Last+Words--Zhang+Peili

Zhang Peili, "Last Words"

Identification: [|“Last Words”] video still shot. 2003. the video "Last Words" can be veiwed through the link above. For more on the artist's thoughts on Contemporary Art, an interveiw can be veiwed [|here.] Artist: Zhang Peili 张培力 Medium: Video Installation Date: 2003 Period: Contemporary Country of Origin: China Culture: Chinese Size: Variable Current Location: 1200 Getty Center Drive in Los Angeles, California Manner of Display: Video Installation, double screen projection, double panel. January 2011 Exhibition

__Introduction__

Zhang Peili was a central artist during the 1985 New Art Wave Movement ( [|’85 New Wave movement] ) and is known as one of China’s first artists to experiement with video art as a form of artistic expression. This entry examines one of Zhang Peili more recent video installations titled //Last Words// ( 遗言 ). Created in 2003 this video was inspired by Chinese war films of the 1950's. Presented on two television panels, one showing scenes from the war movies in which the hero or heroin of each movie is seen dying while uttering their final words and the other showing the same scenes played in reverse making the fallen heroes appear to rise back to life from death. Peili's intention for this piece was to draw attention to a once commonly heard phrase in China that "heroes are immortal" and...

--the following is unrelated and parts of which can be incorporated into the analysis section.

One of Zhang Peili’s earliest videos, dated to 1988, focused on the ridiculousness within the social and political spectrum in China at that time, showing the artist washing the body of a chicken repeatedly. Zhang Peili’s works are “…often infused with sharp social and political [|commentaries] .”(2008)This trend carries through his early pieces and more contemporary pieces as well. Video installations were one of the main foci of this artist although Zhang Peili has dabbled in other mediums as well, which show “… [|critiques] of the social, political and authoritarian environment in China.” ( 2008) Zhang Peili helped to co-found the [|Pond Society], becoming an active advocate for what is referred to as ‘rational painting’ which encourages an anti-aesthetic dada approach to art, and focuses more on surrealist imagry.

[|"A Gust of Wind"] Zhang Peili. 2008

Additionally, Zhang Peili’s “…international reputation relies primarily on a small number of survey [|exhibitions] motivated by multicultural agendas…” (2011) and this continues to be the case. As quoted of Zhang Peili “ Chinese artists who have great influence [|internationally], it's all because of political reasons and not because of art. As long as the work contains Chinese elements or expresses political opinion in an obvious way, or expresses an opinion on society and culture, they think that represents China and that’s it. In Western art history artists traditionally contribute ideas to the art world, but nowadays it’s hard to say that Chinese artists are contributing in that field.” The video piece by Zhang Peili is due for exhibition among other notable pieces, such as Lady’s Room, January of 2011 in California. The pieces which date back to the mid-80’s by this artist continue to travel and gain exposure through international exhibitions. Although the early pieces created by Zhang Peili were more “ [|Contained] ” (2011) his later work has become much more daring and direct. Many examples that help to evidence the shift Zhang Peili’s work has undergone focus on the hygienic standards inChina and how they are popularly perceived.

[|Glass Glove Series]. Zhang Peili.1988.

Similar to the way in which The Modern Musuem of Art has displayed “Control Panel. 1950” donated by the International Business Machines Corporation, as a tangle of controlled chaos: pieces such as [|Garbage Series], 2004-06 also show a collected mass of chaos. Other notable examples created by Zhang Peili include [|Glass gloves], 1985-88, or // [|Document on Hygiene No. 3] // (1991) all focus on the health standards and epidemics that have struck China. There are other pieces which focus on censorship and media control such as [|Water: Standard Edition of Cihai](1991), and later // [|Last Words] //(2003).

