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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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. It was also a phenomenon, as a consequence of existence, involving politics, economics, culture, our belief systems, and the way we go about making a living in everyday life. Modernism, according to K. Michael Hays has “something to do with the emergence of new kinds of objects and events.” In the avant-garde practice, exemplified by the work of Hannes
Meyers and Ludwig Hilberseimer, modernism introduced new things to tradition, deepening the contrast between the “traditional” and the “representational.”3 In this way, modernism was brought about as a result of a revolution—political, artistic, cultural, and
3 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p11
10 economic—and it should be stated that all of this happened, and can continue to happen, simultaneously.
Modernism is like a complex container: there are many things inside of it, and its many parts function to make it whole. These individual parts cannot work as modernism by themselves. After a revolution, architecture, which is only one small part of modernism, is modernized. According to Nnamdi Elleh, “Modernism is a complex word that encompasses a number of disciplines such as the sciences, philosophy, music, dance, the arts, and it has to be underscored that architecture is only a small part of it, or better said, just one discipline under that huge umbrella.”4 Many modernists believe that they cannot reject tradition to create art. However, other modernists, especially those who are working on design, tend to have a more pragmatic opinion.
Modern architects and designers believe that new technology makes traditional architecture useless. Le Corbusier believed that the function of architecture is like the function of a machine in that it helps people live more efficient lives. Modern designers should reject the old style and structure of old Greek and Mid-century architects. Modern designers refused to use shapes to decorate their design work; instead they emphasized the use of materials and function. For example, the Seagram Building, which was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1956-1958, is one of the standard modernist architectural high-rise building models.
4 O'Brien, Elaine, “Modern art in Africa, Asia, and Latin America : an introduction to global modernisms”, also from Nnamdi Elleh, “Foundations of Modern And Contemporary Architecture in Africa,” Chapter 2, p57; working paper.
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Figure 3: The Seagram Building, which was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1956-1958. (Source: http://designkultur.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/architecture-mies-van-der-rohe-in-toronto- berlin-the-most-beautiful-pavilions/mies_van_der_rohe_seagram_building_chicago2_jpg/)
Modern architecture is one branch under the wide definition of modernism.
Modernism is also a complex production, and cannot be separated from the social processes and the political and economic transformations that influence it. It is influenced by the relatively advanced scientific and technological methods of construction that are used to create the architecture. As Marshal Berman writes, “to be modern is to be part of a universe.”5 Modernity is a way to share our cultures all over the world. For example, folk art6 has the power to be global. An analogy can be made that the 798 District belongs both to China and to the whole world, especially because the builders were East Germans and Soviets. Modernism demonstrates a particular localized experience that is influenced by international characteristics. People then illustrate modernism in different ways, resulting in different effects for different eras, though each instance of modernism is
5 Marshall Berman, from the introduction of “All That Is Solid Melts into Air: The Experience of Modernity”; also from Ellen Nnamdi, “Foundations of Modern And Contemporary Architecture in Africa,” Chapter 2, p61 6 Partha Mitter, “Interventions: Decentering Modernism: Art History and Avant-Garde Art from the Periphery”, p51
12 connected in that it was recognized or labeled modern at the time. The Communist
Revolution in China was one such moment.
2.2 The Premise of This Thesis
Two worthy questions to ask which might help us to understand the phenomenon of modernism in the aftermath of Mao’s revolution are: Why do we have revolutions? and why do we change our society? Our social practices are changed, for instance, when we are in a cultural revolution, like Mao Zedong’s revisited cultural revolution in 1966, which was carried out to consolidate the first communist revolution in the country in
1958. After revolutions, our lives become complex and different, and we learn to cope with changes. However, modernism is not constant. It is always changing. District 798 is about the changes ushered into China from the middle part of the twentieth century by
Mao’s revolution.
2.2.1 Brief History of the First Five Year Plan (1953-1957)
The Republic of China was founded in 1949. The first three years of the Republic up until the end of 1952 was considered a period of urgent economic recovery. During this period, on the one hand, the Chinese government made a series of plans to stabilize the economy. On the other hand, reform was needed to transform the old feudal land system into what the Communist Party envisioned as a progressive centralized land tenure system controlled by the government. The leaders of the country felt that China was lagging behind the industrialized countries in the West as well as Japan, although the latter had suffered a defeat at the end of World War II. For this basic mission, the First
13 Five Year Plan began in 1951 and ended in 1954. The First Five Year Plan was a reform movement informed by socialism that was intended to establish China’s industrialization, agriculture, and manufacturing so that the country would be able to compete with capitalist countries in the West. In 1955, another Five Year Plan was authorized. Out of the 694 projects that were established as part of the plan, the Soviet Union assisted China in the development and completion of 156. Chinese people hoped that the First Five
Year Plan would establish China as a socialist and industrialized country. At the end of
1957, the Chinese government announced that the First Five Year Plan had reached its industrial objectives ahead of schedule. Industries, they believed, would make China less dependent on other nations for essential goods.
Figure 4: The main cities where factories, industries, and roads were built during the First Five Year Plan. (Source: http://www.5ykj.com/shti/cusan/31859.htm)
It is important to situate the First Five Year Plan in the context of twentieth century city planning, especially that which took place in China; it was a turning point in the development of modern architecture, and it was an era in which the political leaders believed that it was in the interest of the country to replace the old with the new. By
14 situating the modernization project in the early twentieth century, we can see how it drew inspiration from the European avant-garde’s projects with the hope that China would be modernized in the image of economically developing countries, though it would maintain a socialist ideology that would make all citizens materially equal and comfortable.7 Early twentieth century European architectural avant-garde ideas of city planning gave us the concepts of the garden city, skyscrapers where residential space and factories were integrated, as well as technologically supported highways and overhead bridges.8
For example, in The City of Tomorrow and Its Planning by Le Corbusier, and in the books by Benevolo and Kenneth Frampton, we find discussions of modern architectural practices and revolution.9 By reflecting on European twentieth century avant-garde concepts of the city, we can see how the integration of work and industrial production at the 798 Factory was inspired by the avant-garde project, and how it was part of the foundation for the industrial development of the People’s Republic of China.
The philosophies of the architectural avant-garde, who advocated for the replacement of the old with the new, confirm the point that the factories and the Mao Zedong-led cultural revolution in China were related and were the foundations upon which modern China was built.10 However, the revolution came at a heavy cost all around for the people of China.
