Transcript: I think the impact of this is that you’re always seeking to tell another story about Asia . . . a story that people are less familiar with. And in this way, some of the curated exhibitions that we take on may work with a pre-conceived assumption. For example, I curated an exhibition some years ago about art from the Pacific Islands. And most people’s assumptions of the Pacific Islands is a notion of paradise. And so all of the works that I selected from of these artists was all about kind of pushing this idea of paradise further, or kind of wanting to disavow an idea of paradise. So I think that what we really wanna do is tell a different kind of story with the one that you might otherwise associate with Asia.

I think one of the most interesting things to say about Chinese contemporary art is that it really has this 30 year history. And when I talk about it, we . . . we often cite the most important kind of birth date, if you like, as 1979 when _______ declared his open door policy in China, which allowed the opening up of China. Artists in China at that time were allowed to engage with western art history in a way that they hadn’t been able to before. And there are these important moments within Chinese contemporary art that allow us to identify three main phases defined by decades. Mostly throughout the 1980s you saw this kind of frenetic energy and engagement with western ideas. And that is often cited as the kind of most experimental period. And then throughout the 1990s after Tieneman on June 4, 1989, we saw a restriction of activities that artists were able to stage. They were shut out of galleries . . . any galleries and museums. They couldn’t show their work in the public sphere. And during this decade we also saw the internationalization of Chinese contemporary art; that on the one had Chinese artists were prevented from showing their work inside China; but around the time of the mid-1990s, there was much curatorial interest, especially in Europe and places like Australia. And there were many international opportunities for Chinese artists to show their work outside. And then of course, everything changed in 2000. There was a real opening up of China. And the Chinese government itself had a different kind of relationship with experimental artists. They decided that it was okay for Chinese artists to show their work in museums. And we have since seen the Chinese government take on experimental artists at, you know, kind of national representation such as at the ______ premier . . . kind of a contemporary art event that happens every two years in Venice.

I think that we haven’t yet seen a . . . I mean we’ve seen styles developed in China that are peculiar to China, and have a resonance in China, and tell a particular story about China; but I think that the way that our production is at the moment is that it’s often harder to export those styles. We haven’t I seen that happen yet. In fact, one might identify other kinds of influences going into China at the moment. I think that certainly when we see Chinese styles – home-grown stuff – exported, then we’ll really know that New York is no longer the center of the art world, but that it resides somewhere else

I think there are two artists that I would identify. Both of them are, in some ways, from the younger generation. The first would be _______ who is a young woman who lives in Beijing. And I think that her project for the Venice ______ involving second life is really a great introduction, I think, for us in terms of ways that art and technology can work together. And certainly the avatar that she created – in her own likeness of course – but I think also ways in which she has in other works – such as her photographs where she has shown people actually in the factories in China – has been one of the few occasions we have seen artists engage with China’s factories. You know that’s one of the funny things about Chinese contemporary art; that although you have this whole, huge country devoted to manufacturing, in many cases it’s something that you haven’t seen appearing in Chinese artists’ work.

And the other artist I would mention is _________, who primarily works in video. And he, I think, creates these quite extraordinary films that have . . . that speak in two ways or two sides. There are two sides to them. On the one . . . on the one hand they are very much about the nostalgia of Shanghai as a wonderful place in the early 20th Century where it was very much a cosmopolitan century. It was often referred to as a Paris of the east. And he’s able to conjure up that kind of sensibility in his black and white films. And on the other hand it speaks very much to Shanghai’s emergence as a major financial center in the region. And he, in some of his video works/films, really shows that emergence of this young, urban, middle class – or yuppies if you like. So both of these artists show in different ways the kind of changes that are going on in China, but in very unique ways.

I think that at one time, especially if we look to China’s more recent history in the 20th Century when the Cultural Revolution occurred, and there was a desire to kind of destroy the _____, to wipe the slate clean and start again with what were kind of more scientific models and approaches to art making. However, I think that this younger generation of artists . . . I think that they look to history in different ways. And in fact, in many cases they’re going back to the classics and reusing them in very different ways. For example, one artist called _______ has taken a very important Chinese scroll painting, and he has inserted contemporary figures into that scroll painting. And so it’s a real bringing together of traditional form and contemporary, everyday life. So I think that that’s one kind of use of the classics; but I think we must also be mindful that Chinese visual traditions continue on. And in fact there is a very lively ink painting seen in China that’s a very lively calligraphy seen through associations as well as at the art academies. And that’s one of the important things to remember about Chinese contemporary art; that there are these parallel worlds that sometimes intermingle and intersect. But we have on the one hand the experimental contemporary art scene that I’ve been speaking to. And we also have this classical continuation of tradition through, obviously, mediums like ink. And that’s an important thing to remember about Chinese culture.

