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McaM展讯｜“不息”第57届威尼斯国际艺术双年展中国馆上海站将于3月31日开幕

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“不息”第57届威尼斯国际艺术双年展中国馆上海站

策展人：邱志杰

参展艺术家：汪天稳、汤南南、姚惠芬、邬建安

上海站出品人：李松坚、凌菲菲

展期：2018.3.31-2018.6.3

地点：McaM上海明当代美术馆

开幕活动

2018.3.31 星期六

开放 16:00

开幕表演：《不息》多媒体皮影 16:30 ，18:15

开幕仪式：18:00

2018.4.1 星期日

《不息》多媒体皮影 12:00 ，16:00

* 下滑阅读开幕表演介绍

表演须凭展览门票入场

2017年第57届威尼斯双年展中国馆，由中央美术学院实验艺术学院院长、艺术家邱志杰策划，邬建安、汤南南、姚惠芬和汪天稳为参展艺术家。其中姚惠芬为苏绣大师，汪天稳为皮影雕刻大师。展览展出了多件录像、绘画、雕塑、装置、刺绣、皮影、摄影乃至多媒体剧场等丰富的作品，并以丰富的文献和工作坊、演出成为重要特征。展览以“不息”应对整个威尼斯双年展的总主题“艺术永生”，提出中国艺术“不息”的力量来自精英与民间的互动，来自代际传递的师承，来自积极的合作。展厅中独一无二的艺术家师承墙、艺术家合作关系图，多位艺术家的交叉合作，以及由程控机械、实时VJ操纵的投影、陕西民间艺人与青年艺术家合作创作的多媒体皮影表演，成为亮点。

2017年威尼斯双年展中国馆《不息》，在国际当代艺术世界引发了广泛的关注。长达半年的展览期间，中国馆以其强烈的视觉冲击力，完整的策展理念，独特的语境构建，引发了热烈关注和广泛好评。尤其是开幕周期内的多媒体皮影演出，场场爆满，掌声雷动。展览受到了国际艺术媒体和专业人士的普遍好评。

而在威尼斯大获成功的2017年中国馆，在国内却引发了两极化的巨大争议。赞誉者认为极其出色，批评者认为丢人现眼。评价两极分化，激烈对立，在2017年初夏的中国艺术圈，尤其是互联网上引发了巨大的话语狂潮。争议集中在是否应该使用皮影和刺绣这样的非物质文化遗产去参加威尼斯双年展这样的“当代艺术”活动？中国馆对于皮影和刺绣这类传统工艺的运用是否误解“当代艺术”？是否存在中国独特的当代艺术方式？话题乃至延伸到了雅集、庙会式的策展实验与白盒子展示空间背后的意识形态对立；当代艺术是否需要现场经验？运用传统元素是文化投机还是文化自信？是否存在普世的“国际当代艺术”等等更深的层面。可以说，因为这些争论的存在，以及这些争论背后的价值观对立的存在，2017年威尼斯双年展中国馆，无疑已经成为当代中国艺术发展史上的重大事件，也将是当代文化史上，中国价值观和中国工作方式初步确立的一个里程碑式的事件。

展览作品在威尼斯经历半年展出，经过数月海运，日前回到国内。按原计划，将于2018年3月31日在上海明当代美术馆和北京时代美术馆同时推出《不息－第57届威尼斯双年展中国馆》的上海站和北京站的落地展。因为这两个美术馆的空间条件与威尼斯军械库油库展厅的空间有所不同，展览作品在基本不变的情况下略有调整，补充了因为威尼斯空间局限，部分艺术家当时未能展出的作品。展览的策展思路不变，而随着空间的变化和语境的变化，展览的气质与当时威尼斯的现场有所不同，但依然能在相当程度上让未曾造访威尼斯现场的观众们看到策展和作品的思路。我们相信，因为此前国内巨大争议的存在，发生在上海和北京的这次归国汇报展览，对于本次威尼斯双年展中国馆尤其具有价值。

此刻距2017年5月初威尼斯开幕已经过去10个月，中国艺术界应该有更年长一岁的成熟和理性，来反思我们的激烈的实验；应该有更大的自信，来赞美我们的艺术家所创造的不可思议。当代中国艺术的继续进步，有赖于整个艺术生态各个环节积极善意的建设性互动所构造的能量场。

