Framing considerations in the prc: creating value in the contemporary chinese art market1

We use Robertson’s (2000) terminology. The term “contemporary Chinese art market” is an international art market term used to describe all art currently made in Greater China.

Abstract

This study of art galleries in the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) uses a political economy approach to examine the contours of the art world and the art market. A Chinese art market based on the Western and Japanese models was created in the early twentieth century, but was abolished in 1949 when the PRC, under Chairman Mao, adopted a socialist framing model on a national scale. Breaking out of this totalizing frame was difficult despite the adoption of market socialism in 1979. The decade between 1979 and 1989 witnessed rapid surges of creativity, which were brought to a full stop by the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. In 1992, however, the national policy of rapid growth gave the cultural industry a sharp nudge. Since the mid‐1990s, two trends in the art world have emerged: a collaborative framework for developing contemporary PRC art (including commercial art) for both the internal and external markets; domestic art as a commentary on changing social and cultural values.

Keywords:

• Contemporary Chinese Art
• China Art Market
• Political And Cultural Pop Art In China
• Art Galleries In China
• Art Dealers In China

Notes

Annamma Joy is a Professor in the Department of Marketing at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. John F. Sherry Jr is Professor in the Department of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Correspondence to: Annamma Joy, Department of Marketing, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada H3G 1M8. Email: [email protected]

We use Robertson’s (2000) terminology. The term “contemporary Chinese art market” is an international art market term used to describe all art currently made in Greater China.

Political Pop uses a deconstructionist approach matched with a Pop technique to create works of comic satire, especially targeting political figures such as Mao. The exemplar is Wang Guang Yi. Cynical realism uses a scoundrelly indifferent and mocking attitude in the creation of art works, the exemplars being Liu Wei and Fang Li Jun (Li 1993).

Some artists, especially those who worked in the “political pop” tradition, used their style to put the PRC on the international art scene. But their freedom from political constraints is based on their manipulation and coordination with the government (Hanru 1997).

Mostly realistic and academic oil painting and sculpture. It is sometimes referred to as the alternative art market in popular images (Robertson 2000).

Sometimes referred to as “aesthetically speculative work” (Robertson 2000). These are avant‐garde works of art.

Literati art is abstract in orientation.

However, respected artists at the turn of the century (e.g., Xu‐Beihong) believed that art was relevant to the people, that it had to reflect the actual conditions and could help the country emerge from poverty. This is called realist art.

Zhou Wou‐ki is a well‐known artist and lives in Paris.

Scar art: One important artist who participated in the 1989 exhibit was Zhang Xiaogang whose work reflects the tragedy of life in the PRC based on abuse, whether it is self‐abuse, abuse inflicted on others or abuse inflicted by others. Political Pop artists (discussed earlier) had a mocking wit and style. Cynical Realists (also discussed earlier) were young artists who were just coming of age in 1989, when the crackdown of artists (and other intellectuals) occurred. They confronted the reality of their own helplessness in their art works. Abstract Expressionist art was perhaps the most maligned art form between 1979 and 1992, because it was art for art’s sake (Chang 1993).

The term “New Wave Movement” applied to art in the 1980s placed an emphasis on the life experiences of the individual (the view was that the artist’s individual vitality was sapped by life in a collective society—especially under the Mao regime) as an important concern of art. There was also a strong interest in performance art, mostly conceptual in nature.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Annamma Joy

Annamma Joy is a Professor in the Department of Marketing at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. John F. Sherry Jr is Professor in the Department of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Correspondence to: Annamma Joy, Department of Marketing, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada H3G 1M8. Email: [email protected]