Zhang Hongtu: Expanding Visions of a Shrinking World
Photograph: Mark Moskin
Acknowledgements
By
Luchia Meihua Lee and Jerome Silbergeld
To
overcome many impediments and actually bring to fruition this book and
exhibition about the art of Zhang Hongtu has involved a great effort on the
part of many people and organizations. This could not have been conceived of
without the artist himself, Zhang Hongtu, and his wife Miaoling Huang, an
essential supporter of her husband, and also an artist herself. With unceasing
creation of a multifaceted art in an intercontinental career. Hongtu has always
sought to expand the way in which viewers of his art perceive the world, and to
draw connections between different cultures – hence the title of this book Additional
thanks are due to him for his two years of thoughtful and enthusiastic answers
to our endless questions. Our special thanks are also due to an inspiring
leader, the former executive director of the Queens Museum and now the New York
City Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, Tom Finkelpearl, who has made this
unique retrospective exhibition at the Queens Museum possible. It was Tom’s
vision to design this exhibition on a grand scale and give viewers an
appreciation of the full scope of Zhang Hongtu’s expansive career. This
contrasts with many past exhibitions and publications, where we have glimpsed
only parts of his work. Both this book and the associated exhibition offer wider
and deeper coverage of this exceptional career than ever before.
Abundant gratitude
is due to Tina Keng and Shelly Wu of TKG+ Foundation; without their support, neither the book nor
the exhibition would have been possible. TKG+ has very keenly supported artists in Taipei and all over the world. Catherine Yu-Shan
Hsieh of TKG+ has been involved in advising on the book design as well as many other
details. The careful attention from Shelly and the TKG+ team is reflected on every page of the
book.
Manjari Sihare, Curatorial Manager of the Queens Museum, has provided invaluable assistance and support
throughout the various stages of development, and has stood beside Hongtu and
myself from the first day of the whole procedure. Also, my deep thanks also go to the current
Queens Museum director, Laura Raicovich, with her global and open-minded view;
to Jodi Hanel, for supervising this book and exhibition project during her time
at the Queens Museum; and to Hitomi Iwasaki, Director of Exhibitions for overseeing the whole;
also to Louise Weinberg, who effectively facilitated the loans of art
from various museums and collectors. Also, the staff at the Queens Museum has
provided immeasurable administrative assistance.
We both have had many occasions - at
exhibitions, lectures, and in classes - to meet and work with Hongtu. For
example, the exhibition entitled Infinity/Unknown-Culture
and Identity in the Digital Age at the Taipei Gallery of the Taipei Cultural
Center of TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office) in New York. Mounted in
the Rockefeller Center McGraw-Hill Building, this exhibition contained several
pieces that impressed Luchia and intrigued her with Hongtu’s creative and
advanced ideas in 2001. Numerous other exhibitions to display Hongtu’s
different artistic series, such as that at Princeton University Museum, and Reason’s Clue at the Queens Museum of
Art in 2008, confirmed and strengthened this feeling for both co-editors of
this book. For us, Zhang Hongtu is one of the artists we most respect and with
whom we feel most comfortable among all the many Chinese artists in New York.
With his free mind, his true genius, and his generous wit, Hongtu is simultaneously
a traditional artist and a very modern character.
This book starts with an essay of introduction
providing a full view of Hongtu’s life and oeuvre. It closes by treating the
environmental concerns that have marked the artist’s recent development. In between, many distinguished authors who
wrote for the book provided admirable breadth. Wu Hung, from the University of
Chicago, has a background similar to Hongtu’s, and has contributed a superb essay
on Hongtu’s new work, “Great Wall with Gates,” following his earlier work on
Zhang Hongtu’s “Door” series to
develop an in-depth essay. It is
interesting to read in Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu’s essay how the world of fashion
design has been impacted by Hongtu’s interpretation of Mao’s image. Eugenie
Tsai conducted an interview with Hongtu of more than 30,000 words covering the
dialogue between Western and Eastern aesthetics, which she reduced to a size
that could be accommodated in this book and gave the beautiful and mythical
title of “The Man in the Moon.” Michael Fitzgerald, an expert in Cubism,
presents an elegant analysis from Hongtu’s Picasso pieces to the Cubist
influence in his oeuvre. Also, my thanks to Alexandra Chang, who considers
Hongtu’s art in the context of the Chinese diaspora, and to Kuiyi Shen and
Julia Andrews, who joined forces for an essay about Hongtu’s “Van Gogh” and
“Buddha” series that presents these two series from a fresh perspective. Lilly
Wei contributes an overview of the nexus between New York artists—and in
particular, Hongtu—and popular culture. Morgan Perkins contributed an astute
essay about the relationship between the artist and his oeuvre and its place in
the world. Tom Finkelpearl reminds us of Hongtu’s status as a member of the
Queens art community.
Nell McClister was strongly
recommended by Tom Finkelpearl as our copy editor, and she has provided us with
attentive reading and perceptive editing. Tom also brought us to Duke
University Press, where editorial director Ken Wissoker graciously accepted
this project. Michael McCullough, sales manager, and Christopher Robinson, copy
writer, brought their professionalism to publicizing and marketing this book. We
would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Taiwanese American Arts Council
founders, who allowed Luchia to take time that she would otherwise have
contributed to the Taiwanese American community; they are Thomas Chen, Lung
Fong Chun, and Patrick Huang. Also the Crystal Window and Door Systems helped
with the manufacture of exhibit vitrines. Many individuals, such as Kenneth
Howell and Edward C. Hsu, helped to make this project run so smoothly.
A panoply of collectors and
organizations have facilitated this exhibition with generous loans of private
and institutionally owned artworks. The Art Students League of New York curator
Jillian Russo and Princeton University Art Museum Asian art curator Cary Y. Liu
were especially helpful in arranging loans from their institutions. Tina Keng
Gallery, Lin & Lin Gallery, and Ethan Cohen Fine Arts generously lent works
for the exhibit, Sumiko Roberts from Christie’s Japan provided help, as did Sotheby’s.
Other collectors like Leo Shih, Andrew Cohen, Jeff Wimmer, Miani Johnson, and
many private collectors also provided invaluable assistance in this regard.
Working with designer Lin Xiao Yi, Shelly
Wu and Catherine Yu-Shan Hsieh of TKG+ to
see this book design take shape has been a great experience. You now hold in
your hands the fruits of the extraordinary creativity and talent of their
design.
