Art Attack: Porno Ballet, Your Inner Indiana Jones, Fringe Festival, Yoko Ono in Beijing and More Art Openings
Hope you’re stocked up on energy drinks. This week, we’ve got The Bookworm’s Explore Festival kicking off, the Beijing Fringe Festival with some arresting avant-garde theater, more new art openings and exciting news about erotic ballet and Chinese art collectors taking over the world. Gulp.
So it looks like China’s wealthy have increasingly deeper pockets and an insatiable lust for art. Chinese art buyers are now the most important target market for auction houses. The New York Times explains the phenomenon by noting everything from the country’s growing number of billionaires to cultural denial from the years of the Cultural Revolution. (I never said they were very original explanations.)
This cultural starvation must also have paved the way for erotic ballet to alight in Beijing. The Ministry of Tofu brings us news that the Chinese pornographic classic Jin Pin Mei (金瓶梅, which means “golden vase plum” but is often translated as “Golden Lotus”) has been adapted for ballet by director Wang Yuanyuan. As you can see from the video above, it appears to be a lot of writhing and back-arching in nude leotards, but it actually seems to be drawing some critical acclaim for its first performances in Hong Kong. No details on when it hits town just yet, but we’ll keep you posted. No kiddies allowed, though (except for kiddies over 18 years old).
Tonight, the Explore Festival begins at The Bookworm, starting with a show-and-tell talk with travel writer Jeff Fuchs. For more about the festival, check out our interview with your dino docent, Trevor the Triceratops. Not to be missed: a chance to make your own fossils (Sunday, Sep 10)!
The Beijing Fringe Festival also kicked off Monday at the NCPA, helmed by China’s most prominent avant-garde playwright, Meng Jinghui. Highlights include a folk rock musical involving folk rock icons Xiao He and Zhou Yunpeng called When the World Goes Blind (Sep 13), and outdoor performances at the Today Art Museum by Swiss dance group DA MOTUS.
Speaking of stage, Beijing Playhouse's Love, Sex and the IRS kicks off tonight. You can win tickets to see one of their shows.
In art, there are openings at Chambers Fine Art, Arario Beijing, Galerie Paris-Beijing and ME Photo Gallery this Saturday. All are very interesting exhibits worth checking out. The Yang Yongliang prints at Galerie-Paris Beijing are breathtaking, Arario’s putting on an epic roundup of hot young artists, a biology student-turned photographer is showing off his metal bio-simulations at ME, and Chambers Fine Art is introducing a hot new painter/sculpturist.
Meanwhile, Challenge Skate Deck is calling for artists for their 2012 exhibition, so those who are interested in decorating the board upon which heroes like Tony Hawk and Bart Simpson have stood, inquire at skatedeckart@corepowerasia.com. They’ll provide the skate deck, you provide the art. Completed entries due March 1, 2012.
Oh, and then there’s the Yoko Ono bit. Turns out it’s not THE Yoko Ono who’s coming, but a talented Japanese pianist of the same name. (How annoying must that get?) She’ll be playing at the Beijing City International School.
And of course, that only scratches the surface of what’s going on this week. There are more book talks and launches, ballet (non-erotic, sorry), operas and the usual film screenings galore.
Event details for Explore: Science & Ideas at The Bookworm (for the week of Sep 9-15)
September 9
Talk: The Eternal Road, Tales of Exploration and Adventure with Jeff Fuchs
The first Westerner to traverse the entire Ancient Tea Horse Road, from tropical Yunnan to mountainous Tibet, talks about his treks. With pictures! RMB 50. 7.30pm. The Bookworm (6431 2108)
September 10
Fossil Making Workshop
Learn how to create fossils with replica specialist Ludovic Blein. Expect lots of kids and lots of mud on your hands (and feet. And face). RMB 80. Two sessions: 10am, 11am. The Bookworm (6431 2108)
Triceratops, Pterosaurs and Dodos, Oh My!
