Rongrong's East Village

Rongrong arrived in Beijing in 1992, eyes wide open, with a newly bought camera.
East Village is a legendary place in the history of Chinese experimental art. In this dilapidated community, Rong Rong and a group of artists struggling on the brink of poverty—Zhang Huan, Zuo Xiaozuo, Duan Yingmei, Ma Liuming, and others—created a direct impact on the Chinese experimental art scene through performances and photography.
Wu Hung uses Rongrong's lens on East Village as a specific perspective, connecting three groups of photographs from his "East Village" series: the East Village artists and their artistic creations in their original environment from 1993 to 1994; the performance art projects that continued from 1994 to 1998 after the forced disbanding of the East Village artist group; and Rongrong's self-portraits from the period of "East Village" and beyond. This archive aims to explore the various historical, artistic, and autobiographical meanings of these photographs, exploring the subtle interplay between inner and outer space—the relationship between an artist's inner world, including his dreams, fantasies, excitement, and anxieties, and a collective history.

Editor's Pick—East Village! A legend in Chinese experimental art. "Raising the Water Level of the Fish Pond," "12 Square Meters," and "Original Sound" were born here, ushering in an era. Precious firsthand accounts of the scene.
—A new work by art historian Wu Hung. Through the lens, diaries, and letters of photographer Rong Rong, this work connects the explosively creative East Village artists: Zhang Huan, Zuo Xiaozuo, Rong Rong, and Ma Liuming, capturing the moments they captured with their bodies and actions.
—To all those who wander. They arrive in East Village, the city's fringe, with dreams in their hearts. To outsiders, they are financially struggling. In their hearts, they harbor ambitions to become the masters of Chinese contemporary art. This inner struggle, between heaven and earth, leaves them teetering between extreme pride and deep self-abasement.

2014-01-01

上海人民出版社

Century Wenjing

288

9787208116047