Song Dong: 藝術家聲明 “亞洲特大城市”

Song Dong grew up during the Cultural Revolution and has watched neighborhoods of his youth radically change as Beijing became an international urban center. 因此, his artistic practice is fueled by nostalgia and respect for traditional methods and materials. “Wisdom of the Poor: Living with Pigeons” (2005-06), surrounded by Chinese Buddhist sculpture in the Paul and Helen Bernat Gallery, references a traditional courtyard residence found in Beijing’s older neighborhoods. On Wednesdays from 5–8 pm and Saturdays from 11 am–2 pm, visitors can enter the structure, where they experience tight proportions reminiscent of the artist’s childhood home, as well as the resourcefulness the compact neighborhoods inspired. Song recounts how residents would “borrow space from the sky” by extending their cramped living spaces into rooftop pigeon coops and sleeping behind the nests. The architectural installation pays tribute to the ingenuity of the poor born out of a difficult time in China’s history.