Avatars and Antiheroes: A Guide to Contemporary Chinese Artists Review

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Avatars and Antiheroes: A Guide to Contemporary Chinese Artists ReviewI have to admit that I was feeling giddy about reviewing Claudia Albertini's first book "AVATARS AND ANTIHEROES: A GUIDE TO CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ARTISTS".
I have had the opportunity to embrace a lot of art coming from Asia, especially in Japan and Korea but my curiosity towards Chinese contemporary art has always been buzzing because when it comes to China, you sometimes wonder how restrictive art can be especially when it comes to political pop movements.
What we have with "AVATARS AND ANTIHEROES" is just that. As Albertini describes as the book "reflects on schizophrenic undercurrents of a nation in continuous fast-forward. From the Cynical Realism and Political Pop movements associated with the post-Tiananmen generation of artists such as Yue Minjun who grinning representations of himself as antihero seem to mock the revolutionary heroes of old, to the pop culture generation spearheaded by Cao Fei whose digital avatars live in a world without borders, this book showcases the work of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from China in recent years".
One thing that you will notice with this book are the plenty of large photography to showcase the artists that Albertini is covering. Well-written and although utilizing words that may fly over the head of some people (note: typical of a good number of authors of art or historical books), fortunately Albertini's book is understandable and not overly cerebral. You understand what the author is trying to communicate and for an art book, that is a plus for readers worldwide.
Albertini does a great job in showcasing the works of the artist but also including background of the artist on how they got their start in the art world and also background on certain art pieces. Also, knowing that each of the 40 artists featured, she did interview.
An example would be the artist Cai Guoqiang. I was looking at the Cai's creation of "Light Passage-Autumn" which is just a beautiful artpiece of black explosions with the use of grays and browns exploding throughout the piece and to learn that Cai likes to use gunpowder in his artwork.
Cai's use of gunpowder in his artwork is just beautiful but another work that I just found incredible is "Head On" featuring life-sized replicas of dozens and dozens of wolves (made of paper mache, plaster, resin, fiberglass and painted hide) jumping in a rainbow like formation and crashing head on to a glass wall and the wolves all having different expressions as they jump but for those that crash into the wall, a look of pain. Absolutely stunning!
And art on canvas is not all that is featured in this book, from sculptures, photography, video stills and other areas of how the artist can communicate their creativity, I also found the craftsmanship of the artists featured in this book to be mind blowing.
Shi Jinsong's "Na Zha's Baby Stroller" is not your typical baby stroller, this one has blades, spikes and sharp pieces throughout the baby stroller that just surprises you when you look at it and to see how much work it took for Shi to create it. Albertini describes Shi's work as a reflection on the exertion of control in contemporary society, on the relationships between state and institutions and the individual."
For Shi, everyday objects are not just material possessions but also deadly weapons. Another photo featuring Shi's work is a traditional office desk. All created in stainless steel from the desk, chair, lamps, keyboard and computer monitor. But monitor has a guillotine, the desks have cuffs and the chair is literally a torture device.
One of my favorites featured in the book is RongRong & Inri. Rongrong from Zhangzhou, China and Inri from Yokosuka, Japan. Both photographers who can't speak the same language but both had an appreciation for each other's artwork. Two photographers who feature themselves in beautiful landcapes and showcasing nature sometimes clothed, sometimes nude but they document their experience and the end result is just absolutely beautiful, sensual and mesmerizing.
But then there are some artists featured that truly push the button on contemporary art such as Chen Lingyang, who looks to explore the truth of the female body. And thus in a print piece titled "Twelve Flower Months - The Nine Month Chrysanthemum", you see this artistic piece but inside a mirror is a photo of her vagina during a menstrual period. Chen's featured this style of artwork in a twelve photograph series that would take traditional Chinese garden design, featuring a flower and what would look quite artistic is sure to make a viewer's eyebrow to raise when they look in the mirror to see her portrayal of femininity but during a menstrual period.
And throughout the book, with forty artists featured, there is such a variety of artwork that hardly overlap in terms of styles and creativity. You get a good representation of the contemporary art coming from China and learning about the artists, possibly where they are mentally and emotionally through the creation of their work and more.
When it comes to books covering contemporary art, there are a few things that I look for and that is variety. Showcasing various artists with different art styles and showcasing the various creativity of the individuals featured. I love to see many artwork pieces of that individual but also featured nice and big if possible.
The other thing that I look for is how much research goes behind the artist's background but also interviews are a plus as well. But how it's written must be able to communicate to the reader as easily possible and not make one feel you are reading a thesis on art. Words selected for creativity is great but when used too much that it becomes cerebral, I tend to have a disdain for those art books.
I can tell you right now that "AVATARS AND ANTIHEROES: A GUIDE TO CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ARTISTS" is a well-written, enjoyable book and Claudia Albertini did a spectacular job in bringing these painters, photographers, sculptors, performance artists, video artists, fireworks artist from China and through good selection, really showcasing the beautiful and eye-catching artwork of these individuals.
To see this artistic revolution in China and how some are communicating their artwork despite whatever restrictions they may have in the country, I'm so happy to see a book that showcases artwork on a variety of levels.
If you have an interest in contemporary Chinese art, this book is definitely highly recommended!Avatars and Antiheroes: A Guide to Contemporary Chinese Artists OverviewChinese contemporary art is currently enjoying a worldwide boom, fetching record-breaking prices at auction houses around the globe. The country's rapid transition from Communism to consumerism, and the dizzying changes brought about by urbanization, globalization and new technologies have created a fascinating explosion of art overwhelmingly concerned with the search for self-identity in a society that, from Confucius to Mao, has traditionally disregarded individualism for the collective good. Avatars and Antiheroes reflects the schizophrenic undercurrents of a nation in continuous fast-forward.From the Cynical Realism and Political Pop movements associated with the post-Tiananmen generation of artists such as Yue Minjun, whose grinning representations of himself as antihero seem to mock the revolutionary heroes of old, to the pop-culture generation spearheaded by Cao Fei, whose digital avatars live in a world without borders, this book showcases the work of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from China in recent years. Stunning full-color plates of the work of Chinas leading painters, photographers, sculptors, performance artists, video artists, and even a fireworks artist are complemented by insightful commentary from Beijing-based art specialist Claudia Albertini, who personally interviewed many of the artists featured.

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