The book, which consists of four volumes totaling 604 pages, was printed in a. Now is the ideal time for those in new york to experience the work of xu bing 1955, the worldrenowned contemporary chinese artist. The phoenix pair will be on show in new york for about a year. The wall panels, hanging scrolls and books which create the space conjure an atmosphere of almost religious sanctity and safety, with the whiteness of the paper evoking a purity of spirit, and their neat rows of black print permeate an aura of authority and knowledge. Even so, this work challenges our very approach to language because of the unique nature of the text written on the paper. Xu and i wend our way into a side corridor on the ground floor of a threestory complex populated primarily with residential units and a few retail shops. He lives and works in beijing, china, and new york city, usa xu bing is one of the great voices of the early chinese avantgarde.
Xu bing spent seven years gathering materials, experimenting, revising, and arranging thousands of pictograms to construct the narrative of book from the. Xu bings first tobacco book 2000 included passages about the duke familys tobacco dealings, which appeared in sherman cochrans big business in china. Phoenix, mass moca, north adams, massachusetts, usa. Made up of 4,000 handcarved and printed characters, book from the sky remains xu bings most iconic work to date. Having experienced the phoenix in ny in the cathedral of saint john the devine, several times, this volume brought back so many fine memories. A book without words, recounting a day in the life of an office worker, told completely in the symbols, icons, and logos of modern life. And i want to focus on his square word calligraphy this time, which proclaimed the possibility of unexpected rewards for those making the effort to communicate across cultures. Part 2 of 2, i reported on our visit to new york city to see xu bings installation phoenix, 200810. Exploring xu bing and his square word calligraphy cctp. Xu bing has encapsulated critical issues of chinese culture, and those similar, yet contrasting issues within our western societies.
Running a finger under each line as he goes, xu bing reads from his 112page novel, from dot to dot. The larger sculpture, 100 feet 30 meters long, is identified as a male and named feng in accordance with the chinese phoenix tradition. Currently residing in beijing, he used to serve as the vicepresident. Xu bing is a chinese artist who served as vicepresident of the central academy of fine arts.
He works in a couple of disciplines and materials but the most common is ink painting, printmaking, and calligraphy 1. This installation comprises a set of 4 handprinted books, as well as wall and ceiling scrolls printed in the style of a wood letterpress. Xu bing is an internationally celebrated chinese artist. Xu bings tianshu book from the sky is a large installation featuring precisely laid out rows of books and hanging scrolls with written chinese texts.
Phoenix one of the most important chinese contemporary artists working today, xu bing has brought a phenomenal suite of works to mass moca. His masterpiece book from the sky 1987 1991 consisted of thousands of chinese characters invented by the artist that were then woodblockprinted onto flowing scrolls and made into handbound books. At first glance, and to anyone who cannot read chinese script, the pages appear simply as an elegant example of traditional chinese calligraphy, evoking the richness and sophistication of chinas long literary history. Using discarded construction materials xu bing created two 150 foot long phoenixes weighing in excess of 20 tons and suspended them from the ceiling of the cathedral church. Chinese artist xu bings beijing retrospective reveals his. A pair of phoenix sculptures by xu bing, the internationally acclaimed chinese artist, were recently hung in the nave of the cathedral church of st. The artist i would like to choose for my final project is a chinese contemporary artist xu bing, one of chinas bestknown artist. Xu bing studio blog uptodate information about the. Much more than a book, this is a fourvolume tome, displayed as a monumental installation on every surface and suspended from the ceiling. Book from the sky 1987 made up of 4,000 handcarved and printed characters, book from the sky remains xu bings most iconic work to date. Out of the ashes the phoenix rises, as the old myth goes. An opening reception took place on april 27, in conjunction with the installation of a second chapter of the exhibition.
This companion volume to book from the ground chronicles the entire. In 1986, with strong foundations in calligraphy and print making and informed by daoist, western and postmodernist thinking, xu bing embarked on what has become his magnum opus, book from the sky 198791. The ucca retrospective in beijing thought and method spans more than four decades of work in both china and the united states, and it quickly becomes clear that everything is not as it seems. In book from the sky 198791, xu filled a gallery with scrolls and books handprinted with 4,000 false chinese charactersa stunning commentary on the. Phoenix is definitely one of the most momentously breathtaking installations to come from chinese contemporary art. Xu bing following his classic work book from the sky, the chinese artist xu bing presents a new graphic novel one composed entirely of symbols and icons that are universally understood. Although the pictogramonly narrative in xu bings book from the ground can be read by anyone, there is much more to the story of xu bings wordless book than can be gleaned from icons alone. Born in sichuan in 1955, xu bing is widely considered to be among the most important chinese artists working today. The book from the sky is one of the most intriguing chinese art installations of the century, and the nifty work of none other than the celebrated chinese artist xu bing. Book from the sky, the work that first earned xu bing international acclaim, was recently on display in the ink art exhibit at the metropolitan museum of art. He lives and works in beijing, china, and new york city, usa. Xu bing, a chinese artist who lived in the united states before returning to china in 2008 and maintains studios in london and beijing, has a show at the british museum. Xu, who lived in new york from 1990 to 2008 and still maintains a studio here, has spoken to the chinese art world about how the phoenix project expresses a chinese mindset.
