Unit Coordinator and Lecturer : Courtney Pedersen Tutor : Courtney Coombs Student Name : Lisa Piquemal Student Number : n9535918
KVB108 - Contemporary Asian Visual Culture _________________________________________________________________________________ Topic : 1) Video art has become increasingly popular with artists from developing areas in Asia because it is portable, flexible and contemporary. Assess this claim with reference to at least two Asian artists working in video. _________________________________________________________________________________ Word count : 2002
QUT Queensland University of Technology
30/10/2015
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The use of video art has developed considerably ensuring the expression of many contemporary artists in Asia and more specifically in the urban field. The growing emergence of video in China allowed artists to manipulate digital cameras for its fast productibility, showing interests to represent the dimension of Chinese metropolis changes (Sorokina, 2006, p. 60). In particular for avantgardists who discovered the advantages of “moving images and sound, and the realtime imagery and instant capacity of video” (John, 2005, p. 43). This is relevant in term of flexibility because it captures the present of both visual and hearing movements where the film is recorded, contrary to photography. According to Schreuder (2010, p, 60), filming public spaces is important for each of the artists and it enhances the flexibility of video art which ables to apprehend visual media techniques and it participates to record diverse places. It is necessary for contemporary Asian artists to express their different viewpoints – whether there are objective or subjective, regarding observation of cities throughout video art illustrating how the development of urbanism affects their mind, in other words, video art relies to the handiness of portable technology, opening new expressions of cities. This essay will afford one aspect which is different visions of the city and its urbanism throughout the artworks of the following contemporary Chinese artists : Cao Fei and Ai Weiwei. Two examples of each artist would be provided ensuring the development of video art in China as a contemporary tool of representation and interpretation of the city. Cao Fei's two artworks which are provided illustrate both fictional and real cities revealing their urbanism impact in China due to the use of video art as a contemporary tool of representation.
RMB City is one of Cao Fei’s productions launched in 2008 determined by the creation of a virtual city which takes inspiration from the most relevant attributes of Chinese cities. Schreuder (2010, p. 7173) describes RMB City as an island characterized by Chinese most representative constructions and symbols such as skyscrapers and more specifically the Pearl of Orient TV Tower, Beijing's Olympic Stadium but also an enormous panda or a Mao's statue.
RMB City shows the confrontation between reality and fantasy depicted by animated and colourful designs establishing amusement towards the disabilities of Chinese urban sprawl (Taliesin, 2004, p. 193) as towers increase modifying constantly the landscape. This exemplifies that visual animation lightens critical thinkings about Chinese urbanism granted by the modernity of video art. Cao Fei
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transmits throughout virtuality an experimental world in which video art appears to be a contemporary new mode of perception, says Schreuder (2010, p. 7173). Cao doesn't contradict urbanism in China but she proposes an alternative for actual cities through fictive video art (Berry, 2015, p. 212). It represents an ideal city which modern characteristics belong to the referential city and furthermore it introduces future Chinese cities . This indicates that Cao Fei appropriates video art as the result of a contemporary fictional urban project letting people think about imaginative perspectives for upcoming urban spaces in China.
RMB City is a particular video art in which the audience has the opportunity to participate by logging in and by discovering the virtual city (Berry, 2015, p. 209). This explains that video art is also a contemporary way of communication by the invention of dimensional and entertaining spaces in which the public get involved so that they actively interpret themselves the artwork. In RMB City , Cao Fei explicitly opens people's mind about the actual urban growth in China by the use of video art and its modernity as a new mode of representation of a virtual city in which the public can actively participate. Cao Fei's second artwork untitled Suan Yuan Li is a succession of videos in black and white of Suan Yuan Li city located in Guangzhou which enables the artist communicating her observation towards the evolution of a village to a city. Nuridsany, M. (2004, p. 243) says that this video art relates the story of Suan Yuan Li village where the artist lived, which is challenged by the preservation of traditional characters in opposition with the urban spread. Modern issues met in the city are also evoked such as drug dealers, prostitution, illegal immigration and noise pollution in contrast with the farmer's lifestyle. This video art aims at questioning the differences and disabilities between a town and a village without giving an answer but it invites at reflections as reported Nuridsany, M. (2004, p. 243). The desire to use blackandwhite technique enhances the lyrical aspect of the city through moving images says Cao, F. (2003, np). This video indicates that the artist’s viewpoint is objective and images appear as facts but shown in an aesthetic manner produced by contrasting saturated colours allowed by the modernity of video art. An additional sound track fits complimentarily with moving images says Nuridsany, M. (2004, p. 243). This creates smooth transitions between each pieces of record and a mysterious atmosphere which
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intensifies the urban contrasts. This is imperative because it employs new techniques relative to video art granting the use of sound effects which are useful for the artist to guide the sequence. As the video is recorded by footing, while filming, the artist herself experiments and rambles the streets like passersby, describes Nuridsany, M. (2004, p. 243). This is vital to soak up the environment where the film takes place and to establish the artist’s presence on the local people. The portability of video art plays on live a participatory role in Suan Yuan Li and appears to be a fundamental aspect for Cao Fei who assimilates the recording as an improvised and spontaneous testimony or documentary ensuring interaction with the people filmed.
