The insanely addictive Project Runway has been a huge success for Heidi Klum, and next year China will be televising its own designer face-off. Unfortunately for Heidi, she won’t have the privilege of saying “auf wiedersehen” to a cast of starry eyed designers from the East. Instead, France’s Fashion TV will be borrowing the spirit of Project Runway and applying it to their own talent competition. Hopefully, the contestants will be just as spunky, talented, and narcissistically entertaining. The yet to be named show on FTV will also be taking the fabulosity to the next level by using a 140 meter yacht as the set for the show. They plan on breaking out the Cristal and cattiness all over China as the yacht will cruise to 10 fashion forward cities, such as Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, in search of the next Uncle Karl or Aunty Donatella.

According to Xinhua, “the yacht will stop for one week in each host city, invite local talented young designers, models and photographers on board and select a winner after shows of their collections.” At the end of this 10 city tour, each respective winner will move forward and compete for the ultimate in prizes, the FTV China Award. As the French would say, “C’est superbe.”

Image: Here In Idaho

Ever since Beijing won the Olympic bid, this city has been undergoing a makeover that would rival anyone on “The Swan”. Gone are the dull and ugly in favor of all things bright and beautiful. The latest facet of Beijing to go under the knife is the city’s traditional brands, some of which are centuries old. In order to fit the global mold better, some established Beijing outlets have been remade with a more English friendly image in anticipation of the deluge of tourists expected to hit the capital come August. According to Reuters, “roast duck restaurant Quanjude has become “Quanjude Peking Roast Duck - Since 1864″, and purveyor of traditional Chinese medicine, Tongrentang, has transformed into “Tongrentang Chinese Medicine - Since 1669”. Although this move is supposed to make it easier for those not familiar with the culture to grab an immediate understanding of the what exactly lays inside, the name change, in contrast, seems more of an exercise in hyperbole. However, with the new year, I’m trying out a new attitude so as the saying goes, “don’t knock it until you try it”: The China Arts Page website – Since 2007. Hmm, I feel brighter and more beautiful already.

Image: Tasty

After a brief hiatus, the China Arts Page is kicking back into gear for 08. We hope all of you had a very enjoyable holiday season and a fantastic new year.  Now, let’s get to the action:

 If you happen to be out and about in Shanghai, the Eastlink Gallery, located on 50 Moganshan Rd, is debuting a new exhibit, Drifting, which starts today and runs until February 6th.  Featuring work from a wealth of artists, such as Shao Kun, Gu Fan, and Perk to name a few, this show intends to examine survival in alien environments and what happens to the essence of being when you’re far from home.  For all us in the modern diaspora, this collection will definitely be worth checking out.

People magazine recently crowned Matt Damon as the sexiest man alive, but China has countered with an offering of their own. Much like capitalism in China, Takeshi Kaneshiro has been deemed sexy “with Chinese characteristics.” Whether it’s moon explorations or track records, you know China always has to put its two cents in anything and everything happening in the global forum. Not to be left out of bringing sexy back, according to a study done by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Takeshi Kaneshiro has been deemed the hottest out of 18 other famous Chinese figures such as Jackie Chan and Tony Leung . The study, conducted by Professor Zhang Jiehai and a team of 11, was for scientific purposes, seriously, as a pool of 108 Western women living in Shanghai were asked to rank the men according to who they thought was the best looking, who they would like to work with, who they would marry, and many more hot button superlatives.

According to China Daily, this sociology experiment was a litmus test to see what “Chinese movies are bringing to the world” as movies are “the most influential way to build up images of people from different countries.” Yes, I’m sure this has some merit, and wasn’t merely an excuse to heat up those oh so cold Shanghai nights. Not only did Kaneshiro, who is also half-Japanese, take the title of most handsome, but he was also voted most likely to be “the best lover.” Best lover? I wonder what kind of pictures they used to determine that. I guess the censors were out making a tea egg run at Lawsons when the best lover category had to be “researched.”

Image: wet

Thursday marked the end of the 5-day Christie’s Auction in Hong Kong, and thank goodness as I’m starting to run short of MC Hammer references. Christie’s managed to beat it’s pre-auction estimates of HK$1.8 billion even though 214 items from the 2,400 piece lot remain unsold. Preliminary estimates indicate that the auction house took home HK$2.1 billion from the sale as fevered bidding for higher quality art drove prices skyward. According to Bloomberg, “the most expensive lot was a Qing Dynasty enamel brushpot bearing Emperor Qianlong’s mark, which fetched HK$67.5 million. Another Qing Dynasty brushpot, made of white jade, sold for HK$54.1 million.” As for contemporary artists, people still showed love for established brands. Works by well-known painters did the best with Yue Minjun, Cai Guoqiang, and Zhang Xiaogang taking home HK$12.6 million, HK$ 74.2 million, and HK$22.7 million respectively.

Since Hong Kong is the world’s 3rd largest art market, right after New York and London, interest in what was bought may be indicative of where the forum is headed. Overall, participants at this auction were more careful in what they went after. An attendee at the auction, a Beijing art dealer named Tian Kai, stated, “bidders are starting to discriminate among different works by the same artist.” The message an artist conveys in his work is key as that is what adds significant value. For example, a piece by Yue Minjun, Execution, went for $HK 12.6 million in London this past October whereas another similarly sized piece by the artist, Red Boat, went for HK$6 million this week at Christie’s. The difference in price boiled down to the essence of the paintings. Execution references the infamous 1989 crackdown in Beijing whereas Red Boat, surprise surprise, shows some dudes standing in front of a boat. Hmmm, I guess being pretty just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Jessica Simpson, watch out, your time may soon be up.

