CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART: A STATE OF CONTROL

Study in Perspective (Tiananmen), Ai Weiwei, 1995

School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning DATE OF SUBMISSION: 31st May 2013 Bachelor of Arts (International Studies): International Research Project SOCU 1042

Greta Nicholls

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Political art is a freedom of expression that challenges totalitarian violence and lies.
The Gao Brothers, 2013

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CONTENTS
Abstract Introduction Literature Review Methodology Chapter One: History of Chinese Contemporary Art Chapter Two: The Relationship Between Art and Politics Chapter Three: Government Censorship Conclusion Bibliography Appendix 1 2 4 8 11 14 16 24 26 31

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ABSTRACT

Despite commercial viability, the advent of new museums and international exposure, the Chinese government continues to restrict Chinese artists freedom. Censorship is sporadic, unpredictable and enforced by different levels of government. This research project seeks to explore the extent to which artistic freedom is currently being limited by the Chinese government, and the ideological basis of enforcing censorship. There is an inherent focus on the experiences of those directly involved in the Chinese art scene, namely artists, gallery owners and curators. Current censorship issues are explored through analysing documentary films, books, reports, in-depth interviews with Chinese artists and government policy. The analytical framework is based upon the Freedom of Speech provisions outlined in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Particularly, the notion that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference. Based on the Chinese artists experiences, it is clear that censorship continues to affect their capacity to exert free speech.

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INTRODUCTION Contemporary Chinese art remains haunted by the ghosts of the Cultural Revolution. Since the 1980s artists have been creating artworks that reflect on current government policies. (Watters, 2013) Arts role as a means to analyse and critique (Keurt, 2008) has caused the government to exert extensive control over the production and display of contemporary art. Chinese contemporary art has experienced a renaissance, as the commercialisation of the market encourages an influx of new artists and buyers. During the last three decades, the contemporary art scene has developed from a small field to a large scale affair, showcasing thousands of artists, curators, and dealers producing solo exhibitions and biennials, art fairs and auctions, both in China and abroad. (Zheng, 2012) The overarching aim of this research is to assess the extent that government censorship is limiting artists capacity to exert freedom of speech. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is a Communist state, with a mandate to govern based on the Chinese Constitution. The Constitution forms a legal foundation, guaranteeing the Communist Party as the supreme political authority in the PRC through its comprehensive control of the state, military, and media. (Ralph Folsom, 1992) Internet censorship has been enforced systematically, with The "Freedom on the Net 2012" report, issued by Freedom House ranking China as the third most restrictive country in the world when it comes to internet access, after Iran and Cuba. (House) Accordingly, art censorship is another facet of control exerted by the government in preventing criticism of the regime. Since the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government has continued to punish artistic dissidence. Whilst, liberties were granted under the Deng regime in the late 70s, the use of these liberties continued to be regarded by both the communist regime and foreign observers, as a form of political dissidence. (Michael Hockx, 2005, p. 4) Perhaps, the ongoing desire to control art can be attributed to official Chinese Ideologies, which focus on art as a reflection of the social and political reality. Chinese art has rarely been
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produced for pure aesthetic purposes. Confucianism interpreted art as a method of either appraisal or condemnation of the government. (Selmenkari, 2004, p. 242) The communist regime of Mao interpreted art as purely a propaganda tool, famously saying that as communists we gain control with the power of the gun and maintain control with the power of the pen. (Weiwei, 2012) The governments perceptions of art appear to be rooted in ideology, a driving force in perpetrating censorship. Rather than government restrictions decreasing in recent years, in many instances the government has increased control over artistic freedoms. Through censoring works that criticize the party, its leading members and their ideology, (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) the government is clearly limiting freedom of speech based on a political ideological agenda. Artists have experienced this censorship through raids on exhibitions, the banning of shows and physical violence. The government has been effective in stymieing domestic and international exhibitions and prohibiting political sensitive work. While dissident artists remain active, their capacity to criticise the government continues to be restricted. In private galleries, museums and studios artists have been censored due to contravening political, moral and aesthetic censorship standards. Censorship is not implemented systematically. Its executed through different levels of government from the local police to state on a seemingly indiscriminate and sporadic basis. Artists who have expressed their right to freedom of speech have never received a clear explanation of why such art is censored. Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution states that Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration. (Government, 2004) Whilst there is a constitutional guarantee of free speech, each day its contravened by the government implementing artistic censorship; an act that could easily be perceived as unconstitutional.

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LITERATURE REVIEW Criticism of the Chinese governments art censorship has amplified with the Western media. However, this critical sentiment isnt equally visible in Chinese literature, nor does censorship appear to be a topic explored by the mainstream state media. The chosen literature is indicative of the experiences of artists within China; the most effective gauge of how the Chinese governments actions have constrained the production of contemporary art. Given the topical nature of this issue, digital secondary sources such as documentaries and news articles have proved invaluable in understanding the current situation. The following review will focus on dissecting the prevailing attitudes on contemporary Chinese art history, the extent of censorship practices and their affect on the capacity of Chinese artists to exert freedom of speech. The history of the Chinese contemporary art scene has been widely explored, predominantly in reports, books and journals. Michael Hockxs book, The Contemporary PRC, offers an insight into the artistic environment in the early post Mao years. He asserts the use of new artistic liberties granted under the Deng government, continued to be interpreted, by the communist regime and by foreign observers, as a political stance of dissidence. (Michael Hockx, 2005, p. 4) Selmenkaris journal article Implementing and Avoiding Control: Contemporary Art and the Chinese State, stresses that Maos government developed an inherent relationship between art to serve official ideology. Moreover, Hilary Binks commentary on the All Stars movement is important in understanding the role of art movements in contributing to the growth of political art is. Of particular interest, she asserts that the All Stars group were instrumental in setting the stage for the future freedom of artistic expression in China. (Binks) Literature exploring the last decade in Chinese art, often inherently lacks a critical analysis on government censorship during this period. When presented with history concerning the last decade of Chinese art, there is often a lack of in-depth insight provided by many scholarly articles and

