Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change

102 The modern Russian protest movement and official retaliation against its leaders are examined in Alexander Korolkov, “Is the protest movement dead?” Russia Beyond the Headlines, January 15, 2015; this article is the source of quotes by Georgy Chizhov, Nikita Denisov, and Yelena Bobrova.

Their Irony, Humor (and Art) Can Save China

135 The phenomenal prices realized for the works of contemporary Chinese artists are reported in Nazanin Lankarani, “The many faces of Yue Minjun,” New York Times, December 5, 2012; Ian Johnson, “Some Chinese artists are testing their limits,” Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2009; and Eileen Kinsella, “Who are the top 30 Chinese artists at auction?” Artnet News, September 8, 2014.

135 The quotes from Lao Li (Li Xianting) come from Jackie Wullschager, “No more Chinese whispers,” Financial Times, October 2, 2004.

136 Quotes from Cao Fei and Huang Rui come from Christopher Beam, “Beyond Ai Weiwei: How China’s artists handle politics (or avoid them),” New Yorker, March 27, 2015.

136 The history of Chinese artist villages is explored in Angela Lin Huang, “Leaving the city: Artist villages in Beijing,” Media Culture Journal 14, no. 4 (August 2011). The quote from Li Wenzi comes from Zhu Linyong, “Art on the move,” China Daily, January 25, 2010.

136 Fang Lijun’s praise for Lao Li occurs in Andrew Cohen, “Off the page: Li Xianting,” Art Asia Pacific 71, November/December 2010.

136 The shuttering of the Beijing Independent Film Festival was reported in Jonathan Kaiman, “Beijing independent film festival shut down by Chinese authorities,” Guardian, August 24, 2014.

137 The ongoing ordeals of Yuanmingyuan “mayor” Yan Zhengxue are described in William Wan, “Chinese artist recounts his life, including the one time he painted ‘X’ on Mao’s face,” Washington Post, June 2, 2014.

137 Ma Liuming’s 1994 arrest and incarceration is noted in the artist’s biography, “Ma Liuming,” Chinese Contemporary, 2002, at http://chinesecontemporary.com.

137 The uproar over Zhu Yu’s video in the Fuck Off exhibition is described in Wullschager, op. cit.

137 The quote from Wang Peng comes from William Wan, “China tried to erase memories of Tiananmen. But it lives on in the work of dissident artists,” Washington Post, May 31, 2014.

137 Chen Guang’s work and the official reaction to it are described in Mallika Rao, “Five Chinese dissident artists who aren’t Ai Weiwei,” Huffington Post, June 10, 2014.

137 Dai Jianyong’s arrest is reported in Jamie Fullerton, “Chinese artist who posted funny image of President Xi Jinping facing five years in prison as authorities crackdown [sic] on dissent in the arts,” Independent, May 28, 2015.

137 The story of and quote from Zhao Zhao comes from Ulrike Knöpfel, “Risky business: China cracks down on Ai Wei Wei protégé Zhao Zhao,” Der Spiegel, August 28, 2012.

138 Wu Yuren is the subject of Arvind Dilawar, “Teatime with Big Brother: Chinese artist Wu Yuren on life under surveillance,” Vice, June 15, 2015. Wu’s exchange with his arresting officers relies on a November 4, 2015, personal communication via Ysabelle Cheung, Klein Sun Gallery, New York.

138 The description of the arrest and torture of Wang Zang and the quote from his wife come from Wan, op. cit. Tan Jianying’s observation on the limits to freedom of speech in modern China comes from Jack Chang, “Chinese art colony’s free-speech illusion shatters,” Asahi Shumbun, October 17, 2014.

139 Quotes from Xi Jinping and other PRC officials on the role of art and artists in society come from Fullerton, op. cit.

139 My discussion of Ai Weiwei’s work and Chinese officials’ response to it relies on Emily Rauhala, “Complete freedom, always just eluding the grasp of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei,” Washington Post, July 30, 2015. The quote “Chinese art is merely a product . . .” comes from Ai Weiwei, “Ai Weiwei: China’s art world does not exist,” Guardian, September 10, 2012; “They always stand on the side of power” comes from Beam, op. cit. The comment from the Beijing curator critical of Ai Weiwei comes from Wan, op. cit.

140 The anonymous Chinese curator’s and Ouyang Jianghe’s words come from Lankarani, op. cit.

The Artists of South Africa: Separate, and Equal

175 Observations on the South African art scene by National Gallery director Riason Naidoo come from Jason Edward Kaufman, “South Africa’s art scene is poised for a breakthrough—at home and abroad,” Huffington Post, February 19, 2013.