conclusion: Art and the Right to Bottom-Up Social Changes 214
Bibliography 217
Index 232