The Paper's reporter Lu Linhan intern Wang Li
From oil paintings from the "classical period" to cross-border art in the "panda era", artist Zhao Bandi has attracted attention and controversy in various art forms.
Today, Zhao Bandi has set his sights on "parties" and "parties" activities. The exhibition "Zhao Bandi's Little Nest", which is on display at the Hao Art Museum in Shanghai these days, said in an interview with the "Surging News Art Review" (www.thepaper.cn) that his paintings are limited to show people their privacy, while "parties" are "completely open to sharing with others." "Someone asks me what painting is, and I say that painting is my privacy; on the other hand, I also have an open mind and am willing to interact with people, so I am willing to design all the fields that can be open. This exhibition is all about creating another dimension, letting the hard reality melt in my little nest. ”
The opening scene of the exhibition "Zhao Bandi's Little Nest" at hao art museum
The exhibition "Zhao Bandi's Little Nest" at the Hao Art Museum in Shanghai is the third exhibition project launched by Hao Art Museum in the ongoing project "Me and Beuys", which invites an artist to dialogue with the collection of Boyce works in the form of works every 4 months, and exhibits them in the form of "exhibition within exhibition" in the Boyce exhibition area. Curator Du Xiyun told the surging news reporter that the project is to hope that artists "intervene in society", present the relationship between contemporary art and the social environment, and re-activate each other's cultural energy in seeking common ground while reserving differences.
Born in Beijing in 1966, Zhao Bandi graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and now lives and works in Beijing, where his creations involve behavior, painting, video, fashion, film, and social intervention. In the early years, Zhao Bandi engaged in painting creation, and attracted attention in the style of oil painting in the "classical period". In 2005, his work "One Man's Olympic Games" landed in Bern, Switzerland, and simulated an upcoming Beijing Olympic Games in Bern three years later with a performance art. Zhao Bandi also used the panda as his own artistic symbol to create, which caused controversy in the "cross-border art" scene after scene. For example, in 2007, "Zhao Bandi Panda Fashion Show" was staged on the catwalk of China International Fashion Week, and he used panda symbols to interpret representative characters in Chinese society, including 32 sets of fashions such as migrant workers and star chasers, which caused a lot of controversy. In recent years, the latest form of Zhao Bandi's art, the party, has been continuous.
Zhao Bandi's party at the Guggenheim Museum in New York
From the Guggenheim Museum in New York to the Ullens Art Center in Beijing, from the town of Shanquan on the outskirts of Chengdu to Basel in Switzerland, people from all walks of life share time, talk, share, and get pleasure or comfort in the "party" he created.
With the spread of the epidemic, Zhao Bandi also experienced loneliness, isolation, and helpless drifting, and in the spring and summer of 2020, because of the epidemic, he was blocked overseas for half a year, and then experienced isolation after returning to China. In response, he built his own nest in the exhibition hall, believing that art is a way of sympathy and relief.
Zhao Bandi was in front of the small nest he had built
The work "Zhao Bandi's Little Nest" is composed of bamboo shacks, mask hammocks, bamboo scattered around and bamboo leaves. Inside this small nest, the paintings he completed during the epidemic are displayed. At the same time, Zhao Bandi held a party in the exhibition hall to be visited by friends, and its presence allowed people to gather and share each other's limited time. Zhao Bandi said, "This exhibition is a combination of two 'I', on the one hand, my paintings, which belong to the part that is closer to my privacy; on the other hand, it is the party, or party, that I have been keen on for the past two years, which is completely open.' The paintings in the nest are like my heartbeat, and the parties and parties are countless times! On the bamboo leaf lawn, in the mask hammock ... You can immediately recognize that this is a work of the NEW CROWN era; but on the other hand, I have no intention of exaggerating the impact of the epidemic on my art, I know that it is just one of the many pains facing humanity, and in this sense, this leaf ark is not only built for today. ”
In an interview with The Paper, Zhao Bandi wore a white casual jacket and spoke frankly about his personal artistic status. In his opinion, today's self is no longer interested in arguing with the outside world because of different understandings of works as in the past.
Zhao Bandi
Dialogue | Zhao Bandi
The Paper: You studied oil painting in your early years, and some paintings are also very expensive in the art market. After that, you started some crossover, performance art, and once told the media that "the better you paint, the more fragile you are inside". In your opinion, what led to this transformation in your artistic creation?
Zhao Bandi: None of these things were deliberately designed by me. Today, I repeat why I made this choice. I think some examples in the world now have given me some answers, like the Western artist Richter. When I was in school, I couldn't understand how an artist could paint abstract and figurative paintings at the same time, or even do anything, and an artist could hold up an art museum. I felt that there were already such "slash" contemporary artists, but now I am more "slashed", he is painting to painting, I am painting and "happening".
