Here are shots from installation and a few from the exhibition aftermath.

I wrote a blog post over on my blog about bamboo structures. Here is an excerpt:

Bamboo scaffolding is a low resolution grid used to produce a higher resolution structure. Living in Guangzhou is inspirational because of the scale of buildings, real imaginations constructed, and accessibility to cheap materials and constant laborers.

And, Lu has been posting some amazing pictures too like:

Bamboooooo

Print Shop

For all you needing images out there, we have just up pushed out images for David Johnson who will be exhibiting a work titled “Made in China” and Guy Overfelt who is getting some magic smoke fabricated.

Guy Overfelt's Untitled (Up in Smoke) Sketch

Please check out the press section to help blog and promote this show!

Deer Fan'g News Reenactment

JD Beltran's Airplane Installation

Justin Hoover's 100 Performances

GUANGZHOU, CHINA & SAN FRANCISCO, USA – August 20, 2008

Today the Cantocore Project and Ping Pong Space announced the upcoming contemporary art show, Cantocore: Import/Export in Guangzhou, China during September 2008. This initial show features contemporary artists from San Francisco and Guangzhou producing artwork around the more detailed relationship between import and export of culture and materials between Guangzhou, China and San Francisco. This first part of the Cantocore exhibition, Import, begins with an opening on Friday, September 5 from 8 PM at the brand new Ping Pong Space in Guangzhou, China. The show continues until Tuesday, September 16 with gallery hours of 2:00 PM until 10:00 PM daily. The second part of the show, Export, opens Sunday, September 21 at 8 PM until 10 PM when a special video screening developed by San Francisco’s Mission 17 titled “Stardusted” will be presented at the Ping Pong Bar from 10 PM until 11PM. The second half, Export, continues daily until Saturday, October 4 with daily hours from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

The Cantocore Import/Export exhibition examines, through applied art practice, the relationship between import and export of culture between Guangzhou and San Francisco by asking a simple phrase: Are you Cantocore? Guangzhou, also called Canton, is the third most populous city in China and its province, Guangdong, is a major manufacturer of textiles and electronics for export to the United States. San Francisco has the largest import of Chinese immigrants of any US city, primarily from the Guangdong province. Chinese immigrants also created the largest Chinatown in North America in San Francisco. However, understanding the conceptual framework of Cantocore is not limited to geographic divisions, nor reductive dichotomies driven by post-colonial stereotypes such as East vs. West, nor Olympic nationalism pridefully paramount in China vs. US “non-political” sports matches. Cantocore is the reality of life versus the theory set forth by jurisdictions where people live.

The artists in the Cantocore exhibition were tasked with creating projects which explore import and export, materially and conceptually. Practically, how can one’s artwork be actualized either through fabrication locally in Guangzhou or imported from San Francisco? Guidelines for the creation of the work were left alone since modern strategies for creating artwork such as remaking, remixing, interpreting, pirating, translating, copying, and appropriating content, already espouse the Cantocore style. After the proposals were received from invited artists, curation of works took place based upon the processes, scope, location of artists and available resources to constitute this first Cantocore dialogue.

Curation for this show has been a group effort by Deer Fang, Justin Hoover, and Jon Phillips from the Cantocore Project and Wu Jay from Ping Pong Space (PPS). Layout and Design for the show is done by Pierre Picard (PPS) while wordsmithing has been handled by Nikita Choi (PPS), Jon Phillips and Deer Fang.

Exhibition Venue
#60 Xian Lie Dong Heng Lu Ping Pong Space, Guangzhou

Cantocore Import
September 6th – 26th, 2008
Opening: Friday, September 5th, 8PM – 10 PM.
Drinks after at Ping Pong Bar.

Cantocore Export
September 22nd – October 2nd, 2008
Opening: Sunday, September 21st, 8PM – 10PM

Video Screening “Stardusted” at Ping Pong Bar
September 21st 2008, 10PM – 11PM

Regular Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Sunday 2 PM – 10 PM
Gallery Closed on Monday

Ping Pong Bar Open Everyday

硬核广州
2008年8月20日于广州和旧金山发布

今天硬核广州项目和乒乓空间宣布当代艺术展 “硬核广州：进口/出口” 将在2008年9月到10月在广州乒乓空间展出。这个展览主要展出来自旧金山和广州两地当代艺术家的作品，这些作品将围绕进出口的文化和物质关系而创作。 整个展览分为两部份：2008年9月5日－9月26日为“进口”部分，开幕式为9月5日晚上8点；2008年9月21日－10月2日为“出口”部分，开幕式为9月21日晚上8点；晚上10点到11点，还将在乒乓酒吧举行由旧金山MISSION17策划的《星尘》录像作品的放映活动。

“硬核广州 进口/出口”展览通过艺术实践检验联系着广州和旧金山的进出口文化， 并提出这样的问题：你是硬核广州人吗？ 广州是中国第三大人口城市，其省会广东省是主要出口美国纺织品和电子产品的生产地。同时旧金山是主要“进口”中国移民的美国城市。这些移民也主要来自广东地区。中国移民在旧金山建立了北美最大的唐人街。然而，理解“硬核广州”的概念框架不能仅仅局限于地理上的分界，也不应做简单后殖民的分裂模式：东方和西方，或国家主义至上的奥林匹克中的中国对美国，即所谓“非政治化的比赛”。“硬核广州”是生活的现实与人们生活管辖区内理论的对抗。

“硬核广州”展览中的艺术家创作的作品从观念上和物质上探讨进/出口文化。如何通过广州本地制作，或从旧金山进口来实现艺术计划。当代艺术策略中的重做，重混，演绎，翻版，翻译，复制和挪用也充分体验了“硬核广州”的风格。在收到邀请艺术家的计划书后，我们根据作品的实施过程、规模和资源来构成第一次的“硬核广州”对话。

