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

Sam Beard 2/12/20 Sam Beard 2/12/20

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.

Maddie Sarich 26/7/20 Maddie Sarich 26/7/20

Photography: Socio-political criticism in Contemporary Chinese art

Photography has, over the last two decades, proven to be a tactical vehicle for criticism of the tedious socio-political condition of Chinese society. Communist China’s increasingly large place in the global capitalist market, and the local repercussions of consumerist Western influence fuel the criticism and satire of artists such as Wang Qingsong, and Muchen and Shao Yingong.

Tami Xiang 20/3/20 Tami Xiang 20/3/20

Wang Qingsong as journalist and social critic

Wang Qingsong uses applied photography as a way to respond to the rapidly changing society, repeatedly stressing that he is a ‘journalist’, arguing that the news does not just stay on the surface, but also functions in a more essential way. Working with exaggerated content and shocking, spectacular scenes, Wang reflects social issues. His work arranges details within complicated, large images, as just one image can deliver the impact of a whole issue.