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CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART: A STATE OF CONTROL

Study in Perspective (Tiananmen), Ai Weiwei, 1995

School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning DATE OF SUBMISSION: 31st May 2013

Bachelor of Arts (International Studies): International Research Project SOCU 1042

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“Political art is a freedom of expression that challenges totalitarian violence and lies.” The Gao Brothers, 2013

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CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 4 Methodology 8 Chapter One: History of Chinese Contemporary Art 11 Chapter Two: The Relationship Between Art and Politics 14 Chapter Three: Government Censorship 16 Conclusion 24 Bibliography 26 Appendix 31

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ABSTRACT Despite commercial viability, the advent of new museums and international

exposure, the Chinese government continues to restrict Chinese artists’

freedom. Censorship is sporadic, unpredictable and enforced by different

levels of government. This research project seeks to explore the extent to

which artistic freedom is currently being limited by the Chinese government,

and the ideological basis of enforcing censorship. There is an inherent focus

on the experiences of those directly involved in the Chinese art scene, namely

artists, gallery owners and curators. Current censorship issues are explored

through analysing documentary films, books, reports, in-depth interviews with

Chinese artists and government policy. The analytical framework is based

upon the Freedom of Speech provisions outlined in The Universal Declaration

of Human Rights. Particularly, the notion that ‘everyone has the right to

freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom to hold opinions without

interference.’ Based on the Chinese artists’ experiences, it is clear that

censorship continues to affect their capacity to exert free speech.

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INTRODUCTION

Contemporary Chinese art remains haunted by the ghosts of the Cultural

Revolution. Since the 1980’s artists have been creating ‘artworks that reflect

on current government policies.’ (Watters, 2013) Art’s role as a means to

‘analyse’ and ‘critique’ (Keurt, 2008) has caused the government to exert

extensive control over the production and display of contemporary art.

Chinese contemporary art has experienced a renaissance, as the

commercialisation of the market encourages an influx of new artists and

buyers. During the last three decades, the contemporary art scene has

developed from a small field to a large scale affair, showcasing thousands of

artists, curators, and dealers producing solo exhibitions and biennials, art fairs

and auctions, both in China and abroad. (Zheng, 2012) The overarching aim

of this research is to assess the extent that government censorship is limiting

artists’ capacity to exert freedom of speech.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a Communist state, with a mandate

to govern based on the Chinese Constitution. The Constitution forms a legal

foundation, guaranteeing the Communist Party ‘as the supreme political

authority in the PRC through its comprehensive control of the state, military,

and media.’ (Ralph Folsom, 1992) Internet censorship has been enforced

systematically, with The "Freedom on the Net 2012" report, issued by

Freedom House ‘ranking China as the third most restrictive country in the

world when it comes to internet access, after Iran and Cuba.’ (House)

Accordingly, art censorship is another facet of control exerted by the

government in preventing criticism of the regime.

Since the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government has continued to

punish artistic dissidence. Whilst, liberties were granted under the Deng

regime in the late 70’s, the use of these liberties continued to be regarded by

both the communist regime and foreign observers, as a form of political

dissidence. (Michael Hockx, 2005, p. 4) Perhaps, the ongoing desire to

control art can be attributed to official Chinese Ideologies, which focus on art

as a reflection of the social and political reality. Chinese art has rarely been

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produced for pure aesthetic purposes. Confucianism interpreted art as a

method of either appraisal or condemnation of the government. (Selmenkari,

2004, p. 242) The communist regime of Mao interpreted art as purely a

propaganda tool, famously saying that ‘as communists we gain control with

the power of the gun and maintain control with the power of the pen.’ (Weiwei,

2012) The government’s perceptions of art appear to be rooted in ideology, a

driving force in perpetrating censorship.

Rather than government restrictions decreasing in recent years, in many

instances the government has increased control over artistic freedoms.

Through censoring works that ‘criticize the party, its leading members and

their ideology’, (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art

Censorship, 2012) the government is clearly limiting freedom of speech based

on a political ideological agenda. Artists have experienced this censorship

through raids on exhibitions, the banning of shows and physical violence. The

government has been effective in stymieing domestic and international

exhibitions and prohibiting political sensitive work. While dissident artists

remain active, their capacity to criticise the government continues to be

restricted. In private galleries, museums and studios artists have been

censored due to contravening political, moral and aesthetic censorship

standards. Censorship is not implemented systematically. Its executed

through different levels of government from the local police to state on a

seemingly indiscriminate and sporadic basis.

Artists who have expressed their right to freedom of speech have never

received a clear explanation of why such art is censored. Article 35 of the

Chinese Constitution states that ‘Citizens of the People's Republic of China

enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of

procession and of demonstration.’ (Government, 2004) Whilst there is a

constitutional guarantee of free speech, each day it’s contravened by the

government implementing artistic censorship; an act that could easily be

perceived as unconstitutional.

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LITERATURE REVIEW Criticism of the Chinese government’s art censorship has amplified with the

Western media. However, this critical sentiment isn’t equally visible in

Chinese literature, nor does censorship appear to be a topic explored by the

mainstream state media. The chosen literature is indicative of the experiences

of artists within China; the most effective gauge of how the Chinese

governments’ actions have constrained the production of contemporary art.

Given the topical nature of this issue, digital secondary sources such as

documentaries and news articles have proved invaluable in understanding the

current situation. The following review will focus on dissecting the prevailing

attitudes on contemporary Chinese art history, the extent of censorship

practices and their affect on the capacity of Chinese artists to exert freedom of

speech.

The history of the Chinese contemporary art scene has been widely explored,

predominantly in reports, books and journals. Michael Hockx’s book, The

Contemporary PRC, offers an insight into the artistic environment in the early

post Mao years. He asserts the use of new artistic liberties granted under the

Deng government, ‘continued to be interpreted, by the communist regime and

by foreign observers, as a political stance of dissidence.’ (Michael Hockx,

2005, p. 4) Selmenkari’s journal article Implementing and Avoiding Control:

Contemporary Art and the Chinese State, stresses that Mao’s government

developed an inherent relationship between art to serve official ideology.

