Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
Chen Shaoxiong: Ink. History. Media.
Chen Shaoxiong (born 1962) was a founding member of the “Big Tail Elephant Group” of conceptual artists in Guangzhou in the 1990's. Today, he works both independently and collaboratively as a member of an Asian artist collective called “Xijing Men” as well as another Chinese artist collective, “Project without Space.” His art crosses mediums, including painting, photography, collage, and conceptual art.
Where
This exhibition presents Chen’s two recent video works—Ink History and Ink Media—as well as their companion ink drawings. For Ink History, Chen created over 150 ink drawings of historic photos of major events in China from 1909 to 2009. He then turned the drawings into a three-minute video of modern Chinese history as the clock ticks in the musical score. For his most recent work, Ink Media, Chen downloaded news photos of protests around the world from the Internet, and then re-enacted these scenes with ink drawings. Although not in any chronological or spatial order, the video shows protest—both strong and vulnerable—as a universal political expression.
Featured Articles
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?