WANG KEPING (b.1949)
“IDOL” 1979
NO
WOOD
57x30x15
Collection of the artist
Exhibited:
Asia Society Hong Kong (May 15 – September 1, 2013).
“Blooming in the Shadows” China Institute Gallery New York (September 15 – December 11, 2011).
“Wang Keping, Works from 1979-2006” organized by He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China (Oct 25th until Nov 23rd, 2008).
National Art Gallery, Beijing (August, 1980)
“The Stars Outdoor Art Exhibition” Beijing (27 September, 1979)
Wang Keping was born in 1949 in Beijing, China, and is one of the most significant contemporary Chinese sculptors. He is known as one of the founders of the ‘Stars’ group (Xingxing), which was founded in 1979, following the post-cultural revolution: “Beijing Spring”. Now he lives and works in Paris, France. He was also a writer, producing scripts for Chinese television.
IDOL:
An Idol is another word for a wooden sculpture. Typically clever in their structure, this one very subtly disparages the physical likeness of Chairman Mai. The odd eyes and massive forehead elude to an ugly face. The piece, influenced by the French Theatre of the Absurd, is not a twin to Mao’s likeness but is identifiable based on the Communist star, as well as the almost comical cheeks, chubby in nature. The craftsmanship is modern in nature; most artists during this period were known for using ink and brush, as well as producing oil paintings. The fearlessness involved in Wang’s creation here shows a bold statement to incite social change, announcing China’s young artists ascent into exploration through alternative artistic mediums in order to represent their repression.
As a godlike figure, Mao is an ironic figure. Wang was a member of a circle titled the, “Stars(星星),” which were a group of painters who had formerly held a place in the Red Guard. The name famously references a 1930’s article involving Mao, popularly quoted during China’s cultural revolution, wherein he wrote, “A tiny spark [i.e., the stars] can start a prairie fire” (星星之火可以燎原) (Mao 1952). The Mao statue exemplifies the typically strong attitude and tone of the Stars’ activist activities. As a part of the group’s 1980 exhibition, Idol helps visiualize Mao’s godlike place in the world, mixing the human’s features with those of a winking Buddha in the Song Dynasty Style (DalLago 1999, 51).
In choosing an obvious name, the sculpture draws attention to the communist regime, as well as religious superstitions. It unmasks a godlike Mao as a human. Though he remained a Communist icon, subject to worship, the statue was a caricature deserving of question.
Should the audience associate the figure with Mao without his name being used is shows the efficiency of the caricature, as well as China’s political propaganda. The image of the leader had been repeated so thoroughly it was a cemented part of people’s lives, allowing it to invade the collective conscious. An audience’s association of Idol with the leader indicates China’s reaction to such propaganda, as well as a contrast in elements such as peace and love seen in features representative of Buddha. Buddha also denotes dignity and grace, features Mao did not have. The facial expression suggests the piece may be in a comical mood, while the hat on the figure combined with the Communist star make for a piece that does not make sense. It creates a character out of a cartoon, thus demonstrating the sheer vanity represented by the ensuing cult mentality. As such, it questions the significance of figureheads such as Mao. Once aware of this ambivalence, the propaganda also becomes apparent allowing for a seamless integration of contradictory signs from different provinces. Thusly, Wang manages to criticize the collective’s obsessive need to worship those unworthy of worship, but those completely adept at propaganda throughout the Cultural Revolution. It is less of an autonomous action and more of an action based on herd mentality. He calls attention to the freedom of each individual as just that, an individual, showing the stripping of fundamental rights through propaganda based on a simply philosophy: to doubt authority is to doubt one’s self and one’s country. This is not true, and an act of propaganda at work. (Köppel-Yang 2003, 124).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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