Editorial Note : This essay is written for the exhibition "Art In Two Cites--Dialogue of Contemporary Art between Chengdu & Qingdao" at re-C art space in Chengdu. Curator Liang Kegang recalled the history of Chinese contemporary art in Qingdao and Chengdu, and the living conditions of these artists. He orgnized this exhibition for the purpose of promoting the interaction between Qingdao and Chengdu`s artists.
 he thought of initiating an Artistic Intercourse Exhibition between Chengdu and Qingdao is for my deep love of them. As it happened that it was just some simple imagination aroused in a chat with critic Mr.Guan Yuda when I met him in Qingdao. Later on scheme of this exhibition is appreciated with the highly enterprising and visionary art investors Mr. Wang Xiaoguang and Sun Kaiming. It has the honor as the open exhibition of Qingdao Tianyuan Art Museum which is the First private contemporary Art Museum that they have invested in. This is really an excellent opportunity to exchange experience and interact between the two art circles. In China, it is very hard to find out the points that are nearly totally opposite in various fields between two cities other than Chengdu and Qingdao. So the aspects of artistic activity which are worth expectation most are as following. Is there any commonality and difference between the artists of two places and designs of artistic creation? Are there any same or different challenge and the tactics with each other in the present International and domestic arts developing pattern?
 Though I have already settled in Beijing for many years, hereto I have hardly had approval with the metropolis which is changing with each passing day. But I always have the feeling that makes it hard to let go of Qingdao, my hometown. I feel that this city can be considered the second hometown of mine as I visited Chengdu for long or short terms in the past dozen or more years. I should say that Qingdao and Chengdu are two cities that I love most. I try my best to build an artistic bridge between the two cities, and it is my pygmy effort for the two places and the artists and friends in contact for many years in the two cities. I am not a professional critic, and I don’t want to analyze the works of the artists of two cities, which is more than my interference, either. I only hope, with my own experience and feeling to the urban life of two places, to demonstrate their different artistic state for everybody.
Qingdao is nearly a special case in several hundred big and small cities of China. It only has a history of fewer than 120 years but goes through the constant changes, or alternations. According to the memorials submitted to the throne by Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang, the Qing Government resolved to set up defence in Jiao Ao in 1891and it changed the destiny of Jiaozhou Bay of the Huanghai Sea which had been a nameless small fishing village. Germany sent the fleet to enter Jiaozhou Bay, occupied Qingdao in 1897 and forced the Qing Government to sign the "Jiao Ao Lease Treaty ". The lease was for 99 years. So Qingdao became German colony of the Far East. With the advent of the First World War in 1914, Japan replaced Germany and  occupied Qingdao to carry on military colonial reign. After the end of the First World War in 1919, the famous May 4th Movement was initiated by the question of sovereignty of Qingdao and forced Japan to return Qingdao to the Northern Warlord Government at that time in 1922. The national government of Nanjing took over Qingdao formally in 1929. Japan occupied Qingdao again in 1938. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, The Kuomintang Government received Qingdao, and Qingdao became the most important naval base of the Far East of U. S. Pacific Fleet again.
Qingdao was liberated in 1949, and it is under the administration of Shandong Province. In 1981, Qingdao was classified as one of the 15 economic key cities of China; in 1984 it was classified as one of the 14 coastal port cities of China further opening to the outside world; in 1986, it carried out an independent planning; in 1994, it became one of the 15 sub-provincial cities of China.
Though the pulse of history did not last long in Qingdao, over one hundred years, in the ups and downs of China's modern history, this young city is in the teeth of the storm during the history improvement all the time. Qingdao has the honor to become the head city where cultures of east and west collide in China first, the origins of the New Culture Movement of China and industrial civilization in modern times. At the same time, because of the special colonial history, it is full of customs and taste of foreign lands. Urban space and architecture of Qingdao have mixed a great deal of specialty and prevailing  custom of classical Europe, modern Japan and U.S.A. It also reflects the characteristic of planned economy times, modernization, and internationalization after the reform and opening-up, etc. There is abundant pluralism in Qingdao. So Qingdao has been known as "The architecture fair of all countries" and it can be rated as the most beautiful and popular coastal resort of China. Also there are a lot of famous brands in Qingdao which enjoy international prestige similar to "Tsingtao beer ". Besides, Qingdao is the domestic foreign trade port which is seldom paralleled in China.