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essays. In the essay, Thread of Art History: Transgression of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Sigg Collection, the author claims that after 2000, the rapid development of the contemporary art system brought tremendous momentum and capacity for artists to produce and exhibit art. Despite an exploration of the history of Chinese art, it fails to critique the extent to which this artistic freedom has been limited by the government. An understanding of the governments official stance on censorship can be ascertained through primary documents produced by the Ministry of Culture. Of particular interest is the general vagueness of the Ministrys main duties, to guide and administer literary and artistic undertakings, guide artistic creation and production, promote the development of all kinds of art and to administer major national cultural activities. (Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, 2009) The problem presented by this document is that it fails to outline policies, and instead is left to the liberty of the enforcers interpretation. In this sense, it was a useful comparative source between the Ministrys vague assertions and the reality of censorship. Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution outlines the basic provisions for freedom of speech, Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration. (Government, 2004) This provides a theoretical framework for exploring the extent to which the Chinese government contravenes artists basic rights to expression through ongoing censorship. Secondary news media sources, offer an insight into the current relationship between art and politics in China. The advent of the internet has provided a platform for a perspective on the overarching reach of the Chinese government. In particular, sites such as The New York Times have published pertinent articles regarding the censorship of art on a domestic and international level. In articles such as To Get Noticed, Chinese Artists Look to Internet, Ella Delany asserts that online promotion of artworks is severely constrained by the government. On a similar note Stout examines artist attitudes towards censorship in an CNN article, Art in China: On Script and Cutting Edge? In which, artist Lui Xiandong reveals that artists need to stay
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on script and veer away from the politically taboo, for example such as the Tiananmen Square and erotic subjects. (Stout, 2013) Interviews with artists offer an insight into the affect of censorship on the capacity of artists to produce work freely without interference from the government. This process has been undertaken through a conjunction of semi-structured interviews, documentaries, books and news articles. Digital media, such as the SBS Program Dateline, has offered further enlightenment into the political current pressures faced by artists. The Dissenters provides a pivotal analysis of the struggles faced by Chinese artists in their quest for individual artistic freedoms. It asserts that despite the political struggles faced by artists, they are determined to continue their struggle, even if it means persecution. In a similar vein, the documentary Censorship in Contemporary Chinese Art produced by students at New York University, is concerned with interviewing artists and galleries to understand the first hand effects of censorship, exploring a holistic approach about the affects of censorship on the entire art market. In a pioneering approach, gallery owners speak out about the affect censorship has had on their capacity to exhibit politically sensitive works. It investigates the motivations of artists, and explores the notion of politics being central to the production of Chinese contemporary art. (Hsu, 2010) Interviews with practicing artists enable the observer to comprehend the extent that Chinese contemporary art forms a wider part of the political dissidence movement within China. The literature discussed provides an understanding of the political and social motivations for government censorship. On the other hand, the notion of censorship itself being censored proved to be a major obstacle. This notion is discussed within the book, The Party and the Arty in China: The new politics of culture, which contends that given the centrality of censorship to public life, the scholarly literature on contemporary offers surprisingly little analysis or even detailed description. (Clause, 2004) Considering the existing literature, the following research provides an innovative perspective on the extent to which censorship is impacting on
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current artistic practices. Previously, literature has focused on the growth of the Chinese contemporary art market, yet there remains a critical lack of understanding of the role the governments continued censorship is having in this growth.

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METHODOLOGY The premise of the research is to understand the degree to which censorship has affected artistic practices and society as a whole. This comparative investigation is based upon a qualitative approach, relying on a combination of both primary and secondary sources. The analytical framework is centred upon the extent to which the Chinese governments censorship undermines article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. (Nations) This assumption broadly frames the investigation into how censorship inhibits Chinese artists creative freedoms. Primary data research has been focused on the policies of the Chinese Cultural Department. The Ministry has produced broad guidelines for the administration of cultural policies, which are available online. These documents provide a basis for comparison, between the official response to dissident art, and the reality reported by those within the industry. In particular, the notion that the policies purported by the Department, are often starkly different to the experiences of this directly involved in the art world. Document analysis forms a crucial element of secondary sources for the project. Considering, the extent of media censorship within China these documents were used as an insight and not objective facts. Thus, the main document sources relied upon are a range of mainly international media articles, reports, journals and books. It must be noted that the majority of secondary sources came from outside China, potentially ensuring a predominately Western viewpoint. Accordingly, attempts were made to source Chinese secondary sources, however, these often failed to offer a reliable critique of censorship within China. These were, however, crucial in painting the picture and context for the other types of research methods, such as interviews.

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In order to gain a more in depth understanding of the current situation, the researcher conducted semi structured interviews were conducted with artists, curators and academics. The method used to select participants for the interviews was convenience sampling, based upon their availability or the researcher judging that they are representative of the sample required. The interviews were designed with the aim of gaining a certain richness and subtlety, that can lead to great insights within human society. (Nicholas, 2011, p. 73) The successful gathering of data is reliant on the assumption of being direct and ensuring that the questions are highly relevant to the topic area being studied. It is clear that the complexity of the issues can only be understood through focusing on "how" and "why" questions. (Benbaset, 1987) Due to the logistical concern of the majority of interviewees being based in China, many of these have been conducted via an email exchange. In terms of ethics, the research has to be aware of the risks involved in interviewing vulnerable people. There remains a possibility that they may be persecuted for their politically sensitive views expressed within this report. In order to mitigate potential ethical issues surrounding representing their opinions, it is explicitly clear that interviewees were able to review consent to the writers representation of their opinion, prior to the final report being published. An efficient means of gathering first hand accounts of artists was through video documentaries. These documentaries provided interviews, commentary and analysis regarding the phenomena of art censorship. Moreover, new mediums such as film have the capacity to present a current perspective that is sometimes lacking in traditional sources, such as books or journals. Payne describe the documentary method as the techniques used to categorise, investigate, interpret and identify the limitations of physical sources, most commonly written documents whether in the private or public sphere. (Geoff Payne, 2004) Perhaps, the most pressing concern of documentaries is that the producer may be showing a degree of bias in their presentation of a story. This limitation presents itself, however, in most forms of secondary data sources. On the other hand, documentaries are an accessible means of data to enable a range of views from artists, and decrease the logistical difficulties involved in translating and arranging the interviews.
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Ultimately, the relationship between art and politics in China is complex. There is an awareness that the widespread internet censorship exerted by the Chinese state may have undermined some aspects of gathering data pertaining to censorship. It is evident that in understanding the relationship between censorship, artistic freedoms and the government, one method could not be employed at the expense of another. Considering the lack of pre existing literature exploring the overarching effects current censorship is having on Chinese artists. This approach, through combining artist interviews, with document analysis has produced a unique examination of the situation facing contemporary Chinese artists.