While writing on another aspect of modernity in the West, Marshal Berman’s views in
7 http://arthistory.uchicago.edu/courses/2012-2013 8 http://places.designobserver.com/feature/seagram-union-of-building-and-landscape/37758/
9Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities of To-morrow, TN: Bibliobazaar, 2008; Le Corbusier, The City of Tommorrow and Its Planning, New York: Dover Publications, 1987; The Publishers' Trade List Annual, Volume 3, R. R. Bowker Company, office of the Publisher's weekly, 1984 page 34
10 Le Corbusier, The Athens Charter, with an Introduction by Jean Giraudoux; translated from the French by Anthony Eardly with a new foreword by Joseph Lluis Sert. New York, Grossman Publishers, 1973.
15 his book All that Is Solid Melts Into Air confirms the problems of modernity as a universal experience. According to Berman: “To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world – and, at the same time, that threatens to destroy everything we have everything we know, everything we are.”11 Berman’s insight suggests that there are no geographical boundaries to modern existential experiences of everyday living and modern environments; in this sense, modernity is for all human beings and it can be brought about by different circumstances, often by revolutions. Mao’s revolution was the foundation for Chinese philosophical, cultural, industrial, and eventually cultural transformation in the twentieth century.
During the First Five Year Plan era (1953-1957), the Chinese government wanted to develop the economy quickly. They focused on building factories and the leaders and government requested that the Soviet Union and East Germany help them build the factories. All the buildings were in the Bauhaus style.12 According to K. Michael Hays,
“The Dessau Bauhaus is not an artistic, but a social phenomenon.”13 It combined social, cultural, and aesthetic practices together in order to produce modern life. Moreover, K.
Michael writes that “the avant-garde embraces social and political themes and practical, utilitarian concerns…” 14 Rather than merely an industrial project as it appeared to be, it is suggested here that the 798 Zone was a Chinese modernizing social practice that fully integrated the manufacturing process with ways of living, that can be compared to the
11 Marshall Berman, All That is Solid Melts Into Air, New York, 1982. Also, see, Partha Mitter, “Interventions: Decentering Modernism: Art History and Avant-Garde Art from the Periphery”, p60. 12 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008, p22 13 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p121. 14 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p124.
16 European avant-garde technological and lifestyle advocacy in the early part of the
15 twentieth century. The process is both self-referential and self-critical of the national self.
The buildings produced by the Chinese government in collaboration with the Soviets and the East Germans represented Chinese avant-garde modern architecture. Although dealing with a different socio-political culture in Europe in the anthology Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Hilberseimer, a comparison can be made between Kay’s observations on how the avant-garde participated in the socio-political production of modern life and the manner in which
Chinese authorities paved the way for modern life after Mao’s revolution. Moreover,
Hay’s observation can be compared to the conclusions reached by Talbot Hamlin that:
The architectural effects of such deep-seated changes in living were, of course, profound. They influenced both the content and the manner of building. They made necessary entirely new types of structures- factories, railroad stations, great industrial warehouses, new kinds of townhouses for factory workers – and they gave rise to utterly new kinds of towns…16
During the First Five Year Plan, Chinese traditional architectures were replaced by a
“new type” of building that was designed by the Soviets, and built by the Chinese. K.
Michael Hays wrote that “‘avant-garde movements’ in Europe and the Soviet Union attempted to link artistic activity directly to material-social production, also voiced an optimistic concerning the revolutionary powers of mechanization.”17
This changed the way of life for Chinese people who worked in factories to what was perceived by the ruling Chinese authorities as an industrial way of life that was to be more compatible with socialism and its aesthetic style of practices. It meant that there
15 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p11. 16 Ellen Nnamdi, “Foundations of Modern And Contemporary Architecture in Africa,” Chapter 2, p67 working paper. 17 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p90.
17 was not to be “rich” or “poor” people because socialism advocated an equalizing of living conditions in order to eliminate capitalist bourgeoisie exploitations of people. By dissolving class differences, the Chinese authorities wanted to achieve national harmony and a new way of life. Zhu Bian and his co-authors wrote in their book Beijing 798
Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China: “In the history of 20th century city planning, especially that of China, there has been a turning point in the form of modern architecture and the new has replaced the old as a mark of city planning.”18 When the communist revolution began in 1949, and with the priority to industrialize the country, there was little difference between “[a]rchitecture as diagrammatic act” and architecture as a realistic physical object. The Communist authorities conflated the physical and the diagrammatic, essentially creating a new process in which “the building is conceived as a translation of machine for socio-functional construction and differentiation, both diagram of and intervention into the material forces and processes of the social field…”19
2.3. The History of the 798 Art Zone
2.3.1 Designing the 718 Factory: The Precursor of the 798 Art Zone Complex
How did the 798 Art Zone make the successful transition from an old heavy industry factory to a famous International Art Base? Fifty years ago, the 718 Factory was where workers produced electronic components for radios; it was located in the northeast part of the Chaoyang District in Beijing and occupied a total of 640,000 square meters.20 Finally, the former 718 factory was vacated and rented out; the six factories formally known as
18 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,p86. 19 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p 136 20 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,p23.
18 700, 706, 707, 718, 797, and 798 were reorganized and incorporated into the Beijing
Seven-Star Science and Technology Co., LTD in December 2000.21
Figure 5: “751” in the 798 Art Zone (Source: Photo by Yalan Zheng)
Production began in the 718 Factory in May 1956.22 By this time, it had grown to an area of about 500,000 square meters and had an architectural footprint of about
149,800 square meters. Back then, it was a colossal project that cost about 147 million
Chinese Yuan. Looking at the numerical order of the number of projects established in the First Five Year Plan, the 718 Factory was the 157th project funded through foreign aide.23 The Chaoyang district is one of eight districts in Beijing City. The total area of the
Chaoyang District is 470.8 kilometers,24 making it the biggest district in Beijing. The
Chaoyang district is located in the eastern part of the city; it is one of the wealthiest areas.
It is the industrial zone of the city and includes parts of China’s large textile industry, electric plants and generator supplies, a significant portion of the country’s chemical
21 http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/feature_2/MetroCard/ForLeisure/t1116739.htm 22 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,p40. 23 Ibid. p 22. 24 http://bci.bjchy.gov.cn/chaoyang/geographical/geographical26033.htm
19 industry, as well as machinery and automobile manufacturing. To expand a little on the industrializing ambition of the era, while the construction of 718 was in progress, the
Communist Party was also building Electron Tube Factory 774 in the Da Shanzi District of Beijing, along with other large-scale modern factories and state-run cotton mills, in addition to the Nanyuan airport.25
Figure 6, The old 798 Factory
Figure 7, The old 798 Factory (Source: both Images found above: http://www.798space.com/subpage_en.asp?classid=17&boardid=40.jpg)
The Chaoyang district is the city’s window to foreign exchange and international cooperation in Beijing and it impacts China’s economic development. There are three
25 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,p41.
