Polit Sheer Form!
Polit-Sheer-Form Office (PSFO) is a China-based art collective founded in 2005 by artists Hong Hao (b. 1965, Beijing), Xiao Yu (b. 1965, Inner Mongolia), Song Dong (b. 1966, Beijing), Liu Jianhua (b. 1962, Ji鈥檃n), and Leng Lin (b. 1965, Beijing). These artists come from a generation marked by China鈥檚 shift from Communism as both an economic and political order to a nation with capitalist ideals and a Communist government operating simultaneously. Individually, each of PSFO鈥檚 members have enjoyed significant international solo careers. They formed this group with the stated intention of 鈥渟eeking collective form,鈥� exploring the idea of 鈥榳e鈥� in a 鈥榤e鈥� world to present a new, tongue-in-cheek Socialist order for the 21st century.
The forthcoming exhibition, Polit Sheer Form!, at the Queens Museum will feature signature artworks such as the PSFO insignia Badge (2005); propaganda oil paintings Polit-Sheer-Form (2007); Mr. Zheng (2007), a huge composite photographic portrait of all five PSFO members; the group鈥檚 own fake library with 10,000 carefully numbered books painted in blue but without content, Library (2008); and their most recent work, Fitness for All (2013), five exercise machines evoking the recent campaigns throughout the People鈥檚 Republic of China aimed at motivating society to pay more attention to its health.
A survey of the first decade of PSFO鈥檚 multidisciplinary projects, the Queens Museum exhibition will also include new works. As part of the exhibition, a performance titled Do the same good deed will beheld in New York City鈥檚 Times Square, after its presentation in Guangzhou, China and the Guangdong Times Museum. Both performances will be represented in the exhibition through video documentation, and both performances involve the participation of large numbers of volunteers in repetitious cleaning efforts in public space. The goal of this particular project is to test in different social contexts鈥擟hina and the U.S.鈥攚hether collectivism is a real social need or just a management tool. In American culture, individualism is a core value yet a new understanding of the need for the collective has emerged. Conversely, while collectivism has been a core Chinese value, there has been increasing interest in individual pursuits. Does 鈥渄oing a good deed鈥� arise naturally from human nature or is it an expression of ideology? What is the real content and meaning of collectivism (or collective organization)?
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Polit-Sheer-Form Office (PSFO) is a China-based art collective founded in 2005 by artists Hong Hao (b. 1965, Beijing), Xiao Yu (b. 1965, Inner Mongolia), Song Dong (b. 1966, Beijing), Liu Jianhua (b. 1962, Ji鈥檃n), and Leng Lin (b. 1965, Beijing). These artists come from a generation marked by China鈥檚 shift from Communism as both an economic and political order to a nation with capitalist ideals and a Communist government operating simultaneously. Individually, each of PSFO鈥檚 members have enjoyed significant international solo careers. They formed this group with the stated intention of 鈥渟eeking collective form,鈥� exploring the idea of 鈥榳e鈥� in a 鈥榤e鈥� world to present a new, tongue-in-cheek Socialist order for the 21st century.
The forthcoming exhibition, Polit Sheer Form!, at the Queens Museum will feature signature artworks such as the PSFO insignia Badge (2005); propaganda oil paintings Polit-Sheer-Form (2007); Mr. Zheng (2007), a huge composite photographic portrait of all five PSFO members; the group鈥檚 own fake library with 10,000 carefully numbered books painted in blue but without content, Library (2008); and their most recent work, Fitness for All (2013), five exercise machines evoking the recent campaigns throughout the People鈥檚 Republic of China aimed at motivating society to pay more attention to its health.
A survey of the first decade of PSFO鈥檚 multidisciplinary projects, the Queens Museum exhibition will also include new works. As part of the exhibition, a performance titled Do the same good deed will beheld in New York City鈥檚 Times Square, after its presentation in Guangzhou, China and the Guangdong Times Museum. Both performances will be represented in the exhibition through video documentation, and both performances involve the participation of large numbers of volunteers in repetitious cleaning efforts in public space. The goal of this particular project is to test in different social contexts鈥擟hina and the U.S.鈥攚hether collectivism is a real social need or just a management tool. In American culture, individualism is a core value yet a new understanding of the need for the collective has emerged. Conversely, while collectivism has been a core Chinese value, there has been increasing interest in individual pursuits. Does 鈥渄oing a good deed鈥� arise naturally from human nature or is it an expression of ideology? What is the real content and meaning of collectivism (or collective organization)?
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