A Modern Twist on Traditional Chinese Art

Traditional Chinese landscape art is magnificent – although let's be honest, it looks like a lot of these artists lived in the same neighborhood. The karst hills, the mist that seems to rise every dang morning, lovely, but that one kinda looks like that other one there.

Enter Yang Yongliang. The Shanghai-born artist who graced us last year as part of Ullens Contemporary Center for Art as part of The Creators Project, Yang combines ancient landscapes with modern photography, resulting in prints that look like, well, in some cases, Hong Kong.

Some of the images look like art from the early days of the People's Republic, which added industrial scenes to traditional landscapes. Now, they appear more like environmental commentary than any celebration of industrialization, or as pictured above, electrification.

A few take on a futuristic quality, looking more like spaceships than hills that have become crowded with skyscrapers.

"In the future we'll only be able to see traditional Chinese art and calligraphy in museums because the structure of our current living conditions and changing cityscape won't allow this art form to survive. I've been thinking of a way to get Chinese art to thrive and continue in a new vein," Yang told Slate, where more of his work can be viewed.

Photos: Slate.