.
Zhang Bingjian in his Beijing studio in front of his Hall of Fame
A Portrait Of Chinese Corruption, In Rosy Pink
by Louisa Lim /NPR
by Louisa Lim /NPR
29 July 2012
At an artist's studio in Beijing, dozens of pink-tinted portraits hang in neat lines: beaming men in ties and glasses, the very picture of the archetypal Communist apparatchik. Their portraits are painted rosy pink — the color of money, or at least China's 100-yuan bill.
The collection of paintings is called the Hall of Fame. But in fact it's a wall of shame: Each is a Chinese official found guilty of corruption.
The gallery of rogues is the brainchild of artist and filmmaker Zhang Bingjian. So far, he has commissioned 1,600 portraits of corrupt Chinese cadres.
"This is the beauty of the piece," he says. "It's open-ended. You don't know when it will be finished. Probably 10,000, 100,000, who knows? ... There are many new famous people coming every day."
The collection of paintings is called the Hall of Fame. But in fact it's a wall of shame: Each is a Chinese official found guilty of corruption.
The gallery of rogues is the brainchild of artist and filmmaker Zhang Bingjian. So far, he has commissioned 1,600 portraits of corrupt Chinese cadres.
"This is the beauty of the piece," he says. "It's open-ended. You don't know when it will be finished. Probably 10,000, 100,000, who knows? ... There are many new famous people coming every day."
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA