Contemporary Art and the Exhibitionary System: China As a Case Study
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Contemporary Art and the Exhibitionary System: China as a Case Study Linzhi Zhang Department of Sociology Queens’ College October 17, 2018 This dissertation is submitted for the degree of doctor of philosophy in Sociology Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not at all the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the Univer- sity of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. Signed Date i Abstract Contemporary Art and the Exhibitionary System: China as a Case Study by Linzhi Zhang The challenge of contemporary art, unlike in art history, has only recently been identified in sociology. Furthermore, an overly philosophical orientation, has undermined sociological expla- nations of artistic production. To remedy this, I propose a sociology of exhibitions. This entails a shift of focus from the elusive subject matter of art towards the tangible exhibition, and the construction of a new framework: the exhibitionary system, which also stands for the physical, institutional, and network environment of exhibitions. The central question in the sociology of exhibitions is to explain how the exhibitionary system shapes artistic production. The answer was sought by observing exhibition making in the Chinese exhibitionary system, from which quantitative data about 1,525 exhibitions, held in 43 exhibition spaces between 2010 and 2016, were also collected. I argue that the exhibition context shapes the physical basis of individual artworks and the construction of an artist’s oeuvre. Through the contextualised creation of artworks for public viewing, artists aim to raise their visibility, which is crucial for artists’ career prospects and symbolic consecration. An artist’s visibility is, however, constrained by where she exhibits and with whom she co-exhibits. My method for measuring visibility reveals its binary nature, divided along a singular dimension and a collective dimension. Yet no binary division between the non- profit and for-profit is found within the exhibitionary system with regards to the selection of artists. Rather, both sectors contribute to a dual selection of marketable artists. A model of professional autonomy, which reconciles “art and the market” on the level of practices and awareness, prevails in the exhibitionary system. The sociology of exhibitions has solved persistent theoretical problems in the sociology of art. My empirical findings give rise to new research questions. Finally, I have offered a dialogue between studies of non-western and western cases within the same framework. iii Acknowledgements At the end of this long and lonely journey with countless sleepless nights, I thank Karl Marx, Max Weber, Thomas Kuhn, and Theodor Adorno, for alluring me to this bitter-sweet pursuit. I can still recall the thrill standing in front of a new world, opened by the first sociology seminars. The perfectly enthusiastic introduction to sociology given by Luo Jiade has enlightened me. And if my Heidelberg mentors Prof. Schwinn and Dr. Albert did not tolerate my bold yet not so rigorous ideas, I would not be able to develop them further in this dissertation. I want to thank my supervisor Patrick Baert who did not mind teaching me the el- ementary. If I were an “unserious” artist, you were my curator. And Martin Fuller, thank for your intellectual support in my lonely pursuit of a minor subject. My gratitude is beyond words. I must also thank the friends who have helped generously to improve the readability of this dissertation. In particular, Peter Willian Walsh, without you, I do not know how much longer this would take me. Certainly, without the funding of Cambridge Trust CSC, this project would not have been possible. I need to thank all the informants who facilitated my field research, from which I acquired not only data, but also friendship. Among all, I want to thank Liang Shuo, Bao Dong, Gao Ruyun, Xiao Ya, Lin Shuchuan, and Han Chunyang. Without your support, the quality of my empirical research would be compromised. I was very delighted and rather surprised to have felt, among you wonderful people, for the first time in my life, that I was not an outsider. My dear sociology cohort, your company has been the best experience provided by Cam- bridge. In particular, it has been a great pleasure to have you as a friend, Diane Barlee! I am also grateful to a non-sociologist friend, Zhang Meng, who has helped to retrieve v thousands of data entries and patiently removed each duplicate. Finally, I am most grateful to my partner Peter and my mother Yu Xiangying, to whom my insignificant existence truly matters. It is your unconditional love that makes life less unbearable. Without you, I would be lost in my deep scepticism. I dedicate this doctoral thesis to my dear mom, even though you prefer a grandchild in human flesh. 