Guggenheim - more artists

DING YI
• Repetitive
• focused.
• Extra
• Tons of effort
• Exhausting
• Monotonous
• Patterned
• Determination
• Perseverance
• Machine like
• Aesthetically
pleasing
• Boring
• Difficult to stay
repetitive and stay
consistent
• The simplest thing
can become art.

DING YI
Ding Yi has been making abstract
paintings using crosses and grids since
the late 1980s. The cross, whether a + or
an x with thematic variation, is a motif
that the artist has declared a formal mark
without meaning, in order to emphasize
his rationalist approach to painting. The
context of Ding’s work has always been
the incredibly fast-paced development of
the industrial urban environment in post-
socialist China, and the work, whether
predominantly black, painted on tartan,
or elaborated in intense fluorescent
colors, all bear the title Appearance of
Crosses with a date. Ding’s practice
encompasses painting, sculpture, spatial
installation and architecture.

What does “abstract” actually mean?
Jean-Michel Basquiat Wasily Kandinsky Julie Mehretu Ding Yi
Nila: It takes time to find a meaning, it’s not direct.
Jen: Weird work! It looks like a mess with weird shapes and lines
Levy: General wierdness in art.
Benz: Hey there Hazel, You got some abstract colored hair.
Delani: The graffiti on the table is very abstract. Because it’s all a mess.
Azalea: Ding Yi’s work is not messy, it’s detailed and complex and geometric.
.
.

It’s not contemporary?
It’s art where you’re like “that’s a painting of THIS.” You could debate what it is…we
don’t know exactly what it is.
It’s random, without a pattern
But wait….Ding Yi’s art IS a pattern.
There’s paintings with shapes….and that’s abstract.
It’s when something doesn’t really add up.
Abnormality x RANDOMNESS????

Art that does not attempt to represent reality or realistic things, but
instead seeks to only show shapes, forms, colors, and textures. You
may think you see an image of something, but the artist intends for
you to only see color and shapes.
Abstract art is different from art that uses abstraction, which may
contain some realistic elements alongside abstract elements.

ABSTRACTION + MINIMALISM = DING YI?
Jackson Pollock Lee Krasner
Dan Flavin Agnes Martin

DING YI
DING YI
Appearance of
Crosses 1991–3
Mixed media on
basswood
(1991)
What do you think?
Abstract?
Minimal?
Or something else entirely?

DING YI
Inspired by the Zen practice of
calligraphy, painter Ding Yi is a pioneer of
abstraction in China, completely
rejecting narrative and representation
in his practice. He creates colorful,
abstract geometric works through a
precise process: each painting comprises
countless individually painted crosses (+)
and X’s.
Artists, Appearance of Crosses 2016-6,
Mixed media on basswood
2016

DING YI – What does this artist
seem like as a person?
https://www.timothytaylor.com/news/#ding-yi-
whats-left-to-appear
• Lala: He seems calm. He takes every detail into
consideration. Every mark is made by hand, carved out
or painted.
• Ingrid: SO PATIENT. I would not be able to do that. He’s
so precise with it.
• Danisa: I don’t wanna be friends with Ding Yi.His work
puts me to sleep. It’s very boring.
• DESTINY: He probably has a messy room or house. His
art is so neat and precise that all his energy at home is
sloppy and chill.
• Michael: He seems like someone who just ….cannot be
put into words.
• Magda: DEDICATED. His work must take so long! Does
he not do anything else in his life? (Prince: you
wouldn’t expect this to be someone’s lifestyle.)

DING YI – What does this artist
seem like as a person?
https://www.timothytaylor.com/news/#ding-yi-
whats-left-to-appear
• Azalea: He’s articulate.
• Herbert: He’s a perfectionist, very accurate with his
work. It’s precise. And I like his work! If I was an artist,
this is the kind of art I would make. The patterning is
FIRE. They’re so accurate, and he makes it all himself.
It’s all done by hand, and that’s special.
• Jen: He likes to try out new things(woodcut technique),
not sticking to just one thing (painting)
• Adiba: He uses simple but interesting designs as his go-
to. It looks really simple but has a meaning behind it—
to connect to the viewer’s inner self.
• Kozak: what is the meaning behind it??
• Christian: it’s repetitive. It could get boring, but he sees
pleasure in it. His work plays tricks on the viewer’s
eyes. It may be boring to make, but the outcome is
challenging.