20 embassy areas located in the Chaoyang district including the International Conference
Center, the International Trade Centre, and the International Convention & Exhibition
Centre. Also, China’s Central Academy of Fine Art is located in this area. During the
First Five Year Plan era, the Chinese government wanted to develop the economy quickly.
They focused on building factories. As was previously mentioned, project leaders and government officials requested help from the Soviet Union and from East Germany to aide in the construction of the types of structures they needed. All of the buildings were designed in the Bauhaus and Soviet’s Constructivist styles. The main principle of the
Bauhaus style was to integrate construction’s practical function, materials and structures with its aesthetic style while minimizing costs. The ultimate goal was to produce a new type of architectural form. It was in utilizing this international cooperative (China,
Germany, and the Soviet Union) that international socialist construction projects in China were able to realize large-scale industrial construction. More than 100 East German experts worked on this project, and the Soviet Army supported the transportation of equipment directly through the Soviet Union to the site where the factories were developed in Beijing. The architectural plans were left to the East Germans, who chose a functional Bauhaus-influenced design over the more ornamental Soviet style.26 During the First Five Year Plan (from 1953-1957), Chinese traditional architecture was replaced by these “new type” of buildings imported from Germany and the Soviet Union by Soviet advisers and their Chinese hosts. The policymakers believed adopting this new architectural style would be more suitable for a socialist country. Although referring to a different circumstance, Kay Michael Hays’ observation in regards to socialist realism
26 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, p 18-21; p25-29.
21 holds true in this Chinese revolutionary scenario. He explained that, “socialist realism, rather than a project for an emergent new life, amounts to a communicable duplicate or replica of pre-established modes of knowing and being through pre-established modes of representation, a reflection of the myth of harmony between the state and the proletariat at a moment when their interests were, in fact, divergent.”27 This type of diverse lifestyle was new for the Chinese. The Soviet Union had had a very successful experience with socialist avant-garde constructivist ways of building houses and factories. That was the reason the Chinese government wanted to implement their ideas, and why it planned to create urban forms that integrated working and living within the same complex. The goal was to establish a modern experience in which factories, recreation, and living were next to each other. This envisioned utopia inspired Hannes Meyer to write: “I am going to work in the Soviet Union, where a true proletarian culture is developing, where socialism was born, and where there exists a society…”28
The idea of the design was to allow for the division of labor within a single complex.
For example, the East German experts organized a small group in charge of machinery design as one of the manufacturing activities within the Factory 718 complex. The preferred design for Factory 718 was in the Bauhaus style, and construction began when
Beijing was still a “city without tall buildings.”29This design affected 798’s form and layout. Its appearance provided a sharp contrast with the appearance of the rest of the city and it was built in a way that differs greatly from the way buildings are built today.
Designed with simplicity of form and construction in mind, the 798 Factory Complex
27 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p90. 28 Ibid. p. 147. 29 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, p88
22 was arranged as interconnecting compounds and courtyard spaces according to varying functions, while emphasizing the relationships between living, work (industry), and recreation, as envisioned by the avant-gardes in the early part of the twentieth century.
The buildings were oriented in a north-south axis in order to maximize the use of natural light in the manufacturing areas, and they were constructed with red brick, steel, and concrete reinforcement while accommodating different functions. Together they formed a whole with a unified appearance.
The distinctive saw-toothed rooftops were the precursor for the design of the 798
Factory, now the 798 Art Zone. The saw-toothed roof provided the factory with adequate lighting throughout the day. Day lighting in the factory building changes depending on the hour of the day. The roof is a series of parabolic curves that rise to a peak and fall diagonally as high glass windows that connect to the parapet. The roof casts little shadow and the light from the north is steadier than the light from the south. This technology allowed factory owners to set the level of light required for industrial production in the factory. In order to save on the cost of materials, the architects used bamboo reinforced with steel to form the framework of the roofs of the structures; the shell-structured roof boards were only six centimeters thick.30
In order to maintain a high standard, the East Germans wanted to use bricks rated at a 500-grade mark,31 but, at that time, there was no technological skill to produce this high-quality brick in China. Due to this situation, East German experts selflessly constructed two brick kilns in Nanhu Qu, located on the north side of the Chaoyang
District, expressly for this purpose, Each brick from the kilns needed to pass the stress
30 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,p88. 31Ibid. p24.
23 resistance test before it was used in the construction of the factory, and workers discarded any brick that did not meet this high standard. The efforts of the East Germans proved useful. In the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake, all of the buildings in the 718 Factory Complex went unscathed. After that disaster, the authorities adopted the East German builders’ standards and increased the anti-seismic ratings for all of the buildings in Beijing to ensure that they were able to withstand level 8 earthquakes on the Richter scale.32
The first structure to be completed in the Factory 718 Complex was a warehouse.
The second was the Bauhaus-style saw-toothed roof factory. All of the windows faced north, ensuring a well-balanced and constant distribution of indoor light. The Germans called the windows “skylights.”
Figure 8: Interior of the saw-toothed Building (Source: photo by Yalan Zheng)
The 718 Factory complex consisted of six separate divisions organized into three production zones. The six divisions specializing in the production of different electronics equipment were subdivided into departments named 706, 707, 718, 751, 797, and 798.
32 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008. p28.
24 For the purpose of better management, in April 1964, the supervising leaders canceled the organizational system of 718, and established 706, 707, 718, 797, 798 and 751 prospectively. 33From the end of the 1950s until 1964, it was officially called “Joint
Factory 718,” following the Chinese government’s method of, and with the Soviet
Union’s suggestion for, naming military factories beginning with the favored number 7.34
Moreover, the six divisions were grouped into three production zones consisting of one dynamic factory zone, one auxiliary zone, and one research institute. When it was completed, The People’s Daily called Factory 718 the “Nation’s first large-scale, modern, comprehensive factory for manufacturing electronics components.”35 718’s method was designed to facilitate production incorporating the supply and demand characteristic of the business cycle. In addition to electron tubes, the factory could produce all the basic components for radio electronics.
In 1959, after the last East German specialist left the factory, 718’s products began to be used in military and civilian manufacturing. For example, on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, all of the lighting and electric components for the “Ten Great Engineering Projects” were made in Factory
718; and, all of the necessary command components for China’s first 600 kilometer range, ground-to-ground guided missiles, called “No.1 East Wild,” were also made in
718, as were those parts used to control the missiles’ acceleration.36 When the First
Five Year Plan was completed, Beijing’s gross industrial output value had reached
33 http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/feature_2/MetroCard/ForLeisure/t1116739.htm 34 Jiayuan Zhuang, Factory 798: the Site of Nostalgia and its Incontinent Dweller http://www.extensionsjournal.org/the-journal/5/factory-798-the-site-of-nostalgia-and-its-incontinent-dweller
35 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, p36.
