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The more polemical article by Chung Chi-Kei shows how the process can evolve in rather odd ways. This may be seen in the Execution, a 1995 painting by Yue Min-Jun in what the writer calls an "appropriation" of Édouard Manet’s 1867 Execution of Maximilian––although perhaps "reinterpretation" would have been a better word. He focuses on the attempt by Western art critics to make sense of the painting’s theme by fitting it into their preconceptions of what they believe is its message, that is, the June 4th 1989 Tiananmen massacre, a tragedy for which in reality Yue Min-Jun has shown little sympathy. Niu Jingfan discusses more positive aspects of the exchange. She considers the work of culturally marginalized poet Cheng Baoyi and the way that he has been able to create a terra firma of the intellect by his integration of Western (especially French) and Chinese culture. Sino-French artists Teh Chun Chu, Zao Wou-Ki and Hsiong Ping-ming are other artistic pilgrims to the West who have successfully integrated the two traditions while always remaining firmly grounded to Chinese art.
César Guillén-Nuñez |
