Shanghai MOCA: Xu Bing

I know some of you will recognize the name Xu Bing, a Chinese artist who is probably best known for
""A Case Study of Transference," consisting of a performance by two live breeding
pigs. The pigs engage in the performance in an enclosed exhibition area filled
with books with texts in various languages. Unreadable characters are printed
to cover the bodies of the two pigs. The text on the male pig resembles written
English, while the text on the female pig resembles Chinese. During the
performance, the two animals mate inside the exhibition area.
When the performance is staged with live animals, the artist goes to great
pains to select pigs that will be prepared to mate on cue. It has been performed
both inside and outdoors. Xu Bing has exhibited documentation of the
performances as photography, video, and installation pieces at various galleries
around the world."- from http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/xubing/2006_Catalog.pdf
visit that site for more great info and pics from Xu Bing.
Here in Shanghai MOCA, Bing has created another language mediating artwork, "Book From the Ground," with a sort of board of pictogram-like words with words and symbols separating two computers where users can "chat" through text, which the computer then assimilates into the language and translates if recognized. From my own personal experience creating interactive work that relies on the viewer, I have encountered a lot of difficulties getting viewers to take part, and really operate the interface smoothly, and I think this was a sort of sticking point here, which may or may not have been part of his intention. I doubt it, but the piece was still effective as the language on the board demonstrated what seems to have been already achieved... (?)


Strange multi-media sculpture by Lee Tzu-Hsun
Traditional vs modern issues, current architecture vs. mysticized landscape again showing up in paintings by Wang Mingxian