The 798 Art Zone, the European Avant-Garde in China
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The 798 Art Zone The European Avant-Garde In China A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Architecture In the School of Architecture and Interior Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning 2013 by Yalan Zheng Bachelor of Art, Environment Design, Light Industry University of Zhengzhou, 2010 Committee Chair: Nnamdi Elleh Committee Members: Edson Cabalfin Ming Tang 1 Figure 0, Sculpture in front of a gallery located in the 798 Art Zone. (Source: http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/slideshow-photo/more-art-in-798-space-by-travelpod- member-chmielewskij-beijing-china.html?sid=10163342&fid=tp-5) The 798 Art Zone --- the European Avant-Garde in China Abstract This thesis analyzes the historical development of a factory complex, which was first a site where electronic components were manufactured, into what is now known as Art Zone 798. Art Zone 798 is located in the northeastern part of the Da Shanzi District, a small part of the Chaoyang District in the capital city of Beijing. This thesis will discuss the First Five Year Plan implemented by the Chinese government in the period between 1953-1957. This plan resulted in alliances between the Chinese government and the Soviet Union as well as with East Germany, enabling the Chinese to build factories and increase their industrial output. Art Zone 798 was one of the complexes constructed 2 during the First Five Year Plan; it was constructed by Chinese workers in the Bauhaus style, with the help of the then socialist Soviet Union. Moreover, this study focuses on exploring the influence of the European avant-garde in China, as well as how an old abandoned industrial factory became a site for a dynamic artistic district known as Art Zone 798. In addition, this thesis shows how the artists who occupy the studios in Art Zone 798 use their work to reflect and comment on contemporary social issues in China. Key words: 798 Art Zone, Avant-garde, Bauhaus Style buildings, contemporary social issues 3 Contents: Abstract 1. Introduction 1.1. Background information 1.2. Research Questions and Hypothesis 2. Narrative 2.1. Theoretical Underpinnings: How the Word Modernism is Used in this Paper to Understand the 798 Art Zone 2.1.1. Brief History of the First Five Year Plan (1953-1957) 2.2. The Premise of this Thesis 2.3. History of the 798 Art Zone 2.3.1. Designing the 718 Factory: The Precursor to the 798 Art Zone Complex 2.3.2. No.3 Cotton Textile Industry Factory 3. Adaptively Re-Using A Factory 3.1. Transformation of 798 to an Art Zone 3.1.1. What is the 798 Art Zone? It Was a Social Production of Modern Life 3.2. Connecting Artists and Their Works to the Transformation of the 798 Art Zone 3.2.1. Examples of Contemporary Chinese Art Produced in the 798 Art Zone 3.2.2. Art Works 3.2.3. Chinese Art Development and Transformation 3.2.4. Artists and Their Works 4 1) Jianguo Sui 2) Jifeng Zhao 3) Bolin Liu 4) Jie Jiang 4. Conclusion 5 1. Introduction Figure 1: (Source: http://travel.qianggen.com/2009/0422/457.html) 1.1 Background information In 2002, a factory complex called 798 began to undergo a complex transformation from an industrial base to a zone dedicated to artists who wanted to express themselves in China. In the words of Robert Bernell, this new “art zone is attractive for foreigners because it is a symbol of modern China and its active creation of contemporary art, while the Great Wall and Forbidden City represent China’s past.”1 The goal of this paper is to examine how the one time 798 factory, where electronic machine parts were produced— now known as the 798 Art Zone—can help us to understand a particular aspect of architectural modernism in the context of Chairman Mao Zedong’s Communist Revolution in China starting in 1949, the year he came to power. The 798 Art Zone exemplifies how architecture was imagined and desired by Mao Zedong and the members of his leadership team as a way towards China’s industrialization. Thus, while this paper does not aim to present a comprehensive study of Chinese modern architectural history, it 1 Yu Lintao, 798 Transforms Modern Art Scence, Beijing Review, November 10.2011. http://www.bjreview.com 6 nevertheless demonstrates a perspective on the relationships between the country’s Communist Revolution, its drive towards industrialization, the architectural forms that housed the new regime’s ambitions, and the post-revolutionary artistic cultural celebration in a time of economic boom when the factories had outlived their industrial usefulness. Subsequently, this paper can be seen as a vehicle for understanding an aspect of Chinese modernism that implicates revolution, industrialization, and contemporary artistic productions. To expand on what is laid out so far, I would like to suggest that during the revolution, Chinese authorities understood that there are two