[|Garbage Series]. Zhang Peili. 2004. In relation to the piece Water: Standard Edition of Cihai, there seems to be an important emphasis on the role that media plays. As illustrated by Steven Johnson in Everything Bad is Good for You “Network complexity is not the exclusive province of reality television; many…feature dense webs of relationships that require focus and scrutiny on the part of the viewer just to figure out what’s happening on the screen.” The intention of the piece Water: Standard Edition of Cihai is of course to draw the viewers attention to what’s happening on the screen and the effects that media has on the Chinese people.

"[|Water: Standard Edition]" Zhang Peili. 1991

Beyond Zhang Peili’s efforts as a video artist focusing on political and social commentary in his art, He more recently “founded the [|School] [| of Intermedia Art] at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou”, where this artist now resides. The advocacy efforts both in the art world but also within the educational spectrum put forth by Zhang Peili make this artist extremely influential in the evolving art of video and media among the youth who are now learning how to contexualize their thoughts within this digital medium today.

__ Descriptive Analysis __ // Last Words // is a fifteen minute video assemblage by Zhang Peili, created in 2003. This video re-constructs the portrayl of Chinese patriotic “ [|heroes] ”. Characters taken from movies dating back to the 50’s, carry special significance for those who grew up watching this movies in the political charges environments of the 1950s. According to Zhang Peili “ In the [|1950s] we were taught there was only one truth. That’s a reality in revolution but today you have the right to be doubtful about any knowledge before accepting it.”

This concept is continued in The Media Monopoly, stating that “Between 1930 and 1940 there was a substantial drop in newspaper buying, but the impact of radio is obscured by the concurrent impact…” (Bagdikian 1997) of other audio formats such as video art at that time.???

The video installation, by Zhang Peili, //Last Words,// is a good example of this. Last Words is shown on two television panels, one with the original scene and the other showing the deceased ‘hero’ risen from death. This “…philosophy of maximum expliotation…” ( Bagdikian 1997) of the concept of death is an excellent example of how Peili conveys his commentary in this piece. The role of auditory devices became more prevelant, it started to “…change in the national pattern of delivering news…” ( Bagdikian 1997) Zhang Peili found a way of re-creating the role that radio could play through his ground breaking efforts with videography and implemented audio.

--This section is very confusing and incoherent. Here the entry should be describing the depicted scenes and identifying them the movies they came from.

"[|Last Words]" Zhang Peili. 2003.

This type of dichomtomy recalls a popular saying from that time of “ ‘ [|Heroes are immortal’] ” (this link makes no sense) carrying specific social commentary on the perceptions of death. Zhang Peili focuses on “…an essential relationship between the [|aesthetics] of video playback technology and the moving image itself, his video installation focuses on questions of perceived reality, media convention, individual agency, and spatial structure.” This allows for inquiry into the “ [|aesthetics]” of China’s political and social spectrum as to how the popular perceptions have changed over time.There have been other video’s assembled by Zhang Peili which focus on the social taboos in China. A good example of this might be [|Uncertain Pleasure] 1996, or [|Saftey Tips], 2003. Uncertain pleasure gets up close and personal, with zoomed in shots of a hand scratching a naked human form. Safety Tips shows a women demonstrating how to blow into a piece of safety aparati on a plane.

"[|Safety Tips]" Zhang Peili. 2003.

__ Contextual and Formal Analysis __ This should be a study of the video last words. It should consider things like the content and context of the original movies and how the artist's manipulation of them changes their meanings or what it reveals to the viewer...

Zhang Peili was once of the first artists to use video as an expressive form of art in China. During the 1985 [|New Art Wave Movement], Zhang Peili began producing pieces both with video and other mediums as well to portray social and political criticism, connecting images of China’s past to the changing of China’s future. Apart from the impact that his more recent video peice "Last Words" had, another notable piece which indicates these shifting dynamics is China’s bodybuilding 1989, showing a muscular woman holding a trophy. This piece in particular helps highlight Peili’s approach to art.

"[|China's Bodybuilding]" Zhang Peili. 1989.