Any person in Qingdao will always be proud of his city. Qingdao is the cradle of artist, musician and litterateur. Of modern history, a lot of cultural masters resided in Qingdao for a long time. The number of private pianos are rated the first of the whole country, also Qingdao is the major enrollment base of nationwide art schools and the preferred base for landscape sketching of Academy of Fine Arts. So the children in Qingdao always grow up in a strong artistic atmosphere.
However, the geographic characteristic in Qingdao becomes the bottleneck of its development of some aspects again exactly. Qingdao is surrounded on three sides by the sea, and only one side is connected with the land. It is the eastern terminal of Jiaozhou-Jinan railway, which determines that it is rather rough and ready in such aspects as population, information, fluidity of goods and materials in Qingdao. Also it has caused people in Qingdao to be comparatively more backward than the other regional key cities in idea, consciousness, more than that, acentric-sited and self-righteous; Especially  Qingdao lags greatly behind a lot of other important cities in gradual progress of culture and arts, but it also makes the whole cultural ecology of Qingdao dissociate from trend, and offers another kind of distinctive and regional sample.
In the eighties of last century, the young artists in Qingdao have raised vigorous modish fine arts movement, established "Youth's Artistic Salon" and " Artistic Fair Festival" and " open-air exhibition of paintings " spanning nearly four years. It's a pity that the fashionable artists of Qingdao at that time lacked effective connection and up-to-date exchange with domestic important artistic media, the critics and the art troupes of the other areas of the whole country. Thus the modish fine arts movement in Qingdao missed access to developing history of China's contemporary art. And it made Qingdao lose the opportunity to become an important city of arts of China. At the same time it slowed down the personal development of many outstanding artists in Qingdao.
A lot of artists in Qingdao who went out to take an advanced study in early years have already achieved very good opportunities for personal development, such as famous sculptor Sui Jianguo, artist Wang Yin and Liu Dahong who are good at conceptual painting, and master Wei Qingji who does well in the ink-and-wash paintings, etc, they have already won the respect in the art circles at home and abroad. Some artists who still stay behind in Qingdao such as Liu Chuanbao and You Liangcheng, etc. are still insisting on independent thinking and creation. Though the cultural environment and artistic market in Qingdao are also less than satisfactory, they are still standing fast at the ideal which was conceived 20 years ago and waiting for the dawn that will show up soon.
Today, a lot of active artists in Qingdao in 1980s such as Zhao Dewei, Wan Liya and Xing Weidong, etc. come to China’s heart of culture and arts –Beijing. Accompanied by the worldwide powerful developing tide of China's contemporary art in the past two years, they begin to regain their own artistic  features. Maybe it is the recent marginalizing state in art that helps them achieve much more possibility of pluralism and individual character, and have much fewer fashionable and stylish feelings. It demonstrates more originally, more personalized and simpler real state.
Compared with Qingdao’s history of only more than 100 years, in fact, Chengdu is really the cultural well-known city with a long history. Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan, is also the center of politics, economy, science and education, culture of the whole southwest. There are magnificent Sanxingdui and Jinsha civilization in Chengdu more than 4,000 years ago. The king of Sichuan moved his capital to this place during the end of West Zhou Dynasty. "Living together after one year, becoming a city after two years, becoming a capital after three years", so the word "Chengdu"(it means become a capital city) comes from this.
After the Qin Dynasty unified six kingdoms, it classified Chengdu as Sichuan prefecture. Hereafter more than 2,000 years, almost the name hadn’t been changed and the place hadn’t been shifted. There is no parallel in the history of cities in China. During the rein of Xiaowen Emperor of Qin Dynasty, Li Bing, the administrator of Chengdu, has built the Dujiangyan irrigation works well-known at home and abroad. It spans over millennium, benefits Chengdu a lot, and has accomplished to Chengdu the good name "Land of Plenty ".