"Happening", called an improvisational art performance in Chinese, and some people say it should be called "performance", but I think "happening" is more accurate, has the meaning of accidental art, and "Performance" will make people think that it is a performance, but I never felt that I was performing. What I do is "party", somewhere between realism and performance. Aren't we all sitting together now between real life and acting? I don't know how to define my work, but this is the most authentic state. When it is time to test every artist, what kind of combined artist can do it, the key is what can be presented to the world, or to explore what they really are? I'm talking about "Who am I?" "I feel like I'm an artist made up of 'pieces,' which fits perfectly with my understanding of the world today. The world is fragmented, there is no eternal truth, and the only truth I can find is fleeting fragments.
Someone asked me what painting was, and I said that painting is my privacy, and the work I painted was to open up my privacy to a limited extent, and everyone could figure out my privacy. On the other hand, I also have an open mind and am willing to interact with people, so I am willing to design all the fields that may be open. I only understand this to this day about my art, both in the paintings of classical sensibilities and in another part of the open mind.
Others asked, what influence did the "1985 New Wave" have on me, and what influence did the "Star Painting School" have on me? Including the so-called "new generation", I used to think that it was a reputation to be included in a similar group, but for me today, I don't need it, because I haven't been affected too much, and I am misplaced with these events. The important thing is to be myself.
Zhao Bandi in the painting creation
The Paper: What "fragments" inspired you to create?
Zhao Bandi: Fragments have a characteristic, it is easy to forget. So cherish the fragments, and if those fragments can still be remembered, then it is really important.
I think painting is limited to privacy. My "party" work is completely open and not designed intentionally, it can be cheerful and can be melancholy. Some people call me the "king of the party," and I don't dare be. Of course, as a work, your "party" should be different from other people's, and there is gold in the time it passes. I think my "party" has gold content. Gold content is not only joy, but also sadness.
The Paper: What is the most memorable time?
Zhao Bandi: From the opening to the present, I have experienced an important thing: the visit of a sad mother. On December 9th, we organized a decent book club where visitors could sign up online. One of the ladies added my WeChat message the day after the book club and confided in me.
"My son took me to an art museum once, he studied design, and on a weekend, my son said to take me to visit the art museum he liked, that day was really beautiful, and I remember the scenery along the way very clearly..."
Afraid of missing important information, I stopped packing my clothes and suitcase, sat down by the bedside, and listened carefully to her story.
"At yesterday's book club, I didn't talk much, and when everyone took a group photo, you probably didn't notice that I left early. But I actually felt very deeply, sitting in the work you built, I called it a 'field', suddenly let me have the idea of wanting to let go, I suppressed my heart for too long..."
I almost held my breath.
"My son is gone... He was an excellent kid, in the fourth grade of college, in school the teacher liked him, the classmate relationship was good, he had a girlfriend, and he loved him very much. To this day, I don't understand, why did my son choose to leave this world? He didn't leave me a word. ”
Next, I almost choked up to finish the conversation with her.
"What can I do?"
"I want to tell you everything in my heart, so I can be relieved..."
"In my little nest?"
"Okay."
"Don't mind being known to more people?"
"If you can remind other young people not to go the way of their sons, it is also a comfort, but I don't necessarily have this ability, it can only be regarded as an attempt." 」
"Think again?"
"I think so."
So on January 3, 2021, we talked in the nest and recorded the whole conversation. We talked for 2 hours and she said a lot, she said that she should live well for her son in another world, because she lives well, and his son will be good in another world. At the same time, she also commented on my work, thinking that the field of this nest was particularly interesting, making her especially want to talk. Perhaps at this time, art somehow replaced the church and felt like a priest.
"A sad mother visits Zhao Bandi's nest," scene photo, 2021
We gave the recorded video to the mother for confirmation and finally posted it online. Later, because her son's classmates thought that the words in the video violated their privacy, we pulled the video down. I also talked to her son's classmates, and they felt that everyone should talk more rather than avoid the incident, so that everyone could be relieved.
I think reality is cold, even cruel. If art can have a little bit of solace and healing, obviously art has this part, then it is effective to some extent. This time, I saw that the "little nest" was melting these cold ones, making the mother's heart soften a little. If you say so, this work is passing.
The Paper: The current work is a "party" in an art space, giving people an atmosphere where they can chat and discuss topics. What other stories from these events are particularly meaningful and memorable?
Zhao Bandi: Another incident was the student party on January 14. Some female college students in Shanghai came to visit, one of them from the Shanghai Theater Academy, her name is Xuan Xuan, and I proposed an idea, she herself is 30+ single, she and the 30+ female friends around her are concerned about the topic of "surrogacy" and want to have a discussion in my "nest". I think this social topic is very interesting. This is not to follow the hot spot, of course, this hot spot does ignite everyone's emotions, so that these 30+ women have something to say.
On January 14, female college students were in "Zhao Bandi's Little Nest"
With the museum's approval, we had a discussion inside the venue on January 31. If the previous example is to discuss the problem of "death", then this one is to discuss "life", which is not easy. Curator Du Xiyun was also at the scene, he lamented that men may stumble out in the process of growing up, and they cannot understand what women encounter in the process of growing up, and they can only feel the pain of women after chatting with them. I think it's a serious "women's conference" initiated and organized by women. The curators and I listened from the periphery and heard their various points of view.
