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Lot Essay
"The body is a proof of identity and also a kind of language." Zhang Huan
Zhang Huan quickly established himself internationally through provocative body-based performances wherein he fused political and social concerns through acts of physical endurance. His visceral and sometimes confounding imagery placed him as one of the foremost members of a group of radical avant-garde artists who surged onto the art scene during the 1990s. Younger than many of his contemporaries, Zhang was born in 1965 and came of age as an artist after the 1985 New Wave art movement in China, the feelings of desolation in his early works coming directly and quite literally from his social displacement and feelings of alienation in the post-Tiananmen period.
Family Tree (2000) (Lot 49) is one of Zhang's best-recognized works and one of the most iconic works of Chinese contemporary art in any media. Originally intended as a performance piece, Zhang Huan chose calligraphy as a medium to unfold his idea of family tree on a macro level from a micro point of view. He commissioned three calligraphers to write Chinese folklores and idioms from dawn to night over his face and shaved head, which was progressively covered and eventually erased by ink. Zhang commented, "in the end, no one knows the color of my skin, as if I lost my identity and therefore disappeared as a person." The most prominent proverb first written down on his forehead was "Yu Gong Yi Shan" (the foolish man who moves a mountain), conveying the lesson of life that if one has determination one can overcome any hardship and achieve his goal. Other writings denoted to the mysterious and inexorable power looming over life such as those addressing the correlation between one's destiny and various positions of human cheekbone. Documented by a nine-panel photograph, Family Tree pointed to the submergence of one's identity in face of larger and dominating forces such as fate and tradition. At the same time, it acknowledged the will power of man: Zhang buried the proverb of Yu Gong under painstakingly overlapping brushstrokes and set it as a persevering undertone throughout his work. As the stupid man eventually moved the mountain in spite of doubts and ridicules from his fellow villagers, one can break through networks of dictations and proscriptions set by social norms if one has the will power.
This dialectic relationship between one's natural and constructed being in Zhang's Family Tree reflects philosophical discussion on this topic by two most celebrated thinkers of the 19th century. Friedrich Nietzsche argued, "the ethical self must be shown through 'genealogy' to be a historical construction. The self is a Dionysian 'will to power.'" Karl Marx declared, "it is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but on the contrary it is their social being that determines their consciousness." For Zhang Huan, identity is a social-historical-political constructed notion infused with personal recollection of and struggle with his immediate environment.
Zhang immigrated to New York after the "Inside Out: New Chinese Art" exhibition at Asia Society and P.S.1 in 1998, and since then lived in the United States for eight years. In additional to his sensational performances, he found more inspiration from his Chinese root. In particular, Zhang's shift away from works of pure endurance and confrontation to more visually poetic and philosophical works is concomitant with his cross-continent move, a move that compelled him to recalibrate his relationships to his cultural heritage. Zhang remains defiant as ever, but the slow obliteration of his features in the current lot suggests the precariousness of his fierce individuality. In this captivating and evocative series of photographs, we can perceive how Zhang identifies himself with his Chinese genealogy but nonetheless attempts to liberate himself from its traditional system of debt and obligation. As Zhang puts it, "more culture is slowly smothering us and turning our faces black. It is impossible to take away your inborn blood and personality. I always feel that some mysterious fate surrounds human life which you can do nothing about, you can do nothing to control it, it just happened."
Perhaps Zhang Huan's Family Tree could also be viewed as his interpretation of the difference between Western and Eastern culture. He once commented, "for me, Western culture is a triangle or rectangle, whereas Eastern culture is a circle. I often like to compare Richard Serra (fig. 1) with Qi Baishi (fig. 2), trying to figure out why they are different and why I admire both. Serra has a work that is most awe striking for me. It is a 2-meter tall solid steel cube. Such a simple thing has the ability to stimulate thoughts and to move hearts. Similarly, whenever I look at those vividly depicted insects in Qi Baishi's painting, I get enthralled immediately. I am mad about both artists' work." To a certain extent, it is undeniable that the contrast between the intricate layers of calligraphic writings and the ultimate mirror black solid surface could be Zhang Huan's homage to the two artists he draws most inspiration from. The final product of a full day's minuscular work of three calligraphers resembles the solid cubic block by Serra. Zhang turns the innate monumentality of calligraphy into a sculptural body form, as well as addressing the collective authorship and articulating an egalitarian view towards calligraphic practice. The rich meaning and interpretations of Family Tree makes it an important work in Zhang Huan's artist trajectory.
