Always a pioneer, artist xu bing now takes the novel. From point to point, by the chinese visual artist xu bing. Book from the sky 1987 made up of 4,000 handcarved and printed characters, book from the sky remains xu bing s most iconic work to date. The protagonists struggles with his alarm, deadlines, and online dating are made all the more real through their portrayal in universal pictures. His piece will be located over the water between two boathouses at the pavilion at arsenale giardino delle vergini. Even so, this work challenges our very approach to language because of the unique nature of the text written on the paper. From pointtopoint, the tale recounts twentyfour hours in the life of a young whitecollar worker in a major metropolis. Xu bing has been undertaking his book from the ground project since 2003. The book about xu bings book from the ground the mit press. Xu bing is sort of exploring the relationship between signs and meaning. The result is a readable story without words, an account of twentyfour hours in the life of. From pointtopoint, the tale recounts 24 hours in the life of a young whitecollar worker in a major metropolis. A book without words, recounting a day in the life of an office worker, told completely in the symbols, icons, and logos of.
For the recurring section my eight, in which artists describe 8 of their favorite things, xu bing has chosen to provide some background on 8 of his favorite synthesized icons from his wideranging iconolinguistic project that combines image recognition. Xu bing s book work is currently on view at the spencer museum of art through april 29. Twenty years ago i made book from the sky, a book of illegible chinese characters that no one could read. The result is a readable story without words, an account of twentyfour hours in the life of mr. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. This companion volume to book from the ground chronicles the entire project, mapping the history of xu bing s novel creation from inspiration to exhibition to publication. The artist first compiled symbols drawn from the public sphere and wrote a book using only these signs. Its almost like egyptian hieroglyphics, a puzzle where you. Regarded as one of the masterpieces of twentieth century chinese art, book from the sky ushered in the avantgarde movement in postmao era china. Dec 05, 2012 xu bing is sort of exploring the relationship between signs and meaning. Just as book from the sky was signs divorced from sense, this is more about expressing sense with a system of signs so primitive it requires only the cultural and linguistic knowledge rather than prior knowledge of a particular writing system of englishspeakers to. Xu bing, the renowned chinese artist whose many laurels include a macarthur foundation genius award and an appointment as vice president of chinas central academy of fine arts, has long demonstrated a fascination with the written word.
He moved to the united states in 1990 but returned to china in 2008 to teach at his alma mater. Installation of books and scrolls printed from carved wood types of invented characters, ink on paper, dimensions variable. Xu bing spent seven years gathering materials, experimenting, revising, and arranging thousands of pictograms to construct the narrative of book from the ground. The book from the ground our source of inspiration excerpt from the book from the ground by xu bing. This companion volume to book from the ground chronicles the entire project, mapping the history of xu bings novel creation. Having collected symbols from airline safety cards over a period of several years, xu. Its almost like egyptian hieroglyphics, a puzzle where you have to figure out the story. May 01, 2012 xu bing s book from the ground is composed entirely of symbols, emojis, emoticons, whatever you want to call them. Pioneering chinese contemporary artist xu bing creates powerful, poignant mixedmedia installations, in which he subverts systems of language, upending expectations and perception. From point to point, part of xu bing s wider project book from the ground, is a 112page novel depicting 24 hours in the life of an ordinary office worker, mr black, from seven one morning to seven the next, as he wakes, eats breakfast, goes to work, meets friends, looks for love online and goes out on a date. Book from the ground portrays a very relatable and surprisingly readable day in the life of an office worker. Xu bing studio blog uptodate information about the. Book from the sky, a monumental installation by celebrated chinese artist xu bing. The third of five children, he spent his childhood years growing up in beijing, where his parents moved to work at peking university when he was two years old.
Using simple pictograms, currently in popular and public usage across the world, his book is. The answer to that question can be found in a work published to minimal fanfare by mit press in 2014, book from the ground. The book about xu bings book from the ground mit press. The book about xu bings book from the ground book, 2014. Now i have created book from the ground, a book that anyone can read. The first name is pronounced very, very roughly like shoe. Regarded as one of the masterpieces of twentiethcentury chinese art, book from the sky ushered in the avantgarde movement in postmao era china.
In 2012, he published book from the ground, an oppositional treatise from book from the sky 1987, instead of a book that nobody could read, xu bing created a book for everyone. The book about xu bings book from the ground walmart. Mar 07, 2014 xu bing spent seven years gathering materials, experimenting, revising, and arranging thousands of pictograms to construct the narrative of book from the ground. The exhibit is in conjunction with the lifetime achievement award granted to xu as part of the southern graphics council conference recently held in kansas city. Following his classic work book from the sky, the chinese artist xu bing presents a new graphic novel. At first glance, and to anyone who cannot read chinese script, the pages appear simply as an elegant example of traditional chinese calligraphy, evoking the richness and sophistication of chinas long literary history. The book is written such that any reader, regardless of cultural background or level of education, can read it. In 2014, the chinese artist xu bing published a new type of book. The book is written in a way that any reader, regardless of his or her cultural or educational background, can understand. The creation of xu bings book from the ground documented and described in text, images, and photographs. Composed entirely of pictographs, book from the ground is a groundbreaking study into the concept of universal communication. Xu bing was born in chongqing, in the newlyformed communist peoples republic of china, in 1955.
