Vivienne Tam has often explored her Chinese heritage through fashion. Her spring 1995 collection, made with artist Zhang Hongtu, featured satirical images of Mao Zedong, formal chairman of the Communist Party of China.
Andy Warhol based his Mao paintings, drawings, lithographs, photocopy prints, and wallpaper on the same image: a painting by Zhang Zhenshi that served as the frontispiece for Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (known in the “West as The Little Red Book”) and was then thought to be the most widely reproduced artwork in the world. Warhol chose the image of Mao — then chairman of the Chinese Communist Party — after reading news coverage of President Richard Nixon’s trip to the People’s Republic of China in February of 1972, an unprecedented act of cold war diplomacy that marked the first act by a sitting American president to the nation, which at the tie was considered an enemy of the state.
Photographed as Part of the Exhibit, Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again, at the Whitney Museum of American Art Through March 31st, 2019.
Concert Poster artist and collectible figure aficionado Frank Kozik has been churning out limited editions of his Mickey Mao bust, officially entitled The Bird is the Word (because “Papa Ooh Mao Mao,“ I guess?) for a decade, I think. I’ve seen them in all sizes, colors and finishes, but this one measures an imposing 30″ x 20″ x 18″ and comes in a Lime Green Sparkle Automotive finish that can be yours for just $7,500!
Gold Nuggets and Toilet Paper (All Photos By Gail)
Well, the summer is over and the Chelsea Galleries are back in full swing with lots of exciting art to see. One of our long-time favorites, the Claire Oliver Gallery, has a new show up that is not only beautiful to look at but which also deals with a subject that is very topical.
In Cash is King, artist Lisa Alonzo revitalizes a long standing tradition of depicting currency and its role in our visual culture. Alonzo uses her signature satirical voice to pose questions on our current economic climate in a postmodern context.
Artist Liu Bolin Hides In the Face of Charmain Mao. Can You Find Him? (All Photos By Gail)
One of the most highly anticipated stops on our September 11th Art crawl was at the Klein Sun Gallery for the opening reception of A Colorful World?, a solo exhibition of new sculptures, photographs and lightboxes by China’s Invisible Man, Liu Bolin.
A Colorful World? is a reference to the countless multicolored advertisements and consumer goods that cloud today’s understanding of oppression and injustice. Through lightboxes that speak to ideas of disappearance, detailed painted sculptures, and a continuation of his Hiding in the City series, the exhibition reveals Liu Bolin’s immense artistic versatility, as well as an expression of his revered perspective on global issues of culture, society and politics.
In Magazine
Through a masterful understanding of depth perception and intricate painting skills, Liu Bolin’s In Magazine stainless-steel sculptures camouflage a cast human face into the background of more than a dozen hand-painted magazines covers.
The works express Bolin’s thoughts on the loss of individual identity among an onslaught of commercial images like the ones found in magazines. His message suggests that as we consume these manufactured images, we begin to transform into that which we consume until we disappear into the images entirely and loose our individual identity.
Similar in technique and philosophy, Liu Bolin’s renowned Hiding in the City series touches many of the same ideas and explores an even greater depth and range of subject matter, as Bolin paints himself into the background of carefully chosen scenes.
Hiding in the City – Art No. 1
Bolin Hides Among Rows of Meat Cleavers
In Junk Food No. 3
The bright painted In Junk Food fist sculptures, covered in the packaging designs of snack foods, illuminate Liu Bolin’s comprehension of oppression. Previous works like his stainless steel Fist, and the massive 7-ton iron Fist outside of the Grand Palais in Paris, craft a powerful comment on the violence and overwhelming force of oppression through their scale and materiality. In this more colorful and psychologically terrifying iteration, the painted fists elaborate on a contemporary and widely unaccepted form of oppression existent today.
Commercialized goods — primarily junk food in Liu Bolin’s eyes—mislead consumers into eating foods that incorporate carcinogens and ingredients that are harmful to the human body. The effect of these foods is frightening; according to the United Nations there are more than 35 million deaths per year due to diet-related illnesses like heart disease—which is astounding when juxtaposed to the number of deaths caused by cigarettes each year: 6 to 8 million. The bright and colorful packaging of these snack foods convey a lighthearted feeling of joy and happiness, but what they truly provide is hazardous to human health–all for the sake of financial gain. The In Junk Food fists reveal to viewers that colorful advertising is a vale for timeless modes of oppression that have plagued humanity for generations.
Security Check No. 2
The life-size Security Check sculptures are cast from Liu Bolin’s own body, showing the artist with his arms raised—as if in a full-body scanner—and are covered in paintings of snack food packaging. They expand upon the messages of the fists, but in this form, reference a specific example of an unjust exchange that occurs daily.