Moreover, Hilary Binks’ commentary on the All Stars movement is important in

understanding the role of art movements in contributing to the growth of

political art is. Of particular interest, she asserts that the All Stars group were

instrumental in ‘setting the stage for the future freedom of artistic expression

in China.’ (Binks)

Literature exploring the last decade in Chinese art, often inherently lacks a

critical analysis on government censorship during this period. When

presented with history concerning the last decade of Chinese art, there is

often a lack of in-depth insight provided by many scholarly articles and

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essays. In the essay, ‘Thread of Art History: Transgression of Chinese

Contemporary Art in the Sigg Collection’, the author claims that ‘after 2000,

the rapid development of the contemporary art system brought tremendous

momentum and capacity for artists to produce and exhibit art.’ Despite an

exploration of the history of Chinese art, it fails to critique the extent to which

this artistic freedom has been limited by the government.

An understanding of the government’s official stance on censorship can be

ascertained through primary documents produced by the Ministry of Culture.

Of particular interest is the general vagueness of the Ministry’s main duties,

‘to guide and administer literary and artistic undertakings, guide artistic

creation and production, promote the development of all kinds of art and to

administer major national cultural activities’. (Ministry of Culture of the

People's Republic of China, 2009) The problem presented by this document is

that it fails to outline policies, and instead is left to the liberty of the enforcer’s

interpretation. In this sense, it was a useful comparative source between the

Ministry’s vague assertions and the reality of censorship. Article 35 of the

Chinese Constitution outlines the basic provisions for freedom of speech,

‘Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the

press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration.’

(Government, 2004) This provides a theoretical framework for exploring the

extent to which the Chinese government contravenes artists’ basic rights to

expression through ongoing censorship.

Secondary news media sources, offer an insight into the current relationship

between art and politics in China. The advent of the internet has provided a

platform for a perspective on the overarching reach of the Chinese

government. In particular, sites such as The New York Times have published

pertinent articles regarding the censorship of art on a domestic and

international level. In articles such as To Get Noticed, Chinese Artists Look to

Internet, Ella Delany asserts that online promotion of artworks is severely

constrained by the government. On a similar note Stout examines artist

attitudes towards censorship in an CNN article, Art in China: On Script and

Cutting Edge? In which, artist Lui Xiandong reveals that artists need to ‘stay

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on script and veer away from the politically taboo, for example such as the

Tiananmen Square and erotic subjects.’ (Stout, 2013)

Interviews with artists offer an insight into the affect of censorship on the

capacity of artists to produce work freely without interference from the

government. This process has been undertaken through a conjunction of

semi-structured interviews, documentaries, books and news articles. Digital

media, such as the SBS Program Dateline, has offered further enlightenment

into the political current pressures faced by artists. The Dissenters provides a

pivotal analysis of the struggles faced by Chinese artists in their quest for

individual artistic freedoms. It asserts that despite the political struggles faced

by artists, they are determined to continue their struggle, even if it means

persecution. In a similar vein, the documentary ‘Censorship in Contemporary

Chinese Art’ produced by students at New York University, is concerned with

interviewing artists and galleries to understand the first hand effects of

censorship, exploring a holistic approach about the affects of censorship on

the entire art market. In a pioneering approach, gallery owners speak out

about the affect censorship has had on their capacity to exhibit politically

sensitive works. It investigates the motivations of artists, and explores the

notion of politics being central to the production of Chinese contemporary art.

(Hsu, 2010) Interviews with practicing artists enable the observer to

comprehend the extent that Chinese contemporary art forms a wider part of

the political dissidence movement within China.

The literature discussed provides an understanding of the political and social

motivations for government censorship. On the other hand, the notion of

censorship itself being censored proved to be a major obstacle. This notion is

discussed within the book, The Party and the Arty in China: The new politics

of culture, which contends that ‘given the centrality of censorship to public life,

the scholarly literature on contemporary offers surprisingly little analysis or

even detailed description.” (Clause, 2004)

Considering the existing literature, the following research provides an

innovative perspective on the extent to which censorship is impacting on

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current artistic practices. Previously, literature has focused on the growth of

the Chinese contemporary art market, yet there remains a critical lack of

understanding of the role the government’s continued censorship is having in

this growth.

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METHODOLOGY The premise of the research is to understand the degree to which censorship

has affected artistic practices and society as a whole. This comparative

investigation is based upon a qualitative approach, relying on a combination

of both primary and secondary sources. The analytical framework is centred

upon the extent to which the Chinese government’s censorship undermines

article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). ‘Everyone

has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom

to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart

information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’

(Nations) This assumption broadly frames the investigation into how

censorship inhibits Chinese artists’ creative freedoms.

Primary data research has been focused on the policies of the Chinese

Cultural Department. The Ministry has produced broad guidelines for the

administration of cultural policies, which are available online. These

documents provide a basis for comparison, between the official response to

dissident art, and the reality reported by those within the industry. In

particular, the notion that the policies purported by the Department, are often

starkly different to the experiences of this directly involved in the art world.

Document analysis forms a crucial element of secondary sources for the

project. Considering, the extent of media censorship within China these

documents were used as an insight and not objective facts. Thus, the main

document sources relied upon are a range of mainly international media

articles, reports, journals and books. It must be noted that the majority of

secondary sources came from outside China, potentially ensuring a

predominately Western viewpoint. Accordingly, attempts were made to source

Chinese secondary sources, however, these often failed to offer a reliable

critique of censorship within China. These were, however, crucial in painting

the picture and context for the other types of research methods, such as

interviews.

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In order to gain a more in depth understanding of the current situation, the

researcher conducted semi structured interviews were conducted with artists,

curators and academics. The method used to select participants for the

interviews was convenience sampling, based upon their availability or the

researcher judging that they are representative of the sample required. The

interviews were designed with the aim of gaining ‘a certain richness and

subtlety, that can lead to great insights within human society’. (Nicholas,

2011, p. 73) The successful gathering of data is reliant on the assumption of

being direct and ensuring that the questions are highly relevant to the topic

area being studied. It is clear that the complexity of the issues can only be

understood through focusing on "how" and "why" questions. (Benbaset, 1987)

Due to the logistical concern of the majority of interviewees being based in

China, many of these have been conducted via an email exchange. In terms

of ethics, the research has to be aware of the risks involved in interviewing

vulnerable people. There remains a possibility that they may be persecuted

for their politically sensitive views expressed within this report. In order to

mitigate potential ethical issues surrounding representing their opinions, it is

explicitly clear that interviewees were able to review consent to the writer’s

representation of their opinion, prior to the final report being published.

