An artist with real public concerns considers a new generation

Chinese painter Shi Zidong believes that artists can reflect real public concerns and inspire people to think.

In one of his sculptural installations, for instance, a young man lowers his head and meditates. Strips of newspapers swirl around him, including an old photo of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, with a headline saying, "Why Marx is Right", a report about a Chinese businessman who paid 1.25 million yuan ($193,250) for a bottle of whisky, and an advertisement for cosmetic surgery.

"I collected the newspaper clippings at the beginning of October. They epitomize readers' interests," the 49-year-old Shi says.

"Something is wrong," he says, pointing at the advertisement. "You may find it hard to understand why most of the customers are young and good-looking girls. They want to change into somebody else because they want to be more beautiful."

Shi thinks that people are surrounded by information, but there is a paucity of values.

"The result is we desire more and more," he says, "It is very dangerous, so I painted this sculpture yellow to warn people about the problems caused by a blooming economy."

This is one of the four installations Shi made for the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution, which put an end to more than 2,000 years of feudal rule in China. Shi's intention was to trace changing mainstream social values in China over the past century.

Shi's exhibition began in October and has been held in Dalian, Liaoning province, and Beijing. It will also be shown in Paris.

Who Am I? A Close Scrutiny on the Chinese Cultural Values after 1978, exhibits nearly 200 of Shi's works, including the New Citizens series of sculpture installations and his oil painting, Wildflowers and Roses, that won the Carrousel du Louvre Salon 2010 prize.

"Shi's exhibition reflects his creative progress and exemplifies the history of the artistic styles of contemporary Chinese oil paintings," says Daozi, an Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University professor.

"In recent years, Shi has been trying to construct a unique style of artistic spirituality. His New Citizens series, which combines painting, sculpture, photography, textile art, diary and fragmented texts, encode both aesthetic purity and cultural criticism."

Shi, meanwhile, says the computer and Internet have revolutionized the way we understand the world. Young people, he thinks, know more and claim more rights than previous generations.

Shi says his work is for the new generation and often features youths gazing, or appearing to think.

"The majority can't do much when it comes to problems such as pollution and excessive consumption of resources," he says. "But the gaze is a kind of concern. It might be the start for a new solution."

Born in Heilongjiang province, 1962, Shi started studying oil painting when he was 16.

Yang Feiyun, dean of the Oil Painting School at the Chinese National Academy of Arts, who instructed Shi in 1993, says he has a talent for painting.

"He is capable of drawing a unique artistic context and structure from various natural objects and making his paintings full of brightness and beauty," he says.

Shi is dean of the International Art and Design School at Dalian University of Foreign Languages.

"When I was young, I thought artists had no obligation other than to strive for beauty. With time and added experience, I consciously ... tried to reflect social problems," he says.

"A conscientious artist can create works not only for decoration but also to contribute to social changes."