Image: Execution by Yue Minjun

Samuel P. Huntington’s book, The Clash of Civilizations posited that the post-Cold war political map would be distinguished by a conflict between cultures. In other words, different strokes for different folks equals bad news . However true some would argue that his theory came to fruition when it comes to what he defines as Western and Islamic cultures, Western and Sino cultures, on the other hand, seem to have taken a strange turn. A very strange turn, indeed, as the unholiest of all amalgamations has taken theater by storm.

Taking the fusion craze from the dinner plate to the stage is one Wu Rujun. He has gone where no man has gone before, and has combined Peking Opera with, hold your breath, “modern ballet, folk dance, Western opera and Kabuki.” This is a clash of civilizations of the pretty kind. The New Peking Opera, as its founder calls it, updates the traditional Chinese art form and makes it more accessible to a generation hungry for something a little different. While this may seem like sacrilege to purists, some fans have embraced the new Coke of opera. Zhou Youcheng, a Peking Opera expert and critic, said “what the audience needs is a developing and vibrant art form that suits today’s market.” Moreover, according to Xinhua, “the production, which debuted in Beijing in August, attracted some controversy for its dilution of the traditional art form, but it was very popular with audiences.” For its next run, the New Peking Opera moves to Shanghai where The Love of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl hits Yifu Theater on December 7 and 8. Better get your earplugs if you happen to be in the vicinity, new opera or not, Peking shows always manage to hit one heck of a high note.

Image: Brooklyn Botanic Garden (yes, I’m surprised too)

This section will strive to bring you short sweet facts, digestible in 30 seconds, related to all forms of art, and fun to bring up in random conversations with strangers if you’re so inclined.

It’s August 1896 and you’re in Shanghai. You’re out looking for a good time, but what do you do? It’s hot and it’s 1896. There ain’t that much going on or is there? Apparently the hotspot was a tea house in Xu Gardens as this was the first place in China that a yingxi, the word originally used to describe movies, was shown. Because historical records are a little unclear, the film was thought to be a French variety reel. I wonder what they served as snacks? Cigarettes and Baguettes?

Got art facts of your own to share? Tell us!

Image: View Images

With what has got to be the only film festival title that makes you arch your eyebrows when you read the name, the Big Screen International Film Festival, yep I told you, hits Kunming today. The soirée first took place in Italy 5 year’s ago, but was then moved to Kunming as part of the “Year in Italy” festivities in China. This year marks the second time that the celebration of cinema will be held in this fair southern city. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

With a selection of 94 films from over 30 countries, the jury holding court over these proceedings have their work cut out for them. However, they seem to be up to par as the panel, according to China News Wire, is made up of luminaries such as “Marco Ceresa (organizer, Venice Film Festival), Wang Yao (screenwriter, Baby in Love, Returning Home, Gourmet of Poison) and Chinese media expert Jeremy Goldkorn, founder of the highly influential website Danwei.org.” To sweeten the pot, fans of Hong Kong director Yan Yan Mak will be privy to a special showing of her new film, The Scarlet Robe. If you’re a movie buff Kunming is the place to be until December 1, and, if you’re not a movie buff, well then Kunming is still the place to be for its salt and phosphate mines. Tasty.

Image: Splutterfish

In an update to the Christie’s story posted last week, the first day of this auction went off with a bang like the Hindenberg. Breaking the bank for modern Chinese art was Cai Guo Qiang’s fourteen piece gunpowder and ink set, created for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, that went to an anonymous buyer Sunday for a whopping HK$74.2 million. According to Bloomberg, “the previous record for Chinese contemporary art was struck in April at Sotheby’s, when Xu Beihong’s Put Down Your Whip took HK$72 million.” The second highest sale Sunday went to deceased Taiwanese artist Chen Cheng-po’s “Sunset at Danshui,” an oil painting that fetched HK$45 million. So far, Christie’s has raked in over HK$400 million for the first day and a half of its 5-day sale.

With the auction going on until the 29th, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen next. Will Cai Guo-qiang be the new heavyweight in the art realm or will another contender take the title? What we do know is that the auction has put naysayers to shame as some analysts thought a turbulent market might tighten some wallets. This is apparently not the case as all but two pieces have aroused significant financial interest. Perhaps the artists behind these two works have caught, what they call in the music world, Spearsitis, a condition whereby an artist suffers from bloating and a failure to inspire, normally brought on by an unquenchable thirst for frapuccinos and attention.

Image: “Sunset at Danshui” by Chen Cheng-po

The Stir Art Gallery in Shanghai’s Luwan district opens a photo exhibition Tuesday entitled “The Other Side of Reality” featuring the works of 23-year-old Jiangxi photographer Yan De Xiu. The obscured photos straddle the line between camera and computer as well as the line between reality and the photographic reality. Stir wrote of the exhibition:

Objects in the works have been pulled out of their real being and then frozen in a moment of a gaze - the images of eerie silence, the state of madness, the condensation of thoughts, and the calm excitement. As the artist puts it, “human is a species of emotion. They are made to express their emotions. You long for their collision and friction that cause to spark, even just for a split of a second. That excites us. But in the pace of reality, there are too many barriers and indifference between people, and between people and their surroundings.

Saturday, Yan will be at the Stir for an artist reception and official opening.

“The Other Side of Reality”
11/27/07 - 12/31/07
Stir Art Gallery
172 Jin Xian Road
Shanghai