Suan Yuan Li, marks the opposition facts of a village surrounded by an expanding city by interposing sequences of specific moving images with a soundtrack and a blackandwhite scenery through video art without those effects would not have been possible. Moreover, its portability accomplishes a direct intervention in situ which places the artist as a passerby ensuring participation with local people.
Thus, video art is significant in Cao Fei's works in order to reflect the city's evolution making it more meaningful throughout virtuality and using simple contemporary montage techniques. Video art is also an interactive and flexible communication tool in which actors and spectators participate (Berry, 2015, p. 209). As Cao Fei, Ai Weiwei also produces video montages as the one untitled Beijing : The Second Ring launched in 2004 providing urban characteristics of the city evolving in time. It lasts one hour and six minutes. Bridges and traffic loops are recorded as representative elements of Beijing throughout a serie of 33 images of bridges that last one minute each according to Weiwei, A. (2007, p, 188189). The artist adds that the artwork is technically simple ensuring the urban observation progressing in time and provoking an harmonious streaming (2007, p, 188189). This indicates that Ai Weiwei aims at recording facts in an objective viewpoint, more precisely, the video represents the traffic like anyone else could see. The portability of video art in this artwork has the capacity to capture reality and the rationality of the city. As an inhabitant of Beijing, Ai Weiwei expresses in this artwork that he follows the city’s evolution which influences his life and other people's ones without being able to change it as reported Smith, K. (2009, p.
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93). The flexibility of video art enables recording facts which affects inhabitants including the artist accompanied by the simple assembly of images expressing the unstoppable construction of the city. In Ai Weiwei’s point of view, video art is primordial in Beijing : The Second Ring to organize a montage of sequences showing specific repeated moving images of infrastructures during a long period of time which translates the rhythm of traffic flowing in China. Ai Weiwei’s second artwork untitled Chang' an Boulevard evokes more generally in moving images the development of Beijing but he still uses montage techniques borrowed from the video art’s contemporary. The artist filmed regular oneminutesequences of Chang' An main Boulevard extending to 45 kilometers as described Weiwei, A. (2007, p, 188189), revealing Beijing city as an evolving entity which composition are determined by diverse factors such as economy, politics, architecture regarding buildings. The artist composes a serie of captures every fifty meters, “what [he] call[s] fragments” that makes gradually a better understanding of the city according to Blackwell (2006, para 5). His work is comparable to an assembly of snaps illustrating conditions of the city and its hierarchy during the present moment. Ai Weiwei relies on the instantaneous characteristic of video art which is essential to give a realistic overview of the boulevard taken on the facts . Despite its objectivity, the video presents facts for critic purpose. David Ng (2007, para 7) says that the artist compares the city as a « giant monster » which reflects the results of a modern China without having an aesthetic urban identity. The artwork shows indirectly Ai Weiwei's deception towards urbanism as a result of the economic growth of China. The whole video, despite its simplicity, like the previous one, lasts ten hours and twentythree minutes. Nevertheless, Ai Weiwei doesn't advise people to watch the entire video because he considers his work for its own respectability as stated David Ng (2007, para 4). For Ai Weiwei, the quality of the video is more appreciated than its length focusing on the process. Video art’s contemporary particularity is therefore not to restrict the length of recording. In Chang’An Boulevard , Ai Weiwei relies only on the portability of the camera to record spots establishing focus on time and the materiality of infrastructures presented as it is. Nonetheless, this minimal aspect of recording releases powerless but serenity towards the urban growth.
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Ai Weiwei's particularity is to produce long videos which translate his awareness towards the effect of time flowing among growing buildings and traffic movements in contemporary China. Both of the artworks are technically simple ensuring the urban observation progressing in time as described Weiwei, A. (2007, p, 188189). Video montage is the elite contemporary technique for those two artworks because video art ables to create a serie of selected images of relevant elements in the urban landscape. Consequently, compared to Cao Fei, Ai Weiwei focuses more on fixed spots concerning infrastructures which reinforce his objective observations within time process. Video art became popular mainly for its flexibility and its modernity, for instance video requires contemporary techniques of recording which engage the audience and ease the artist's interpretation. Both of the relative artists belonged to an artistic generation in which the contemporary technologies of video art permit to represent more adequately their purposes as cited Ou Ning in Nuridsany, M. (2004, p. 243). For both artists, video art is a new mode of representation that is capable to record instantly facts. Video art is beneficial thanks to its portability for artists to communicate with people recorded in a place like in Sua Yuan Li by Cao Fei but it is also a modern visual and participatory technique which invites the audience entering into another dimension through virtuality ensuring reflections towards Chinese urbanism as in RMB City by the same artist. Contemporary video techniques are also employed in order to produce a serie of images of fundamental urban elements repeatedly as illustrates Ai Weiwei in
Beijing : The Second Ring and Chang' an Boulevard, depicting the influence of the cities’ development in parallel of time progressing reinforced by the length of the video, soundtrack and saturated colours. Moreover, video’s flexibility depends on the cameraman’s position who crops facts as part of a testimony visualizing the urban expansion. Video making is experimental for Cao Fei who rambles in different places, factual for Ai Weiwei who observes the daily rhythm of the city. Video art, thanks to its flexibility, portability and its contemporary uses, is the leading guide for Cao Fei and Ai Weiwei to represent and interpret different meanings of the Chinese urban effects. REFERENCE LIST
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