Hana Janeckova - Visiting Lecture

Art and Self Censorship. Does Art need to stand for something?

http://www.redrawingthemaps.org.uk/blog/?p=295

Hana Janeckova began her lecture with the consideration of China as a contradiction. She has lived and worked in Beijing for two months this year researching the countries art and artists. She stated that all of the Public Art is strictly controlled by the State.  It has to be approved before it can be shown. But the State does not, in her eyes, seem to censor art in the way that she had expected it too. The reason for this, is that the art in China is a financial commodity and brings its own rewards to the country. The images in Beijing are somewhat humorous as they often depict perfect blue skies. The reality is that pollution levels in Beijing are extremely high and Hana commented that as soon as she stepped off the pane, she could smell the pollution in the air.

Public Art Irony .... surfing the net ... not all search queries can be accessed e.g. no reference to or image of the People's story of the Tienamen Square Massacre can be found n China. People born after this event have no knowledge of it unless it is the State side of the story. 

Beijing has a huge art scene, with art villages populated by as many as 7000 artists.

China has been ruled by a Communist Government since 1949, the country is saturated in the colours of the communist flag, red and yellow. There is propaganda everywhere, the people are ignorant of any other way of life as they are constantly bombarded with these images; information is censored. In the West, we are well aware of the history of Tienanmen Square, but young people in China are oblivious to their own history. Any mention or image of the atrocities that occurred in 1989 is shrouded in secret. I still have a very vivid memory of the young man who stood in front of a tank refusing to move in protest of the closed political inequalities that have existed in China for decades.

But its own people have no knowledge of these brave men and women who tried to stand up for their rights. China have offices in place where people sit and deny access to any words that are searched on google or any other search engines.

An example of censorship in today's society is that all Hollywood Productions have been banned in China this year. The films can of course be accessed by those with wealth through a private computer system, but the majority of the people in China do not have the privilege of buying this system; they do not have the financial means to afford this kind of equipment. The masses can be said to be kept in the dark.

Art in China can be said to have a different role compared to art in the west. Art in China does not interfere with political life, it is relegated to that of product. Art in the west speaks to us and can inform our views. It is also considered a product in the west, but it can and does have an affect on the way we think.