Beschreibung:

Yue Minjun I Am Chinese 2001 Oil on canvas. 86 5/8 x 78 3/4 in. (220 x 200 cm). Signed and dated "Yue Minjun [in English] 2001" lower left.
Provenance Alexander Ochs Galleries, Berlin / Beijing Literature Today Art Museum – Beijing, ed., “Yue Minjun- The Lost Self, Today’s Chinese Painters," Heibei, 2005, p. 119 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay Under the feet of Yue’s smiling army in I Am Chinese lies a minefield of question marks from cultural anthropology and identity politics. At the heart of it all, what does each viewer see as “Chinese” in these cheerful pink clones, and what do the clones themselves regard as “Chinese,” either in a person or nation? Yue’s work satirizes many popular stereotypes of China, most notably that of its large and homogeneous population and its modern-day reputation for mass production. In this manner, I Am Chinese actively holds up a mirror to the rest of the world, and in particular to those prone to loose generalizations about China— the painting features Yue’s celebrated laughing self-portraits marching forward, as if asserting some sort of Chinese solidarity, but the answer might as well lie in a horde of Supermans or Snoopys, Beyond the perception of outsiders, the forced homogeneity depicted in Yue’s works also exerts a toll on individuals, occasionally spilling over into contemporary politics: “Through his paintings, Yue Minjun shows that violence does not only take from in authoritarianism which represses freedom and democracy. He wants to emphasize that violence also exists behind social manipulation which he views as bringing out a uniformity of behaviour that indicates pathetic hypocrisy. This violence is concealed and even invisible, done coldheartedly (in laughter) and discreetly. Researches on social psychology give evidence that the main source of mass violence is often the act of behavior uniformity. This uniformity is based on chauvinistic nationalism, religious fanaticism, and ethnic identity which are responsible in raising out racism. The cause of this violence is a defense shield of ideology and social order. This justification is found to be started from family education , precisely when hatred behind chauvinistic nationalism, religious fanaticism, and ethnic identity are indoctrinated into children. On the surface, Yue Minjun's paintings show a more humorous sense of cynicism. He appears to describe the comical outcome that happens in the behavior uniformity. Yet, behind this cynicism there is a bitter restlessness. The uniformity of behavior can lead to create war and terrorism, which are more cruel than repressive politics,” (J. Supangkat, "CP Open Biennale 2003", CP Foundation, Jakarta, 2003). Read More