An efficient means of gathering first hand accounts of artists was through

video documentaries. These documentaries provided interviews, commentary

and analysis regarding the phenomena of art censorship. Moreover, new

mediums such as film have the capacity to present a current perspective that

is sometimes lacking in traditional sources, such as books or journals. Payne

describe the documentary method as the’ techniques used to categorise,

investigate, interpret and identify the limitations of physical sources, most

commonly written documents whether in the private or public sphere.’ (Geoff

Payne, 2004) Perhaps, the most pressing concern of documentaries is that

the producer may be showing a degree of bias in their presentation of a story.

This limitation presents itself, however, in most forms of secondary data

sources. On the other hand, documentaries are an accessible means of data

to enable a range of views from artists, and decrease the logistical difficulties

involved in translating and arranging the interviews.

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Ultimately, the relationship between art and politics in China is complex.

There is an awareness that the widespread internet censorship exerted by the

Chinese state may have undermined some aspects of gathering data

pertaining to censorship. It is evident that in understanding the relationship

between censorship, artistic freedoms and the government, one method could

not be employed at the expense of another. Considering the lack of pre

existing literature exploring the overarching effects current censorship is

having on Chinese artists. This approach, through combining artist interviews,

with document analysis has produced a unique examination of the situation

facing contemporary Chinese artists.

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CHAPTER ONE: THE HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) artists were forced to give up any

form of individual self-expression. Individuals labelled ‘Intellectual partisans’

were sentenced to periods of hard labour in the country and forbidden to

practice their art. During this period, Mao made it explicitly clear that art and

politics were integrally related. Art was seen purely as a means to serve the

government’s communist political ideology. In the 1942 Yan’an Forum on

Literature and Art, Mao asserted that art ‘must only serve society and the

Marxist ideological cause.‘ (Selmenkari, 2004, p. 242) Thereafter, a tangible

link between art and politics developed in the production of Chinese art. The

advent of the Deng era in 1978 heralded increased liberties and access to

exterior cultural trends. However, ‘artists use of these liberties often continued

to be interpreted, by the communist regime and by foreign observers, as a

political stance of dissidence.’ (Michael Hockx, 2005, p. 4)

Chinese contemporary art, as we know it today, emerged from the ‘All Stars’

exhibition in September 1979. After being denied official space in the Chinese

National Gallery, the artists, including Ai Wei Wei and Huang Rui hung their

works on the fence outside the National Gallery. One of the participating

artists, Ma Deshung pronounced, ‘every artist is a star. Even great artists are

stars from the cosmic point of view. We called our group "The Stars" in order

to emphasize our individuality. This was directed at the drab uniformity of the

Cultural Revolution.’ (China, 2011) The government declared the exhibition

illegal, one day after opening. In spite of apparent government changes

towards freedom of speech, censorship to limit expression continued into the

post Mao regime. The All Stars responded by organising a protest march for

individual human rights under the banner We Demand Democracy and Artistic

Freedom’. Eventually, bowing to public pressure, the artists were allowed to

hold their first exhibition at the Huafang Studio in Beihei Park in 1979.

The following year, the Chinese Artists' Association allowed the Stars to

exhibit for a second time within the China Art Gallery, with the belief that the

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show would be self defeated by a lack of public interest. The chairman of the

association, Jiang Feng noted, ‘when The Stars realise that the mass of the

people don't understand their work, they will learn and change their ways.’

Contrary to his assertion, within two weeks the exhibition attracted nearly

200,000 visitors. (Binks) Despite the artists’ popularity, continued political

pressure forced the group to disband in 1983. Many of the twelve founding

members, moved overseas. Huang Rui moved to Japan and Ai Wewei to

New York; with the intent of to practicing their art free of government

interference.

The ‘New Wave Movement’ of 1985 was dominated by attempts to

appropriate foreign artistic styles, whilst paradoxically engaging in cultural

criticisms. These avant-garde artists ‘saw themselves as cultural pioneers

whose task was to enlighten the masses, fight for social reform, and rebel

against the past. They criticised the state-dominant ideology, which had long

suppressed individuality.’ (Minglu, 1998) Even though the 1980’s precipitated

a growth in artistic experimentation, their freedoms continued to be

suppressed by the government. The intrinsic relation between artistic freedom

and democracy is noted by Gao Minglu, who asserts with ‘the failure of the

democracy movement in the 1980s, and under the unexpected rise of mass

culture, many artists abandoned their humanist passion.’ (Minglu, 1998)

Increased political freedom, coupled with economic advances in the 1990’s

paved the way for international influences to permeate the Chinese

contemporary art scene. Chinese contemporary art underwent a dramatic

stylistic change, and artists begun to gain international appeal. In the early

1990’s curators and dealers discovered China, leading to international

exhibitions (Wu Hung, 2010). In her 1992 essay, ‘New Generation and Close

up Artists’ Yin Jinan, claims that this period was ‘the moment when

histological memory collides with reality, anyone can directly observe the

fundamental source material belonging to the scope of art history. The literary

worlds ‘age of prose’ corresponds directly with the art worlds period of

manifesto-free realism.’ (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 155)

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However, despite the burgeoning art scene, figures within the official art

bureaucracy remained critical of political art. In this period, Yang Yingshan the

Vice President, Central Academy of Arts and Crafts noted that ‘art has to be

beautiful.’ (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 211) Clearly, there remained a perception that

contemporary art had to be beautiful, as opposed to being an outlet for

criticism. Despite many artists and curators resting their hopes in the

promises of liberalisation during the early 1990’s, ‘toward the later part of the

decade such optimism increasingly gave way to disappointment and

suspicion.’ (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 358) Due to official pressure, those unwilling

to conform to government ideals were left without a means to publicise their

work, leading to the rise in prominence of ‘unofficial art’. Subsequently, artists

begun to show in invite-only private homes, or circulate digital forms of their

artworks. These strategies minimised problems encountered as a result of

authorities raiding or closing public exhibitions. (Selmenkari, 2004, p. 245)

