简介：“Chineseartist”:putthosetwowordstogetherandyougetavirtual “opensesame”forbiennales,artgalleriesandprivatecollections. Thoughtheywereknownonlytoahappyfewearlyon,wordofthe discoveryoftheChineseavant-gardesfromthe80ssoonspread. BeinganartistinChinatodaycanbeverylucrativeindeed…aslong asyouhoppedonthebandwagonattherighttime.Fortrendschange intheblinkofaneye.Thisfilmgetsinsideanartsystemaswellas penetratingChinesecreators’dualidentities:bothpredatoryand exotic.Both“tiger”and“panda”. SpanningChina’serasandprofoundmutationsoverthelasttwo decades,artistsandcritics,curatorsandgalleryownerstalkaboutthe differentcurrentsthatleftanimpression:the“political-pop”paintings ofthe80sthatthumbedtheirnosesattherecentpoliticalpast,the outrageouscaricaturesofChinesesocietyproducedbyadeptsof “cynicalrealism,”performanceartborderingonterrorism,thenthe multicultural00s,steepedinmangaculture,videoart,internet,and more. FromSuzhouCreekinShanghaiandFactory798inBeijing,thetwo mainshowcasesforcontemporaryChineseart,thefilmplungesinto theburiedmemoriesoftheearliesthippie-artistvillagesinthe90s,up tothefirstwaveofdemolition… ThechoiceofaFranco-Chineseco-directionhasquicklybecomeselfevident. Adualgazemadeallthemorevaluableifwewishtobring intoclearfocustheconfrontationoftwoimaginaryworlds:theWest thattheChineselongforandtheEastthatweWesternersfantasize. Insodoing,thefilmhopestoscrambleourwesterngaze,which seemstobestuckonaChinawebelievetobegung-hoand productive,inastateoffecund,inspiredflux…yetwhichcannotlive uptothisidealizedportrait.Morethanever,artistsarequestioning theirdeepestidentityandwhattheyaretobecome.Whatistheprice topaytopreserveart’sindependence?Whatdoesitmeantobean artistintoday’sChina?OrtobeChinesewhenyoudecidetobean artist?…