Meishu sichao

[Trends in Aesthetics]

Art journal

A bi-monthly journal of art criticism established in Wuhan in November 1984 by the Hubei branch of the Chinese Artists’ Association, Meishi sichao was closed down for political reasons in December 1987. Its stated purpose was to ‘master the changes in art theory at home and abroad, introduce and promote enterprising contemporary artists, and diagnose and advise on art’s social maladies’. It advocated destroying the regionalism of art criticism and emphasized openness in critical discussion. The chief editor was art theorist Peng De, with Zhou Shaohua and Lu Muxun as deputy editors.

Meishu sichao was a lively publication where artists and theorists shared equal status and could hold theoretical debates on their own terms.

While providing space for critics to write about specific critical approaches, it also allowed artists to articulate the theoretical side of their work with little editorial restraint, so that some articles would become semi-metaphorical forays in theory, criticism and creative writing. Directed towards peers rather than the general public, it published important articles by leading artists of the 85 New Wave [Art] Movement such as Wang Guangyi, Gu Wenda, Huang Yongping, Wu Shanzhuan and Mao Xuhui. The sixth issue of 1987 was remarkable for its collection of articles produced by the editors of all the main art magazines of the time: Meishu [Fine Arts], Zhongguo meishubao [Fine Arts in China], Jiangsu huakan [Jiangsu Pictorial] and Xin meishu [New Art]. It became an important forum for focusing on the domestic development of art and criticism and was arguably the most important periodical in terms of debating new ideas.

EDUARDO WELSH