DING YIIn all of Ding Yi’s art, the viewer
may see things that look
recognizable, with all his +’s and X’s
we are free to enjoy seeing and
sensing things in that we know
aren't actually there, nor were
even intended to be conveyed by
the artist. This more modest
measure of uniqueness is
something Ding clearly values.
When asked what advice he has for
rising artists, he says, “Every artist
should be independent and
creative in mind, thinking in her/his
own way. We should not be
influenced by elder artists.”
Appearance of Crosses 2001-12
Acrylic on Tartan
2001

• Katelyn: He surprises me. Most artists have older people
that have influenced their aesthetic. But he’s very
independent to focus on his own work
• Sakin: His art bores me, I don’t see the purpose behind it
besides just seeing colors and lines.
• Kozak: But….you just STATED the purpose....
• Michael: It’s just colors and lines, but I appreciate the
effort.
• Dest: The work doesn’t make me feel anything….BUT
THE COLORS ARE PRITTY 
• Marco: It’s like Sol Lewitt, all art can be just color and
lines if you choose to break it down that way.
• Ab: His work is just patterns. It doesn’t look like most art.
• Dan: To Marco: The difference between everything else
and this, Ding only wants us to see color and lines. The
intention is everything.
• Ingrid: Does all art have a HUGE PHILOSPHY BEHIND IT?

• Kendell: A lot of people will look to older folks to find a
path but Maybe we need to find our own path, find who
you are.
• Nila: Maybe the fact that if you see someone who has
experience (success) you shouldn’t sell yourself short.
• Tenz: BE YOURSELF. BUT I disagree, older people have
experience and they can help you not make the same
mistakes they did.
• Jen: Don’t expect to be exactly like your elders.
• Benz: The Michelangelo exhibit at the MET, you can see
how his work influenced other artists.
• Christian: You can revolutionize art with your own
ideas….rather than copy other older styles.
• Kendell: Just come up with things that are new and
fresh.
• GYA: If you keep copying older stuff nothing
revolutionary occurs.
• Delani: But you can look up to people as a guide. That’s

Sun Yuan &
Peng Yu
I am Here
2006
Fiberglass、 Silica Gel、 Simulation of
Sculpture

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
I am Here
2006
Fiberglass、 Silica Gel、 Simulation of
Sculpture

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Old Persons Home

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Old Persons Home
2007
Electric Wheelchair、 Fiberglass、
Silica Gel、Simulation of Sculpture
…
http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu's work Old People's Home
consists of 13 hyper-realistic, life-sized human replicas
of army generals, religious and political leaders of
various nationalities, wearing very formal garb, all
sitting in electro-motion wheelchairs. This is a large-
scale site-specific installation. The hyper-realistic
human replicas in the wheelchairs either stare at
something or simply nod their heads or look like they
may be taking a nap.

Old Persons Home
2007
Electric Wheelchair、 Fiberglass、
Silica Gel、Simulation of Sculpture
…
The wheelchairs automatically change directions when
they collide with each other or with the wall. They are
in constant motion, ceaselessly colliding, and their
faces are emotionless, thus creating a kind of
indifferent and eccentric atmosphere. They do not talk
to each other, so the scene resembles a collective hush,
created by people from various cultural, social and
racial backgrounds. The scene represents a group of
people who have no direct relationship…
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Live and work in Beijing.
Can’t Help Myself
2016

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Can’t Help Myself
2016
medium:
Kuka industrial robot,
stainless steel and
rubber, cellulose ether
in colored water,
lighting grid with
Cognex visual-
recognition sensors, and
polycarbonate wall with
aluminum frame

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu Can’t Help Myself
2016
medium:
Kuka industrial robot,
stainless steel and
rubber, cellulose ether
in colored water,
lighting grid with
Cognex visual-
recognition sensors, and
polycarbonate wall with
aluminum frame

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu Can’t Help Myself
2016

Sun Yuan &
Peng Yu
Can’t Help Myself
2016
Can’t Help Myself employs an industrial robot, visual
recognition sensors, and software systems to examine our
increasingly automated global reality, one in which territories
are mechanically controlled and machine-human relationship is
rapidly changing.
Placed behind clear acrylic walls, the robot performs one specific
action: it contains a viscous, deep-red liquid within a
predetermined area.
When the visual-recognition sensors detect that the fluid has
strayed too far, the arm frenetically shovels it back into place,
leaving smudges on the ground and splashes on the surrounding
walls.

Sun Yuan &
Peng Yu
Can’t Help Myself
2016
Sun Yuan (1972) and Peng Yu (1974) are known for using
dark humor to address contentious topics, and their robot’s
repetitive and endless “dance” presents and absurd Sisyphean
view of contemporary issues surrounding migration and
sovereignty.
However, the bloodstain-like marks that accumulate around
the robot evoke the violence that results from surveilling and
guarding border zones. Such visceral associations call
attention to the consequences of authoritarianism and the
increasing use of technology to monitor our environment.

