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The Avant-Garde is Dead, Long Live the (Pop) Avant-Garde! Critical Reconfigurations in Contemporary Chinese Theatre

Ferrari, Rossella

Authors

Rossella Ferrari



Abstract

The article examines the trope of the “death of the avant-garde” in the context of contemporary Chinese theatre. It addresses comparable “death discourses” such as the so-called theatre crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s and critiques of “pseudo avant-gardism” that have been formulated with respect to the recent praxis of established experimentalists such as Beijing-based director and dramatist Meng Jinghui. The article argues that the Chinese avant-garde is not dead; it has, rather, evolved into a distinctive “pop avant-garde” mode that more aptly reflects and responds to the condition of Chinese society in times of market economy and cultural commoditization.

Citation

Ferrari, R. (2012). The Avant-Garde is Dead, Long Live the (Pop) Avant-Garde! Critical Reconfigurations in Contemporary Chinese Theatre. positions: asia critique, 20(4), 1127-1157. https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-1717690

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2012
Deposit Date Dec 5, 2012
Journal positions: asia critique
Print ISSN 1067-9847
Electronic ISSN 1527-8271
Publisher Duke University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 20
Issue 4
Pages 1127-1157
DOI https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-1717690
Keywords Chinese theatre; avant-garde; pop avant-garde; Meng Jinghui
Publisher URL http://positions.dukejournals.org/content/20/4.toc?etoc