張煥講演会 (Zhang Huan Lecture) - VoiceTube 動画で英語を学ぶ

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>> WELCOME TO FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS AND SCULPTURE PARK.
MY NAME IS JOE BECHERER AND I AM THE CHIEF CURATOR
AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS,
AND WE ARE HERE TO CELEBRATE THE MEMBERS OPENING
OF THIS VERY IMPORTANT EXHIBITION,
"LOOKING EAST, FACING WEST-- THE WORLD OF ZHANG HUAN."
AND PROBABLY THIS IS AN EXHIBITION
THAT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT
THAN MANY OF THE OTHER EXHIBITIONS
THAT YOU HAVE ATTENDED HERE OR MAYBE AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS,
OR MAYBE IT RINGS FAMILIAR,
AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TONIGHT
IS TO WALK YOU THROUGH ZHANG HUAN'S DEVELOPMENT
AND HIT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS EXHIBITION.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, WE'LL SAVE A FEW MINUTES
FOR OURSELVES AT THE VERY END FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
BEFORE I ACTUALLY START WITH MY PREPARED MATERIALS,
FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE DANIEL AND PAMELLA DEVOS FOUNDATION,
WHO ARE THE UNDERWRITERS FOR THIS EXHIBITION.
IN ADDITION, THE MEIJER FOUNDATION,
THE BOTANIC AND SCULPTURE SOCIETIES
OF FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS AND SCULPTURE PARK,
GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND AQUINAS COLLEGE.
SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
(applause)
I ALSO WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE GALLERY GUIDE.
TAKE THIS WITH YOU, TAKE THIS HOME, FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
NUMBER ONE, THERE IS GREAT INFORMATION IN TERMS
OF HOW THE EXHIBITION IS LAID OUT
AND SOME OF THE ICONIC PIECES FOR THE EXHIBITION.
AS YOU OPEN IT UP,
YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL
VERY SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITIES THIS SUMMER TO EXPERIENCE
THE EXHIBITION AND THE PERMANENT COLLECTION
THAT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT HAS OFFERED.
THE PERSPECTIVES SERIES IS SET FOR JUNE 7th...
THE GALLERY WALK WITH PROFESSOR CRAIG HANSON AT CALVIN COLLEGE--
IF YOU'VE NEVER HEARD CRAIG SPEAK-- DO ENJOY IT.
IT'S A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY.
ANOTHER GALLERY WALK WITH JOHN STELLA.
AND THEN, FINALLY, AT THE END OF SUMMER, CURATOR'S CHOICE.
I ALSO WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE LARGE MAP,
AND MOST OF THE WORKS OUTSIDE IN THE SCULPTURE PARK
ARE MARKED BY A BLACK DOT.
THERE ARE TWO WHICH ARE MARKED BY A TAN DOT--
THESE ARE TWO MAJOR ACQUISITIONS
THAT ARE NOW PART OF THE PERMANENT COLLECTION.
SOME OF YOU HAVE ALREADY HEARD ABOUT
AND SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY SEEN
THE NEW SITE-SPECIFIC PIECE BY RICHARD SERRA,
AND WE ARE JUST IN THE PROCESS WITH THE HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT
FINISHING UP THE GEORGE SEGAL,
WHICH IS AN ADDITION TO THE GALLERY SECTION
OF THE SCULPTURE PARK.
SO IT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET OUT THERE IN THE SUMMER
WHEN IT'S NOT RAINING OR HAILING OR...
(audience laughing)
PERFORMING SOME OTHER VERY INTERESTING TASK.
OR MAYBE YOU LIKE THE RAIN AND HAIL.
BUT TWO WONDERFUL ADDITIONS TO THE PERMANENT COLLECTION.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, TAKE THIS HOME,
AND LET'S GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT ZHANG HUAN.
BRING THE LIGHTS DOWN, PLEASE.
I WANT TO SPEND JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES REFLECTING ON THE TITLE,
AND I KNOW SOMETIMES THE TITLES OF EXHIBITIONS
CAN BE SUPERFLUOUS,
BUT I TEND TO TAKE THEM PRETTY SERIOUSLY
BECAUSE I HOPE THAT THEY OFFER SOME FOUNDATIONAL INFORMATION
TO WHAT THE EXHIBITION IS ABOUT.
IT'S ALSO A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO USE A COLON.
(audience laughing)
AND THIS EXHIBITION, "LOOKING EAST AND FACING WEST"
REALLY SETS THE TONE FOR WHAT YOU'D EXPERIENCED
AND WHAT AFTER, I HOPE, IS AN INSIGHTFUL LECTURE TONIGHT FOR YOU
IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO GO BACK IN
AND ENJOY THE EXHIBITION ONCE AGAIN.
BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ARTIST THAT REALLY HELPS US TO SEE
INTO TWO WORLDS-- TWO WORLDS THAT,
AT TIMES, SEEM AS IF THEY ARE BECOMING ONE WORLD,
AND THEN AT OTHER TIMES, SEEM TO REMAIN SET
IN THEIR WAYS OF OTHERWORLDLY EXPERIENCES.
"LOOKING EAST"-- THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT I THINK
YOU HAVE PROBABLY FIGURED OUT BY NOW IS CHINESE...
VERY MUCH TIED TO HIS HISTORY, HIS HERITAGE,
HIS CULTURAL TRADITIONS,
BUT THIS IS ALSO AN ARTIST THAT SPENT SOME SIGNIFICANT TIME
IN THE WEST, SPECIFICALLY IN THE UNITED STATES,
AND OFFERS MANY OF US, AS WESTERNERS,
SOME KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING HIS CULTURE
AND HIS HOPES AND VISIONS,
AND I THINK YOU WOULD PROBABLY ALSO SAY PRAYERS
FOR HIS CULTURE AS WELL.
ZHANG HUAN IS EXTREMELY WELL KNOWN ON BOTH COASTS,
HAVING HAD MAJOR EXHIBITIONS IN NEW YORK AND IN LOS ANGELES
AND IN SAN FRANCISCO.
THIS IS HIS FIRST MAJOR PRESENTATION IN THE MIDWEST,
AND SO WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO HIM AND TO PACE GALLERY
FOR ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN.
SO IF YOU HAVE PEEKED INTO THE GALLERY ALREADY,
YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE THIS AS ONE OF 20 STILLS
THAT IS PART OF HIS PERFORMANCE PIECE CALLED "SKIN..."
BUT SO IS THIS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY INTRIGUED ME
YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS FIRST INTRODUCED TO HIS WORK
IS THAT THE ARTIST IS VERY HONEST,
VERY FORTHRIGHT WITH HIMSELF,
BECAUSE HE STUDIES HIMSELF REALLY AS A KIND OF KEY
TO UNDERSTANDING HIS CULTURE,
AND MAYBE INTRODUCING HIS CULTURE TO WESTERN AUDIENCES.
HE IS NOT AN ARTIST THAT FITS VERY NEATLY
INTO ANY ONE SPECIFIC CATEGORY.
THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT IS, YES, A SCULPTOR,
BUT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY SAW HE'S ALSO A PAINTER
AND HE IS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND HE IS A VIDEOGRAPHER
AND HE IS A PERFORMANCE ARTIST.
AND ONE OF THE DELIGHTFUL THINGS ABOUT DEALING WITH
SO MANY CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS
IS THAT IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE
TO PUT THEM IN ANY ONE SPECIFIC CATEGORY.
THEY SEEM TO SQUIRM AND MOVE ABOUT INTO OTHER CATEGORIES,
AND CERTAINLY ZHANG HUAN IS SOMEBODY
THAT FEELS VERY COMFORTABLE IN HIS OWN SKIN-- PUN INTENDED--
BUT ALSO AN ARTIST THAT FEELS VERY COMFORTABLE
UTILIZING A VARIETY OF MEDIA,
ALTHOUGH HE REALLY DOESN'T DO PERFORMANCE ART ANY LONGER.
THE NAME MIGHT NOT BE FAMILIAR TO YOU,
BUT THIS IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS WORKING TODAY,
A LEADER NOT ONLY WITHIN CHINA BUT AN AMBASSADOR,
SO TO SPEAK, TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.
PERHAPS YOU'VE HEARD OR YOU'VE READ OR MAYBE YOU HAVE EVEN SEEN
SOME OF THE WORKS OF AI WEIWEI-- A MUCH MORE VERBAL,
A MUCH MORE SORT OF MEDIA-ORIENTED,
MUCH MORE CONTROVERSIAL LIGHTNING ROD KIND OF FIGURE.
