Zurich University of the Arts - ZHdK Essay for the Certificate for Advanced Studies - CAS « Contemporary Chinese Art Award »

European Reverberations in Chinese Pop Art Wang Guangyi's Series « Great Criticism » staging the Chanel Logo

« Chanel No 5, Flacons, 1921 - 1986 » Paris, France

Author: Tatjana Schmied-Wörle 塔提亚娜 施密德沃勒 Inspired by: Michael Schindhelm 迈克尔 辛德海姆 Swiss Liaison with Studio Wang Guangyi : Wu Di from Chong Qing 吴迪

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CONTENT

1. The artistic Personality Wang Guangyi: Consulting the online "Mirror" ...... 4

1.1 Getting in Touch: Biographical Insights.Wang Guangyi's Education Itinerary...... 4

1.2 The Artist's methapyhsical Interests and his historical Studies of classical Art...... 5

1.3 Wang Guangyi and his Work Series "Great Criticism"...... 8

2. Work Series "Great Criticism" with Chanel Logo ...... 9

2.1 European Perception: Culture - Antagonism creates multiple Paradoxes ...... 9

2.2 "Violation" of the classic Rules of Proportion and Perspective ...... 10

2.3 Ciphers as constitutional Element of Wang Guanyi's political Posters ...... 11

2.4 Body Language of Wang Guangyi's Figures: No Individualism intended ...... 12

3. Aura and History of the Chanel Brand.

Public Relation Secrets of one of the globally most successful Brands ...... 14

4. Conclusion: Wang Guangyi's Key Message in "Great Criticism".

Provocative Portal and explosive Seed for a new Human Identity ...... 16

APPENDIX I : Literature ...... 19 - 20

APPENDIX II: Figures ...... 22 - 29

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Acknowledgements and Thanks

The author wants to express her gratefulness to Michael Schindhelm who inspired this work with his seminars dedicated to urban developments “Urban Plasma”, in 2017 and 2018 in Zurich and Hongkong. Mr. Wu Di from Chon Qing, China, professional viola player, who graduated in 2005 from the Guildhall School in London, volunteered in a very generous manner to translate and manage the dialogue initiated with the artist in 2020 from English into Chinese. Mr. Wu Di lives and works out of Zurich since many years while being in continuous touch with his home country, China. Close friends of the author took the time to read first versions of this paper, such as Mrs. Forough S. Long, Mr. Dharma v. Dharmarajan, both London, and Dr. Dorothy Berthold, Munich. Mrs. Barbara Ruf, Zurich, contributed with her experience of quality management for publications in the field of fine arts.

© Tatjana Schmied-Wörle, all rights reserved. Zurich, March 2021

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Declaration of Authorship

The presented work has been created in an indipendent manner and without any external help. The author takes full responsability for the work.

Tatjana Schmied – Wörle Zurich, August 16 th , 2018

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1. The artistic Personality Wang Guangyi: Consulting the online "Mirror" The European novice researching the Chinese artist Wang Guangyi comes across pictures of an impressive personality smoking exclusive Cuban cigars. Long androgynous hairstyle, huge, colourful "pop - art" paintings which the European eye involuntarily connects with Andy Warhol. Attractive gallery and museum scenes with elegant society are Google's spontaneous answer to Wang Guangyi. Famous names pop up after 1990, such as Centre Pompidou in Paris, - Galery Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris and the Kunstmuseum Bern among others; - exhibitons in Basel, Luzern, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shenzhen are listed (Paparoni, 2013, p.404). Consulting Christie's and Sotheby's public available information, returns bids between 500 000 USD - 1,5 Mio USD for large size works ( artist.christies.com/Guangyi-Wang-- 25139.aspx). Oil painting, installation and sculpture are mentioned as the domains of the artist. We also learn that prominent Chinese leaders such as Jiang Zemin and Li Peng ornate their private art collections with works of Wang Guangyi (www.art.city/Wang-Guangyi-Artist-1663/ retrieved February 2nd , 2018). The artist is further named as an advocate of the "85 Art New Wave" movement and as a member of the "Northern Art Group" which existed from 1985 to 1987 (Hung, 2014, p.68). Wang Guangyi is described as a personality searching and forming his self - identity as a "rational artist" who expresses ideas through both, images and words (Hung, 2104, p.102) . Bringing order into this multi-faceted kaleidoscope of the online information "circus" leads us to biographic information about the artist. Who is Wang Guangyi ?