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CHAPTER ONE: THE HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) artists were forced to give up any form of individual self-expression. Individuals labelled Intellectual partisans were sentenced to periods of hard labour in the country and forbidden to practice their art. During this period, Mao made it explicitly clear that art and politics were integrally related. Art was seen purely as a means to serve the governments communist political ideology. In the 1942 Yanan Forum on Literature and Art, Mao asserted that art must only serve society and the Marxist ideological cause. (Selmenkari, 2004, p. 242) Thereafter, a tangible link between art and politics developed in the production of Chinese art. The advent of the Deng era in 1978 heralded increased liberties and access to exterior cultural trends. However, artists use of these liberties often continued to be interpreted, by the communist regime and by foreign observers, as a political stance of dissidence. (Michael Hockx, 2005, p. 4) Chinese contemporary art, as we know it today, emerged from the All Stars exhibition in September 1979. After being denied official space in the Chinese National Gallery, the artists, including Ai Wei Wei and Huang Rui hung their works on the fence outside the National Gallery. One of the participating artists, Ma Deshung pronounced, every artist is a star. Even great artists are stars from the cosmic point of view. We called our group "The Stars" in order to emphasize our individuality. This was directed at the drab uniformity of the Cultural Revolution. (China, 2011) The government declared the exhibition illegal, one day after opening. In spite of apparent government changes towards freedom of speech, censorship to limit expression continued into the post Mao regime. The All Stars responded by organising a protest march for individual human rights under the banner We Demand Democracy and Artistic Freedom. Eventually, bowing to public pressure, the artists were allowed to hold their first exhibition at the Huafang Studio in Beihei Park in 1979. The following year, the Chinese Artists' Association allowed the Stars to exhibit for a second time within the China Art Gallery, with the belief that the
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show would be self defeated by a lack of public interest. The chairman of the association, Jiang Feng noted, when The Stars realise that the mass of the people don't understand their work, they will learn and change their ways. Contrary to his assertion, within two weeks the exhibition attracted nearly 200,000 visitors. (Binks) Despite the artists popularity, continued political pressure forced the group to disband in 1983. Many of the twelve founding members, moved overseas. Huang Rui moved to Japan and Ai Wewei to New York; with the intent of to practicing their art free of government interference. The New Wave Movement of 1985 was dominated by attempts to appropriate foreign artistic styles, whilst paradoxically engaging in cultural criticisms. These avant-garde artists saw themselves as cultural pioneers whose task was to enlighten the masses, fight for social reform, and rebel against the past. They criticised the state-dominant ideology, which had long suppressed individuality. (Minglu, 1998) Even though the 1980s precipitated a growth in artistic experimentation, their freedoms continued to be suppressed by the government. The intrinsic relation between artistic freedom and democracy is noted by Gao Minglu, who asserts with the failure of the democracy movement in the 1980s, and under the unexpected rise of mass culture, many artists abandoned their humanist passion. (Minglu, 1998) Increased political freedom, coupled with economic advances in the 1990s paved the way for international influences to permeate the Chinese contemporary art scene. Chinese contemporary art underwent a dramatic stylistic change, and artists begun to gain international appeal. In the early 1990s curators and dealers discovered China, leading to international exhibitions (Wu Hung, 2010). In her 1992 essay, New Generation and Close up Artists Yin Jinan, claims that this period was the moment when histological memory collides with reality, anyone can directly observe the fundamental source material belonging to the scope of art history. The literary worlds age of prose corresponds directly with the art worlds period of manifesto-free realism. (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 155)

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However, despite the burgeoning art scene, figures within the official art bureaucracy remained critical of political art. In this period, Yang Yingshan the Vice President, Central Academy of Arts and Crafts noted that art has to be beautiful. (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 211) Clearly, there remained a perception that contemporary art had to be beautiful, as opposed to being an outlet for criticism. Despite many artists and curators resting their hopes in the promises of liberalisation during the early 1990s, toward the later part of the decade such optimism increasingly gave way to disappointment and suspicion. (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 358) Due to official pressure, those unwilling to conform to government ideals were left without a means to publicise their work, leading to the rise in prominence of unofficial art. Subsequently, artists begun to show in invite-only private homes, or circulate digital forms of their artworks. These strategies minimised problems encountered as a result of authorities raiding or closing public exhibitions. (Selmenkari, 2004, p. 245) After 2000, the inception of curatorship, opening of new museums and the Biennale system, contributed to the commercial success of the Chinese art market. Critically, the 2000 Shanghai Biennale finally legitimised and publicised Chinese work on an international scale. (Wu Hung, 2010, p. 351) This rapid expansion facilitated new artists, new creativity and new exhibitions (Zhenqing, p. 17). This prosperity continued with commercial galleries, museums and art organisations showcasing Chinese artists internationally and domestically, with art spaces such as District 798 becoming budding cultural hubs. Currently, the Chinese government is placing a renewed emphasis on developing the Chinese art scene. However artists producing work that challenges government ideology, are being excluded from these state based artist developments.

