The Problems Faced By China In Relation To The Loss Of Cultural Heritage
(The Institute of Art and Law held a seminar "CARING AND SHARING: LEGAL AND MORAL IMPERATIVES FOR THE RETURN OF CULTURAL PROPERTY" in London on December 8th 2001. Mr.He Shuzhongof CHW attended the seminar and had a talk. This is the bullet points of the talk.)
Cultural Heritage Watch (CHW) thanks very much for the invitation of IAL to attend the seminar in UCL and the regarding on the cultural heritage in China. Before the talking about the problems faced by China, I must point out that many people in China are doing their best for the heritage. I am looking forward to have chance to talk about their hard work. On the problems faced by China in relation to the loss of cultural heritage, the paper 'The Mainland's Environment and the Protection of China's Cultural Heritage¡± published in 'Art Antiquity and Law¡± (also could be found in "General Comments" of this website) had introduced the situation. Below are the bullet points on some new movements.
1, There are at least four special backgrounds in China related to the loss of cultural heritage:
1), 'Great development in West China¡± is one of the major tasks in China now. Many very large projects now are planning to be constructed in the very large areas which are full of ancient cultural sites. According to our investigation, as usual at least about 80% heritage in the project areas will be lost because of the construction. The project of Three Gorges Reservoir is one of such projects.
2), Almost all the city and town in China hope to be much more large and new. During the rebuilding, most of local heritage are lost. For example, Beijing's flag for the 2008 Olympic Game is 'Great Olympic, New Beijing¡±. Now Beijing is changing everyday. I am sure that if there is no strong voice on the stop Beijing will be only a new city embellished with very less traditional or ancient building in 2008.
3), Tourism is more and more important for the economy of China. More and more heritage sites can not bear the too busy tourism. More and more heritage sites are rebuilt for tourism. More and more illicit excavation are under the name of tourist expedition.
4), China has entered WTO. Many people think WTO means free market including free antiquity market, WTO means no illicit traffic could be called illicit traffic. The four special backgrounds themselves do not damage local cultural heritage. However, because of the lacking education and training, because of the poor legal and administration system, the four backgrounds are promoting the loss.
2, There are at least eight points below I have to say on the illicit traffic and the return:
1), More people than before both from the national authorities and local authorities think the return is too expensive and, the return not only has no relationship with the protecting cultural heritage but also damage the good relationship with some famous museums and dealers.
2), More people than before from the authorities have more close relationship with more foreign dealers. Such relationship makes the stop of illicit traffic and the return more difficult.
3), More museums than before collect illicit excavated archaeological materials. I do not know which famous museum has not collected such property, however, I know all the top 10 museums do that. And, someone from the museums also become the cooperators of the illicit excavator after the museums collect such property.
4), Most people from the authorities and most people of ICOM China Committee think it is helpful for the protection of cultural heritage if museum collects illicit excavated archaeological materials.
5), More illegal traffic through Internet than before. Using Internet in China now is very easy. More people than before get the information by Internet then send the property abroad by local post office.
6), The media on promoting the illegal traffic and sympathizing the illegal excavation sometimes is stronger than the media on promoting the stopping.
7), Taiwan becomes one of the centers on the illicit traffic. It makes the return more difficult because of the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland.
8), The purpose of illegal excavation and traffic in some areas is not only for money, and is related with different culture relationship. Thank you for your attention. http://www.culturalheritagewatch.org/
From: "M.M.R. -" malecord@servidor.unam.mx Subject:
wooden sculpture stolen from church in Mexico
I am reporting the theft of a polychrome gilded sculpture of the XVIII C from the Church of San Francisco in San Luis Potosí in México. It has been reported to the local police and to afterwards to Interpol but they did this few days after the theft was dicovered. This happened on the 18th of december. It is a 60cm sculpture done between 1740 and 1725 representing San Francisco de Asis. Reports indicate that there was a foreigner taking pictures to this piece before the absence of this object was noticed missing.