 In the period of the West Han Dynasty, Chengdu had achieved unprecedented prosperity, by then the silk weaving industry of Chengdu became the eponym of "silk city", another name for Chengdu. During Han Jindi’s period, the school which is built in the place named Shi Shi of Chengdu by Wen Weng(the administrator of Chengdu) was the state-run school initially in China. Hereafter, a group of litterateurs and great scholars with national influence appeared such as Sima Xiangru, Yang Xiong and Wang Bao, etc. In the late years of the Western Han Dynasty, Chengdu has already become the second largest city of China (Chang An is the first). During the Three Kingdoms’ period, Liu Bei has unified Sichuan, found the capital in Chengdu and built extensive urban construction. The urban outline has lasted till the liberation of China.
The emperor "Tang Minghuang"once came to Chengdu to avoid the “An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion”,he renamed Chengdu as "Nanjing" temporarily. It became the sanctuary of the personage from Tang’s territory, which also promoted the prosperity of economy and culture. At that time, there was a statement of "Yangzhou ranges the first and Chengdu the second", that is to say in terms of flourishing intensity of cities all over the world, Yangzhou was the first and Chengdu was the second. Papermaking industries and printing industries of Chengdu have already occupied the leading position of the whole country, and these years proved to be the summits of literature and art in Chengdu. A lot of outstanding persons have left a large number of fine pieces of writing and famous works spreading here in later ages, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Lu You, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, Bai Juyi, Yuan Chen, Xue Tao, Liu Yuxi, Zhang Ji, Du Mu, Li Shangyin and Wei Zhuang, etc. Furthermore, the music, song, dance, drama and painting have already grown to an utmost  prosperity. There was a saying of "Sichuan Drama is the best in the world" left in history. "Jiao Zi"(presented in Northern Song Dynasty) became the earliest note in the world. So we can see that the commerce has been already very developed at that time.
In Ming Dynasty, Zhang Xianzhong, the leader of peasants' insurrectionary army, occupied Chengdu and changed the city’s name as "Xi Jing". Later, he was killed by Qing troops, and the whole city was destroyed by the flames of war. At flourishing ages of Emperor Kangxi's and Qianlong's reigns, a large number of immigrants poured into Sichuan, so economy began to go up and Chengdu has gradually resumed erstwhile vitality and prosperity, too.
Sichuan Defending Railway Movement is the fuse of the Wuchang uprising and Xinhai Revolution. It took the lead in opening China's massive historical picture scroll for modern times. Chengdu becomes the provincial capital of Sichuan Province after the foundation of the state. Chengdu has been the key target city of China’s construction all the time, and obtained overstepping development especially since reform and opening-up. Chengdu has made the distinguished achievement in each field, but Chengdu is not a city that lies on forefathers' savings resting on their laurels. The whole development course in the contemporary artistic aspect in Chengdu provided a very unique sample for contemporary art circles of China especially.
 I came to Chengdu for the first time in 1997 because I was responsible for the design of a top-grade market which will soon open a business again. I love this city packed with food, beauty and leisurely and comfortable atmosphere at once. The task was finished half a year later, but I am unwilling to leave Chengdu. It happened that I have just failed in love and originally I was an exile in Beijing, so I might as well persuade a cadre to stay Chengdu to run a design company.
Working and living in this city is actually very joyful. There are various delicious foods that cannot be eaten up at any time, beautiful girls with wearing properly, eye-catching and amiable personality, and visible teahouse and bar everywhere. Long history and deep culture accumulation have fostered the cultured and gentle local trait. Leisurely and rich life has brought up citizens’ carefree and forgiving personality in Chengdu.
It was the same year, in which I, with my friends, went to "the pothouse" that has opened on the West Yulin road not long ago for the first time. I have known the shopkeeper’s wife of the affable disposition named Tang Lei, there I got to know the artist Zhang Xiaogang and Zhou Chunya, etc, seeing a summit of their career presently. The "pothouse" nearly becomes a salon of these artists who lived in the nearby “Sand Weir”. Besides those painters, I can still often see architect Liu Jiakun, sculptor Zhu Cheng, behavioral artist Yu Ji and Dai Guangyu, etc. The first private Art Museum of China—Chengdu  Shanghe Art Museum was established by Zhou Chunya and Chen Jiagang who was the architect and real estate agent then. Now Chen Jiagang himself became an artist, too. The biannual exhibitions in Chengdu were designed here at first.
