The Paper, senior reporter Zhao Shi, intern Li Zhe
The personal creation of a young artist triggered a controversy and discussion on the protection of cultural relics.
On October 12, the second day after the opening of the "My Buddha" art exhibition at Chongqing Shifang Art Center, a storm of doubts about the content of the exhibition brought the exhibition to an abrupt end.
In the exhibition, the young artist Chu Bingchao made comparison photos of more than 50 grotto statues found in Gansu, Shaanxi and Ningxia in 2014.
"Each statue is not only repaired by myself, but when repairing, I also incorporate my personal image, my understanding of the Buddha statue, and the mood at the time into the statue."
He stated in the introduction to the exhibition.
This move was immediately questioned by some netizens, who believed it was a destruction of cultural relics.
The core of the controversy is whether the statues restored by Chu Bingchao are cultural relics, and whether cultural relics discovered in the fields and not officially protected can be restored and created by themselves.
On October 14th, by identifying the photos before restoration provided by the exhibitor, Yu Chun, an associate professor at the School of Cultural Heritage of Northwestern University, confirmed that the grotto statues restored by Chu Bingchao were indeed ancient cultural relics, and that unqualified non-professional cultural protection personnel arbitrarily treated them. The act of restoration of cultural relics may bear certain responsibilities.
Meidefang, director of the Dazu Science Research Center of Chongqing Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute, who signed the academic advisor in the exhibition promotion, responded to The Paper that the exhibition party’s approach was unilateral and he did not show up at the opening. Only after I sent it did I know that I was an academic consultant."
On the afternoon of the 14th, the relevant person in charge of the Gansu Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau told The Paper that he had learned about Chu Bingchao's self-repair and creation of the grotto statues from multiple channels. At present, the security inspection department of the bureau is conducting related evidence collection investigations.
Chu Bingchao's solo exhibition "Chu Bingchao: My Buddha".
The screenshots are from related pages of artlinkart website
"My Buddha" stopped in the whirlpool
Born in Pingliang, Gansu Province in 1986, Chu Bingchao graduated from the Sculpture Department of Hubei Academy of Fine Arts. His works include sculptures, installations, videos, and publishing.
In the introduction to the exhibition titled "My Buddha", he described himself as a search for broken grotto statues in Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, and based on the style characteristics of the statues' excavation age, regional differences, and object forms. Carry out repair work.
"In one year, I repaired 50 Buddha statues. Not only did I personally repair each statue, I also integrated my personal image, my understanding of the Buddha statue, and the mood at the time into the statue. In." Chu Bingchao said in the introduction to the exhibition.
On October 10th, the "My Buddha" exhibition opened, and voices of doubt followed.
Some netizens pointed out that Chu Bingchao has no professional background in cultural sciences, but creatively repairing the grotto statues without authorization is the destruction of cultural relics.
On October 12th, Zhang Hongwei, the curator of the exhibition, explained in an interview with Red Star News that these statues repaired and created by Chu Bingchao were not included in the scope of cultural relic protection. Most of them were found in the fields without any protection signs and repaired materials. It is a mud tire that can fall off naturally, and most of them have been restored to their original state so far.
Chu Bingchao's solo exhibition "Chu Bingchao: My Buddha" works.
The picture comes from the related page of artlinkart website
This statement has been questioned by cultural protection professionals.
Zhang Jianlin, a well-known archaeologist, researcher of the Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Archaeology, and a distinguished professor of the School of Cultural Heritage of Northwest University, told The Paper that at the time of the third cultural relics survey, most cultural relics in the country were not rated, which means that many are not listed The artifacts exist.
"As long as it is an ancient relic with historical and cultural value, then it is a cultural relic."
Zhang Jianlin said that in addition to family heritage and other cultural relics with clear ownership, other cultural relics, especially those found in the fields, should be owned by the state once discovered, and should be disposed of by the state. "We dug up during field archaeology. Pottery pieces cannot be graded, but they are all cultural relics, and individuals cannot handle them privately."
Yu Chun also told The Paper on October 12 that if the local cultural relics protection department determines that these statues are cultural relics, and Chu Bingchao is not a professional cultural protection staff, he may have to bear some responsibility for the restoration and creation of cultural relics by himself. Responsibility.
