chinese stuff by popcorn idea factory at BJDW 2011

chinese stuff - pursuit of cultural identities of contemporaneous articles in common use
exhibition at LD design center, dongcheng district, beijing
september 10, 2011 - october 10, 2011



the common 'chinese stuff' becomes fascinating; above, 'motor tricycle taxi', a common sight in chinese cities and towns
image © designboom


the exhibition is based on the 2008 book 'chinese stuff' by popcorn, which is the first textual research in contemporary china
that attempt to share with the reader various visual aesthetics and sociological reflections on the topic. if you are tired of being
lectured about the long history and grand achievements of china, this book offers a fun micro-perspective of items that are common
in the daily life of chinese people.

after beijing design week, ‘chinese stuff’ will go to the museum für angewandte kunst, frankfurt, germany from february 2 to may 27, 2012.



exhibition view; the plastic bag with red, blue and white stripes, for example,  viewable at the rear, is used widely in china. many migrant workers carry their quilts and clothes in such bags.
image © designboom



more than 120 daily items are presented in the exhibition
image © designboom



'liberation shoes' were once the standard equipment for the liberation army, but now work by many civilians for reasons of politics and nostalgia
image © designboom



'palm leaf fan'
image © designboom


throughout chinese history, fans not only protect against the summer heat but also reflect the personality of their users:
cao cao, a warlord during the three kingdoms period of 220-280 AD, had an extravagant fan that showed images of
treasures; military strategist zhuge liang of the same period had a fan made of goose feather; the elegant women
of the tang dynasty preferred round silk fans, while scholars carried folding fans with calligraphy and paintings.
a well-known story about the monk ji gong maintains that he carried a broken palm-leaf fan.



spring festival and other festive occasions once merited the hanging of red lanterns on either side of a door for protection, although the tradition is becoming lost in contemporary society
image © designboom



'bird nest ashtray': 'bird nest became the new labeled national architecture after the beijing olympic games. the 'bird nest ashtray' is one of the souvenirs that related to bird nest, and is as popular as always'
image © designboom



'military chess'


'luzhanqi', or 'military chess' (literally 'land battle chess') is a two to four -player chinese board game. six different kinds of spaces
can be occupied by each player's 25 soldiers, ranging across different ranks, who can move in different ways. today the game
is also playable online; and about luzhanqi 'it is said that hundreds of thousands of people join the battle everyday'.



'amulets featuring chairman mao and premier zhou', commonly hung in vehicles, alongside popstar calendars, and in homes, as the chinese offer great respect and gratitude to their national leaders
image © designboom



becoming increasingly less common as living conditions improve, the 'spittoon' is used in homes to hold spit and litter
image © designboom



seat belt buckles, used to prevent cars from sounding alarms when the seatbelt is not worn, are produced in a range of styles, like this snoopy model
image © designboom



'electronic paintings' are popular decorative objects in restaurants and some homes, showcasing moving waterfalls or evening scenes:
'like plastic or stain flowers, electronic painting provides a false comfort for people in search of a better life'
image © designboom



additional exhibition view



additional exhibition view


organizer: communication university of china
co-organizer: advertising college of communication university of china
exhibition planning: wu xuefu, huang yunwei
design direction/contents supervisor: huang yunwei, li risong
graphic design: liu xiao
photographie: zou shengwu, cao xuefeng
exhibition coordinators: jiao kai, chen hui, zhao lu mengzi, ning jing, he li
huang shengmin
supporters: advertising museum of china, lightspot 55 creative industry park

 
--

from september 26th through october 3rd, 2011, people from across the world gather in beijing, china
for the first annual beijing design week and beijing international design triennial. exhibitions, conferences, workshops
and lectures across the city address the theme of 'design beijing - good design' for the nine-day event,
which looks to transform the ubiquity of 'made in china' to 'designed in china'.

beijing design week is presented by the ministry of culture, ministry of education, the china federation of literary and art circles,
and the municipal government of beijing, in collaboration this year with tsinghua university.