An invaluable firsthand record of a burgeoning artistic community and
the real lives behind a pivotal moment in Chinese contemporary art
RongRong's Diary: Beijing East Village presents a selection of images
and diary entries made by Chinese photographer RongRong (born 1968)
between 1993 and 1998, within the artistic community known as Beijing
East Village--now poignantly described as "a meteor in the history of
contemporary Chinese art." RongRong's acutely composed, richly
expressive images captured scenes of daily life among fellow young,
aspiring artists, and created definitive documents of iconic performance
works by Zhang Huan and Ma Liuming, among others. Often highly
challenging works, their performances and photographs would send an
instant shockwave throughout the Chinese avant-garde, and later the
global art scene. Revisiting these texts and images anew for this
publication, RongRong has composed a personal narrative of an artist
coming into his own. Beijing East Village also serves as an invaluable
firsthand record of a burgeoning artistic community, its precarious
political context and the real lives behind a pivotal moment in Chinese
contemporary art.