I think that on the one hand, these . . . this younger generation is given a voice; but I think what is . . . what is also interesting to note about China right now is that the generation of artists who are mostly in their 50s right now, a lot of them left China around . . . _____ the time of ’89. And they ______ different art centers around the world, most likely Paris and New York, in fact. And what’s really interesting about this is that there has been a huge return to the homeland. And many of these artists, even if they still continue to reside outside of China, have come to work at a high level with either business or government policy figures to actually influence China. And so I would say that certainly that generation who are in their 50s now have come of age. And they have a great deal of importance . . . important roles to play within society . . . within Chinese society. But what’s interesting about the diaspora population is that they obviously bring to China a different set of values that has been changed by their living outside of China for over a decade now.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: I think one of the most interesting things to say about Chinese contemporary art is that it really has this 30 year history. And when I talk about it, we . . . we often cite the most important kind of birth date, if you like, as 1979 when _______ declared his open door policy in China, which allowed the opening up of China. Artists in China at that time were allowed to engage with western art history in a way that they hadn’t been able to before. And there are these important moments within Chinese contemporary art that allow us to identify three main phases defined by decades. Mostly throughout the 1980s you saw this kind of frenetic energy and engagement with western ideas. And that is often cited as the kind of most experimental period. And then throughout the 1990s after Tieneman on June 4, 1989, we saw a restriction of activities that artists were able to stage. They were shut out of galleries . . . any galleries and museums. They couldn’t show their work in the public sphere. And during this decade we also saw the internationalization of Chinese contemporary art; that on the one had Chinese artists were prevented from showing their work inside China; but around the time of the mid-1990s, there was much curatorial interest, especially in Europe and places like Australia. And there were many international opportunities for Chinese artists to show their work outside. And then of course, everything changed in 2000. There was a real opening up of China. And the Chinese government itself had a different kind of relationship with experimental artists. They decided that it was okay for Chinese artists to show their work in museums. And we have since seen the Chinese government take on experimental artists at, you know, kind of national representation such as at the ______ premier . . . kind of a contemporary art event that happens every two years in Venice.

Question: What impact has China’s opening had on the country’s art world?

Transcript: I’m not sure that it’s had a direct impact other than artists being able to show their work. I think that what has happened is that there is less of an inclination, I think now, to . . . to . . . for artists to produce works that directly critique famous political figures like Mao. We’re seeing a younger generation take a kind of different approach to creating the works that they do; but it’s very hard to generalize in the kind of . . . and identify a tangible trend since . . . since 2000. In fact, you might say that since 2000, you’ve . . . it’s much more difficult to categorize the Chinese art world in terms of movements. We’ve seen a real opening up all across the country towards different types of art being produced, different groups of artists, different . . . different kinds of exhibitions __________.

Question: What are the major themes in modern Chinese art?

Transcript: Well again, I think that I always . . . It’s funny. If somebody would have posed that question to me about American art, it would be really difficult to identify one trend or even five trends. I think this, if anything, reflects a certain degree of maturity in the Chinese art world; that 30 years on, I think we have this kind of expanded notion of what Chinese contemporary art might be; that at one time in the early 1990s you could have identified three main trends, one of which would have been political pop painting; another cynical realism, which were painting styles. But now we have a . . . this layering process of at least four or five generations of artists who are kind of continuously emerging from different art schools across the country. And so ____ almost _____ to identify even a handful of trends. What I would say, however, is that it is really through the younger generation of artists, especially as we see younger women artists emerge. Because up until now there have only been a handful of really major Chinese woman artists on the international sphere who were able to show their work. And so I think that we’re seeing those young women emerge. And we’re also seeing a greater use of new technology; that in fact Chinese artists are really excelling, especially in the field of new media and video arts, which I think will capture people’s imagination in time to come.

Question: How has technology informed Chinese art?

Transcript: Well I think in terms of China being the . . . one of the world’s center of manufacturing. I think that that has impacted on the ways that artists are able to produce work. In fact, I know of many artists from New York who have decided to go to China to have their works manufactured. I think that this . . . that kind of factory structure, the ease with which you can have high end, custom-made things created. I think that the cost is also another factor; that artists can create things in China that they could never dream of producing here in factories in the United States. I think that that’s one of the major ways that you’ve seen the industry in China impact upon the art scene. And of course this has had a flow-on effect to ways that artists also can ______ studios; that there are artists in China that have enormous studios that would take your breath away. There is one artist in fact, his name is ________, and he established a studio outside of Shanghai – about a 40 minutes’ drive from Shanghai – in an old textile factory. And he now has three complexes around that area and employs up to 100 people just constantly creating new works. So you might go to his studio one day, and you might go a week later and there might be a completely different body of work to explore. So I think that that has had a kind of flow-on influence as well.

I think that we haven’t yet seen a . . . I mean we’ve seen styles developed in China that are peculiar to China, and have a resonance in China, and tell a particular story about China; but I think that the way that our production is at the moment is that it’s often harder to export those styles. We haven't seen that happen yet. In fact, one might identify other kinds of influences going into China at the moment. I think that certainly when we see Chinese styles – home-grown stuff – exported, then we’ll really know that New York is no longer the center of the art world, but that it resides somewhere else.

I think there are two artists that I would identify. Both of them are, in some ways, from the younger generation. The first would be _______ who is a young woman who lives in Beijing. And I think that her project for the Venice ______ involving second life is really a great introduction, I think, for us in terms of ways that art and technology can work together. And certainly the avatar that she created – in her own likeness of course – but I think also ways in which she has in other works – such as her photographs where she has shown people actually in the factories in China – has been one of the few occasions we have seen artists engage with China’s factories. You know that’s one of the funny things about Chinese contemporary art; that although you have this whole, huge country devoted to manufacturing, in many cases it’s something that you haven’t seen appearing in Chinese artists’ work.

And the other artist I would mention is _________, who primarily works in video. And he, I think, creates these quite extraordinary films that have . . . that speak in two ways or two sides. There are two sides to them. On the one . . . on the one hand they are very much about the nostalgia of Shanghai as a wonderful place in the early 20th Century where it was very much a cosmopolitan century. It was often referred to as a Paris of the east. And he’s able to conjure up that kind of sensibility in his black and white films. And on the other hand it speaks very much to Shanghai’s emergence as a major financial center in the region. And he, in some of his video works/films, really shows that emergence of this young, urban, middle class – or yuppies if you like. So both of these artists show in different ways the kind of changes that are going on in China, but in very unique ways.

