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地球之夜 活动介绍
向左走，向右走 （photo by 芝麻狐）
想睡午觉却睡不着，爬起来穿好衣服，一抬腿去了MOCA
<地球之夜>
当年我看贾木许的这部电影时真是欢喜，这其中一份"世界公民"的一体与相异。而贾木许这个译名究竟又从哪里来的呢，在多如繁星的西方影人中，竟单单出了这么一位，中国味实足的译名。第一次了解真相时也不禁觉得好玩。好，下次有机会再来说<地球之夜>,现在我们还是说说展览。
展览不好不坏，既没有太多惊喜，也没有让人讨厌，作品有点少，但中国艺术家的作品也不坏。相较起来，倒是比上次在美术馆参观的"另一种声音"要有趣些。最喜欢那个黑色气球的雕塑，虽然并不是很新的创意，但仍然好玩。却偏偏要放了一个禁止触摸的标志在旁边。这个作品不亲自动手摸摸是完全没办法明白其中的有趣的。于是趁展览人员转过去的空档偷偷摸了一把。
<出租车1分钟转圈>（名字记不清）也是，那玩艺虽然缀满亮片吊在房子中间，可你别忘了，那仍是只沙袋，是期待着你去击打它的，敲一敲，就能让整个房间的光点都摇晃起来。这才能真正明白那转圈的眩晕感，只是我抬头看看那吊沙袋的装置似乎不怎么牢靠，只敢很小心的推一推。很像小时候夏天夜里我用手电筒照玻璃球射在墙上的感觉，对这种光影游戏，总是喜欢得不行。
<ZOO> 这组就只有那个装置有点意思，其他的照片就没劲了，是用过很多的旧手法。但是装置照片连在一块来看又能生出新的意思，镜子加屏幕的装置也见过，这回倒是让我想到可以做个更有趣的玩艺儿。
这次互动的作品多，总要碰一碰才好发现其中的有趣，当代和传统的架上最大的不同不也正在于这一份贴近和参与吗? 多碰碰,别害羞!对于艺术家来说,再没有什么比观者的会心一笑更值得欣慰。
可我究竟在期待什么呢?
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正好今天看到Pingmag上发布了一篇关于中国设计的文章，拿来和上海国际电影节的做一下对比，本来想翻成中文，翻了一半放弃，日文翻出的英文实在是别扭... 大家还是凑合着看吧.
转自日本设计博客 Pingmag
14 Apr 2008 Category: Worldwide, Graphics, Typography, Illustration
Fascinating layers of patterned kanji. "Shadow Play is Fun!" illustration by Qian Qian. From the New Graphic Design In China compilation. Photo courtesy of Qian Qian and 3030 Press.
With the Olympics in China approaching and current exhibitions about Chinese art, we are asking once again: what’s happening now in the country where, until a decade or two ago, graphic design and illustration were the preserve of the propagandists. And more importantly, where can we see the fresh, hot stuff that the kids are turning out? Until now, they post it mostly online on their blogs, under the radar for a lot of galleries. However, last year, we showed you the exciting new photography in China. Now the same publisher, 3030, has another work of love for you: New Graphic Design In China. For that, Hong Kong-based editor Javin Mo of Milkxhake has gathered thirty Chinese graphic designers around 30 years old for your typographic pleasure. PingMag talked to Javin.
Written by Verena
“Jellofox” installation by DN (Tang Yen) - marvellous! But doesn’t it resemble the Easter Bunny? Photo courtesy of Huang Yang and 3030 Press.
Kids in China increasingly use Flickr and social networks to show their photo work. But how do people get to know upcoming graphic designers in China? Or in other words, how did you find these awesome designers for the book?
There is the Art & Design magazine from Beijing which is very popular, and there’s another one from Guangzhou called Design 360º. I know one of the Art & Design editors, and she recommended to me some of the young talents. For example, in the book there’s one guy from Guangzhou, Bai Ganggang, who does a record label called Vowelmusic. He is a music producer in his mid 20s, being part of a really energetic underground music scene in China…
Simplistic yet elegant CD packaging by designer and…
… producer Bai Ganggang for his Vowelmusic label. From Bai Ganggang’s site. 