M.Morales
By HOLLAND COTTER
MUSEUMS in New York City have been hurting since Sept. 11. With the big drop in tourism, attendance at some museums is down by as much as 40 percent. So there is a lot of scrambling going on: shows have been canceled and jobs have been cut.
full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/21/arts/design/21COTT.html
(You will need to register -free of charge- with the New York Times)
Gallery council man quits in protest
By GABRIELLA COSLOVICH Saturday 22 December 2001
A member of the National Gallery of Australia council yesterday resigned in protest at the reappointment of gallery director Brian Kennedy, saying the decision was made against council wishes.
full story: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/2001/12/22/FFXA1SFUGVC.html
Enron collapse is blow to US art world
Energy company supported Texas museums, the Guggenheim and contemporary art
By David D’Arcy
NEW YORK. As the Enron Corporation, that achieved its tremendous growth (on paper) by trading in units of energy, plans to auction off pipelines and energy assets to stay alive, other property that could come on the block includes its art collection. The fate of the company's collection is unclear and depends on the courts that are now overseeing much of Enron's affairs. Recent acquisitions included sculptures by Claes Oldenberg, Martin Puryear and Donald Judd, all of which could bring high six-figure prices at auction. "These could be among the few good investments the company ever made," joked Harley Baldwin of Baldwin Gallery in Aspen. The firm's collapse is also expected to abort its ambitious projects for site-specific commissions in Houston that were to be part of its expanded headquarters. One of these was a light installation by Olafur Eliasson on a circular walkway connecting Enron's two buildings in downtown Houston. The latest of those buildings is a 40-storey tower by Cesar Pelli.
Enron had also envisaged a video installation by Bill Viola on one of that building's trading floors.
Most of Enron's art-buying was for its new building. In charge of acquisitions was Lee Fastow, wife of Enron's chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, who is now under investigation for possible criminal activities in his management of Enron's finances. As a couple, the Fastows also collected privately, as did other Enron executives, who helped fuel a growing market in Houston.
Mrs Fastow, who worked with her own team within the company, recruited two expert volunteer advisers, the former de Menil Foundation director Ned Rifkin (newly appointed head of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC), and the curator Barry Walker of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The Enron's founder, Kenneth Lay, was an enthusiastic participant at meetings where its art plans were discussed, said Walker. The Art Newspaper telephoned Mrs Fastow's home and her supervisor at Enron, Mike McConnell, but our calls were not returned.
One of a number of New York dealers with whom Lee Fastow dealt was Sandra Gering, whose gallery in Chelsea sells the work of John F. Simon, Matthew McCaslin, and Xavier Veilhan. Ms Gering asked that the names of the artists whose work she sold to Mrs Fastow and her husband not be mentioned, as did other dealers who sold art to the couple; the collectors would be back, buying again, dealers predicted.
Ms Gering noted that Mrs Fastow’s taste in contemporary art was for newer and edgier work than that of her colleagues, and it began to typify the taste of the corporation. "They took more risks," said Ms Gering.
Enron had also begun to buy art at auction, an atypical approach for a corporation, but a move that reflected the firm's swagger. In the past year, it bought a Martin Puryear sculpture at Sotheby's and a 1967 Claes Oldenberg sculpture, "Soft Light Switches." Both were intended for the company's new building, but construction delays prevented them from being installed.
Museums stepped in and put them on view, the Puryear went to the Menil, where it is on view with a group of Rothko paintings, according to Mrs Rifkin. The Oldenberg was loaned to the Houston MFA.
Enron supported the arts throughout Houston with Texas-size largesse. Last year, the firm gave $12 million to local charities, about one percent of its annual pre-tax revenues of $110 billion. (The firm spent a mere $2.1 million on political lobbying in Washington. The firm was Bush's biggest campaign donor in 2000 and loaned the candidate one of its airplanes.)
Enron sponsored exhibitions at the Houston MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) devoted to Star Wars, and other shows of Russian jewellery and decorative arts and Chinese archaeology. It also made a substantial contribution to the Houston MFA's recent capital campaign.
Enron also underwrote the Frank Gehry retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York last spring, but sank before Thomas Krens could add them to his list of major corporate supporters. At the Houston MFA, director Peter Marzio, who, while not defending any of the firm's suspected misdeeds, viewed Enron's present situation with regret. "They were one of the most generous of givers, even for operating funds‹the hardest money to find. Until now, they were the ideal corporate patron." Such sympathy is now hard to find among the firm's former employees and its stockholders, who include the Belfer family, benefactors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who lost a reported $2 billion in Enron's collapse.
"The only hope is that their commitment will be picked up by a company that has their same sense of community responsibility. It's not the job of a corporation to give away money," said Peter Marzio. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/
Seas eating away at country’s monuments
Christine Grant
SCOTLAND’S prized historical landmarks are crumbling into the sea as rising tides and relentless storms, brought about by global warming, eat away at the coastline.
Researchers have warned that more than 12,000 forts, castles and other archaeological sites which stand along Scotland’s shoreline are disappearing into the sea.
more:
http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1722982001