By Zhuocheng Jiang ’26
This is a long-term project. Many students have already taken part in the file sorting, summarizing, and uploading data and images in the Zhou Yan Contemporary Chinese Art Archive (ZYCCAA). My job entails uploading materials collected and sorted by prior student employees, as well as writing an objective description for each art piece, letter, and exhibition proposal. I love the feeling of rediscovering treasures from the recent past. I didn’t know much about Chinese modern art when I first applied for this position. But when I learned more about Chinese modern art, I discovered that there are many terrific artists who have gone neglected. For example, I was impressed by a work from Yang Zhilin, Journey in Dreams (1990). I didn’t understand the painting because I didn’t grasp the motivation and the social context behind the painting at first, plus the fact that it was an abstract painting. However, when I read the letter the artist wrote to Kong Chang’an, he stated, “after 1989, my creation has been congested, making ink paintings about my blurry and chaotic dream constantly.” He also mentioned that in the 1990s, due to shifts in politics, only a limited number of exhibition opportunities were available to some artists, and that Yang Zhilin, despite designing the poster for the China/Avant-Garde show, was not one of them. Suddenly I understood his mindset at the moment. Dreams, as an escape from reality, are floating and unstable in his paintings. The ink that swirls away, though, doesn’t represent anything in content. However, it appears as if his grievance and indignation pierced the paper through the thick ink. I felt what he has felt and built a personal connection with the painting.
What is the meaning of this job? Many artists I have studied in the ZYCCAA are not as well-known as the big-name artists like Xu Bing (b. 1955) and Chen Danqing (b. 1953), but I rediscovered the treasures from the depths of recent history, so that these artworks could be appreciated by me, and now by you!
Zhuocheng Jiang ’26 is a sophomore majoring in philosophy.