On weekends, the "pothouse" would become the only stage and sanctuary for the young Underground Rockers. Sister Tang known as "Rock Mother" has been supporting the youths who pursue ideal and music heart and soul for ten years. A lot of bands becoming famous just persevered under the support of the " pothouse " and Tang Lei, such as " sound toy ", " swaddle", "Thunder God", "meat of small meat", "Asura", "spinach", "other 2 comrades", "Zhang Xiaojing" and "the pilgrim's betrayal" etc. I was not surprised at all to meet with the rock superstar Cui Jian, Dou Wei and Zhang Chu; "Tietuo" Huang Liaoyuan and Yan Jun; Singer Zhu Zheqin and Ding Wei there, because they are not guests but the old friends or families. The "pothouse" opened a larger new shop in the tenth anniversary last year, Cultural and artistic stars in all over the country came from all directions to give support and congratulations. It is an unprecedented occasion.
Later on, I moved the office of the company and my residence to Yulin. I have lived here for five or six years intermittently. During this time, I have got to know a lot of good friends of cultural art circles in Chengdu. Among them, there is a legend called Li Yan who becomes my close friend to now. He is not only a crazy DJ but also a commercial rare talent. He with architect Liu Jiakun who is already world-renowned have transformed an unfinished building into a biggest and coolest bar and club in Chengdu, It is called "Red times ". The jumbo portraits like Che Guevara, Mao Zedong, Lenin, etc. are hung  inside it. This made it become to be a place of keeping abreast with the most modish evening shows in Beijing, Shanghai and Hongkong. In 2002, Li Yan invited the fashionable authoress Mianmian to plan an unprecedented DJ party together. In this party, I also invited lots of high-quality DJs from many different places such as France, Canada, Switzerland, Israel, Hongkong, Beijing and Shanghai etc. In the revelry of one week, DJ hurricane from all parts of the world brought fan's unreal, crazy and new dizziness to this city of leisure and enjoyment.
The "white night bar" which is open by artist He DuoLin and poet Zhai Yongming is only several steps far from the "pothouse". We can say that it should be the most important literature stronghold in the south of China. The poets such as Zhai Yongming , Tang Danhong, Bo Hua, Zhong Ming and He Xiaozhu, etc, all live nearby just like a whole family in different bedrooms, And the "white night" is the living room, besides, It is nearly the living room of poets and writers all over China. A few days ago, the "white night", at its tenth anniversary, opened a larger new shop in the Wide and Narrow Alleys which are the most famous alleys in Chengdu. Many days ago, He DuoLin told me to give their support surely. On its first day of opening, it is a hubbub of voices and a great gathering of distinguished guests naturally. The famous directors Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yang, etc, took a special trip by plane to give congratulations. The "pothouse", "red times" and "white night" have already become the sign of contemporary culture in Chengdu, and They have deeply influenced the interesting and culture trend of this city.
The first private contemporary Art Museum of China-Shanghe Art Museum which was invested by the architect and real estate merchant Chen Jiagang was opened in 1998,too. I didn’t know Chen Jiagang when I saw the exhibition at that time. But one year later, I helped him to plan a project called "Eser garden" which caused a big stir at the circle of real estate all over the country. The artists Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Fang Lijun, Yue  Minjun and Zhou Chunya, etc who participated in the opening exhibition that year have already been the superstars whose personal value was over hundred million. What’s more, in the early period of building the Shanghe Art Museum, the art exhibition made once of several months nearly became the most important contemporary cultural activity of the whole country. It is like a grand festival each time for the people who love art very much. I had to say that in recent years I threw my undertaking accumulation for many years absolutely to return to art again, it was because I got the artistic sensation and inspiration and together with the artists day and night for several years at that time in Chengdu. The Land agent Chen Jiagang who had ever spent money over generous that year just changed into the outstanding professional artist in recent years after suffering the undertaking setback.