1.1 Getting in Touch: Biographical Insights. Wang Guangyi's Education Itinerary. Wang Guangyi's birthplace is in Harbin, Heilongjiang, in northern China in 1957. In his youth, Wang Guangyi grows up during the Cultural Revolution and gets involved as a member of the "little red guards". Wang attends Harbin No 19 middle school and enters a youth art training class at the Harbin Children's palace beginning his formal art education (Paparoni, 2013, p.392). He starts to paint watercolour landscapes and oil still - lifes. He also produces reproductions of Chinese propaganda posters (Paparoni, 2013,p. 392). Mao is his idol during the years of Mao's Cultural Revolution (1966 - 1976). His teenage years from age 9 to 19 are marked by the political Chinese reality of Mao Tse Tung's communism. Other strong influences in his youth were train rides to distant Chinese regions with his father, Wang Mincai from the Han ethnic group, who had worked for the railways. His mother, Ji Shurong, is a housewife from the Manchu ethnic group (Paparoni, 2013, p. 392). "His

4 mother's love for paper cutting and other folk arts will serve as an important inspiration for Wang's future as an artist" (Paparoni, 2013, p. 392). As the entire country, his family was poor. Having grown up, Wang Guangyi first follows his father by working for the Chinese railways, but trying at the same time to realize his strong dream to become an artist (Smith, 2009, p.57). Three times his applications to art academies are rejected until finally, the fourth application to the Zhejiang Academy of Art was accepted. Wang Guangyi was admitted as one ten accepted students in the year 1980 (Hung, 2011, p. 102). Form age 23 until 27 Wang spends his years in the academy completed with a masters degree in 1984 from the oil painting class. We can feel Wang Guangyi's perseverance and determination evolving as a characteristic of his strong personality. He had developed already as a young child a concrete vision for his own live which he persued in a tenacious manner step by step. The involvement as "little red guard" with the cultural revolution ( Paparoni, 2013, p. 392) during Mao's times, was an important constituent for the development of Wang Guangyi's visual and mental standards. Political posters, populated with the strangely happy people and smiling faces of soldiers, farmers and workers, generated by the communist partys' propaganda machinery left inextinguishable mental traces. The Chinese Art World in the sixties and early seventies was a managed Art World surveyed in tight manner by the Chinese government. Only in the late 70ies did known artists embark on a more critical stance towards the government induced line of thought. The Star Art Group for example attracted attention with spectacular actions in 1979. Involvement in government critical art carried great risks for any artist. In the context of the China /Avantgarde exhibition in Beijing just months before the student unrest erupted in Tiananmen Square in 1989, three of the eight Mao paintings by Wang Guangyi were exhibited. 'As soon as one of the Mao paintings was reproduced in Time Magazine , Wang Guangyi attracted the attention of both the institute in Zhuhai where he was teaching, as well as from officials of the Zhuhai special economic zone'. "He was summoned and told to find another position within six months. Wang Guangyi was now a martyr to the cause of new art; an avantgarde rebel on the edge." (Smith, 2009, p.62 and p.63). This blow curtailed his public exposure in China for almost a decade. Another participating artist, Xiao Lu, even "fired a live shot from a gun into her installation work, intended to illustrate the idea that art was well and truly dead" (Smith, 2009, p.63).

1.2 The Artist's methapyhsical Interests and his historical Studies of classical Art With the death of Mao Zedong (1976) the political climate changed significantly. The new Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, persued a policy of reform and openness, reversing

5 the lock up of China under Mao Zedong. Wang Guangyi had to cope at the age of 19 with a country which had lost its idols. The collapse of the communist regime Mao style, had wiped out a spiritual consensus and had created a huge mental vacuum. Unlike in Russia for example, the majority of the Chinese people does not adhere clearly to one and the same religion. Religious convictions in China are rather replaced by a certain hold of Confucianism, Taosim and Buddhism and may be better described as a philosophical system. 'China does not posess an all embracing religious sensibility' (Smith, 2009, p.58). The mix of philosophies present in China rather contribute to a more laical nature of the Chinese state which is a main difference in comparison with Europe. Western live style concepts were difficult to access or oppressed until the end of the 1970 ies, therefore, the young generation was not tuned and could not opt for a simple adoption of Western live style concepts, but rather researched an own philosophy of live. About Wang Guangyi we know, that he had preferred to study works of Friedrich Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger and Max Weber instead of doing standardized practical artistic work during his years of study at the art academy (Hung, 2014, p.169). We also know, that Wang was heavily influenced by the art history book "Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation (1960)" by Ernst H. Gombrich, which was released back in 1953 but was still accepted as an important encyclopaedia for art history in the eighties which was translated into 34 languages and remained one of very few sources about esthetics of art (artasiapacific.com/Magazine/77/ ReasoningWithIdolsWangGuangyi, retrieved February 2 nd , 2018). The nucleus of the Gombrich message is described as follows:

“You must have a starting point, a standard of comparison, in order to begin that process of making and matching and remaking which finally becomes embodied in the finished image. The artist cannot start from scratch, but he can criticize his forerunners." "Wang Guangyi turned the theory on itself: he “corrected” and synthesized it into his own artwork, appropriating and rectifying iconic images into a new visual language" (artasiapacific.com/Magazine/77/ReasoningWithIdolsWangGuangyi, retrieved February 2 nd , 2018).