不管来自民间还是学院，每一个中国艺术家，都不是一个人在创作。他的创作，总是一种应答和开启，总是在期待唱和，总是可以加批注和题跋。中国艺术绝不是任何一个生死有命的中国艺术家的个体创造，而是一场历时五千年的集体创作，这是一代代艺术家不断卷入的，一场跨越千年的唱和和雅集。本届中国馆向世界展示的当代中国艺术，是这场数千年的集体创造的新的生产。它正直坦荡，不是削尖脑袋猴急经营的创造力，而是脱胎换骨后的自然洋溢；不是暴烈的资本炒作的成功，而是感染和召唤所致的认同。它是一种基于中国文明的底色和基因，基于中国人的人情冷暖和匠心文运、通情达理的新的当代艺术。

部分参展作品

McaM展讯｜“不息”第57届威尼斯国际艺术双年展中国馆上海站将于3月31日开幕,中国馆,McaM,威尼斯国际艺术双年展,皮影,表演,汤南南,China,邬建安,姚惠芬,Chinese 不息 - 移山填海表演 Continuum – Removing the Mountains and Filling the Sea Performance, 2017

汤南南与汪天稳 Collaboration of Tang Nannan and Wan

汤南南与汪天稳 Collaboration of Tang Nannan and Wang Tianwen

逍遥游系列手工镂刻牛皮 Happy Excursion Series Handcrafted engraving on leather, 150cm x 300cm, 2017

波纹剪纸拼贴 Water Wave Paper-cut c 邬建安与汤南南 Collaboration between Wu Jian’an and Tang Nannan

波纹剪纸拼贴 Water Wave Paper-cut collage, 200cm x 300cm (left), diameter 200cm (right), 2017

姚惠芬与邬建安 Collaboration between Yao Huifen and

姚惠芬与邬建安 Collaboration between Yao Huifen and Wu Jian’an

崖山系列苏绣 Yashan Series Suzhou embroidery 70cm x 70cm each, 2017

移山系列录像、苏绣 , Video & Suzhou embroidery & 姚惠芬与汤南南 Collaboration between Yao Huifen and Tang Nannan

移山系列录像、苏绣 , Video & Suzhou embroidery Removing the Mountains

70cm × 70cm, 2017

铸浪为山彩色单频录像 Billennium Waves 汤南南 Tang Nannan

铸浪为山彩色单频录像 Billennium Waves Color video, 4m03s, 2015

全球沙滩考古计划数码微喷 ,McaM展讯｜“不息”第57届威尼斯国际艺术双年展中国馆上海站将于3月31日开幕,中国馆,McaM,威尼斯国际艺术双年展,皮影,表演,汤南南,China,邬建安,姚惠芬,Chinese 汤南南 Tang Nannan

全球沙滩考古计划数码微喷

Archaeological Project of Global Beach Memorys C-Print , 380cm × 950cm, 2012-2016

明还雕塑与录像装置 Morrow Return Sculp 汤南南 Tang Nannan

明还雕塑与录像装置 Morrow Return Sculpture and video installation, 180x50×35cm, 2015

息壤－顽砖装置 Growing Soil – Hard Brick &n 汤南南 Tang Nannan

息壤－顽砖装置 Growing Soil – Hard Brick Installation, Size variable, 2015

无名海滩系列黑白摄影 Unknown Beach Seriese &nb 汤南南 Tang Nannan

无名海滩系列黑白摄影 Unknown Beach Seriese Black & white film, 57x85cm, 2008-2012

遗忘之海421 纸本水墨 Oblivious Ocean421 汤南南 Tang Nannan

遗忘之海421 纸本水墨 Oblivious Ocean421 Ink on Paper, 210cm x 139cm, 2017

海中有海72 纸本水墨 The Sea in the Sea72 &nbs 汤南南 Tang Nannan

海中有海72 纸本水墨 The Sea in the Sea72 Ink on Paper, 139cm x 70cm, 2016

风雨雷电虹手工镂刻牛皮 Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lig 汪天稳 Wang Tianwen

风雨雷电虹手工镂刻牛皮 Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning, Rainbow Handcrafted engraving on leather, 90cm x 260cm, 2017