36 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,36
25 more than 2.1 billion Yuan whereas, in 1949, it was a mere 170 million Yuan. With its beginnings here, Beijing gradually started to looked and function like a modern industrial city. It can be said that this could never have happened without Mao’s revolution and without the modernization schemes.
As this shift from China being an agrarian feudal society to an industrialized nation occurred, so did people’s work. More and more people were leaving their agricultural jobs for work in factories, and the urban environment began to change in order to reflect the dramatic change in population.
2.3.2. The No.3 Cotton Textile Industry Factory
China’s attempt to industrialize also included the establishment of a large-scale cotton industry. The No.3 Cotton Textile factory in Zhengzhou City, located in the Henan
Province in the central plains of China, is an additional example that illustrates the effects of the European avant-garde in China. In this section, the historical development of the urban form of the cotton industry’s factories during the first five years of the1950s is addressed.
The No.3 Cotton Textile factory was built in 1954, and was built in the same political context as was the 718 factory. The focus at the time was truly on building factories, and again, the Chinese government requested aid from the Soviet Union and from East Germany. Influenced by the Soviets, these factory buildings had dramatic features that incorporated both political and cultural ideas from China, the Soviet Union, and East Germany.
26 During the period of the First Five Year Plan and the Second Five Year Plan,
Zhengzhou City developed significantly. At that time, the Soviet Union aided the Chinese in 165 projects, overseeing 9 projects in Henan Province. After the Second Five Year
Plan, China focused on the development of the light industry, and relocated Henan’s project to Zhengzhou City, inspiring radical development in this area.
The No.3 Cotton Textile factory located in the west side of the Zhongyuan District, is one of the earliest established in Zhengzhou City. Zhengzhou City has a long history of housing the textile industry. During the 1920s, the Yufeng Muslin Factory was the largest and most technologically advanced factory in China, but due to some political factors, the
Yufeng factory closed in 1949. After Zhengzhou City was finally named one of the predominant textile-based cities in China, the government paid more attention to building up the light industry factory in Zhengzhou city. One of the biggest projects took place when they invested a 1.76 RMB to build five large-scale textile factories in Zhongyuan
District, Zhengzhou City. It took just over five years to finish all five of the cotton factories, which ended up occupying 6,000 thousand square meters.37 The west district became the most prosperous area in Zhengzhou City. However, due to a lack of technology and skills, these textile factories went bankrupt one by one.
Following in the example of the 798 Art Zone, if the No.3 Cotton Textile factory is to be transformed into another Art Zone, several existing problems need to be addressed.
37 http://wenku.baidu.com/view/fa5391df5022aaea998f0fe3.html
27
Figure 9, Demolished area of the No.3 Cotton Textile Factory (Source: http://news.shangdu.com/zhengzhou/20120223/118_550916.shtml)
Currently, large parts of this old textile factory are already demolished. There is only one office building in the area, three residential buildings in the living quarter, and one gate, which is located in front of the living quarter, all of which are already listed as one protected landmark. A real estate agency has already purchased the land in the living area and has planned to build new high-rise buildings to sell. However, citizens have already begun to criticize the plan.
28 Figure 10, The No. 3 Cotton Textile Factory Gate (Source: http://news.china-ef.com/20120711/327208.html)
3. Adaptively Re-Using A Factory
3.1.1. What is the 798 Art Zone? It was as A Social Product of Modern Life
Figure 11: (Source: http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797.html, photo by Mochou, 2012)
From 2002 to the present, the 718 Factory has gradually faded from the people’s memory, and has become a creative industry now called the 798 Art Zone. In the
1990s, the once flourishing factory was in decline. Once the pride of the international co- operative socialism between East Germany and China, which included a research institute, school, hospital, gym, dance hall, library, and a canteen, the 718 factory was at risk of being demolished because the factory had outlived its uses. Proponents of destruction believed there was a need to replace the old factories with more efficient industrial infrastructures for production. Fortunately, 798 was preserved as a record of the socio-political situation of those early revolutionary years when the foundations for the country’s industrialization were laid. In 2005, the Beijing municipal government
29 and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design submitted a proposal to protect the area. All of the Bauhaus style architecture in the 798 Art Zone, they should be listed as “Exceptional Modern Architecture” and should be protected. The adaptive reuse of parts of the 798 Art Zone, as is exemplified by the establishment of Loft Houses in the area, reflected transformations in the current era of Chinese industrial confidence and national modernization.
The incentive to preserve the complex was strengthened because of the rare examples of the Bauhaus-style architecture. Artists began to rent differently sized factory spaces in these historical settings with the hope that the Bauhaus aesthetics would act as a source of inspiration for their creativity, and also in order to acknowledge all of the sacrifices the country made in its march toward industrialization. In 2003, US magazine Newsweek named Beijing one of 12 world capitals, citing Beijing’s 798 Art Zone as an important example of the city’s new style.38 An old factory had become world famous. Today, an art district and an area with a lot of aesthetic value, 798 has become an example of Beijing’s variety and cultural influence. It is suggested here that the transition from the abandoned 718 factory to the
798 Art Zone is symbolic of the rise of China’s industrial revolution from 1949 to the present time.
38 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,p70.
30
Figure 12, (Source: http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797_2.html Photo by Mochou）
Architect Hannes Meyer shifted the concept of “notion resistant avant-garde to
‘artists as producers’” 39 when he began to advocate for artists to no longer produce work as part of a revolutionary resistance, but to create art for the sake of creating art. From my understanding of 798, the transformation of the space from an old industry factory into a famous international art center suggests a continued revolutionization of Chinese peoples’ lives by means of an art medium. The 798 Zone provides Chinese artists and high-end retailers a space to transform Chinese peoples’ way of life into one that values a sort of binary, what Deng Xiaoping called “one country, two systems,” meaning a combination of socialism and capitalism. But in truth, it means the Communist Party’s control of all ways of life, including a productive system, which has moved further towards the capitalist mode of production, distribution and consumption.40
At the beginning of this century, Chinese contemporary artists began to engage public space as a realm they can critique, just as they were establishing themselves in a new place and exhibiting their work there. The old factory was no longer efficient, and was indeed vacant until 2001. Of course, the first reasons artists gave for wanting to
39 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p144. 40 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008, p196.
31 move into 798 were the inexpensive rent and the disturbance-free creative environment.
Furthermore, East Germany Bauhaus architecture allowed artists both the space and simplicity to create their own work. The artists decided to use the building, and they kept the original factory style, opting to decorate the place only a little. These bankrupted industrial factories became a space with a special spirit of creativity.
Figure 13, (Source: http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797_5.html, photo by Mochou)
As more and more artists moved into the art district, they continued to protect the history while they created new definition, design, and reformed this old place. Artists brought with them their creativity, understanding about architecture, and even the
Chinese people’s way of life.
