"If an art critic who makes hard-earned money writing and publishing words goes up to an artist whose works sell for millions of yuan and says, 'you know, I'm important to you,' who on earth would believe it?" Liu Xujun, a poet and art critic, said self-mockingly at a forum of Chinese art critics recently in Shanghai.

The event was one of the serial forums under the banner of the International Awards for Art Criticism (IAAC), an annual event launched in China last year by the Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum and Anxin Trust.

Supported by the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) based in Paris, IAAC is a wholly independent and nonprofit association that each year selects three award winners from submitted English and Chinese critical art essays. The first prize is 6,000 euros ($6,534). The deadline for submissions this year is October 15.

Liu, who writes for the Art Time, LEAP and Artform, was one of the 20 shortlisted people for the first IAAC, which received 316 essays from more than 40 countries and regions.

Like many art critics, Liu regards IAAC as a chance to boost good art criticism in China, where the art market has grown rapidly in recent years.

Liu mocks the poor economic returns for art critics, instead placing importance on the quality of writing and honest expression.

"When someone looks for me to write something they call 'art criticism,' I will always ask them whether they expect a complimentary piece or a real critical commentary," said Liu, noting the fact that many so-called art critics are paid to say only good things.

Su Wei (far right), first prizewinner of the past IAAC joins a recent forum with art curators and critics in Shanghai. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum

Economic forces prevalent

Su Wei, first prizewinner of the past IAAC, echoed Liu's sentiments. In an e-mail interview with the Global Times, Su noted economic forces work almost everywhere in the art world, and they influence people's vision about writing and their judgment about things and values.

"People are more and more convinced by the productive force of art brought by globalization, individualism and economic growth in this era, and many art historians and art theorists join to celebrate this with their positive reviews. People seem to become accustomed to these good days, and they're afraid of periods when art didn't enjoy much freedom in China," said Su, a PhD from China Academy of Social Sciences who now works as an independent art curator and critic.

His award-winning piece titled Language is Confrontation - Reflections Sparked by Yan Lei's Solo Exhibition was said by Henry Meyric Hughes, chair of the board of IAAC and honorary president of AICA to have stood out for its "wide range of reference and strong sense of the artist's ethical responsibilities."

Experts say that finding and nurturing decent art criticism is a challenge.

"It's difficult for me to gather enough well-written criticism for my magazine. Many essays are superficial and do not convey an opinion. Meanwhile, many writers only limit their commentary to an individual artist or artwork and fail to link it with the social environment," complained Zhou Bing, chief editor of the Shanghai Artists, a bimonthly published 100-page magazine.

Openness, fearlessness and more

So what characterizes a piece of good art criticism? Henry Meyric Hughes put his answer in an e-mail to the Global Times. "Openness and responsiveness, fearlessness, independence of judgment, critical integrity, a well-stocked mind and ease of expression (no jargon!)," he said.

The IAAC hopes to facilitate these values, Meyric Hughes added.

"Critics need to live, but writing critical texts is one of the least remunerative ways of doing so. What the IAAC hopes to be able to do is provide young art critics living in China with a voice and a profile. It can also offer international measures of comparison, a degree of objectivity and the necessary authority," he said.

Liu belittles the role of art critics by saying that no art criticism can stop any chaos in the art world, quoting Irish poet Seamus Heaney's line "no lyric has ever stopped a tank."

However, Meyric Hughes says there have been innumerable examples of how artists and art critics have interacted in a positive and provocative manner throughout the history of art.



Artists and critics

"Artists have always come first, but they rely on being able to conduct a critical dialogue with their peers and, more often than not, benefit from the enlightened mediation of a critical friend or dispassionate observer. Critics, if they possess the necessary detachment, are able to warn against dangers of complacency, repetition and self-plagiarism, and of over reliance on what Greenberg termed 'the umbilical cord of gold.' But that is only on condition that they cannot be bought," Meyric Hughes said.

Then how to maintain this crucial independence? According to Su Wei, it takes a number of elements that need to be simultaneously addressed.

"Independent writing not only requires a steadfast attitude, but also demands you know how to judge, measure, keep a distance as well as enter into the art world. You need the skills of narrating and struggling with yourself and others to break free from your limits and to find inspiring traces in a very familiar or mundane environment. Only by doing this can we be more close to independence."