Description

In the early years of the Republic the revolutionary Cantonese brush-and-ink painter Gao Jianfu (1879-1951) presented Sun Yatsen, father of the Republic, with an essay in which he argued that porcelain manufacture would save the new nation. Important among Gao’s own porcelain designs was a dish painted with mantises devouring pupa, encircled by a rim ornamented with patterns of stylized fishes, flowers, and birds on a ground much like Japanese shibori tie-dyed textiles. The striking contrast of the decorative rim with the specimen-like insect depiction at the dish’s centre raises questions. How did the rim’s artificial lines mediate the naturalism of the insects to embody Gao’s radical conception of modern design – a design that was more than formal, but social and political as well? And what did it mean for the nation to see and touch insects on their patriotic porcelains? How, in short, was the dish designed and designing?

Lisa Claypool publishes widely on late imperial and Republican-era visual culture and design in China, and has curated and published a series of essays and interviews about contemporary art. She is currently at work on two projects: a book about the mediation of science through the ink brush in early 20th century China, and; an article about curatorial practices of contemporary artists in China.

本人在阿尔伯塔大学主要教授中国艺术方面的课程，并负责大学美术馆的中国古代绘画和艺术藏品的管理和展览. 主要研究方向包括十八世纪之后的中国艺术和现当代视觉文化。目前已有多篇关于博物馆、近现代艺术、展览学以及审美学的文章在重要学术刊物和会议出版物中发表。