I was very much looking forward to going to this exhibition when I read about it a month ago. Since I knew little about Media Art, I spent some time on the Internet to read about it. There are 2 main sites: www.v2.nl and www.mediartchina.org. By pure chance I visited V2 in Rotterdam last year and surprised (pleasantly) to find they have been very much involved with promoting/introducing media art in China. They have been a key player in each of the Beijing International New Media Art Exhibition since 2004(http://newmediabeijing.org/). So media art is not quite a new thing in Beijing, I am ashamed to have known so little about it.
Anyone who is either too busy or too lazy to make the exhibition yourself, should go check the site www.mediartchina.org, which is cheaper, easier and almost (almost!) offer all information you could get from exhibition without actually going. Both the Chinese and English introductions are complete and well-written, obviously it has been in good hands.
I was thrilled to find the V2 connection, which helped me to get to the Opening, attend the exhibition art seminar, get a special pass to see the exhibition twice, and meet some of the exhibition artists. : )
My favorite pieces of artworks:
You Came with the Breeze 2
Location: No. 8 exhibition hall. I can’t figure out anything more like a living dream than when I walked into this artwork’s exhibition room - it also felt like walking into the space of another person’s private emotions. There are different smells, sounds, smoke, changing lights, images and reflections mysteriously showing and disappearing in the air, in translucent balls, and on a bubble created by the mechanical device. It offers something in every way I sense in the outside world, and intriguingly those senses plaited together take me to an unknown place in that room.
Sixteen Birds
Location: No. 7 exhibition hall. This is purely beautiful. The installation in National Art Museum is different from the picture on mediartchina.com website - the whole floor of the exhibition hall was changed to beautiful white hills. I walked up the hills and felt like I was standing somewhere close to the sky, with big birds flapping their wings right next to me. Everywhere is white.
Living Kitchen - Happy End of the 21st Century
Location: Shop area. I missed this piece of artwork during my first visit to the art exhibition - I thought it was an adjacent kitchen of the museum shop. Actually I also missed another 2-3 pieces of artwork during my first visit, there are about 40 pieces of artworks spread around in the foyer, entrance hall, cafe, shop, outdoor and 9 exhibition halls. The exhibition map offered by museum is a critical guide to any audience. Anyway, I went to the exhibition again and found this amazing piece of installation which fooled me in my last visit. It looks just like any kitchen! Except in every once a while, things will move by themselves: light turns on, the spoon in coffee cup start to spin, the radio start to play, the trash bin moves around on the floor, and a kettle is boiling. This is supposed to sound like a scene in a ghost movie, while the reality is not as horrifying. The artwork makes surprises out of the most ordinary settings, I found both the idea and the installation were very cool.
Where are you
Location: No.6 exhibition hall. I love the artwork mostly because I am enchanted by images drawn using light, like the projected image, video art, or movies. This is definitely a great piece. The installation allows the audience to use a joystick to choose/control/move the projected image on a hemisphere screen around them. Unfortunately some audiences have enjoyed it too much and broke the joystick, so it was not available to play when I went to the exhibition for the second time.
OP_ERA: Sonic Dimension
Location: No.4 Exhibition Hall. I looks simple but it works wonderfully. It’s a virtual musical instrument that will play when the audience flip through its virtual strings with their hands. In any perspective, it looks and sounds just like a real musical instrument - the strings will shake and tangle after you pull them, and it makes a great sound. I also love the big size - a player would also almost be a dancer while playing with it. It made me think of my favorite quote from Paul Rand: “Art is not an intention, good work is intention, art happens when you’re lucky.” This is definitely a piece of good work.
FORTELLERORKESTERET (”The Telling Orchestra”)
Location: No.5 Exhibition Hall. This installation made a drawing live, and allowed audience sits on stalls to watch from a distance. It’s purely black and white, no color, only light, shadow, line, shape, texture, reflection and movement. I like the style.
Cloud
Location: No.4 Exhibition Hall. If I have to choose my most favorite piece out of all artworks in exhibition, this would be the one. It’s an animation made from a sculpture. A piece of cloud with animated human babies crawling out from the top, standing up, walking towards the bottom of the cloud while become adult and then aging; the reflection underneath the cloud shows them crawling inside of the cloud and becoming skeletons. I had never seen anything similar, it’s fascinating. The artist Xu ZhongMin was originally from China.
Urgently! Infosculpture
Location: Shop Area. This artwork is one of the smallest pieces in the exhibition. Unlike some other vague or difficult to understand (or one shouldn’t bother at all) artworks, it has a clear message: the abundance amount of information on internet has made a lot of trash. This successful communication between the artist and audience gives the audience a real feeling of satisfaction, and the artwork itself looks cute.