After 2000, the inception of curatorship, opening of new museums and the

Biennale system, contributed to the commercial success of the Chinese art

market. Critically, the 2000 Shanghai Biennale finally ‘legitimised and

publicised’ Chinese work on an international scale. (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 351)

This rapid expansion facilitated ‘new artists, new creativity and new

exhibitions’ (Zhenqing, p. 17). This prosperity continued with commercial

galleries, museums and art organisations showcasing Chinese artists

internationally and domestically, with art spaces such as District 798

becoming budding cultural hubs. Currently, the Chinese government is

placing a renewed emphasis on developing the Chinese art scene. However

artists’ producing work that challenges government ideology, are being

excluded from these state based artist developments.

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CHAPTER TWO: THE INTRINSIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND POLITICS

When artist work, it reflects their perception of society and culture. In doing

so, they often come into conflict with the official government ideology.

Chinese curator Han Si, observes that ‘of course everything is political, but

not everything is about politics.’ (Han, Interveiw with Si Han, Curator

China/Sweden, 2012) In other words, whilst all Chinese art may not be

political, creative expression always reflects its social context to an extent.

Throughout history, repressive regimes have persecuted artists undermining

their right to freedom of expression. Whilst artist Ai Weiwei has become

somewhat of a poster boy in the West for dissident art, he is certainly not

alone. In March 2012, Kuwaiti artist Shurooq Amins’ exhibition “It’s a Man’s

World” was closed three hours after opening by authorities due to being

deemed pornographic and anti-Islamic. (Randol, 2013) Sidd Joag asserts that

many acts of artistic dissidence go unnoticed by foreign and domestic media

every day, and that the celebrity fetishism of artists often does not promote

understanding of the deeper issues at hand. ‘We must not forget that for every

persecuted culture worker whose story hits mainstream media, dozens of

stories remain unheard, and those change-makers remain without access to

networks of support or the means to defend themselves.’ (Joag, 2012)

Therefore, it is important to note that China is not isolationist in its repression

of political art; it occurs every day, across the globe.

Capacity for freedom of speech within China has increased since abolishing

the Mao instigated crime of counter-revolution. Yet, it has often been replaced

with government controlled artistic networks and beaurocracy. Huang Rui, a

member of the All Stars movement, contends that ‘the collaborators of artists,

also collaborate with political power, this makes the definition and

classification of politics extremely complicated.’ (Rui, 2013) Furthermore, he

notes an intrinsic need for artists to express freedom of speech, which may

not be possible through other outlets within China. Political art ‘is not just

obligations, but the nature for modern artists to express their liberalism and

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freedom of thoughts throughout their artworks. They have to express their

contrary thinking toward politics, let it to be released spontaneously from their

bodies, especially in China, which is a country under heavy political

pressures. ‘ (Rui, 2013) Art can be seen as a means for individuals to express

their freedom of speech, a notion which has greater emphasis in China, due

to censorship outlets, such as the internet.

Ai Weiwei is arguably the most prominent Chinese artist to emerge this

century. His controversial anti-Chinese government antics have facilited

widespread international attention. Despite this fame, he has been subjected

to harsh punishments by the government for his criticisms of the current

regime. Ai has asserted that the state has diminished any capacity for artists

to practice freedom of speech. ‘Widespread state control over art and culture

has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60

years, anyone with a dissenting opinion has been suppressed. Chinese art is

merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger

context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity. ‘ (Weiwie,

2012) This highly critical analysis of the Chinese art scene questions the

function of Chinese art itself, whether or not it is flawed due to the regime in

which it is produced. ‘In a society that restricts individual freedoms and

violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a

pretence’ (Weiwie, 2012) Yet, to digress to this level, all art within China

would be not be considered art. This leads to the question of whether or not

creativity can exist with a repressive regime. It is difficult to assert the later, as

history has highlighted that sometimes the most progressive political art is a

product of a highly restricted regime. Consequentially, even though the

government exerts tight control over production, contemporary art exists

within a restrained and limited context.

Inevitably, Chinese art will be inherently political, a reaction to some degree of

the government control over artistic production. Even if the subject matter isn’t

an outwardly political issue, it’s a reaction in some form to censorship.

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CHAPTER THREE: GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP

Censorship is not immediately evident within China. Government authorities

enforce censorship through banning exhibitions, limiting the capacity to export

work and sometimes resorting to violent retributions for dissident artists. It is

difficult to assert a systematic pattern of censorship; it can be as vague as

‘anything that harms the interests of China’. (Hsu, 2010)

Within China, government censorship is sporadic and often unpredictable.

The Ministry of Culture broadly outlines censorship rules, which are usually

enforced through local authorities. The Ministry has stated that their main duty

is ‘to guide and administer literary and artistic undertakings, guide artistic

creation and production, promote the development of all kinds of art and to

administer major national cultural activities’. (Ministry of Culture of the

People's Republic of China, 2009) Yet this ‘guidance’ has resulted in

numerous cases of government censorship of galleries, museums and artists.

Enforcement

Commercial galleries are often the targets of censorship perpetrated by local

authorities. Many galleries and exhibitions are routinely inspected to ensure

they are not exhibiting works regarded as contrary to government interests.