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu's works always start with a
paradox. Their early objects and installations are
made from real cadavers or human fat tissues. Yet,
even though playing on the speculative and the
spectacular, they focus on the investigation of the
paradox rather than merely exploiting the spectacular.
The tension between the bodies, organic tissues or
animals and their artistic manifestations
corresponds to the transition of subjects from the
plane of immanence (existing through everything)
onto the plane of transcendence (to go beyond the
physical limits).
Human Oil
2000

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Safety Island
2003
In one piece,
Safety Island, a live Asian tiger paces inside a
large steel cage, which is constructed
alongside an exhibition hall's four interior
walls, creating a corridor for the walking tiger
and serving as a virtual moat for the human
spectators.
Those who wish to enter or exit the gallery
must gather around the only two convertible
'drawbridges'. Depending on the tiger's
position, the cage's steel bars may be folded
sideways to create an arrow passageway,
allowing single-filed spectators to go through
it.

Safety Island
2003
In one piece,
Safety Island, a live Asian tiger paces inside a
large steel cage, which is constructed
alongside an exhibition hall's four interior
walls, creating a corridor for the walking tiger
and serving as a virtual moat for the human
spectators.
Those who wish to enter or exit the gallery
must gather around the only two convertible
'drawbridges'. Depending on the tiger's
position, the cage's steel bars may be folded
sideways to create an arrow passageway,
allowing single-filed spectators to go through
it.
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

…
Angel
2008
Silica Gel、Fiberglass、
Stainless Steel、Woven
Mesh
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Angel
2008
Silica Gel、Fiberglass、 Stainless Steel、Woven Mesh
The angel, an old woman in a white
gown and with featherless wings, is
lying face-down on the ground; maybe
sleeping, maybe dead, but certainly
immobile and frozen into an all too
realistic image.
The supernatural being, now nothing
more than an impotent creature, can
neither carry out any supreme will nor be
of any help to those believing in its
existence. The angel is true but
ineffective; dreams and hopes are sincere
yet vain.

What ideas & themes do we see emerging in the artwork of Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Tatiana: Death and the cycle of LIFE.
Kendell: Safety ISLAND and Angel show us the opposite of what the experience
usually is?
Marco: Safety Island, the tiger is the “viewer” and the audience the “food” And
with Angel, we the viewer are looking down on it rather than it down on us.
Jen: In a lot of their works, these things are TRAPPED inside other things. They’re
talking about LONLINESS.
Gya: They’re referencing existential risks in our lives. Like with Can’t Help Myself,
the robot is trying but not progressing in life.
Christian: Adding onto Gyaban: They want their viewers hearts to RACE. Like
with Safety Island, everything is focused on personal safety!!
.
.
.

What ideas & themes do we see emerging in the artwork of Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Danisa: Hyperrealism with silica and other materials.
Sarah: Death and sadness.
Adrianna: They’re exploring controversy
Sakin: It’s like they’re bringing LIFE to DEATH….taking inanimate objects and
making them do human things. They’re showing morals through this too.
Michael: They’re exploiting darkness and reality. Like in Can’t Help Myself, there’s
an inhumanity to it. Safety Island does this too.
.
.
.

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu
Dogs that Cannot Touch Each Other 2003
Photo from actual work.
The work is a seven-minute video
of a performance that was staged
at a museum in Beijing in 2003,
during which dogs were placed on
non-motorized treadmills facing
one another and prevented from
making contact. Contrary to some
reports, no fighting occurred in
the original performance and the
presentation at the Guggenheim
is in video format only; it is not a
live event.

TEXT
See the Video….Friday afterschool.
2:45pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=a-vxuesH75w

TEXT
“Reflecting the artistic and political
context of its time and place, Dogs
That Cannot Touch Each Other is an
intentionally challenging and
provocative artwork that seeks to
examine and critique systems of
power and control.
We recognize that the work may be
upsetting. The curators of the
exhibition hope that viewers will
consider why the artists produced it
and what they may be saying about
the social conditions of globalization
and the complex nature of the world
we share.”
-Guggenheim Statement

“Were the dogs being abused? The answer should be
no. These dogs are naturally pugnacious. We only
separated them and let them run on the treadmill,
which became a sport for the dogs. For those who
consider this animal abuse, I don’t understand what
they are protesting about. In fact, human nature and
animal nature are the same. China hosted the Olympic
Games in Beijing in 2008. What is the goal of this type
of sporting event? Actually, it is a conversion of actual
fighting into regulated competition. It’s agreeable to
most people because most people are supportive of
the convention of the Olympic Games.”
-Sun Yuan, Artist

The issues raised by this video and the controversy are
very intricate. They bear on how we see this time
period and how we view museums themselves—are
they just a place for entertainment that should only
present things that are lovely or morally agreeable, or
does a show like “Theater of the World” also
represent a historical examination of another culture
and another time? If so, how do you judge that
history? Even if aspects of it are deeply troubling or
repugnant, should they be presented if they were
important?
-Ben Davis, Art Critic, Writer for Artnet.com

