Xu Bing notes

Question 1

Artwork and date:

Answer 1

Tian Sha “a Book from the Sky”

1987-91

Question 2

materials:

Answer 2

carved wood types, books and scrolls, ink on paper

Question 3

cultural frame:

Answer 3

• uses text based forms to comment on society’s relationship with literature, reading, writing, language
• from Mao’s cultural revolution, forced to create propoganda (both traditional/modern calligraphy)
• language vulnerable/culpable –> limit our ability to access truth
• realiability of knowledge, critiquing using language to serve the powerful

Question 4

postmodern:

Answer 4

moveable type, binding volumes/scroll, traditional chinese technique –> use differently, with nonsensical characters/no meaning to create new style

“act of destruction” to create new meaning allow equal viewing

Question 5

subjective:

Answer 5

challenging to chinese audience, so familiar yet fake
anger/frustration –> rendered illiterate
non-chinese–> still no clue meaning
overwhelming amount of text, represent “1985 fine arts new wave”

Question 6

practice:

Answer 6

born 1955 China, lived in US (Chinese printmaker)
experience Chinese cultural revolution firsthand/aftermath
works construct obstacle to habitual way of thinking, reinvent Chinese characters/alphabet

rebel against written culture “hanzi” large installations and text

Question 7

structure:

Answer 7

panelled walls –> landscape
scrolls hanging –> clouds
open volumes –> rippling sea

over 4000 fake characters –> logograms imitate Song/Ming dynasty, ‘movable type” mass print