China Modern: Designing 20th Century Popular Culture
Summary | Specifications | Images | Installations | Press | Checklist (PDF)
The dynamism of 20th century China is on full display in China Modern, which chronicles the country's changing character through a celebration of its graphic art and material culture. The more than 180 objects demonstrate how both political ideologies and cultural values are transmitted through conventional objects. Curator Kalim Winata believes that "these everyday materials have been the small steps by which great cultural shifts are made." This is the first exhibition to track graphic art and product design from the Qing Dynasty through the tumult of the 20th century, while also reflecting on the impact art advertising has had on the contemporary experience.
China Modern was developed by, and debuted at, the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California. The exhibition is organized into 4 sections
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A Graphic Tradition: Popular Design from Late Qing to Early Republic; Cosmopolitan Capitalism: Shanghai Under the Republic; A Revolution in Culture: Designing the People’s Republic, and; The Aesthetics of Nostalgia.
The exhibition contains powerful objects that are iconic in Chinese culture, but which can also be universally appreciated. American audiences will enjoy and connect with China’s graphic art, as we have also been raised in an environment that is heavily influenced by visual media. China Modern brings a greater understanding of China’s political, commercial, and artistic transition to the modern era, giving U.S. audiences a new recognition for the country and its richly evolving cultural canvas.
Specifications:
| Number of Works: | 175 objects including lithographs, printed books, woodblock prints on paper, silk screen prints, textiles, digital prints, posters, and propaganda items |
| Organized by: | Pacific Asia Museum |
| Approximate size: | 2500 square feet |
| Security: | Moderate security |
| Fee: | $18,000 plus outgoing shipping |
Reduced fee: |
$9,500 plus outgoing shipping For 8 weeks, January 2013 to December 2013 |
| Shipping: | IA&A makes all arrangements; exhibitors pay outgoing shipping costs within the contiguous US |
| Booking Time: | 12 weeks |
| Tour: | March 2011 through March 2014 |
| Publication: | Made in China, by Chronicle Books |
| Availability: | Mid-July 2012 - August 2012 for 5 weeks; January 2013 - March 2014 |
| Contact: | Beth Pacentrilli |
Tour Schedule
Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA
August 7, 2010 - February 6, 2011
Thorne-Sagendorph Gallery, Keene State College, NH
October 21, 2011 - December 11, 2011
The Denison Museum of Art, Granville, OH
January 28, 2012 - March 25, 2012
Fullerton Museum Center, Fullerton, CA
April 14, 2012 - July 1, 2012
The Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, VT
September 13, 2012 - December 9, 2012
Summary | Specifications | Images | Installations | Press
