The Chinese contemporary art scene

Contemporary China is undergoing a maelstrom of changes in all fields of life and the intensity of those changes is difficult to grasp if you don't live daily amidst the Chinese. I mean not bathing in the privileges offered in the Western ghetto in exchange for New York like rents but among the Chinese where they live. I have been living in Beijing from 1986 till 2002 on a permanent base and at least half of my time from 2002 till today.

About the meaning of art.

Long distance history finds its roots in chance archaeological discovery. Those roots, at least regarding art productions, go as far back as one hundred thousand years approximately. Perhaps this distance will be pushed back further in time after more chance uncovering in the future. But one hundred thousand years of artistic practice should suffice, for us here, to come to valid conclusions regarding what is art.

On the idea that beauty is something objective

Scientific studies regularly appear whose conclusions are validating the hypotheses that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder but instead is an objective reality that is inscribed in the biology of life.

Here are links to the two last stories that capted my attention:

Can anyone actually define what a "True Artist" is? (2)

This is a follow-up on my last post here on Crucial Talk and completes the transcription of my posts on the thread "Can anyone actually define what a "True Artist" is?" on the LinkedIn forum

Can anyone actually define what a "True Artist" is?

(This is a re-publishing of the content of my postings in a discussion started by Ron Croci on Linkedin under the same title as here above.)

The term "artist" in visual art has been in use for only a relatively short time. Before the Renaissance the "picture makers" were considered being craftsmen of very low social standing put in charge of illustrating the story of the Christian creed.

Question: Can We Design The Next-Evolution of Community?

Nova Spivek had an interesting post on Twine:(a smarter way to keep up with what you’re into) that I could not resist commenting on.

Nova Spivek diagnoses:
- Loneliness, social isolation, and social fragmentation are huge and growing problems
- Our present communities are not working and most are breaking down or stagnating.