Wang Guangyi was impressed by Renaissance art. He once stated, Renaissance was the philosophy which empowered mankind to overcome the dark middle ages. As well, Wang Guangyi dedicated study time for the admired paintings of the Italian painter Giotto di Bondone (Paparoni, 2013, p.14). The step by step enlightening awareness, that neither Chinese communist ideology nor the Western capitalist free market economy with its democratic institutions were convincing choices, Wang Guangyi started to enliven the "spiritual vacuum"

6 of his time with his own research about humanism and transcendence in artistic form. The artist's questions were explosive enough to attract colleagues and art interested circles. He contributed to establish several institutional back bones of the emerging Chinese art scene of the eighties by becoming an important member of the Northern Art Group which was founded in 1984 by 15 artists together with Liu Yan Shu Qun and Ren Jian (Paparoni, 2013, p.393). It was one few artist groups that existed during these times. These events around Chinas avantgarde artists contributed to raise international interest in the Chinese art scene. It was not earlier than in the late 1990ies that galleries with an international reach started to operate. "Among the earliest galleries in China were Red Gate Gallery in Beijing and ShanghART in Shanghai. Run by foreigners, they were boht originally housed in luxury hotels, where they had ready access to foreign clientele and a certain degree of security from Chinese authorities, who may have assumed that what foreigners bought was beyond their concern. " (Chiu, New York, 2008, p.46). The contemporary artists main contribution since the eighties was to take the Chinese art scene from a level of local attention to a level of international attention and significance. Wang Guangyi also participated in the provocative Chinese National Art Exhibition, National Art Gallery in Beijing in 1989 (see above) which was immediately closed down after a couple of days by the Chinese government (www.chinesecontemporary.com/wang_guangyi_cv.htm, retrieved February 2nd , 2018). He can be seen as one of the charismatic leaders forming the Chinese avantgarde scene in the 1980ies. The events from 1989 at Tiananmen place, when the Chinese police and the army stopped pro - democratic demonstrations of the Chinese youth in violent manner, turned into a crucial political cornerstone influencing Wang Guangyi's political convictions.

"In shock, artists came to a sudden realization of their impotence in the face of real politics. The idealism and utopian enthusiasm so typical of new art in the 1980s met its nemesis in the gun barrels in Tiananmen". "... Two major trends in post - 1989 Chinese art - Cynical Realism and Political Pop - both translated idealism into sarcasm. " (Hung, 2014, p.128).

The history and itinerary of China was disturbed by a "tectonic" redirection initialized by the dramatic Tiananmen revolt of the youth. Other famous artists such as Ai Wei Wei left the country for New York during these times. Wang Guangyi stayed in China and developed his philosophical voice and convictions during these years. Today, he is a globally acclaimed artistic voice of Chinese origin. A widely known series of Wang Guangyi's work is the "Great Criticisim" series, started in 1990, right after the Tiananmen events, and which ended in the year 2007 (Paparoni, 2013, p.90).

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1.3 Wang Guangyi and his Series "Great Criticism"

At a first glance, - the works of the series " Great Criticism" come across as highly attractive Pop Art, somehow even playful, - with seemingly easy to locate political contexts - i.e. showing Chinese people engaged in propaganda events. The ideology of the Chinese state as a communist state of farmers, workers and soldiers is the background of this material. As "companion" of this politically inspired imagery, we see Western logos cruising in the paintings. The puzzling part of these paintings and lithographs is something else. The Western logos have no visible relationship with all the other elements and political "icons" on the canvas. They also occupy disproportionate space on the canvas. The "disproportionality" arises from the human figures visible in the paintings who set certain rules of size. The unrelated appearance of big global Western firms' logos next to propaganda style pop figures deprive these paintings completely from any homogeneity. The visual repertoire of the political poster runs counter to the aura coming along with Western logos. In her book "No Logo" from 2000, Naomi Klein describes the world of logos, which are to the mirror of huge corporations which might even be more powerful than governments in their impact on the Western consumer and citizen. Logos are nothing else as the "signposts" of firms exploiting cheap labour at a global scale. (Klein, 2015, p.20). The complete un-relatedness of "Eastern" and "Western" symbols in the series "Great Criticism" point to an invisible - yet to be constructed - dimension outside of the canvas which is "pushed" uncommented at the spectator. The viewer receives artistic "questions" instead of artistic "answers". Western values represented by the logos, clash intentionally with the "linol - cut" figure imagery known from communist ideology. Based on the series "Great Criticism", Wang Guangyi is classified within the literature in various camps. One camp qualifies his work as "part of the Chinese political Pop movement", another camp claims he is "part of the movement of cynical realism". Consulting statements of the artist himself, we learn that the artist considers himself rather as a philosopher who is striving to gain insight into the metaphysical sides of humanity in general. (Hung, 2014,p. 128, 129). Wang Guangyi is interested to raise the epoch - making changes and - in his own words "total chaos" (Hung, 2014, p.128) of spiritual values in China during the last 30 years as theme for public debates. His artistic work can be seen instrumental in raising public debates. "Wang Guangyi had formed his self - identity as a "rational artist". Wang Guangyi expressed ideas through both images and words." Hung, 2014,p.128). His creativity is banning abstract ideological concepts into paintings with explosive political power. His goal is rather to raise awareness and change attitudes of his viewers, instead of delivering answers and solutions. In other words, the line

