| Wang Jun bid goodbye to Yunnan’s art scene in 2007, where he had worked for many years, with his performance piece Farewell Kunming. A year later, Wang came to Beijing, with his photos, on-site videos, and oil paintings. Performance art has been an accepted art form. When Wang combines ordinary events with his performance art in front of the public, the art form challenges people’s understanding of normality. In an age of materialism, money and power sometimes seem meager to common people, pseudo-artists, even professional artists. Through his performance art, Wang is asking: Who are we? What are we doing? His work triggers a greater question about where the boundary of art and morality is drawn. |  |
Ai Ai
Wang Jun bid goodbye to Yunnan’s art scene in 2007, where he had worked for many years, with his performance piece Farewell Kunming. A year later, Wang came to Beijing, with his photos, on-site videos, and oil paintings.
Performance art has been an accepted art form. When Wang combines ordinary events with his performance art in front of the public, the art form challenges people’s understanding of normality. In an age of materialism, money and power sometimes seem meager to common people, pseudo-artists, even professional artists. Through his performance art, Wang is asking: Who are we? What are we doing? His work triggers a greater question about where the boundary of art and morality is drawn. It is a responsibility that performance artists should carry, to be able to initiate direct dialogues between the public and society, unafraid of controversy and prohibition.
Not only is Wang dedicated to performance art, he is also involved in painting. His paintings demonstrate precision and skills that make him stand out in his fellow young artists. Wang’s paintings derive from his past performance pieces, but exude no sarcasm and anger found in the performance work. His paintings emanate a sense of happiness and innocence with candy colors that bring viewers back to their carefree childhoods. Wang’s style has once been described as that of popular cartoon or animation. It is a judgment that oversimplifies his work, his subjects, and techniques. The artist is not jumping on the bandwagon of pseudo-culture. This time Wang Jun is well prepared and he is determined to stay.