Question: Does classical Chinese art inform modern Chinese art?

Transcript: I think that at one time, especially if we look to China’s more recent history in the 20th Century when the Cultural Revolution occurred, and there was a desire to kind of destroy the _____, to wipe the slate clean and start again with what were kind of more scientific models and approaches to art making. However, I think that this younger generation of artists . . . I think that they look to history in different ways. And in fact, in many cases they’re going back to the classics and reusing them in very different ways. For example, one artist called _______ has taken a very important Chinese scroll painting, and he has inserted contemporary figures into that scroll painting. And so it’s a real bringing together of traditional form and contemporary, everyday life. So I think that that’s one kind of use of the classics; but I think we must also be mindful that Chinese visual traditions continue on. And in fact there is a very lively ink painting seen in China that’s a very lively calligraphy seen through associations as well as at the art academies. And that’s one of the important things to remember about Chinese contemporary art; that there are these parallel worlds that sometimes intermingle and intersect. But we have on the one hand the experimental contemporary art scene that I’ve been speaking to. And we also have this classical continuation of tradition through, obviously, mediums like ink. And that’s an important thing to remember about Chinese culture.

I think that on the one hand, these . . . this younger generation is given a voice; but I think what is . . . what is also interesting to note about China right now is that the generation of artists who are mostly in their 50s right now, a lot of them left China around . . . _____ the time of ’89. And they ______ different art centers around the world, most likely Paris and New York, in fact. And what’s really interesting about this is that there has been a huge return to the homeland. And many of these artists, even if they still continue to reside outside of China, have come to work at a high level with either business or government policy figures to actually influence China. And so I would say that certainly that generation who are in their 50s now have come of age. And they have a great deal of importance . . . important roles to play within society . . . within Chinese society. But what’s interesting about the diaspora population is that they obviously bring to China a different set of values that has been changed by their living outside of China for over a decade now.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: I think one of the most interesting things to say about Chinese contemporary art is that it really has this 30 year history. And when I talk about it, we . . . we often cite the most important kind of birth date, if you like, as 1979 when _______ declared his open door policy in China, which allowed the opening up of China. Artists in China at that time were allowed to engage with western art history in a way that they hadn’t been able to before. And there are these important moments within Chinese contemporary art that allow us to identify three main phases defined by decades. Mostly throughout the 1980s you saw this kind of frenetic energy and engagement with western ideas. And that is often cited as the kind of most experimental period. And then throughout the 1990s after Tieneman on June 4, 1989, we saw a restriction of activities that artists were able to stage. They were shut out of galleries . . . any galleries and museums. They couldn’t show their work in the public sphere. And during this decade we also saw the internationalization of Chinese contemporary art; that on the one had Chinese artists were prevented from showing their work inside China; but around the time of the mid-1990s, there was much curatorial interest, especially in Europe and places like Australia. And there were many international opportunities for Chinese artists to show their work outside. And then of course, everything changed in 2000. There was a real opening up of China. And the Chinese government itself had a different kind of relationship with experimental artists. They decided that it was okay for Chinese artists to show their work in museums. And we have since seen the Chinese government take on experimental artists at, you know, kind of national representation such as at the ______ premier . . . kind of a contemporary art event that happens every two years in Venice.

Question: What impact has China’s opening had on the country’s art world?

Transcript: I’m not sure that it’s had a direct impact other than artists being able to show their work. I think that what has happened is that there is less of an inclination, I think now, to . . . to . . . for artists to produce works that directly critique famous political figures like Mao. We’re seeing a younger generation take a kind of different approach to creating the works that they do; but it’s very hard to generalize in the kind of . . . and identify a tangible trend since . . . since 2000. In fact, you might say that since 2000, you’ve . . . it’s much more difficult to categorize the Chinese art world in terms of movements. We’ve seen a real opening up all across the country towards different types of art being produced, different groups of artists, different . . . different kinds of exhibitions __________.

Question: What are the major themes in modern Chinese art?

Transcript: Well again, I think that I always . . . It’s funny. If somebody would have posed that question to me about American art, it would be really difficult to identify one trend or even five trends. I think this, if anything, reflects a certain degree of maturity in the Chinese art world; that 30 years on, I think we have this kind of expanded notion of what Chinese contemporary art might be; that at one time in the early 1990s you could have identified three main trends, one of which would have been political pop painting; another cynical realism, which were painting styles. But now we have a . . . this layering process of at least four or five generations of artists who are kind of continuously emerging from different art schools across the country. And so ____ almost _____ to identify even a handful of trends. What I would say, however, is that it is really through the younger generation of artists, especially as we see younger women artists emerge. Because up until now there have only been a handful of really major Chinese woman artists on the international sphere who were able to show their work. And so I think that we’re seeing those young women emerge. And we’re also seeing a greater use of new technology; that in fact Chinese artists are really excelling, especially in the field of new media and video arts, which I think will capture people’s imagination in time to come.

Question: How has technology informed Chinese art?

Transcript: Well I think in terms of China being the . . . one of the world’s center of manufacturing. I think that that has impacted on the ways that artists are able to produce work. In fact, I know of many artists from New York who have decided to go to China to have their works manufactured. I think that this . . . that kind of factory structure, the ease with which you can have high end, custom-made things created. I think that the cost is also another factor; that artists can create things in China that they could never dream of producing here in factories in the United States. I think that that’s one of the major ways that you’ve seen the industry in China impact upon the art scene. And of course this has had a flow-on effect to ways that artists also can ______ studios; that there are artists in China that have enormous studios that would take your breath away. There is one artist in fact, his name is ________, and he established a studio outside of Shanghai – about a 40 minutes’ drive from Shanghai – in an old textile factory. And he now has three complexes around that area and employs up to 100 people just constantly creating new works. So you might go to his studio one day, and you might go a week later and there might be a completely different body of work to explore. So I think that that has had a kind of flow-on influence as well.