变化系列手工镂刻牛皮 Transformation Ser 汪天稳 Wang Tianwen

变化系列手工镂刻牛皮 Transformation Series Handcrafted engraving on leather, Size variable, 2017

白日梦树林系列铜板切割雕塑 The Forests of the Da 邬建安 Wu Jian’an

白日梦树林系列铜板切割雕塑 The Forests of the Daydreams Series Copper sheet sculpture, 180cm x 180cm x 550cm, 2016-2017

九重天手工镂刻牛皮 The Heaven of Nine Levels 邬建安 Wu Jian’an

九重天手工镂刻牛皮 The Heaven of Nine Levels Handcrafted engraving on leather, 540cm x 391cm, 2008-2009

大河的诞生剪纸拼贴 The Birth of the Galaxy &n 邬建安 Wu Jian’an

大河的诞生剪纸拼贴 The Birth of the Galaxy Paper-cut collage, 267cm x 2400cm, 2012

骷髅幻戏图苏绣 Skeleton Fantasy Show 姚惠芬 Yao Huifen

骷髅幻戏图苏绣 Skeleton Fantasy Show Suzhou embroidery, 100x100cm, 2017

马远十二水图苏绣 Twelve Images of Water Sur 姚惠芬 Yao Huifen

马远十二水图苏绣 Twelve Images of Water Surging by Ma Yuan Suzhou embroidery, 20cm x 35cm each, 2017

精卫苏绣 Jingwei, the Bird of Continuum 姚惠芬 Yao Huifen

精卫苏绣 Jingwei, the Bird of Continuum Suzhou embroidery, 70cm × 70cm, 2017

关于策展人

邱志杰

1969年生于福建。1992年毕业于浙江美术学院版画系, 开始介入当代艺术活动。现为中央美术学院实验艺术学院院长, 教授。中国美术学院跨媒体艺术学院教授,硕士博士导师。他作为艺术家曾参加2009年威尼斯双年展中国馆,2015年威尼斯双年展主题馆。及2002年和2013年的圣保罗双年展,及其他各种国际双年展。作为策展人在1996年策划了中国最早的录像艺术展,以及1999 年到2005年之间推介青年一代艺术家的“后感性”系列展览。 2003年他策划了798艺术区的第一个展览。2012年他是第九届上海双年展“重新发电”的总策展人。

关于艺术家

汪天稳

陕西皮影传承人，师承中国工艺美术大师、著名皮影雕刻艺人李占文。被评为第五届中国工艺美术大师、中国皮影艺术雕刻鉴定专家、陕西省工艺美术一级大师。1982年，受邀为日本国立民俗博物馆负责设计、刻制《孙悟空大闹天宫》全套，深受日本友人的赞誉；1983年设计、制作的皮影人物：《樊梨花刀劈杨藩》，获中国轻工部旅游产品优秀设计“一等奖”；1984年刻制的皮影人物：《帝王出巡图》，获陕西省优秀产品设计 “一等奖”，同年并获西安市旅游产品“百花奖”；2000年，作品《番将》获得首届中国工艺美术作品暨工艺美术精品博览会优秀创作奖；2008年创作的《白蛇传》，在中国第四届国际文化产业博览交易会上获得“中国工艺美术文化创意奖”银奖。

汤南南

1969年生于福建云霄。厦门大学艺术学院硕士，中国美术学院跨媒体艺术学院博士。中国美院跨媒体艺术学院副教授，工作生活于杭州。作品以乡愁为切入点，讨论时间与记忆、神话与诗歌、乡愁与生死等多个命题。试图以社会学文化研究为基础，以大海和流水为意象，探索绘画、装置、摄影、动画、多屏幕录像剧场等多种艺术方式的融通互鉴，寻找自身生活经验的启示，并关切当代生活情境的可能性。

姚惠芬

研究员级高级工艺美术师、国家级非物质文化遗产项目（苏绣）代表性传承人、享受国务院特殊津贴专家、首届中国刺绣艺术大师、江苏省工艺美术大师、中国非物质文化遗产保护协会理事；一代“针神”沈寿的第四代传人。姚惠芬出生于苏州刺绣世家，从艺近四十年，精通各种刺绣技法，擅长人物肖像、油画及中国写意水墨画的绣制。从一九九一年至今，姚惠芬所创作的苏绣艺术精品几十次荣获国家级工艺美术大奖及中国民间文艺的最高奖——山花奖，被誉为“苏绣传人”、“中华巧女”, 并当选“中国工艺美术行业2013年度典型人物”。

