Zhang Dali is a multimedia conceptual artist who is provoked by the Chinese social and and cultural changes that have occurred since the economic reforms that began in 1979. He is a rebellious soul who participated in the protests in Tiananmen Square among many students and members of the lower to middle class in 1989. During these protest, known commonly in the West as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, many participants were killed by armed forces. For his role in the protests he was exiled from the country. During this time he studied Western art history in Europe. It was here that he first became familiar with graffiti and the idea of creating artworks in public spaces. When he returned to China years later, he began creating Graffiti on public walls, specifically the demolished walls of traditional communities which were being destroyed and rebuilt to fit the ideology of post-Mao China’s reforms.
He began by spray painting a logo, which he describes as “A stylized self-portrait based on the shape of my own skull. This logo by itself is not the work; it only becomes a work after it is placed in specific context.” (Zhang) These silhouettes were often accompanied by words such as AK-47 and 18k, referring to the AK-47 machine gun and the violence perpetrated by the reforms as well as a high karat value of gold, representing a rise of materialism emerging in the subsequent culture. These become recurring symbols in his catalogue. Zhang describes his work as a form of dialogue saying “Eventually people will establish some sort of relation with it… It doesn’t matter to me, as long as it is seen and instigates some sort of reaction.” (Zhang)
This exhibit will display various mediums, however will focus on Zhang Dali’s graffiti as well as photography of these works. The gallery will evolve to show some of his more formal artworks such as paintings and sculptures considering the same goals his graffiti was meant to reach. These will be juxtaposed by other graffiti artists such as Shepard Fairey who recreates Chinese and Soviet communist propaganda posters to also comment on social issues in Western culture.
Bibliography
Lago, Francesca Dal, Song Dong, Zhang Dali, Zhang Wang, and Wang Jianwei.
“Space and Public: Site Specificity in Beijing.” Art Journal 59, no. 1 (2000): 75-87.
doi:10.2307/778084.
February 12, 2019 at 1:44 am
I find this exhibition idea very interesting, and also the information about your chosen artist. A lot of what you describe reminds me of my chosen artists work and his ideas. Especially when you mention his involvement in the Tiananmen Square breakout, my artist was involved in this as well. Something else that stood out to me was you mentioning how your artists work only becomes a so called work when it is placed in a specific context. This reminds me of a piece my artist created that he had a similar outlook on. I think it is interesting how you are also putting other propaganda artist’s work in your exhibition to go along with those you are choosing from your own artist.
February 13, 2019 at 6:08 pm
I admire how your artist sought to not only create thought-provoking pieces in public areas, but also how he targeted specific buildings that represented the post-Mao regime. By doing so, his messages definitely become significantly more charged and successfully convey his criticisms of state. I also find it really interesting how drastic the changes in art became following the passing of Mao. I feel like this reality is something you might want to draw some attention to in your exhibit.