Make the Time: Xu Bing at the Blanton

Contemporary Chinese artist Xu Bing’s groundbreaking work of art, Book from the Sky, currently is on view at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, TX. Belonging to a group of artists who emerged from the Cultural Revolution with an interest in Western art as well as an appreciation for traditional Chinese culture, Xu Bing created art that is critically acclaimed around the world for its commentaries on power, language, and perception.

For Book from the Sky, Xu Bing invented 4,000 Chinese characters, carved them into woodblocks, and used them to print in books and on scrolls that are laid out on the floor and hung from the ceiling and walls. The work of art conveys traditional Chinese wisdom, yet it is completely indecipherable. The installation is a reminder that language and meaning easily are manipulated.