32
Figure 14, The old buildings in 798 Figure 15, The new buildings in 798
(Source: Zhu Bian and his co-authors wrote in their book Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China, page 40, 41)
The factory buildings, once a distinguished symbol of industrial civilization, were now a collective generator for Chinese contemporary art. The factory was transformed into an art district after its industrial history was written, once again becoming a center of density and vigor. When Beijing Tokyo Art Projects introduced the idea of using the saw-toothed modeled factory buildings as art galleries, the manager kept the revolutionary slogans, which were written in red on the ceiling. The red words in
Figure 16 mean that people hope Chairman Mao lives forever.
33
Figure 16, (Source: http://www.798space.com/subpage_en.asp?classid=16&boardid=9&titleid=70)
Thus began the interweaving of history with today’s reality in Chinese contemporary art. In 2002, the Beijing Tokyo Art Project’s opening exhibition, and also
798 Art Zone’s first exhibition, was called Beijing Afloat. This exhibition drew more people into the quiet factory quarter. Setting the contemporary art exhibition in the factory building’s bleak inside was the best choice for both the artists and the onlookers, who were able to share in a certain sense of thought beyond their grasp and in a real feeling of novelty.
Due to the fact that the 798 space combined contemporary art, architecture, culture, history, and the city living environment, this place grabbed the attention of artists and some art institutions. The district’s popularity has exploded since the opening of the
Beijing Tokyo Art Project (BTAP) 41and the 798 Space in 2002, with scores of galleries, lofts, publishing firms, design companies, cafés, shops, and fancy restaurants. By 2003, around 30 artists and organizations had set up studios or offices in the area, with 200 more reportedly on the waiting list to move in. The 798 space has brought this type of
41 BTAP : Beijing Tokyo Art Project.
34 international lifestyle, such as that found in New York City’s SOHO and LOFT districts, to Beijing, and has influenced urban culture and living space. This is the architects’ and designers’ power: representing their world in their own way. These firms’ ‘selves’ are the result of a reformed economy; they exemplify the relationship between personal ideas and the economics of the social structure. Artists address the utopia and reality, memories of the past as well as the future.
Figure 17, (Source: http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797_7.html, photo by Mochou, 2012)
The No.798 factory area is the main part of the Art Zone; the decoration is very simple, but functional. The large indoor spaces are designed to let the maximum amount of natural light into the workplace, making 798 different from other workplaces. It provides the largest flexibility for architects and has the highest demand of artists who want to use the space in the entire contemporary art world. Owing to the cultural revolution, the effects of globalization, and the urbanization of Beijing, the 798 area is facing reform and re-development. Along with the increasing amount of urbanism in
Beijing, the city itself is expanding. Even in the Da Shanzi District pollution, low energy, and high technology is found.
35
Figure 18, (source: http://vooriders.com/beijing-s-798-art- district/beammeupbiscotti.files.wordpress.com*2011*10*798-art-district-44.jpg/)
In keeping with the area’s community spirit, most galleries and spaces in the Da
Shanzi District do not charge exhibiters nor visitors; instead, they generally sustain themselves by hosting profitable events, such as a Sony product launch gala, or a Dior fashion show.
36
Figure 19, (Source: http://www.cits.net/china-guide/places/798-art-zone.html)
798 belongs to China because it is located in China, and it includes unique Chinese elements. Though similar to it, the 798 Art Zone is not the SOHO of New York. Instead, it can be thought of as a space where art galleries, like those found in the U.S., France,
Germany, and Japan, are combined into one continuous and collective art zone. While history continues to shape 798, it seems to have also taken on a more modern characteristic as artists continue to address current, as well as past, political, economic and social realities. In a working document titled Modern Art and Architecture in Africa,
Elleh Nnamdi writes, “Modern architecture can be seen as an economic, political and cultural voice in the society. Spiro Kostof’s book, A History of Architecture, Settings and
Rituals, identifies two meanings of modern architecture. One, modernism as a process shaped by major ideas, people, events, and occasions in history; and secondly,
37 modernism in architecture can be seen as representing a specific attitude towards how people built…such a duality of meaning in modern architecture began, and it was marked by great revolutions."42
3.2.2 Art Works
3.2.1. Examples of Contemporary Chinese Art Produced In the 798 Art
Zone
The main topic at 798 is still the artwork. Fashion, design, art, media, and power all inform each other throughout the space. Siegfried Giedion said that, “Modern Art, like modern science, recognizes the fact that observation and what is observed from one complex situation-to observe something is to act upon and alter it.”43 It is different from other industrial areas, as it is all about art. Artists will find what they want in this place, just as designers go to Paris or Italy to find inspiration. Although there is some avant– garde art here, theorists have pointed out that avant-garde started to integrate art with life and industry. Sometimes you cannot discern exactly what it is; it may be the human experience, space, knowledge or feelings. That is also a kind of existence, and due to those works, 798 always has many popular topics.
3.2.3 Chinese Art Development and Transformation
The Cultural Revolution, which took place in China between 1966 and 1976, continues to have a significant influence on the 798 Art Zone and the way in which the art produced in this area is created and perceived. When people think about Chinese art,
42 Ellen Nnamdi, “Foundations of Modern And Contemporary Architecture in Africa,” Chapter 2, p67 43 Siegfried Giedion, “Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition”, p6
38 there are many different types of art that come to mind. For instance, the traditional
Chinese drawing called SHUI MO and Chinese opera represent China on an international scale. Although these artworks have already undergone a long period of development, they are still representative of China today. Art in China is essential to mass culture. The
Communist Party has propagated Art nationwide since the founding of the People’s
Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, for the purpose of re-imagining China and re- conceptualizing it as a modern country, with socialist political undertones.44 In chairman
Mao’s famous Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art in 1942, Mao called upon artists to appeal to and educate the masses:
“We should take over the rich legacy and the good tradition in literature and art that have been handed down from past ages in China and foreign countries, but the aim must still be to serve the masses of people. Nor do we refuse to utilize the literary and artistic forms of the past, but in our hands these old forms, remolded and infused with new content, also become something revolutionary in the service of the people.”45
Chairman Mao Zedong defined art during the period of revolution by saying that art must play a role in the struggle against enemies of domestic oppressors, which was evident before the start of public funding.