I think that we haven’t yet seen a . . .  I mean we’ve seen styles developed in China that are peculiar to China, and have a resonance in China, and tell a particular story about China; but I think that the way that our production is at the moment is that it’s often harder to export those styles.  We haven’t  I seen that happen yet.  In fact, one might identify other kinds of influences going into China at the moment.  I think that certainly when we see Chinese styles – home-grown stuff – exported, then we’ll really know that New York is no longer the center of the art world, but that it resides somewhere else.

I think there are two artists that I would identify. Both of them are, in some ways, from the younger generation. The first would be _______ who is a young woman who lives in Beijing. And I think that her project for the Venice ______ involving second life is really a great introduction, I think, for us in terms of ways that art and technology can work together. And certainly the avatar that she created – in her own likeness of course – but I think also ways in which she has in other works – such as her photographs where she has shown people actually in the factories in China – has been one of the few occasions we have seen artists engage with China’s factories. You know that’s one of the funny things about Chinese contemporary art; that although you have this whole, huge country devoted to manufacturing, in many cases it’s something that you haven’t seen appearing in Chinese artists’ work.

And the other artist I would mention is _________, who primarily works in video. And he, I think, creates these quite extraordinary films that have . . . that speak in two ways or two sides. There are two sides to them. On the one . . . on the one hand they are very much about the nostalgia of Shanghai as a wonderful place in the early 20th Century where it was very much a cosmopolitan century. It was often referred to as a Paris of the east. And he’s able to conjure up that kind of sensibility in his black and white films. And on the other hand it speaks very much to Shanghai’s emergence as a major financial center in the region. And he, in some of his video works/films, really shows that emergence of this young, urban, middle class – or yuppies if you like. So both of these artists show in different ways the kind of changes that are going on in China, but in very unique ways.

Question: Does classical Chinese art inform modern Chinese art?

Transcript: I think that at one time, especially if we look to China’s more recent history in the 20th Century when the Cultural Revolution occurred, and there was a desire to kind of destroy the _____, to wipe the slate clean and start again with what were kind of more scientific models and approaches to art making. However, I think that this younger generation of artists . . . I think that they look to history in different ways. And in fact, in many cases they’re going back to the classics and reusing them in very different ways. For example, one artist called _______ has taken a very important Chinese scroll painting, and he has inserted contemporary figures into that scroll painting. And so it’s a real bringing together of traditional form and contemporary, everyday life. So I think that that’s one kind of use of the classics; but I think we must also be mindful that Chinese visual traditions continue on. And in fact there is a very lively ink painting seen in China that’s a very lively calligraphy seen through associations as well as at the art academies. And that’s one of the important things to remember about Chinese contemporary art; that there are these parallel worlds that sometimes intermingle and intersect. But we have on the one hand the experimental contemporary art scene that I’ve been speaking to. And we also have this classical continuation of tradition through, obviously, mediums like ink. And that’s an important thing to remember about Chinese culture.

I think that on the one hand, these . . . this younger generation is given a voice; but I think what is . . . what is also interesting to note about China right now is that the generation of artists who are mostly in their 50s right now, a lot of them left China around . . . _____ the time of ’89. And they ______ different art centers around the world, most likely Paris and New York, in fact. And what’s really interesting about this is that there has been a huge return to the homeland. And many of these artists, even if they still continue to reside outside of China, have come to work at a high level with either business or government policy figures to actually influence China. And so I would say that certainly that generation who are in their 50s now have come of age. And they have a great deal of importance . . . important roles to play within society . . . within Chinese society. But what’s interesting about the diaspora population is that they obviously bring to China a different set of values that has been changed by their living outside of China for over a decade now.

Many people in China talk about the market as the biggest challenge; that if . . . The market for Chinese contemporary art was really born in its strictest sense about 2½ years ago when Chinese contemporary art auctions and sales were held to . . . with an enormous kind of escalation of prices. And it seems that every time there’s an auction of Chinese contemporary art, some record is broken. Now I think that that’s always going to happen when you’re starting from zero. Obviously there was a very active gallery scene and lots of . . . There are a handful of galleries who have long . . .very long histories of selling Chinese art, especially to foreign visitors to China. However, I think that for the . . . for the challenge, I think the challenge really comes to Chinese contemporary artists wanting to create new images, new commentaries on the world. I think that one of the traps that many artists have fallen into is that having . . . never having wealth, having come from nothing, having come from the countryside; to then find enormous prosperity from making work, I think a lot of them have been seduced into creating the same work over and over again because the market demands it. And so I think that the greatest challenge, really, is to stay true to one’s self as an artist and to create work that is not about just making money.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question: What is an artist’s role in society?

Transcript: To be an artist is a very kind of solitary existence. You create . . . most of them create works in . . . by themselves in their studio environment. So I think for them to think that they represent a cultural or a nation, or a work collectively, I think, is a difficult concept for all of them. I think that they create works that might offer very important commentary on certain things; but I don’t know that they would ever feel like they could be involved in the kind of preservation of a local culture. I think that their works might be interpreted in that way, but I don’t know that any of them would ever feel that that was their role within society.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question: Is development incompatible with environmentalism?

