Canadian writer Barry Joule, a close friend of artist Francis Bacon, accused Tate of failing to present a batch of bacon works he had donated earlier in an appropriate exhibition, so much so that he canceled plans to further donate hundreds of works to Tate in favor of institutions in France. British artist Anish Kapoor has a double-pavilion retrospective solo exhibition in Venice presenting his sculptures using "The World's Blackest Black".
Xu Tianjin, archaeologist, professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Archaeology and Archaeology of Peking University, recently officially became the president of the Liangzhu Museum and the Liangzhu Research Institute, and comprehensively presided over the academic construction and cultural relics protection of the museum.
The "Art Figures of the Week" section of The Paper News Art Review provides you with a report on the phenomena and dynamics of important art figures this week.
British | Barry Joule
Tate was denounced for not exhibiting some of Francis Bacon's works, instead donating them to France
Barry Joule and Francis Bacon (right)
Recently, the Canadian writer Barry Joule, a close friend of the artist Francis Bacon, accused Tate of failing to present a batch of bacon works he donated earlier in a proper exhibition, so much so that he canceled plans to donate hundreds of works to Tate in favor of institutions in France.
The donation program originally consisted of 150 drawings, 10 paintings, hundreds of photographs and more than 12 hours of audio recordings, in which the artist spoke to Joule about topics ranging from art to sex.
Today, Joule prefers to see the collection go to the French National Archives at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, where coordination has begun. Joule said, "Tate and the UK will miss part of the legacy of one of the most important painters in the history of art in the country." I will never refuse to work with Tate. ”
Francis Bacon at the Tate Gallery, 1985
In 2004, Joule donated about 1,200 sketches, photographs and bacon's studio archives to Tate, which at the time was described as one of the most generous donations to the museum, estimated at around £20 million. The statement at the time read, "Tate will study, photograph and catalog the collection over the next three years, after which it will be exhibited and loaned." ”
Joule said that because Tate failed to treat the collection properly with a proper exhibition, he had to resort to legal action. Joule lived near Bacon's London studio, and the friendship between the two began in 1978 and lasted until the artist's death in 1992.
A Tate spokesperson declined to comment on the museum's handling of the 2004 donations. Commenting on Joule's cancellation of future donations, she said, "What we can confirm is that we have received the letter and will respond." (Text/Qian Xue'er)
Venetian | artist Anish Kapoor
Sculptures made of "the blackest black in the world" have a controversial monopoly on materials
Anish Kapoor
Recently, British artist Anish Kapoor held a double retrospective solo exhibition at the Gallerie dell'Accademia and Palazzo Manfrin, presenting his sculptures using "the world's blackest black".
The material, called vantablack, is produced by British company Surrey NanoSystems, and it's no surprise that Kapoor is attracted to the material. Back in the 1990s, from "black holes on the floor" to deep reds that could be stepped in, Kapoor experimented with the possibility of deep, pure colors. Carbon nanotube blackbody is a coating that uses a large number of tiny carbon tubes to absorb almost all the light that shines on it, so it is difficult to discern its shape, and his characteristics are tailored to Kapoor's ideas.
The problem arises when Kapoor gains the exclusive right to use this paint in his artwork. Other artists denounced the monopoly — most notably Stuart Semple, who hit back with a series of paintings, including "the most pink pink": anyone can buy it if you're not Anish Kapoor.
Works made by Anish Kapoor using "carbon nanotube blackbody"
Kapoor was the first British artist to hold a solo exhibition at the Gallery of the Accademia de Venice, the oldest collection of paintings by the Old Masters in Venice. The exhibition will also take place at the Manfleuren Palace near venice train station. Last year, the Anish Kapoor Foundation began a renovation of the dilapidated 18th-century mansion, which will eventually become the foundation's headquarters, with exhibition grounds, artists' studios and warehouses for some of Kapoor's most important works. Many of its paintings are now in the Academy's collection.
Born in Mumbai in 1954, Anish Kapoor settled in the UK in 1972 and attended Hornby Art School and Chelsea School of Art. In 1990, Kappl represented the United Kingdom at the 44th Venice Biennale and became the winner of the Turner Prize the following year. (Text/Qian Xue'er)
Xu Tianjin, an archaeologist at Zhejiang | and a professor at the School of Archaeology and Archaeology at Peking University
He was officially appointed as the president of the Liangzhu Museum
Xu Tianjin
Recently, Xu Tianjin, archaeologist, professor of the School of Archaeology and Archaeology of Peking University, and doctoral supervisor, has officially served as the dean of the Liangzhu Museum and the Liangzhu Research Institute today, and has comprehensively presided over the academic construction and cultural relics protection of the museum.
Xu Tianjin is the earliest organizer and promoter of public archaeology in China, graduated from the Department of History of Northwest University in 1982, majoring in archaeology, and later studied under Professor Zou Heng, a famous archaeologist of Peking University, to study for a master's degree in Shangzhou archaeology, graduating in 1985. He is currently the dean of Liangzhu Museum, the dean of Liangzhu Research Institute, a professor and doctoral supervisor of Peking University School of Archaeology and Literature, and the vice chairman of the Board of Directors of Shanxi Museum. He is mainly engaged in the teaching and scientific research of field archaeology and Shangzhou archaeology.
