the day I have arrived in the Minneapolis city, I had Joe took me for lunch, the Cajun burger is very impressive, you will never get them out of America. Then the afternoon I had some time just by myself within the walker art center, the Kiki Smith show is quite special, I have met her in 2001 in Beijing, she’s in China for the Long March project, then we have heard the story of Her husband near Lugu lake in Yunnan province. His soul is kind get out of his body for some reason for a while, he said it’s a powerful space when he wake up after couple of hours lost conscious. It’s the feeling I have while I am here in Kiki’s show, especially the wolf girl is a real powerful piece more than a piece of art, it’s alive work from Kiki Smith…..
and today I have wake up again in a very early morning, the wind and cloude was covered outside, light are come in through the window, it’s about 5am, earlier than yesterday. It’s my talk about the Chinese short and experimental programe later afternoon. I have practice abit before get on the stage, but still do not know what people will think about this programe, normally it’s a bit far from what people understand of China, there’s only 3 main time that people have the idea of China, one is the Mongolian time, another one is the Qing Dynasty, and the 3rd time is about the culture revolution. I hope this project can bring different vision of China, and have a try debate on the art and social side of new China right now. And the project is about my focus on New Media Art Scene from China 1989-2006, this part is what has happened after the video art scene from 1997-2004, the media have bring people flexibility to creat art with all different back grouds, these scene have start strongly after the year 2000, many competition about DV, digital media become really hot in China and all the universities also have newly opened New media department after year 2000. Since 2004 I want to make a clear focus on the New Media Art scene inside China, but soon or later, I found to be ‘new’ on Media is very difficult, thus the reasearch is about get clear of what have happened in China and what going to be happened soon or later.
by Li Zhenhua
Millennium Hotel/Minneapolis