Transcript: I mean China _____ leadership in China has to also recognize the importance of the environment in its policies.  And you know, I often hear advocates of Chinese . . . the Chinese government say, when they talk about the environment, they use the analogy that, you know, first world nations have developed and ruined their environment.  And it’s almost like a room of smokers where China comes in and they all say, “You can’t smoke,” meaning . . . the analogy being that, of course, all of the first world nations have already developed and they don’t . . . they want to somehow hinder China from smoking, if you push the analogy further in terms of . . . in terms of actually developing.  And I think that that’s . . .  And some in the Chinese government may recognize this already; but I think that this will be really something that will affect the future of not just China, of course because of its size, but also the world.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: One of the interesting things about working with people who are based across the world is the way that you have to modify ideal behavior, or the way that you communicate to suit that local environment.  And I think that, especially in Asia where people are often coming from their totally different cultural background with totally different expectations of how you might behave . . . I think that that’s both one of the challenges of what . . . what we do, but also one of the wonderful kind of abilities to engage with others.  While there might not be one specific instance, I would say that it’s more about learning how to kind of . . . how to fit in in a different way. 

Question: Can local culture be preserved?

Transcript: When globalization first started to be talked about – and of course it originally began as an economic model – I think that so many people felt like local cultures would disappear. Now it’s true to say there is something of a . . . a kind of global economy; that when we go to different cities around the world, we do find McDonald’s and we do find Starbucks. But I think the flip side of that has been that people also have sort of retained local cultures, or to inflect these kind of global organizations in local ways. So the Starbucks that you might go to in Italy will be different from the Starbucks that you go to in China. And so I think that while that might seem kind of a superficial interpretation of the global/local kind of question, I think on the one hand there are those who . . . who are able to be global citizens, if you like. But I think we also have to be . . . we also have to remind ourselves that this is a minority of the kind of world population. And that for so many other people it’s simply a local situation. It’s a local culture. It’s . . . it’s . . . Globalization hasn’t had an impact on everyone. And so I think that we will never see, as far as I can see, the disappearance of a local culture because that is what I think people really want; that the global culture is what I see as an imperative of something that we . . . or kind of a necessity of what we all have to deal with. But local isn’t _______ working on a local level, really ______ disappear.

Question: Should we try to preserve local culture?

Transcript: Well I think preservation is a . . . is a kind of interesting question, because when . . . oftentimes when one seeks to preserve something, it . . . it might prevent it from evolving or changing. So although there is very good work done – especially in the field of government, NGO agencies, also even foundations – to support the preservation of culture . . . and often that cultural tradition might be in the form of dance, or movement, or something like that perhaps more so than on the visual arts side. But I think we have to be really careful about this idea of preservation, that it doesn’t actually limit the ability to . . . for these kind of traditions to evolve and change in response to a kind of changing environment.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: I think that if I were to say anything about the way that I see the world, I think that one of the most important elements to remember is cultural sensitivity. That when we deal with . . . when we have relationships with other people in other parts of the world, I think that we can never assume that what we think we’re communicating is in fact how they see it; but I think that that’s what I’ve learned from living in different places around the world and also being, I guess, bicultural. Being bicultural, I think that that’s the one thing that has influenced all of the work that I do.

Question: Can people of different cultures co-exist?

Transcript: another perhaps even greater issue is an issue of cultural difference that we see played out in religious differences. And we have seen it most recently in London. I think it’s also an issue of course here for the United States, and it’s dealt with very differently in different places. But I think that the way the communities, societies, and nations are able to deal in a sophisticated way with cultural difference, most societies today are much . . . contain much . . . many more different kinds of communities. There are very few places in the world that are ________ today. And so I think in the future, our ways of dealing with different cultures in our society will have a great impact on our . . . great impact on peace, for example, and a great impact on the quality of life.

I think that some societies have dealt better with it than others. Some have been addressed through government policies. I think that there are . . . there are some policies that are . . . that are more successful than others. And one of the major issues is always about integration. That for . . . for individuals to feel like they are part of the society in which they reside, they have an owner . . . an ownership or a say in the way that that society is owned and governed is probably the most important issue. And I think that that’s when people become . . . When it doesn’t happen, that’s when people and groups and communities become disenfranchised. And I think that that’s when we see great social unrest and other sorts of issues that come from that.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript:  Well I think that my first contact was even not so much with China, but more with Hong Kong because my father’s family were based there.  We would spend a lot of time in Hong Kong, at least, visiting our families and relative . . . our family and relatives there.  And so I think that Hong Kong in many ways is what you might call a China in diaspora.  So it’s China, but it’s also a little bit different because it hasn’t experienced the same kinds of things that mainland China . . . that have defined modern . . . mainland China such as the Cultural Revolution.  I think that my upbringing was unusual in that, like most children of that time and certainly in Australia, I think that what had happened was that my father very much wanted his children to be Australian.  And so I think my mother really wanted us to be Chinese in influence and my father really wanted us to be Australian.  And so I come from very much a kind of biracial household, if you like.