Sun Yuan and Peng
Yu
• Dakota: The real power of art is when people are
made uncomfortable by it. It sparks conversation
and new ideas to develop. Whatever purpose the
artist has serves a purpose to ENGAGE PEOPLE.
• Marco: Most people don’t wanna feel
uncomfortable, but this sparks opinions.
• Yeva:If people only go to see art they find
appealing they’re not facing reality.
• Joseph; Psychologically speaking, people tend to
argue. (kozak: no they don’t!) This is what makes
art, art.
• Dakota: If you only focus on the good things and
ignore those that you disagree with you may not be
dealing with the whole world….just your little
bubble of....”LALALAND”
• Tenz: CONFUSED.
• Kellyah: Sometimes you’ve gotta take people out of
their comfort zone to teach them something.
.
.
.

Sun Yuan and Peng
Yu
TEXT
• Marco:The original act could be abuse….but the
video is not abuse.
• Mariama: It’s not animal abuse. Just some dogs,
and they’re not being harmed in any way.
• Michael: Agree. They’re just walking on
treadmills….
• Dest: People do worse things to dogs than this.
• Nita: They’re on a treadmill....it limits their
freedom. These dogs look SAD, they’re harnessed.
• Katelyn: People are misinformed about what this
piece is about….
• Abdul: We’ve learned about the type of art these
people make.
• Cass: My dog mostly just sits at home sleeping, but
these dogs are running on a treadmill for art...it’s
not as awful as people make it out to be.
• Ingrid: The problem is that the artists are profiting
from this. It’s kind of selfish artwork.
KATELYN: We usually don’t pay
attention to problems unless they’re
OUR problems, affecting us directly.
Sarah: This is selfish.
Mariama: Ai Weiwei would hate this,
because of the “suffer” quote.

“All relationships are political. Person to person,
person to nation, nation to nation, etc.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGV3Y28DtNw

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Final thoughts?
Questions?
• Dakota: They’re not artists with some divine purpose. They’re sticking
to the most basic elements of people and society to show people the true
essence of those things.
• Kellyah: Their artwork matches their personalities. It’s different from
the norm. They’re not ”abnormal” but their art is.
• Delani: I don’t think they’re rebellious. Every
• Azalea: Just one look at their work and you’ll say they’re
disgusting…but they’re making work that isn’t eye-appealing, but it’s
interesting. They make you question their intentions...it makes your
think.
• BENZ: the IDEAS and DISCUSSION makes it interesting...not the look
of it.
• Tenz: They seem rebelious. Sun Yuan drawing pictures of his dad eating
poop.
• Kendell: And Peng Yu, being a rebel from the start and how it got her
into art.

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Final thoughts?
Questions?
• Sakin: Rebellious, Peng Yu said as a kid she didn’t follow rules. And
Sun Yuan as a kid drew and image of his dad eating poop. They’re
REBELS! I wouldn’t do that!!
• Their art discusses political ideas that people don’t want to talk about.
• Artan: They seem down to earth. They look like they know what they’re
doing. When they talk, they don’t stutter or sound stupid. They’re
professional!
• Ingrid: They’re not afraid of the controversy they’re going to receive.
It’s part of their art and life that people need to face controversy.
• Promia: They seem like normal people to me. Normal people that want
to make their art. I was expecting gloomy or sullen people.
• Cass: Their artwork is really cynical. They literally criticize the basest of
human natures. Especially in the Dog piece….how humans are
programmed to abuse animals and there’s no real way to avoid that.
We’re on this earth and we need to kill animals for food.
• Michael: They’re RISK TAKERS! They talk about weak spots that
people don’t want to talk about….they expose these ideas.

Why do people try to escape reality?
How do they do it?
• Sarah: People try to build a world for themselves in their head.
• Marco: “Ignorance is bliss.” If we don’t know things we tend to be happier, it’s easy
to ignore the bad stuff.
• Michael: People keep their feelings private, inside themselves. They only wanna feel
the good things, but you can’t ignore negativity, it’s a part of life.
• Promia: You’ve gotta know sadness to experience happiness to the fullest.
• NITA: You gotta have rain….to have rain...bows.
• NAPS, VIDEO GAMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT,
• Fiona Apple: “I just want to feel everything.”

Sun Yuan and
Peng Yu
Dogs that Cannot Touch
Each Other
2003
TEXT
Sam Silber: This is animal cruelty
Tenzin Gaga: The yelps of the dogs make me think they’re getting
hurt in this artwork.
Dakota: After seeing this, I don’t think it’s animal abuse, but it’s
taking the animals and putting them in a situation that prompts their
natural reaction. Dogs run after each other all the time. It’s just what
happens. It’s obviously controlled though, which proves their point.
The harnesses LOOK abusive than it really is. The artists are just
instigating the dog’s natural reaction.
Marco M: Maybe this act could make them dogs behave more
aggressively? When they put the cardboard barrier up you saw the
dogs calm down in an instant.
Benz: I feel uneasy watching this, the barking of the dogs especially.
But it’s still not animal abuse.
Tenz: I think I’ve changed my mind. When the dog was on the
treadmill, you could hear snarling, like they wanted to attack. And this
piece is stopping them from achieving their goal. The headlines from
FB may have been kind of true….
MARCO: Disagree! No dog is dying in this, and they’re not fighitng...

