Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    COMMERCIAL animation is something China may not do as well as Hollywood or Japan, but Chinese independent animation has been drawing increasing attention at international animation festivals in recent years. The animators’ freedom of approach, adaptation of new forms of narration and use of different media have impressed art circles around the world.

    Residents in Shenzhen can enjoy about 100 short independent animated films created by 56 domestic and international artists at B10 in OCT-LOFT until March.

    Titled “The World of Soul: As Virtual Art Engineering,” the First Shenzhen Independent Animation Biennale is the first animation activity operated as a biennale in China. Organized by OCT Group, the activity includes an exhibition in B10, lectures, seminars and a competition.

    In contrast with commercial animation, independent animation lays more stress on artists’ independent thought and critical thinking. “It focuses more on the experimental nature of art,” said Zhang Xiaotao, one of the three curators of the exhibition. Zhang is the dean of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute’s new media department. The other two curators are Wang Chunchen, head of the department of curatorial research of CAFA Art Museum, and He Jinfang, an independent curator and the former director of Art Gallery magazine.

    According to Wang, China’s independent animation emerged from the 1990s but real experimental animation movies didn’t emerge in China’s contemporary art circles until 2006.

    “This is a more open era, which has consequently endowed artists with a more open understanding of art and freed up the spirit of creation. Contemporary Chinese animators use animation as the vehicle for conveying their inner world and reflecting their views to the world. They create works to express individual artistic intentions and ideas,” said Wang.

    At the exhibition, Beijing animator Bu Hua’s four-minute “LV Forest” satirizes men’s lust in metropolises. Her works usually show realistic darkness and oppression. Bu admitted that animation can keep a certain freedom for her and in the virtual world, animation can be regarded as the residence of her heart and spirit.

    “Independent animation is not for entertainment, but for satire, humor and profundity. For Chinese artists, the question of how to display their artistic personalities as well as enhance their critical sensitivity toward the world is the most important premise in making animation,” said Wang.

    Curator He said the average age of the exhibited artists is about 30 and one noted phenomenon is that most of the artists are from other fields. Sun Xun, Tang Maohong and Wu Junyong are from a printing background. Chen Shaoxiong and Liu Jian are from traditional Chinese water painting backgrounds. Zhang Xiaotao and Miao Xiaochun are oil painters. Only some artists who were born after 1985, such as Lei Lei, Feng Wei and Wang Qianru, are animation or digital art majors.

    “Animation can express the actual and spiritual world freely and virtually,” said curator and oil painter Zhang Xiaotao who tapped into animation in 2006. “Today due to the hot art auction market, money seems to be the only criterion of a painting’s success. I want to stay away from this and do some independent experiments.”

    Zhang’s 34-minute “Mist” displays a large number of animals building a huge steel city near a river. He questions urbanization from animals’ point-of-view. Zhang said through his experiments in animation, he finds new visual experiences which a single painting cannot create.

    Oil painter Miao Xiaochun also explores the language of experimental animated films after he transferred to animation. “The change of my works’ perspective is significant because painting is static while animation is dynamic. More important is that new tools are deeply influencing artists’ thinking. My painting was an inductive process, while my animation is a deductive process,” said Miao.

    The exhibition also showcases works from 14 teams of foreign artists, such as Akino Kondoh from Japan, Phil Mulloy from Britain and Chris Sullivan from the United States. At the lectures and seminars held Dec. 22-23, curators and artists talked about the situation and future road of Chinese independent animators.

    Curator Wang said that in recent years, some Chinese fine arts academies have established departments such as new media or experimental arts. These departments are not only educating animation students but also work as labs for independent films. He showed his concern that the students may make creative works with the help of academies but after graduation, without financial support, they would struggle to continue their independent animation career.

    Curator Zhang said domestic independent film and photo festivals have given support to independent animation. These festivals provide room to promote independent animation. Film festivals in Beijing, Nanjing, Chongqing and Yunnan Province all have provided such projects as workshops, forums, and lectures to attract the public. He said that without financial support from academies and foundations, makers of independent movies may not be able to continue their work.

    Dates: Until March 22

    Venue: B10, Zone North, OCT-LOFT, Nanshan District

    Metro: Qiaocheng East Station (侨城东站), Exit A