邬建安

1980年生于北京。2002年毕业于北京广播学院，2005年毕业于中央美术学院，获硕士学位并留校任教。现为中央美术学院实验艺术学院副教授、硕士生导师，文化部恭王府中华传统技艺研究与保护中心研究员。多年来，邬建安专注于将当代的激进美学和文化态度带入濒临绝迹的中国民间艺术传统，以富于创造性和思想性的方式，探索和呈现当代问题同远古神话与历史、传统哲学观念与图像生成方式的内在联系，在几个维度上同时刺激和扩展人们的艺术想象。他的作品曾先后在纽约大都会艺术博物馆、波士顿美术馆、华盛顿肯尼迪艺术中心、福冈亚洲美术馆、中央美院美术馆、北京民生现代美术馆等机构展出，并在北京、上海、纽约等地举办多次个人艺术展。

关于开幕表演

不息 - 移山填海

不息 - 移山填海表演 Continuum

不息 - 移山填海表演 Continuum – Removing the Mountains and Filling the Sea Performance, 2017

《不息-移山填海》多媒体皮影表演是 57 届威尼斯双年展中国馆《不息》展览的核心作品,也是策展人和四位参展艺术家,及更多参与的艺术家交叉合作的集体创作。展厅里将设置三个皮影表演和录像投影屏幕,汪天稳与汤南南、邬建安合作制作的皮影形象在这三个屏幕中上演。预先制作的录像投影内容将取代普通灯光成为这场皮影表演的光源。表演的故事基于三个中国传说。愚公移山,精卫填海和鲲鹏变化。三个屏幕分别对应于这三个传说。三个屏幕的内容也互相连接。精卫鸟加入愚公移山的场景,促成了最终把山搬走的过程。鲲鹏反复变化的过程将由机械驱动,成为不息的生灭变化的钟表。观众将可以散布在展厅各处,既可以观看幕布正面的表演,也可以观看幕布背后操纵皮影的过程或现场绣娘们的工作。整个表演过程约半小时,开幕期间将每天安排数场集中的表演。

来自中国陕西华县的一组艺人及将担任皮影操作和乐器演奏及演唱。指挥及主唱:吕崇德(月琴)
皮影签手:刘华、卫兴宝、刘兴文、齐乐、邱思遥乐手:刘东耀(二胡、唢呐)、刘兴文(板胡、唢呐)、魏亚民(打击乐)、刘华(长号)

皮影造型设计由邬建安统筹,齐乐、邱思遥、廖雯、刘嘉颖、张文质、袁松、成思远、童言明、寿盛楠、冯志佳、冯梓烜、郑嘉燕、杨琪磊、陈鹏飞、吴悠、魏弋川等人参与了创作。

汪天稳工作室承担了皮影雕刻任务。

动画由龙盼统筹。录像制作沈晓闽、陈旖。邱思遥承担该表演的机械设计部分和道具整合。陈志远承担道具制作。齐乐担任表演服装设计及助理排练导演。唐晓林为唱词翻译。

声音艺术家张梓倩担任音乐设计和排练导演。该演出的脚本和唱词由策展人邱志杰撰稿。

关于展览

“不息”第57届威尼斯国际艺术双年展中国馆

支持：中国人民共和国文化部、中央美术学院视觉艺术高精尖中心“传统的活化”课题组

主办：中国对外文化集团公司

协办：上海明当代美术馆、北京时代美术馆

合作机构：明园集团、华熙集团

展览门票

成人票：40元

学生票、老人票：20元

McaM会员享受免票

购票请点击 阅读原文

McaM展讯｜“不息”第57届威尼斯国际艺术双年展中国馆上海站将于3月31日开幕,中国馆,McaM,威尼斯国际艺术双年展,皮影,表演,汤南南,China,邬建安,姚惠芬,Chinese