YES, THEY ARE CONTEMPORARIES, BUT ZHANG HUAN'S WORK
HAS OTHER PERHAPS EVEN DEEPER DIMENSIONS TO IT THAN,
FOR EXAMPLE, AI WEIWEI'S.
A FEW THINGS THAT I WANT TO LAY OUT AS A FOUNDATION
TO UNDERSTAND THIS EXHIBITION.
AND AGAIN, YOU MAY BE ENCOUNTERING SOME IDEAS
AND SOME WORKS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT
THAN WE USUALLY PRESENT,
OR MAYBE THAT YOU'VE USUALLY SEEN IN A MUSEUM
OR GALLERY SINCE.
FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT USES HIMSELF
AS A VEHICLE FOR EXPRESSING MANY OF HIS IDEAS.
AND BY USING HIMSELF, IT'S NOT JUST MAKING IT AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL,
BUT OFTEN TIMES IT'S AN ARTIST THAT ACTUALLY USES HIS OWN BODY
AND WE'LL EXPLORE THIS THEME IN JUST A LITTLE BIT.
THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT LOOKS VERY DEEPLY, VERY INTENSELY,
VERY PASSIONATELY AT CHINA, AND CHINA IN NUMEROUS LAYERS,
CHINA IN NUMEROUS LEVELS.
HISTORICAL CHINA, CHINA OF THE 20th CENTURY,
AND THE EVER-EXPANDING, EVER-REINVENTING CHINA OF TODAY.
THIS IS ALSO AN ARTIST THAT IS KEENLY AWARE OF THE WEST,
IN PARTICULAR THE UNITED STATES AND AMERICAN AUDIENCES
AND WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS AND NEEDS AND DESIRES ARE.
BUT FOR MY PERSONAL PURPOSES,
BOTH AS A CURATOR BUT REALLY ALSO AS A HUMAN BEING,
THE THING THAT REALLY STRIKES ME
ABOUT SO MUCH OF HIS WORK IS HIS HUMANISM,
AND THAT IF YOU MOVE BEYOND THE IMAGERY,
WHETHER IT'S USING HIS BODY
OR IT'S CONDUCTING A PERFORMANCE WORK
OR IT'S USING THINGS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HISTORICAL CHINA
OR THINGS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BUDDHISM,
YOU BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT IS DEEPLY,
DEEPLY MOVED AND CONCERNED ABOUT HUMANITY TODAY
AND HUMANITY MOVING INTO THE FUTURE.
AND AGAIN, ONE OF THE KEY FIGURES
OF CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART.
NOW, A MOMENT OF SELF-REVELATION HERE.
ZHANG HUAN AND I ARE THE SAME AGE.
WE WERE BORN IN 1965-- I'LL LET YOU DO THE MATH.
AND WHEN WE WERE TOGETHER THIS DECEMBER
PLANNING THIS EXHIBITION--
WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SHOW,
WHAT WE THOUGHT SOME OF THE KEY THEMES WERE,
AND SO ON AND SO FORTH-- YOU KNOW, MY COMMENT TO HIM WAS,
"YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL,
"WHEN I WAS STUDYING ART HISTORY IN THE LATE 1980s
"AND EARLY 1990s, YOU KNOW,
"I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART.
"THERE WASN'T SUCH A THING AS A MARKET THAT STEMMED FROM BEIJING
"OR FROM SHANGHAI," AND VERY WRYLY AND VERY WISELY,
ZHANG HUAN TURNED TO ME AND HE SAID,
"WELL, OF COURSE YOU WEREN'T STUDYING IT
"BECAUSE I HADN'T DONE ANYTHING YET."
(audience laughing)
AND ALTHOUGH HE USES HUMOR AND HE USES HUMOR VERY WISELY,
I THINK THAT IT POINTS TO A VERY SIGNIFICANT THING--
THAT THE ART WORLD HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY
IN THE COURSE OF THE LAST 20, 25 YEARS.
THE SIMPLE FACT THAT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MARKETS
FOR CONTEMPORARY ART IS NOW FOUND IN CHINA,
AND THAT BEIJING AND SHANGHAI ARE COUNTED ALONGSIDE NEW YORK
AND LONDON AND BERLIN AS MAJOR ARTISTIC CENTERPIECES
IS REALLY QUITE SIGNIFICANT.
AND TO ILLUSTRATE THAT,
I THOUGHT I WOULD START WITH A COUPLE OF ICONIC IMAGES
THAT YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE.
THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE REGULARS TO THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
PROBABLY RECOGNIZE THIS WONDERFUL, ENORMOUS--
I THINK IT'S ALMOST 15 FEET IN HEIGHT--
PAINTINGS BY ANDY WARHOL... UH, "MAO."
AND IN HIS OWN SORT OF POP-- LATE-POP FASHION,
WHAT HAS WARHOL DONE BUT HE'S TAKEN A PHOTOGRAPH
AND HE HAS MANIPULATED THE SURFACES OF THE PHOTOGRAPH,
HE'S INTRODUCED BRIGHT COLOR,
BUT HE'S REALLY TREATING MAO AS A KIND OF CELEBRITY IN THE WAY
THAT HE TREATED ELVIS AS A CELEBRITY OR MARILYN MONROE,
ELIZABETH TAYLOR, AS A CELEBRITY.
BUT HE HAS CERTAINLY HAD HIS FINGERS-- THAT'S WARHOL--
ON HIS TIME AND PLACE, AND WAS COMMENTING IN 1973
ON EVENTS FROM 1972,
WHICH IS WHEN RICHARD NIXON WENT TO CHINA,
A VERY SIGNIFICANT EVENT THAT MANY OF YOU WILL PROBABLY REMEMBER
WAS REALLY POINT OF ORIGIN FOR CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
THAT CONTINUED TO DEVELOP AND TO UNFOLD TODAY.
BUT GOING BACK TO MY PERSONAL REVELATION TO YOU
IS THAT WHEN I WAS STUDYING ART AS AN UNDERGRADUATE
AND AS A GRADUATE STUDENT,
WHEN WE THOUGHT ABOUT CHINA, WE THOUGHT ABOUT "CHINA."
WE THOUGHT ABOUT CHINA OF DISTANT REACHES
AND WE THOUGHT ABOUT CHINA IN TERMS OF A DISTANT PAST.
WE THOUGHT ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS,
WHICH GO BACK TO THE SECOND CENTURY B.C.
WE ALL THOUGHT ABOUT AND WE HAD SORT OF ROMANTIC VISIONS
OF TRAVELING AND EXPERIENCING PLACES LIKE THE GREAT WALL.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT CHINA
WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY BEFORE THE 20th CENTURY.
WE CERTAINLY WEREN'T THINKING ABOUT CHINA
OF THE LATE 20th CENTURY OR THE EARLY 21st CENTURY.
BUT, AS WE ALL KNOW, OUR UNDERSTANDING
AND OUR APPRECIATION OF CHINA REALLY BEGAN TO CHANGE
IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 20th CENTURY,
AND IT REALLY BEGAN TO CHANGE NOT ONLY FOR THOSE OF US
ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT I THINK AS YOU'LL SEE
IN A FEW MINUTES WITH ZHANG HUAN,
IT BEGAN TO CHANGE ON THE INSIDE AS WELL.
AND WE CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO THINK ABOUT MOMENTS LIKE THIS
AT TIANANMEN SQUARE,
THAT BROUGHT THE CHANGES WITHIN CHINA TO THE ATTENTION
OF AN INCREASING WORLD, MARKETPLACE, C.N.N.,
INFORMATION-DRIVEN WESTERN SOCIETY.
SO HAVING SAID THAT, AND GIVING YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE
ABOUT OUR HISTORY AS WE UNDERSTOOD IT
AND AS WE STUDIED IT AND AS WE HUNG IT ON MUSEUM WALLS
AND AS WE CURATED IT INTO EXHIBITIONS,
THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH ZHANG HUAN AND HIS COLLEAGUES
AND WHAT I'M GOING TO BE SHARING WITH YOU
IN THE NEXT 20 MINUTES OR SO
REALLY SET A NEW TONE AND SET A NEW PACE
FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD TODAY.
A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT ZHANG HUAN--
HE WAS BORN IN 1965, AS I ALREADY REVEALED.
WHEN HE WAS BORN, HIS PARENTS FELT THAT IT WAS BEST
THAT HE LIVED WITH HIS MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER IN THE COUNTRYSIDE,
AND SO, FOR THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS,
THEY DID LIVE WITH HIS MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER.
HE IS VERY FOND, VERY STRONG MEMORIES ABOUT LIVING
IN THE COUNTRYSIDE, THE KIND OF RITUALS,
THE KIND OF CONNECTEDNESS TO THE EARTH, THE KIND OF HISTORY,
THE KIND OF TRADITIONS,
THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF FAMILY,
THIS NOTION OF WORK-- REALLY VERY SIGNIFICANT TO HIM.