8 of Western thought to act as a "motherly" "teaching authority" about global values for Asia is destroyed on purpose.

2. Work Series"Great Criticism" with Chanel Logo 2.1 European Perception: Culture - Antagonism creates multiple Paradoxes Wang Guangyi's paintings which use the Chanel Logo as an "overlay" for images created in the propaganda style of the cultural revolution, radiate multiple messages for the spectator. The viewer has to deal with manifold meanings hidden in these paintings which may make him even uneasy when trying to classify this work according to the visual repertoire we carry in mind from European paintings.

We immediately grasp the message of political propaganda looking at the figures: They show military greeting signs, hold the Mao bible in their hands and - smile. In real live, a smile combined with a military posture, is a paradox and forbidden in any military code of conduct. It would be a sign of being unprofessional and disobedient in any army.

Figure 1 Figure 2 Wang Guangyi: Chanel No. 5 Chanel No. 19 2001, oil on canvas; 2 panels, 300 x 200 cm each 2002, Litograph in colors Sigg Collection, "mahjong, Contemporary 134.3 cm x 106.2 cm Art from the Sigg Collection", by Hatje Cantz, Edition 197 / 199 Page 178 numbered and signed

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This biting irony is widely used in other Chanel logo paintings as well - no matter if boys or girls are shown - they smile and salute. The "Chinese aspect" comes across via the colours used in the painting (figure 1) which are a specific red and a specific yellow - and black and white. The specific red and yellow in combination clearly represent a Chinese element: The flag of China consists of a red background with yellow stars in front of it. Red as a colour is interpreted by the Chinese as a sign of happiness. Apart from the "official colours" red and yellow we can interpret red also as a colour that "screams" loudly to the spectator because it occupies a big part of the surface of the painting shown in figure 1. The bright red used has an aggressive touch. Its colour could even resemble real blood. Therefore we have the culture of an army in the picture, the official world of diplomacy via the specifically chosen red and some yellow present in the official Chinese flag, and we have the culture of bureaucracy in the picture via the numbers stamped on the background and even on some body parts of the figures in the litograph shown in figure 2.

2.2 "Violation" of classic Rules of Proportion and Perspective known in Europe Other classical painting cultures are broken in the Chanel No 5 Poster. The classic proportion of a painting - the 3 dimensions of a room - background - middle ground and foreground - which allow the spectator to find orientation in a real or virtual LIEU, are collapsed into an abstract, flat surface because the numbers are spread all over the work. Any attempt to construct a virtual 3 - dimensional room is disturbed by the scattered numbers. The fact that the numbers are not painted but stamped everywhere on the surface create even more confusion because they destroy our effort to see the figures in a perspective. The paintings happen in a kind of "flatland". The represented humans rather create a graphic effect tilting the painting towards a "poster" style imagery which we do not expect to be present in a painting. We just can identify mere "segments" in the painted surface and fail completely in trying to construct a 3 D - perspective for the canvas. The figures are not from human flesh and blood but rather behave like paper "bogies" in this painting. The ciphers are used more in a "calligraphic" way than in a mathematical meaningful context. They are stripped off their normal function of bringing order and clear structure into huge quantities to help us to understand and manoeuvre such quantities. If we try to set up rules in these Wang Guangyi - works and analyze the "rights" of the used numbers, they are the only element which has "allowance" i.e. a functioning "passport" to be everywhere in the canvas. They are discrete because of their proportional small size but they are nevertheless dominant at the same time