systems for creating independent and coherent modern space in the country: one form rooted in China, and the other in Europe. From the diagram entitled “Tree of Architecture” (1896), a botanical metaphor that sought to connect the historical roots of architecture to the development of various branches and styles of modern ways of doing things; we can understand the revolutionary situation in China as being one of the basic architectural branches. Under the self-rules of architecture, and along with the development of societies and countries, buildings have several boundaries. Historians are learning that in China, as was the case in Europe, contributions from other cultures such as India, Africa, and elsewhere were applied to architecture.2 All of these buildings were integrated into theories and principles that helped guide what was built with what materials, what each building’s function should be, and how they were related and were to influence the neighborhood in which they were located. 2 JEFFREY W.CODY, NANCY S. STEINHARDT, and TONY ATKIN, CHINESE ARCHITECTURE AND THE BEAUX-ARTS, P41. 7 Figure 2: Tree of Architecture (Source: The history of architecture on comparative method, Connell University Library) 1.2 Research Questions and Hypothesis: The main questions that will be explored in this paper are as follows: (1) What is the 798 Art Zone? What kinds of modernisms and national modernization did the Chinese authorities imagine when they created the 798 Factory in the middle of the twentieth century? How did an architectural complex that was originally designed to be a factory for producing electronic components become a space for artistic production where the artists are increasingly inspired to make art and sell their productions freely in the market? (2) What kind(s) of relations do the artists who are occupying District 798 have with the Chinese authorities who initially granted them these spaces? (3) Who are the artists and how is their work contributing to contemporary Chinese culture? By studying the adaptive reuse of 798, we can learn about certain aspects of contemporary Chinese visual art practices. 8 2. Narrative 2.1. Theoretical Underpinning: How the Word Modernism is Used in this Paper to Understand the 798 Art Zone Without digressing from the main topic, it is necessary to clarify how the word “modernism” is used throughout this thesis to understand the 798 Art Zone. The usage of the term modernism is rather broad and draws mostly from Western definitions, but it can also be used to understand Mao’s industrialization efforts in China in the middle of the twentieth century by means of large factory construction projects. Modernism, as an historical period, emerged as a new art and literacy style, which gained popularity before 1914. Modernism is based on science; that is, it emphasizes reason and logic. Artists were against the pre-Modern ‘old rule’, prevalent at the end of nineteenth century. Artists in this period began to focus on using realism, specifically to represent both feeling and emotion. At the beginning of the modern period, artists and scholars began looking at and conceptualizing the world using a new perspective, while old traditional concepts were giving way to new and ‘modern’ techniques. For example, the modernist movement known as impressionism was one of the most important transformations, when seen from the literacy point of view; symbolists began paying more attention to the so-called ‘true sensation,’ an extreme effect of modernism whereby artists began to portray what they were feeling instead of what they were thinking; and Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud were making important contributions to the fields of philosophy and psychology 9 during this era. The Modern movement ended in the middle of the twentieth century due to changes in attitudes towards its experiences and architectural practices. Furthermore, modernism overturned the relationship between the public and individual. For instance, during the nineteenth century, public buildings were designed horizontally, while private structures were turned vertically, thus allowing private space to use less land. However, architectural styles show a reverse trend during the twentieth century. During this time, public structures were more vertical, while private ones usually took up more horizontal space. Although many old rules have already yielded to more newer innovations, the current architectural mainstream has kept a lot of elements of modern design theories. Conceptually, the word “modern,” as I understand it, is a moment like the present. “Now” can be seen as modern time. I would also like to underscore that in architecture; there is a stylistic genre of structures known as modern architecture that was developed in the late part of the nineteenth century through the early part of the twentieth century up until the end of World War I and perhaps, even the end of World War II.