As so well stated by Steven Johnson in Everything Bad is Good for You “ The question that confronts you…is not: what are the rules here? The question is: what kind of strategy can I concoct that will best exploit those rules to my advantage?” Zhang Peili is known for going against the grain within the works of art he has produced over the past few decades. As quoted of Zhang Peili by Casey Hall of Radian Online, “ I’m not a person who sticks to [|rules], and I’m never satisfied. I always have questions for people’s common knowledge… I do get some pleasure from risk” More recently Zhang Peili has shifted the focus away from satirical imagery and more toward a psychological emotive approach. According to Zhang Peili, as quoted by Casey Hall, in referance to Peili's later career, Zhang Peili states that “I don’t want to use [|artwork] as a tool for political or philosophical reasons to express my political or philosophical opinion. I’m more focused on the emotional influence the work can bring to people. The visual, spatial and audio impact can all be obvious components, but emotional things are harder to pin down." Peili encourages his students to let the current dynamics in current China influence their work and not to pull to much on the cords of the past, as quoted of Zhang Peili by Casey Hall of Radian Online, “I try my best to inform my students not to pursue one truth or knowledge because there is more than one truth… I hope everyone treats me like a [|goal], so that they can also achieve this goal.” Steven Johnson expounds this further, stating that “It’s a kind of narrative signpost, planted conveiniently to help the audience keep track of what’s going on” Although in that context it is meant to refer to digital gaming on the part of Steven Johnson, there is still a further applicability of this concept with the more specific digital shorts created by Zhang Peili.

[|China Academy of Fine Arts], HangZhou China. 2003.

Believing in the extending of artistic expression, especially among the youth, he now teaches the use of “narrative signposts” (Johnson, 2006) encouraging a more emotive approach to art and social statement to offer a more meaningful experience for the viewer. As interviewed by Casey Hall with Randian Online, Zhang Peili points out the importance of this approach by comparing it to that of Ai Weiwei, “ I respect [|Ai Weiwei] a lot, but people like him are getting a lot of attention in Western countries. He is not a measuring stick; no one person can be the representative for a society… I hope the criticism or opinion of [|Ai Weiwei] can focus more on whether his artistic language or ideas are meaningful.” Zhang Peili has always held meaning as important in the pieces produced, but now two decades into his very active career as an advocate of the arts and of education, sees this vitality of meaning in a whole new way. Early on, this was due “Partly because of the tradition [of artistic expression] itself and the cultural self-confidence of the educated class, partly because ‘fine art’ was… kept separate from their professional lives.” (Sullivan 1984) Notably in the case of Zhang Peili however, the two became inseparable, forging for himself a career within the field of media art in China not only through his own work but now as a mentor of the work to come.

__ Personal Interpretation __

Especially in a time of booming economic growth in China, and the mystique that surrounds it, multicultural agendas flourish especially with international venues outside of China, particularly the U.S, allowing the more contemporary works to gain exposure, especially if the piece is based in criticism of the governing powers in China. Although this does indeed allow for a wider audience to see these authentic works of art, the motivating factor behind which pieces are exhibited remains a contradiction. Some are brought in to show criticism, and others to better bridge the gap between the political powers of China and the U.S. As pointed out by Michael Sullivan in The Arts of China, “In spite of the artistic controversies that enlivened the twenties and thirties, Chinese artists on the whole avoided the violent oscillations between acceptance and rejecton of the West that had shaken Japanese art since the Meiji restoration of 1868.”

What makes Zhang Peili so unique as an artist is that the pieces produced early in his career highlight this fact and continued to show an acute awareness of the changing political and cultural spectrum up to the present day. In much the same way as other contemporary pieces are juxtaposed, such as “Side chair, Fish Knife and Spoon” gifted by the Glasgow School of Art, and exhibited by The Museum of Modern Art in New York to place these normally mundane things into a new context of art, the pieces created by this artist have similar goals in mind. The intention of Zhang Peili’s pieces however extend beyond comparing linear similarities and contrasting shapes to that of making use of space and repetition to help convey the commentary and critical message of piece.. That the works produced by Zhang Peili are able to invoke a powerful response cannot be denied. Even through the shift that his works underwent from a more critical approach to a more emotive approach, the influence that this artist has on the further evolution of art also cannot be denied. The underlying message of Last Words, in light of the recent international conflict between the U.S and other nations I find resonates especially strong.

