| This dissertation examines the social organization of the Sichuan Artists Association, a very successful group of Chinese fine arts woodcut printmakers. Based on two and a half years of fieldwork in China, the dissertation develops the concept of an "artworld" in which artists and others together create a cultural field with its own standards, practices, routes of exchange and career paths. The Association has played a vanguard role in the development of Chinese art since liberation in 1949. Through the past fifty years Chinese have lived through tremendous changes which have been felt intensely in the artworld. The artists' stunning creative work has won many of them international awards. Woodcut has been closely associated with progressive politics in China and enjoys wide popularity. Deng Xiaoping's "reform and opening up" has affected the artworld's politics and economy in profound and sometimes unexpected ways. The artists' close connection with the Chinese Communist Party gave them a privileged perspective on art as well as a great deal of influence both in the province of Sichuan and nationally. I explore significant aspects of their world: history and organization, collaboration, routines of exchange and career paths. Taken together these provide a nuanced portrait of how artists and the artworld affect one another. They also allow me to portray changes in attitude and outlook in local terms. Based on a unique conceptual approach and field ethnography, the dissertation contributes significantly to our understanding of both the anthropology of art and of contemporary China. |
