yang fudong: the general's smile

yang fudong: the general’s smile

hara museum of contemporary art, tokyo

on now until may 23rd, 2010

yang fudong the general’s smile multiple-channel video installation, 2009 installation view at the hara museum of contemporary art image by keizo kioku

‘the general’s smile’ is the first solo exhibition in japan by chinese film artist yang fudong presented at the hara museum of contemporary art. with a strong attachment to 35mm film, yang develops films noted for their finely grained textural quality and the use of highly refined and perfectly composed imagery. his films are often documentary in tone, and theatrical, depicting fragments of contemporary chinese society, transforming at a rapid speed, along with the people who live within it. the exhibition introduces the world of yang fudong, presenting a number of his cinematic gems, some of which are being shown in japan for the first time. the works include, ‘the general’s smile’ (2009), ‘blue kylin part 1’ (2008), ‘the half hitching post’ (2005), ‘seven intellectuals in a bamboo forest part 3’ (2005), ‘backyard – hey, sun is rising!’ (2001).

yang fudong the general’s smile (detail) multiple-channel video installation, 2009 installation view at the hara museum of contemporary art image by keizo kioku

‘the general’s smile’ is a multi-video installation which discusses the universality of human life. it is presented through a banquet dinner style dinner held for a senior officer of the military.

yang fudong the general’s smile (detail) multiple-channel video installation, 2009 installation view at the hara museum of contemporary art image by keizo kioku

yang fudong the general’s smile multiple-channel video installation, 2009 courtesy of the artist and shangart gallery

yang fudong blue kylin part 1 multiple-channel video installation, 2008 installation view at the hara museum of contemporary art image by keizo kioku

yang fudong seven intellectuals in a bamboo forest part 3 35mm B&W film/DVD, 53 min., 2005 installation view at the hara museum of contemporary art image by keizo kioku

part 3 of a 5 part series of videos. another kind of life, young chinese urbanites leave the city and head into the country, areal farming village, plowing by day and resting by night, forgetting all that bothers them.

yang fudong seven intellectuals in a bamboo forest part 3 (zhu lin qi xian) 35mm B&W film/DVD, 53 min., 2005 edition of 7 courtesy of the artist and shanghart gallery

yang fudong the half hitching post 35mm color film/DVD, 7 min, 2005 installation view at the hara museum of contemporary art image by keizo kioku

yang fudong the half hitching post 35mm color film/DVD, 7 min, 2005 music by wang wenwei edition of 10 courtesy of the artist and shanghart gallery

yang fudong backyard – hey, sun is rising! 35mm B&W film/DVD, 13 min., 2001 installation view at the hara museum of contemporary art image by keizo kioku

in ‘backyard – hey, sun rising!’ four men engage in acts simultaneously. they smoke, yawn, massage themselves and practice military exercises in a city and a park. the seriousness with which they perform these acts contrasts with their pointlessness, which creates the effect of slapstick. yang fudong reveals that due to social changes, certain rituals have become totally meaningless.

yang fudong backyard – hey, sun is rising (hou fang – hei, tian liang le) single channel 35mm B&W film/DVD, 13 min., 2001 sound by zhou qing edition of 10 courtesy of the artist and shanghart gallery

yang fudong was born in beijing in 1971 and graduated from the china academy of fine arts in hangzhou in 1995. he is quickly garnering international attention for his photographs and films. his work has been shown at numerous international exhibitions such as the 4th shanghai biennale (2002), documental 11 (2002), the 50th venice biennale (2003) and 52nd venice biennale (2007). in japan, his work has been featured at the 1st yokohama triennale (2001) and the 3rd fukuoka asian art triennale (2005). he currently resides in shanghai. yang fudong is scheduled to participate in the aichi triennale 2010.