Materials of the future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art From 1980-1990

Yang Xiaoyan 2008-01-19
Yang Xiaoyan's Studio,
Guangzhou

Conducted in Mandarin

“Cantonese people are pragmatic. You could consider this a strength or a shortcoming. They don’t believe in the ephemeral or the illusory. Researchers studying Cantonese literature of the ’80s and ’90s have found that an important characteristic of Cantonese writers is that they don’t explore the big life-and-death issues. I know many Cantonese artists believe that Northerners dwell too much on those issues: ‘Why talk about such useless things? Always thinking about life and death, spiritual pain, loneliness and so on. I’d rather hang out in a little food stall and eat fried noodles or dog meat hotpot.’ This is how Cantonese people think.”

Biography:

Yang Xiaoyan (b. 1957, Guangzhou) is an art theorist and critic who works in Guangzhou.

Yang studied in the Department of Oil Painting at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA) between 1978 and 1982, and continued at GAFA to receive his master’s degree in 1987. Over the years, he has held a number of key editorial positions at the Huacheng Publishing House (1982–1984); the Lingnan Art Publishing House in Guangzhou (1984–1987); and was chief editor of Art Gallery (Hualang) magazine between 1993 and 1998.

Between 1999 and 2004, Yang pursued his doctoral degree on the theory of architecture in the School of Architecture at the South China University of Technology. He is currently a Professor and Head of the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou.

Yang’s studies and critiques have contributed greatly to the fields of art, photography and journalism. His publications include Art History and Its Significance (Yishushi de yiyi, in collaboration with Shao Hong) (2001) and Sixty Years of Chinese Photography (Xinzhongguo sheying liushinian) (2009).

Yang Xiaoyan 2008-01-19 Yang Xiaoyan's Studio, Guangzhou

Yang Xiaoyan 2008-01-19
Yang Xiaoyan's Studio,
Guangzhou