Why do people try to escape reality?
How do they do it?
• Tatiana: Social Media. It’s like a FAKE REALITY. A perfect life of what we think we want
others to see…it’s a FALSE PERSPECTIVE ON REALITY.
• JEN: They can block out things they don’t like and only pay attention to the things they
enjoy. For me, I sit quietly away from other folks and have time to myself to think.
• Jaylin: They try to escape reality by denying it. For example, if a girl doesn’t like
someone, they may pretend that she DOES like him. They can’t handle the truth and
they do it to make themselves look outstanding.
• Jaylieen: Agree with Tatiana….Social Media is like a way to show things you have, to
show off material items even if you’re broke.
• Adiba: A lot of people my age use entertainment as a way to escape reality, to get away
from life. We try to make ourselves happy by ignoring the bad things and being
entertained by fun things.
• Delani: people escape reality by getting involved with other people’s business....by
starting to give opinions when they’re not “needed.”

Cao Fei Cao Fei (b. 1978, Guangzhou) is one of the most
innovative Chinese young artists to have
emerged on the international scene. Currently
living in Beijing, she mixes social commentary,
popular aesthetics, references to Surrealism, and
documentary conventions in her films and
installations. Her works reflect on the rapid and
chaotic changes that are occurring in Chinese
society today.
Cao's work often expresses the loneliness and
powerlessness of her generation and is oriented
around the search for utopia or a state of
happiness. In her 2004 video Cosplayers,
teenagers, dressed in costume, act out their
fantasies of manga and anime characters against
the industrial landscape of Guangzhou's rapidly
expanding suburbs.

Cao Fei
Cosplayers
2004
Color video
http://www.caofei.com/works.aspx?year=2004&wtid=3

Cao Fei
Cosplayers
2004
Color video
http://www.caofei.com/works.aspx?year=2004&wtid=3
• Azalea: There’s a lot that is confusing here. The sounds and visuals
don’t match up properly.
• Dak: I’s weird and childish. All this stuff is happening around everyday
life (highways, etc)
• Gya: The Cosplayers look old enough to be 18-20, but they’re acting
childish. And their parents don’t even care, they’re focused on their
own things (work, reading, etc).
• Jaylin: There’s a connection to Anime, with dramatic sound effects.
• Kendell: Agree with Jaylin, it’s like they’re reenacting their favor
Manga/Anima scenes. It’s like they’re in their own world.
• Benz: This is like when I’m playing video games and my mom just has
NO IDEA and walks by.
• Azalea: It’s like watching Netflix and reacting…my mom just....LOOKS.
Even if i’m screaming, she doesn’t even ask if i’m okay.
• Delani: What’s the point of this?
• Levy: It’s like she’s talking about youth and adults and how they
perceive the world. (kozak: worlds)

Cao Fei
China Tracy: i.Mirror part 1
2007
Color video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vcR7OkzHkI

Cao Fei
2007
Color video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vcR7OkzHkI
• Delani: What in the world…..?
• Mattia: The voice in the background was soft and
creeepy.
• Kellyah: The voice made it disturbing, it was ahrd
to watch for this reason.
• Tatiana: This seemed to be building towards a dark
climax. It was really lonely. The vibe of the
buildings and people were depressed. And the gray
clouds too.
• Marco: I would not want someone to walk in
while I was watching it. I would get cooked. Like
roasted. Like fried.
• Levy: it’s like this game called .....(something)

Cao Fei
2007
Color video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vcR7OkzHkI
• Promia: one minute of animation takes a LONG
time…but this is 10 minutes. So there’s obviously a
lot of dedication.
• Marco: This confused me, lots of different aspects,
the lyrics, the voice, etc.
• Aidan: Some capitalistic and communist themes.
• -Kozak: some religious themes too….
• Sakin: “What did I just watch.” kind of vibe. It was
a bit trippy with the lyrics, with an ASMR vibe.
• .
• .

Cao Fei
Cao's fascination with the Internet and
its power to disseminate hobbies and
create subcultures across the globe
has led her to incorporate technology
in her works. In her RMB City series
(2008–), participants in her videos
build castles under the pretense of a
game, realizing their impossible
dreams through virtual reality. The
eponymous location is a capture of
Cao's ongoing three-dimensional city
in the popular online game Second
Life, where Cao's avatar, China Tracy,
often acts as a guide, philosopher, or
tourist.

