Journal

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

 Pictures and Perspectives: The contemporary photography of Wang Qingsong, Muchen and Shao Yinong
Photography Sam Beard Photography Sam Beard

Pictures and Perspectives: The contemporary photography of Wang Qingsong, Muchen and Shao Yinong

Photography became an important medium for the expression and documentation of personal histories in China, and often a means for oblique social criticism. The contemporary photography of Wang Qingsong, Muchen and Shao Yinong is imbued with this history. This essay traces the evolution of Chinese photography and critical discourse in the late 1970s to interpret the contemporary work of these artists.

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The Roof may have caved in but the Building still stands: The Motif of the Assembly Hall in Chinese Contemporary Art
Photography Jessica Cottam Photography Jessica Cottam

The Roof may have caved in but the Building still stands: The Motif of the Assembly Hall in Chinese Contemporary Art

The term ‘assembly hall’ conjures memories of sitting cross-legged on the cold floor in rows by my peers, while the principal addressed the school. I imagine many people can relate with their own version of the long monotonous speeches and numb limbs, that constituted school assemblies. For people living in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) the assembly hall does not evoke the same innocent, mundane experience.

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