WHEN HE WAS EIGHT, HE MOVED BACK WITH HIS PARENTS
AND BY THE TIME HE WAS IN FIFTH GRADE,
HE HAD DEVELOPED A REAL SENSITIVITY TOWARDS DRAWING,
AND IT WAS RECOGNIZED BY SEVERAL OF HIS TEACHERS.
HE WAS AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ART CLASSES--
ART WASN'T A PART OF THE REGULAR CURRICULUM,
BUT HE WAS ALSO AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY ART
AT SUMMER CAMPS.
AND WHAT HAPPENED IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
IS HE RECOGNIZED HE COULD REALLY DRAW LIKE AN OLD MASTER,
SO IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS ENCOURAGED,
IT WAS SOMETHING IN WHICH HE DELIGHTED,
AND OBVIOUSLY, IT SENT HIM ON A KIND OF CAREER PATH.
HE STUDIED AT HE NAN UNIVERSITY, AND HE STUDIED PAINTING.
AND ONE THING THAT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THE KIND OF PAINTING
THAT WAS BEING STUDIED AND WAS BEING HELD OUT AS SIGNIFICANT
IN CHINA FOR MOST OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY,
AND THAT WAS A KIND OF REALISM,
AND IN PARTICULAR WHAT WE RECOGNIZE
IN THE ART HISTORY WORLD AS A KIND OF SOVIET-STYLE REALISM...
SOMETHING THAT IS VERY GRAPHIC,
SOMETHING THAT IS VERY ILLUSTRATIVE,
SOMETHING THAT IS MADE TO TELL A STORY
OR MAYBE SOMETHING THAT IS INTENDED TO SELL A STORY.
SO ZHANG HUAN BEGINS AS A PAINTER
AND HE BEGINS AS A PAINTER IN A VERY TRADITIONAL STYLE,
VERY REPRESENTATIONAL STYLE.
ADD INTO THIS MIX SOMETHING THAT WAS BEING MADE AWARE OF,
ALTHOUGH IT IS 20, 25 YEARS AFTER THE FACT,
SORT OF A POP ART AESTHETIC,
WHERE THE GRAPHIC QUALITY OF THE WORK,
THE REPRESENTATIONAL,
THE REALISTIC STYLE OF THE WORK COMES INTO BEING,
BUT ALSO MESSAGES FROM ADVERTISING COME INTO PLAY.
AND YOU CAN SEE THIS REFERENCE HERE TO PORSCHE,
AND A LITTLE BIT OF A SCRIPT DOWN HERE
AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT-HAND SIDE AS WELL.
THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT WAS HELD OUT AS "GOOD ART,"
THIS IS THE KIND OF ARTWORK THAT,
AT LEAST IN THE 1980s, ZHANG HUAN EXCELLED.
HOWEVER, HE MOVES TO BEIJING.
AND IN BEIJING, THE ART WORLD WAS RAPIDLY, RAPIDLY CHANGING.
TALK ABOUT A HOTHOUSE ENVIRONMENT--
BEIJING IN THE 1990s, AND REALLY LEADING INTO TODAY,
VERY MUCH A HOTHOUSE ENVIRONMENT.
OFTEN TIMES IN ITS ORIGINS WITH IDEAS COMING FROM THE OUTSIDE,
IDEAS COMING FROM THE WEST, VERY SPECIFICALLY IDEAS
COMING FROM THE UNITED STATES.
AND THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I WANT YOU TO TAKE WITH YOU
AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS EXHIBITION.
NUMBER ONE, HIS EXPOSURE TO CONCEPTUAL ART.
AND NUMBER TWO, HIS EXPOSURE TO PERFORMANCE ART.
AND THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP, OBVIOUSLY,
BUT CONCEPTUAL ART AND PERFORMANCE ART.
CONCEPTUAL ART SAYS THAT THE CONCEPT-- ROOT WORD HERE--
THE CONCEPT, THE IDEA, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
THE FORM, WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE
IS OFTEN TIMES SECONDARY,
THE MATERIALS ARE OFTEN TIMES SECONDARY OR TERTIARY,
BUT THE IDEAS ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
AND ONE OF THE WESTERN ARTISTS THAT REALLY CHANGED THINGS
FOR ZHANG HUAN AND MANY OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES
WAS THE AMERICAN CONCEPTUAL ARTIST KIKI SMITH,
AND SOME OF YOU PROBABLY RECOGNIZE KIKI SMITH--
THE PHOTOGRAPH AT THE LEFT-HAND SIDE--
AND THEN, AT THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, "SLEEPWALKER,"
WHICH IS INSTALLED IN OUR PERMANENT COLLECTION.
THE OTHER THING THAT WAS SO INSTRUMENTAL
AND WAS COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY NEW TO CHINA IN THE LATE 1980s,
EARLY 1990s, WAS PERFORMANCE ART.
PERFORMANCE ART-- OBVIOUSLY, THE ARTIST IS PERFORMING--
IS USING THEMSELVES.
AND FREQUENTLY, THEY ARE USING THEIR BODY.
INSTEAD OF USING A CANVAS, INSTEAD OF USING PAINT,
INSTEAD OF USING BRONZE OR CLAY OR STRING
OR WHATEVER THE MATERIALS YOU MIGHT BE THINKING OF,
THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT IS USING THEIR OWN BODY--
THEY PERFORM SOMETHING TO COMMUNICATE AN IDEA OR A STORY.
SOME OF YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH MARINA ABRAMOVIC,
PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED PERFORMANCE ARTIST OF OUR TIME.
SHE HAD A VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITION
AT NEW YORK'S EXHIBITION OF MODERN ART LAST YEAR.
AND HERE ARE A SERIES OF STILLS-- OFTEN TIMES,
FROM A PERFORMANCE PIECE, WHICH IS PASSING,
WHICH IS TRANSITORY, IT'S THE STILLS,
IT'S THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT REMAIN TO DOCUMENT THE EXPERIENCE.
AND HERE, SHE IS TWISTING AND TURNING
AND SHE IS MOVING AND SHE'S MANIPULATING HER OWN FIGURE.
HER OWN FIGURE IS HER CANVAS.
AND SO, THIS, OBVIOUSLY, HAS A DIRECT IMPACT
AND A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
THAT LARGE WALL THAT FILLS THE END OF THE BULK GALLERY
CALLED "SKIN."
(clearing throat) EXCUSE ME.
AND HERE, WE SEE AN ARTIST THAT IS TWEAKING HIS FACE,
HE IS TOUCHING HIS OWN FACE, HE'S COVERING HIS EARS,
HE'S COVERING HIS NOSE, HE'S, IN A SENSE,
TOUCHING HIMSELF IN A WAY TO VERIFY HIS OWN EXISTENCE,
TO VERIFY HIS OWN FEELINGS, HIS OWN EMOTIONS.
THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGH FOR THE ARTIST,
SOMEONE WHO WAS TAUGHT TRADITIONAL DRAWING,
TAUGHT TRADITIONAL PAINTING,
TAUGHT TRADITIONAL ART-MAKING TECHNIQUES,
TO BE INTRODUCED TO SOMETHING THAT, IN THE WEST,
HAD BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME,
BUT IN CHINA, WAS A VERY, VERY NEW.
THAT THE BODY AND THE PERFORMANCE COULD COMMUNICATE
A WHOLE SET OF DIFFERENT IDEAS.
NOW, I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU THROUGH A COUPLE
OF HIS PERFORMANCE PIECES,
AND PERHAPS, AT FIRST GLANCE,
THEY MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT UNUSUAL.
MAYBE EVEN THE FIRST TWO THAT I WILL SHOW YOU--
AS A FOREWARNING HERE-- MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE DISTURBING.
BUT THEY ARE DONE WITH INTENT,
THEY ARE DONE WITH AN IDEA IN MIND,
THEY ARE DONE WITH A MESSAGE IN MIND.
NOT THROUGH CANVAS, NOT THROUGH CHARCOAL, NOT THROUGH BRONZE,
NOT THROUGH MARBLE, BUT WITH THE BODY ITSELF.
SOME OF YOU PROBABLY SAW THIS STILL RIGHT WHEN YOU WALK
INTO THE GALLERIES AND WERE WONDERING,
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"
THIS IS CALLED "12 METERS SQUARE."
IT DATES TO 1994, AND IT WAS ONE OF THE PERFORMANCE PIECES
THAT BROUGHT HIM REALLY TO THE LEADERSHIP ROLE
OF THE CHINESE AVANT-GARDE.