Cao Fei
RMB City: A Second Life City Planning by
China Tracy (Aka: Cao Fei)
2007
Color video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhfATPZA0g

Cao Fei
RMB City
2007-11
Open simulator
viewer

Cao Fei
RMB City
2007-11
Open simulator
viewer
• Kendell: I don’t know what it’s about, but it has a
different tone than the last one. It’s upbeat, and
playful.
• .Gya: This is HER utopia????
• Jaylieen: reminds me of when I play mario kart on
my DS bc music switches on and good stuff yeah
• Mattia: Wondering why she included the box with
towers
• Herbert: The fire
• Kendell: BOWSER’S CASTLE!!!!
• .
• .

Cao Fei
RMB City
2007-11
Open simulator
viewer
• Nita: This one has no lyrics, but the music, it’s a bit
repetitive…it’s like pixelated music
• Danisa: like 8-bit music.
• Mariama: There was a lot going on....there’s more
movement and more colorful.
• Sarah: The i:Mirror one was more about people,
but RMB City is more about architecture and
environment.
• Marco: Parts of it remind me China, like
Tiananmen Square, but instead of a pic of Mao,
there was a pic of a PANDA.
• Promia: There were also traditional Chinese homes
and architecture.

Cao Fei
“I would say my work is more commentary than criticism about Chinese
society. Most people live their lives between two places: home and work.
But as an individual, as a mother, I go out and buy groceries, I go to
meetings, I talk to taxi drivers, I go to the airport and see the world. I pick
up my kids from school and talk to the other parents. I learn a lot from all
the circles I live in. Even when I’m just walking down the sidewalk, there’s a
lot of information.”

Final thoughts on Cao Fei?
Sarah: She’s very observant. Paying attention to
everything going on around her.
Abdul: She maybe thinks that other people around her
aren’t that observant.
Danisa: We may be more observant than she assumes.
WHO IS THIS LADY TO SAY I’m NOT OBSERVANT?
Michael: She’s very interactive, and social….her work has
personality. And she’s not afraid to show her inner self on
the outside (or digital side)
Katelyn: She pays attention to minor details, you can see
this coming through her work.

Final thoughts on Cao Fei?
Benz: Interesting that it’s more COMMENTARY than
CRITICISM. She’s talking about how people life and work and
having time to interact with each other.
Azalea: AGREE. But she seems like she’s making herself
seem more complicated.
Levy: She seems super pretentious.-–like she thinks she’s
better than everyone. “ everyone goes to work but I collect
information all day.”.
Mattia: The fire could represent the industrial side of China….
Kendell: Her pieces are eye-opening because they show me
how people can take their …..fantasies....to an extreme, it’s like
a way to get away from society and the problems they face
eveyday.
Christian: Her work is HYPNOTIZING and uncomfortable. Like
with iMirror. It got me sucked into the lyrics.

One more note on
Cao Fei!
• Marco: Calm and settled. Even her hand gestures,
they’re not like this, they’re like uhh.
• Christian: Kind of soft spoken
• Kendell: Before they start translating, you can hear her a bit.
• Kendell: Some folks may think she may “look weird”
because of her Cosplayers piece. But she looks young,
and like a regular person that you see every day.
• Yeva: Cities in China as inspiration for her work.
• Delani: The artwork probably took a long time to do, for
people who take Comp Sci with Gersh, you know it’s
really tough to code.
• Mattia: Working with people from different countries
makes it tricky. They have different perceptions between
the East and West.
• Dak: It’s counter productive....you hire people to do this
work but it comes out not reflecting her original ideas.
• Christian: She’s meticulous, wanting her work to be one
particular way.
• Gya: She’s in tune with aesthetic differences, how rooms
are decorated from East to West.
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi_jrNGa9RM

One more note on
Cao Fei!
• Sakin: She seems very observant and intellectual,
connecting the past and present and other cultures,
looking for overlaps.
• Abdul: She seems meticulous and focused on her
work.
• Sarah: She pays attention to how RMB City is built
and how the viewers will relate to it.
• Danisa: We don’t quite get the whole picture of
who she is, due to the translations. The translator
sounded a bit robotic. (missing TONE)
• Dest: It’s tricky to connect with her (Condescention
vs. Endearing)
• Promia: The loss of Eastern symbols when handled
by Western artists she works with.
• Adrianna: Cultural integration – the understanding of
other cultures and .....
• Ingrid: If you have different beliefs that can affect your
interpretations. Your cultural beliefs lead you to
interpretations.
• LANGUAGE (Pronunciations), ATTIRE, BEHAVIOR,
FLAVOR!,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi_jrNGa9RM

Xu Bing
Xu Bing, 65, a small wiry figure with long black
tangled hair and rimless glasses, is a veteran of
China’s conceptual art movement.
As a child in 1975, Xu was exiled to the
countryside as part of Mao’s “re-education”
efforts during the Cultural Revolution. During this
time he grew up with a very rural lifestyle
amongst agriculture and animal livestock.
Some of his work connects to ideas of the
beautiful and the classical. Xu’s ideas and artwork
became well known in America when he moved
to the USA in 1990. He continues to maintain a
studio in both Beijing and Brooklyn.

