Art in Smog

Filmmaker Lydia Chen examines the state of modern art in industrial-powerhouse China via four particular artists (who often blur the lines of instructor, curator-gallery owner, and collector). It is stated that Chinese modern art is presently in a transition between original visions and imitations of Western trends, with considerable social pressure (credited to Deng Xiaoping’s free-market revolution) to attain international success and prestige for the mainland. Artists everywhere may relate to academic Cui Cancan, who hailed from an insular village and could only find fulfillment in cosmopolitan Beijing. Other issues are particular to China, such as the men rebelling against convention and tradition in letting their wives take command of business affairs—or, in the case of the renowned artist Xia Xiaowan, taking a teenaged student protégé (Chen Hui, now a painter in her own right) as his mate. While there are mentions of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, an old comrade who committed suicide, and complaints by Cancan of pressure to officially join the Communist Party, stories of outright dissent and persecution are muted (no mention is made of protest-art, specifically works widely exhibited by artists sympathetic to the Falun Gong sect). Still, while not all-encompassing, Art in Smog presents an illuminating snapshot of a developing cultural scene. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)