IN THIS VERY DIFFICULT PERFORMANCE,
THE ARTIST USED HIMSELF,
SMEARED HIMSELF WITH HONEY AND FISH OIL,
AND SAT IN A PUBLIC RESTROOM IN BEIJING FOR SEVERAL HOURS
AND ALLOWED, IN A VERY DIFFICULT WAY,
THE FLIES TO COLLECT AND GATHER ACROSS HIS SKIN,
ACROSS THIS FLESH,
SOMETHING THAT WOULD GIVE MOST OF US THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES,
SOMETHING THAT MOST OF US WOULD CHOOSE TO AVOID.
WHY IS HE DOING THIS?
WELL, HE DID THIS WITH A VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSE IN MIND.
HE WANTED TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE HORRIBLE FACILITIES
THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC...
THE KIND OF LAVATORIES AND FACILITIES THAT MOST MEN
AND WOMEN HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE
IF THEY WERE GENERAL WORKERS ON THE STREET,
OR IF THEY WERE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE SIMPLY PASSING THROUGH.
DIDN'T THEY DESERVE BETTER?
DIDN'T THEY DESERVE MORE?
BUT YET, WHEN YOU PUT YOURSELF IN AN AWKWARD POSITION
AND YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED,
YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF DOCUMENT,
MAYBE YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF EVIDENCE
THAT YOU CAN SAY, "HERE.
"I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS.
"I'M ACTUALLY SHOWING YOU THIS."
EVEN MORE DIFFICULT-- AND I'LL CAUTION YOU HERE IN ADVANCE--
A PIECE THAT HE DID CALLED "ANGEL."
THIS WAS A PERFORMANCE PIECE THAT TOOK PLACE
ON THE STEPS OF THE NATIONAL ART MUSEUM IN BEIJING.
HE USES HIS OWN BODY, WHICH IS SMEARED WITH RED FOOD COLORING
AND BABY DOLLS, AND USES IT AS A WAY TO PROTEST
THE ONE-CHILD POLICY IN CHINA.
SO HE IS UTILIZING HIMSELF AS THE SUBJECT,
HE'S UTILIZING HIMSELF AS THE MATERIAL,
AND IT'S A PERFORMANCE THAT, FOR MANY PEOPLE,
WAS ABLE TO CALL ATTENTION TO A SITUATION,
WAS ABLE TO CALL ATTENTION TO AN IDEA
IN A WAY THAT PERHAPS A PIECE OF LITERATURE OR FILM
OR EVEN A DOCUMENTARY SIMPLY COULD NOT.
WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT, BY 1998,
HE REALIZES THAT HE NEEDS TO GO TO NEW YORK,
AND HE SETTLES IN NEW YORK AND FINDS HIMSELF
IN THIS UNUSUAL ENVIRONMENT, VERY DIFFERENT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'D LIKE YOU ALL TO THINK
ABOUT ARE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES TO TRAVEL,
BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS WHEN WE TRAVEL
IS THAT OUR SENSES, IN A SENSE, ARE HEIGHTENED.
WE OFTEN TIMES ARE ABLE TO FOCUS IN NOT JUST ON THE PLACE
THAT IS NEW TO US BUT, IN SOME WAYS,
WE ARE ABLE TO REFLECT INWARD ON OURSELVES
IN SHARPER, CLEARER WAYS...
THIS IS ONCE YOU GET THROUGH THE JET LAG.
AND HE WAS GIVEN SEVERAL CRITICAL OPPORTUNITIES.
ONE SHORTLY AFTER HE ARRIVED
WAS AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART'S P.S.1,
WHICH IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PLACE IN BROOKLYN.
AND THIS WAS THE PERFORMANCE PIECE THAT HE PUT ON,
AND THERE ARE THREE ELEMENTS THAT ARE A PART OF THE WORK.
NUMBER ONE, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS THIS MING-STYLE BED...
SO THERE IS THIS ELEMENT WHICH CONNECTS HIM TO CHINA.
NUMBER TWO, THERE IS THIS VERY UNCONVENTIONAL MATTRESS--
IT'S A HUGE BLOCK OF ICE. (audience chuckling)
AND NUMBER THREE, IF YOU LOOK AROUND THE FOREGROUND AREA,
THERE ARE ALL OF THESE NEW YORKERS AND THEIR DOGS.
SO WHAT DOES A MING-STYLE BED AND A BLOCK OF ICE
AND A BUNCH OF WELL-CARED-FOR DOGS
HAVE TO DO WITH ONE ANOTHER?
WELL, FOR HIM, THIS WAS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCES AS CHINESE,
COMING TO NEW YORK, DEALING WITH AMERICA,
AND TRYING TO FIT IN.
BECAUSE THE BASE ELEMENT TO THIS ALL--
THE BASE ELEMENT TO ZHANG HUAN-- IS CHINESE.
THAT'S THE BED.
THE BLOCK OF ICE IS SOMETHING THAT IS COLD AND DIFFICULT,
BUT IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT TRANSFORMS.
THINK ABOUT LAYING ON A BED OF ICE,
THINK ABOUT SITTING IN THE COLD CAR,
THINK ABOUT SCRAPING YOUR WINDSHIELD.
DOES THAT EXPERIENCE CHANGE YOU IN ANY WAY?
IS IT A TEMPORARY CHANGE OR IS A PERMANENT CHANGE?
COMING TO A NEW CULTURE,
COMING TO NEW YORK AS SOMEONE FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY,
IS IT A PERMANENT CHANGE?
IS IT A TEMPORARY CHANGE?
AND THE ELEMENT OF THE DOGS IS ACTUALLY KIND OF AN INTERESTING
AND INSIGHTFUL PIECE OF INFORMATION ABOUT AMERICAN CULTURE.
WHEN HE CAME HERE, HE COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW WELL
AMERICANS TREATED THEIR DOGS.
HE SAID THAT AMERICANS TREATED THEIR DOGS SOMETIMES BETTER
THAN THEY TREATED OTHER AMERICANS.
AND THEY HAD FANCY COLLARS AND DESIGNER COLLARS
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE TALKED TO AND THEY WERE GIVEN KISSES
AND SNACKS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH, WHEN, YOU KNOW,
THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE STARVING IN THE STREETS,
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE JUST A BLOCK AWAY
FROM WHERE THESE VERY FANCY DOGS LIVED
THAT WERE LOOKING FOR A HANDOUT AND THEY NEEDED SHELTER.
SO WHAT KIND OF CULTURE WAS THIS THAT HE WAS STEPPING INTO
THAT COULD TREAT THEIR PETS IN ONE WAY, BUT THOUGHT ABOUT--
OR MAYBE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT--
THEIR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS IN THAT SAME WAY?
BUT THIS IDEA OF PHYSICAL CHANGE CONNECTED TO EMOTIONAL
AND INTELLECTUAL CHANGE
REMAINED VERY, VERY CRITICAL FOR THE ARTIST,
ESPECIALLY FOR HIS PERFORMANCE WORK THAT HE DOES
FROM MIDDLE TO LATE 1990s UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF THE 2000s.
THE SECOND WORK THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU
WAS CALLED "MY NEW YORK," AND IT DATES TO 2002,
AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT HE DID FOR THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL,
WHICH IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS EVENTS
IN THE AMERICAN ART WORLD.
AND FOR THIS, HE MADE THIS GIANT MEAT SUIT
AND HE WALKED AROUND MANHATTAN, ESPECIALLY IN MIDTOWN,
WEARING THIS MEAT SUIT.
AND YOU KNOW, I WAS SAYING YESTERDAY, IMAGINE GOING
TO SHOW UP AT "THE TODAY SHOW" SO YOU COULD, YOU KNOW,
WAVE TO AL ROKER, AND THEN THIS GUY IN A MEAT SUIT
COMES WALKING BY.
YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS?
IS THIS A STUNT?
WELL, I GUESS, IN PART IT WAS A STUNT.
BUT IT WAS ALSO, AGAIN, A WAY FOR HIM TO THINK ABOUT
WHERE HE WAS AND WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
WHEN HE CAME TO THE UNITED STATES,
HE COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH MEAT AMERICANS ATE.
(audience chuckling)
HE COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW LARGE AMERICAN PORTIONS WERE.
HE COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW LARGE AMERICANS WERE.
(audience laughing)
BUT HE ALSO SAW THE MEAT AND THE WAY
THAT IT WAS ABLE TO BE MANIPULATED
AS A KIND OF A MUSCLE SUIT,
AND THE WAY IN WHICH SO MANY AMERICANS
ATTENDED TO THEIR APPEARANCES
AS A WAY TO MAKE THEM SEEM ONE WAY
WHEN THEY REALLY WEREN'T THAT WAY NECESSARILY.
