Art critic Gao Minglu organized the “Huangshan Conference” (originally named “1988 Chinese Contemporary Art Creative Forum”) at the Jiangxinzhou hotel in Tunxi, Huangshan, Anhui province. The conference was attended by hundreds of young art critics and theorists nationwide.
This work should be implemented by the involvement of the visitors. Without them, the work can’t be finished. The artist said that the original work was formerly designed for the ordinary people. But in 1988 this form coincided with the Yellow Mountain Meeting (a seminar prepared for the 1989 Art Exhibition). Among the materials sent by the organizing committee, he found a name list of the seminar. Then he sent the forms based on the list. Nearly half of the participants filled the forms as a usual practice. Actually only a few really treat it as an art piece, and most people saw the form as a witness of that meeting.
There were 33 original works, and 32 persons participated filling in: Zhu Mo, Liang Yue, Yin Shuangxi, Zhang Qiang, Wei Guangqing, Lin Chun, Liu Guanzhong, Li Bangyao, Hou Hanru, Ye Yongzhuan, Lv Peng, Li Jixiang, Ren Jian, Xian Xiaoyu, Song Haidong, Mao Xuhui, Liu Zijian, Wu Shanzhuan, Sun Ren, Caoyong, Fei Dawei, Wang Jiang, Wang Mingxian, Sheng Jun, Zhu Aiping, Liu Dianzhang, Wang Falin, Bao Jia, Xiao Feng, Liu Xiaochun, Shui Tianzhong, etcs. Currently, there are 6 original pages and 27 pages are printed scan copies (Original pages were collected by private collectors.) The form filling period was between October to November of 1988 during the “Huang Shan Mountain Conference”. As witness, every participant was given a certificate issued by artist Geng Jianyi.
When people asked if he thought this action work had succeeded in eliminating the “distance” that gave him concern, Geng Jianyi replied: “ On the one hand, the artists supported the realisation of my project by adding content to the form. On the other hand, as they read the work, what attracted a lot of people was looking for people they knew. It surprised me that this thing acquired historical significance of itself and as testimony to the Huangshan Conference and its events.”
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