I think that on the one hand, these . . . this younger generation is given a voice; but I think what is . . . what is also interesting to note about China right now is that the generation of artists who are mostly in their 50s right now, a lot of them left China around . . . _____ the time of ’89.  And they ______ different art centers around the world, most likely Paris and New York, in fact.  And what’s really interesting about this is that there has been a huge return to the homeland.  And many of these artists, even if they still continue to reside outside of China, have come to work at a high level with either business or government policy figures to actually influence China.  And so I would say that certainly that generation who are in their 50s now have come of age.  And they have a great deal of importance . . . important roles to play within society . . . within Chinese society.  But what’s interesting about the diaspora population is that they obviously bring to China a different set of values that has been changed by their living outside of China for over a decade now.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: Well I think in terms of China being the . . . one of the world’s center of manufacturing.  I think that that has impacted on the ways that artists are able to produce work.  In fact, I know of many artists from New York who have decided to go to China to have their works manufactured.  I think that this . . . that kind of factory structure, the ease with which you can have high end, custom-made things created.  I think that the cost is also another factor; that artists can create things in China that they could never dream of producing here in factories in the United States.  I think that that’s one of the major ways that you’ve seen the industry in China impact upon the art scene.  And of course this has had a flow-on effect to ways that artists also can ______ studios; that there are artists in China that have enormous studios that would take your breath away.  There is one artist in fact, his name is ________, and he established a studio outside of Shanghai – about a 40 minutes’ drive from Shanghai – in an old textile factory. And he now has three complexes around that area and employs up to 100 people just constantly creating new works.  So you might go to his studio one day, and you might go a week later and there might be a completely different body of work to explore.  So I think that that has had a kind of flow-on influence as well.

I think there are two artists that I would identify.  Both of them are, in some ways, from the younger generation.  The first would be _______ who is a young woman who lives in Beijing.  And I think that her project for the Venice ______ involving second life is really a great introduction, I think, for us in terms of ways that art and technology can work together.  And certainly the avatar that she created – in her own likeness of course – but I think also ways in which she has in other works – such as her photographs where she has shown people actually in the factories in China – has been one of the few occasions we have seen artists engage with China’s factories.  You know that’s one of the funny things about Chinese contemporary art; that although you have this whole, huge country devoted to manufacturing, in many cases it’s something that you haven’t seen appearing in Chinese artists’ work.

And the other artist I would mention is _________, who primarily works in video.  And he, I think, creates these quite extraordinary films that have . . . that speak in two ways or two sides.  There are two sides to them.  On the one . . . on the one hand they are very much about the nostalgia of Shanghai as a wonderful place in the early 20th Century where it was very much a cosmopolitan century.  It was often referred to as a Paris of the east.  And he’s able to conjure up that kind of sensibility in his black and white films.  And on the other hand it speaks very much to Shanghai’s emergence as a major financial center in the region.  And he, in some of his video works/films, really shows that emergence of this young, urban, middle class – or yuppies if you like.  So both of these artists show in different ways the kind of changes that are going on in China, but in very unique ways.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: I think that from very early childhood, my . . . I had always shown an interest in art, and I think that my parents had always encouraged that. And so when it came for all of us to make decisions about what path our career might take, I decided to study in art history. And when I was going through university at that time in Australia, Australia was really undergoing a . . . an enormous kind of readjustment or realignment where those . . . those powers that be in politics and in the financial fields really wanted to see Australia realign itself to the Asia Pacific region, realizing that the U.S. and the European markets primarily were becoming harder for Australia to engage with them. So I was very much involved in seeing that kind of climate change. And I had long obviously traveled to Asia through my family’s experiences. And so I became interested . . . more and more interested in China and also Asia more broadly.

I think I would have to say that seeing a great work of art is incredibly inspiring.  I think that while I couldn’t necessarily identify an individual who would inspire me, I think that that . . . seeing . . . seeing a compelling, poignant work that speaks to our time, that says something about current day issues, or politics, or how an artist was experiencing the world around them I think is an incredible experience.  And I think that that’s what really probably drew me to this field.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcripts: Well I think that my first contact was even not so much with China, but more with Hong Kong because my father’s family were based there. We would spend a lot of time in Hong Kong, at least, visiting our families and relative . . . our family and relatives there. And so I think that Hong Kong in many ways is what you might call a China in diaspora. So it’s China, but it’s also a little bit different because it hasn’t experienced the same kinds of things that mainland China . . . that have defined modern . . . mainland China such as the Cultural Revolution. I think that my upbringing was unusual in that, like most children of that time and certainly in Australia, I think that what had happened was that my father very much wanted his children to be Australian. And so I think my mother really wanted us to be Chinese in influence and my father really wanted us to be Australian. And so I come from very much a kind of biracial household, if you like.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question: What should we be doing as individuals?

Transcript: I think the one issue which relates in some ways to my comments about cultural sensitivity, is that many of the world’s problems I think would be prevented if we were to just simply put ourselves in another’s shoes, especially when it comes to conflict resolution. I think that there are many times when we can’t see the other person’s point of view. And if we did, I think we wouldn’t find ourselves in the kind of trouble that we are in today. So that would be my one comment that . . . that in fact . . . you know . . . let’s . . . let’s try and put ourselves in the other person’s shoes.

Question: Can a local culture survive in a global community?

Transcript: Yeah. I mean that’s a great question because it’s actually one of the, I think, biggest questions that we all have to come to terms with. When globalization first started to be talked about – and of course it originally began as an economic model – I think that so many people felt like local cultures would disappear. Now it’s true to say there is something of a . . . a kind of global economy; that when we go to different cities around the world, we do find McDonald’s and we do find Starbucks. But I think the flip side of that has been that people also have sort of retained local cultures, or to inflect these kind of global organizations in local ways. So the Starbucks that you might go to in Italy will be different from the Starbucks that you go to in China. And so I think that while that might seem kind of a superficial interpretation of the global/local kind of question, I think on the one hand there are those who . . . who are able to be global citizens, if you like. But I think we also have to be . . . we also have to remind ourselves that this is a minority of the kind of world population. And that for so many other people it’s simply a local situation. It’s a local culture. It’s . . . it’s . . . Globalization hasn’t had an impact on everyone. And so I think that we will never see, as far as I can see, the disappearance of a local culture because that is what I think people really want; that the global culture is what I see as an imperative of something that we . . . or kind of a necessity of what we all have to deal with. But local isn’t _______ working on a local level, really ______ disappear.

