The May 16 concert by Cui Jian,
the pioneer of Chinese rock and roll, has been cancelled because the musician
and his band members could not get visas.
Cui Jian (pronounced “schway
jen”) was to have closed “Serious Pop!” a series on contemporary
Asian culture sponsored by East Asian Studies with support from the Freeman
Foundation.
There is no indication that Sudden
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) had a part in the visa problem, according to
Prof. Ted Gilman, director of East Asian Studies.
“This was a case of Chinese
artists who could not get visas from the U.S.
government,” he said. “But we do not know the reasons.”
Plans are under way to reschedule
Cui Jen, perhaps next year.
“A lot of people were looking
forward to this concert,” Gilman said. “And Cui Jen and his people
are looking forward to setting another date.”
Series closes next week
“Serious Pop!” concludes with a
closing reception for the exhibition Luo Brothers – Welcome the World Famous
Brand, on Thursday, May
15, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.,
in the Nott Memorial's Mandeville Gallery. The exhibition of paintings
by the Chinese trio of brothers Luo Weidong, Luo Weiguo, and Luo Weibing (who
live and work together in Beijing) blends traditional, Cultural Revolution, and
consumer culture imagery in paintings that burst with color and overflow with action.
The show runs through May 18.