April 20, 2006

inside china .... homes


ai wei wei, exterior of live-work loft complex in northeast beijing commissioned by swiss art dealer urs meile.

ny times home & garden coverage of interiors, and interview with conceptual artist-architect ai wei wei. (via the gutter)

"... This kind of tension between deprivation and luxury — an increasingly salient theme in the new China — informs much of Mr. Ai's work, including the art piece he displayed on a recent visit: in one of the cavernous, sparely furnished rooms in his house, two enormous celadon bowls, about three feet in diameter, were each full of 500 pounds of freshwater seed pearls that gleamed in the sunlight."

another mention of shanghai photographer hu yang. absolutely amazing images of home interiors, from struggling students to the gaudy rich.

consumption consumption, oh beautiful consumption. and lastly, chinese antiques in nyc -- if you're into that sort of orientalist thing. maoist kitsch sounds like a more lighthearted niche market to explore ... and NO, it's not tired ... yet!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Geremie Barme (an australian guy) has written a couple of books about Chinese stuff. there is one called "Shades of Mao".. that might interest you!

Miss J said...

thanks for the recommendation! -- have you read the book / do you know if there is a good review on it?