`China Design Now'

Abstract

This article draws from cultural studies, political theory, international relations, art history and museum studies in order to consider `China Design Now' — the blockbuster exhibition, recently held at the V&A. It argues that, despite the inclusion of a number of interesting exhibits, the attempt to frame contemporary Chinese design independently of political contextualization has led to an exhibition which is largely unsatisfying. The approach taken by the V&A is further shown to have produced several ironic outcomes. First, by attempting to avoid `contentious' political issues, the museum has, in fact, forced the `political' to the fore. Second, by taking such an approach, the V&A demonstrates that it has failed to understand the essentially political nature of the design problem. Third, it has produced an exhibition which appears to advocate a (highly political) neoliberal agenda — one which insists on an inexorable drive towards greater global economic integration. Finally, it has failed to mention its own embeddedness within larger strategies of `cultural diplomacy' and the significance of such strategies for international relations and for cultural production. As well as drawing on a range of relevant literature, the article makes direct reference to exhibition wall texts, exhibit labels and quotations from the catalogue in order to support its argument.

“Text, Textiles andTechnê”: On the Barthesian Myth of the T-shirt

“…To understand this idea of the (sur)face of the T-shirt, let us first consider the discussion of the British art theorist Bernadette Buckley (2008). Buckley, while reviewing the art exhibition China Design Now at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) London in 2008, draws attention to an exhibited artwork of the "new generation" Chinese artist Ji Ji.…”

“…In this respect, Ji's T-shirts are seen to impose a very particular political rationalization for the V&A's exhibition theme "China Design Now." As Buckley summarizes at the end of her text, reflecting on the statement by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, "[f]or politics, not as a rational debate between multiple interests, but (as Rancière proves against Habermas) as the struggle for one's voice to be heard as a legitimate partner, must be acknowledged as intrinsic to exhibitions" (Buckley, 2008: 350; see also Rancière, 2004: 69-70).…”