CHINESE ARTISTS


I'm traditional! Brush and ink,
mountain and water (shan shui)

Modern artists are different

Mei Mei uses her body to challenge
state repression and terror,
exposing every dark little corner.
Dripping candle wax onto Cang Xin's
shoulders - tactile art.

Questioning society; couples tied together
like Siamese twins, yin and yangs
in the prison of marriage.

I'm classical: galloping horses,
goldfish and shrimps, clear and limpid

The avant-garde choose a different path

Zhang Dali sprays his head on Beijing's crumbling walls,
guerrilla graffiti artist, looking over his shoulder

aware of control and censorship.

I'm romantic, willows along the riverbank,
hard-working - face to the earth and back to the sky

traditional: monkey kings
and water margins, singsong girls
and peony pavilions.