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CHAPTER TWO: THE INTRINSIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND POLITICS When artist work, it reflects their perception of society and culture. In doing so, they often come into conflict with the official government ideology. Chinese curator Han Si, observes that of course everything is political, but not everything is about politics. (Han, Interveiw with Si Han, Curator China/Sweden, 2012) In other words, whilst all Chinese art may not be political, creative expression always reflects its social context to an extent. Throughout history, repressive regimes have persecuted artists undermining their right to freedom of expression. Whilst artist Ai Weiwei has become somewhat of a poster boy in the West for dissident art, he is certainly not alone. In March 2012, Kuwaiti artist Shurooq Amins exhibition Its a Mans World was closed three hours after opening by authorities due to being deemed pornographic and anti-Islamic. (Randol, 2013) Sidd Joag asserts that many acts of artistic dissidence go unnoticed by foreign and domestic media every day, and that the celebrity fetishism of artists often does not promote understanding of the deeper issues at hand. We must not forget that for every persecuted culture worker whose story hits mainstream media, dozens of stories remain unheard, and those change-makers remain without access to networks of support or the means to defend themselves. (Joag, 2012) Therefore, it is important to note that China is not isolationist in its repression of political art; it occurs every day, across the globe. Capacity for freedom of speech within China has increased since abolishing the Mao instigated crime of counter-revolution. Yet, it has often been replaced with government controlled artistic networks and beaurocracy. Huang Rui, a member of the All Stars movement, contends that the collaborators of artists, also collaborate with political power, this makes the definition and classification of politics extremely complicated. (Rui, 2013) Furthermore, he notes an intrinsic need for artists to express freedom of speech, which may not be possible through other outlets within China. Political art is not just obligations, but the nature for modern artists to express their liberalism and
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freedom of thoughts throughout their artworks. They have to express their contrary thinking toward politics, let it to be released spontaneously from their bodies, especially in China, which is a country under heavy political pressures. (Rui, 2013) Art can be seen as a means for individuals to express their freedom of speech, a notion which has greater emphasis in China, due to censorship outlets, such as the internet. Ai Weiwei is arguably the most prominent Chinese artist to emerge this century. His controversial anti-Chinese government antics have facilited widespread international attention. Despite this fame, he has been subjected to harsh punishments by the government for his criticisms of the current regime. Ai has asserted that the state has diminished any capacity for artists to practice freedom of speech. Widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60 years, anyone with a dissenting opinion has been suppressed. Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity. (Weiwie, 2012) This highly critical analysis of the Chinese art scene questions the function of Chinese art itself, whether or not it is flawed due to the regime in which it is produced. In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a pretence (Weiwie, 2012) Yet, to digress to this level, all art within China would be not be considered art. This leads to the question of whether or not creativity can exist with a repressive regime. It is difficult to assert the later, as history has highlighted that sometimes the most progressive political art is a product of a highly restricted regime. Consequentially, even though the government exerts tight control over production, contemporary art exists within a restrained and limited context. Inevitably, Chinese art will be inherently political, a reaction to some degree of the government control over artistic production. Even if the subject matter isnt an outwardly political issue, its a reaction in some form to censorship.

