Today’s photos begin with the ‘Egg lady’.
As mentioned in the text about the Tianjin exhibition, this is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever assembled of Polish contemporary printmaking.
I had a great dinner last night with the people from the University. One of the staff is the foremost authority in old Chinese painting. He works mostly for private investors who want paintings authenticated before they buy. I would have liked to talk with him but he didn’t speak any English at all. The dinner was a typical Sichuan ‘Hotpot’. They bring you a hot bowl with broth and a fire underneath and then all sorts of food that you put in the broth to cook as you want. They bring vegetables, different meats, different kinds of mushrooms, fish, etc. We had shrimp and abalone but I had to leave the abalone alone because of allergies. They skewered the shrimp live and brought them to the table. I thought they were dead but they were wiggling when they hit the hot broth. Can’t get any fresher than that.
For those of you that have been waiting for photo of the Polish Print Exhibition I am afraid that I will have to let you share my disappointment. The exhibition was cancelled. The Sichuan University cannot afford the cost of transporting the art work from Tianjin to Chengdu. Granted it is expensive to ship 25 cubic meters of crates across China. If I would have known sooner I could have saved my friend in Tianjin a lot of stress and effort getting the prints wrapped and crated in record time so that the show could be on schedule.
So what happened? I believe that the people involved here in Chengdu did not fully appreciate the scope and size of this exceptional exhibition. As mentioned in the text about the Tianjin exhibition, this is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever assembled of Polish contemporary printmaking. It is very unfortunate that it will not be shown here as it would certainly bring attention to the already active art scene that is happening here in Chengdu. This setback doesn’t diminish my fascination with China or reduce my respect for the people that I have met here. Any artist or art teacher knows that when budgets are tight money for art events is cut first. I had a wonderful dinner with people from the University last night. In the back row going left to right, me and the foremost authority on old Chinese painting from Beijing (don’t remember Name), front row Prof. He Gong and Director/Professor Huang Zongxian. Yum!
Anyway here are some more photos. Even on short walks I always see something new. Today I saw some, ‘mericans wandering around near the Kentucky Fried Chicken place. I said hello but I think they were in shock to see another American. They waved.
Today’s photos begin with the ‘Egg lady’. She was selling pigeon eggs. There are shops here for eggs. They usually sell a few other things but it is obvious that their business is eggs. In one shop I counted no less than twelve different types of eggs, blue, blue with spots, yellow, white tan with spots, etc. Sizes range from the size of a large grape to goose eggs. I would like to know what they all are.
There is an amazing mish-mash of store signs. The ‘fishing collection store’ seemed to be misnamed but who am I to say. And the ‘Delicious house’ store was a cornucopia of diabolical, mouthwatering sweets. But I still think the ‘Philosophy Salon’ is my favorite.
Chengdu has quite a different atmosphere than Tianjin. The construction of new buildings here, as in Tianjin seems to be out of control but there is more of a California lifestyle. Things happen more slowly and with more consideration. The community of artists is much larger but unfortunately for me not so many printmakers. The cuisine is different much spicier and more exotic.
There seems to be a lot of money here in China. One sees a lot of Mercedes and Buick cars, mostly black with tinted windows. As you ride around on the bus you can see where the money comes from. The average people work like mad to make a living. They are very hard workers but the employers are making the money. In general everyone benefits but the economy is changing so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up with costs such as transportation, gas, etc. To do business here you really need to be here.
by Chris Nowicki April 9, 2011