Xu Bing
Xu Bing, 62, a small wiry figure with long black
tangled hair and rimless glasses, is a veteran of
China’s conceptual art movement.
Early on, he showed that Chinese artists could be
as provocative as their Western compatriots.
Some of his work connects to ideas of the
beautiful and the classical.

Xu Bing
This installation took two years to build, and
featured two monumental birds fabricated
entirely from materials harvested from
construction sites in urban China, including
demolition debris, steel beams, tools, and
remnants of the daily lives of migrant laborers.
The phoenix is a classic symbol of rebirth, and at
once fierce and strangely beautiful, the mythic
Phoenixes bear witness to the complex
interconnection between labor, history,
commercial development, and the rapid
accumulation of wealth in today’s China.
Phoenix
2012-13
Installation at Mass MoCA

Aesthetic Beauty vs.
substance….
Nita: This work looks a bit rough on the outside, but the
meaning is BEAUTIFUL.. Compared to other art that could
look really beautiful but be dry and without substance.
Katelyn: #RealTalk : It’s like when you have conversation
with someone who is pretty and they’re just so boring (and
kinda dumb) and you’re just like “you’re sooooooo lucky
you’re pretty.”
Danisa: blah blah, meme meme. Blah blah. Hot pockets.
Promia: Like the Greek myth where Prometheus presents
two gifts to Zeus and he chooses shiny over substance.
Mariama: We are overly concerned with the outward
appearance of things. We want it to look nice.
.

Xu Bing
In 2014, Xu Bing was invited to install Phoenix at
St. John the Divine, the massive cathedral in
Manhattan.
In this iteration of Phoenix, each sculpture
weighed over 12 tons and measured more than
90 feed long. They were each named Feng and
Huang after old Asian folktales.
Phoenix
2012-13
Installation at St. John the Divine
https://www.nyc-arts.org/showclips/113791/phoenix-by-xu-
bing-i-curators-choice

Why a cathedral for this work
Kendell: This seems massive. How many workers did
it take to do this kind of architectural work?
Azalea: It seems like a big space, where the “church
part???”
Dak: There’s a TON of space before you get to that
park
Tenz: This art piece is massive, and the SPACE in the
cathedral is great for it. Also, this work refers to
workers that were used to construction companies,
and the church is a place where people go for help.
Tatiana: Different churches have different types of
art, statues, icons (Greek Orthodox)
Jen: A lot of these places have complex
art/architecture referring to the history of that
religion. Some of it sad/painful.
Christian: Stained Glass!
Gya: Posters, paintings,
.

Xu Bing
Why a cathedral for this work
Ingrid: The reverend of St. John thought that the
cathedral could fit this piece physically and
spiritually.
Sakin: Since a this is a holy place, a religious
piece, the phoenix could embody the purpose of
the cathedral.
Aidan: the piece is rooted in the conditions of
construction workers in China who deserve better.
Sarah: This could be a spirit to literally watch
over you.
Adrianna: The meaning changes in this iteration,
it changes depending on the site. It’s all artist
intention vs. viewer interpretation.

Xu Bing
After 1989, many artists were either
forced—or chose—to leave China. Xu Bing,
who settled in the United States, specifically
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was among those
who played a role in the rise of the
phenomenon known as “global
contemporary art.”
This art moved beyond the conventions of
Western modernism, drawing freely from a
variety of art and text sources, including
those from ancient China.

Xu Bing
Gyaban: CULTURE SHOCK! Even the
environmental changes too.
Christian: My dad’s from Trinidad…the
language and accent were an issue for him.
Different expectations for SPORT.
Dak: my dad didn’t speak the language
when he first came here. Some spoke
Spanish, but not a lot.
Marco: Parents moved from Italy like 20
years ago....maybe people could take
advantage of them in ways? Like their 1st
apt was unclean with poor water.
Azalea: Dad from Jamaica, it was easier to
get a job (different lifestyle, nepotism) but
here (America) he’s restricted from getting
better pay due to immigration status.

How would international moves affect an
artist??? Jen: Their art could reflect on their past
troubles or successes from home.
Kendell: Thinking about Xu Bing….the
changes may affect how he makes his
work??
Delani: Those challenges navigating
cultures…he may encounter more criticism
about his work. Some people may not agree
(or understand) what he’s doing. They might
not relate.
Jaylin: It could bring more ATTENTION to
their work. People may see their work
differently…..?
Tenz: “Back Home…” the opinions of art may
be different...but in NYC, there’s more art
opportunities.