10 because their absence would render a completely different painting. It turns out that our perception of the painting changes when we judge it according to the classic canon of European paintings which usually deliver a perspective of a space as constructive element. Here, we insert the painting into "political pop art" which rather follows the rules of producing "Comic - like" images where correct perspective is irrelevant and the world is a poster and "flat". Lots of these paintings in the "Big Criticism" series contain the use of ciphers as an important constituting element in the background, middleground and foreground of the respective paintings. Looking at the work from a distance we even cannot discern the elements scattered in the blue background (figure No 2) as ciphers - we rather perceive them as white dots (litograph Chanel No 19), even romantic snow flakes in the background. The paintings designed later in the series have much larger formats than the paintings we see here and will render the number "overlay" even more prominent, visible and even more disturbing. Another classic rule is violated in the Chanel related posters. Instead of paying attention that the logo of a product corresponds to the proportions given by the figures in the middle ground of the painting, the Chanel logo occupies a lot of space. The logo letters and the "No 5" are given prominence by their shere size in relation to the size of the represented human figures. The logo letters are catapulted with a huge impact into our brains. As a spectator we are torn to continuously switch our perception mode from "reading" ( i.e. extracting sense of single letters as words, sentences, thoughts) to reading a "painting". Apart from the colours from a quite stressful repertoire - red as the colour of blood and yellow as the representative of the beaming sun, this technique of "schizophrenic" tease of our visual perception absorbs a lot of energy.

2.3 Ciphers as constitutional Element of Wang Guanyi's political Posters

The fact that we have nobody at our side to ask about the meaning of the numbers used in the paintings is an intentionally puzzling element for the observer and contributes to the complex character of these works. Ample research delivers the following result:

• The ciphers are completely unrelated with series or production numbers of Chanel products (www.coutureusa.com/blog/2016/08/15/quick-guide-to-chanel-serial- numbers/retrieved February 2nd , 2018) • Chanel products received unique numbers only after 1980 .These numbers had either 7 (early) or 8 (later years) digits. The reason was that "Chanel" had to take measures to distinguish its own products from fakes. The ciphers were unique for each single product

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and could not be taken off without destroying the ciphers themselves and thus destroying the value of the product as an exclusive and expensive Chanel product. Chanel products are traded in a well organized secondary market where the ciphers play a huge role.

• The system of numbering Chanel products was rigorously structured according to sensible rules which lasted for decades before the bar code overtook this method of branding (see collection of figures, figure 11).

• The work with the Chanel No 19 logo (Figure 2) is not a painting but a lithography each is signed and numbered by the artist. The number "19" in the painting is prominent because Gabrielle Chanel's birthday is on August 19 in 1883. The white number 25 is difficult to interpret. The only link to Chanel products could be a play with the number "2.55" used as a label for the Chanel suite of accessories products, precisely handbags. These bags were first presented in February 1955 ( = 2.55) to the Chanel clientele.

• The numbers in the canvas are inserted via a stamp. They are not painted. They build an own "category" of expression apart from oil painting or lithographic techniques and are important for structuring the surface of the canvas.

• In general, the almost regularly spread out ciphers may remind us of bureaucracy. Bureaucracy can help to organize things in a helpful manner, but can also develop a live of its own, not caring for the bureaucracy "consumer" who might get lost in the numerical breakdown of a suite of questions in an official form.

• No 5, the name of the first fragrance of the fashion house Chanel, had a symbolic value for the fashion designer behind it. It was the number of luck and it was the number of the day when Coco Chanel used to present her fashion shows to her demanding clients in high society (Mazzeo, 2012, p.81). To give a perfume just the name "No 5" was close to a scandal in 1921 when the perfume first appeared on the market, after it was premarketed as a precious Christmas gift for Coco Chanel's best clients. The cipher "5" being a prime number carries a huge mundane and religious history with it.

2.4 Body Language of Wang Guangyi's Figures: No Individualism intended The psychologist guild has categorized a human type of perception who responds primarily to body language and physical touch as "kinesthetic perception pattern". Isolating 12 therefore the body language provided in the two works by Wang Guangyi are common elements. In the painting with red and yellow as dominant colours and in the painting featuring Chanel No 19 where blue colours dominate, all the figures are shown in the moment of a public appearance .

The Chanel No 5 work (figure 1) shows a military salute of four figures which can be separated into two groups with two figures each. They seem rather "stamped" on the painting. Why ? We cannot really perceive the bodies of these four people, we just can identify the frame of an abstract rudimentary body, the same clothes, the same book - a hint to the Mao bible - and a visible strain and suspense of the posture. The figures' view is directed outside of the painting and creates a perfect illusion of an audience they relate to, which remains invisible to the spectator and yet will be subconsciously added by the viewer. The figures mirror a body language, which would not make sense in a private setting. It would be absurd to salute someone in this manner in a living room. Chanel No 19 litograph and the other painting represent a poster style because they imply a mass imprint of figures opposed to realistic representations of humans. This style was known to the Chinese artist via the propaganda posters during Mao's reigh and via the work of Andy Warhol who had visited China in 1982. (http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2013/june/27/andy-warhol-in-china/, retrieved February 2 nd , 2018). Summing up, we can feel the intention of the artist to show his figures like "frozen stills" taken from a public event. A high degree of standardization of the body language without individual traits deliver the poster atmosphere of political propaganda. Apart from the Chanel logo which is completely absurd in such a context, we see the red and white stripes in figure 1 in the background. We might interpret these stripes as a representation of a wonderful marquee in summertime or it might remind us of the prefix from a Hollywood Warner Brothers movie, or we just perceive beaming rays of sun. Therefore the setting of the figures, background and Chanel Logo leave us without any clue about the location, i.e. the real "lieu" of this painting remains abstract.

