Wu Shaoxiang | |
|---|---|
| 吳少湘 | |
| Born | 1957 Jiangxi Province, China |
| Alma mater | Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute Central Academy of Fine Arts |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Wu Shaoxiang (Chinese: 吳少湘) is a Chinese contemporary sculptor living between Berlin, Beijing and Carinthia, Austria.
Wu Shaoxiang was born in 1957 in Jiangxi Province, China. Having only received ongoing formal education until he was twelve, Wu was sent to work on a farm to lay bricks and saw wood for rafters. It was only when he turned twenty-one that he could he begin his career as a sculptor.
From 1978-1982 Wu studied sculpture at the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, then left to work at the China National Design Association in Beijing for two years.[1] From 1984-1987, he pursued postgraduate studies under the sculptor Professor Zheng Ke, at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, now the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. After graduating with a master's degree, he taught as a lecturer at the academy.
An important figure in China's New-Wave art movement, Wu won the first scholarship awarded by the city of Beijing, and was named one of the "Ten Most Influential Chinese Avant-Garde Artists" by Fine Arts of China (the most important magazine at the time for modern art published in China).[2] The purpose behind the New-Wave group was to review traditional Chinese art through courageous experimentation in the face of the ever-increasing influence of Western culture, in order to bring Chinese art to the modern world.[3] In 1988, the National Art Museum of China organized its first major solo exhibition, and in the same year, he was the first modern Chinese artist to be allowed to place a sculpture - "Meditation" - in a public space in Europe.[4] On June 6, 1989, two days after the massacre on Tiananmen Square, he was able to leave China with the help of the Austrian Embassy. He settled in Austria with his wife Jiang Shuo, who is also a sculptor, and their son. In 1991, he created "Apple," his first sculpture made entirely of coins. It was included in the Guinness World Records Book 1995 and is now in the Austrian National Bank. He obtained Austrian citizenship in 1993 and published a book of his sculptures since his arrival in Europe. He exhibited at this time in Europe and Asia. After cancer treatment in 1996 he built a new studio in Carinthia with his wife Jiang Shuo and wrote the autobiographical novel "The Shadow of the Sun".[5][6] In 2006, he set up a studio in Beijing, and later he published "Art of Sculpture," which became a textbook for all Chinese universities.[7] He is a visiting professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Fu Dan University in Shanghai since 2008. Due to its increasing popularity, 2012 saw the opening of a studio in Berlin. Alternating Wu Shaoxiang lives today in Austria, Berlin and Beijing. 2017 he became a visiting professor at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. His works are also widely collected by museums and prestigious institutions worldwide.[8]
The artist's work first caught the attention of the public through several modern abstract sculptures, which were commissioned for several locations, including a Beijing park, the Theatre of the Chinese Association of the Arts, and the Central Academy of Science. In his early stage as a sculptor, Wu was influenced by Western modernism. His "Outcry Series" created during the mid-1980s resembled the stylistic representation of sculptors such as Arp and Brâncuși, as well as Duchampe's his ironic sculptures and the artistic method of Chinese impressionism. This series was noted at the time for their abstract presentation of the female body, and representation of sexual consciousness. It was made mainly of cast copper, which was polished to diminish the strength of the material, creating a smooth and luminous tactile experience. Such work indicated the lack of exploration in sexual themes in China, establishing Wu as an artistic pioneer at that time.[9]
Wu was also an active participant in the Chinese modern art circle. He wanted to provide greater international exposure to Chinese art, and avidly explored and incorporated contemporary ideas in his works. In this sense, he was much bolder compared to his more conservative and conventional contemporaries who were hesitant in addressing sexual themes. As a result, he helped to begin a new chapter in modern Chinese art history.[9]
In Austria Wu found a more liberal environment that allowed him the freedom to artistically express himself. He attempted to detach himself from the art movement in China, but found it a challenge. This made him feel like a foreigner both in China and in Austria. Thus, it would become inevitable for Wu to return to his identity, but keeping a global perspective. Some themes he explored included the concept of Yin and Yang – which relates to Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine.[9]
Living abroad allowed Wu to become more familiar with the relationship between art and commerce. He also witnessed what he felt were the detrimental effects of globalization on art. When visiting museums, Wu saw works by artists he respected as important voices of change commercialized and degraded to simple brand names, as their creations were reproduced on all types of consumer products.[9]
The development of his past work along with a greater awareness of consumer culture enabled Wu to create his "Coin Series" in 1991, where he used coins as a medium for sculpting. For example, Apple, made up of 45,000 Austrian shilling coins, is recorded in The Guinness Book of Records in 1995 as the first and biggest coin sculpture in the world.[9]
He uses coins to produce interpretations of both Western and Chinese sculptural forms, including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Bill Gates, the Roman goddess of love, Venus, the logo of McDonald's, and a can of Coca-Cola. This would allow him to convey a strong social message, and to establish his individual artistic signature on the international art stage, earning him prominent recognition.
For his first solo exhibition -Coining MOMA(2001)- in the United States at Plum Blossoms gallery in New York, Wu Shaoxiang rendered with wielded coins his own representation of the permanent collection at The Museum of Modern Art, for example taking inspiration from Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Aristide Maillol and Jasper Johns.[10] In doing so, he was indicating that enterprises such as the MoMA were increasingly driven by business, carrying out nationwide publicity campaigns and reproducing famous works on gift items to sell them in museum shops. In fact, they had reduced artistic images to commercial images.
In his latest work, the "Walking Wealth" series, Wu continues to explore the theme of wealth and modern consumer culture, though this time using a new form of innovative sculptural representation - life-sized human figures made out of bronze-cast US dollar notes. As a postmodernist he had to deconstruct his "tradition" or reinterpret the "tradition" of his artistic education. Selecting the historical masterpieces of Western art - which are familiar to most educated Westerners - he could express the themes of his metaphorical messages in a more accessible way. With their unique body language and presentation, these anonymous figures are amusing commentaries on mankind's seemingly immense hunger for monetary fulfillment. In his worlds: "Inventions can free people from physical restrictions, but also lead to unexpected new restrictions. Currency is like this: It was invented to facilitate trade, but it came to dominate people's behavior and reasoning in the end. Coins can be used as a kind of normal material such as stone, wood or metal to make sculptures". The idea of money - illustrated by the coins and banknotes he uses - is in his mind completely incompatible with the actual value of the art.
The exact interpretation of his works, however, is still unclear and fuzzy, probably intentionally. In the history of sculpture, he is the first to use coins exclusively and persistently to make sculptures, going beyond the traditional definition of this art. The raw material used is material substance, but also an art form in itself.[11]
Completed in 2007, his sculpture I Love M depicts a bust of Chairman Mao mounted on a plinth with the McDonald's logo. At the same time as referencing his childhood during the Cultural Revolution, I Love M is a commentary on the pervasiveness of capitalism and the way political figures become symbols over time.[12]
