The following article is from ARTSHARD艺术碎片 Author 艺术碎片

Gaining the artists’ trust by providing copyright for public art

Since March 2020, we curated a series of interviews on “2020 Compressed”, inviting art professionals, to focusing on keywords prevalent in the art profession including the age group of the art audience, artistic expansion, the boundary of the public, art collection and investment, new visions of the art museum, curatorial practice, the globalized artistic language, the state of young artists’ practice, online and offline events, artistic hubs, artistic and cultural hybrids etc., and continuing from 2019, to discuss the prospects of various professions in lieu of a compressed 2020. These are the issues everyone would have to address eventually.

For the sixth edition, we invite the founder of Art Pioneer Studio, Robin Wang to talk about how APS, as the main organizer for 2019 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season as the designated contractor for permanent public sculptures in Shanghai, negotiate with the municipal government and expand their works in detail, as well as the significance of public art in urban spaces today.

**At the same time, given the unripe development and mentality for public art in China, and the lack of general knowledge of art among the people, what has the state judgment and understanding of artists' works, from China and overseas for its permanent placement; the artists' assessment on the preserved former industrial areas in Binjiang, Yangpu District; and how APS guarantees the technical support for its architectural and artistic demands; and the management and maintenance for public artworks. **

ARTSHARD

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Robin Wong

(The Founder of Art Pioneer Studio)

Q:

For the permanent public art project of the 2019 Shanghai Urban Art Season, how has APS negotiated the meaning of public artworks in the urban context with the municipal government, and what kind of aspects convinced them that this project is meaningful?

Robin Wong:

We negotiated with the district government by providing specific examples such as the Munster Sculpture Exhibition in Germany and Echigo-Tsunami Art Triennale in Japan. Some works of art from these international events became part of the permanent installation in these respective cities. We would analyze how they came to be: their investment and outcome, the kind of transformation these permanent art installations continue to have on society, the city, and rural areas. We compared the foot traffic of each art season, the increase in GDP, and the region's economic growth. The government's spending on permanent art installations is aimed at allowing art to effect lasting impact on the entire society and city. Hence, in our communication on the proposal, they asked a series of detailed questions, and we consolidated more detailed materials to analyze and answer their questions, which has proven effective. On multiple occasions, we communicated with the government, and they discovered that the public artworks are closely integrated with the architecture and the environment, so these various components resonate with each other.

I come with a background in architecture and have been involved in various types of real estate development projects, big, small, or high end. Over the last decade, as urban construction advances, the quality of public spaces has also improved. I think art should also be integrated into urban development, so gradually, we became involved in a cross-disciplinary endeavor – connecting architecture, planning, urban development, and art. In the past, we didn't know where to look for artists, how to execute a work of art, neither was the art world interested in collaborating with real estate developers and city planners, so there has been very little connection and integration between them. In this sense, it's necessary to talk about urban development and planning with the art professionals, and vice versa, I hope I can fulfill the role that bridges them together. In this process, I am continually learning about art.

Q:

We know that the development and understanding of public art in China or even the general public's knowledge of art remain rudimentary, how has the government body assess or perceive the list of international artists you have provided, and what kind of feedback have you received?

Robin Wong:

The city of Shanghai has its definitive style, be it the people who live here or the government bodies tend to be relatively open-minded, so we came up with a list that included artists from both China and overseas. For which, we divided them into three parts, the first consists of top international artists; the second, blue-chip Chinese artists; and the third, artists known both in China and overseas.

Frankly, the government had little knowledge of the artists we have chosen from China or overseas, other than Yayoi Kusama and Cai Guo-Qiang from the initial proposal, who could not participate due to schedule conflicts. We’ve spent a lot of time introducing artists such as Richard Wilson, Felice Varini, José de Guimarães, Song Dong, Liu Jianhua, Xu Zhen, and other artists. With our detailed introduction to the artists' biographies, the awards they have received, institutional collections, solo exhibitions, group exhibition, their respective practices, the government gradually gained an understanding. On our second and third meeting discussions, they began to assign artists to the specific locations, and eventually decide on the final artist and his/her work out of three candidates. In fact, the selection process has been opened to the public and transparent throughout. An academic committee was established, chaired by scholar Zheng Shiling, and experts in urban planning and architecture such as Wu Jiang, Yu Sijian, Zhao Baojing, and art professionals such as Wang Dawei and Ding Yi have provided valuable advice. Other than the Chinese artists, the list also includes artists from 12 different countries.

