Hard times for artist colony

To the 2,000 artists living in Songzhuang, one of the most famous artist colonies in China, these are hard times.

"Most of the artists here make their living with oil paintings," said Wu Qiuming, a 46-year-old artist who enjoys a certain reputation in the community. "Oil is a medium used primarily in western art, so most of our collectors are foreigners. With the global recession, we are getting fewer commissions from the West."

Wu now asks 30 to 50 percent less for his creations, even though he stopped short of giving actual figures.

However, the economic recession is not the sole reason for the drop-off, according to Li Hailin, a painting teacher.

"Ostensibly, it's blamed on the economic crisis. In fact, it shows the inadequacies of China's oil painting market," Li said. "Just like the economy, the oil-painting market here got overheated. It's the time for an adjustment. "

"Unlike traditional Chinese painting which has established price ranges - from $10 million to several hundred - with oil paintings, there are no such categories. The best oil painting can fetch as much as the most expensive traditional Chinese paintings, but there are no categories for paintings which may be worth less, so it is difficult for these artists to sell their works," Li said.

Nevertheless, in recent years artists have flocked to Songzhuang in the eastern suburbs of Beijing, in hopes of earning fame and fortune, ever since the town of 70,000 became China's center of contemporary art.

Yet Wu said only 5 percent of painters in the community become known and wealthy, while 25 percent could earn enough to live and the majority fall by the wayside.

"Generally, 30 percent of the 2,000-plus painters here will leave with nothing in their pockets every year, and then the gap is filled by newcomers," Wu said.

Regarding that 30 percent, said another painter, Wan Li: "They just came to try their luck with a couple of drawings, which probably were created with little inspiration."

One concern, Wan said, is the cost of living for artists in Songzhuang.

"Living expenses have increased a lot, especially rent," Wan said. "Artists have to sell as quickly as possible to meet their daily expenses, especially after their savings are depleted. If they can't they have to leave."

To pare down extra expenses, many artists are trying to rent smaller rooms for both living and for their studios. Wan said he moved into a smaller house at the end of last year. His new rent is $1,470 a year, a savings of $2,941. Wu also moved to cheaper quarters.

The increase in rents has caused more disputes between artists and local villagers. A villager, who would only give his surname Wang, said he can't abide the work of some of the performance artists.

"I don't like some of those performances, especially when they get nude," Wang said. "People like me are mostly villagers. We are not that avant-garde like young people in big cities who can understand or at least put up with this kind of performance art," he added.

Meanwhile, artists are taking umbrage at art exhibitions held in Songzhuang that charge up to $735 for a booth.

"We artists have contributed significantly to Songzhuang's status so we should not be charged for exhibiting our works," said Wu. "Besides, the number of visitors to the exhibitions has declined greatly in this economic downturn, let alone interested buyers. "

As an alternative, artists are now taking their creations to the streets to attract buyers.

Ai Fuquan paraded his paintings on a tricycle around Xiaopu Commercial Plaza, where most of the art galleries in the community are located. His other works were displayed on a board, or simply laid flat on the ground with pebbles holding down the corners of the paintings.

Ai's prices ranged from $1,470 to $ 4,411. He said his paintings were worth the money, but admitted that his hopes of selling any were slim.

Fellow painter Yang Ling said she hasn't sold a single canvas on streets in the last two months.

(China Daily 04/13/2009 page6)