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CHAPTER THREE: GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP Censorship is not immediately evident within China. Government authorities enforce censorship through banning exhibitions, limiting the capacity to export work and sometimes resorting to violent retributions for dissident artists. It is difficult to assert a systematic pattern of censorship; it can be as vague as anything that harms the interests of China. (Hsu, 2010) Within China, government censorship is sporadic and often unpredictable. The Ministry of Culture broadly outlines censorship rules, which are usually enforced through local authorities. The Ministry has stated that their main duty is to guide and administer literary and artistic undertakings, guide artistic creation and production, promote the development of all kinds of art and to administer major national cultural activities. (Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, 2009) Yet this guidance has resulted in numerous cases of government censorship of galleries, museums and artists. Enforcement Commercial galleries are often the targets of censorship perpetrated by local authorities. Many galleries and exhibitions are routinely inspected to ensure they are not exhibiting works regarded as contrary to government interests. It seems that once authorities have censored one incident at a gallery, they are likely to be continually subjected to harassment and scrutiny. Rebecca Catching, curator of Shanghais OV (Oriental Vista) Gallery has observed that different rules exist for different people. Government pressure emerged after her gallery being shut down in 2007 for an exhibition Re-visioning History, that included a painting by Sheng Qi depicting a tanka verboten reference to Tiananmen Square. Prior to this incident the gallery had operated without incident for a few years. (Movius, 2011) Subsequently, when the gallery held an exhibition in November 2010, it endured a succession of cultural bureau raids. The exhibition, Shifting Definitions examined social issues concerning Chinese women Shanghai's OV Gallery curator Rebecca Catching has
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encountered different levels of censorship depending on the origin of the artist. For local art you to the district cultural bureau, if you have foreign you must seek approval from Shanghai. Catching cites incidents of art spies, government employee who pose as artists to infiltrate events, often leading to censorship of works deemed unsuitable. In November 2010, after spies visited the OV Gallery, the staff we called to a meeting with the cultural bureau and asked to present information regarding the exhibiting artists nationalities. (Movius, 2011) This is not an isolated case; private galleries within China have to operate within government regulation to prevent continual scrutiny and censorship. Even the jewel in chinas cultural crown, district 798 is subject to government censorship. Since opening in 2002, it is estimated to have attracted over 75 million visitors. The 798 Art District has marketed the district as an alternative art space. District 798 symbolize the country's cutting edge art movement led by the Chinese vanguard, unchained artistic personalities with alternative life goals. The largest, most influential art district in China the space hosts world class international and Chinese exhibitions in the midst of former weapons factories. (District) Whilst District 798 exits under the premise of holding world class exhibitions, art that challenges government ideology is prohibited. In an undercover interview, in which the reporter purported to be a French Gallery dealer, The Bureau of Art Management revealed the extent to which art has being routinely censored. We decide what can be displayed, its a routine procedure. It isnt a highly censored area there arent many restrictions. Only to the works of art that touch on the subject of the government and the Party, we have to say No. Also, we dont approve low-taste and pornographic shows, the rest is okay. If there is no political issue, its all okay. (Yi, 2013) These ambiguities in the Chinese governments censorship policies, undermine the potential for freedom of speech within the newly formed platform, that is District 798. Public Art Museums are particularly scrutinised when producing international touring exhibitions. Shuxia Chen, a curator of international exhibitions at the Himalayas Museum in Shanghai, noted that international artist from Hong
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Kong and Taiwan would need to be reported to the local cultural authorities. This process involved handing in documents of bios and images/DVDs of works of all the artists as well as curators in the show, in conjunction with officers from this department would come to inspect the show a day or two before the opening. (Chen, 2013) Despite these procedures, there was an instance of a Chinese artists being asked to remove their photograph due to it being perceived a too violent. The picture depicted the restaging of a local murder, including fake blood and body. Shuxia notes that it was interesting to ponder what violence was according to these cultural officials. (Chen, 2013) Evidently, the notion of free speech when participating in public exhibitions remains dictated by the ideology of the government. Ideological Foundations for Censorship Government censorship is broadly based upon prohibiting the exhibition of works against the party, upholding the four cardinal principles (the socialist path, the people's democratic dictatorship, the leadership of the Communist Party of China and Mao TseTung thought), performance art and pornographic or obscene art. This ideological platform was dictated by the Ministry of Culture for the second All Stars exhibition in 1980, and still remains relevant today. Generally the censorship of works arise from the depiction of subjects such as nudity, Tibet, Tiananmen Square and depictions of Mao and political leaders. Occasionally, some artists have been able to explore these issues without retribution. If the government close a show, however, its due to images relating to these issues. (Pollack, 2010, p. 176) Enforcement of censorship can be divided into political censorship, aesthetic censorship and moral censorship. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) Censorship of political art has gained the most profile in the West. High profile cases of art which criticise the party, its leading members and their ideology are often what the is reported as the cause for censorship. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) Artists frequently criticising the government such as Ai Weiwei and The Gao Brothers have faced consistent government hurdles in exhibiting their works.
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Case Studies in Political Art: Ai Weiwei and The Gao Brothers Ai has gained the disdain of the government through circulating works on the internet such as, Grass Mud Horse Covering the Middle, which phonetically sounds similar in Mandarin to F*** your mother, the Party Central Committee. In conjunction with works One Tiger with Eight Breasts , which depicts the artist with four naked women. This was interpreted by the netizens (individuals active online) as the nine members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of CCP. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) Consequentially, he has spent time in jail, was not allowed by the government to leave Beijing for a year and cannot travel without official permission. (Stevens, 2012) Weiweis passport remains in the possession of government, ensuring he cannot travel to his international exhibitions The major body of the Gao Brothers work is based upon on recasting the figure of Chairman Mao. A figure who is simultaneously capable of arousing deep emotions of pain and despair, as well as admiration, love, and pride as a flawed figure. (Wang, 2009) In recent years, they have been forced to hold secret exhibition openings, to prevent raids from local authorities to remove the controversial works. When interviewed the Gao Brothers emphasised the fact that restrictions have continued to thwart their artistic freedoms. From our personal experiences and feelings, the officials have strengthened the review and control of art exhibitions. Prior to 2007, our studio in Beijing 798 Art District has been an open space, where we can do some public exhibitions (which have suffered from reviews), but due to various pressures, after 2007, we had to close the room, and use it as just a private space, no longer open to the public. (Brothers, 2013) Furthermore, they have been restricted from exporting work to overseas shows, sculptures of Mao with breasts, which cannot be exhibited and have been held in customs prohibited from being exported abroad. However, they remain in relatively good spirits, considering their treatment by the government. Gao Qiang, one half of the group notes that if we made sculptures like these during the Cultural Revolution, we would have been beheaded but at the
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present we can make sculptures just not show them to the public. (Pollack, 2010, p. 188) Artists have been subject to physical violence due to their political stance. In 2010, Lui Yi a supporter of Ai Weiwei was violently attacked by thugs in his Beijing studio. Using iron bars seven or eight men beat him, breaking his leg and causing serious head injuries. After he called police several times. Yet Lui noted that it took a long time for the police to arrive - they were clearly collaborating with the thugs. At a demonstration once, the police said to me Just be an artist, dont get involved in this stuff it is too risky. (Yi, 2013) Moral Censorship Moral censorship concerns the showing of art exploring issues of sexuality, its a sensitive subject frequently censored by the government under the guise of pornography. The naked body, homosexuality and sex are censored for moral reasons. Even if the general atmosphere has loosened, the authorities have by no means stopped monitoring the exploration of sexuality in the contemporary art scene. In May 2001 the government systematically implemented policies prohibiting violent or sexual art. Artistic practice has been curbed through the authorities banning pornographic artworks. In 2006, Wang Qingsong staged a shoot featuring hundreds of naked actors outside Beijing, yet two days later his negatives were destroyed after an investigation by the Beijing police. A local journalist wrote an article depicting the shoot as an out of control public demonstration. They received a tip that hundreds of nude people were gathered in a hanger outside of Beijing, a violation of pornography laws as well as a circumvention of rules requiring a permits for crowd to assemble for any reason (Pollack, 2010, p. 174) Consequentially, the Mayor of Beijing begun an investigation, resulting in Wang being interrogated for three days and his negatives being seized. Ultimately he was cleared, yet he never got his negatives back. Since the harsh crackdown by authorities, Wang has never again featured nudity in his work. It is clear that censorship has had an affect on his capacity to
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produce work, as well as his psychological health. Wang noted, I want to forget about the incident but sometimes it still looms large in my dreams. (Pollack, 2010, p. 174) Fear of producing works deemed to be pornographic has ensured that printing and distributing sexual works can be risky. Pioneering photographer Ren Hang, whose works include genitalia, has faced immense difficulties in printing his works in Beijing. Many feared if they did so, it would be considered spreading pornographic material, a criminal offense in China. Moral censorship was the premise used by the government to prohibit an exhibition by Zhang Huan at the Shanghai Art Museum in 2009. The intended sculptures depicted mammoth pregnant women created from horse hides. Yet, when representatives from the Shanghai Municipality saw these, they were deemed unsuitable for public display. The official reasoning for such censorship is problematic, as illustrated by Feng Yuan the Vice Chairman of the Federation of Artistic and Literacy Circles (affiliated with the Ministry of Culture). In relation to the censored show, he argued we cannot show a lot of provocative works with nudity, novelty and violence. Artworks should remind people of something beautiful, something important such as human virtue. (Pollack, 2010, p. 178) The notion of art being solely a form of aesthetics beauty, poignantly disregards the rights of artists to enjoy freedom of speech. Punishment for producing immoral art appears to be inexplicably harsh. Cheng Li, a Chinese performance artist was sentenced to one year of reeducation through labour for an explicit performance art exhibition in March 2011. The exhibition, "Art Whore" consisted of Li and a female partner engaging in sex acts for a private audience at the Contemporary Art Exhibition Hall in Beijing. (Performance Artist Sentenced To A Year in A Labour Camp For 'Art Whore' Exhibition, 2011) Administrative records claim that he conducted obscene performance in public. His activities attracted multiple people to look on and caused public order in chaos, with the aim of trying to cause disturbance. (Chang, 2011) However, his lawyer Mr. Wang Zhenyu, contends that Lis exhibition was designed to ridicule the situation that art is
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over commercialized and to call people not to evilize, uglify the normal sex. (Chang, 2011) Furthermore, the artist claims that the exhibition was private, rather than causing a public disturbance as argued by the authorities. Regardless of the exhibitions purpose, the consequences are clear. Artists producing sexual work, are risking losing their capacity to produce art, or worse still, be incarcerated in a labour camp. Aesthetic Censorship Aesthetic censorship of art is based upon the notion of art itself being used as a censorship strategy. Certain styles of work have been favoured by the public and the government, setting the scene for the mass production of certain styles. For instance, before the late 1970s social realism was dominant, with impressionism deemed bourgeoisie. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) However, recent history has demonstrated that aesthetics are going to be heavily aligned with consumerism. In reaction to a growing trend towards pictures deemed pretty and non threatening. Feng Boyi and Ai Weiwei staged an alternative art fair during the 2000 Shanghai Biennale, with the desire to inspire a new aesthetic style, citing they wanted to show the fuck off style, not working for the government, or in a western style, but a third way. (Pollack, 2010, p. 64) Performance and installation art remain the styles likely to be aesthetically censored by the government. Artist Huang Rui, has asserted that the bureaucratic system prevents artists from practicing these styles. Nowadays, performance art and installation art are still prohibited by Chinese (art) Museum. The biggest artist party, Songzhuang Art Centre, forbids the public activities of installation art. The students from China central academy of fine arts (CAFA) are also prohibited from participating in any social experimental activities that is out of the system. (Rui, 2013) Evidently, the government bureaucratic art system is another vehicle for initiating aesthetic censorship.

