The Rent Collection Courtyard () is a clay collection of 114 life-sized sculptures in located in the courtyard of the former home of rural landlord
Liu Wencai
Liu Wencai (; 1887 - 17 October 1949) was a Chinese landlord from Sichuan province, and brother of the warlord Liu Wenhui. During the Cultural Revolution, he was depicted as the archetype of the exploiter of peasant farmers.
Biography
Liu Wenca ...
in
Dayi County,
Sichuan created by Ye Yushan and a team of sculptors from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1965. It is a famous work of
Socialist Realist sculpture showing an evil landlord collecting rent from poor peasants, it is one of the most powerful works of the cultural revolution. Copies were made and put on display in
Beijing after modification to make them more powerful as works of
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
.
In the 1999
Venice Biennale, the contemporary Chinese artist
Cai Guo-Qiang
Cai Guo-Qiang (; born 8 December 1957) is a Chinese artist who currently lives and works in New York City and New Jersey.
Biography
Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. His father, Cai Ruiqin, was a calligrapher ...
referenced the sculpture in the performance piece ''Venice's Rent Collection Courtyard'' in which he hired artisans to recreate the sculpture.
References
Chinese sculpture
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