“07Jian” visual identity by Jiang Hua. Who wouldn’t drink out of a bottle with this nice label design? Photo courtesy of Jiang Hua and 3030 Press.
…which we like to get to know more! Where are China’s creative capitals in terms of graphics and illustration?
In Hong Kong, we started our graphic design history only in the 1970s. In mainland China, it’s been like ten to fifteen years maximum. And in the last seven years, I’ve seen a lot of interesting projects online by these 20-something people. I can see the freedom in spaces like Shanghai or Beijing, because contemporary art is super crazy there. These two art scenes are providing a really good atmosphere for graphic design. The kids can find magazines for their illustrations and open-minded clients for collaboration, especially when it comes to art- and culture-related product design. That’s quite different from Hong Kong where it’s pretty commercial: our art space is not as big as China’s right now. That’s why not many designers can just do art- and cultural-related things and survive…
Clear contrasts and lines! From “40 Contemporary Chinese Book Designers,” a book by Xiao Mage Chengzi studio. Photo courtesy of Xiao Mage Chengzi and 3030 Press.
… which is related to Hong Kong’s economic history. By the way, in an essay by Wendy Siuyi Wong titled Detachment and Unification: Chinese Graphic Design [read the full version here], it is stated that there was a unique graphic design movement in Hong Kong during the 1960s - until many American companies came and influenced them so that a kind of cross-cultural design could emerge. I guess Hong Kong still is different from the mainland…
Filigree kanji silhouettes! “A Hundred Flowers Blossoming, A Hundred Viewpoints Contending” poster by Jon Fong. Courtesy of Nth Power studio and 3030 Press. The design history already expanded, so the ‘Golden Age of Graphic Design’ in Hong Kong was in the ’80s, or early ’90s. Lots of young people built up their own companies, pushing it to an international level. After 1997 brought an economic recession, the whole industry was affected. Many were shifting their mission to commercial design.
I see. Are there any non-commercial spaces in Hong Kong where artists can show their graphic works today?
We have a lot of galleries that are more like auction places. But there are some interesting happenings, like the new media art festival called Microwave I’m working for now. It’s a bunch of young people and right now they are doing an exhibition called “Act Local” where they are working with British UVA in collaboration with a local artist.
Some more wonderful, simplistic packaging! From “40 Contemporary Chinese Book Designers”, by Xiao Mage Chengzi studio. Photo courtesy of Xiao Mage Chengzi studio and 3030 Press.
Ahh, United Visual Artists! Back to New Graphic Design In China: When you flip through the book, you cannot make out any characteristic Chinese style. Are there any traits depending on the graphic schools that folks go to?
First, in China, there are really interesting statistics about design students since the economic boom - because there are twenty to thirty times more design students and it’s increasing. However, this is not really healthy, because they employ all of them. I would say that, for example, China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing has a quite different graphic design style from other colleges.
“San He / Illustration” by Liu Yong. Courtesy of LY_D Design Studio and 3030 Press.
“A Hundred Flowers Blossoming, A Hundred Viewpoints Contending” poster by Liu Yong. Courtesy of LY_D Design Studio and 3030 Press.
In what way?
They are famous in fine arts, and started their graphic design degree only seven years ago. Since then, they opened a lot of different streams, like product design, web and new media. I saw their graduation exhibition catalogues two or three times, and the students are doing quite well compared to others in terms of conceptual thinking.
A traditional Chinese ‘inventory box’ comes back to life! “Heilongilang Box - Qiu Xiaofei” by MEWE Design Alliance. Photo courtesy of MEWE and 3030 Press.
Traditional Chinese binding with a new look: “N12 NO.4″ book by MEWE Design Alliance. Photo courtesy of MEWE and 3030 Press.
Tell us about the most exciting young graduates!
For example, the MEWE Design Alliance. They are nearly the same age as me and all three are very good friends. They are conceptually specific in doing book design, publications and also editorials. You can tell they are from China, from the material they choose, from the papers, from the printing effect…
Please explain a bit…
Take their “Heilongiiang Box - Qiu Xiaofei.” That box is really old-style in China and Hong Kong. When you go to the old Beijing bookstores, you can buy this type of box, like the invoice box if you need to write a bill, a receipt, and give it to the customers. This kind of old, Chinese-style binding for giving receipts to customers is standardised. And the booklet is poster art paper, like a wrapper for vegetables or fish in China. MEWE are really interested in this kind of history and treat it contemporary.
