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“Separate Paths”

The final phase of Long March Space – The Power of The Public Realm

“Separate Paths,” the sixth and final installment of the “Long March – Power of the Public Realm” will enter into the Long March Space 25000 Cultural Transmission Center on March 26th, bringing with it a new influx of artistic creation on the borders of Han and minority ethnic identities. The exhibition will bring to a close the current exhibition, “Power of the Public Realm,” and feature the works of Xi’an artist Yue Luping as well as works done by artists from the previous stages.

The exhibition owes much of its inspiration to the establishment onsite of a new Long March Space in Xiaocheng village near Yan’an over the New Year near an ancient “Xiongnu” (also known as the Huns) cave dwelling. In February, Xi’an artist Yue Luping became the first experimental artist to create a work in the Long March cave dwellings. Of interest was his proposal to “Separate Paths.” “The visual Long March should not and cannot correspond to the ’historical’ Long March,” says Yue. “Currently, the already completed ‘Long March’ to a large degree has been trapped inside the ghostlike framework of the path and topics of the ‘historic’ Long March. “Therefore, it is necessary to ‘separate paths’ from the ‘historic’ Long March. “At the beginning, the curators’ position was to utilize ‘from without to within,’ and ‘from inside to outside’ to separate paths. “We must continually remind ourselves of this attitude,” said Yue, explaining his proposal. The “Journey to the West” to the cave dwellings, by walking towards the “western part of China,” “the West,” and “Westerly” can separate paths from the historical “Journey to the West.” “We hope to utilize continuous ‘separate paths’ to blow open more cultural possibilities,” concludes Yue.

Imagery from the historic Chinese novel “Journey to the West,” and one of its primary characters, the Monkey King Sun Wukong was utilized onsite by Yue to engage locals in discussions on questions about migration, identity and “Chineseness,” further opening up inquiries into the public and social nature of art, nationalism and the West, the modern nature of sound resources, and the development of western China.

On February 24th, Yue Luping began the second phase of his plan and “separated paths,” left the yellow loess of the Yellow River Plateau. Carrying his camouflage tent and the artistic results from the cave dwelling project in Yan’an, he stationed himself at the Dashanzi 798 Long March Space and began preparation on the new exhibition “Separate Paths.”

This time, the rectangular facilities of the Long March Space will be divided by the installation of a 6 meter in diameter Mongolian tent-style yurt, creating a contrast between the angular walls of the space and the curved walls of the yurt. The yurt also invokes questions of walking, settling down, and sparks discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of numerous walking and visual displays and communication model of the “artistic Long March” and the “artistic Journey to the West.” Lifting the surrounding cover of the yurt, the viewer is encompassed on all sides by the “Separate Paths Exhibit,” and a variety of visual, audio and video materials exhibiting and documenting the work done in the cave dwellings. Inside will be placed the very “Journey to the West/Long March tent” Yue Luping used in his journeys, the space between the tent and the “public realm” of the yurt will once again create a contrast between angular and circular as well as interject questions about the notion of the public realm of the and private sphere. At the end of the exhibition, Yue Luping will once again pack up his tent and head out west, thus bringing to a close “Long March – Power of the Public Realm.”

Exhibition dates: March 26th – April 18th 2004. 11am – 6pm (Closed Monday)

Opening March 26th, 2004 (Friday) 3 pm -

Location: Chaoyang District, Jiu Xian Qiao road (Wine immortal bridge) #4, 25000 Cultural Transmission Center.

Mailing Address: 25000 Cultural Transmission Center, Mailbox 120# , Beijing, China

Postal Code: 100015 Phone : 64387107
Email: longmarch2003@vip.sina.com
Web address: www.longmarchfoundation.org

If you need specific media materials or images, please contact us via email. Thank you for your support. Please excuse any repeated mailings of this notice, we deeply apologize for any inconvenience.

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