__References:__

__‍Printed Sources __ This are mostly general sources, which are useless for the topic. Why not consult something on video art?

Bagdikian, Ben H. The Media Monopoly, fifth edition. Beacon Press, Boston. 1997 Print. Discusses the influence of media, specifically the prevelance of video and the impact it has on a society.

Fairbank, John K. East Asia: Tradition and Transformation. Harvard University. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 1973 print. Offers information on traditional forms of art in East Asia and discusses the transformative qualities of culture and art.

Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad is Good For You. The Berkley Publishing Group, New York. 2006 Print. Discusses the benefits of media, specifically digital media and the role it can play in furthering our understanding of new forms of material.

Museum of Modern Art, The Design Collection: Selected Objects. The Junior Council of The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1970 Print. Includes sets of art created using non-traditional and alternative media such as computer circuit boards and discusses the influence of digital media.

Sullivan, Michael. The Arts of China, third edition. University of California Press, Berkely: Los Angeles: London. 1984 Print. Discusses the changing nature of the arts in china and the important history behind traditional art and 20th century art.

__‍Online Sources __

Academic Encyclopedia of Chinese Culture. 2010.
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Artz in China. 2008 Online. < [|http://] [|artzinechina.com] [|/display_vol_aid257_en.html]>

Baecker, Angie. School of Intermedia Art 2003. 2010. <[]>

Creative Commons Attribution. 2011. <[]>

Getty Museum. 2011 Online. < []> Hall, Casey. Randian-online. 2011 Interveiw Online. < [|http://www.] [|[[http://www.randian-online.com/en/features/features-2011/zhang-peili-interview.html?tx_elunapagecomments_pi1%5Bshow_comments%5D=1|randian-online]]] [|[[http://www.randian-online.com/en/features/features-2011/zhang-peili-interview.html?tx_elunapagecomments_pi1%5Bshow_comments%5D=1|.com/en/features/features-2011/zhang-peili-interview.html?tx_elunapagecomments_pi1%5Bshow_comments%5D=1]]]> Peckham, Robin. Certain Pleasure: Zhang Peili and Electronic Media. 2011 Online. < [|http://www.] [|digicult] [|.it/digimag/article.asp?id=2131]>

__Images__

Zhang Peili. Venice. 1999. 

Garbage Series. 2004. < [|http://] [|artzinechina.com] [|/display_vol_aid257_en.html]>

Glass Glove Series. 1988. < [|http://] [|artzinechina.com] [|/display_vol_aid257_en.html]>

China’s Bodybuilding. 1989. < [|http://] [|artzinechina.com] [|/display_vol_aid257_en.html]>

Last Words. 2003. < [|http://www.] [|digicult] [|.it/digimag/article.asp?id=2131]>

Color Beyond The Window. 2004. < [|http://] [|artzinechina.com] [|/display_vol_aid257_en.html]>

Water. Video. 1991. < [|http://www.] [|digicult] [|.it/digimag/article.asp?id=2131]>

School of Intermedia Art. 2003. 

Uncertain pleasure, 1996. < [|http://www.] [|digicult] [|.it/digimag/article.asp?id=2131]>

Safety Tips, 2003. < [|http://] [|artzinechina.com] [|/display_vol_aid257_en.html]> The Power of Culture. 2011. <[]>

Museum of Modern Art, The Design Collection: Selected Objects. The Junior Council of The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 1970.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 11pt;">"Control Panel" International Business Machines Corp.1950 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 11pt;">"Side Chair, Fish Knife and Fork" Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 1900.