1985:Re-Modern Or Re-Avant-Garde

In 1980s in China, kinds of thoughts kept pouring in from the west while realism deliberately waning. Generations of Chinese artists were developing different thoughts and launching diverse artistic practices in front of such abrupt changes both in the society and the thinking fields. Some people related this to the modernist art movement in 1920s and 1930s, and thought it a re-modern one. However, some young artists, with sharp historical senses and strong inquiring consciousness, felt and observed the pulse of the reality, took reference to modern art abroad bravely, and launched an avant-garde art movement from their own position, which was different from the modernist art that artists of former generations thought about. In the new era, the art of new wave was created in the historical context of the post-Cultural Revolution, so the influence of it could not be avoided, nor the history of the first 30 years of the PRC. In 1985, the graduation exhibition and oral debate by the graduates from Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (ZAFA) caused a great discussion influenced wide around the country. A text file recorded the debae in detail in a vivid manner, and guided us back to the historical site in 1985 to investigate, surrounding around this debate, the art circle, and to recognize how a great historical turning happened in the inherent thinking and actions of people in the era---During the Symposium of Oil Painting Art in the Yellow Mountain (also called Meeting of Yellow Mountain), artists of different generations shared their ideas of overcoming the current namby-pamby painting style, and seeking new art. Zhao Wuji returned to ZAFA and started a studio to teach young artists to paint, and caused retrospection about the modernist art movement about half a century ago. Robert Rauschenberg made his solo exhibition in Beijing as one stop of his ROCI project and caused a "Pop Fever" in China, and the concept of avant-garde was changing. Roman H. Verostko gave a serial lecture about the "history of modern art in western society", which was the very first time to do it after the Cultural Revolution, and kinds of modern artistic movement struggling for the future greatly inspired the Chinese students. Young avant-garde artists organized their art groups and made exhibitions all around China, so as opened a new space of avant-garde art. With such review, facing the ebb and flow of realism and modernism, analyzing the changes of the modern and the avant-garde, and tracing back to people’s effort to re-think and re-vitalize realism, it is helpful to re-view the Chinese avant-garde art in 1980s in the context of modernity of Chinese art in 20th century, so as to search for ways to help the contemporary Chinese art.