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3. Aura and History of the Chanel Brand Public Relation Secrets of one of the globally most successful Brands

"Every 10 minutes a flacon of Chanel No 5 perfume changes hand on the globe" - a rumour we cannot really reproduce in facts, but the existence of sayings like this mirrors the myth and the real success of Chanel No 5 as one of the most successful perfumes since the 1920s (www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4792656/Chanel-No-5, retrieved Feb 2 nd 2018). For a European native, the letters Chanel No 5 signal something precious, exclusive, beautiful and an avant-garde spirit. Our mind pops up images of Paris in springtime, of the fashion designer Coco Chanel, of elegant female models wearing Chanel haute couture and jewelry, in short, the letters Chanel No 5 radiate the world of luxury in a sophisticated and timeless manner. Wearing Chanel No 5 perfume promises to be part of this world's avant-garde characters, French style. The invoked aura marks a strong contrast to the propaganda style atmosphere in the two works by Wang Guangyi. Chanel No 5 takes its customers also back to the era of 1925 when the perfume was launched in public. We might think of Igor Stravinsky, who's seminal ballet "Le Sacre du Printemps" was already 12 years old in 1925 (I. Stravinsky, 1962, p.4) . It had been financially supported by Coco Chanel, the mastermind behind Chanel No 5. We think of the suite of the Balletts Russes', first performed in Paris with the help of impresario Sergey Diaghilev, we feel reminded of the Charleston dance created during this era. Our mind is caught in this flamboyant atmosphere by the puristic style of the Chanel logo which is underlined by its position detached from anything else in the painting. Subconsciously, our mind takes us back into the middle of the "Golden 20 ies" which are known as vibrant, booming and prosperous years.

The Perfume Chanel No 5 itself celebrated already its 4th anniversary in 1925. The very first appearance of the perfume can be dated back to 1921, when Coco Chanel distributed tiny amounts of Chanel No 5 to her very best high society clients in order to find out if there could be a success of the perfume at a larger scale (Mythos Chanel, p. 158). Chanel No 5 has an extraordinary history, since it was one of the first perfumes launched together as constituting pillar of Coco Chanel's haute couture fashion collections. It also mixed ingredients from the "male" perfume spectrum with the "female" fragrance scale. At the beginning of the 20th century, around 1915, women were wearing perfumes like "Quelques Fleurs" by Houbigant, constructed of original blossoms from roses, lily of the

14 valley, jasmin and other (https://www.houbigant-parfum.com, retrieved February 2nd , 2018). Floral scents were considered as the perfect fragrance companions which were believed to deliver a feminine touch. Fragrances connected with a male appeal, in contrast, contained per default at least moschus and often also tree bark scents. There was and still is a clearly distinguishable "gender aequator" within the world of perfume (NEZ, 2017, p. 80 - 81). Coco Chanel reportedly aimed in many ways at androgyn traits for her fashion. For example, she mixed male and female perfume ingredients, she invented chique trousers for women who were almost strangled in the past by their tight corsage. She started to design so called WOC handbags - Wallets on Chain handbags - in the early fifties. They were inspired by the military bags she knew from French soldiers. Chanel's handbags thus liberated one hand of the elegant Lady not any more occupied carrying her "mobile beauty case". Even todays' campaign of 2017 works with androgyn traits: The "Chanel" ladies may show their belligerent attitudes by posturing in martial arts manner. (Magazin, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, November 2017).