We decided to find consensus in the form of a resolution from everyone's various points of view, and write it down, so that this "consensus" can be embedded in the space of the art museum in the future. In the end, everyone raised their hands to vote, and there were three points of consensus together. I feel like this time is like gold. The topic is about "birth", and having children is a promising topic, but it is still not easy to talk about.
The Paper: When holding "parties" at different national art galleries, will the topics designed and the participation of the audience be different?
Zhao Bandi: They are all in a similar state of openness. It's not just deep topics that make a work profound. The real world, showing a state of melting in my creation, is deep enough. So from a planning point of view, I also try to make the heavy things light.
Zhao Bandi's party at the Ullens Center for the Arts
The Paper: So the topic of "life and death" just mentioned is also an unexpected gain.
Zhao Bandi: Right. This is also in line with the curatorial line of thought – a dialogue with Boyce. Boyce is open, and we are open this time. The two events were unexpected, but also within our expectations, we expected such contingencies.
The Paper: Is this kind of discussion a help for you personally, a way to expand the relationship between the individual and the audience and art?
Zhao Bandi: These activities in the exhibition hall are not only related to the relationship you said, it is our life, our life. Everyone has spent some time together, which is extremely precious, my own growth, but also the growth of my art. Because I didn't separate myself from my personal art. I don't think the two can be separated.
The Paper: When did the idea of presenting this exhibition at the Hao Art Museum come about?
Zhao Bandi: When the curator asked me about this project, I had the idea of a straw hut and a mask hammock, and drew it on paper with a pencil. The original sketch is the one on the exhibition poster.
People always say that I've been doing "party" series in recent years, and now that I think about it, the performance art I've done in the past has a lot of similarities to the current "party" series. One of my biggest parties was done in Bern, Switzerland, in 2005. I did an "Olympic Games", I dressed the mayor of Bern in a Zhongshan suit, let him play the role of mayor of Beijing, and "announced" the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games in the sports hall in Bern. The project is called Can't Wait: One Man's Olympics, and the Beijing Olympics don't open until three years after that. So to trace my "party", it should start here, and the most open part of my art comes from this vein.
Zhao Bandi, "Can't Wait: One Man's Olympics"
The Paper: Some of your performance artworks featuring pandas in the past have caused controversy, and you have personally been criticized. Now, your work has undergone some transformation compared to then, and it seems that it is more acceptable now. In this regard, how do you feel that the personal creative state has changed?
Zhao Bandi: Among the works of panda symbols, the more controversial one is "Panda Fashion Show". I turned Chinese society into a fashion show to show. I designed 32 characters such as cleaners, corrupt officials, three escort ladies, etc., and expressed their identities in different costumes. This "party" made many people uncomfortable, and there were panda keepers in Chengdu accusing me. I think maybe the party is too big, the scope of the spread is too large, and everyone's understanding is unbearable. At that time, I didn't want to be in the public spotlight, I didn't want to take on such responsibilities, and I didn't want to affect the public because of me. At that time, I was very excited, and I had to argue with people, and I was very tired.
Zhao Bandi "Panda Fashion Show"
Now, I'm planning a limited kind of "party", and I am more clear about myself, and I am a representative of a niche. If I can reach a small number of people, that's enough.
The Paper: But in a niche state, the topics of concern should still be inclusive and broad.
Zhao Bandi: Yes, you can't close yourself off, so I pay a lot of attention to the sharing process in the current activities, including open topics.
The Paper: Do artists need to use the broad social impact of their works to guide the audience?
Zhao Bandi: I'm not interested in this. It's not quality for me, and I don't emphasize mass influence.
The Paper: While doing the party, do you still maintain the state of painting?
Zhao Bandi: Painting is my privacy, or painting, as an open part is the sharing of "party". I hope that two threads like this make themselves a new model.
Sketch of the work "Zhao Bandi's Little Nest"
Surging News: In the small nest made of bamboo, is your latest small oil painting, which seems to be a large hammock in the shape of a mask floating in the bushes, and a blue shell mask hanging outside, can you say anything?
Zhao Bandi: The name of this painting is "Private", or slowly understand it, I should not talk more. The mask outside is a weapon for everyone to block the virus, and the mask hammock is a weapon to soothe the soul and belong to everyone.
The painting "Private" placed in the "Zhao Bandi's Little Nest"
The Paper: Summarize this exhibition in one sentence.
Zhao Bandi: I am creating another dimension, and the hard and cold reality melts in my little nest.
The Paper: There are already many people in the art world who have visited your nest, and even many people have gone on the "mask hammock" you invented.
Zhao Bandi: I hope to invite Dr. Zhang Wenhong, curious about how he feels in a work of art that cares about the post-epidemic era, because I think he is an expert full of humanity, in a way, similar to the artist's human care, I even want to invite him to lie down in a huge shell mask hammock, he will comfortably talk about people's best mentality in the face of the epidemic, it must be interesting.
Editor-in-Charge: Ruoxi Chen
Proofreader: Yijia Xu