Zhang Huan quickly established himself internationally through provocative body-based performances wherein he fused political and social concerns through acts of physical endurance. His visceral and sometimes confounding imagery placed him as one of the foremost members of a group of radical avant-garde artists who surged onto the art scene during the 1990s. Younger than many of his contemporaries, Zhang was born in 1965 and came of age as an artist after the 1985 New Wave art movement in China, the feelings of desolation in his early works coming directly and quite literally from his social displacement and feelings of alienation in the post-Tiananmen period.
Family Tree (2000) (Lot 49) is one of Zhang's best-recognized works and one of the most iconic works of Chinese contemporary art in any media. Originally intended as a performance piece, Zhang Huan chose calligraphy as a medium to unfold his idea of family tree on a macro level from a micro point of view. He commissioned three calligraphers to write Chinese folklores and idioms from dawn to night over his face and shaved head, which was progressively covered and eventually erased by ink. Zhang commented, "in the end, no one knows the color of my skin, as if I lost my identity and therefore disappeared as a person." The most prominent proverb first written down on his forehead was "Yu Gong Yi Shan" (the foolish man who moves a mountain), conveying the lesson of life that if one has determination one can overcome any hardship and achieve his goal. Other writings denoted to the mysterious and inexorable power looming over life such as those addressing the correlation between one's destiny and various positions of human cheekbone. Documented by a nine-panel photograph, Family Tree pointed to the submergence of one's identity in face of larger and dominating forces such as fate and tradition. At the same time, it acknowledged the will power of man: Zhang buried the proverb of Yu Gong under painstakingly overlapping brushstrokes and set it as a persevering undertone throughout his work. As the stupid man eventually moved the mountain in spite of doubts and ridicules from his fellow villagers, one can break through networks of dictations and proscriptions set by social norms if one has the will power.
This dialectic relationship between one's natural and constructed being in Zhang's Family Tree reflects philosophical discussion on this topic by two most celebrated thinkers of the 19th century. Friedrich Nietzsche argued, "the ethical self must be shown through 'genealogy' to be a historical construction. The self is a Dionysian 'will to power.'" Karl Marx declared, "it is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but on the contrary it is their social being that determines their consciousness." For Zhang Huan, identity is a social-historical-political constructed notion infused with personal recollection of and struggle with his immediate environment.
Zhang immigrated to New York after the "Inside Out: New Chinese Art" exhibition at Asia Society and P.S.1 in 1998, and since then lived in the United States for eight years. In additional to his sensational performances, he found more inspiration from his Chinese root. In particular, Zhang's shift away from works of pure endurance and confrontation to more visually poetic and philosophical works is concomitant with his cross-continent move, a move that compelled him to recalibrate his relationships to his cultural heritage. Zhang remains defiant as ever, but the slow obliteration of his features in the current lot suggests the precariousness of his fierce individuality. In this captivating and evocative series of photographs, we can perceive how Zhang identifies himself with his Chinese genealogy but nonetheless attempts to liberate himself from its traditional system of debt and obligation. As Zhang puts it, "more culture is slowly smothering us and turning our faces black. It is impossible to take away your inborn blood and personality. I always feel that some mysterious fate surrounds human life which you can do nothing about, you can do nothing to control it, it just happened."
Perhaps Zhang Huan's Family Tree could also be viewed as his interpretation of the difference between Western and Eastern culture. He once commented, "for me, Western culture is a triangle or rectangle, whereas Eastern culture is a circle. I often like to compare Richard Serra (fig. 1) with Qi Baishi (fig. 2), trying to figure out why they are different and why I admire both. Serra has a work that is most awe striking for me. It is a 2-meter tall solid steel cube. Such a simple thing has the ability to stimulate thoughts and to move hearts. Similarly, whenever I look at those vividly depicted insects in Qi Baishi's painting, I get enthralled immediately. I am mad about both artists' work." To a certain extent, it is undeniable that the contrast between the intricate layers of calligraphic writings and the ultimate mirror black solid surface could be Zhang Huan's homage to the two artists he draws most inspiration from. The final product of a full day's minuscular work of three calligraphers resembles the solid cubic block by Serra. Zhang turns the innate monumentality of calligraphy into a sculptural body form, as well as addressing the collective authorship and articulating an egalitarian view towards calligraphic practice. The rich meaning and interpretations of Family Tree makes it an important work in Zhang Huan's artist trajectory.