It seems that once authorities have censored one incident at a gallery, they

are likely to be continually subjected to harassment and scrutiny. Rebecca

Catching, curator of Shanghai’s OV (Oriental Vista) Gallery has observed that

‘different rules exist for different people’. Government pressure emerged after

her gallery being shut down in 2007 for an exhibition “Re-visioning History”,

that included a painting by Sheng Qi depicting a tank—a verboten reference

to Tiananmen Square. Prior to this incident the gallery had operated without

incident for a few years. (Movius, 2011) Subsequently, when the gallery held

an exhibition in November 2010, it endured a succession of cultural bureau

raids. The exhibition, “Shifting Definitions” examined social issues concerning

Chinese women Shanghai's OV Gallery curator Rebecca Catching has

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encountered different levels of censorship depending on the origin of the

artist. ‘For local art you to the district cultural bureau, if you have foreign you

must seek approval from Shanghai’. Catching cites incidents of ‘art spies’,

government employee who pose as artists to infiltrate events, often leading to

censorship of works deemed unsuitable. In November 2010, after spies

visited the OV Gallery, the staff we called to a meeting with the cultural

bureau and asked to present information regarding the exhibiting artists’

nationalities. (Movius, 2011) This is not an isolated case; private galleries

within China have to operate within government regulation to prevent

continual scrutiny and censorship.

Even the jewel in china’s cultural crown, district 798 is subject to government

censorship. Since opening in 2002, it is estimated to have attracted over 75

million visitors. The 798 Art District has marketed the district as an alternative

art space. ‘District 798 symbolize the country's cutting edge art movement led

by the Chinese vanguard, unchained artistic personalities with alternative life

goals. The largest, most influential art district in China the space hosts world

class international and Chinese exhibitions in the midst of former weapons

factories.’ (District) Whilst District 798 exits under the premise of holding world

class exhibitions, art that challenges government ideology is prohibited. In an

undercover interview, in which the reporter purported to be a French Gallery

dealer, The Bureau of Art Management revealed the extent to which art has

being routinely censored. ‘We decide what can be displayed, it’s a routine

procedure. It isn’t a highly censored area – there aren’t many restrictions.

Only to the works of art that touch on the subject of the government and the

Party, we have to say “No.” Also, we don’t approve low-taste and

pornographic shows, the rest is okay. If there is no political issue, it’s all

okay.’ (Yi, 2013) These ambiguities in the Chinese governments’ censorship

policies, undermine the potential for freedom of speech within the newly

formed platform, that is District 798.

Public Art Museums are particularly scrutinised when producing international

touring exhibitions. Shuxia Chen, a curator of international exhibitions at the

Himalayas Museum in Shanghai, noted that international artist from Hong

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Kong and Taiwan would need to be reported to the local cultural authorities.

This process involved ‘handing in documents of bios and images/DVDs of

works of all the artists as well as curators in the show,’ in conjunction with

‘officers from this department would come to inspect the show a day or two

before the opening’. (Chen, 2013) Despite these procedures, there was an

instance of a Chinese artists being asked to remove their photograph due to it

being perceived a too violent. The picture depicted the restaging of a local

murder, including fake blood and body. Shuxia notes that ‘it was interesting to

ponder what violence was according to these cultural officials.’ (Chen, 2013)

Evidently, the notion of free speech when participating in public exhibitions

remains dictated by the ideology of the government.

Ideological Foundations for Censorship

Government censorship is broadly based upon prohibiting the exhibition of

works against the party, upholding the four cardinal principles (the socialist

path, the people's democratic dictatorship, the leadership of the Communist

Party of China and Mao Tse–Tung thought), performance art and

pornographic or obscene art’. This ideological platform was dictated by the

Ministry of Culture for the second All Stars exhibition in 1980, and still remains

relevant today. Generally the censorship of works arise from the depiction of

subjects such as nudity, Tibet, Tiananmen Square and depictions of Mao and

political leaders. Occasionally, some artists have been able to explore these

issues without retribution. If the government close a show, however, it’s due to

images relating to these issues. (Pollack, 2010, p. 176) Enforcement of

censorship can be divided into political censorship, aesthetic censorship and

moral censorship. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art

Censorship, 2012) Censorship of political art has gained the most profile in

the West. High profile cases of art which ‘criticise the party, its leading

members and their ideology’ are often what the is reported as the cause for

censorship. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art

Censorship, 2012) Artists frequently criticising the government such as Ai

Weiwei and The Gao Brothers have faced consistent government hurdles in

exhibiting their works.

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Case Studies in Political Art: Ai Weiwei and The Gao Brothers

Ai has gained the disdain of the government through circulating works on the

internet such as, ‘Grass Mud Horse Covering the Middle’, which phonetically

sounds similar in Mandarin to “F*** your mother, the Party Central

Committee’. In conjunction with works ‘One Tiger with Eight Breasts ‘, which

depicts the artist with four naked women. This was interpreted by the netizens

(individuals active online) as ‘the nine members of the Standing Committee of

the Politburo of CCP’. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art

Censorship, 2012) Consequentially, he has ‘spent time in jail, was not allowed

by the government to leave Beijing for a year and cannot travel without official

permission.’ (Stevens, 2012) Weiwei’s passport remains in the possession of

government, ensuring he cannot travel to his international exhibitions

The major body of the Gao Brother’s work is based upon on recasting the

figure of Chairman Mao. A figure who is ‘simultaneously capable of arousing

deep emotions of pain and despair, as well as admiration, love, and pride —

as a flawed figure.’ (Wang, 2009) In recent years, they have been forced to

hold secret exhibition openings, to prevent raids from local authorities to

remove the controversial works. When interviewed the Gao Brothers

emphasised the fact that restrictions have continued to thwart their artistic

freedoms. ‘From our personal experiences and feelings, the officials have

strengthened the review and control of art exhibitions. Prior to 2007, our

studio in Beijing 798 Art District has been an open space, where we can do

some public exhibitions (which have suffered from reviews), but due to

various pressures, after 2007, we had to close the room, and use it as just a

private space, no longer open to the public.’ (Brothers, 2013) Furthermore,

they have been restricted from exporting work to overseas shows, sculptures

of Mao with breasts, which cannot be exhibited and have been held in

customs prohibited from being exported abroad. However, they remain in

relatively good spirits, considering their treatment by the government. Gao

Qiang, one half of the group notes that ‘if we made sculptures like these

during the Cultural Revolution, we would have been beheaded but at the

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present we can make sculptures just not show them to the public.’ (Pollack,

2010, p. 188)

Artists have been subject to physical violence due to their political stance. In

2010, Lui Yi a supporter of Ai Weiwei was violently attacked by thugs in his

Beijing studio. Using iron bars seven or eight men beat him, breaking his leg

and causing serious head injuries. After he called police several times. Yet Lui

noted that ’it took a long time for the police to arrive - they were clearly

collaborating with the thugs. At a demonstration once, the police said to me

“Just be an artist, don’t get involved in this stuff it is too risky.” (Yi, 2013)

Moral Censorship

Moral censorship concerns the showing of art exploring issues of sexuality,

it’s a sensitive subject frequently censored by the government under the guise

of pornography. The naked body, homosexuality and sex are censored for

‘moral’ reasons. Even if the general atmosphere has loosened, the authorities

have by no means stopped monitoring the exploration of sexuality in the

contemporary art scene. In May 2001 the government systematically

implemented policies prohibiting violent or sexual art.

