When it comes to Chinese contemporary art, you can't fail to mention Zhao Bandi (right), and you can't mention Zhao Bandi without mentioning pandas. Today, the artist who ran the performance art "Panda Fashion Show" and resisted the Hollywood animation blockbuster "Kung Fu Panda" series has completely abandoned the symbol of the panda. After the controversy over the film "Let the Panda Fly" in 2013, he experienced confusion and thinking, and began to be enthusiastic about propositions such as "party" and "picnic", looking for flashy, absurd and novel artistic expressions. His new work, "Ballet of the Donkey," was unveiled in Switzerland, only this time with a buyer at Art Basel.
Collector Uri Sigg
The promoter of Chinese contemporary art has transformed the social painting style
Founded in 1970, Art Basel has been held for 49 years. Every year, Art Basel gathers the world's top galleries to participate, and this year more than 100 new and old collectors attended, and there are constantly good news of transactions, among which Asian collectors are particularly eye-catching, and Asian collectors are more Than Chinese collectors. They came to Switzerland from afar, just buying and buying is obviously not enough, they need more "intelligence", so there is a social celebrity indispensable - Swiss collector Uri Sigg.
In the early days of reform and opening up, Uri Hick came to China as the vice president of the first Sino-foreign joint venture Schindler Elevator, when China was undergoing great changes, and new forms of artistic expression were also breaking ground in the emancipation of the mind, Hick believed that Chinese contemporary art would record this era, and his road to collecting began.
In the mid-1990s, Sieg, who became Swiss ambassador to China, became an important promoter of Chinese contemporary art to the world. More than 200 Chinese artists have become his guests, and more than 2,000 works have been systematically collected, including Zhao Bandi.
Because of their unusual relationship with China, many Asian collectors have a natural affinity for Hick. Every year during Art Basel, Sigg hosts a party in a private castle in the suburban town of Sulsi, showcasing his in-house collection on the one hand and facilitating communication between collectors, artists and curators on the other. This year, Hick hopes to have a slightly different "painting style" appear at the party, and Zhao Bandi is the first person he thinks of.
Concept "Super Party"
A live painting to understand the artistic imagination
After abandoning the panda symbol, Zhao Bandi returned to the context he was most familiar with— painting.
In 2016, he planned "China Party" on the outskirts of Chengdu. The idea itself is a sinking Chopin concert painting. In order to realize this scene and collect materials, he found a friend who was doing piano concerts in Chengdu to help Pin Wei, "such a good idea, it is best not to enjoy exclusively, to let friends participate together", at the instigation of friends, the originally private painting process was eventized, Zhao Bandi invited Chinese and foreign friends who had intersected to participate, Uri Sikh was also among them, he specially flew from Switzerland.
It was raining lightly that day, Zhao Bandi half-sunk a grand piano in the lake, a young girl player sat in the water to play, more than 100 Chinese and foreign guests on the shore drank and reveled, and everything that happened here was collected by Zhao Bandi standing in the water with a paintbrush on the canvas. Sigg, who was present throughout the whole process, commented that Zhao Bandi's works through this art form were highly skilled, "excellent expression of a kind of confusion - the lack of security in the high school". Today, this "China Party" is in the collection and hanging in the master bedroom of his private castle.
Hick read Zhao Bandi.
"Actually, before Hick made the decision to invite me [to create a party piece], I knew he had the numbers in mind. We've had a lot of discussions, from concept to detail, and he's a thoughtful man." After thinking about it, Zhao Bandi had the idea of "leading a donkey to perform ballet".
Works :Donkey Ballet
The connotation does not explain, I hope to return to China to "copy"
On the evening of June 14, Local time in Switzerland, Zhao Bandi's performance art titled "Donkey Ballet" was unveiled in Sulsi, Switzerland.
At the climax of the dinner, Hickron announced that this time he had invited an artist from China to perform a work on the spot, which was also the first time that the work had been presented. As soon as the words fell, Zhao Bandi led a donkey from outside the ancient castle, came face to face with the guests through the arched gate, faced with surprised eyes and cheers, he did not do any greetings, went straight to the stage that had been arranged long ago, tied the donkey to the wooden stake in the center of the stage, and leaned down to roll away the green carpet that had just been stepped on. Immediately the music sounded, Zhao Bandi hid behind the guests, and the ballet dancers took the stage with the melody and danced around the donkey.
Surrounded by a lake behind the stage, and at 6 p.m. is the most pleasant moment of swiss sunshine, every guest became a participant in this immersive performance.
Eight minutes later, the show was over, and only the donkeys were left in the center of the stage eating their own food, weeds. The guests also gave applause as they returned to their seats from the crowd and continued to stagger.
Afterwards, when many people asked why it was "Donkey Ballet" instead of "Horse Ballet" and "Dog Ballet", Zhao Bandi laughed and said nothing, "The only thing I can tell you is that this is a male donkey."
Although the animal performance is full of uncontrollable, Zhao Bandi said that at the right time, he is willing to return to China and choose a representative city to perform this proposition again, after all, in China, such expressions will be more interesting, more meaningful and challenging.
Behavior conversation
Zhao Bandi
Activate yourself first, then activate others
Beijing News: You lead a donkey to the scene, is this a performance art?
Zhao Bandi: The boundaries between performance art and life are difficult to define. What I care about is what kind of imagination I can bring to an upper class party, and a party with imagination is a super party.
Beijing News: Why choose a donkey, what is the specific point? Everyone knows that your most famous symbol is the use of pandas.
Zhao Bandi: Even when I used pandas, pandas never played a single role in my art, and my panda art activated something, like chemical reactions. I myself could not have imagined that donkeys should have such an effect.
Beijing News: But pandas are national treasures, and the identity of donkeys is much lower...
Zhao Bandi: So compared to pandas, I have more compassion for donkeys.
Beijing News: So let donkeys and ballet dance together at the party, is this a crossover?
Zhao Bandi: Today, the perception of beauty is limited to beauty with a decorative sense, this decorative nature is often named after words such as "cool", and the excellence and layered and meaningful beauty have been sleeping, and I have an impulse to activate. Donkey Ballet was made first to activate myself, and secondly to others.
Beijing News: What do you mean?
Zhao Bandi: We rely too much on words to express and explain, and I hope that my works are difficult to describe.
Beijing News: There are also many questions at the scene, and you seem to emphasize that this is a male donkey.
Zhao Bandi: This is just something I can absolutely be sure of.
Beijing News: This time "Donkey Ballet" appeared on Uri Sikh's private island, why is he so supportive of your art?
Zhao Bandi: Like some of the stories of artists and patrons in art history, Mr. Hick has supported some artists in his own way. I'm just one of them. One of his judgments about my art is this: There are very few artists in the world who still have the ability to combine beauty and concept, and Zhao Bandi is one of them. He often said to me, half-jokingly, that you should be responsible for the Renaissance in China.
Beijing News reporter Li Shicong reported in Switzerland
This edition of the picture was taken by a reporter from the Beijing News