Go, team, go! Old-style illustration, “Beijing Lightning Babe,” as series and also done as animation by Li Xinlu. Photo courtesy of Li Xinlu and 3030 Press.
What other Chinese traditions are influencing modern illustration or design?
It’s quite mixed. For example, our book cover is by Li Xinlu, a graphic and motion designer whom I met last year. She has the same hair as the lightning babes in her animation, actually! You can tell by her style that it is like the old-style illustration with really simple lines, and a really shiny colour. Lots of young talents are also inspired by the West, and especially by Japan.
This poster really says a mouthful…”The Pit” poster and brochure by Imagine Wong. Photo courtesy of Imagine Wong and 3030 Press.
Some cool, words-as-art design. “Learn to Design” poster by Jiang Hua. Photo courtesy of Jiang Hua and 3030 Press.
Regarding influences, Shanghai used to be a great capital of graphic design in the 1920s and 1930s because it was such an international city. Later on, in the ‘50s, ‘60s and during the Cultural Revolution, of course, there was no commercial graphic design apart from political propaganda. I wonder how people started from scratch in the ‘70s and ‘80s… When searching on Amazon, surprisingly there was only one book about Chinese graphic design - from 1990!
Again, it’s just been ten years! The young people born in the late 1970s and 1980s, like me, had a really strong Western influence. Before, people did not have many imported design books. I talked to one designer from Shenzhen, and he told me that there is a strong community of graphic designers right now. But since they can’t read English, every time they get a magazine, they ask the translation company to translate it to Chinese to circulate it to designers they know.
Strong black-and-white graphics! From the “I Love Guangzhou” poster series by Wu Zhen. Photo courtesy of Wu Zhen and 3030 Press.
Magazines like, for example, the Japanese Idea?
Actually, it was the Italian Duomo that has a Chinese version, and I heard that there is a Chinese version for Frame also.
What Chinese design blogs would you recommend?
The book cover with a design by Li Xinlu. Photo courtesy of Li Xinlu and 3030 Press.
There is one from the south called ad110.com from Shenzhen focusing on all the big design happenings, including industrial. They feature critiques for logo design and design news. For the north, there is chinavisual.com. There are quite a lot of blogs, but these two are the biggest and they are pretty good among design schools. And then, there is also Get it Louder, of course. It’s a shame that, in Hong Kong, we don’t have a big community website…
Interesting! Thank you, Javin Mo of Milkxhake for this marvelous New Graphic Design In China compilation!
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11届上海电影节海报
" 这张海报体现了什么美学趣味？说好听点，是张国师的团体操式“黄金甲”美学，夸张一点，且看桑塔格论述的“法西斯美学”：
“法西斯美学……从对情境的控制，对服从行为和狂热效应的迷恋中得到发挥……成群集结的人；人向物的转换；物的增多以及人与物，均围绕一个无所不能的，有催眠术的领导人或领导力量集结。法 西斯舞台艺术的中心是强大的力量和它的傀儡之间的狂热交替。”
当然，在中国，说这是极右美学不太切合国情，看这掌声雷动、整齐划一的架势，是极左才对，根子在“延安文艺座谈会”那。 "
——引自magasa's blog
我只能说，继海宝之后，我又一次深深地被雷到了。这张海报里让中国人感受到的恐怕多少是有点恐惧，对整齐划一、一切听从指挥的恐惧。所有的异见都被淹没在众声一致的掌声之中，"上海国际电影节”，在官样的文字里用巨大的标语式书写推向前台……这真的是只有噩梦好做。我宁可相信，这是因为主办单位的漠然和设计师的无能造出了这等"宝贝"。 上海这样新潮的城市，无数的4A公司，无数最优秀的创意人和设计师，为何频频出现海宝和如同这张海报这样如此拙劣让人啼笑皆非的设计，恐怕症结还是同CCTV的打官腔相似，我们的官方组织者已经被我们这个快速发展的中国远远地甩在了后面。
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