Question: Do artists have a responsibility to preserve local culture?

Transcript: I’m not sure. I mean for . . . for most artists, they . . . To be an artist is a very kind of solitary existence. You create . . . most of them create works in . . . by themselves in their studio environment. So I think for them to think that they represent a cultural or a nation, or a work collectively, I think, is a difficult concept for all of them. I think that they create works that might offer very important commentary on certain things; but I don’t know that they would ever feel like they could be involved in the kind of preservation of a local culture. I think that their works might be interpreted in that way, but I don’t know that any of them would ever feel that that was their role within society.

Question: Whose responsibility is it to preserve local culture?

Transcript: Well I think preservation is a . . . is a kind of interesting question, because when . . . oftentimes when one seeks to preserve something, it . . . it might prevent it from evolving or changing. So although there is very good work done – especially in the field of government, NGO agencies, also even foundations – to support the preservation of culture . . . and often that cultural tradition might be in the form of dance, or movement, or something like that perhaps more so than on the visual arts side. But I think we have to be really careful about this idea of preservation, that it doesn’t actually limit the ability to . . . for these kind of traditions to evolve and change in response to a kind of changing environment.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question: What should we be asking ourselves?

Transcript: So “Have you thought about the other person’s perspective?” Or, “Have you thought about what it might be like for that other person?”

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question:  Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the way the world is headed?

Transcript:  I think . . .  I think I’m always optimistic in how we might . . . we might deal with these issues.  I think that there are, of course, moments of great pessimism when things appear to be going terribly; but I think that there are . . . there is still great work being done in various different communities.  And certainly if you look at the London situation, there are great leaders.  And even . . . you know recently, I have been reading more about the . . . the imams in London and the way that they are _____ with the London government _____ as representatives.  And I think that that kind of collaborative . . . collaborative approach between communities and government is something that we should always ______ as a great model.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question: When you read the newspaper or watch the news, what issues stand out for you?

Transcript: I think, of course the environment is one big issue; but another perhaps even greater issue is an issue of cultural difference that we see played out in religious differences. And we have seen it most recently in London. I think it’s also an issue of course here for the United States, and it’s dealt with very differently in different places. But I think that the way the communities, societies, and nations are able to deal in a sophisticated way with cultural difference, most societies today are much . . . contain much . . . many more different kinds of communities. There are very few places in the world that are ________ today. And so I think in the future, our ways of dealing with different cultures in our society will have a great impact on our . . . great impact on peace, for example, and a great impact on the quality of life.

Question: How can people of different cultures co-exist?

Transcript: You know that . . . I mean I think that’s one of the age-old questions. I think that some societies have dealt better with it than others. Some have been addressed through government policies. I think that there are . . . there are some policies that are . . . that are more successful than others. And one of the major issues is always about integration. That for . . . for individuals to feel like they are part of the society in which they reside, they have an owner . . . an ownership or a say in the way that that society is owned and governed is probably the most important issue. And I think that that’s when people become . . . When it doesn’t happen, that’s when people and groups and communities become disenfranchised. And I think that that’s when we see great social unrest and other sorts of issues that come from that.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question: What forces have shaped China most?

Transcript: I think in terms of today’s China, that the Cultural Revolution was both a terrible time for a lot of the people who experienced it . . . but I think it has set the stage for China to really be able to change in such a quick fashion; thereby this desire to create a new kind of modern-day China by getting rid of the _____ system. I think what it did was it freed up Chinese society to be able to adapt so much quicker to the demands of today. And so I would say that if we were to look at the Chinese situation, that it would really be the Cultural Revolution – that ten year period from ’66 to ’76 – as the major catalyst for what we see as being success in China’s kind of post-industrialization, if you like.

Question: What does it mean to be Chinese?

Transcript: I think . . . I think in mainland China there . . . there has always been a very strong attachment to being Chinese; but I think it’s almost an irony that the societies that we might call “belonging” . . . belong . . . that belong to greater China – like Taiwan and Hong Kong and even Singapore – I think that they have an even stronger attachment to being Chinese, and in that way have often replicated or created the circumstances for the continuation of traditions in a way that we don’t see today in mainland China. So being Chinese, I think, has many different layers to it depending on whether you’re in mainland China, or whether you’re even here in New York. It’s a very complex thing. But there is a sense, however, of being Chinese . . . as belonging, or having a kind of strong attachment to mainland China as a place, even if it’s an imaginary place.

Question: What does the world have to learn about China?

Transcript: That’s a good question. I think that the world doesn’t understand that most Chinese people feel that the last 200 years of Chinese history have been a terrible kind of moment in Chinese history; that Chinese people have a long . . . have a strong understanding of their 5,000 year history. And in fact, if anything, many young people talk about today’s China now and the future as being a renaissance of Chinese culture and Chinese history . . . that this might . . . In fact, the 21st Century might be the new ________ dynasty; and the new __________ most people think of as the height of Chinese civilization. So I think that’s really what people maybe don’t quite understand, is that it’s not just about the common man getting wealthy for Chinese people. It’s also about this huge sense of cultural pride; that they want China to succeed.

Question: What does China have to learn about the world?

