Journal
Tags
- Alice Ho
- Bowen Yang
- Celsivincys Kumar
- darren jorgensen
- Debbie Gilchrist
- Eloise Viney
- Erika Johanson
- Felicity Ostergaard
- Harry Price
- James Enderby
- Jemma Yovacic
- Jessica Cottam
- Jiayang Qin
- Jinx Zhou
- Johan Sulaiman
- Kiara Player
- Kye Fisher
- Lucy Leech
- Lévi McLean
- Maddie Sarich
- Peter Kidson
- Rachel Ciesla
- Sam Beard
- Sam Beard
- Sara Fong
- Tami Xiang
- Valentina Sartori
Qi Zhilong in his studio, 2024. Photo by Kye Fisher
Li Xianting remarked of his role as an editor and a critic as follows:
“I just wanted to draw people’s attention towards a certain issue. I wanted to stir debate and stoke discourse”
Guan Kan 观看 attempts to stand in this tradition, and uphold Mr Li’s dedication to critical investigation on Contemporary Chinese Art. Below you will find a series of essays, criticism, interviews with artists, art theory and art writing, aimed at analyzing the history and future of art.
Scholarly debate and analysis is welcomed by the journal as well as negotiating intercultural differences which may arise.
To join this discussion, please get in contact with Guan Kan 观看
Processing Grief: Pain and Endurance as a Medium in Contemporary Chinese Art
What can pain tell us about ourselves, others and Chinese art? This is the question that Erika Johanson attempts to pinpoint in Guan Kan's 观看 new essay 'Processing Grief: Pain and Endurance as a Medium in Contemporary Chinese Art'. Through Johanson's analysis, the artists He Yunchang, Sazi and Cang Xin are tied together through a biographic look at their lives and intersection with performance art, politics and personhood.
He Yunchang, Bodies, Presence and Rebellion
He Yunchang’s performances are guided by innate Buddhist philosophies that both helps him achieve his personal articulation of ‘true artistic creation’, and to perform works requiring intense physical and mental fortitude.
Deng Zhen: Transformative Photography and Incongruous Performance
Deng Zhen, a contemporary artist from Loudi, Hunan province, China, presents a nihilistic observational depiction of his environment, particularly unique in his manipulation of objects, icons and perspective to shift one’s perception and create beautiful or striking images.
The revival of calligraphy in Zhang Qiang and Tong Yang-Tze
Chinese Calligraphy has been a prestigious and significant aspect of Chinese art and culture for much of China’s vast history.
Performance Art and Feminism in China: A Conversation with Li Xinmo
Despite the risk of censorship and imprisonment Li Xijnmo feels a duty to use her performance art to raise issues of gender inequality and other social and political issues.
He Yunchang: Exploring the link between performance art and ancient Chinese philosophies
He Yunchang’s sacrificial feats combine modern existentialism with traditional Chinese philosophy and mythology.
Zhu Fadong’s Looking for a Missing Person (1993)
In Looking for a Missing Person, Zhu Fadong plastered his elaborate posters all over the street, proclaiming that ‘Zhu Fadong, long hair, an artist, born in 1960, left from Kunming, Yunnan Province in one day, missing’.
The Art of Water in China: Dong Zhengyi's Communal Fish Pond (1972) and He Yunchang's Dialogue with Water (1999)
He Yunchang’s Dialogue with Water (1999) and Dong Zhengyi’s Communal Fish Pond (1972) are works made within and after Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
Orpheus in the Modern World: Han Bing and Chinese Contemporary Art
‘The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.’
He Yunchang's Studio and Artist Villages in Beijing
The threat of unprovoked demolition is one of the countless challenges practicing contemporary Chinese artists are facing before the will of the authorities. He Yunchang is one of the high profile artists still living and working within the Caochangdi district of Beijing today.