Although the pictogramonly narrative in xu bings book from the ground can be read by anyone, there is much more to the story of xu bings wordless book than can be gleaned from icons alone. Xu bing s most popular book is book from the ground. Xu bing is one of the 6 artists from 53 countries that will be exhibiting at the biennale. From the metropolitan museum of art, xu bing, book from the sky ca. Although the pictogramonly narrative in xu bings book from the ground can be read by anyone, there is much more to the story of xu bings wordless book than can be. Xu describes his book from the ground as a novel written in a language of icons. Book from the ground, a book composed entirely of symbols and icons, is an account of twentyfour hours in the busy but witty life of mr. Although the pictogramonly narrative in xu bing s book from the ground can be read by anyone, there is much more to the story of xu bing s wordless book than can be gleaned from icons alone. May 07, 2020 xu bing publicly exhibited book from the sky for the first time in 1988 at the china art gallery now national art museum of china 1 in beijing.
The book about xu bings book from the ground by mathieu. The blanton museum of art at the university of texas at austin presents xu bing. Whats interesting is theres a story thats told through a series of symbols. A book without words, recounting a day in the life of an office worker, told completely in the symbols, icons, and logos of modern life.
Heres how xu bing describes the origins of the project on its associated web site. Icon stories home emojis come into the esl classroom. Using garbled and nonsensical fauxchinese characters, this installation expressed xus doubts about written language and provoked questions about the chinese language. This article will first make a brief description of xu bing, and then analyzing his three most famous works and installations, tian shu book from the sky, square word calligraphy, and di shu book from the ground to explore his art world and his comprehension of the world. Since 2008, bing has experimented with increasingly less traditional methods and materials of communication. Xu bing now developes this book into a popup book, making this universally readable book more playful and amusing. The creation of xu bing s book from the ground documented and described in text, images, and photographs. Book from the ground is a novel written in a language of icons that i have been. Book from the sky and other projects have brought him considerable international renown. Book from the ground, until 28 february, centre for chinese contemporary art, thomas street, manchester, m4 1eu.
From point to point is a book composed entirely of symbols and icons by worldrenowned chinese artist xu bing. Now, after years creating art that explores, and upends, the power of the written word, xu bing has authored a novella, which was published in early summer. Xu bingfollowing his classic work book from the sky, the chinese artist xu bing. He is known for his printmaking skills and installation art, as well as his creative artistic use of language, words, and text and how. Thirty years later, with book from the ground, the artist expresses his hope for a single, universally understood language. Tianshu is the title of a book produced by chinese artist xu bing in the style of fine editions from the song and ming dynasties, but filled entirely with meaningless glyphs designed to resemble traditional chinese characters. Xu bings interest in tobacco culture extends to the historical impact of chinas largescale exportation of tobacco products from the united states beginning in the late 19th century. The main book is the white one called book from the ground.
Xu bing s tianshu book from the sky is a large installation featuring precisely laid out rows of books and hanging scrolls with written chinese texts. Whether his goal is total comprehension or confusion, xu bings masterful exploration of language challenges the way we think about the written word. A page of book from the ground, which narrates a day in the life of an office worker xu bing book from the ground is not xu s first project to contemplate language and writing. Xu bing was recently invited to select and describe his favorite found icons from the wideranging iconolinguistic project book from the ground 2003ongoing. For the durham exhibition, he made a gigantic book of tobacco leaves that was gradually devoured by beetles during the course of the exhibition. Visuality and translation in contemporary chinese literary. This installation comprises a set of 4 handprinted books, as well as wall and ceiling scrolls printed in the style of a wood letterpress. Xu bing spent seven years gathering materials, experimenting, revising, and arranging thousands of pictograms to construct this narrative that can be read by anyone with experience in contemporary life. And xu bing is the first to write a book from emojis and other contemporary symbols. The book from the sky is one of the most intriguing chinese art installations of the century, and the nifty work of none other than the celebrated chinese artist xu bing.
Installation of handprinted books and ceiling and wall scrolls printed from wood letterpress type. Born in sichuan province, xu bing studied printmaking at the central academy of fine arts in beijing. Focusing on the relationship between text and image in each of these works, it explores the relation between verbality and visuality in multimodal literary art. Xu bing will be unveiling his new phoenix2015 at the 2015 venice biennale this upcoming may. Always a pioneer, artist xu bing now takes the novel beyond. Xu bing s book from the ground ill get around to the explanation in a minute, but the main thing i wanted to do in this post is to quote the first paragraph of an avantgarde novelinprogress, the book from the ground, by the contemporary artist xu bing. The book, which consists of four volumes totaling 604 pages, was printed in a. The book about xu bings book from the ground mit press hardcover february 14, 2014. This companion volume to book from the ground chronicles the entire project, mapping the history of xu bing s novel creation. What is xu bings impressive book from the sky all about.