New American Swiss Banking Cultural Diplomacy

The United Bank of Switzerland is sponsoring an exhibition of their collection at the National Art Museum of China. “For the Memory of Tomorrow” is a brief survey of the last forty years of international contemporary art. Comprised of mostly printed works by modern old masters (Rauschenberg, Johns, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Stella, Mangold, Kelly) the show lacks any real surprises and falls inline with the blue chip market mentality that would most likely direct any banking executive's art buying strategy. But all that aside, they've got a Gursky, and not just any Gursky, they've got the "99cent store" Gursky. This was my first time to encounter one of the 6 of this work in person and the experience rekindled for me that first time I encountered its reproduction in a magazine. It was that first time that I felt enlightened by some new perspective. This was the year 2000, things were going to start making sense and this was the new art was going to guide us into the future. But soon it was known to me that this new perspective was all manipulation. The image was rendered with a perfection that was impossible and not a photograph as I had, until then, learned to define one. I will only use Michael Fried word for a moment, "theatricality", not just in the physical size of the work but in its gaze. To view the world in such a way, to visually understand its functioning and to organize all its facets into clearly labeled packages perfectly organized on a market's selves is what it presents us with.

New American (hipster chinese grandpas)

I few months ago when I was changing buses where the north third rings road turns south I saw what I had quickly deemed to be a figment of my imagination, two nondescript Chinese yéye (grandpa) riding casually on very high-end Italian road bikes. Yesterday I was in that same area again and in need of a little bike repair myself. After stepping in to the local Giant shop, which is known to be one of the better ones around town, I ran into yéye number one and his two Colnagos. A couple minutes later yéye number 2 showed up on his ride, pipe in mouth. By this point I was pretty confused so I decided to ask them why they have these really sweet bikes and they told me, "because they go fast".

New America(futureworld)



I left Beijing after my first visit almost one year ago when the CCTV Tower was unlinked, just two spires of steel on the verge of collapsing on each other. From the Getty wire service I would check every week or so to see what I had missed. Sometime in January just after the beginning of this year, 2008, the two arms met. This moment passed with little notice. It did not have the same impact as lets say the meeting of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 with the golden spike, but maybe this is just because it did not make for such a good photo op. I have yet to run into Rem around town, but if I were to just bump into him I imagine it would be a bit like the first time Colin and I spotted Tillmans at the Hirschhorn. Koolhaas is in the genre of celebrity that can probably fully anticipate exactly what type of person would instantly recognize him on the street. He would with great certainty be able to imagine what type of books I own, the type of art I study, the type of furniture I want to buy, and the people that I would want to meet.

New America(Post-Games)

Post-Games Beijing means two things. First, the arrival of Flat Stanley and second, home decor.


Like most westerners, Stanley prefers restaurants that offer picture menus.


Right now I'm living in a fully furnished rented apartment. Everything has been great and it has been convenient not to have to worry about getting furniture. Now I have realized that I have to much furniture and there is nothing I can do about it. Working with a Chinese real-estate agent is something I think everyone should get to try once, and if you're really lucky you might even have the opportunity to have them fix something for you. Their solutions to common heating and plumbing problems are always truly creative, however terribly short sighted.

All that aside, look at this.

This is the ceiling light in living room. It's really unbearable to look at and Rococo style just is not my thing. Only the center has electricity running to it so I might try to take some of it down and make it a bit more tactical.

The red IKEA corner sofa that sits beneath the extravagant light has also been an issue for me. I really just don't like it because it is too big. (the fabric also brings back memories of Micheal's chair that took me nearly a year to get rid of) I've started to fight these problems by designing pillows. At trip to the fabric market to buy a few yards of pure linen fabrics (98RMB, 14.30USD) and then to the neighborhood seamstress (5RMB each, total of 6 pillows, 30RMB = 4.38USD)


Next round I might just go for solids.

New American Mountaineer & Haircut (China)

New American Rooftop

New America (Inner Mongolia)