Zooming into Focus , Contemporary Chinese Photography and Video from the Haudenschild Collection

First exhibition of Chinese New Media Art in the National Art Museum of China, Beijing

To the exhibition at the National Muesum of China

It says in Books of Poems, “When feelings flood, one heaves a sigh; if a sign is still not enough, one could sing a song; when songs still quench the emotions, one dances.” Nowadays, contemporary artists found video records and photography as new media to express their passion.

In the image age, with the widespread circulation of newspapers, magazine, mobies, and the Internet, the impact of the new media arts on our daily lives cannot be ignored. These “images” reflect modern people’s insights towards the world and the universe, and at the same time reflect our living environment. The camera has become the carrier of these most important visual expressions. Compared with the paintrbrush, it also becomes a more accepted and natural tool. Furthermore, it leads creative art activities to the new media art tide.

Sincethe 1990s, Chinese artists have made noticeable achiebements in new media art such as photography and video, which have attracted much attention from the art community inside and outside China. “Zooming into Focus: Chinese Contemporary Photography and Video” features the collection from the Haudenschilds of San Diego, USA. As the first retropective show of Chinese contemporary photography and video ever held  by the National Art Museum of China, it reveals the changes of social notions and technologies in Chinese contemporary art from a totally different angle. The exhibition showcases the most outstanding and symbolic works since the end of the last century, which directly reflect the changing culture, social environment and values in China’s booming economy.

I wish that “Zooming into Focus: Chinese Contemporary Photography and Video” could draw some attention from Chinese artists and audience to new media art. Finally, I with this exhibition great success.

Feng Yuan
Former Director of National Art Museum of China (NAMOC)