Associations with this event?
• 9/11, when the twin towers
were knocked down from
terrorist attacks.
• A planned terrorist attack by
Osama bin Laden
• My dad worked there.
• Susually terrorist attacks
happen in other places, with
guns, not planes.
• My mom was going to be
there that day but she was
10 minutes late and then it
happened.
• I always think about what I
would do in this situation….

Associations with this event?
• Julio : this is a time where
the world was in such
shock due to the terriost
problems that had ocured
• Cass: War on Terror and
increase in national
security, changes to what it
means to be foreign
• Aidan: (he has a story!)
• .
• .
• .
• .

Xu Bing
Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?
2004
dust
On September 11, 2001, Xu Bing was
working in his studio in Williamsburg
Brooklyn when he witnessed the
terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.
In the aftermath of that horrific event,
he gathered dust from the streets of
Lower Manhattan. At the time, he
didn’t know what he wanted to do with
it, but he felt he needed some way to
process the meaning of so much loss
for those living in the early part of the
first decade of the 21st century.

Xu Bing
Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?
2004
dust

What motivates this artist???
• Mattia: relating to conflict and politics
BUT not taking a stance.
• Christian: his work revolves around
ideas of destruction and giving it new
life.
• Tatiana: It could be interpreted as a
commemorative piece for the people
who lost their lives, the dust being their
ashes.
• Nila: Witnessing this was probably
traumatic, and this is a way of coping
with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyg2bD0jbtM

Xu Bing looked to one of the central tenets
of Buddhism: the impermanence of life and
the body. For Where Does the Dust Itself
Collect?, which was conceived in 2002 and
realized two years later, the artist scattered
the dust he had collected on the gallery
floor, much as it had blanketed the streets
of Lower Manhattan.
He then stenciled in it a stanza from a
poem by Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of
Chan Buddhism, written at the turn of the
eighth century, quote: “As there is nothing
from the first, Where does the dust itself
collect?”

What motivates this artist???
• Marco: Seems like he cares a lot about
NYC. But similar to Cao Fei, it’s hard to
understand his TONE with the translator.
• Michael:He’s clearly affected by this
event. As an artist, he feels it’s his
responsibility to reach out to people and
talk about the pain and the hard stuff.
• Ingrid: What drove him to collect this
dust? It seems so spontaneous. Same
with Phoenix, why debris? I think some
artists think of an idea and then find
materials, but he works the other way.
• Noume: Seems like he is motivated to
make all these projects. And patient too.
There’s obviously lot of time he puts into
it all.
• . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyg2bD0jbtM

Xu Bing
Early on in his work, Xu showed that Chinese
artists could be as provocative as their Western
compatriots.
His work, “A Case Study of Transference,” from
1994 illustrates his fascination with the ugly and
the primitive in stark contrast to his other work
which emphasized the beautiful and the classical.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD

Xu Bing
A Case Study of Transference
1994
Video
The original version of the work featured two live
pigs — a boar and a sow — having sex in front of
audiences at one of the early informal art spaces
in Beijing. The backs of the pigs were stamped
with gibberish composed from the Roman
(English) alphabet and invented Chinese
characters.
While there was an opportunity to have live pigs
in the Guggenheim exhibit, the museum drew the
line on that, and settled for a video of the Beijing
performance.

Xu Bing
A Case Study of
Transference
1994
Video

Xu Bing
A Case Study of
Transference
1994
Video
Mr. Xu, who has lived in New York for nearly 20 years,
spent time on pig farms when he was forcibly relocated
during the Cultural Revolution.
Prior to the exhibition, male and female pigs were
carefully chosen to match their time of estrus (being “in
heat”). The work presents the fornication of male pigs
tattooed with “book from the sky” in English and female
pigs tattooed with “book from the earth” in Chinese.
Both of these books were created by Xu and contain
over 600 pages of invented language.
Why pigs and calligraphy? “Animals
are completely uncivilized and
Chinese characters are the
expression of supreme civilization,”
-Xu Bing

Xu Bing
A Case Study of Transference
1994
Video
After his arrival in America in the early 1990s, Xu
Bing began to question whether the
communication between Eastern and Western
culture was effective through the translation of
languages. He adopted Eastern philosophies and
cultures into his work, while thinking critically on
language and other means of communication, the
essence of art and culture, similarities and
conflicts between objects and cultures. He
proposed new ways of conversation and
envisioned a dialogue of the East and West
through his works.
This work satirizes the philosophical and
conceptual approach of art, and begs the
question: can art have boundaries that should not
be crossed?

How to plan for
provocative art
Sketch for A Case Study
of Transference
1994
Video

Final Thoughts on Xu Bing??
• .
• .

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