China has experienced dramatic changes in both its politics and perceptions of the Chinese people. The Chinese government gave rise to Deng Xiaoping, dubbing him one of the most important leaders in the movement toward political reformation. He proposed that China develop the economy and increase its openness to foreign countries. The Cultural Revolution shaped the early lives of most contemporary painters working in the People’s Republic of China today. After Mao’s death, some artists
44 Wuhung, “Chinese art at the crossroads: between past and future, between East and West”, “transformation of Chinese art”, page 28 45 Ibid. Page 28
39 wanted to change themselves in order to find their real and authentic self. This involved maturity and self-awareness, and they questioned tradition instead of wanting art to represent their history. A few painters looked further back, beyond the Cultural
Revolution art and officially sanctioned Socialist Realism of the post-1949 period, to traditional Chinese painting and Culture. 46
The most dramatic changes in China after the death of Mao and the rise of Deng
Xiaoping are the result of economic development and increasing openness to foreign countries. Using Western painting techniques, or imagery from the Cultural Revolution, many contemporary artists critique the impact of the economic reforms and the growing dominance of a capitalist economy and of foreign influences. 47 When China implemented its Open Door Policy in 1978, which allowed foreign ideas, people, and culture into China, the country underwent huge changes, especially in its economic structure as influenced by global capitalism, and in the international art market. Another significant impact is that it created a dynamic and relatively free political environment for artists.
The most important political movements in recent Chinese history have been associated with linguistic and language changes. This has been a favorite site for the construction of new cultural and political discourses. During the Cultural Revolution,
“Words” were used in the form of political slogans, seen and constituted across the country; they were a visual presence everywhere in any Chinese citizen’s everyday life. Just like the space in the Art Zone, Figure 16 depicts the changes incurred on the
Art Zone as a result of the Cultural Revolution period, and now, it has become a cultural
46 Wuhung, “Chinese art at the crossroads: between past and future, between East and West”, “transformation of Chinese art” p28 47 Ibid. p28
40 sign for the factory itself. The Cultural Revolution remains a central and haunting experience in the psyche of millions of Chinese citizens, who lived during the period of transformation and political and social upheaval. People’s political ideas were challenged as the country itself shifted in these regards. Recently, many Chinese artists have adopted the Cultural Revolution’s concepts in order to criticize, or release the haunting legacy, and to show what occurred during that decade.
Political pop art is the best example of a major trend in Chinese experimental art that took place in the early 1990s. Moreover, due to the images derived from the Cultural
Revolution, political pop as a form of art represents the richness of the previous political visual culture.48
Figure 20 (Source: Wu Hung. “Remaking Beijing, Tiananmen Square and the creation of a political space”, 2005, page 202)
Another main point to make about the 798 Art Zone is its originality. Artists created these works as a reflection of their surroundings, life experience, and creative spirit.
48 Wuhung, “Chinese art at the crossroads: between past and future, between East and West”, “transformation of Chinese art” p14
41 Originality is the main point of contention and competition among the artists who work in this region. Competition is a part of people’s lives. What this means is that people shape their own lives through their own understanding, and their realistic engagements with everyday existence. 798 may be an art or trade center now, but in the future it might be a famous art center to the world. Therefore this art area, in my opinion, is not only an art center, it is a lifestyle.
Nowadays, some people continue to criticize this place, saying that it has become too commercialized, which is inherently at odds with the initial intention of the artists who founded the 798 Art Zone. K. Michael Hays said, “The avant-garde draws upon certain negative aspects of the actual experience of such subjects in industrial society.”49
Because of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the 798 Art Zone has become more and more famous and well-known. There are many local firms and foreign companies willing to investment in this creative space. This phenomenon has made many artists rich overnight, even if their artistic work is not necessarily of a high caliber. On the contrary, this area’s holders have increased the cost of rent, which has led to many designers and artists leaving the Art Zone.
It is such consequences that have been predicted by people like Hannes Meyer in his body of work published around 1925.50 He said that such negative effects of capitalism must be considered signals “adequate for our times.”51 He identified a fault line between modern architecture and culture that defines the differences between the avant-garde and
49 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p150. 50 Body work: include linocuts and other prints, photographs, assenmblages, display cases, rooms, and buildings, all designed by the name “cooperative” or “Co-op”. K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p25 51 Oskar Schlemmer would call the word Meyer’s favorite, in the letter to Tut Schlemmer,1 December 1921, “in The Letters and Diaries of Oskar Schlemmer,” 1927,p216.
42 the conventions of mass technology society.52 To critique those people and the 798 Art
Zone, is to critic avant-garde’s aesthetics and functionalism. The culture and the valuing of pure function at the beginning of the avant-garde movement have already changed; this development includes formal strategies of self-referentiality and resistance. Artists have built the Art Zone overtime without much help from outside sources and, all the while, occasionally resisting the influence of outside entities.
But the saw-toothed factory buildings and alternatively shaped architectures are all in the Bauhaus style, “Many years later, when American architects visited the 798 Art
Zone, they unexpectedly discovered that China could be hosting the world’s largest collection of existing Bauhaus architecture.”53
Fiture 21, (Source: http://798-art-district.com/the-art-holy-land-798-art-district/)
Those embedded lifestyles were products of economic reform. They demonstrated the relationship between personal ambitions and social structures, between utopia and
52 K. Michael Hays, “Modernism and the Posthumanist Subject: The Architecture of Hannes Meyer And Ludwig Hilberseimer”, 1922, p25 53 Zhu Bian, Cheng Lei and Zhu Qi, “Beijing 798 Now: Changing Art, Architecture and Society in China”, 2008,p22.
43 reality, and between past memories and future hopes and dreams. This same place is responsible for bringing about new values in Chinese society. Some artists have promoted and represented social issues, which have led to social development. In this factory, the physical materials, visual images, avant-garde, buildings, phenomenon, and culture are present for artists’ everyday use, while having cultural influence in everyday life. Every new thing in the world is changeable, and all things developed in this area are universal.
3.2.4 Artists and Their Works
During the first ten years of the twenty-first century, Chinese contemporary art entered its third period: legalization. The 798 Art Zone played a significant role during this period, when culture was allowed to evolve and to mature. Between 2006 and 2008, the 798 Art Zone developed rapidly, while contemporary art marketing increased dramatically. A large number of galleries were established in this period. Due to the fact that more than ten countries’ art galleries and art organizations became a part of the Art
Zone, 798 became a famous and real international art base. As a result of being the most famous contemporary art exhibition and transaction center in China during the last ten years, the 798 Art Zone has experienced accelerated processes of socialization as well as of commercialization. First, the 798 Art Zone built a platform between art professionals and different classes of people who share a love for art. They have shared their works, comments, and experiences, and 798 has promoted the concordance between art groups and Chinese society. Moreover, the 798 Art Zone has given rise to contemporary art as
44 the main source of income and inspiration for artists across China, leading to the integration of art shows and commercial trading platforms.
