798 is an area of Beijing that used to be entirely composed of working factories. At some point the factories stopped factoring and artists began to take over the space using the old abandoned buildings as studios and eventually as galleries. Today the main features are the art galleries and souveneir shops. It's become pretty gentrified, I'd read about that online, but assumed the writers were exagerating a bit. They kind of weren't. It's unique gentrification and that might be worth seeing in its own right. And it was here that I came across the first (and only) bit of streetart in Beijing (or in all of China thus far) other than my own and other than the (very rare) tag or bomb.
This is a work of mine next to a Sakristan piece. Perhaps it's like a left/right brain switch, here the left is the more conscious side of man and the right is the less tech savy unconscious element encountered most readily in dream life.
I imagine it was the same for him when he painted here, crowds of tourists surrounded me taking pictures, none of them uttering a word, just me, smiling and attempting to say hello, making them blush and turn away, sometimes running away in giggles. Funny enough I've put up some work(s?) by Sakristan in the US, and we know some of the same people. Anyway, small world, no?
-correction, not him, but her, not he but she :D sorry! i r sometime the big idiot i have ever see
The infamous factory of art. The epicenter of Beijing's art world. . . Here we go adding a little dimension of street art or post-graffiti to the mix. About the only other streetartist (other than graffiti type) here is Sakristan. Wil have to put up images of that later. Using computers isnt as high on the priority list as painting for me :)
