Film Event: SEVEN INTELLECTUALS OF THE BAMBOO FOREST (2003-‐2007)
by Chinese artist YANG FUDONG
Shanghai-based artist YANG Fudong 杨 福 东 (born in Beijing, 1971) produced his seminal, five-part cinematic epic, Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, between 2003 and 2007. Conceived as an imaginative fusion of past and present, Yang's film resonates with the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of eccentrics who became a popular subject in traditional East Asian art, while simultaneously exploring how China's young urban generation navigates individualism, freedom, relationships and desires in a rapidly-shifting contemporary society. Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest poses universal questions about the dissonance between women and men, individuals and society, reality and utopia, past and present. Its haunting musical score and minimal dialogue that resists a clear narrative contribute to the film's dreamlike atmosphere. Yang draws upon avant-garde, film noir aesthetics as well as East Asian painterly traditions to craft his distinctive visual style, executed in 35-mm black and white film that he transfers to DVD.
Yang Fudong's work is rarely shown outside the context of a major museum exhibition. This special one-night engagement is the Cleveland debut of Seven Intellectuals of the Bamboo Forest, offering a special opportunity to experience these world-‐renowned films. The film's five parts run over four hours and are non-linear and non-sequential, each featuring a different setting. This event includes Part I (30 minutes) and Part IV (70 minutes).
Tickets available on show days or in advance at the museum box office, in person or by phone: (216) 421-7350 or 1-888-CMA-0033. Tickets also available online.
This event is supported by a Nord Grant from Case Western Reserve University's Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE). Additional support provided by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