Figure 22, (Source: http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797.html, photo by Mochou)
Between 2005 and 2009, the 798 Art Zone was home base for the production of the avant-garde; in so many people’s mind, 798 was synonymous with the avant-garde and contemporary art. We cannot say all the best avant-garde works and the best art shows were exhibited at 798, however, during the 10 years of the 798 Art Zone, many high caliber exhibits have taken place there, bringing further fame and popularity to the space.
Artists choose to move into the Zone because of the inexpensive rent and the creative and relatively free environment that allows them some freedom from disturbance distraction. 798 has never had too many artists, though it has grown from the very beginning. Furthermore, there has never been a time when artists have collectively vacated and left the space behind, thus essentially turning it into a cultural wasteland.
Whether in the past or the present, the artists found in the 798 Art Zone have only used the once peaceful, now bustling factory compound as a place to live and create.
45
Figure 23, (Source: photoby Yalan Zheng)
Some artists believe that if you choose to be an artist in China, it means that you choose a life of loneliness and suffering, and you have given up any hope of obtaining some sort of a social status, money, housing, or of holding a steady job. In many common peoples’ eyes, being an artist is kind of ‘abnormal’ especially because artists often have strange minds and spend their time doing strange work. However, most artists are knowledgeable and have unique perspectives that can be applied to exploring the vast and complicated problems inherent in any society. Although some of their works are strange and difficult to understand, because it may not be clear as to what the artists’ real intention is behind his or her work, artists use their lives and experiences in the world as a
46 starting point from which new lives and experiences can be imagined. Due to the development of the Chinese economy, China has earned more attention and is revered and accepted internationally; however, China is still developing, and there are many problems that need to be solved, such as the gap between the wealthy and the poor as well as the negative effects of industry on the environment. Art, such as that found in the
Art Zone, is an important contribution to society in its ability to make people think about and critically question our social problems, which will only continue to improve our society.
One example of the importance and progressive nature of Chinese contemporary art is known as “forefront art,” which has always developed on the fringes of mainstream culture. At the beginning of this century, there were some contemporary artists who began to emerge in the public arena and who looked for new places to do their work. Among these artists, some decided to move into this forgotten factory. The artists have given this place new life and a new culture characterized by a kind of massive communal space shared by individuals.
Jianguo Sui
Figure 24, Source: http://www.daum.fr/en-us/artists-2/Jianguo%20Sui.htm
47
Jianguo Sui was the first artist to reside in the 798 Art Zone. He is an advisor and professor in the School of Sculpture at Tsinghua University, and is one of the most significant contemporary artists in China. He chose this area at first just because he wanted to find a large space he could afford, where he could settle and create his sculptures.
Figure 25, Source: http://www.pacegallery.com/beijing/exhibitions/11162/sui-jianguo
Jianguo Sui’s work in the Peace Gallary in the 798 Art Zone, March 3, 2012 - April 14, 2012. It was a solo exhibition with nearly 30 works from the year 1987 until the present.54
Jifeng Zhao
Jifeng Zhao, my own painting instructor, had a personal oil painting exhibition at the
798 Art District in 2008. The theme of which was “Portrait 2008.” He does both contemporary and modern art that represents his opinion about Chinese culture and
54 http://www.pacegallery.com/beijing/exhibitions/11162/sui-jianguo
48 politics. For example, in the oil paintings found in Figure 26 and Figure 27, originally exhibited in the 798 Art Zone and in one art gallery in Shanghai, he uses the panda to represent Chinese art. These paintings are his way of showing what a Chinese portrait entails.
Figure 26 Figure 27 Source: Both of the figures above are from Zhao Jifeng. Oil Painting 《Portrait 2008》by Zhao Jifeng
He has not only depicted Chinese people or Chairman Mao, but has chosen more symbolic and topical elements such as the red color, a metaphor for Chinese red political power that protects the Chinese against others, and the panda, a metaphor for China and the Chinese people, to represent the unique characteristics of Chinese portraits. Whereas most people have some cute, lovely and meek image of a panda in mind, these two
49 pandas seem angry and fierce: the words “violent” and “bloody” might even come to mind. The onlooker is uncomfortable with these images and is forced to ponder why the artist used red for the panda’s face and why the pandas look so scary.
The same is true of the prominent color red in the portrait, which is likely to represent passion, a hot temperature, the Chinese flag, and/or the Chinese New Year. Again the viewer is left asking questions like, why did he use the red color for the panda’s face?
Most of the time, when people think about what color is representative of China, it is normally red. In an interview I did, Zhao Jifeng said that he wanted to show the Red
Political Power in China. In his work, blood and dissatisfaction are prominent themes. It seems the Chinese have a kind of power and spirit against our enemies. The Chinese government safeguards its country’s territorial integrity and the Chinese people themselves. Red can also mean that the Chinese are dissatisfied with some of their government’s politics.
Bolin Liu
Figure 28 Figure 29
50 Figure 28, Source: http://www.arttherapyblog.com/artwork/top-12-liu-bolin-invisible-man-artist- paintings/#.Ue9h3WSDQXw Figure 29, Source: http://blog.ted.com/2013/05/15/10-stunning-images-from-liu-bolin-the-disappearing- man/
Can you see the person in these pictures?
Liu Bolin is known as the invisible man in China. He has done a lot of street art and performance arts; he is a performance artist. His work inspires questions like what is my real self? What is the pure purpose and relationship between people, our surroundings, and the environment around us? Why do we sometimes need to change ourselves?
Though the answers are many, two ways to view Bolin’s work are to first consider how we are a product of our environment, and, second, to ask how the process of our studying is the process of copying. For instance, when we debate something, sometimes our idea is not our own; it is what we have heard from others. People are easily influenced by others and are born not being able to think dependently nor to control their own fate. His work points to how people disappear into our environment no matter whether the environment and our surroundings are good or bad. These environments influence us, in positive or negative ways. Therefore, Liu’s main question for us is, how can we find and define our true self?
Beginning in 2005, Liu Bolin has used his body as an empty canvas, blending his body and its surroundings together to present his mind.55 The government compelled the city inspector to demolish the largest scale of the Arts Base. As one of the artists who lived there, Liu Bolin started a series of “city camouflage” works. In this silent protest against the Chinese government, Bolin sought to defend the Chinese artists’ unprotected status by showing the importance of Chinese art and Chinese artists’ power.
55 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1201398/Liu-Bolin-The-Chinese-artist-turns-Invisible-Man.html
51 Liu uses a team of two assistants to paint his skin camouflage, essentially making him invisible. This is painstaking work, as each photograph can take up to ten hours to set up. In some cases, Liu has his assistants paint his body and then he remains extremely still until an unsuspecting passer-by happens to walk past. He always uses typical objects of various eras as his pictures’ backgrounds in order to record Chinese development. In one such photograph, he stood in front of Mao-era slogans from the “Words” Culture during Mao’s era (see: Figure 30); in another, he blended right into the Beijing National
Stadium Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium (see: Figure 31). 56
Figure 30, Bolin Liu stood in front of Mao-era slogans
56 A friend of mine who studies at California State University – Northridge, where Liu did an exhibition on September 8, 2012, told me that a lot of people visited his exhibit, many of whom were shocked by its gravity.