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International Censorship Remarkably, Chinese artists exhibiting internationally have been subjected to censorship by Chinese authorities. The government authorities extend their influence to the United States, as highlighted by recent case of censorship in the United States in September 2011. In an exhibition co-organized by the John F Kennedy Centre and the Ministry of Culture of the Peoples Republic of China, the works of Wu Jianan were censored due to explicit sexual references. (Zhang, 2011) The exhibition Landscape in Mind was part of a series, China: The Art of a Nation, a program of cultural performances celebrating Chinese traditional and contemporary arts. Wus dealer in New York, Christophe Mao the director of Chambers Fine Art in New York, expressed his expressed his disbelief about the censorship. Given all the recent criticism of China about freedom of expression, I was shocked to see that a Chinese artist selected by the National Art Museum of China can be censored here in the US as well. (Zhang, 2011) The Chinese governments international power and influence has allowed them to censor art outside of their borders. Poignantly, this creates a precedent for the showcasing of Chinese art across the globe, it seems likely that government censorship will continue to dictate what an audience views outside China.

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CONCLUSION In conclusion, the creation of Chinese contemporary art remains restrained by the government. Censorship remains a topical issue. Creativity cannot prosper within China due to limitations placed upon citizens freedom of speech. The present state of control prohibits the use of taboo subjects, and favours aesthetic beauty over anything presenting a challenge to the government ideology. In this sense, contemporary art exists, albeit curtailed by the parameters of control set by the government. Chinese artists operate within a complex paradigm, many censoring their own works to precede government restrictions. Recently, the Director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Philip Tinari contended that Chinese artists know where the line is and they are not going past it. (Tinari, 2013) To reach official recognition, artist must sacrifice their right to freedom of speech. Wang Chunchen, a leading curator at China's Central Academy of Fine Arts notes that to be an officially recognized contemporary artist in China, you must stay on script and veer away from the politically taboo. If this sentiment is correct, artists cannot paint their own story. Instead, their art must not contravene the party line. In order to prevent censorship and government restrictions, many artist have resorted to being implicit in working within the governments notion of censorship. Prominent artists who criticise the government, have risked ostracising themselves from the artist community, as well as harsh professional and personal retribution. Accordingly, the darlings of the Chinese art world such as Lui Xiandong, have been outspoken in their opposition of fellow artists who create highly politicised works. When AI Weiwie was detained two years ago, Xiandong told the Financial Times: I really dont know about Ai Weiweis situation and Im not really interested in politics. He went further, at the U.S.-China Forum on Arts and Culture in 2011, calling Weiwei a naughty boy. However, despiting Xiandong claiming a neutral political stance, Ai contends that artists such as Xu are inherently political, just furthering the government interests, rather than wider society. They tolerate
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every wrong act the government makes. They know in China no museum can be called a museum, but they enjoy in the next few years, and they will make a lot of money. (Emani, 2012) Henceforth, it is clear that censorship has been a decisive issue within the Chinese arts community. Moreover, not all artist are critical of the government. An artist standing up to such an influential government must recognise the potential for this decision to irrevocably impact on their artistic life. Paradoxically, it may be argued that the extensive state control develops a struggle making the art more exciting. As Jonathon Stone, Christie's International Chairman of Asian Arts contends, there is indeed a vibrant contemporary art scene in China -- not just despite the restrictions -- but because of them. In a metaphorical sense, It's the sand in the oyster which creates the pearl, he further notes to that the restrictions are something which is rather exciting. (Stout, 2013) This notion equates censorship to forcing the creation of cutting edge political art. Yet, this argument is fundamentally flawed. If this were the case then any nation producing without political restrictions, would have be producing less exiting contemporary art. Restrictions cannot be used as a fount of inspiration for contemporary art. It is not a product of politics, merely a way to express freedom in an otherwise repressive regime. Art censorship forms one facet of the control exerted daily, by the Chinese government. While voices of discontent exist, they are often drowned out by the government. In spite of receiving widespread press in the West, Chinas art scene remains in a state of control. As Si Han observes increasing awareness of individual rights and respect for human desires will finally change the landscape of art and set it free. In this process, fighters in the front line are needed, but it requires also many, many more to stand behind. (Han, The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship, 2012) Therefore, in order for Chinese art to be a vehicle for freedom of speech, the government must not only put the paintbrush in the artists hands, but also allow them to use it at their own free will.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Benbaset, I. D. (1987). The case research stratergy in studies of information systems. MIS Qaurterly. Binks, H. (n.d.). Commentary. Retrieved 2013, 8-May from Zee Stone Gallery: www.zeestone.com/article.php?articleID=16 Brothers, G. (2013 24-March). Gao Brothers Interveiw. (G. Nicholls, Interviewer) Chang, B. (2011 08-May). Artist Sentenced to Reeducation for Performing Sex Acts Publicly. Retrieved 2013, 26-May from Hug China: www.hugchina.com/bshowtopic.do?topicid=37 Chen, S. (2013,13-March). Shuxia Chen on Censorship. (G. Nicholls, Interviewer) Sydney. Clause, R. K. (2004). The Party and the Arty in China: the New Politics of Culture. Oxford, United Kingdom: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. Daily, A. (2013, 23-May). ArtTactic's Chinese Contemporary Art Market Confidence Survey Shows Continued Strong Recovery. Retrieved 2013, 23May from Art Daily: www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=40576#.UZ27NEqcyA District, 7. (n.d.). Retrieved 2013,10-May from About the 798 Disrict: www.798district.com/english_discover/798_about/ Emani, G. (2012 25-September). Ai Weiwei: The Disruptors. Retrieved 2013, 27-May from The Huffington Post: www.huffintingpost.com/2012/09/25/ai-weiwei-artist-china_n_1912955.htm Geoff Payne, J. P. (2004). Key Concepts in Social Research. Sage Publications.

