Xu Bing

2 Aug 2010 - Yesterday I learned about the amazing work of Chinese artist Xu Bing. Born in Chongqing in 1955, Xu grew up in Beijing. At the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1975 he was sent to the countryside. Xu invented about 4,000 characters and hand carved them into wooden blocks. He then prints them on scrolls, creating an illusion of ancient Chinese art, but in fact using variations of the western alphabet. Please have a look at the attached work FEAR NOT and try to discover the words, and the signature of the artist on the right. Xu aims to demonstrate how the meaning of written text can easily be manipulated and challenges preconceptions of written art. Great artist!