The story behind Chanel No 5 was Coco Chanel's strategy to deliver a completely extravagant but female scent to the world of her high society Lady customers. She commissioned the Russian perfumer Ernest Beaux to create this perfume. Ernest Beaux was presented to Coco Chanel 1920 in Monte Carlo by Grand Duke Dmitri Pawlowitsch Romanow, Cousin of the last Russian tsar, Nikolaus II (Mazzeo,2012, p.78 ). Ernest Beaux had worked for Alfonse Rallet & Co, then the foremost Russian perfume house and purveyor to the imperial Russian court. Ernest Beaux left Russia only in 1919, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, to go back to France and to work for Chiris Perfumes in Cannes, Southern France. Coco Chanel could win Ernest Beaux later on for the position of perfumer for her brand. She worked very closely with Beaux to transmit the subtleties and details of her perfume vision. It is reported that Ernest Beaux presented to her the samples with numbers 1 - 5 and 20 to 24 from which Coco Chanel had chosen No 5 (Mazzeo, 2012, p. 126). It was a revolutionary act of brand design to name the perfume just "Chanel No 5" and to offer it in a flacon which rather reminded people of chemical liquids rather than of a perfume flacon. We may remember the romantic "Shalimar" perfume flacon in this context. It was created in a beautiful oriental style at the house of Guerlain in Paris. The flacon was fashionable and representative for the style of the 1920s and reveals that the Chanel No 5 perfume bottle was far away from the mainstream (Dove, 2008, p.133). In the final version of Chanel No 5 which was launched in the European market in 1925, Coco Chanel allowed intentionally the most expensive ingredients, in order to render the perfume 15 costly, complex and therefore unaccessable to the masses. Of course, Coco Chanel as a strategic thinker persued this strategy also as a means against counterfeit. Another innovation in chemistry was very important for the construction of her 1st perfume. The family of Aldehyd molecules allowed by their chemical stability the design of fragrances in a pre - calculated manner. Modern chemistry allowed to invent and create perfumes of complex nature, which contributed to their seductive force. Also, the scent of these modern perfumes, shifted their aromas very far from "soap" like odors or too simple "just rose" odor compositions of the past. A completely new world was now accessible for the professional perfumer (Dove,2008, p. 66). Considering the perfume bottle of Chanel No 5, we can discover another avantgarde androgyn trait. The form of the stopper (the cover of the perfume bottle) was inspired by a male beauty set Coco Chanel had in mind (Mazzeo, 2012, p.129). Nevertheless, multiple sources in the literature suggest it represents the plan of place Vendôme, Paris, nearby where Chanels headquarters are located in Paris. Coco Chanel actually lived in the Hotel Ritz at Place Vendôme, which was a short footwalk from her apartment at Rue Carbon 31, Paris. This was the magic place, where she entertained her noble entourage and friends. The "dry" form for the Chanel No 5 flacon was a kind of scandal in the realms of perfume design. The huge "mythology" which is present today around perfume Chanel No 5 is a prove and at the same time fascinating mirror of its global and long lasting success and still effective magic.

4. Conclusion: Wang Guangyi's Key Message in "Great Criticism" Provocative Portal and explosive Seed for a new Human Identity Finally, we can unfold the paramount message of the artist. We are exposed to an "antithesis" of two different political models, Chinese communism, and Western capitalism. Any "synthesis" between the visible icons (Chanel logo / Polit - Pop figures) is completely avoided. The creation of a naive "mix" of Western convictions about "happiness by consumerism" and the Chinese communist past, melting into a "lucent initiation" to a westernized and therefore successful future of China is prevented with intricate and subtle means which are shown above. The reverberations behind the Chanel No 5 logo as the representative of the world of precious fashion, high society and luxury is modelled as another road of "mental corruption" of our minds by Western global brands. The artist is not interested in the beauty represented by Chanel No 5. It is rather the features of global 16 multinationals, which are targeted by their respective logos. Besides Chanel there are works staging a parade of "blue chip" logos: Siemens, Rolex, Sotheby's, Campbell, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Porsche, WTO, Walt Disney, Cartier, Nike, Swatch, Dior and others undergo a similar fate within the paintings of the artist. Mere logos parade as symbols of capitalism. The clash between the West and the East creates much more questions than answers. Also, at first and second sight, the paintings are truely attractive art and deliver a powerful accent in any collection. Especially the large sizes of the "Great Criticism" series created later on, may have found their buyers for the wrong reasons. Wang Guangyi's work is definately "Haute Couture" art already. Alienation is a principle visible in the Chanel logo works. Common contextual patterns are disrupted. We can gradually reveal the intention of the artist to attract the mind of his public in a sort of artistic "incubator". Wang Guangyi succeeds in representing philosophical issues on his canvasses which are normally invisible, because they are by their nature immaterial. The spectator is forced to give up his "home - grown" clichés about the dominance of Western thought. Western consumerism is criticized in a profound manner and is pushed into the role of just another road of mental corruption which creates citizens who mark their social status by "logo - status".

Wang Guangyi is a sophisticated ambassador of a philosophical message: Immaterial thought, mystic reflection, indefatigable search for sense in human lives are true drivers of humanity. The open minded urban nomad nevertheless may be grateful to be accompanied and guided invisibly onto a new road of thought. What the road will look like and where it takes us is still unknown and a live long "construction site". Live is considered as continuous transformation. The unique achievement of Wang Guangyi's works is the staging of the philosophical controversy between East and West and far beyond. An innovative and future driven Chinese inspired human identity are his quest. The dissecting deconstruction of known and long -term trained visual perception patterns of both, West and East, create an innovative vision. The artist invites the avid viewer into a new cosmos of a contemporary inspired global human identity.

