China’s Global Megalopolises

Videos:

BBC News - June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square Massacre

Tiananmen Square Mini Documentary

China's Ghost Cities and Malls

In the Tiananmen Square videos, we are shown the events of June 4-5, 1989.    The BBC News reports from Tiananmen Square as the People's Liberation Army moved into the streets of Beijing with armed troops and tanks.  They were under orders to clear the Square by any means necessary.  Unfortunately in this incident, they choose to open fire on students, innocent bystanders, and basically anything that moved.  The video shows the panic and shock for the people who had gathered for a peaceful, non-violent protest seeking political and economic reform.  Despite their cries for the Army to stop the killings and allow help to the wounded, the Army continued to fire upon the people of their own country.  The mini documentary by Anthony Thomas, reports on the aftermath of the massacre.  From his hotel room balcony above Tiananmen Square, he captures the celebratory dance of the Army’s tanks.  A man, later to be known as “tank man” singly stands unarmed before the lead tank in defiance of their actions.  He does not move despite the slow movement towards him.  Eventually he climbs the tank and speaks to the tank operator.  The lead tank’s motor is turned off.  This is followed by the shutting down of the remaining tanks.  We do not see what happens to “tank man” however in some research I found he was pulled off the street by a group of people.  It is unclear if the people are from the government or fellow supporters.  However, it is believed he was captured and executed in the days following his stand. 

In the documentary, Thomas states that Tiananmen Square is the largest public space in the world.  It has large-scale government buildings at its edges.  The elements of the Square show the insignificance of the individual against the “mights” of the State.  I believe there is a parallel to this statement in the actions of the Tank Man.  Through his actions, he is showing the strong will of the individual against the State.  He is the one who is significant in his actions. 


I found an article on 10 Revolutionary Acts of Courage by Ordinary People. The list includes:
1. Lt. Ehren Watada Refusing The Iraq War
2. The Unknown Rebel at the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests
3. Gandhi’s Salt March to Dandi
4. Rosa Parks’ Sit Down for Civil Rights
5. Aung San Suu Kyi and Freedom From Fear
6. John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-In for Peace
7. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” Speech
8. Ahmad Batebi, Iran’s Happenstance Hero
9. Nelson Mandela’s Dedication To Justice
10. Thich Quang Duc’s Self-Immolation


http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/2008/09/15/10-revolutionary-acts-of-courage-by-ordinary-people/

 The final video was on China’s Ghost Cities and Malls.  Two signs of economic growth for a country are new construction and low unemployment.  In China, by constructing many high rise condo buildings and malls, the employment rate is 4.10% (4^th quarter 2010).  This is considerably lower than the United States at 9.20%.  However, these two factors as deceiving.  The new construction sites remain unoccupied and due to the high costs of real estate basically uninhabitable.  One scene showed a realtor showing a condo to a prospective buyer.  The condo cost was $300,000 but it required 50% down and the remainder to be paid within 3 years.  The upside of this is that there are no credit issues in China because the average citizens cannot purchase real estate on their $6,000 a year income.  Unless the government chooses to change its course, it will be impossible for a common worker in China to buy a home even though his home will be eventually demolished for new construction. 


Edward Burtynsky’s photographs shows depictions of global industrial landscapes including China.  The following three images are from his China – Urban Renewal work. In his statement about the photographs, he notes that the Chinese Government owns all the land in China. 

www.edwardburtynsky.com

Readings:
 Reversed Images: Representations of Shanghai and its Contemporary Material Culture, Made in China
Excerpts from Contemporary Chinese Art: Primary Documents: pp. 205-8, 217-19

In Reversed Images: Representationsof Shanghai and its Contemporary Material Culture, focus is on the cultural and environmental transformation of Shanghai through three themes.  The first theme is based on the romance of the city.  Shi Guorul’s work includes large-scale panoramic camera obscura image of Shanghai’s past as well it move into the future. In Upside Down/Progressing, Xu Xixian photographed Shanghai in the 70s and 80s brining his son along for the shoots.  Twenty years later his son, Xu Jianrong, photographed the same locations to document their changes.  Together, father and son, were able to put together a before and after portrait of the city.  Works by Olivo Barbieri, Isidor Blasco, and Zhou Xishu are also included in this theme of Shanghai’s expansion and modernization.  The final theme is Glorifying the City which focuses on the present and the future of Shanghai.  Liu Gang’s Paper Dreams relates to the advertising to the new generation of Chinese.  In this work, the attention is on how this new need to keep up with your neighbor socially and materially is creating anxiety in the culture.  3-D was a format used by Cao Fel in Second Life.  In this work, participants are able to live out their dreams. 

The reading, Urban Destruction and Construction, starts with a description of Huang Yan’s work. He completed rubbings of building that were going to be demolished. He did this in three stages: before the building was demolished; during the process and finally after the building was demolished. Yan spent 10 years doing his work. The second work described is by Zhan Wang. He would clean and paint a remaining door frame or floor of a half demolished building. His work was photograph prior to the building being torn down completely later in the day. Rockery Remolding Plan by Wang, used stainless steel plates to create artificial mountains. Through the modernization of China, there was a need to still connect to nature. In Wang’s work he used stainless steel because of the nature of the metal. It does not rust. It reflects colors in the environment. Images are somewhat distorted in the reflection. He hoped this would inspire the viewer’s dreams and hopes. More importantly, stainless steel will not change even though it is in a constant environment of change.

The final piece was written by Chen Shaoxiong. In the piece, Shaoxiong explains the value of a photograph. It is a moment in time and has no relation to the past or the future. A single photograph captures on scene. You do not see what is to the left or the right of the image. In the work, Shaoxiong created a collage of images of the streets of Guanghou. By placing a series of photographs together, a complete picture will emerge. The problem was the streets constantly changed therefore the work could never be completed.