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Government, C. (2004 14-March). Consitution. Retrieved 2013. 11-May from Chinese Government's Official Web Portal: http//english.giv.ch/200508/05/content_20815.htm Han, S. (2012 2012-December). Interveiw with Si Han, Curator China/Sweden. (A. Freedom, Interviewer) Oslo. Han, S. (2012). The Invisible Red Line: Maneuvering Chinese Art Censorship. All that is Banned is Desired. Oslo: Arst fredom. House, F. (n.d.). Freedom on the Net 2012. Retrieved 2013, 28-May from www.freedomhouse.org/report/frredom-net/freedom-net-2012 Hsu, S. (Director). (2010). Censorship in Contemporaray Chinese Art [Motion Picture]. New York. Joag, S. (2012 07-December). World Policy Institute. Retrieved 2013, 15May from Dissident Artists Matter, Regardless of Their Fame: www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2012/12/07/dissident-artists-matter-regardless-theirfame Keurt, L. C. (Director). (2008). Project 798- New Art in China [Motion Picture]. Swizterland. Michael Hockx, J. S. (2005). Culture in the Contemporary PRC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Minglu, G. (1998). Towards a Transnational Modernity: An Overview of inside Out: New Chinese Art. London: University of California Press. Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China. (2009, 28-April). Main Responsibilities. Retrieved 2013, 03-May from About Ministry of Culture: www.ccnt.gon.cn/English/Introduction/200904/t20090428_62706.html Movius, L. (2011 04-01). Censorship in China. Retrieved 2013, 11-May from Art In America: www.artinamericamagazine.com/newsopinion/news/2011-01-04/censorship-in-china

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Nations, U. (n.d.). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved 2013, May-20 from www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ Nicholas, W. (2011). Research Methods: The Basics. New York: Routledge. Performance Artist Sentenced To A Year in A Labour Camp For 'Art Whore' Exhibition. (2011,11-September). Retrieved 2013, 05-May from Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/10/performance-artitssenten_n_859749.html Pohl, J. (2013, 13-Febuary). Mao Figures in Contemporary Chinese Art. Retrieved 2013 20-March from Montreal Gazette: www.montrealgazette.com/life/figures+contemporary+chine/8003276/story.ht ml.1f00zXFH.dpuf Pollack, B. (2010). The Wild, Wild East: An American Art Critic's Adventures in China. China: Timezone 8. Ralph Folsom, J. M. (1992). Law and Order in the People's Republic of China. West Publishing. Randol, S. (2013 04-January). Masked Faces, Censored Hopes: An Interveiw with Artist Shurooq Amin. Retrieved 2013, 14-May from World Policy Institute: www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2013/01/04masked-faces-censoredhopes-interveiw-artist-shurooq-amin Rui, H. (2013, 1-April). (G. Nicholls, Interviewer, & S. Huang, Translator) Sans, J. (2009). China Talks: Interveiws with 32 Contempoary Artists. Timezone 8 Limited. Selmenkari, T. (2004, September). Implementing and Avoiding Control: Contemporaray Art and the Chinese State. China: An International Journal , 235-264.

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Stevens, M. (2012, September). Is Ai Weiwei China's Most Dangerous Man? Retrieved 2013, 10-May from Smithsonian Magazine: www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Is-Ai-Weiwei-Chinas-Most-DangerousMan Stout, K. L. (2013, 16-May). Art in China: On Script and Cutting Edge? Retrieved 2013, 23-May from CNN: edition.cnn.com/2013/05/15/world/asia/china/china-contemporaryart/index.html Tinari, P. (2013, 02-April). Contemporary Art in China. ABC Radio National. (S. Kanowski, Interviewer) Wang, J. (2009, 05-October). In China, a Headless Mao Is a Game of Cat and Mouse. Retrieved 2013 15-May from New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/arts/design/06gao.html?pageanted=al&r=0 Watters, E. (2013 March). Lui Bolin: The Invisible Man. Retrieved 2013 16March from Brattleboro Museum and Arts Centre: www.brattleboromuseum.org/2013/03/02/liu-bolin-the-invisible-man Weiwie, A. (2012, 10-September). China's art world does not exist. Retrieved 2013, 14-March from The Guardian: Art and Design: www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/sep/10/1i-weiwei-china-art-world Wu Hung, P. W. (Ed.). (2010). Contempoary Chinese Art. New York: Museum of Modern Art. Yi, L. (2013, 12-March). The Dissenters. Dateline. (A. Hogan, Interviewer, M. G. David Potts, Editor, & K. H. Leona Lui, Translator) Zhang, K. (2011, 4-October). John F Kennedy Centre Censors Chinese Artist. Retrieved 2013, 24-March from Art Asia Pacific: artasiapacific.com/news/JohnFKennedyCenterCensorsChineseArtist

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Zheng, B. (2012). The Pursuit of Publicness: a study of four conemporary Cinese art projects. Rochestor: University of Rochestor. Zhenqing, G. Thread of Art History: Transgression of Chinses Contemporary Art in the Sigg Collection. Beijing: MOCCA 88.

