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

Ferrari, Rossella

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