HE SAW THE SUIT AS A KIND OF ARMOR, AS A KIND OF PROTECTION,
AND REALIZED THAT NOT JUST AMERICANS,
BUT ALL HUMAN BEINGS HAVE THIS TENDENCY
TO PUT ON THEIR OWN FORM OF PERSONAL ARMOR
WHEN THEY GO OUT FOR THE DAY.
HOW WERE THEY GOING TO PRESENT THEMSELVES TO THEIR FAMILY?
HOW WERE THEY GOING TO PRESENT THEMSELVES TO THE WORLD?
AND SO, ALTHOUGH THERE IS THIS ELEMENT OF HUMOR,
THERE IS THIS VERY INTERESTING, VERY STRONG,
VERY SORT OF BITING REFLECTION ON HIS PERCEPTION OF THE WORLD,
NOT JUST TOWARDS AMERICA
BUT THE WORLD AT LARGE FOR A PROJECT LIKE THIS.
BUT GO BACK TO THAT COMMENT I MADE A FEW MINUTES AGO
ABOUT LOOKING AT THE CULTURE WHEN YOU TRAVEL,
BUT ALSO LOOKING AT YOURSELF.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HE FOUND VERY CLEARLY HAPPENING
IS THAT IN HIS TIME IN THE UNITED STATES,
HE FOUND HIMSELF LONGING FOR CHINA.
AND HE REALIZED THAT HE NEEDED TO START TO CONNECT
WITH HIS ROOTS, WITH HIS HISTORY IN A MORE MEANINGFUL WAY.
AND SO, RATHER THAN JUST BEING INCIDENTAL OR MAYBE A PROP
LIKE THAT MING-STYLE BED,
HE REALIZED THAT HE HAD TO INCORPORATE TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS
OF CHINESE CULTURE IN HIS WORK
WHEN HE WAS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED OF HIS WORKS
CAME FROM 2000.
IT WAS CALLED THE "FAMILY TREE" SERIES,
AND IN THE "FAMILY TREE" SERIES, HE HIRED TWO--
EXCUSE ME, THREE TRADITIONAL CHINESE CALLIGRAPHERS
AND HE ASKED THEM VERY, VERY SPECIFICALLY TO ILLUSTRATE
ACROSS THE SURFACE OF HIS FACE CERTAIN WORDS,
CERTAIN IDEAS, CERTAIN PHRASES, OR PARABLES,
AND TO REPEAT THAT INFORMATION OVER AND OVER...
AND OVER...
AND OVER AGAIN, SO THAT THESE ORIGINAL CHINESE WORDS
AND PHRASES AND PARABLES,
AND THESE BEAUTIFUL ELEMENTS OF CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY
BEGAN TO MERGE WITH ONE ANOTHER,
AND THEY BEGAN TO COVER THE FACE,
AND THEY BEGAN TO UNIFY THE FACE, AND THEN,
THEY BEGAN TO DISGUISE THE FACE SO THAT THE FACE
THAT YOU FIRST ENCOUNTERED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY--
AND THIS WAS A DAYLONG PROJECT--
WAS ACTUALLY LOST BEHIND THIS MASK.
AND THAT THE MASK, IN A SENSE, REPRESENTED EVERYONE.
THAT THE MASK HID INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES
AND BLEMISHES ACROSS THE FACE,
AND IT BECAME A KIND OF STATEMENT FOR HIM
ABOUT NOT JUST AN IDENTITY BUT ABOUT HUMANITY.
AND AGAIN, GOING BACK TO ONE OF MY COMMENTS THAT I MADE
VERY EARLY ON THIS EVENING,
IT WAS ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH HE, IN A SENSE,
DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF THEN, BUT DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF
EVEN TODAY FROM OTHER MORE AVANT-GARDE
CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS.
IN LATE 2005-2006, HE AND HIS WIFE MADE A DECISION
TO MOVE BACK TO CHINA WITH THEIR TWO SMALL CHILDREN,
AND SPECIFICALLY TO MOVE NOT TO BEIJING BUT TO SHANGHAI.
AND HE WANTED TO DEVELOP HIS ARTISTIC PRACTICES THERE.
AND SEVERAL VERY SIGNIFICANT THEMES
THAT HE HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT,
THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS LONGING, THIS MISSING,
THIS WISTFULNESS ABOUT CHINA TOOK ROOT
AND ARE FOLLOWED THROUGH EVEN UNTIL TODAY.
THE FIRST OF THESE THAT WE WILL EXPLORE IS THAT OF THE WORKER.
REMEMBER HIS EARLY CHILDHOOD IN RURAL CHINA,
LIVING WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER,
HOW HE SO VERY MUCH BEGAN TO APPRECIATE THE ROLE OF WORKERS.
AND HE HAS A VERY CLOSE TIE EVEN UNTIL TODAY WITH WORKERS.
AND ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING PROJECTS
THAT HE WAS ABLE TO ORCHESTRATE--
IT WAS A PERFORMANCE PIECE,
SOMETHING THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE RUNNING ON A CONTINUOUS LOOP
IN THE GALLERY-- INVOLVED 39 WORKERS--
39 MIGRANT WORKERS, MALE WORKERS, AND ONE SMALL CHILD.
AND HERE, YOU CAN SEE ZHANG HUAN IN A STILL FROM BEHIND.
HERE, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE HIM ENTERING INTO THE POND
WITH THAT ONE SMALL CHILD ON HIS SHOULDERS.
THE TITLE OF THE WORK IS CALLED
"TO RAISE THE LEVEL OF WATER IN A FISH POND."
AND THE IDEA IS THAT HERE ARE THESE 39 MIGRANT WORKERS--
THESE MIGRANT LABORERS, ANONYMOUS.
THEY WALKED TOGETHER WITH ZHANG HUAN
INTO A RELATIVELY SMALL FISH POND, AND THAT TOGETHER,
THEIR COMMUNAL EFFORTS RAISE THE LEVEL OF WATER--
THEY RAISED IT BY ABOUT ONE METER.
SO THE IDEA HERE IS LOOKING AT THE LABORER,
THINKING ABOUT THE LABORER--
NOT JUST IN CHINESE CULTURE BUT IN SO MANY CULTURES,
PAST AND PRESENT-- AND HOW THE COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
JOINED TOGETHER TO RAISE UP THE CIVILIZATION,
RAISE UP THE QUALITY OF THE CULTURE, PROMOTE THE QUALITY,
MOVE IT FORWARD IN SOME WAY.
HOW TO RAISE THE LEVEL OF WATER IN A FISH POND
IS ULTIMATELY ABOUT HOW TO RAISE THE LEVEL OF WATER
FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND THE ONE SMALL CHILD ON THE MASTER'S SHOULDER...
HE'S THE FUTURE.
THE COMMUNAL EFFORTS NOT ONLY RAISE THE WATER,
BUT THEY RAISE AND THEY SUPPORT THE FUTURE.
THE WORKER-- A CONTINUED THEME OF GREAT IMPORTANCE
FOR ZHANG HUAN.
THE SECOND THEME IS HIS CONNECTION AND HIS DEVOTION
TO BUDDHISM.
AND HE TALKS ABOUT THE FACT THAT, AS A YOUNG MAN,
AS A YOUNG ARTIST,
HIS CONNECTION TO BUDDHISM WAS VERY SLIGHT.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, IT CAME THROUGH MUSIC.
WHENEVER HE WAS WORKING VERY INTENSELY,
HE WOULD LISTEN TO WESTERN STYLE ROCK 'N ROLL,
BUT WHENEVER HE WANTED SOMETHING THAT WAS MORE CALMING
AND MORE CONTEMPLATIVE, HE WOULD TURN TO,
FOR EXAMPLE, BUDDHIST CHANTS.
BUT WHEN HE RETURNS TO CHINA,
HE BECOMES VERY INVOLVED WITH BUDDHISM.
HE SAID SOMETHING TO ME WHICH I THOUGHT WAS VERY SIGNIFICANT.
HE FEELS THAT BUDDHISM CONNECTS HIM TO HIS ANCESTORS,
HE FEELS THAT BUDDHISM CONNECTS HIM TO HIS PERSONAL
AND TO HIS CULTURAL HISTORY,
AND THAT WHEN HE FIRST BEGAN TO PRAY AS A BUDDHIST,
HE PRAYED FOR HIMSELF...
BUT THAT AS TIME WENT ON AND HIS FAITH DEEPENED,
HE PRAYED FOR HIS FAMILY AND HE PRAYED FOR HIS STAFF.
