A Book from the Sky
A Book from the Sky. Xu Bing. 1987–1991 C.E. Mixed-media installation.
Installation
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pages containing columns of Chinese Text, on walls, ceiling
Historical, calligraphic
Xu Bing invented over 1,000 characters; don’t actually mean anything
Very early form of mass production; relates to the contemporary moment; print media played a large role in artist’s upbringing
Cultural revolution; intellectuals vilified; notion of the individual was distrusted
Talented in writing and calligraphy in school; identified by this
Put to work; created banners; combined modern/traditional
Art school; trained in propagandistic works
Move from the symbolic representations of the words; characters themselves
Mao’s regime; banners that would’ve surrounded him
Period when China was flooded with Western literature
Characters empty, meaningless
Regime, propaganda
China received and translated Western works; theory, literature, art history
Series of words; the sea; waves; sky; resembles a landscape
Wood block printed; etilist; propaganda put in landscape works
Installation
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pages containing columns of Chinese Text, on walls, ceiling
Historical, calligraphic
Xu Bing invented over 1,000 characters; don’t actually mean anything
Very early form of mass production; relates to the contemporary moment; print media played a large role in artist’s upbringing
Cultural revolution; intellectuals vilified; notion of the individual was distrusted
Talented in writing and calligraphy in school; identified by this
Put to work; created banners; combined modern/traditional
Art school; trained in propagandistic works
Move from the symbolic representations of the words; characters themselves
Mao’s regime; banners that would’ve surrounded him
Period when China was flooded with Western literature
Characters empty, meaningless
Regime, propaganda
China received and translated Western works; theory, literature, art history
Series of words; the sea; waves; sky; resembles a landscape
Wood block printed; etilist; propaganda put in landscape works