52
Figure 31, Bolin Liu in front of Beijing National Stadium Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium. (Source: Both figures above: http://blog.ted.com/2013/05/15/10-stunning-images-from-liu-bolin-the- disappearing-man/)
Liu has said of his artwork that: “ because my living environment were full of the
Chinese political. And Arts have positive power to help people’s self and cities, even countries become better than before. In our time now, through art works, people will think deeply and maybe question themselves to face themselves and their problems.”
Jie Jiang
Jiang Jie is one of the most important sculptors in China. She was awarded two prizes in 2009: the Martell Special Art Character Award and the Fashion Women COSM
Annual Award respectively. Jiang Jie is an environmental and ecological artist, who has the unique insights of a female artist. In her works, we can see that she pays a lot of attention to space, building, traditions and realism. Jiang Jie is skilled at using all kinds of materials to express various views on things. In recent years, she has often used traditional materials such as silk, cotton, and paper to create, as well as modern
53 architectural space resulting in a stark contrast that has reflected the artist’s art ontology and realistic problems, attention, and research.
In Jiang Jie’s latest works, tiles and ribbon are used to construct "utopia.” She had an exhibition at the 798 Art Zone in 2010, called “Pink Utopia.” This exhibition’s theme was “The Happy Journey of Discovery.” She placed fragile black tiles in pink silk bags, layering the roof and the floor in accordance with the methods of house construction. She then uses the audience’s interpretation of ideas of good life to create images of scarcity.”57
Figure 32 Figure 33
Figure 32, (Source: http://www.artnow.com.cn/ActionInfo/PublishP/ExhibitADetail_552_4552.html) Figure 33, (Source: www.arttv.cn)
As previously mentioned, artists always have the desire to use their works to control or occupy a space that belongs to them. Jiang Jie, along with her colleagues, are placed in the interior space of the installation, like the roof of a pink carpet. She used different colors and materials to represent and replace the original one. She wanted to use each one of the roof tiles to keep all of the feelings packaged into the silk bags, no matter what the
57 http://www.artnow.com.cn/ActionInfo/PublishP/ExhibitADetail_552_4552.html
54 story told may be: a happy or a sad memory. Even if the tiles are broken, the lovely memories are still there.
Conclusion:
During the period of the First Five Year Plan China’s economy developed rapidly achieved and completed their mission to modernize earlier than expected. China welcomed and encouraged input from foreign countries such as East Germany and the
Soviet Union, from the European modernism movement. Slowly, China began to change itself. Over the course of ten years, during which the 798 Art Zone was developed, we can see how the architects and visual artists incorporated history. In addition, we can also understand China’s political development from Mao’s revolution to the current power displayed in art and architecture.
The 798 Art Zone is a successful example of the transformation of a building from an old factory where electronic components were produced into a famous international art zone. After studying the evolution of the architectural style prevalent in the 798 Art Zone,
I can conclude that this factory is not only telling a factory’s historical story, that is, its transition and development, it is also a good example of this region of China’s transformation and development. In learning about the history, development, and transformation of the 798 Art Zone, people can begin to understand China from a vivid visual angle.
55 Figures: Figure 0, http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/slideshow-photo/more-art-in-798-space-
by-travelpod-member-chmielewskij-beijing-
china.html?sid=10163342&fid=tp-5
Figure 1, http://travel.qianggen.com/2009/0422/457.html Figure 2, The history of architecture on comparative method, Connell University Library Figure 3, http://designkultur.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/architecture-mies-van-der-rohe- in-toronto-berlin-the-most-beautiful pavilions/mies_van_der_rohe_seagram_building_chicago2_jpg/) Figure 4, http://www.5ykj.com/shti/cusan/31859.htm) Figure 5, by Yalan Zheng Figure 6, http://www.798space.com/subpage_en.asp?classid=17&boardid=40.jpg) Figure 7, http://www.798space.com/subpage_en.asp?classid=17&boardid=40.jpg) Figure 8, by Yalan Zheng Figure 9, http://news.shangdu.com/zhengzhou/20120223/118_550916.shtml) Figure 10, http://news.china-ef.com/20120711/327208.html Figure 11, http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797.html, photo by
Mochou, 2012
Figure 12, http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797_2.html Photo by Mochou） Figure 13, http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797_5.html, photo by
Mochou, 2012
Figure 14, Zhu Bian and his co-authors wrote in their book Beijing 798 Now: Changing
Art, Architecture and Society in China, page 40
Figure 15, Zhu Bian and his co-authors wrote in their book Beijing 798 Now: Changing
Art, Architecture and Society in China, page 41
Figure 16, http://www.798space.com/subpage_en.asp?classid=16&boardid=9&titleid=70)
Figure 17, http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797_7.html, photo by
56 Mochou
Figure 18, http://vooriders.com/beijing-s-798-art-
district/beammeupbiscotti.files.wordpress.com*2011*10*798-art-district-44.jpg/)
Figure 19, http://www.cits.net/china-guide/places/798-art-zone.html Figure 20, Wu Hung. “Remaking Beijing, Tiananmen Square and the creation of a political space”, 2005,page 202) Figure 21, http://798-art-district.com/the-art-holy-land-798-art-district/) Figure 22, http://info.xitek.com/pzreview/paocaisj/201209/30-102797.html, photo by Mochou Figure 23, By Yalan Zheng Figure 24, http://www.daum.fr/en-us/artists-2/Jianguo%20Sui.htm) Figure 25, http://www.pacegallery.com/beijing/exhibitions/11162/sui-jianguo Figure 26, By Zhao Jifeng Figure 27, By Zhao Jifeng Figure 28 http://www.arttherapyblog.com/artwork/top-12-liu-bolin-invisible-man-artist-
paintings/#.Ue9h3WSDQXw
Figure 29,http://blog.ted.com/2013/05/15/10-stunning-images-from-liu-bolin-the-
disappearing-man/
Figure 30, http://blog.ted.com/2013/05/15/10-stunning-images-from-liu-bolin-the-
disappearing-man/
Figure 31, http://blog.ted.com/2013/05/15/10-stunning-images-from-liu-bolin-the-
disappearing-man/)
Figure 32,
http://www.artnow.com.cn/ActionInfo/PublishP/ExhibitADetail_552_4552.html
Figure 33,www.arttv.cn
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