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Underground > Art, Fashion & Design >

"He's in the Terracotta Army now..."

paranoidwriter waves hello

19:01 / 18.09.06

[OK. I'm currently on an self-enforced Barbe-diet of a maximum of 3 posts a day and / or twelve posts a week, maximum. So this is my last post of the day, although I'd love to discuss this more ASAP....]

Earlier today I saw a BBC NEWS website article about a German art student who has " ... fooled police by posing as one of China's terracotta warriors at the heritage site in the ancient capital, Xian."

At first, I admit, I was conflicted. I love a lot of what I already know about ancient Chinese culture, and I worried about whether Chinese people of different Ages (etc) would find this stunt offensive, and, of course, whether the artist had caused damage to the heritage site itself. However, this is still a great art stunt of sorts (IMO), and as I read the BBC article , I saw...

" ... As Mr Wendel's "performance art" did not harm any of the ancient relics, he was not arrested or charged but given "serious criticism", the reports said ..."

...so I've gone with my feeling that this is sheer class. I mean click the above link and look at the photo of the fake art warrior. Mr Wendel even looks ace.

So, what do you think? Disrespectful to an ancient Chinese tomb? Or a clever political and artistic statement? Good/bad timing?

19:20 / 18.09.06

It's a more extreme version of those painted-to-look-like-stone people you see in Covent Garden who stand really still and then freak little children out by going 'RAH' all of a sudden. But I believe they only go RAH for cash whereas this delightful man presumably just wanted to get on down with the Terracotta army for a bit, Performance Art stylee.

I'd like to know what his point was though, what he was saying with his Performance Art.

20:21 / 18.09.06

I don't know why it's necessary for him to have been "saying" anything, except maybe, "these terracotta soldiers are really cool and I wish I was one of them."

I don't imagine there's anything very terrible about what he did, except it might encourage other less careful adventurers to copy him, so I hope he will be reprimanded fairly but strongly. If he is a Real Artiste, he will understand and accept this.

I've always liked the name Pablo.

20:24 / 18.09.06

Oh I don't think he had to be saying anything. I just wondered if he was, what with being an art student and all that.

paranoidwriter waves hello

20:27 / 18.09.06

Encouraged by a nice friend, and out of impatience and eagerness to give you info about what I'm guessing were Mr Wendel's motives: click this link and (as some say) "read between the lines"...

Indeed, the current Chinese regime is arguably very similar to other totalitarian regimes (past and present), eh? I hope I get to see this when/if it moves to the UK; and I pray I'm even luckier enough to be there when/if Mr Wendel tries to repeat his class act. BTW, I reckon he may not be alone in this; the original BBC article says something about him studying in China, so...

20:45 / 18.09.06

You mean you think Mr. Wendel is criticizing the Chinese government in some way? Or tyranny in general? He must be frustrated, then, at how gently he's been treated (so far as we know). Or... yeah, I'm stumped. Too subtle for me. If this is some kind of moralistic showboating, it will take a lot of it away.

paranoidwriter waves hello

20:54 / 18.09.06

You're just trying to wreck my diet, aren't you, you cheeky Pisces, you!

Yeah, I reckon you may be onto something; "tyranny".

And also, the wondeful Mr Wendel might also be seen as making an iconic statement about concerned citizens just blending in with other rule abiding citizens, even when there are abuses of human rights happening nearby, and to make a symbolic, but non-physically violent act can lead to imprisonment or worse. I mean, I wonder how well reported this stunt was in China and the rest of the world. What unconscious messages does this symbolic and (I'd say) fairly brave act send ou; when one really thinks a lot about it?

But then, good artists rarely explain their work, do they? It's for us to infer or discover, non?

21:01 / 18.09.06

Like I care about your diet.

Gee, tyranny is bad? Thanks for directing my attention to that, Pablo, I'll get right on it.

paranoidwriter waves hello

21:06 / 18.09.06

You care, really.

But give Mr Wendel a break, eh? Have you read Amnesty International's inofrmation lately about how some people are treated in China?

Mr Wendel may be a German national, and therefore has some political and diplomatic leverage in this situation over Chinese nationals, but still: he could have met (might still meet) with a harser punishment. There is always a risk.

He's a braver animal than I. And at least he's doing something creative to re-raise important points, non?

00:45 / 19.09.06

Ah, pw. I've spent so much time away hobnobbing and gallavanting with the glitterati that I had quite forgotten how refreshingling obtuse you can be. No matter. If your thesis holds water, which I tend to doubt (but then I was wrong about Matrix Revolutions), then this must go into the books as the most opaque political commentary 3V4R. Maybe if he'd dressed as a terracotta warrior and set himself on fire...

00:49 / 19.09.06

I should add, though, that I think it was a really cool stunt, opaque protestations aside.

paranoidwriter waves hello

00:53 / 19.09.06

Maybe if he'd dressed as a terracotta warrior and set himself on fire...

Yeah, but then he'd permanently damage the heritage artwork itself. That wouldn't be cool... I think...

You need some fireworks, Qualyn. (no snark, promise) Like I had at the weekend. 'Twas awesome. Almost as powerful a sexy-love-sex and very refreshing as well.

01:00 / 19.09.06

THERE IS NO "U" IN QALYN

paranoidwriter waves hello

01:05 / 19.09.06

Sorry, 'twas habit.

And I think that's posts twelve for the week.

See you next Tuesday.

02:02 / 03.10.06

I think it was a respectful prank. He got to play dressup, hide-and-seek with security guards, and cause a ruckus. Without actually getting in trouble from the law.

These are my favourite pranks - the ones that get everyone in a tizzle when you haven't actually done anything wrong. Just different.

07:24 / 03.10.06

Lula wrote: Oh I don't think he had to be saying anything. I just wondered if he was, what with being an art student and all that.

Yeah, I think it's a good point. Like Damien Hirst's stuff: without knowing that he (is or at least was) a vegetarian campaigner, the sawed-up cows etc are just attention-grabbing grossness. But it was a long time before I heard that was the point he intended: the mass media would rather report spectacles than revolutionary acts?

topic post, PW quoted the BBC he was not arrested or charged but given "serious criticism"

I find myself momentarily fascinated by Maoist criticism. In a very enlightened space, I imagine it would be possible for the artist to expose the critics to hir creative/playful/philosophical approach - but how would the space need to be constructed for the critics to be prepared to listen as well as speak?

16:07 / 04.10.06

without knowing that he (is or at least was) a vegetarian campaigner

Wow, really? I had absolutely no idea. I was in the attention seeking gross camp but now i shall change my allegiance.