Italian photographer Chiara Goia travelled to Dong Cheng, a small village in China where artists are responsible for producing imitations of renowned classical sculptures. I ache for the irony, the beauty and the bizarre nature of these images. For me, the artist’s statement below says it all:Dong Cheng, in China, is a village where every commercial activity turns around the reproduction of more or less famous sculptures. In this context, the creators of these “fakes” assume a marginal position and then almost disappear behind the “real” authors that they copy. Even more oddly, they end up blending with the same reproductions they have been molding and portraying. Reproductions of something that is already reproducing something else. A person in most of the cases. What is “fake”? Couldn’t we define these people “artists”? Aren’t the hands and the craft of these living sculptors, who are fullfilling a very physical and tangible job, making these objects? What is the boundary between art/craft/reproduction/fake? In Dong Cheng this borderline seems to vanish and shade to the eyes. Nothing is completely legitimate, or fully illicit.Interesting, no. What do you think? [Images courtesy of the artist. Discovered via Designboom.] Share the love:FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPinterest 6 Responses Jill January 16, 2014 artist or craftsman? isn’t the real question about the exploitation of these men who are working in conditions that endanger their health? Reply Ari January 16, 2014 Craftsmen Reply 2moiselles January 16, 2014 Incredible !! No surprising that’s happening in China! Reply Jessica January 17, 2014 Like most factories in China no ventilation, no masks . . . terrible, in-humane conditions! Reply Lauren January 17, 2014 Such breathtakingly beautiful images. Fascinating. I suppose that these classical sculptures have been copied by many artists over the centuries. Wasn’t this how artists learn from the masters during the Renaissance and the classical style spread throughout Europe? I suppose nobody does copies as blatently as the Chinese. Love it! Reply Installation Art and Set Design 2014 Archive | Yellowtrace December 30, 2014 […] Bags By Vilde Rolfsen. 24 | Design Free Thursday // Real Surreal Photography By Ben Zank. 25 | Design Free Thursday // Photos Of Chinese Artists Reproducing Classical Sculptures. 26 | Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze Captures Dizzying Heights Of Hong Kong. 27 | Surreal Portraits By […] ReplyLeave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ
Jill January 16, 2014 artist or craftsman? isn’t the real question about the exploitation of these men who are working in conditions that endanger their health? Reply
Jessica January 17, 2014 Like most factories in China no ventilation, no masks . . . terrible, in-humane conditions! Reply
Lauren January 17, 2014 Such breathtakingly beautiful images. Fascinating. I suppose that these classical sculptures have been copied by many artists over the centuries. Wasn’t this how artists learn from the masters during the Renaissance and the classical style spread throughout Europe? I suppose nobody does copies as blatently as the Chinese. Love it! Reply
Installation Art and Set Design 2014 Archive | Yellowtrace December 30, 2014 […] Bags By Vilde Rolfsen. 24 | Design Free Thursday // Real Surreal Photography By Ben Zank. 25 | Design Free Thursday // Photos Of Chinese Artists Reproducing Classical Sculptures. 26 | Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze Captures Dizzying Heights Of Hong Kong. 27 | Surreal Portraits By […] Reply