Square word calligraphy and book from the ground, phoenix is not what it seems at first glance. This presence is that of two mammoth birds created by chinese artist xu bing. The booklength poem, at once difficult and exciting, feels like somehow watching. What is xu bings impressive book from the sky all about. Xu bing is a contemporary chinese installation artist and one of chinas bestknown creative figures. Drawing inspiration from the contemporary realities of his fastchanging country, chinese artist xu bing spent two years creating his newest work. Xu bing talks sam gaskin through the language we didnt even know we knew.
He was first invited to make a piece for a new space in east beijing where they were building two high rises that would be linked through a gigantic lobby. Though, one of his wellknown installations is a gigantic flying dragon titled phoenix. A casual sign taped to a glass wall adjacent to the doors reads xu bing studio. For the chinese audience in particular, xus book from the sky is profoundly disorientating. Tianshu is the title of a book produced by chinese artist xu bing in the style of fine editions from the song and ming dynasties, but filled entirely with meaningless glyphs designed to resemble traditional chinese characters. From point to point, shanghai gallery of art, shanghai, china. His piece will be located over the water between two boathouses at the pavilion at arsenale giardino delle vergini. Additionally, xu bing has been shown at the 45th venice biennale amongst other international exhibitions. On the contrary, in western culture, the phoenix signifies the rising from the ashes of destruction.
As such, the phoenix pair have since traveled the world, from the. Find an indepth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices. Phoenix was the centerpiece of an exhibition of related art by xu bing, widely considered to be among the most important chinese artists working today. Xu bing is a chineseborn artist who lived in the united states for eighteen years. To use the debris of construction to create mythological images of renewal and survival.
Reviewed by tim lantz its not hard to see why ouyang jianghe considers phoenix his magnum opus. Following his classic work book from the sky, the chinese artist xu bing presents a new graphic novel. We zoom in on the earth, closing in on an unnamed city where morning birdsong is drifting into the protagonists dreams. Though, one of his wellknown installations is a gigantic flying dragon titled phoenix how was phoenix created. Xu bing will be unveiling his new phoenix2015 at the 2015 venice biennale this upcoming may. We come across two doors, one opening outward and the other inward. Art as a form of thinking, a lecture by noted scholar john rajchman, columbia university, investigated the way various modes of thinking are given play in xu bings. There are no words on the stark blackandwhite cover of xu bings book from the ground. Pioneering chinese contemporary artist xu bing creates powerful, poignant mixedmedia installations, in which he subverts systems of language, upending expectations and perception. Or, in the case of chinese artist xu bings massive phoenix sculptures, out of the salvaged debris. First realized in the form of a 604page, 4volume book, xu bing replicated. Yet, in addition to the works multilayered references to chinese iconography and mythology, it draws a. Installation of books and scrolls printed from carved wood types of invented characters, ink on paper, dimensions variable.
Focusing on drawing and printmaking, xu earned a ba in 1981, as well as an mfa in 1987. The catalog to accompany xu bings monumental exhibition phoenix, which was on view in mass mocas building 5 in 20. See available prints and multiples, works on paper, and installation for sale and learn about the artist. Xu bingfollowing his classic work book from the sky, the chinese artist xu bing. Now i have created book from the ground, a book that anyone can read. For xu bing, the creation of phoenix was a process of discovery. Xu bing said in chinese culture, the phoenix symbolizes the hopes and desires of a better future, even when those hopes are not necessarily realisable. For the shanghai version 2004, xu bing used an excerpt from the chinese translation of cochrans book. First realized in the form of a 604page, 4volume book, xu bing replicated its content to become an immersive installation piece. Phoenix poem by ouyang jianghe, translated by austin woerner.
Xu bings tianshu book from the sky is a large installation featuring precisely laid. He explains that his works are all linked by a common thread, which is to construct some kind of obstacle to peoples habitual ways of thinkingwhat i call the. Xu bings chinese phoenixes rise in new york cathedral. Twenty years ago i made book from the sky, a book of illegible chinese characters that no one could read. The exhibition included such major works as xu bings book from the sky, ghosts pounding the wall, 1st class and massive new installation of background story series. Through january 2015, his monumental installation phoenix, featuring two giant birds fabricated from construction debris, will be displayed inside the cathedral church of st. Installation view at blanton museum of art, the university of texas at austin, 2016. Suspended from the cathedrals vaulted ceiling by an elaborate rigging system almost as wondrous as the massive pendants in its charge, the. The phoenix, the mythical bird that crosses civilizations and eras, has a central role in the artists latest productions.
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