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APPENDIX ONE: INTERVEIW WITH HUANG RUI 29 March 2013 Translated by Sophia Huang Despite the fact that political dissidence seems to have decreased in the period post 1979, do you think engaging people politically with artwork remains equally as relevant? 1979 Its not just obligations, but the nature/instinct for modern/contemporary artists to express their liberalism/freedom of thoughts through out their artworks. They have to express their contrary thinking toward politics, let it to be released spontaneously from their bodies, especially in China, which is a country under heavy political pressures.

Whilst Chinese art has evidently undergone a massive increase in popularity, are the capitalistic values diluting artistic social commentary? Nowadays, Chinese cultures tend to re-enter into a retro trend. (I dont really understand the red sentence, but I think he wants to say that Chinese cultures didnt really develop a new style/trend, they now going back to old things/trends) Also, the whole society supports that arts should be more closely aligned with economic systems, politics, economies and cultures.

It appears that many of the emerging Chinese contemporary artists are creating politically based works. Some have argued, that artists just doing politically based art to appeal to western audiences. Do you agree with that assertion? The profits/benefits of doing politically based art should be considerable, especially between 2000 ~ 2007, western art markets had increasingly interests in Chinese politically based art, compare to the sudden loss after 2007.

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2007

2000

2007

Upon your return from exile in Japan, to what degree has the governments attitudes towards contemporary art practice changed? What affect has this had upon your art practice? Ive kept finding myself by thinking rational. After I went through the political darkness, those days before 1979 and the days after 1989, and the harsh time when I lived in Japan, theres nothing that can threat my work. My goal is to keep working, and anything else is less important. 1979 1989

Broadly, what limitations are currently still being imposed towards artists by the government? Nowadays, performance art and installation art are still prohibited by Chinese (art) museum. The biggest artist party Songzhuang Art Centre, forbids the public activities of installation art. The students from China central academy of fine arts (CAFA) are also prohibited from participating in any social experimental activities that is out of the system.

In recent times, to what extent have you experienced censorship on a global and domestic level? Since I live in Beijing, I sort of feel nothing about the oversea censorship. Although I think my works are really peaceful, I still under the influence of censorship sometimes. The latest one happened in March. I called the investigators (people who doing the censorship) shadow, and of course shadow will check this email as well. Even though China appears to have increased the capacity for freedom of speech. Do you think this environment has made it more difficult to be an artistic dissident? Since the crime of counter-revolution has been abolished, the capacity for freedom of speech does increase in China. In the past, the crime of counterGreta Nicholls

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revolution will be sentenced. But now, the collaborators of artists are also collaborate with political power, this makes the definition and classification of politics extremely complicated. (

) same words a quote from franz kafka, I dont know the original words, but the translation is like I got lots of possibilities, and this is for sure; but who know which stone they will be buried. Potentially: This tremendous world I have inside of me. How to free myself, and this world, without tearing myself to pieces. And rather tear myself to a thousand pieces than be buried with this world within me.

APPENDIX 2: INTERVEIW WITH THE GAO BROTHERS 24th March 2013 Translated by Brianna Charles Do you think that censorship has increased or decreased in the last few years? Or is it just being enforced in a different manner?

798 2007

2007 ( ) ,

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From our personal experiences and feelings, in recent years, the official strengthen the review and control of art exhibitions. Prior to 2007, our studio in Beijing 798 Art District has been an open space, where we can do some public exhibitions (which have suffered from reviews), but due to various pressures, after 2007, we had to close the room, and use it as just a private space, no longer open to the public. Do you think the increased publicity surrounding the censorship of art, has actually backfired for the Chinese government? That is to say that it has created greater anti-government sentiment.

We dont know if this is counterproductive, but it certainly is disgusting. Why is the government is so threatened by political art?

We do not want to exaggerate the role of art. However, we believe that the art of social change in China will play the witness catalytic role. Is art an effective vehicle for change within China?

The role of art is limited.

If you were not artists, do you think you would be political activists?

I do not know. It's possible. Do you think art is an effective means of politically engaging society, or is it limited to those directly involved within the cultural scene? We do not want to exaggerate the role of art. However, we believe that the art of social change in China will play the witness catalytic role.

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Do you think the increased commercial popularity of political art with the West, has somewhat decreased its power as a form of dissidence?

We believe that, in their right mind, the appeal of the works of art will not be enhanced because of the increase in the commercial value, it will not be reduced because of the increase in the commercial value. Thats the direct translation which I assume means this: We believe that the appeal of works of art should not be reduced or enhanced based on their inherent commercial value.

APPENDIX THREE: INTERVEIW WITH SHUXIA CHEN 17th March 2013 Ai Weiwei has stated that Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity. Do you agree? It involves the issue of the functionality of art or what art is. In Ais case, his meaningful engagement and larger context refer to society and politics or social activism. It is one important aspect on art production but not every artist in China is producing art in that domain.

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Do you think the function of art is mainly social commentary? Can it be separated from the society in which it was created? You have previously mentioned your experience of censorship in Shanghai, what and why did this occur? My main role in the museum was to put up international touring exhibitions. When artists from overseas particularly from Taiwan or Hong Kong, we would need to report this (handing in documents of bios and images/DVDs of works of all the artists as well as curators in the show) to some culture department to the local government. A day or two before the opening, officers from this department would come to inspect the show. In one exhibition, one photographic work by a Chinese artist was asked to put down from the wall because it was too violent. This photograph was a photograph showing the restaging scene of a street murder, which was in the local newspaper. There were fake blood and knife and body of that murder scene. It re-staged the scene of the murder, not a real one! It was interesting to ponder what violence was according to these cultural officials. In your opinion, is censorship by the government still commonplace? Please refer to the recent report by SBS program: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601636/n/The-Dissenters Broadly, what limitations are currently still being imposed towards artists by the government? Please refer to the recent report by SBS program: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601636/n/The-Dissenters

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