Continuum – Generation by Generation

China Pavilion at The 57th Venice Biennale

Tour exhibition in Shanghai

2018.3.31-2018.6.3

The Curator: Qiu Zhijie

Artists: Wang Tianwen, Tang Nannan, Yao Huifen, Wu Jian’an

Tour Exhibition Shanghai Producer: Li Songjian, Ling Feifei

Location: McaM | No.436 East Yonghe Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai

Opening Programs

2018.3.31 Sat.

Reception 16:00

Performance：Shadow Play Theater Continuum 16:30，18:15

Opening Ceremony：18:00

2018.4.1 Sun.

Performance：Shadow Play Theater Continuum 12:00，16:00

* Scroll down for performance introduction

Performance included in the day admission

The China Pavilion at the 57^th Venice Biennale in 2017 was curated by Qiu Zhijie, artist and the Dean of School of Experimental Art of CAFA. The four participating artists in this project are Wu Jian’an, Tang Nannan, Yao Huifen, and Wang Tianwen. Among them Yao Huifen is a master of Suzhou embroidery, and Wang Tianwen is a shadow puppet master. Works including video art, painting, sculpture, installation, embroidery, shadow puppet, and multimedia theatre performance were shown in the exhibition, accompanied by a broad range of archives and workshops. The theme ‘Continuum – Generation by Generation’ responds to the theme of this year’s Venice Biennale, ‘Viva Arte Viva.’ The source energy that powers the will to persevere, and makes possible the generational continuum, comes from the the constant interaction and inter-fertilization between the cultural elite and the folk, from generations of teachings past down from masters to their disciples, and from proactive collaborations. The highlights of the show include the unique wall of succession of teachings, collaboration diagram of the artists, the crossover collaborations among the artists, projections controlled by program-controlled mechanism and live VJ, and the shadow puppetry performance created by folk artists from Shaanxi and young artists together.

The exhibition of the China Pavilion at the 57^th Venice Biennale in 2017, Continuum – Generation by Generation, gained attention from the international contemporary art world. Through out the half a year of exhibiting period, the China Pavilion received attention and wide praise with its strong visual impact, complete curatorial idea, and unique construction of context. The multimedia shadow puppetry performances during the opening period were especially applauded by the huge crowds gathered during each performance. The exhibition was generally praised by international art media and art professionals.

The 2017 China Pavilion was hugely successful in Venice, however, the debate about the Pavilion of China is so unprecedentedly fierce at home, the opinions are almost polarizing. People who praise the show thought of it as outstanding, the critics thought of it as a disgrace – the reactions of the show were polarizing and of fierce opposition. In early summer of 2017, a huge wave of discussions and debates happened in the Chinese art circle, especially on the Internet. The debates focused on whether we should showcase intangible cultural heritage such as shadow puppetry and embroidery in “contemporary art” activities such as the Venice Biennale. Is using traditional crafts such as shadow puppetry and embroidery in the China Pavilion a misunderstanding of “contemporary art?” Does a unique way of Chinese contemporary art exist? The debate topics even expanded to deeper aspects such as the ideological opposition behind the experiments of the curatorial model of yaji and temple fair vs. the white cube exhibitional space; Does contemporary art require onsite experience? Is using traditional elements cultural speculation or cultural confidence? Does a universal “international contemporary art” exist? We can even say that because of the debates and the polarizing values behind them, undoubtedly, the 2017 China Pavilion has become a major event in the history of the development of contemporary Chinese art. It will also be a landmark event in the history of contemporary culture in terms of the initial establishment of in China's values and the Chinese working methodology.

The exhibition in Venice lasted half a year, then it took several months to be shipped back to China by sea. As planned before, the tour exhibition of China Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale Continuum – Generation by Generation, will open simultaneously at Shanghai Ming Contemporary Art Museum and Beijing Times Art Museum on March 31^st, 2018. Given the different conditions of the space of the two museums from the rusty and industrial space of the Arsenal in Venice, we made some small adjustments of the works, and added works unseen before given the limitations of the Venice space. The curatorial idea remains the same, but with changing space and context, the exhibition will have different qualities from the one in Venice. However, audience who did not had the chance to see the show onsite in Venice can still appreciate the works and curatorial theme to a large degree. We believe that due to the fierce debate in China about the China Pavilion before, the returned tour exhibitions in Shanghai and Beijing became more valuable to the China Pavilion in Venice in 2017.