Artistic practice has been curbed through the authorities banning

‘pornographic’ artworks. In 2006, Wang Qingsong staged a shoot featuring

hundreds of naked actors outside Beijing, yet two days later his negatives

were destroyed after an investigation by the Beijing police. A local journalist

wrote an article depicting the shoot as an out of control public demonstration.

They received a tip ‘that hundreds of nude people were gathered in a hanger

outside of Beijing, a violation of pornography laws as well as a circumvention

of rules requiring a permits for crowd to assemble for any reason’ (Pollack,

2010, p. 174) Consequentially, the Mayor of Beijing begun an investigation,

resulting in Wang being interrogated for three days and his negatives being

seized. Ultimately he was cleared, yet he never got his negatives back. Since

the harsh crackdown by authorities, Wang has never again featured nudity in

his work. It is clear that censorship has had an affect on his capacity to

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Greta Nicholls

produce work, as well as his psychological health. Wang noted, ‘I want to

forget about the incident but sometimes it still looms large in my dreams.’

(Pollack, 2010, p. 174)

Fear of producing works deemed to be ‘pornographic’ has ensured that

printing and distributing sexual works can be risky. Pioneering photographer

Ren Hang, whose works include genitalia, has faced immense difficulties in

printing his works in Beijing. Many feared if they did so, it would be considered

spreading pornographic material’, a criminal offense in China.

Moral censorship was the premise used by the government to prohibit an

exhibition by Zhang Huan at the Shanghai Art Museum in 2009. The intended

sculptures depicted mammoth pregnant women created from horse hides.

Yet, when representatives from the Shanghai Municipality saw these, they

were deemed unsuitable for public display. The official reasoning for such

censorship is problematic, as illustrated by Feng Yuan the Vice Chairman of

the Federation of Artistic and Literacy Circles (affiliated with the Ministry of

Culture). In relation to the censored show, he argued ‘we cannot show a lot of

provocative works with nudity, novelty and violence. Artworks should remind

people of something beautiful, something important such as human virtue.’

(Pollack, 2010, p. 178) The notion of art being solely a form of aesthetics

beauty, poignantly disregards the rights of artists to enjoy freedom of speech.

Punishment for producing ‘immoral’ art appears to be inexplicably harsh.

Cheng Li, a Chinese performance artist was sentenced to one year of re-

education through labour for an explicit performance art exhibition in March

2011. The exhibition, "Art Whore" consisted of Li and a female partner

engaging in sex acts for a private audience at the Contemporary Art Exhibition

Hall in Beijing. (Performance Artist Sentenced To A Year in A Labour Camp

For 'Art Whore' Exhibition, 2011) Administrative records claim that he

‘conducted obscene performance in public. His activities attracted multiple

people to look on and caused public order in chaos, with the aim of trying to

cause disturbance.’ (Chang, 2011) However, his lawyer Mr. Wang Zhenyu,

contends that Li’s exhibition was designed ‘to ridicule the situation that art is

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Greta Nicholls

over commercialized and to call people not to evilize, uglify the normal sex.’

(Chang, 2011) Furthermore, the artist claims that the exhibition was private,

rather than causing a public disturbance as argued by the authorities.

Regardless of the exhibitions purpose, the consequences are clear. Artists

producing ‘sexual’ work, are risking losing their capacity to produce art, or

worse still, be incarcerated in a labour camp.

Aesthetic Censorship

Aesthetic censorship of art is based upon the notion of art itself being used as

a censorship strategy. Certain styles of work have been favoured by the

public and the government, setting the scene for the mass production of

certain styles. For instance, before the late 1970’s social realism was

dominant, with impressionism deemed bourgeoisie. (Han, The Invisible Red

Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) However, recent history

has demonstrated that aesthetics are going to be heavily aligned with

consumerism. In reaction to a growing trend towards pictures deemed ‘pretty’

and ‘non threatening’. Feng Boyi and Ai Weiwei staged an alternative art fair

during the 2000 Shanghai Biennale, with the desire to inspire a new aesthetic

style, citing they ‘wanted to show the fuck off style, not working for the

government, or in a western style, but a third way.’ (Pollack, 2010, p. 64)

Performance and installation art remain the styles likely to be aesthetically

censored by the government. Artist Huang Rui, has asserted that the

bureaucratic system prevents artists from practicing these styles. ‘Nowadays,

performance art and installation art are still prohibited by Chinese (art)

Museum. The biggest artist party, Songzhuang Art Centre, forbids the public

activities of installation art. The students from China central academy of fine

arts (CAFA) are also prohibited from participating in any social experimental

activities that is out of the system.’ (Rui, 2013) Evidently, the government

bureaucratic art system is another vehicle for initiating aesthetic censorship.

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Greta Nicholls

International Censorship

Remarkably, Chinese artists exhibiting internationally have been subjected to

censorship by Chinese authorities. The government authorities extend their

influence to the United States, as highlighted by recent case of censorship in

the United States in September 2011. In an exhibition co-organized by the

John F Kennedy Centre and the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic

of China, the works of Wu Jian’an’ were censored due to ‘explicit sexual

references’. (Zhang, 2011) The exhibition “Landscape in Mind” was part of a

series, “China: The Art of a Nation”, a program of cultural performances

celebrating Chinese traditional and contemporary arts. Wu’s dealer in New

York, Christophe Mao the director of Chambers Fine Art in New York,

expressed his expressed his disbelief about the censorship. ‘Given all the

recent criticism of China about freedom of expression, I was shocked to see

that a Chinese artist selected by the National Art Museum of China can be

censored here in the US as well.’ (Zhang, 2011) The Chinese government’s

international power and influence has allowed them to censor art outside of

their borders. Poignantly, this creates a precedent for the showcasing of

Chinese art across the globe, it seems likely that government censorship will

continue to dictate what an audience views outside China.

