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Chinese & Swiss artists present new media art

2009-11-28 13:46 BJT

And here's a perfect example of cultural diplomacy that's worth taking a few photos of Chinese and Swiss artists have united in a transnational presentation of new media art at an newly-opened exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. "Time Lapse" unveils the cultural sensibilities of the artists through the formal expression of technology.

Don't be baffled by the installation in front of you. It may not fall into the stereotypical definition of art. In fact, it is actually a different perspective on art offered through technology. New media art has become one of the major forces within contemporary art, and the inclusion of science grants this particular genre its uniqueness and appeal.

In "Time Lapse," thirteen artists from China and Switzerland attempt to scrutinizes the nuances and ramifications of cultural being within the disparate framework of time in distance and space in locality, and the potential collapse of a time-space duality.

Much of the installation invites visitor participation. For instance, this set of gadgets is called "Horroom," by Swiss artist Arthur Clay. When the rope is pulled, the instruments generate low or shrieking sounds, which makes the variable space perceivable.

"Chat" is an installation of thirty DVD players, thirty monitors, one computer, and one life-sized motorized figure from Chinese artist Jin Jiangbo. The chatter is a conduit from the real to the virtual, it is the 'in between' of the expansive, the 'flat time' of cyberspace, and the 'mechanical time' of what is tangible. The work "Dozens of Days and Dozens of Years" by Chinese Hu Jieming sees time not as abstraction, but concrete as substance.

Though visitors may not fully understand the meaning of these exhibits, they nevertheless find many of them intriguing.

A visitor said, "We are art students, and we find that combining technology with art offers a novel perspective from which to look at art... and it's pretty fun, too. "

A visitor said, "The one with iron board impressed me deeply. It offers a different angle to understand time. "

The exhibition is jointly organized by the National Art Museum of China and the Biel Contemporary Art Museum in Switzerland. After its one month showing in Beijing, the exhibition will head for Biel next March.

Editor: Zhang Ning | Source: CCTV.com