It has been ten months since the opening in early May 2017 in Venice, the Chinese art circle should be more mature and rational with more time to reflect on our bold experiments; we should have greater confidence to praise the unprecedented creations made by our artists. The continued progression of the Contemporary Chinese art depends on the energy field constructed by the proactive, positive, and constructive interaction of each link of the whole art ecosystem.

Each Chinese artist, no matter folk or academic, is not working in solitude. His or her creation is always a kind of response, an opening up of a new trajectory, an anticipation of an antiphon, a commentary, a coda: an act of creation in a communal context. Chinese art is never an individual creation by a mortal Chinese artist, it is a communal act across five thousand years of our collective history, in which each artist both participates and responds: a kind of cross-generational yaji gathering. This year’s China Pavilion showcased the contemporary Chinese art to the world, it is a new production of the collective creation that spans across thousands of years. It is with great integrity, not wheeling and dealing for fast gains, but flowing freely after being reborn; it is not success through vicious capital speculation, but gaining recognition through influence and beckoning. It is a kind of all-encompassing new contemporary art that based on the backdrop of Chinese civilization, human relationship, inventive craftsmanship, and literary tradition.

The Curator

Qiu Zhijie

Born in Fujian Province, China, in 1969. He graduated from the Printmaking department at China Academy of Art in 1992. He is a professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Dean of School of Experimental Art of CAFA. He is also a professor at the School of Inter- media Art of China Academy of Art, and supervisor of master and doctoral students. As an established artist, he participated in the 53th Venice Biennale Chinese Pavilion (2009), the Theme Exhibition of the 56th Venice Biennale (2015), the 25th (2012) and 31st (2014) San Polo Biennial (2014), and many other international biennales. He was also the curator of the first video art exhibition in China in 1996, and curated a series of “Post-sense Sensibility” exhibitions during 1999 and 2005 promoting the young generation of Chinese artists. In 2003 he curated the first exhibition in 798 Art Zone. In 2012 he was the chief curator of the 9th Shanghai Biennale “Reactivation”.

The Artists

Wang Tianwen

A certified inheritor of Shaanxi shadow play, his teacher is the Chinese Art and Craft Master and famous shadow play carving artisan, Li Zhanwen. Wang himself is a Certified Chinese Craft and Art Master, Chinese shadow play carving and appraisal expert, First-Level Master of Craft and Art of Shaanxi Province. In 1982, he was invited by the National Museum of Ethnology in Japan to design and make the whole set of shadow play work Monkey Makes Havoc in Heaven, which was wildly praised by the Japanese people; in 1983, he designed and made shadow play portraits of Fan Lihua Kills Yang Fan with a Broadsword, and was awarded the first prize of Excellent Design of Tourist Product by the China's Ministry of Light Industry; in 1984, the shadow play portraits of The Imperial Outing was awarded the first prize of Excellent Product Design of Shaanxi Province, in the same year it was awarded the “Hundred Flowers Prize” of Xi’an Tourist Product; In 2000, his work The General of Foreign Tribe won the Outstanding Creative Award on the first Chinese Art and Craft Fair; in 2008, his work Madame White Snake won the silver prize of “Chinese Art and Craft Cultural Creation” on the Forth China International Cultural Industry Trade Fair.

Tang Nannan

Born in Yunxiao, Fujian Province in 1969. Nannan received his education from the Department of Fine arts in Xiamen University and then graduated from School of Inter-Media Art in China Academy of Art as a member among its first class of PHD candidates with a degree in modern art. He is an associate professor at the School of Inter-media Art of China Academy of Art, and works and lives in Hangzhou. In Nannan’s works, nostalgia in modern cities is present as the main theme and question that are discussed and its relationship to: time and memory, myths and poetry, nostalgia and life and death. With his cultural sociology research, the artist tries to integrate multiple forms of art such as painting, video installation, photography, and multiscreen video theatre to explore his own life experience and concerning modern living circumstances through the various different media.