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Greta Nicholls

CONCLUSION In conclusion, the creation of Chinese contemporary art remains restrained by

the government. Censorship remains a topical issue. Creativity cannot

prosper within China due to limitations placed upon citizens’ freedom of

speech. The present state of control prohibits the use of taboo subjects, and

favours aesthetic beauty over anything presenting a challenge to the

government ideology. In this sense, contemporary art exists, albeit curtailed

by the parameters of control set by the government.

Chinese artists operate within a complex paradigm, many censoring their own

works to precede government restrictions. Recently, the Director of the Ullens

Center for Contemporary Art, Philip Tinari contended that ‘Chinese artists

know where the line is and they are not going past it. (Tinari, 2013) To reach

official recognition, artist must sacrifice their right to freedom of speech.

Wang Chunchen, a leading curator at China's Central Academy of Fine Arts

notes that ‘to be an officially recognized contemporary artist in China, you

must stay on script and veer away from the politically taboo.’ If this sentiment

is correct, artists cannot paint their own story. Instead, their art must not

contravene the party line.

In order to prevent censorship and government restrictions, many artist have

resorted to being implicit in working within the government’s notion of

censorship. Prominent artists who criticise the government, have risked

ostracising themselves from the artist community, as well as harsh

professional and personal retribution. Accordingly, the darlings of the Chinese

art world such as Lui Xiandong, have been outspoken in their opposition of

fellow artists who create highly politicised works. When AI Weiwie was

detained two years ago, Xiandong told the Financial Times: ‘I really don’t

know about Ai Weiwei’s situation and I’m not really interested in politics.’ He

went further, at the U.S.-China Forum on Arts and Culture in 2011, calling

Weiwei a ‘naughty boy’. However, despiting Xiandong claiming a neutral

political stance, Ai contends that artists such as Xu are inherently political, just

furthering the government interests, rather than wider society. ‘They tolerate

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Greta Nicholls

every wrong act the government makes. They know in China no museum can

be called a museum, but they enjoy in the next few years, and they will make

a lot of money.’ (Emani, 2012) Henceforth, it is clear that censorship has been

a decisive issue within the Chinese arts community. Moreover, not all artist

are critical of the government. An artist standing up to such an influential

government must recognise the potential for this decision to irrevocably

impact on their artistic life.

Paradoxically, it may be argued that the extensive state control develops a

struggle making the art more exciting. As Jonathon Stone, Christie's

International Chairman of Asian Arts contends, ‘there is indeed a vibrant

contemporary art scene in China -- not just despite the restrictions -- but

because of them.’ In a metaphorical sense, ‘It's the sand in the oyster which

creates the pearl,’ he further notes to that the restrictions are ‘something

which is rather exciting.’ (Stout, 2013) This notion equates censorship to

forcing the creation of cutting edge political art. Yet, this argument is

fundamentally flawed. If this were the case then any nation producing without

political restrictions, would have be producing ‘less exiting’ contemporary art.

Restrictions cannot be used as a fount of inspiration for contemporary art. It

is not a product of politics, merely a way to express freedom in an otherwise

repressive regime.

Art censorship forms one facet of the control exerted daily, by the Chinese

government. While voices of discontent exist, they are often drowned out by

the government. In spite of receiving widespread press in the West, China’s

art scene remains in a state of control. As Si Han observes ‘increasing

awareness of individual rights and respect for human desires will finally

change the landscape of art and set it free. In this process, fighters in the front

line are needed, but it requires also many, many more to stand behind.’ (Han,

The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012)

Therefore, in order for Chinese art to be a vehicle for freedom of speech, the

government must not only put the paintbrush in the artists’ hands, but also

allow them to use it at their own free will.

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opinion/news/2011-01-04/censorship-in-china

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Nations, U. (n.d.). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved

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Zheng, B. (2012). The Pursuit of Publicness: a study of four conemporary

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APPENDIX ONE: INTERVEIW WITH HUANG RUI 29 March 2013 Translated by Sophia Huang

Despite the fact that political dissidence seems to have decreased in the period post 1979, do you think engaging people politically with artwork remains equally as relevant? ��1979�����议��������认为��让�们�过艺术�������义� It’s not just obligations, but the nature/instinct for modern/contemporary artists to express their liberalism/freedom of thoughts through out their artworks. They have to express their contrary thinking toward politics, let it to be released spontaneously from their bodies, especially in China, which is a country under heavy political pressures. ��艺术�应该�创�������觉�这�仅�义务�����������这��满��压��环�����对������������������释���� Whilst Chinese art has evidently undergone a massive increase in popularity, are the capitalistic values diluting artistic social commentary? ������艺术�欢���显����认为资��义�值观�����艺术���评论� Nowadays, Chinese cultures tend to re-enter into a retro trend. (I don’t really understand the red sentence, but I think he wants to say that Chinese cultures didn’t really develop a new style/trend, they now going back to old things/trends) Also, the whole society supports that arts should be more closely aligned with economic systems, politics, economies and cultures. 现������倾�进��������传统������们�������������艺术�紧��结�经济�统����经济����������节��� It appears that many of the emerging Chinese contemporary artists are creating politically based works. Some have argued, that artists just doing politically based art to appeal to western audiences. Do you agree with that assertion? �����兴��艺术���创�����������认为这�艺术����创����艺术��为�����观�����吗� The profits/benefits of doing politically based art should be considerable, especially between 2000 ~ 2007, western art markets had increasingly interests in Chinese politically based art, compare to the sudden loss after 2007.