15 October, 2018, Cambridge Contents Contents vii List of Figures xi List of Tables xii I...Towards A Sociology of Exhibitions 1 1 FromArttoExhibition ............................. 5 1.1 The challenge of contemporary art . 7 1.2 Beyond the sequential division . 11 2 Unpacking the Process of Exhibition Making . 16 2.1 Literature review . 17 2.2 Theresearchquestions.......................... 19 3 TheStructureofthisDissertation. 23 II...The Exhibitionary System 27 Introduction....................................... 27 1 Towards a New Framework . 28 1.1 The structure of a theoretical framework . 29 1.2 Integrating artist and artwork . 32 1.3 Restructuring the social world of producers . 39 2 The Social Mechanisms for Artistic Production . 42 2.1 Artworks in exhibition . 43 2.2 Artistic evaluation as social action . 47 2.3 Visibility ................................. 50 3 TheExhibitionarySystem............................ 56 3.1 Art institutions as exhibition spaces . 57 3.2 Networks among exhibition makers . 61 Conclution ....................................... 65 vii CONTENTS III...From Global to Local: The Case of China 67 Introduction....................................... 67 1 TurningtowardstheLocal............................ 68 1.1 The home bias in the global biennale system . 70 1.2 The importance of the local . 72 1.3 The neglected solo shows . 73 2 TheCuriousCaseofChina ........................... 75 2.1 Thetwoartsystems ........................... 77 2.2 Themeaningoftheperiphery...................... 79 2.3 An ideal site for empirical investigation . 81 3 TheExhibitionarySysteminChina. 82 3.1 Abriefhistory .............................. 83 3.2 Identifying the local exhibition spaces . 87 3.3 A topographic map . 89 Conclusion ....................................... 93 IV...Methodology, Fieldwork, and Data 95 Introduction....................................... 95 1 Multi Phases and Mixed Methods Research Design . 96 1.1 Exploratory sequential design . 96 1.2 Methods.................................. 97 2 Fieldwork and the Collection of Qualitative Data . 103 2.1 Sampling . 104 2.2 Gaining access . 108 2.3 Data gathering . 111 2.4 Data structure and overview . 115 3 The Collection of Quantitative Data . 119 3.1 Sampling . 119 3.2 Data sources . 120 3.3 Exhibitions in statistics . 122 4 Ethics .......................................123 Conclusion .......................................124 V...Artworks, Scenography, and Oeuvre 125 Introduction.......................................125 viii CONTENTS 1 Artwork: Beyond the Isolated Object . 126 1.1 The problematic isolation . 126 1.2 Artworks and scenography . 129 1.3 Artworks and oeuvre . 131 2 The Completion of the Scenography . 133 2.1 Conceptualisation . 134 2.2 Materialisation . 137 3 The Construction of An Artist’s Oeuvre . 142 3.1 Filtering out the experimental . 143 3.2 Articulating connections . 147 Conclusion .......................................150 VI...Artist Visibility 153 Introduction.......................................153 1 The Visitors of Exhibitions . 154 1.1 The two motives . 155 1.2 Selective regular visiting . 157 1.3 Location and time . 158 2 An Artist’s Visibility: Efforts and Constraints . 161 2.1 The effect of a single exhibition . 161 2.2 The combined effect of a trajectory . 165 3 A Network Measure . 169 3.1 A note on methodology . 170 3.2 Results ..................................175 Conclusion .......................................179 VII...The Dual Selection of Artists 181 Introduction.......................................181 1 From Dualism to Duality . 182 1.1 The hypothesis of overlap . 183 1.2 An alternative model of artistic autonomy . 185 2 Overlap and Distinction in the Exhibitionary System . 191 2.1 Artists in the two sectors . 192 2.2 Segments in the collaborative networks . 195 3 Exhibition Making and Professional Autonomy . 200 ix CONTENTS 3.1 The search for capable artists . 201 3.2 Serious artists and the marketisation of art . 206 Conclusion .......................................210 VIII...Conclusion 211 1 Art and Exhibition . 212 2