The staff of Chongqing Shifang Art Center told The Paper that the art center itself is a non-profit organization that accepts applications for exhibitions from artists and provides venues and publicity for them. The artists pay for the exhibition, and the exhibition is open to the public for free.
In other words, Chu Bingchao's solo exhibition is not for profit.
But because of this storm of doubt, the "I Buddha" exhibition that was in the whirlpool has already withdrawn its promotion and ceased its exhibition.
"We also hope that this issue can undergo extensive discussion and reflection." Zhang Hongwei said, but before full discussion, the artist himself has endured more cyber violence.
He told The Paper that the exhibition itself is of a public welfare nature and has no revenue. The purpose is only to popularize modern art to the public.
Until all disputes are unanswered, we will not consider continuing this exhibition.
Absent Academic Advisor
The signed academic consultant for this exhibition is Meidefang, director of the Dazu Science Research Center of Chongqing Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute.
According to public information, Dr. Mi Defang graduated from the Dunhuang Studies Institute of Lanzhou University with a major in History (Dunhuang Studies). He is currently the director of the Dazu Study Center of the Dazu Rock Carvings Institute, a distinguished professor of the Contemporary Visual Art Center of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, and Dunhuang at Northwest Normal University. Visiting professor of the college, his main research direction is grotto art and archeology, and Buddhist art history.
There are archaeological professionals as academic consultants to prove the authority of this exhibition. Why is Chu Bingchao's creation still being questioned?
On October 13, Meadfang told The Paper that he had not been to the scene until the opening of the exhibition. “They sent it to me after the opening, and I knew that I was an academic consultant.”
Meidefang said that he and the curator Zhang Hongwei were classmates in postgraduate years. When Zhang Hongwei said that he would do an exhibition of Buddha art in Chongqing and wanted to invite him to speak at the opening ceremony as an academic host, "I thought it was a contemporary art exhibition. I agreed."
He explained that before agreeing, he did not know Chu Bingchao, nor did he understand the specifics of the art exhibition, and he was relatively busy. He did not go to the exhibition venue on the opening ceremony and did not provide corresponding academic consulting services.
Zhang Hongwei told The Paper that there is a unified paradigm in the modern art exhibition industry: when an art exhibition is held in a local area, a local expert in related art is usually invited to attend the exhibition to preside over the exhibition's academic discussion activities and answer related questions from the audience.
If an expert can be present to give a speech or support an academic discussion, he is called an academic chair; if he cannot be present, he is called an academic advisor.
The hiring of academic consultants is also a major publicity tool for modern art exhibitions.
Zhang Hongwei introduced that the publicity process of a modern art exhibition generally consists of the first wave of publicity before the opening of the exhibition and the second wave of publicity during the exhibition. The theme of the second wave of publicity is generally a meeting between curators, artists and academic consultants. .
He said that he originally planned to hold a three-person meeting during the second wave of propaganda, and then invited Meadefang to join it. "But now that the second wave of propaganda has not started, things have stopped."
Meadefang, who specializes in the study of Buddhist art and has a certain knowledge of cultural relic protection, did not know the contents of the exhibition in detail when he agreed to Zhang Hongwei, but only realized that "something was wrong" before the exhibition began.
He said that when Zhang Hongwei sent the pictures of the exhibition works, he expressed his concerns after seeing them, that is, whether the statues Chu Bingchao used to create may be cultural relics, and whether they have been verified with the local cultural relics department.
However, Zhang Hongwei explained to him that these were unmanaged statues found on the roadside without cultural relic protection signs.
Chu Bingchao's solo exhibition "Chu Bingchao: My Buddha" introduces the photos published on the website (the specific scene is not specified).
The picture comes from the related page of artlinkart website
Although Zhang Hongwei’s explanation denied that these were cultural relics, Meadefang said that he still gave a reminder to check with the local cultural relics department.
He said that although he had doubts at the time, he was too busy to worry about it. It was not until October 10 when the exhibition layout was completed and ready to start, that he knew that the exhibition had listed him as an academic consultant, and that he had done the whole process. Have not been to the scene.