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Greta Nicholls

�说�艺术���应该������别�2000����2007��间���艺术�场对���������兴����胀��2007����丧��觉��� Upon your return from exile in Japan, to what degree has the government’s attitudes towards contemporary art practice changed? What affect has this had upon your art practice? �����������对��艺术�态����变��这对��艺术创����样���� I’ve kept finding myself by thinking rational. After I went through the political darkness, those days before 1979 and the days after 1989, and the harsh time when I lived in Japan, there’s nothing that can threat my work. My goal is to keep working, and anything else is less important. ������������寻����觉��经历�1979����1989�����������时�������经历����������������������胁�扰����������标�继续���������������� Broadly, what limitations are currently still being imposed towards artists by the government? 总��讲�����对艺术����约�� Nowadays, performance art and installation art are still prohibited by Chinese (art) museum. The biggest artist party –Songzhuang Art Centre, forbids the public activities of installation art. The students from China central academy of fine arts (CAFA) are also prohibited from participating in any social experimental activities that is out of the system. ���术馆���为艺术���艺术������艺术���������为艺术����动����术������们�������������实验��� In recent times, to what extent have you experienced censorship on a global and domestic level? �������������审查������ Since I live in Beijing, I sort of feel nothing about the oversea censorship. Although I think my works are really peaceful, I still under the influence of censorship sometimes. The latest one happened in March. I called the investigators (people who doing the censorship) “shadow”, and of course “shadow” will check this email as well. ������对���审查�����觉����认为�����������审查���扰��������发���������������审查��“��”�“��”�����这�邮�� Even though China appears to have increased the capacity for freedom of speech. Do you think this environment has made it more difficult to be an artistic dissident? 虽���������论�������觉�现�环����为����见�艺术����难� Since the crime of counter-revolution has been abolished, the capacity for freedom of speech does increase in China. In the past, the crime of counter-

33

Greta Nicholls

revolution will be sentenced. But now, the collaborators of artists are also collaborate with political power, this makes the definition and classification of politics extremely complicated. (�����论���������经������������������过�����场�����艺术������������权������这�����见��类��义�为�杂� 在中国，言论自由度确有增加。已经从法律上取消了反革命罪了嘛。反革命罪

过去是会上刑场的。当下，艺术家的市场合作者或许首先是政治审查权力的座

上客，这使得不同政见的分类和定义极为复杂。) same words 卡夫卡说：“我有许多可能性，这是确实的；可是谁知道被压在哪块石头之下呢？” a quote from franz kafka, I don’t know the original words, but the translation is like “I got lots of possibilities, and this is for sure; but who know which stone they will be buried.” Potentially: This tremendous world I have inside of me. How to free myself, and this world, without tearing myself to pieces. And rather tear myself to a thousand pieces than be buried with this world within me.”

APPENDIX 2: INTERVEIW WITH THE GAO BROTHERS 24th March 2013

Translated by Brianna Charles

Do you think that censorship has increased or decreased in the last few years? Or is it just being enforced in a different manner? ��们���经历����说,����,���强�对艺术�览�审查����2007�����们���798艺术��������对�����间��们���������览(虽�����审查)��������压��2007�����们����闭�������为���间�����对���,�

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Greta Nicholls

From our personal experiences and feelings, in recent years, the official strengthen the review and control of art exhibitions. Prior to 2007, our studio in Beijing 798 Art District has been an open space, where we can do some public exhibitions (which have suffered from reviews), but due to various pressures, after 2007, we had to close the room, and use it as just a private space, no longer open to the public. Do you think the increased publicity surrounding the censorship of art, has actually backfired for the Chinese government? That is to say that it has created greater anti-government sentiment. �们���这���������这�����厌恶�� We don’t know if this is counterproductive, but it certainly is disgusting. Why is the government is so threatened by political art? �权������������慑�谎���骗����艺术�为��������对�权���谎���战 � We do not want to exaggerate the role of art. However, we believe that the art of social change in China will play the witness catalytic role. Is art an effective vehicle for change within China? �们����艺术������们��艺术对�����变���见证������� The role of art is limited. If you were not artists, do you think you would be political activists? �������� I do not know. It's possible. Do you think art is an effective means of politically engaging society, or is it limited to those directly involved within the cultural scene? 艺术�������� We do not want to exaggerate the role of art. However, we believe that the art of social change in China will play the witness catalytic role.

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Greta Nicholls

Do you think the increased commercial popularity of ‘political’ art with the West, has somewhat decreased it’s power as a form of dissidence? �们认为�对��������说�艺术���������为��业�值�����强�����为��业�值������� We believe that, in their right mind, the appeal of the works of art will not be enhanced because of the increase in the commercial value, it will not be reduced because of the increase in the commercial value. That’s the direct translation which I assume means this: We believe that the appeal of works of art should not be reduced or enhanced based on their inherent commercial value.

APPENDIX THREE: INTERVEIW WITH SHUXIA CHEN 17th March 2013 Ai Weiwei has stated that ‘Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity.’ Do you agree? It involves the issue of the functionality of art or what art is. In Ai’s case, his “meaningful engagement” and “larger context” refer to society and politics or social activism. It is one important aspect on art production but not every artist in China is producing art in that domain.

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Greta Nicholls

Do you think the function of art is mainly social commentary? Can it be separated from the society in which it was created? You have previously mentioned your experience of censorship in Shanghai, what and why did this occur? My main role in the museum was to put up international touring exhibitions. When artists from overseas particularly from Taiwan or Hong Kong, we would need to report this (handing in documents of bios and images/DVDs of works of all the artists as well as curators in the show) to some culture department to the local government. A day or two before the opening, officers from this department would come to inspect the show. In one exhibition, one photographic work by a Chinese artist was asked to put down from the wall because it was too violent. This photograph was a photograph showing the re-staging scene of a street murder, which was in the local newspaper. There were fake blood and knife and body of that “murder scene”. It re-staged the scene of the murder, not a real one! It was interesting to ponder what violence was according to these cultural officials. In your opinion, is censorship by the government still commonplace? Please refer to the recent report by SBS program: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601636/n/The-Dissenters Broadly, what limitations are currently still being imposed towards artists by the government? Please refer to the recent report by SBS program: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601636/n/The-Dissenters