TSW, August 16 th , 2018

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APPENDIX I Literature

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Literature

Books and Journals

1) Contemporaneous Chinese Art , Wu Hung, 2014, Thames & Hudson, United Kingdom

2) Wang Guangyi, Works and Thoughts, 1985 - 2912, Demetrio Paparoni, 2013, Milan

3) Script from CAS Contemporary Chinese Art I Executive Education on Global Culture by Franz Kraehenbuehl, Barbara Preisig, Michael Schindhelm, Zurich, 2015

4) CHINA, Country Report, December, The Economist , 2017, United Kingdom

5) Interview with Uli Sigg, CAS Contemporary Chinese Art I, Executive Education on Global Culture by Franz Kraehenbuehl, Barbara Preisig, Michael Schindhelm, Zurich, 2015

6) Chinese Contemporary Art 7 Things You Should Know , Melissa Chiu, 2008, New York

7) mahjong, Chinesische Gegenwartskunst aus der Sammlung Sigg, Hatje Cantz, 2005, Bern

8) Naomi Klein, No Logo, München, 2000

9) Mythos Chanel, Exhibition Catalogue, Maria Spitz (Editor), 2013, Draiflessen Collection, The Netherlands

10) Chanel No 5, Tilar J. Mazzeo, Die Geschichte des berühmtesten Parfums der Welt; 2012, Hamburg

11 ) NEZ, The Olfactory Magazine, Society, Science, Art, Perfume, Number 3, 2017, Paris

12) The Essence of Perfume, The master Perfumer's definitive Guide, Roja Dove, 2008, London

13) Igor Stravinsky, An Autobiography , New York, 1962

14) Nine Lives, The Birth of Avant-Garde Art in New China, The updated Edition Karen Smith, 2000

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Sources from the Internet

1) https://www.art.city/Wang-Guangyi-Artist-1663/ - retrieved February 2 nd , 2018

2) http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/77/ReasoningWithIdolsWangGuangyi, retrieved February 2 nd , 2018

3) https://www.chinesecontemporary.com/wang_guangyi_cv.htm, retrieved February 2 nd , 2018

4) http://www.coutureusa.com/blog/2016/08/15/quick-guide-to-chanel-serial-numbers/ retrieved February 2 nd , 2018 5) www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4792656/Chanel-No-5, retrieved February 2 nd , 2018

6) http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2013/june/27/andy-warhol-in-china/ retrieved February 2 nd , 2018

7) https://www.houbigant-parfum.com, retrieved February 2018 retrieved February 2 nd , 2018

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APPENDIX II Figures

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List of Figures 1) Figure 1 Wang Guangyi: Chanel No. 5 2001, oil on canvas; 2 panels, 300 x 200 cm each; Sigg Collection, "mahjong, Contemporary Art from the Sigg Collection", by Hatje Cantz, Page 178

2) Figure 2 Chanel No. 19, 2002, Litograph in colors, 134.3 cm x 106.2 cm, Edition 197 / 199

3) Figure 3 Book Cover; Demetrio Paparoni, WANG GUANGYI , works and thoughts1985 – 2012, 2013, Milan, Italy

4) Figure 4 The flag of the People‘s Republic of China was first used in public on October 1st 1949. The official name of the Chinese national flag is « Red Flag». Source: Wikipedia

5) Figure 5 Official Propaganda Prototypes, Karen Smith, 2009 "Nine Lives"

6) Figure 6 Official Propaganda Prototypes, Karen Smith, 2009 "Nine Lives"

7) Figure 7 „Die Kunst Chanel zu sein“, P.Morand, page 119 Gabrielle Chanel, photographed by Cecil Beaton 1937

8) Figure 8 „The Essence of Perfume“ , Roja Dove, page 130

9) Figure 9 Source: Wikipedia, Place Vendôme, Paris , View from above, retrieved February 2 nd ,2018

10) Figure 10 « The Essence of Perfume » , Roja Dove, page 128 and page 130

11) Figure 11 http://www.coutureusa.com/blog/2016/08/15/quick-guide-to-chanel-serial-numbers/ retrieved February 2 nd , 2018

12) Figure 12 Magazin Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, CHANEL advertisment November 2017

13) Figure 13 Gender Map: Moments in Time and Perfumes of the Day by Jeanne Doré, Source: NEZ, the olfactory magazine, April 2017, Paris

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Gender Map: Moments in Time and Perfumes of the Day by Jeanne Doré Figure 13 Source: NEZ, the olfactory magazine, April 2017, Paris

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