AND FINALLY, WHERE HE IS TODAY IN TERMS OF HIS OWN SPIRITUAL
AND PHILOSOPHICAL DEVELOPMENT, HE PRAYS FOR PEACE ON EARTH.
SO AGAIN, THIS IDEA OF HUMANITY COMING OUT THROUGH THE WORK.
BUT BUDDHISM IS A SUBJECT,
BUT IT'S ALSO PART OF THE OBJECT FREQUENTLY.
HOW DOES HE DO THIS?
WELL, WHEN HE CAME BACK TO CHINA, HE WAS VERY SURPRISED
THAT THE INCENSE ASH FROM THE INCENSE RODS
THAT WERE OFFERED AT TEMPLES WAS THROWN AWAY.
TRADITIONALLY, THAT INCENSE ASH, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING,
IS EITHER BURIED OR IT IS PUT AT SEA-- DEPOSITED IN THE SEA.
AND HE FELT THAT THIS INCENSE ASH,
ALTHOUGH IT WAS BURNT AND IT WAS, FOR MANY PEOPLE,
AN "AFTER-THE-FACT," A REMNANT, WAS POTENT.
IT WAS ABOUT HOPES, IT WAS ABOUT PRAYERS, IT WAS ABOUT WORRIES,
IT WAS ABOUT FAMILIES, IT WAS ABOUT BLESSINGS,
IT WAS ABOUT INTENTIONS, AND THAT SOMEHOW HE SHOULD USE IT.
AND SO, HE BEGAN TO COLLECT THIS INCENSE ASH, AND EVEN TODAY,
HE AND HIS ASSISTANTS GOES TO ABOUT 20 INDIVIDUAL TEMPLES
IN AND AROUND SHANGHAI,
THEY COLLECT THE ASH, THEY SORT IT ACCORDING TO COLOR,
AND THEN THEY INCORPORATE IT
INTO BOTH PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES,
WHICH IS PRETTY REMARKABLE.
YOU WOULDN'T NECESSARILY CONNECT HIS BELIEF SYSTEMS
AND HIS CONNECTION TO A CERTAIN KIND OF HISTORY
WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE PAINTINGS,
BUT WHEN YOU BEGIN TO EXPLORE A LITTLE BIT DEEPER,
IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE, QUITE REMARKABLE.
BUT THEN AGAIN, THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT WAS BRAVE ENOUGH
TO USE HIS OWN BODY AS HIS MATERIALS.
THE WAY THAT THE ASH PAINTINGS ARE MADE
IS THAT THEY ARE MADE OF FLAT.
IT'S NOT SORT OF, YOU KNOW, REMBRANDT-STYLE CANVAS
ON AN EASEL FACING IT IN FRONT OF YOU.
THEY ARE PAINTED ON THE GROUND, AND THE ASH IS LAYERED IN.
IT IS LAYERED IN ACCORDING TO THE COLOR.
AND THEN, YOU CAN SEE HE IS DRAWING
INTO THE SURFACE OF THE ASH.
THEN ASH IS SORT OF SPRINKLED FURTHER ACROSS THE SURFACE.
SOMETIMES YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE LITTLE BITS AND PIECES
OF THE INCENSE RODS THEMSELVES,
AND THEN, A FIXATIVE OR A BINDER
IS PLACED ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE PAINTING IN THIS INSTANCE,
BEFORE IT'S HELD UPRIGHT.
AND I THINK, PERHAPS, THE CLOSEST NOTION
THAT MOST OF US CAN GET
IS TO THINK ABOUT RATHER THAN ICING A CAKE,
KIND OF DUSTING THE SURFACE OF A CAKE,
OR DUSTING THE SURFACE OF COOKIES WITH POWDERED SUGAR.
DO THAT ON A MORE INTENSE LEVEL AND WITH LOTS OF TEXTURE,
AND YOU'RE GETTING SOMEWHAT CLOSE TO WHAT HE'S DOING HERE.
HIS IMAGES CAN BE SMALL AND INTIMATE,
OR HIS IMAGES CAN BE SORT OF A MEDIUM-SIZED SCALE,
BUT THEY CAN ALSO BE VERY, VERY LARGE,
AS YOU SAW IN THE GALLERIES, AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET,
PLEASE GO INTO THE GALLERIES AFTERWARDS--
SUCH AS THIS IMAGE RIGHT HERE.
MOST OF HIS IMAGES-- THE VAST MAJORITY OF HIS IMAGES
ACTUALLY COME FROM A HUGE, HUGE REPERTOIRE OF PHOTOGRAPHS
THAT HE HAS SCAVENGED AND THAT HE HAS SAVED
FROM ACROSS THE 20th CENTURY.
LITERALLY FROM THE 1920s AND 1930s
THROUGH TO THE 1970s AND 1980s.
HE'S VERY, VERY MUCH CONCERNED ABOUT PRESERVING HISTORY
AND ABOUT PRESERVING CULTURE IN CHINA.
ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE THINGS THAT HE SAID TO ME
DURING OUR VISIT WAS THAT,
YOU KNOW, HE THOUGHT IT WAS WONDERFUL, FINE,
THAT CHINA WAS MOVING FORWARD
AND WAS BECOMING SO BIG, BUT IN THE PROCESS,
IT CAN'T FORGET ITS PAST, BOTH ITS IMMEDIATE PAST
BUT ALSO ITS DISTANT PAST.
SO THE IDEA THAT HE'S USING ASH, WHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE ASH
FROM THESE TEMPLES, THE IDEA THAT THESE IMAGES
ARE ACTUALLY BASED ON HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS
FROM ACROSS THE 20th CENTURY,
DOES THAT IN A TWOFOLD WAY.
HE ALSO MAKES ASH SCULPTURES.
AND THE FIRST ASH SCULPTURES THAT HE MADE WERE TEMPORARY.
THEY WERE SORT OF HELD IN A MOLD--
THINK ABOUT A BUNDT PAN OR THINK ABOUT ALMOST LIKE A SPRING MOLD--
AND THEN, THEY WERE RELEASED.
THEY DIDN'T LAST VERY LONG, AND THEN THEY EVENTUALLY COLLAPSED.
AND THEN, HE BEGAN PUTTING A BINDER-- LIKE A CONCRETE--
IN THE NEXT, BUILDING UP THE SURFACES,
AND THEN FINALLY SPREADING A LAYER OF ASH ACROSS THE SURFACE
TO GIVE IT THAT KIND OF FINAL FLOURISH
OF TEXTURE AND INTEREST.
THE IDEA OF USING SOMETHING FROM ONE WAY OF LIVING
AND ONE TRADITION
AND REINVIGORATING IT IN ANOTHER TRADITION
IS ALSO A PART OF THESE MEMORY DOORS,
AND WE HAVE TWO THAT ARE PART OF THE EXHIBITION.
THINK ABOUT THEM AS LARGE-SCALE RELIEF SCULPTURES.
THIS IS AN ARTIST THAT COLLECTS THINGS
THAT ARE RELATED TO CHINESE PAST.
THESE ARE ACTUALLY OLD WOODEN DOORS FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE
THAT WERE USED FOR BOTH HOUSES AND GRANARIES
AND EVEN SOMETIMES SMALL BARNS.
SO THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR CENTURIES.
AND IN THE COURSE OF THE LAST 20, 30 YEARS IN PARTICULAR,
MANY OF THE FARMERS, MANY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
WERE GETTING RID OF THESE WOODEN DOORS
BECAUSE THEY WANTED THE METAL-STYLE WESTERN DOORS,
WHICH WERE COMMERCIALLY MADE.
AND JUST AS HE WAS SORT OF DISTURBED THAT THE ASHES
WERE BEING THROWN AWAY, HE THOUGHT THAT, YOU KNOW,
THROWING AWAY THESE WOODEN DOORS
THAT HAD BEEN TOUCHED BY GENERATIONS
OF INDIVIDUALS FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS SLEEK
AND MODERN BUT ALSO ANONYMOUS WAS KIND OF SAD.
SO HE COLLECTED THESE WOODEN DOORS--
NOBODY WANTED A DIME FOR THEM IN THE BEGINNING...
AND HE BEGAN RE-PURPOSING THEM AS THE BASIS OF SCULPTURE.
AND I THINK PERHAPS ONE TRADITION
THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT IS THE WAY IN WHICH MANY PEOPLE
REUSE BARN DOORS OR PLANKS FROM THE EXTERIOR OF BARNS--
YOU KNOW, THEY USE THEM TO MAKE TABLES,
THEY USE THEM TO MAKE PANELING.
THEY FIND NEW, CREATIVE USES FOR THAT KIND OF AMERICANA.
WELL, THIS IS A SLIGHTLY PARALLEL VERSION TO THIS.
