Uli Sigg is recognized as the owner of the largest private collection of modern Chinese art in the world. Sigg first went to China as a representative of the Schindler Group to conduct the company’s business operations during the country’s opening to the West in the 1980s. In 1995, Sigg was appointed as the Swiss ambassador to China, North Korea, and Manchuria, serving in the post until 1998. During those two decades he assiduously accumulated works by local artists, often displaying them in the embassy, and in 1997 he established an awards program recognizing outstanding contemporary Chinese artists (at a time when many were suspect in official circles). In 2012, Sigg donated nearly 1,500 items from his collection to the M+, a museum being built in Hong Kong. Michael Schindhelm’s documentary provides an overview of Sigg’s extraordinary life, combining archival footage with extended interviews of Sigg, as well as recollections by some of the most notable artists whose works Sigg collected, including Fang Lijun, Wang Guangyi, Cao Chong’en, Cao Fei, and the renowned Ai Weiwei. Less an introduction to the artworks than a consideration of the relationship between the artist and society, the film also offers an incisive portrait of a farsighted, sophisticated man whose comments on meetings with governmental officials such as Deng Xiaoping will fascinate those interested in the recent transformation of China into a global power. Extras include private footage of Sigg’s time in China during the 1980s, and a promotional video for the Chinese Contemporary Art Award program. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
The Chinese Lives of Uli Sigg
(2016) 93 min. In English, German & Mandarin w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.98 ($348 w/PPR from www.icarusfilms.com). Icarus Films Home Video (available from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 5
The Chinese Lives of Uli Sigg
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