Summary on curating interview

On Curating: Interviews with Ten International Curators- Carolee Thea

Interview 2006 PILI

At the beginning of the interview, Pili mentioned that he would become a curator, mainly influenced by his father. He mentioned that there was no art market in China before the 1990s, which I feel the same way. Even though contemporary art is booming, in fact, many elders in today’s society still hold this stereotype that artists cannot make a living from art. And thinking most students who graduate from art universities can only teach in universities. Furthermore, the China government’s policies at that time tended to be closed, and their attitude towards contemporary art was relatively conservative. Even though Pili saw his father’s setbacks in the art path, he still insisted on starting this career, which is not easy. Then Pili talked about his curatorial experience after becoming a curator. Frustrated by several major curatorial events that had nothing to do with art but merely false Western prejudices and entertainment devices for the public, he lost faith in large institutions such as biennials and art fairs. This made me wonder whether these problems also exist behind the seemingly successful and glamorous exhibitions I have visited. As Pili described, the China the world wants to see is not the China he knows, and the real Western world is probably not exactly what the Eastern people see through exhibitions and media.