It is almost impossible to make no achievement in art in a city like Chengdu. The attitude toward art which is adopted by Chengdu artists all the time and the way that is involved in life really benefit them very much. Just as Mr. Li Xianting, called "China's contemporary art godfather", pointed out that it marked a kind of artistic design which is a kind of delight of life of emphasizing the perceptual intuition and close relation between art and life comparatively, therefore the works are vivid and lifelike too. This kind of perceptual and comfortable life style is admired very much by the friends of the domestic and international art circles all the time. The international photography master Cai Simin in Singapore got to know artist Ye Yongqing in Beijing in 1996.Later, master Cai Simin met several contemporary artists of Chengdu such as Zhang Xiaogang, Zhou Chunya, Shen Xiaotong and He Duolin etc. Cai  Simin once recorded thousands of pieces of life portrayal of 14 traditional Chinese Painting masters with the lens in the eighties of last century such as Zhu Qizhan, Liu Haili, Li Keran, Wu Zuoren, Lu Yanshao and Guan Yueshan etc. He is the famous drawing trader and collector at the same time. He decides to live in Chengdu for a long time because he likes the artists of this real disposition and this comfortable city – Chengdu.
In 1997, Mr. Cai Simin held an “Red and Dust：Eight Fashionable Artists of China” exhibition of paintings in Singapore. He took the Zhang Xiaogang and seven other contemporary artists' paintings to Singapore. Later, Mr. Lin Mingzhe, the big real estate merchant and collector from Taiwan, has stayed in Chengdu for a long time from 2001. They warmly popularized and introduced the works of the Chengdu contemporary artists to the whole world, and they became the important backstage and push hands of the Chengdu artists moving towards the world.
Though Chengdu artists like the leisurely atmosphere and comfortable life in Chengdu, they are worldly and positive. Zhou Chunya who is the leader all the time often does something favorable, even if it is very tiny. He participated in preparing the " Shanghe Art Museum " in 1998, instigating the "first biennial exhibitions of Chengdu" in 2001.He, firstly, united 4 painters(Guo Wei, Zhao Nengzhi, Yang Mian etc) to enter a factory building area near the  Airport Road to establish the "Landing Artistic Centre " in 2003. He changes the artistic ecology of Chengdu with his sharp foresight and super-strong action all the time. Though the Blue Roof at the early-stage was simple and crude, it attracted more artists rapidly such as Luo Fahui, Shu Hao, He Duolin etc, even the out-of-town artists. People were getting more and more, and the domain was expanding faster and faster. Now, there are nearly 50 artists in 5 districts to carry on their work here. It becomes the famous artistic community of our country on a par with the Beijing Songzhuang and 798 artistic districts rapidly.
The critic Chen Mo and painter Ma Yiping etc took the lead in renting the factory building (6 kilometers away from the newly developed area of Chengdu Institute of Fine Arts in Sichuan Conservatory of Music) to establish the artistic district of north village. This artistic district regards them as the core. At present, more than 40 artists have already contracted and moved in, among them the majority are the artists lived in Chengdu.
The Blue Roof is more like a big family at present. The artists of different ages are together every day. It’s very interesting and they are very united. They enjoy themselves very much. They arrange activities like climbing mountain, playing football frequently. Each artist made progresses a few years later. Common cultural experience and visual experience help to form a kind of strong collective tactics, and this undoubtedly has positive impetuses to growth and development of the individual artist. Soon after moving in, artists Zhou Chunya and He Duolin, etc. initiated an extensive contemporary group- exhibition relying mainly on the artists of Blue Roof----"living in Chengdu". It not only lets the domestic and international art circles know the artistic colony of Chengdu, but also let the local ordinary citizens in Chengdu touch fashionable art that once seemed unduly reticent. A lot of young artists march toward the city of modern arts such as Beijing and Shanghai via the platform Blue Roof. They contract with the Chinese and foreign famous galleries to get larger development space. The "Blue Roof Artistic Centre " will move to “the Lotus Pool By Moonlight” of Sansheng Village soon. Fourteen outstanding artists including Zhou Chunya and He Duolin, etc. will come and build their own permanent workrooms. There is sure to be a better tomorrow of art in Chengdu.
I suddenly found the artists of two places seldom visit each other as I shuttled back and forth between them. Most Chengdu artists have not been to Qingdao, while most Qingdao artists have not been to Chengdu, either. It arouses my interest and energy to plan such an art talk. Maybe it is only a beginning. I believe there is much more possibility in the future.
Liang Kegang in Beijing “798”
 Liang Kegang：Director of Beijing TS1 Museum and Ts1 Gallery. He is also an artist, curator and art observer. He now works and lives in Beijing.
Related Links:
City Character and Contemporary Art--a Dialogue between Qingdao and Chengdu on Art
Great Hopes or Conspiracy
|