ALTHOUGH THE IMAGERY HERE IS ALSO DERIVED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS,
THAT SAME INVENTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHS THAT ARE THE BASIS
FOR THE PAINTINGS ARE THE BASIS FOR THESE MEMORY DOORS.
AND HE HAS HIRED WOODWORKERS-- TRADITIONAL WOODWORKERS--
TO GO IN, TAKE THESE IMAGES
WHICH ARE LAID ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE DOORS,
AND THEN BEGIN TO CARVE INTO THE SURFACES.
SO THE SECOND EXAMPLE, WHICH IS A PART OF THE EXHIBITION--
BUT THIS MAY GIVE YOU SOME IDEA ABOUT HOW THESE WERE MADE.
UP AT THE TOP LEFT-HAND CORNER, FROM A MAY PARADE,
YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE TRADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS--
THIS IS, I THINK, FROM THE 1930s OR THE 1940s,
BUT AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT-HAND SIDE,
THEY HAVE THE SURFACE-- A DETAIL OF THE SURFACE
OF ONE OF THE DOORS AND SOME OF THE CARVING MATERIALS.
ALTHOUGH ZHANG HUAN HAS A LARGE WORKSHOP--
HE EMPLOYS ABOUT 100 INDIVIDUALS--
ONLY ABOUT FIVE PERCENT OF THEM ACTUALLY HAVE AN ART DEGREE
OR AN ART BACKGROUND.
MOST OF THEM ARE TRADITIONAL ARTISANS,
WHERE HE DOESN'T WANT THEIR CRAFT TO ESCAPE,
HE DOESN'T WANT TO THEIR CRAFT TO DIE
BECAUSE OF MANUFACTURING.
SO HE HAS THIS WHOLE TEAM OF TRADITIONAL WORD CARVERS
THAT MADE CHAIRS, THAT MADE SOME FILIGREE WORK.
THEY NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THEIR WORK AS ART,
BUT HE SUPERVISES THEM AND WORKS WITH THEM
IN ORDER TO CREATE PROJECTS LIKE THIS.
SO ANOTHER SORT OF TWOFOLD WAY OF CONNECTING
WITH THE HISTORY OF CHINA
AND CONNECTING WITH TRADITIONAL CHINESE CRAFTSMANSHIP.
A THIRD ELEMENT-- AND WE HAVE ONE EXAMPLE--
THERE ARE NOT TOO MANY THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR EXHIBITION PURPOSES--
ARE HIS MONUMENTS TO CONFUCIUS.
AND IN THE LAST 20 YEARS IN PARTICULAR,
THERE HAS BEEN SORT OF A RE-APPRECIATION,
REEVALUATION OF CONFUCIUS.
THERE'S A WONDERFUL ASH PAINTING THAT IS IN THE MAIN GALLERY
THAT FEATURES CONFUCIUS SORT OF SEATED
ALMOST IN A RENAISSANCE FASHION, FRAMED BY THAT DOORWAY.
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE PAINTING,
WITH ALL OF THE SURFACE, WITH ALL OF THE TEXTURES,
WITH ALL OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS OF THE ASH
THAT ARE STILL MADE AVAILABLE.
AND THEN, THE FINAL ELEMENT ARE THE SCULPTURES.
THE SCULPTURES WHICH ARE MADE PRIMARILY IN COPPER,
AND THE SCULPTURES WHICH PROBABLY HAVE THE MOST OVERT CONNECTION
TO BUDDHISM.
AMONG THE MANY COLLECTIONS THAT ZHANG HUAN HAS--
AND HE LITERALLY HAS LARGE WAREHOUSES WHERE HE WORKS,
BUT ALSO WHERE HE PUTS THESE COLLECTIONS TOGETHER--
ARE PIECES WHICH ARE BASED ON FRAGMENTS OF BUDDHIST STATUARY
WHICH WERE DESTROYED IN THE 20th CENTURY.
MANY OF THEM COME FROM TIBET AND FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA.
ZHANG HUAN REFUSES TO BE POLITICAL ABOUT THE SITUATION,
BUT HE FEELS THAT SAVING AS MANY OF THESE FRAGMENTS
AS POSSIBLE IS IMPORTANT,
BUT HE ALSO SAYS THAT, IN GENERAL,
ALL WAR AND ALL DESTRUCTION COMES FROM
AND LEADS TO FURTHER MISERY.
AND SO, IN A SENSE, WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT HERE
ARE WORKS THAT ARE MADE FROM FRAGMENTS,
BUT HE'S NOT IN ANY WAY TRYING TO CREATE NEW RELIGIOUS ICONS.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, IN THIS BODHISATTVA IMAGE,
IT'S HIS OWN FACE WHICH IS UTILIZED ACROSS THE BACK.
THE TRUE ICON FOR THE SHOW--
THE ONE THAT YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN IN THE "PRESS."
IT WAS ON THE FRONT PAGE OF "THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS,"
I UNDERSTAND, TONIGHT, AND IN THE ENTERTAINMENT SECTION.
IT'S CALLED THE "LONG ISLAND BUDDHA,"
AND HE, AGAIN, DOESN'T SEE THESE AS RELIGIOUS OBJECTS PER SE.
HE SEES THESE AS EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPORARY ART...
CONTEMPORARY ART THAT IS BASED ON HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SURFACE OF THESE SCULPTURES,
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE ROUGH SEAMS,
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE DENTS,
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE UNEVEN SURFACES.
AGAIN, HE'S NOT TRYING TO CREATE SOMETHING
THAT WOULD BE USED IN A RELIGIOUS CONTEXT.
HE'S TRYING TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT IS A WORK OF ART,
BUT WHICH IS BASED ON A CERTAIN TRADITION
AND IS CONNECTED TO HIS OWN BELIEF SYSTEM.
THE WONDERFUL THING RELATED TO THIS PIECE
IS THAT HE CREATED A SERIES OF DRAWINGS
WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN SHOWN BEFORE.
THERE ARE 12 DRAWINGS--
THEY SENT EIGHT FOR US FOR THE EXHIBITION.
ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT ZHANG HUAN--
AND THIS IS PARALLEL TO WHAT YOU MIGHT REMEMBER
FROM THE HANNEKE BEAUMONT SHOW
WHICH CLOSED JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO,
IS THAT HIS DRAWINGS ARE DONE NOT IN PREPARATION
FOR A PROJECT, BUT THEY ARE DONE
AS A SORT OF MEDITATION AFTER A PROJECT IS COMPLETE.
SO THESE WONDERFUL DIAPHANOUS WORKS SORT OF HELP HIM
TO REFLECT ON WHAT HE'S ALREADY DONE,
BUT HELPED TO IMAGINE ENVIRONMENTS--
OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENTS, OBVIOUSLY, WITH ITS LONG SHADOW,
WHERE THE WORKS CAN BE PLACED.
SOME VERY THICK AND VERY BOLD,
OTHERS VERY LIGHT, VERY GHOSTLIKE, QUITE DIAPHANOUS.
AND ANOTHER ONE HERE-- I LIKE THIS ONE IT, IN PARTICULAR,
BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOU THE INDIVIDUAL SEAMS.
AND AGAIN, HE'S NOT USING ARTISANS AND A FOUNDRY
THAT THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES AS ARTISTS.
HE'S USING CRAFTSMAN TO HELP HIM REALIZE HIS ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS.
AND ONE MORE.
OH, TWO MORE-- EXCUSE ME, I FIBBED.
THIS IS CALLED "LONG ISLAND BUDDHA."
HE MADE THREE OF THEM.
THE FIRST HE MADE FOR A PRIVATE COLLECTION ON LONG ISLAND.
THE SECOND, HE MADE AND HE KEPT FOR HIMSELF.
AND THE THIRD, HE MADE FOR FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS
AND SCULPTURE PARK.
THIS IS NOW A PIECE THAT WILL BECOME PART
OF THE PERMANENT CONNECTION.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW OF ZHANG HUAN.
HOPEFULLY, IT'S SOME HELPFUL INFORMATION
FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND.
VERY UNUSUAL AND CHALLENGING AND COMPLEX AND, ULTIMATELY,
I HOPE REWARDING EXHIBITION.
IF WE RAISE THE LIGHT, WE CAN TAKE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
(applause) THANK YOU.
(applause)
PAUL, I KNEW YOU'D BE THERE.
>> YEAH, THE "RAISING THE WATER IN THE FISH POND" VENUE--
THAT WAS ABOUT THE TIME THAT THEY WERE BUILDING THE (indistinct) DAM--
(indistinct speaking).
>> YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T HEARD HIM SPEAK OF THAT
OR READ ABOUT THAT, BUT YOU KNOW, IT COULD VERY WELL BE.