Since graduating in 1982, Professor Xu Tianjin has participated in and presided over the archaeological excavation and research work of important sites such as the Beicun Ruins in YaoXian County, Shaanxi, the Wangjiahe Cemetery in Tongchuan, the Ruins of Suide Xuejiaqu, the Tianma-Qucun Ruins in Shanxi, the Cemetery of the Marquis of Northern Zhao, the Ruins of the Western Zhou YanGuo in Fangshan Liulihe in Beijing, and the Zhouyuan Ruins in Shaanxi; discovered the Oracle bones of the Western Zhou Dynasty of the Zhou Gong Temple and presided over the excavation of the sites of the Zhou Gong Temple for a long time; successively presided over the compilation of monographs such as "Archaeological Exploration", "History of the Jijin Cast State", "Bowfish National Jade" and other monographs, and served as "Tianma-Qucun" The main author of the large-scale field archaeological excavation report, participated in and undertook the research of the major research projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology "Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project", "Chinese Civilization Exploration Project" and the key research topics of humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education.
On July 6, 2019, the ruins of Liangzhu Ancient City in China were inscribed on the World Heritage List at the World Heritage Conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan, becoming a sacred place that empirically proves the history of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years. So far, the total number of World Heritage Sites in China has reached 55, ranking first in the world.
Liangzhu Museum
Liangzhu Museum, located in Meilizhou Park, Liangzhu Street, Yuhang District, Hangzhou, is an archaeological site museum that collects, researches, displays and publicizes Liangzhu culture, with a construction area of about 10,000 square meters, which broke ground in March 2005 and opened to the public in October 2008. In August 2017, according to the latest archaeological achievements of the Liangzhu site and the Liangzhu culture, the basic exhibition of the Liangzhu Museum was upgraded and reopened to the public in June 2018.
Liangzhu culture dates back about 5300-4300 years, and more than 600 precious cultural relics (groups) such as jade, stoneware, pottery and lacquered wood ware from the Liangzhu culture period are exhibited in the courtyard. The museum covers a total area of more than 40,000 square meters, with a construction area of 10,000 square meters, designed by British architect Dai Wei Chippfield, the building breaks through the shackles of figurative form, reflecting the harmonious integration of art and nature, history and modernity.
The regular exhibition area of the museum is more than 4,000 square meters, which is divided into 3 exhibition halls. At present, the theme of the regular exhibition is: Liangzhu Ruins is a sacred place that empirically proves the history of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years. Relying on the three exhibition halls of "Water Town Zeguo", "Civilization Sacred Land" and "Jade Soul National Spirit", the exhibition comprehensively, three-dimensionally and truly displays the archaeological achievements and heritage values of Liangzhu ruins and Liangzhu culture, and reflects the important position and unique contribution of Liangzhu civilization in the historical development process of "pluralism and integration" of Chinese civilization.
Xu Tianjin said: "I am an archaeologist who has dug up soil all my life; I am also a teaching craftsman who has taught books at Peking University for decades. In the future, we are willing to work together with our colleagues in the Liangzhu Museum to do a good job in all the work of the museum, live up to the 'golden signboard' of special significance of the Liangzhu site, and also invite friends from all walks of life to support and pay attention to the Liangzhu Museum as always. ”
For the future work plan, Xu Tianjin said, "Or to take Liangzhu as the core, this is the core of the core, can not be lost at all, but also strengthened, in addition to constantly introducing new things in, to have a relationship with Liangzhu to combine, do some new content." The time scale on which archaeologists look at things may be in the unit of a thousand years or five hundred years, and when the unit of a thousand years is used, everything is not a thing now, and the only thing to consider is that our time can leave a little worth leaving for the future, which is more important. ”
Zhang Zikang, director of the CAFA Art Museum in beijing |
Curator of the National Pavilion of China at the 59th Venice Biennale
Zhang Zikang, director of cafa academy art museum
From April 23 to November 27, 2022, the 59th Venice Biennale will be open to the public in the garden and armory exhibition areas of The Water City of Venice. The Venice Biennale 2022 is hosted by Roberto Cicutto, Cecilia Alemani as chief curator and president of the Venice Biennale.
Previously, according to the news released by the official website of the Venice Biennale: the curator of the 2022 Venice Biennale China National Pavilion is Zhang Zikang, the current director of the CAFA Art Museum, the assistant curator is Sun Dongdong, the theme of the exhibition is "Meta-Scape", and the participating members include artists Xu Lei, Wang Yuyang, Liu Jiayu and the AT group.
Talking about why the theme of the Chinese pavilion of the Biennale is called "Meta-Scape", Zhang Zikang said that the original inspiration for the theme of "Meta-Scape" came in part from a letter Written by Mr. Qian Xuesen to his disciple Wang Cheng in 1990, in which Mr. Qian translated "virtual reality" as "spiritual realm", which was quite subtle.
In October 1994, Mr. Qian mentioned again in a letter to Dai Ruwei, Wang Cheng, Qian Xuemin and others: "The 'Spirit Realm' technology is another technological revolution after the revolution in computer technology, which will trigger a series of changes that shock the whole world, and must be a major event in human history." At the same time, "spiritual realm" is also a title that is completely in line with the concept of traditional Chinese culture, because the traditional Chinese art and cultural aesthetics have always paid attention to artistic conception and spirituality, and the interpretation of artistic conception from ancient times to the present is also extremely rich.
Renderings of the Chinese Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale
The "Yuan" in the "Yuanjing" has both the original and the beginning meanings, and also represents an infinite concept, just as artistic creation has infinite possibilities, and it is also easy for people to think of the current hot "metaverse" concept. So we think that since the works in this exhibition are mostly related to digital and virtual technology, then "Yuanjing" will be a more suitable theme.
It is reported that the artists selected by the 2022 Venice Biennale China National Pavilion include the ages of the post-60s, post-70s and post-90s, and the creative media used by the participating artists are also different, including artists Xu Lei, Wang Yuyang, Liu Jiayu and the AT group (composed of the Art and Technology Research Institute of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Brain and Intelligence Laboratory of Tsinghua University).