The Beijinger Blog - Visual Arts

Art Attack: Food Writers at Capital M, Valentine’s Music and Last Calls

thebeijinger — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0800

Forgive me, I’ve been less on top of artsy news this week because I’ve been too busy trolling the internet at odd hours to keep up with this Jeremy Lin business. Yes, I am the world’s most intermittent basketball fan. But that’s beside the point. There are actually quite a few exciting things going on this week, like Capital M Literary Festival tickets going on sale, great indie films, a blind movie-watching experience and your last chance at several art exhibits! Click through for more.

String and Bones: In the Lap of Violence and Luxury

thebeijinger — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0800

For one of China’s most well-known contemporary artists, Lin Tianmiao certainly is cagey about her artistic process. When I sat down with her at her home studio in Songzhuang and began asking about her new exhibit at the Beijing Center for the Arts (BCA), entitled “The Same,” she claimed that she “just came up with a title” after finishing her works, simply because “every exhibit needs one.” Whether she’s being coy or just evasive, this comment clashes with the BCA’s own website, which explains that the name is meant to remind us how “everything looks the same if you watch at a distance; and nothing may be the same if you get closer.”

Art Attack: Movie Awards, Flying Koreans, Haggis and Author Anticipation

thebeijinger — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0800

It’s awards season in the movie world, and apparently that means everyone’s in the mood to get a tan – from (cinema, TV and computer) screens, that is. At least, the sudden upsurge in film screenings in Beijing would support this notion. Also this week: crazy Koreans making you laugh with high-strung family drama played out with martial arts and bodies flying around, and of course the annual Burns Supper at The Bookworm.

Art Attack: Culture Wars, Chinese Fortune Telling and Indie Flicks

thebeijinger — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0800

Have you all heard, Hu Jintao's declared a culture war on the West? There's a signed essay circulating that cites the invasion of cultural exports like Harry Potter and Lady Gaga, and the Chinese have to fight back – with "the advanced culture of socialism" guiding the way. Um, good luck going viral on Youtube with that one.

Unfortunately, even Uncle Hu can't do anything about the black hole of sorts we experience in Beijing at this point in the year, especially where new art exhibits are concerned. (All the workers they need to help install the crazy contraptions are getting ready to blow dodge for chunjie.) There is one exception to the rule, and quite an exciting one at that. Luckily, you've got a great set of choices for film screenings coming up, including the next in Krzysztof Kieślowski's "Three Colors Trilogy", a couple gems at the UCCA's Indie Film Forum Series, and a campy 1960s "Secret Agents Series" kicking off at new hipster joint Modernista (quick, here's your chance to be an early adopter). Read on for the details.

Did You See That One? 2011 Video Roundup

thebeijinger — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0800

If you're suffering after a tough New Year, we're here to help soothe the pain. Take it easy and enjoy this rundown of some of the most-watched, strangest and funniest videos to hit China's streaming sites in the year just gone by.

Must-Visit Pop-up Shop at Today Art Museum: Only 13 Days Left!

thebeijinger — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0800

Approx, an independent designer boutique in Nali Patio, has remained on the Beijinger radar for quite some time now. We first extolled the brand and its offerings back in November 2010. The young stylish owner, P.J. (add her on Weibo here), has since started a clothing line called Black + Noir, but jewelry and accessories remain the store’s specialty.

Considering the trendiness of pop-up shops (see here, here, here and here), we should’ve known that’d be P.J’s next step.

Art Attack: Top Ten Stories of 2011

thebeijinger — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0800

We know 2011 was the year of Weibo, the year of more debt crisis all over the world, the year of campus scandals, more natural disasters and Occupying everything possible. So how frivolous does it seem to talk about the biggest news in Beijing’s arts landscape? Not as frivolous as you might think.

Kaboom! Get Stuck Between a Rock and an Art Space

thebeijinger — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0800

Zhan Wang has a thing for rocks. He’s been working with the medium for more than a decade now, transforming traditional Chinese scholar rocks – natural, craggy forms that inspire contemplation – into stainless steel sculptures with a modern facade. They're the main feature in “My Personal Universe,” his new exhibit at the UCCA, which recreates the Big Bang by exploding a big boulder. The exhibition’s accompanying film, “Legend of the Stone,” documents his explosive artistic process, naturally fraught with village politics. (What, doesn’t every farmer want a huge rock blown up on his land?)

Art Attack: A Christmas Arts Award Story

thebeijinger — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0800

China says “Ho, ho, ho” to some of its arty citizens for being on the nice list, giving 23 artists from greater China a big pat on the back for cultural services rendered. Who won awards? Read on to find out about that and other warm, holiday fun you can have this week.

Sketchy Artist: The Naked Truth About Life Drawing

thebeijinger — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0800

My hands, soon to be blackened by graphite, were clammy.

I didn’t even have a pad of paper. The veteran artists in The Hutong had already set up their easels and produced packs of pencils from their bags. Only one other girl confessed to me that she had never done Life Drawing before either, and together we rummaged through the available art supplies.