Transcript: I think that China has recognized that the United States is very important to their future. And I think that they acknowledge it in all sorts of ways; but I think that we also . . . I mean China _____ leadership in China has to also recognize the importance of the environment in its policies. And you know, I often hear advocates of Chinese . . . the Chinese government say, when they talk about the environment, they use the analogy that, you know, first world nations have developed and ruined their environment. And it’s almost like a room of smokers where China comes in and they all say, “You can’t smoke,” meaning . . . the analogy being that, of course, all of the first world nations have already developed and they don’t . . . they want to somehow hinder China from smoking, if you push the analogy further in terms of . . . in terms of actually developing. And I think that that’s . . . And some in the Chinese government may recognize this already; but I think that this will be really something that will affect the future of not just China, of course because of its size, but also the world

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Question: Do you have a personal philosophy?

Transcript: I think if my world view . . . and I think that in itself sounds quite grand . . . but I think that if I were to say anything about the way that I see the world, I think that one of the most important elements to remember is cultural sensitivity. That when we deal with . . . when we have relationships with other people in other parts of the world, I think that we can never assume that what we think we’re communicating is in fact how they see it; but I think that that’s what I’ve learned from living in different places around the world and also being, I guess, bicultural. Being bicultural, I think that that’s the one thing that has influenced all of the work that I do.

I think that one of the . . . One of the interesting things about working with people who are based across the world is the way that you have to modify ideal behavior, or the way that you communicate to suit that local environment. And I think that, especially in Asia where people are often coming from their totally different cultural background with totally different expectations of how you might behave . . . I think that that’s both one of the challenges of what . . . what we do, but also one of the wonderful kind of abilities to engage with others. While there might not be one specific instance, I would say that it’s more about learning how to kind of . . . how to fit in in a different way.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: My name is Melissa Chiu. And I am Director of the Asia Society museum.

Question: Where are you from and how has that shaped you?

Transcript: I was born in Darwin, Australia. It’s a far northern city. And I spent most of my childhood in this place. And then my mother believed that we should move south to Sydney to be educated, so I spent most of my life in Sydney. And in fact, just over six years ago I moved here to New York when I was offered a position at the Asia Society.

My father is originally from mainland China. In fact, from the South of China, _________. And his family story is that they moved from Southern China from Hong Kong when the Communists came into power in China. And he subsequently moved to Australia for his university education. And my mother is Australian of Anglo-Celtic heritage.

Question: When did Chinese culture spark your interest?

Transcript: Well I think that my first contact was even not so much with China, but more with Hong Kong because my father’s family were based there. We would spend a lot of time in Hong Kong, at least, visiting our families and relative . . . our family and relatives there. And so I think that Hong Kong in many ways is what you might call a China in diaspora. So it’s China, but it’s also a little bit different because it hasn’t experienced the same kinds of things that mainland China . . . that have defined modern . . . mainland China such as the Cultural Revolution. I think that my upbringing was unusual in that, like most children of that time and certainly in Australia, I think that what had happened was that my father very much wanted his children to be Australian. And so I think my mother really wanted us to be Chinese in influence and my father really wanted us to be Australian. And so I come from very much a kind of biracial household, if you like.

Question: When did art spark your interest?

Transcript: Well my first visit to China was in 1992 with my father. He . . . he wanted to take me to China to show me the Three Gorges. He was convinced that the Three Gorges Dam would have a substantial impact on the surrounding cities and things like that. So he wanted to show his children that kind of experience. And during that time, I did see some artists. And I was impressed with the work. I’m also impressed with the circumstance and their ability to produce works . . . to create things in what was an extremely difficult environment at that time. This was post ’89, the Tieneman incident. And so things were pretty strict then.

I think that from very early childhood, my . . . I had always shown an interest in art, and I think that my parents had always encouraged that. And so when it came for all of us to make decisions about what path our career might take, I decided to study in art history. And when I was going through university at that time in Australia, Australia was really undergoing a . . . an enormous kind of readjustment or realignment where those . . . those powers that be in politics and in the financial fields really wanted to see Australia realign itself to the Asia Pacific region, realizing that the U.S. and the European markets primarily were becoming harder for Australia to engage with them. So I was very much involved in seeing that kind of climate change. And I had long obviously traveled to Asia through my family’s experiences. And so I became interested . . . more and more interested in China and also Asia more broadly.

Recorded on: 7/11/07

Transcript: I think I would have to say that seeing a great work of art is incredibly inspiring.  I think that while I couldn’t necessarily identify an individual who would inspire me, I think that that . . . seeing . . . seeing a compelling, poignant work that speaks to our time, that says something about current day issues, or politics, or how an artist was experiencing the world around them I think is an incredible experience.  And I think that that’s what really probably drew me to this field.

Question: Is there a work of art you find particularly inspiring?

Transcript:  I think the one work that certainly comes to mind is a series of paintings called “The Bloodline Series” by an artist called Zhang Xiaogang.  And I was lucky enough to see one of his first solo exhibitions in China.  In fact, now he’s one of the hottest kind of highest ranking artists – Chinese artists – in the marketplace.  But I think that when I . . . when I saw his work in the early 1990s – and in fact his solo show must have been in 1995 or something like that in Beijing at the Central Academy Gallery – I was immediately taken aback by the power of the images.  They . . .  They are usually painted on quite a large scale, and the portraits of families taken from the time of the Cultural Revolution.  And they resemble old-style family portraits.  And so they obviously have this nostalgia for Chinese people; but the way that they’re rendered with such delicacy . . . and the bloodline, which obviously has so many connotations about ancestry and things like that.  But also I think for Chinese people, it also has a reference to one’s allegiances, whether it is in fact to one’s family and ancestry, or to the Communist party.  And each of the family members in these portraits is joined by this very faint red line which is, of course, the bloodline.

Recorded on: 7/11/07