China Updated

• Source: Global Times
• [10:14 September 01 2010]
• Comments

Installation "Tangram-Stone_Rende" by Chen Xudong. (Below) Installation "Invested Himalaya" by Yan Feng. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum

Few countries have developed at the breakneck speed China has over the last three decades. And few have thrown up quite so many issues alongside this growth. Germany and China - Moving Ahead Together, is part of Update China, a series of events organized by China and Germany over the last three years and which took place in cities like Nanjing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Wuhan.

The event will run in Shanghai from September 5 to October 5 at the Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum in Thumb Plaza in Pudong New Area. Nineteen well-known artists and architects from both China and Germany will be taking part, contributing 20 artworks in the form of models, installations, videos and performances, all under the theme of Update China.

Two layers of meanings are included in the title Update China: on the one hand, there is the idea of China updating itself in its cites, environment and lifestyle as well as in its arts and culture; on the other hand, the world is updating itself in terms of how it sees China's development.

Under the banner of Update China, artists use wood, paper cups, bikes and other recyclable, low-carbon and environmentally friendly materials to explore topics of sustainable development such as urbanization, urban consumption, and man and nature.

"Art and culture show the current social state of the country's spirit, and so can be likened to a thermometer of society," Shen Qibin, the art director of Update China and curator of the Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum told the Global Times.

"And examples of good art and culture are those which lead to positive trends, thinking and values. So artists should be a responsible part of society and help to shape a healthy future."

Contemporary artist Qiu Zhijie's work, Two Trees, was inspired by the fact that many books are made from one tree whereas one tree can be turned into numerous books. Qiu vertically piled-up books (in various languages) in order to represent a tree.

Of his work, Land King, the famous German-based Chinese artist Liu Guangyun said: "Land is ever-changing because of the buildings on it and its change of use with different owners. But in fact the idea of the land underneath these developments never changes."

Zhu Xiaofeng, has a masters degree in architecture from Harvard and has his own architecture company in Shanghai. He saved discarded paper cups to make a set of blinds and called the piece Paper Cup Blinds. The paper material allows some light to filter through and the paper cups placed together resembles flexible window shades. 

Alongside the artworks from Chinese and German artists is an exhibition of 40 selected Chinese practices in architecture cases. They were selected by the forum of the Urban Academy around five themes of Sustainable Urban Planning,

Eco-Friendly Green Architecture, From Past to Future, Social Responsibility and Low-Cost Construction, and Sustainability in Art and Culture. The 40 projects cover green buildings, but also focus on the social responsibility of architects. Some projects in quake-hit areas, Tibet and poverty-stricken regions highlight the fact that China is still a developing country and illustrate that sense of responsibility. The works of Xie Yingjun, Wang Hui and Li Xiaodong (including post-earthquake reconstruction projects, The Apple Primary School in Ali, Tibet and Tulou) are characterized by a sense of wisdom and aesthetics. The rebirth of old communities (Tianzifang, ancient village conservation in Jiaojiang, and Xixi National Wetland Park), the transformation of old industrial areas into creative parks (Beijing 789 Art Zone), modern buildings as urban culture preservation centers (Ningbo Museum) and other projects also highlight the architects' duty towards responsible city planning. "It is through the combination of both artworks and architecture that an effective critique of the current process of urbanization can be achieved," said Shen Qibin.