Q:

From the works of art by artists you have selected, they have given careful thoughts on the context of public artwork, and eventually chose the site suitable to their idea and practice. For the Binjiang shoreline in Yangpu District, where the permanent public project of the 2019 Shanghai Urban Art Season was executed, how have these artists deliberated and implemented their proposals? Moreover, how have you guaranteed the technical support for both the architectural and artistic demands?

Robin Wong:

Initially, we weren’t sure. When the artists visited and discovered the environment of Binjiang in Yangpu District – a somewhat wild place in the city center, where a former industrial area is located in proximity to the urban center. Before their arrival, we had sufficient preparation, inviting them on behalf of a government project, and providing a description and detailed materials in a letter. Once they’ve acquainted with all the content, we sought out their advice and invited them to shanghai for a site visit.

Usually, we'd choose a few locations for each artist to visit. Sometimes, they would prefer a location off-site, which we also tried to accommodate. Perhaps the conditions of the original sites were not conveyed thoroughly, some of the proposals had to be redone. With these cases, we gained experiences later on that we need to communicate with the artist in the best possible way, rather than worrying about the limitations on the physical conditions of the sites.

Once the artists handed in their proposal, we passed them on to the academic committee. Although some artists have provided us a drawing of their plan, we asked our architect and engineers to make new drawings accordingly, provide translated the proposals from Japanese and English to Chinese, clarify the story behind each plan, and then report them to the academic committee. This is a complicated but regulated process, we did not omit any step in this process, so the time production for the works on permanent locations would be prolonged. However, if the initial works were not done correctly, the rest would be unable to carry on.

This kind of project indeed involves both artistic and architectural disciplines. It requires more applications and approval, execution procedure and sophisticated production in terms of architectural planning and detailed procedure, in comparison to artistic practice, how to choose the artists, how to deepen it, where and how to produce the work; the work of art, in comparison to architecture, emphasizes on the beginning to end process, unlike the construction in architecture, its control on the production of the work is comprehensive. Otherwise, the artist would not sign the artwork, and we are required to provide a certificate of the artwork. The most critical issue for this kind of public art project is copyright, and we need to have the correct understanding of the copyright of such permanent public art, only then would the artists have confidence in you.

Q:

For a permanent public art project at this scale, the first supported by the government, how have you guaranteed the management and maintenance of the artworks upon completion?

Robin Wong:

Once the work of art is completed and installed, the artist would be primarily concerned with possible damage, cleanliness, or displacement. Once the works of art are installed and handed over, we would provide the property owner an Artwork Management Booklet, including how to clean the work, how long it should be cleaned, and in case of damages, what to do… etc. In the copyright agreement, the artist and the property owner would agree with, for instance, the Yangpu District Planning and Natural Resource Bureau of Shanghai would be the owner of the original artwork, and it holds the exhibition right of the original work; the artist, as the creator of the work, has the copyright. In cases involving commercial engagement of the work, both parties should negotiate otherwise; the original work owner may demand the artist to ascertain the uniqueness of the participating artwork, etc.

Q:

Do you think this endeavor would ameliorate the public's understanding of public art or art in general?

Robin Wong:

I think the Chinese public's understanding of public art requires a long process, as long as we continue to insert them into the people's living environment, it would be recognized and accepted. Actually, there are many visitors to Binjiang in Yangpu District, and they would see these artworks, from which we would pass on the public feedback to the government. When we execute the artwork proposal, we would diminish the height and depth of the art and lean toward the intriguing and spatially appealing works. We hope the public would become curious at first glance, rather than to understand it, or becomes a controversial subject of discussion, perhaps it is different from what art institutions emphasize in their curatorial practice.