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<\/h3>\nJune 7 – December 14, 2008<\/strong><\/h3>\nStairway to Heaven<\/em> is an exhibition of contemporary art analyzing the changing streets and urban landscapes of China.\u00a0 The work in the exhibition responds to traditional monuments and the unparalleled growth in skyscrapers within the context of cultural transformation.\u00a0 The artists provide an intimate look at how new histories are constructed and old histories are erased in a country that assiduously recorded its history through the arts until the Mao era that was dominated by propaganda.\u00a0 It is a remarkable opportunity to watch art history in real time during this extraordinary moment in Chinese history as the country\u2019s transformation is now realigned with a resurgence in Chinese art.\u00a0 Just as Germany tore down the Berlin wall leaving little trace of its history during a building boom, China is dismantling its urban history in an unprecedented scale by building skyscrapers while the artists are recording and critiquing the old and new histories as they unfold at alarming speed.<\/p>\nThe exhibition presents layers of diversity through multiple voices, strategies, and techniques of the seventeen Chinese artists.\u00a0 Organized thematically the exhibition focuses on the changing relationships between artists and streets, monuments and skyscrapers with a subtext exploring the multi faceted art boom in China.\u00a0 The loci are sites where artists are digesting and processing an overload of cultural, philosophical, economic, and technological change in a condensed period of time.<\/p>\n
As the 21st century develops, China is becoming the next dominant global culture. Yet, in 2008 the world is still curious what role China wants to play in this new 21st century.\u00a0 The best way to gauge the future path of a culture is through art.\u00a0 As China becomes the political and economic focus of the international scene during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Stairway to Heaven<\/em> offers a unique context and opportunity to present the response of Chinese artists to the resurgence of China.<\/p>\nThe exhibition is organized by a college art museum consortium of the Bates College Museum of Art, the H & R Block Artspace at Kansas City Art Institute and the California State Los Angeles, Luckman Fine Arts Complex. It will be accompanied by a book published by University Press of New England.<\/p>\n\n\t\t
The exhibition presents layers of diversity through multiple voices, strategies, and techniques of the seventeen Chinese artists.\u00a0 Organized thematically the exhibition focuses on the changing relationships between artists and streets, monuments and skyscrapers with a subtext exploring the multi faceted art boom in China.\u00a0 The loci are sites where artists are digesting and processing an overload of cultural, philosophical, economic, and technological change in a condensed period of time.<\/p>\n
As the 21st century develops, China is becoming the next dominant global culture. Yet, in 2008 the world is still curious what role China wants to play in this new 21st century.\u00a0 The best way to gauge the future path of a culture is through art.\u00a0 As China becomes the political and economic focus of the international scene during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Stairway to Heaven<\/em> offers a unique context and opportunity to present the response of Chinese artists to the resurgence of China.<\/p>\n The exhibition is organized by a college art museum consortium of the Bates College Museum of Art, the H & R Block Artspace at Kansas City Art Institute and the California State Los Angeles, Luckman Fine Arts Complex. It will be accompanied by a book published by University Press of New England.<\/p>\n\n\t\t