The Emergence of a New Public Art in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong from 1990 to 2012

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with how two main genres of public art: traditional and 'new genre public art' evolved in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong between 1990 and 2012 in response to political, economic, spatial, social and cultural changes. Since 1990, Chinese public art has focused on traditional forms of public art and the relationship of public art to architecture and urban planning. Unique forms of public art and architecture, I argue, have also been emerging amidst a dynamic of unprecedented rapid urbanisation and the country's significant engagement with the global community. One example of this is the implementation of China's urbanisation policies, which have transformed the spatial structures of Chinese cities and the role of public art in the new urban landscape. Drawing on critical perspectives from public art, contemporary Chinese art, architecture and urban theories, this thesis presents an in-depth study of Chinese public art, including the non-material production of art, which involves public engagement. The investigation of Chinese public art has resulted in an expansion of the definition of new genre public art in consideration of the peculiarities of the Chinese experience, including in politically autonomous Hong Kong. The key argument of this thesis is that the development of Chinese public art during the last two and a half decades has not been dominated by a particular narrative, ideology or mode of production but, instead, is a consequence of varying responses to government policies and the changing political, social, cultural and economic environments in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.