Julia Lohmann ,Two dissimilars-one bow

The original structure of Wending Living Style Plaza is an old factory. In the process of rebuilding, the original frame has been left. Same as the “798”of Beijing and “No 50 of Moganshan”，they all have the culture memory in that times. The“No 50 of Moganshan” is the biggest art originality garden at present, and it also becomes a culture concept and symbol of shanghai. While the designer of Wending intentionally to build a new living style plaza in Shanghai.

Culture is an important factor as well as an industry during the development of contemporary city. In the process of industrialization, culture has an important resource besides creation, which is human landscape and symbol formed by history. As what economist predicted, culture and economic coexistence and development is a typification trend of future economic increase. Because of this function of culture in the process of civilization, our culture strategy in a period is to display city’s culture character. So a contemporary art named “our life” is going to open in the atmosphere of harmonization.

On the premise of respecting artist’s consciousness and concept, based on the city, life and art, emphasizing time and present character of work of art, and personality and creativity of art, the intention of this exhibit is to embody the character of city culture. In order to correspond to the lemma and characteristic of this exhibit, the main works on the exhibit are picture, video, installation and contemporary painting with the furthest city art character. Meanwhile, this exhibit is an across-culture art exchange.

Speaking of the contemporary art, which generally refers to avant-garde and critical academically, happening at present and containing modern spirit and language character. Contemporary art is essentially a sort of embodiment of city life. Its existence and development must rely on city, so city are the base of contemporary art. Looking back the process of modern art development in the past 100 years, we will easily find that the connection of cities and art development cannot be separated. The vision characteristic and sense consciousness emphasized by city life provide the possibility for development of modern life. The solidism painting of contemporary art history actually connected with city organization naturally. The generation of futurism art is closely linked the rate of city’s transformation, while the start of Bopu art is obviously related to the city’s business factors and our living copy times. City not only provide some configuration structure and format language for the contemporary art, the important is that it endow the artist with space, value and future view. It can be say that the value of contemporary art is because it happened today, while the exploring and expression of the city life formed an important character of contemporary art.

Second, as a concept of culture geographic, the community property of city is also a concept of organism. Just as the evolution of organism, city evolves into an independent city culture with its reproduction, development and accumulation during historical changes. Regional expansion of a city and rapidly life style changing is not a global city phenomenon.

As the theme of Shanghai 7th Biennial– fast city fast people, the word “fast” reflects city’s overall shape in rapid evolution during the process of modernization and its variability and uncertainty. However, the tasks and responsibilities contemporary arts facing right now are the exploration of city patterns and the tendency of uncertainty. Meanwhile, unsuspected development of contemporary arts is also a nature reaction in its culture pattern during the complicated city growth, which is reflected and displayed in modern artists’ works. With the continuing communication and exchange, arts would reach emotional resonance and mutual recognition so as to get self-development, thus city culture could grow and innovate. In fact, during the process of urbanization, the rise and fall of arts and the state of artists closely interrelated to city development. In 1950s and 1960s, the prosperous of New York School (also known as abstract expressionism) profits from the immigration of a large number of European elites and American urban cultural prosperity. It only cost more than a decade for Chinese contemporary arts to develop from edge and alien to mainstream arts, as numerous urban capital is involved. Therefore, no matter the early years in Paris or later years in New York, as well as today’s 789 and Moganshan, they all share the same concept. City is not only a human landscape or the center of culture and information but also reflects the existence of life and the state of living.

Third, city is also a symbol which carries the worldwide concept. Contemporary arts are able to communicate by crossing regions, territories and culture as the existence of contemporary cities. Twenty arties are invited to this exhibition are from different cities. They are all outstanding artists from varies culture backgrounds still actively play on contemporary arts stage and make considerable contribution on academic field. Some of the artists attended Venice Biennale and world-renowned in contemporary arts. These artists gather together in spite of varied art concept and language. Among them, Qiu deshu, Chen xinmeng, Ding yi, He saibang, Jiang zhenggen, Pu jian, Tang genxiong, Wu wenxing and Tang tian are from Shanghai; Song Xinping, Wang qinsong, Yan lei, Jing jingbo and Deng guoyuan are from Beijing and Tianjing; Song guangzhi, Guan ce and Hong lei are from Guangzhou, Nanjing and Changzhou as well as Julia Lohmannas, Rolf A. Kluenter, Susanne Junke and Paul Devauou are from Germany and France. Some of these artists lived in the city for years, and some who used to live in cities now live in Beijing once in a while, others who from abroad travel back and forth between Shanghai and Beijing as they are attracted to this city. They are living their life peacefully and following their art principle strictly. With sophisticated language and works, they are carrying on their practice and creative in contemporary arts and tell the relationship between life and severance. These artists base themselves on the exploration and expression of modern cities and provide varied possibility of contemporary arts development by their practice. Their culture attitude and pursuit reflect the multiple patterns of city arts and artists’ status under the trend of art globalization. In writer’s opinion, as contemporary art is a special pattern of human creativity, which include culture characteristic of cities gather artists from different race and belief together. At certain point, it also reflects the containment and broadness of modern city culture.

The city in 21st century is called culture city. City culture is not only the characteristic expression of city but also abstract presentation in context of group consciousness of city. The centre of city culture is in its process which rouses the culture desire inside of people and leads the culture trend of information and capital, talents and resource, fashion and consumption. However, culture in real life permeates in all levels of life; also, it needs the presentation of these levels to deduce a certain spiritual carrier. Culture ecology formed by arts procures the birth of culture symbol. We understand the culture context concealed behind history and characteristic of city and observe ourselves through culture ecology. Therefore, contemporary arts shouldn’t be simple and obscure philosophy expression, which should be the primacy in the expression of general human nature. Because arts separate from humanistic minds and feelings are arts without soul. Also, such city is city without soul.

City is wonderful. Nowadays, city seems has become a way of living and hopes, and also destination of life.