IT COULD VERY WELL BE.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
THAT'S AN EXCELLENT OBSERVATION.
YES?
>> (indistinct speaking).
>> I THINK HE PICKED SHANGHAI BECAUSE HE FELT THAT BEIJING
HAD BECOME SO...
OVERGROWN FOR THE ARTIST COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, JUST SORTA SUPER, SUPER INTENSE,
AND HE KNEW THAT HE ALSO WANTED TO WORK ON A VERY LARGE SCALE,
AND THAT TO FIND AN ENORMOUS STUDIO STILL IN CLOSE PROXIMITY
TO THE CENTER OF THE CITY
WOULD BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT IN BEIJING.
SO IN SHANGHAI, WHICH IS A VERY LARGE CITY ITSELF,
THERE WERE SOME ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES,
AND HE DOES HAVE AN EXTREMELY LARGE
AND VERY PRODUCTIVE AND VERY INSIGHTFUL STUDIO.
IT'S ABOUT 25, 30 MINUTES OUTSIDE OF THE CITY,
DEPENDING ON THE TRAFFIC.
YES?
>> THIS MAN SPENT TIME IN AMERICA,
THEN TOOK HIS CHILDREN AND WIFE BACK TO CHINA.
DOES HE EXPECT THAT HIS CHILDREN MAY BE EDUCATED IN AMERICA?
>> HIS CHILDREN ARE EDUCATED IN CHINA, BUT ALSO IN ENGLAND.
THEY TRAVEL A LOT-- THE FAMILY TRAVELS A LOT.
AND THEY SPEND THE MOST AMOUNT OF TIME IN CHINA,
BUT I THINK THAT ONE OF HIS HOPES FOR HIS CHILDREN
IS THAT THEY CAN SORT OF TAKE THINGS EVEN FURTHER THAN HE CAN
AND REALLY SEE THAT THIS IS A GLOBAL COMMUNITY.
NOT JUST AMERICA, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST CHINA,
BUT REALLY, ENGAGE IN A GLOBAL COMMUNITY.
>> THEY GAVE HIM THE CHOICE. >> CHOICE, YEAH.
INTERESTING-- HE AND HIS WIFE HAVE SET UP A FOUNDATION--
A PRIVATE FOUNDATION-- AND THE PRIMARY MISSION
OF THE FOUNDATION IS TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS IN CHINA.
PRETTY IMPRESSIVE FOR SOMEONE IN THEIR 40s.
THERE WAS ANOTHER HAND OVER HERE-- YES?
>> IS HE ACKNOWLEDGED AS A FINE ARTIST IN CHINA?
>> HE IS.
AND YOU KNOW, HE IS CELEBRATED.
HE'S ALSO BEEN CONTROVERSIAL SOMETIMES.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, ON THE EVE OF A MAJOR EXHIBITION
IN SHANGHAI, THE EXHIBITION WAS CLOSED.
THE EXHIBITION WAS ALREADY PLACED,
THE CATALOG WAS ALREADY PRINTED,
BUT THE OFFICIALS WERE A LITTLE BIT WORRIED
ABOUT HOW FAR HE MIGHT TAKE THINGS.
BUT HE TRIES NOT TO BE THAT FORCEFUL AND THAT POLITICAL,
AND TO TRY TO TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
AND ISSUES OF HUMANITY.
AND THAT, IN MANY WAYS, IS WHAT SETS HIM APART
FROM SOMEONE LIKE AI WEIWEI.
YES?
>> WITH CHINA'S ONE CHILD POLICY,
HOW DOES HE MANAGE MORE THAN ONE CHILD?
>> WELL, THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO THAT POLICY,
AND ONE OF THEM IS THE FACT
THAT BOTH OF THE CHILDREN WERE BORN IN THE UNITED STATES.
>> IS HIS WIFE AMERICAN? >> HIS WIFE IS CHINESE.
HIS WIFE IS CHINESE.
YES?
>> WAS THERE A FALLOUT FROM THAT PERFORMANCE PIECE
ABOUT THE ONE CHILD POLICY...
(indistinct speaking).
AND ALSO...
(indistinct speaking).
>> WELL, I THINK THAT-- LET ME ANSWER THE SECOND QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, TO BE A PERFORMANCE ARTIST,
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR BODY IS SO VERY INTEGRAL
TO WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE,
IT'S PRETTY GRUELING.
AND I THINK HE REACHED A CERTAIN POINT IN TIME
WHERE HE JUST FELT THAT, PHYSICALLY,
HE COULDN'T WITHSTAND THE KIND OF INTENSITIES--
YOU KNOW, LAYING ON BEDS OF ICE, BEEN SUSPENDED,
SO ON AND SO FORTH, ANY FURTHER.
BUT IN MANY WAYS, HE SEES--
ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT TECHNICALLY PERFORMANCE PIECES,
HE SEES THE WAY THAT HE WORKS WITH ASH ACROSS THE SURFACE,
HE SEES THIS SORT OF ACT OF CREATING HIS PAINTINGS,
HIS SCULPTURES, HIS PRINTS,
HIS DRAWINGS AS A MEDITATIVE EXPERIENCE,
BUT ALSO AS A PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE.
AND YES, HE DID GET QUITE A LOT OF FLAK IN HIS EARLY DAYS.
BUT MOST OF THE ARTISTS THAT WERE SORT OF YOUNG
AND UNCONVENTIONAL WERE IN THE SAME BOAT.
IT WASN'T NECESSARILY JUST HIM.
IT WAS THE WHOLE GROUP.
GREAT QUESTIONS.
YEAH, YES?
>> (indistinct speaking).
>> YES.
>> TO KNOW IF THAT WAS BEFORE OR AFTER--
>> AFTER, AFTER.
MEN OCCASIONALLY MAKE FASHION STATEMENTS FIRST.
(audience laughing)
OCCASIONALLY-- VERY OCCASIONALLY.
>> (indistinct speaking).
>> YEAH, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, PERFORMANCE ART HAS BEEN AROUND IN THE WEST
FOR MOST OF THE 20th CENTURY,
AND THERE ARE OFTEN TIMES THESE DOCUMENTS THAT SURVIVE,
SOMETIMES BY CHANCE, SOMETIMES BY CHOICE.
PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE PRIMARY MEANS,
WHETHER IT'S A HAPPENING FROM THE 1950s AND EARLY 1960s,
OR WHETHER IT'S SOMETHING FROM THE DADA EXPERIENCE.
YOU KNOW, OCCASIONALLY THERE ARE THESE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT SURVIVE.
AND THEY ARE SEEN AS A WORK OF ART, IN AND OF THEMSELVES.
MORE AND MORE-- ESPECIALLY IN THE '80s,
STARTING OUT IN THE WEST WITH ARTISTS LIKE BILL VIOLA,
THE IDEA WAS THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY MAKE A FILM OR A VIDEO,
OR NOW A DVD-- THAT'S WHAT WE ARE PLAYING HERE.
SO THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT COLLECT THOSE KIND OF WORKS OF ART
AS THEY WOULD COLLECT, FOR EXAMPLE,
A PRINT IN A LIMITED EDITION.
YOU KNOW, THE PARALLEL THAT I MADE
TO SOME OF THE VOLUNTEERS THE OTHER DAY
IS THINK BACK TO ANDY GOLDSWORTHY.
YOU KNOW, ANDY GOLDSWORTHY DOES SO MANY TEMPORARY WORKS.
YOU KNOW, THE LEAVES ONLY STAY IN THAT CONFIGURATION
FOR A VERY BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME,
AND THEN THEY ARE BLOWN AWAY OR THEY'RE WASHED AWAY.
IT'S THAT CLICK-- SNAPSHOT-- THAT BECOMES THE DOCUMENT
THAT BECOMES THE WORK OF ART,
AND HE DOES SEE THEM AS WORKS OF ART,
NOT JUST AS DOCUMENTS.
IT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE MORE.
YES?
>> IS THIS PARTICULAR PIECE CAST,
OR IS IT PUT TOGETHER IN SHEETS OF (indistinct)?
>> BOTH.
THERE ARE ELEMENTS OF IT THAT ARE CAST,
AND THERE ARE ELEMENTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY FORGED
AND PUT TOGETHER.
SO IF YOU GO BACK IN THE GALLERY,
YOU WILL SEE THAT EACH ONE OF THE LITTLE UNITS
OF THE HAIR HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN WELDED TO THE SURFACE.
VERY UNCONVENTIONAL,
IF YOU THINK ABOUT SORT OF CLASSIC BRONZE CASTING.
GOOD QUESTION.
WELL, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE EXHIBITION.
(applause)