w …came in the summer of 2003, when Professor Timothy Murray
was introduced to Wen Pulin by the curator Yang Shin-yi in Beijing. Tim visited
Wen’s Dongtai Institute where the archive – then in its analog form –
was
housed, and took quick stock of the materials. After his return from China, Tim started to discuss the
possibility to digitize the materials – consisting of over 400 tapes in various formats on
events related to Chinese modern art and culture. These tapes recorded
- art happenings all over China;
- exhibitions, those
both officially sanctioned _and underground;
- the
very first Chinese rock concerts;
w - modern Tibetan cultural
expressions;
-
interviews with artists;
- explorations of the
new urban landscapes of _major Chinese
cities;
- the
discourse surrounding many of the _(sometimes highly controversial)
exhibitions, _and their social context.
All
this over a period between 1985 to ca. 2005, a period of time
many say are the most important 20 years ever in Chinese history.