This paper examines the development and features of Post89 art, which, even though popularly well known, gives rise to major controversies among the avant-garde art of China.
Post89 art began from the reflection and skepticism of the avant-garde art of the 1980s represented by the ’85 New Wave campaign at the end of the 1980s. They mainly pointed out the ’85 New Wave art from two aspects, i.e., thought and method of activity. The former is said to hinder the continued modernization and development of Chinese art due to art holism starting from the metaphysical idealism and essentialist faith,with the latter taking a blind, impulsive resistance method without considering the distinct characteristics of the government-led art system.
On the other hand, Post89 artists and theorists attempted to overcome the essentialist thought based on the thought of Karl Popper and Ernst Gombrich. They contend that art should discard excessive social responsibility and return to its own context. Furthermore, they introduced de-constructivism and pop art mode and established the thought and mode of contemporary art. Due to the contradictory reality of the Chinese society of the 1990s, however, they still could not give up the selfconsciousness as critical art.
Post89 art pursued gradualistic innovation strategies through systematic and lawful survival, using the art market as a medium in relation to survival and the method of activity. The <First Guangzhou Biennale> held in 1992 was its first attempt. Expanding the strategies to overseas was also sought through the <Post 89: New Art Exhibit of China> held the following year. Such strategies were considerably successful until 2008, partially realizing innovation of the government-led art system. Nonetheless, the fact that such strategies accommodated the ideology of the West-centered art world incurred criticism. In particular, when the theory of post colonialism was spread, the affected Post89 art gradually turned to the direction of criticizing the hegemonism of the West or affirmatively accepting China’s history of socialism.
Considering the process of developing such Post89 art, their avant-garde logic can be said ― in one word ― to be “Anti-avant-garde avant-garde art.” This can be viewed as “Self-reflective avant-garde” carrying an internal sense of tension in thought despite being somewhat contradictory as avant-garde art. In other words, it is special avantgarde logic unique to Post89 art created by the paradoxical identity called avant-garde art that appeared during the era of pluralism and postmodernism. Still, the Post89 art that gives rise to the concern of turning extremely leftist again recently seems to need to arouse the “Spirit of creative self-criticism” stressed early by itself and the spirit of selfintrospective avant-garde.