Experts confirm that the statue is indeed a cultural relic
Whether the statues restored and created by Chu Bingchao are cultural relics is the core of this storm of controversy.
In an interview with The Paper, Zhang Hongwei stated that not all of these restored statues of Buddha were originally Buddha statues. “Some are Buddha statues, and some are just a raised stone found in the wild, looking like Buddha statues. Because for the artist, Art is not necessarily completely real."
On October 14th, through the identification of the photos provided by the exhibitor, Yu Chun confirmed that these statues were indeed ancient cultural relics.
Yu Chun preliminarily judged through the photos that the statues restored and created by Chu Bingchao are ancient cultural relics or statues of Bodhisattvas left over from the Tang Dynasty.
Photo courtesy of Chongqing Shifang Art Center
Through preliminary judgments on some of the pictures, she confirmed that the statues in the pictures are ancient cultural relics, and they may be statues of Bodhisattvas left over from the Tang Dynasty.
Part of the contrast photos before and after restoration in the "My Buddha" art exhibition.
Photo courtesy of Chongqing Shifang Art Center
It can be seen from the pictures before restoration that these statues are embedded in the grottoes.
Zhang Jianlin told The Paper that if it is an ancient statue in a grotto, it is an immovable cultural relic. “You must be more careful in the process of excavating, protecting and even restoring cultural relics, let alone touch and dispose of them casually.”
Regarding what the staff of Chongqing Shifang Art Center said in an interview with the Beijing Youth Daily, Chu Bingchao did not use paint and other repair tools, but used mud tires for “protective repairs”, and the restoration objects were all stone statues. It is reversible, "If you think there is a problem, the clay sculpture on the outside can be removed."
Yu Chun believes that if there is mud in the material of the cultural relic, or painted on it, if it is repaired with clay sculpture, it will still cause damage to the cultural relic itself, because the clay sculpture will use media such as water, and such restoration will have a destructive effect. .
Zhang Jianlin said that professional work related to cultural relics protection, such as ancient construction maintenance, cultural relics protection planning, and cultural relics restoration, requires corresponding national qualifications. These qualifications need to be recognized by the provincial-level cultural relics management department. Only qualified professional cultural preservation Personnel are qualified to repair cultural relics.
He introduced that before the restoration of cultural relics, professional cultural preservation and restoration professionals will give a restoration plan. The restoration generally follows a reversible method, that is, it can be restored after the restoration process, and this reversibility is mainly reflected in the restoration material on.
Official: Administrative penalty will be imposed if confirmed
On October 14, The Paper reporter learned from the Gansu Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau that Chu Bingchao's self-repair and creation of the grotto statues has been learned from multiple channels. At present, the Security Supervision Office is conducting relevant forensic investigations.
The person in charge of the Security Supervision Office of the Gansu Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau said that the collected exhibition-related photos are now being checked and compared with the existing cultural relic records to verify whether the grottoes restored and created by Chu Bingchao are registered by the Gansu Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau. Unmovable cultural relics.
The person in charge said that immovable cultural relics that have been registered but have not been erected by cultural relics protection units are widespread in Gansu Province, but even if the cultural relics have not been registered, as long as the cultural relics are proved to be worthwhile, individuals will restore them privately. The behavior of will be dealt with accordingly.
The staff of the Cultural Relics Conservation and Archaeology Department of the Gansu Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau stated that if it is confirmed that what Chu Bingchao restored is indeed the cultural relics registered in Gansu Province, the cultural relics management department will initiate relevant procedures to evaluate the damage to the cultural relics; if the assessment proves that it has caused the damage For damage, corresponding administrative penalties will be taken according to the degree of damage.
Part of the contrast photos before and after restoration in the "My Buddha" art exhibition.
Photo courtesy of Chongqing Shifang Art Center
In response to this matter, The Paper reporters also consulted the 12359 National Cultural Relics Reporting Hotline of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
The staff said that in the past two years, they have also received reports of creative restoration of cultural relics, but the reported objects are all units and legal persons with professional qualifications for cultural relics protection. Regarding the private restoration of cultural relics by individuals, they have not received reports in the past two years. Have been to similar reports.