Exploring China through its art

I went to the art library today at the local university.  Because it is a state institution, as a resident I can pay a small fee every year and then have the right to check out any circulating materials (book, DVD or CD) from 1 to 3 months.

Today I came home with these recently published and highly recommended books about contemporary Chinese art.

Once I've had a chance to read them, I'll let you know what I think.

Here is what I'm currently reading:

Shu:  Reinventing Books in Contemporary Chinese Art.  This is an exhibition catalog from a show at the China Institute Gallery in New York.  Next time I'm in New York, I'll have to stop by the China Institute and see what they have on display.

I just finished reading this excellent catalog from a show at the Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

I love how Xu Bing writes his name in Square Word Calligraphy.  Look carefully and you can see that he has written his name not in Chinese characters, but in Western script and arranged each word in a square format and with traditional Chinese brush strokes.  This is his attempt to give Westerners who don't read Chinese an experience akin to what a person who reads Chinese would have reading Chinese characters.  Pretty cool, huh?

It have been many years since I have been so engrossed in reading art history.  I would say this homecoming has been long overdue, even though my area of interest now is quite different from what it was when I was working on my doctorate.  Then I was researching Western Medieval Art.  But Chinese art, past and present, is such a rich and satisfying topic that I foresee many years of study and appreciation.  As with most things about China, the topic is virtually inexhaustible.