Issue No. 1:
Performance (2019)
He Yunchang in his studio in 2019. Photo by Sam Beard.
Guan Kan is a journal dedicated to thinking about contemporary art made by Chinese artists. Its first issue focuses on performance art, a lively form of expression in China but one that has been made illegal by authorities. Performance art does not need to be explicit about politics to be political in China, and essays here address this tension between politics and the performing body. This issue has a focus on He Yunchang, as well as essays on on the contemporary calligrapher Zhang Qiang, feminist performance artist Li Xinmo, and Zhu Fadong whose Person for Sale (1994) is the banner image for Guan Kan.
The revival of calligraphy in Zhang Qiang and Tong Yang-Tze
Chinese Calligraphy has been a prestigious and significant aspect of Chinese art and culture for much of China’s vast history.
Performance Art and Feminism in China: A Conversation with Li Xinmo
Despite the risk of censorship and imprisonment Li Xijnmo feels a duty to use her performance art to raise issues of gender inequality and other social and political issues.
Orpheus in the Modern World: Han Bing and Chinese Contemporary Art
‘The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.’
Zhu Fadong’s Looking for a Missing Person (1993)
In Looking for a Missing Person, Zhu Fadong plastered his elaborate posters all over the street, proclaiming that ‘Zhu Fadong, long hair, an artist, born in 1960, left from Kunming, Yunnan Province in one day, missing’.
He Yunchang, Bodies, Presence and Rebellion
He Yunchang’s performances are guided by innate Buddhist philosophies that both helps him achieve his personal articulation of ‘true artistic creation’, and to perform works requiring intense physical and mental fortitude.
The Art of Water in China: Dong Zhengyi's Communal Fish Pond (1972) and He Yunchang's Dialogue with Water (1999)
He Yunchang’s Dialogue with Water (1999) and Dong Zhengyi’s Communal Fish Pond (1972) are works made within and after Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
He Yunchang: Exploring the link between performance art and ancient Chinese philosophies
He Yunchang’s sacrificial feats combine modern existentialism with traditional Chinese philosophy and mythology.
He Yunchang's Studio and Artist Villages in Beijing
The threat of unprovoked demolition is one of the countless challenges practicing contemporary Chinese artists are facing before the will of the authorities. He Yunchang is one of the high profile artists still living and working within the Caochangdi district of Beijing today.