Yao Huifen

Researcher-level and National Art and Craft Master, certified inheritor of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage (Su Embroidery), expert who enjoys the State Council Special Allowance, Director of China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association, the forth generation of successor of the legendary embroidery master Shen Shou. Yao was born in a family of Suzhou Embroidery artisans, she started to learn Su Embroidery since she was young and her career spans across almost forty years. She is skilled at various techniques, and is specially expert in embroidering images of portraits, oil paintings, and Chinese landscape paintings. Since 1991, Yao’s Su Embroidery works have won the national art and craft prizes and the highest prize of Chinese folk art – “Mountain Flower Prize,” dozens of times. She is titled “Su Embroidery Descendant” and “Outstanding Female Artisan of China,” and was awarded the 2013 Person of the Year of the Chinese Art and Craft Industry.

Wu Jian’an

Born in Beijing in 1980. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Beijing Broadcasting Institute in 2002. In 2005, he earned a masters degree in Fine Art at Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), then joint the faculty of CAFA. Currently he lives and works in Beijing, as associate professor of School of Experimental Art at CAFA. Wu Jian’an’s imagination has always operated simultaneously in multiple dimensions; likewise, his works simultaneously expand the viewer’s artistic imagination in various directions. He travels between words and images while adding a layer of storytelling above figuration and abstraction. He freely traverses temporal divides, instantaneously taking viewers from today’s world back to mysterious primeval times. His art spans various media and styles: painting, sculpture, paper cut, and installation, all of which provide him with a varied vocabulary yet also arouse his desire to cross boundaries – to integrate, transgress and disarrange. His works have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, CAFA Museum, Minsheng Art Museum, etc.

Opening Performance

Continuum – Removing the Mountains and Filling the Sea

Continuum – Removing the Mountains and Filling the Sea, a shadow theatre performance, is the core of the exhibition Continuum – Generation by Generation of Pavilion of China at the 57th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. It is also a collective creation based on crossover and collaboration by the curator, four artists of this exhibition, and other participating artists. Shadow plays will be performed at three locations in the pavilion. At the same time, the shadow play figures created collaboratively by Wang Tianwen with Tang Nannan and Wu Jian’an will be shown on three video projection screens. Instead of using traditional lighting, projected video content will act as the light source for the shadow play performance. The narrative of the performance stems from three Chinese fables - The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains, Jingwei Filling the Sea, and Fish Kun Morphs into Bird Peng. The three screens correspond respectively to the three fables although the imagery is interconnected. Bird Jingwei enters the scene of the Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains, and helps move the mountains. The process of Fish Kun morphing into Bird Peng again and again is devised with mechanical movement, acting like a clock recording the succession of births and deaths. The audience can move freely around the pavilion. They can not only enjoy the video performances on the screens, but also observe how the artisans perform the shadow puppets from behind the screens and the embroidery process.

A group of artistans from Huaxian, Shaanxi, China will perform in the shadow theatre:
Conducting & lead vocal: Lü Chongde (Yueqin)

Puppeteers: Liu Hua, Wei Xingbao, Liu Xingwen, Qi Le, Qiu Siyao
Band: Liu Dongyao (Er’hu, suona), Liu Xingwen (Banhu, suona), Wei Yamin (Percussion), Liu Hua (Trombone)

Lead of shadow puppet design: Wu Jian’an

Puppet design group: Qi Yue, Qiu Siyao, Liao Wen, Liu Jiaying, Zhang Wenzhi, Yuan Song, Cheng Siyuan, Tong Yanming, Shou Shengnan, Feng Zhijia, Feng Zixuan, Zheng Jiayan, Yang Qilei, Chen Pengfei, Wu You, Wei Yichuan, and others
Shadow puppets production: Wang Tianwen Studio
Animation lead: Long Pan

Video production: Shen Xiaomin, Chen Yi
Mechanical design and props preparation: Qiu Siyao
Props production: Chen Zhiyuan
Costume & styling designer: Qi Le
Assistant rehearsal director: Qi Le
Script and lyrics translation: Tang Xiaolin

Music design and rehearsal director: Sound artist Zhang Ziqian Script and lyrics writer: Curator Qiu Zhijie

About Exhibition

Continuum – Generation by Generation

China Pavilion at The 57th Venice Biennale

Supported by

Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China

Activation of Tradition Research Group of CAFA Visual Art Innovation Institute

Commissioner

China Arts and Entertainment Group

Contributor

Shanghai Ming Contemporary Art Museum

Beijing Times Art Museum