Yang Fudong: Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest | Asia Society

Yang Fudong: Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest

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A diverse group of seven individuals standing or sitting on rocks amidst a lush forest, surrounded by trees and natural scenery.

Yang Fudong. Scene from Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, Part I, 2003. Single-channel video with sound; 35mm black-and-white film transferred to DVD. Duration: 29 minutes, 22 seconds. Asia Society, New York: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold and Ruth Newman, 2011.24. Photo courtesy of ShangART Gallery, Shanghai, and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York. Digital image © Yang Fudong

Asia Society Museum is showing Yang Fudong’s Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, in its entirety as a prelude to the upcoming exhibition, (Re)Generations: Rina Banerjee, Byron Kim, and Howardena Pindell amid the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Collection, opening in March. The work follows seven young men and women on journeys in search of their identities and ideal lives, reflecting the many urban, ideological, and economic transformations across China today.

In 2003, Yang Fudong produced the first part of his five-part film; one part of the film was created each year (in sequential order), and the entire work was finished in 2007. The work has no clear narrative, although each part takes place in a different setting. Some parts take place in a rural environment, while others are set in cities. The film poses questions about the dissonance between men and women, individuals and society, the past and present, and reality and an ideal world.

Each part was originally shot in 35mm film, which was then transferred to DVD. Yang prefers to shoot in film, as opposed to digital video, as he believes that film retains a strong sense of the artist’s touch, which digital videos often lack. The five parts differ in length, ranging from approximately thirty to seventy minutes; the total running time amounts to about four hours.

Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest was first screened at the 2007 Venice Biennale, receiving high praise. Asia Society Museum acquired the work in 2011.

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Daily Showings, Tuesday–Sunday

Part I: 11:15 a.m.  
Duration: 29 minutes, 22 seconds

Part II: 11:50 a.m.
Duration: 46 minutes, 15 seconds

Part III: 12:40 p.m.
Duration: 53 minutes

Part IV: 1:40 p.m.
Duration: 70 minutes

Part V: 2:55 p.m.
Duration: 90 minutes
Part V ends at 4:25 p.m.

Introduction
Two woman stand apart and parallel to each other in a muddy, watery plain, flanked by trees and mountains are in the distance. Between the two women is a standing sculpture of a bull make of what looks like thick-gauge-metal tubing with moss hanging from it. there are two striped hors mounted on the head.

Yang Fudong. Scene from Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest Part III, 2005. Single-channel video with sound; 35mm black-and-white film transferred to DVD. Duration: 53 minutes. Asia Society, New York: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold and Ruth Newman, 2011.24. Photo courtesy of ShangART Gallery, Shanghai, and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York. Digital image © Yang Fudong

This five-part black-and-white video is a cinematic masterpiece that marries history and contemporary concerns. The work references historical figures, the Seven Sages, third-century Chinese intellectuals who distanced themselves from government service in favor of a life of Daoist reflection, and can be seen as a universal model for defying the times in which one lives. Replacing the historical seven intellectuals with young urban professionals, the work spans urban and rural environments and poses questions about the individual and society, man and woman, the past and the present, and reality and utopia. 

Part I alludes most directly to the historical Seven Sages; in this part the seven people wander the misty Yellow Mountain, a centuries­-long Daoist and tourist site. While they first appear naked, they later dress themselves in business attire. Part II mostly takes place in an apartment in Shanghai, where the young intellectuals ruminate on existential topics such as life, death, sexuality, and desire. Part III sees the intellectuals return to the countryside, with the men ploughing the field with an ox and the women wandering about. Part IV eschews a conventional narrative, presenting the intellectuals alternately as hardworking fishermen and travelers on a desolate fishing island, their discourse mirroring the Daoist practice of qingtan, or pure conversation, as the Seven Sages once did. Finally, Part V takes on an increasingly surrealistic tone as the intellectuals return to Shanghai, where they are lost to ennui as they take up mundane jobs. 

Daily Showings

Tuesday–Sunday

Part I: 11:15 a.m.  
Duration: 29 minutes, 22 seconds

Part II: 11:50 a.m.
Duration: 46 minutes, 15 seconds

Part III: 12:40 p.m.
Duration: 53 minutes

Part IV: 1:40 p.m.
Duration: 70 minutes

Part V: 2:55 p.m.
Duration: 90 minutes
Part V ends at 4:25 p.m.