Education Blazes a Trail-- An art teacher's report

Qiu Zhijie

In the exhibition 'Phenomena and Imagery: Video Art in China ' organized by Wu Meichun and me in 1996, we linked education to contemporary art show for the first time in China . On a very tight budget, we decided not to publish any exhibition catalogues. Instead, we put together two books before the show to promote video art, Video Art Documents and Art and Historical Consciousness . We selected essays that are significant in the history of video art from catalogues and magazines published abroad. Friends from a variety of backgrounds helped us translate those articles. The two books had a huge impact on the development of video art in China . Alongside the exhibition, we invited the professor of philosophy, Chen Jiayimg, from Beijing University , and professor Zhou Chuanji from Beijing Film Academy to give lectures. Since the oil painters in China Academy of Art were interested in applying phenomenology to artistic creation, professor Chen Jiaing's lectures had significance influence on the Academy. A few years later, the Academy set up a research center for phenomenology, and was responsible for organizing the annual nationwide meetings for phenomenology in China .

After that, several exhibitions also added educational components to their projects. For instance, Feng Boyi organized a show in Tushu Daxia (the Mansion of Books ) in Xidan, Beijing , titled ‘Knowledge is Power.' Art works on display were mixed with the books in the bookstores, and series of lectures were given in the coffee shops in the stores. I gave a talk there to introduce new media art.

Guangzhou Triennale offered a different example. It invited well-established artists to give lectures in universities in Guangzhou , such as Huanan Normal University and Sun Yat-sen University , etc. ‘Left Wing' by Gu Zhenqing, on the other hand, scheduled lectures both inside the exhibition space and outside in schools like Beijing University .

So far, except for the educational program for children in Guangdong Museum of Art, there are no art museums that offer any educational programs for the public. It was the independent curators who first took the initiative to include educational activities in contemporary art shows. Since the understanding of contemporary art is still relatively shallow in China , any artistic activity that takes place in public space is also educational.

Long March---A Walking Visual Display, coordinated by Lu Jie and carried out by us, was an unprecedented, enormous project that put creation, exhibition, discussion and education together. Tracing the path the Red Army trod in the 1930s, we set up installations, performances, exhibitions for paintings and sculpture, scheduled seminars, played videos and movies along the way. Most of the activities did not take place in conventional art museums. We played contemporary video art on a long-distance bus, on the street of the drinking quarter in Yangshuo, in a village family shrine, and in the yard where the minority dried grain. We got the public involved in contemporary art by touring, giving away art works, and by inviting people to work with us. Most of those who saw or participated in Long March were not from the contemporary art circles of Shanghai or Beijing . They were farmers, workers, local teachers and officials, etc. The process stimulated lots of discussions along the way. We may say that it was a ‘every where,' 'anytime' kind of education. I found the ones that were participated by the audience especially meaningful. For example, after we viewed the biography movie of Jakson Pollock with residents of Maotai, we asked them to paint in the style of Pollock after drinking. People everywhere were quite curious about new things and they appreciated the experience.

What motivated me to go teaching in China Academy of Art was to bring this energy embodied in Long March into the Academy, which had just started to encounter contemporary art. China Academy of Art added three new components to the system: New Media Art Department, Department of Mixed Media and Center of Exhibition Culture Studies (the preparatory body responsible for developing the curriculum for curators) The new curriculum for contemporary art is independent from the pre-existing departments (i.e. departments for traditional paintings, oil paintings, prints, sculpture and art history)

I work for the Comprehensive Art Studio in Mixed Media Department and Center of Exhibition Culture Studies . I also teach ‘the history of video art' in New Media Art Department . We enjoy a great deal of freedom because there are no fixed teaching materials in the curriculum. When I first taught there, what made it difficult was that, the students had received only traditional training in plastic arts. They lacked comprehensive knowledge of contemporary art, had no capacity to carry out projects, and their ability to think analytically lagged even behind. I therefore tried to focus on developing critical thinking and rational work habits when I taught. The first thing to get rid off was fear and prejudice.

