Understanding the House of Oracles

I admit that I did not plan to do much more than have a cursory look around the House of Oracles, a retrospective of Chinese artist Huang Yong Ping at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I am suspicious of conceptual artists in general, in the if-you-can't-see-it-you-must-not-get-it manner of the Emperor's New Clothes and I am Vancouveriste enough to think that art is better without animals in it - taxidermied or caged.

So I had my doubts. But I can't even say that I was pleasantly surprised - I was blown away.

When you enter the exhibit, you have a choice between a door marked "Nationals" and one marked "Others" which sets up the divide between Us and Them, Eastern and Western, Ancient and Modern. These dichotomies seem to be as integral to Yong Ping's work as the large scale size is.

There is The Nightmare of George V (which seems to be on every exhibition poster) of a tiger attacking an empty palanquin on an elephant and which examines perhaps more than any other piece, the ides of the West (in this piece terrified and absent) versus the East (portrayed here as both tamed and terrifying). There is Bat Project IV which is a piece of a fighter jet filled with taxidermied bats, documents and photographs, and there is the House of Sand, Sand of Bank which is a giant, disintegrating replica of a bank made out of sand. And they are all enormous. And important. And still very beautiful.

My favorite pieces were tucked out of the way, however. I spent more time than I could spare pouring over Travel Guide for 2000-2042 which is a slice of globe unfurled and pinned with hundreds of flags indicating events on a time line. Because most of these events take place in the future, the divination and mysteries of the Oracles comes into play here, but even the events that have already happened ("4 species go extinct" - from 2002) seem to have a magical distance to them.

The House of Oracles brings it all together, showing the artist as master of his domain, owner of ideas and creator of mysteries. The House of Oracles is not an Oracle in the classic sense, but a workshop incorporating the I Ching (Book of Changes) and other systems of divination in a tent that is an artist's studio, but looks more like a craftsman's workspace. I like this piece very much, even though my suspicion about conceptual artists flares briefly, because it invites the viewer in (literally) and expounds the idea that even though there may be the mysteries of the Oracles and chance, we ourselves may also have a hand in them.

Some pieces do seem clever for their own sake - Dust, Manuscript Goes Through The Wall and The History of Chinese Painting and the History of Modern Western Art Washed in the Washing Machine for Two Minutes - or at least for me are not beautiful enough in their own right to stand there endlessly figuring out the significance of the piece. But they are scant in this exhibit. Beauty abounds.

Huang Yong Ping's wife, contemporary artist Shen Yuan has an exhibit at the Centre A Gallery as well, so you can examine the forces and ideas at work between these 2 creative entities. The show runs until May 5th.

Photo is Huang Yong Ping in front of his exhibit at the VAG, courtesy of Hank Bull, Director of Centre A Gallery. Thanks to the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, for posting the entire collection online. Something the VAG needs to aspire to.

There are also a series of lectures being offered that may help with unraveling the mysteries of the oracles:

Public Lecture with Dr. Paul Crowe
Tuesday, May 15th at 7 PM
Join Dr. Paul Crowe, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and the Asia-Canada Program at Simon Fraser University, to explore the roots of divination in Chinese culture and philosophy and examine the implications of this rich worldview in the work of Huang Yong Ping. Free with Gallery admission.

Special Tours with Dr. Paul Crowe
Thursday, July 19th at 7 PM
Sunday, July 29th at 2 PM
Sunday, September 9th at 2 PM
Dr. Paul Crowe explores Chinese philosophy and culture in the work of Huang Yong Ping in three tours of House of Oracles. Free with Gallery admission.

Gallery Conversation with Kreig LeBlanc
Sunday, August 19th at 2 PM
Insect and reptile specialist Kreig LeBlanc reveals the amazing world of tarantulas, hissing cockroaches, African millipedes and more in the art of Huang Yong Ping. Free with Gallery admission.

(This one may end up being cancelled now that the animals have been removed from the exhibit - stay tuned).