In this interactive talk, Damien DeLoup shows off some of the fossil treasures from the vast collection of the Yizhou Fossil & Geology Park in Liaoning. Again, lots of kids. But no mud. RMB 50. 2pm. The Bookworm (6431 2108)
September 11
Archaeology Talk: The Hidden Buddha of Bamiyan
Renowned archaeologist Dr. Zemaryali Tarzi shares his vast knowledge about the two legendary statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 – and a possible undiscovered third. RMB 50. 7.30pm. The Bookworm (6431 2108)
September 12
Pub Quiz: Explore
Battle it out for intellectual supremacy in this special Explore-themed quiz. Free. 8pm. The Bookworm (6431 2108)
All events:
September 9
Dialogue (III): Enlightenment and Its Chinese History
Discuss how Chinese history blends with the more Eurocentric focus on the Enlightenment we might have learned in school. Part of the “Art of the Enlightenment” exhibition series. Free. 9am-noon. National Museum of China (6512 8901)
September 9-25
Comedy: Love, Sex and the IRS
Beijing Playhouse’s biggest production of the year features drag, tax evasion, a secret love triangle and an overall zany cast. We’re giving away tickets here. RMB 300 (door), RMB 260 (advance), RMB 130 (students and children). For exact dates and showtimes, check out this site. Trojan House Theater (5711 0860)
September 10
Film: Metropolis
An indoor screening of the new restored version of Fritz Lang’s monumental silent sci-fi film, joined by the sounds of Chinese band Shanshui. RMB 80. 7.30pm. BC MOMA (8438 8258)
September 10-11
Dance: DA MOTUS
The Swiss dance group dons fluorescent yellow body suits and demonstrates their new aesthetic of movement for a gathering crowd at the Pingod development. Free. Today Art Museum (5862 1100)
September 10-13
Opera: The Elixir of Love
Donizetti’s opera about the love potion-like effects of cheap red wine probably rings true to some of us more than we’d like. RMB 100-680. 7.30pm. NCPA Opera House (6655 0000)
Art Exhibit Openings, September 10:
Zhao Zhao: According to Zhao Zhao
Sep 10-Oct 23. A fresh young artist hits the scene at one of Beijing’s most respected galleries. Expect a five-meter high sculpture as well as oil paintings. Free. Chambers Fine Art (5127 3298)
Daybreak
Sep 10-Oct 30. An ambitious show pulling together 13 important young artists from China’s contemporary milieu, including Chen Ke, Cheng Ran, Li Hui, Wu Junyong and the MadeIn Company. Free. Arario Beijing (5202 3800)
Peng Rong: Bionic
Sep 10-Nov 10. This show shares the name of the popular Lego sets, and not without reason. The Beida Biology student turned his science smarts and his fascination with landscape photography into a wicked solo photo exhibit of machine-like insects and animals. Free. ME Photo Gallery (5978 9263)
Yang Yongliang: The Peach Colony
Sep 10-Nov 10. Known for her digital shanshui paintings with a twist, Yang is a great example of how the now-hackneyed East-meets-West, old-meets-new concept actually works. Free. Galerie Paris-Beijing (5978 9262)
September 11
Film: Faust: A German Folk Legend
The indoor screening of Marnau’s filmic fable about Mephisto’s devilish corruption of Faust, accompanied by the multiethnic sounds of DaWangGang. RMB 80. 7.30pm. BC MOMA (8438 8258)
Film: Raise the Red Lantern
Power, cruelty, lust and revenge in all its forms. Zhang Yimou’s eyebrow-raising film gets another replay. Reservation required: contact@cultureyard.net. RMB 25 (includes soft drinks and popcorn). 6.30pm. Culture Yard (8404 4166)
September 12
Folk Rock Musical: When the World Goes Blind
An avant-garde musical starring China’s biggest folk rock lunatics Xiao He and Zhou Yunpeng. Part of this year’s Beijing Fringe Festival. RMB 30 (students)-RMB 100. 7.30pm. Chaoyang Culture Center/Nine Theater (8599 6011)
September 13
Film: Chung Kuo
Italian director Antonioni was invited to China to document the “rising nation,” but the result drew discontent from the powers that be. Parts two and three of three (part one screened on Sep 6). Reservation required: contact@cultureyard.net. RMB 25 (includes soft drinks and popcorn). 7pm. Culture Yard (8404 4166)
September 14
Book Launch: Midnight in Peking
Author Paul French discusses his scandalous real-life murder mystery, based on the death of Pamela Werner in 1937 Beijing. RMB 30, RMB 20 (members). 7.30pm. The Bookworm (6431 2108)
September 15
Film: Solaris
Electric Shadows just kicked off their new weekly film series, the Riverbank Cine Club, with a month of films by Tarkovsky. This Thursday, they’ll be screening Solaris, the filmic sojourn through space and human consciousness. RMB 30 (includes coffee or tea). 7pm. Riverbank Bar and Café (6506 8277)
September 15-16
Ballet: La Sylphide
The Guangzhou Ballet takes on this production of the runaway groom who falls for a sylph on his wedding day. RMB 80-500. 7.30pm. NCPA Opera House (6655 0000)
Photos from focusontofilm.com and courtesy of organizers