My teaching began with a four-week course on ‘curatorial programming'. It was not designed for future curators but for future artists. I thought artists should know how exhibitions were materialized, how museums, galleries and art festivals functioned, what the curators did, and what contemporary art ‘exhibition culture' was like. Artists would benefit from a course like this by learning how to work best with curators.

On the first day of the class I asked students to make a circle and ‘dance'---dance by using any body parts to write their own names. Some used their fingers, some used hair or toes, and so on. Then, everyone wrote ‘Comprehensive Art' in his or her own way, forming peculiar group movements. In the game students learned that the result of one plus one could be greater than two. This was exactly the purpose of curating any art shows. They also realized that it was easier for the first one to do it. It got more difficult after more students had done it. They then realized what the relationship between art history and creation was like. This way they could easily tune in to the lessons on curation.

The following two weeks were divided into three parts: 1. My lectures. 2. Students' discussion. 3. Videos of exhibitions and interviews with famous curators I prepared beforehand. In noon I helped them read and discuss Wittgenstein's Culture and Value , hoping to broaden their theoretical background. On Sundays, I took them to museums, galleries and private art spaces in Shanghai and Nanjing to enrich their senses.

On the third week, students started to take part in the preparation for Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition, organized by China Academy of Art. Students were grouped into several sections to take responsibility for the following tasks: advertising, exhibition installation, finance and logistics, etc. What they had learned in the first two weeks was enhanced by the hands-on experience of the third week.

In the last week, every student had to choose an exhibition to write about. They also had to turn in an exhibition proposal. I was very much satisfied with the result. The students' analysis was not sharp enough, nevertheless, they were quick-minded and had quite unique perspectives on art. They also developed a controlled, rational work habit in planning and organizing activities. I was especially pleased that they realized how significant it was to be ‘comprehensive,' and how important it was to share and to cooperate with others. One of our best students was hired as an assistant curator for Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art before he even graduated, and was evaluated quite favorably.

‘Curatorial programming' was followed by a four-week course on ‘experimental photography'. I didn't teach them skills or knowledge regarding cameras or darkrooms. I expected them to teach themselves, or got help from friends. In the class I paid special attention to different types of photography that were applied in contemporary art. They could be divided into the following types: documentary, collage, photo with text, stage set-up, digitally processed, photo installation, and photo happening. Every student had to prepare a project that covers all the categories. All the projects were discussed and modified by the class before they were actually produced. For group discussion, I adopted the ‘brain storming' method from the field of sociology and advertising. Similar to the first ‘dance' class, group lessons stimulated and forced individuals to modify their own thoughts. At the first stage, it was mandatory for the students to get involved in all the media available. They didn't do it by choice so it was quite a difficult experience for them. At the second stage, they could choose one medium to explore, do whatever they wish to. After the comprehensive training of the first stage, they could break free at the next stage. They apparently benefited from the four-week lessons. In the final show of their works, they demonstrated quite a degree of maturity in the distribution of space, and in the ideas of sharing and complementing in creating art works.

After finishing this two-month course I went back to Beijing and leave the class to other teachers. I registered and designed a website for Comprehensive Art Studio. It has been a ground for long-distance interaction for all the teachers and students. I keep in touch with my students even when I am traveling overseas. Communication via inter-net is even more free and equal than face-to-face conversation.

Center of Exhibition Culture Studies is presently editing a series of books on exhibition culture. In the future it will offer short-term training program for curation. In the meanwhile I'm assisting New Media Art Department to conduct a survey on social demand for new media artists. Questionnaires were sent to TV stations, advertisement companies, museums, IT companies, movie directors and producers, asking what knowledge they consider essential for their profession. We hope to build an academy that meets the real need of the society.

Contemporary art education just got started in China . There are no rules to follow because the rules are still in the making. The course we pioneers have to take is not without risk but is also blessed with opportunities. Art education will blaze a trail for contemporary art, and for art education itself.