此展览是方鹿，Justin Hoover, Jon Phillips和乒乓空间吴捷的集体协作的成果。展览和出版由Pierre Picard （乒乓空间）设计，文字由蔡影茜（乒乓空间），Jon Phillips和方鹿负责。

展出地点：广州市天河区先烈东横路60号乒乓空间

“硬核广州－进口”
展期： 2008年9月6日－9月26日
开幕：2008年9月5日 （星期五）晚上8点到10点

“硬核广州－出口”
展期：2008年9月22日－ 10月2日
开幕： 2008年9月21日（星期天） 晚上8点到10点

《星尘》展映及交流
2008年9月21日（星期天） 晚上10点到11点
地点：乒乓酒吧

乒乓空间开放时间：星期二到星期天，下午2点到晚上10点
乒乓空间逢周一休息，乒乓酒吧全年无休

List of Artists in Cantocore Import
“硬核广州- 进口”艺术家名单

Deer Fang 方鹿
Justin Hoover
Huang Xiaopeng 黄小鹏
Misako Inaoka
Guy Overfelt
Jon Phillips

List of Artists in Cantocore Export
“硬核广州- 出口”艺术家名单

JD. Beltran
Lin Fang Suo 林芳所
Huang Pu Village Video Group 黄埔村项目小组
Kathrine Worel
Zhou Tao 周滔
David Johnson

Links 链结

Cantocore Exhibition and Research Site
硬核广州展览和研究网站

http://cantocore.com

Ping Pong Space
乒乓空间
Ping Pong Space at www.facebook.com

About Cantocore

Garage Biennale and the Fabricatorz bring you Cantocore, a research project investigating contemporary art and culture between Canton (Guangzhou) and cities around the world. The initial project is a contemporary art exhibition with two different versions of the same show initially in Guangzhou, China and then in San Francisco, USA.

关于硬核广州

一个探讨广州和世界其它城市在当代艺术和文化联系的研究项目，由Garage双年展和制作者工作组共同发起。第一个项目是分别在广州和旧金山举行的同一主题不同版本的两个展览。

http://cantocore.com

http://garagebiennale.com

http://fabricatorz.com

About Ping Pong Space

What is Ping Pong? 乒乓是什么？

一个面向公众，致力艺术与创意文化推广和中西交流的综合艺术空间，充当城市文化的核心推动力和交流平台，探索全球化和本土城市文化蓬勃发展的背景之下，创作者和城市文化消费者、文化艺术活动和观众的全新关系。

A public oriented multifunction space, which aims at promoting art and creative culture while strengthen cultural exchange. It functions as a communication and dynamic platform for urban culture movement, and will explore a new relationship between creators and consumers, artistic events and audiences in the context of globalization and rapid local culture development.

Ping Pong Strategy 乒乓的策略

乒乓的策略是通过从物质到观念的各种创造性形式，以开放性态度容纳并探讨艺术与创意文化的多样类别。（这些跨领域的活动在媒介上体现为：影像、装置、架上、表演艺术、设计、雕塑和出版）。

From material to conception all these creative forms, we accept a wide range categories in art and creative culture with openness. (These events encompass the full spectrum of contemporary media: video and image, installation, contemporary paintings, stage and performance, sculpture and publishing.)

Press Contacts

Guangzhou
Nikita Choi
Ping Pong Space
+86 20 2829 6300
nikitachoi@126.com

San Francisco
Justin Hoover
+1 (415) 425-1647
info@cantocore.com

Press Kit

http://cantocore.com/press

###

Cantocore Guangzhou Press as PDF file

The name for the show, Cantocore, comes from our friend Alex Yeung who founded a band called Say Bok Gwai in San Francisco, California that creates music in the Cantocore style. It is such an apt term to describe the lifestyle of so many. Here is a description of the band Say Bok Gwai:

Say Bok Gwai combines hardcore, metal, punk, thrash music with Cantonese vocals. A unique blend of two cultures, Say Bok Gwai covers a variety of the harder musical genres and has songs about food, differing cultural perspectives, Chinese American pride, white America, mating, metal, politics, and more.

Check out this video made by Danwei TV about Say Bok Gwai:

The Cantocore Home Concert Preview is coming up this WED, JULY 23rd from 7-9 PM as said before. And, no event can be had without also posting it up on facebook and upcoming. Join at the aforementioned links:

If you want to help spread the news about the event, do it with the container image on this post.

加入”硬核广州”预展音乐会

如之前所述，硬核广州预展音乐会将于本周三、7月23日七点至九点举行。请通过之前提及的链接加入到我们中来。如果您有意愿帮助传播这次项目的新闻信息，可以通过这篇布告上的集装箱图片来传播。

Cantocore Home Concert Preview is coming up next Wednesday July 23rd. Right now our RSVP deadline for this event is extended to Monday, July 21st. And tickets are on sale right now for $50 USD! All money goes to the production of the Cantocore exhibition in Guangzhou and San Francisco. And, all contributions will be rewarded with praise, promotion in printed materials and on this website.

This event is a preview of the coming exhibitions, and also a home concert featuring Chinese traditional instrument musician Ma Jie and electronic musician Christopher Willits.

To reserve your tickets please do one of the following:

Call Justin at 415-425-1647
Email: jhoover.charles@gmail.com
Or use Paypal option

“硬核广州”预展：预定时间延长并且入场券在售中！

硬核广州预展音乐会在下周三即7月23日就要到来了。现在我们这次预展音乐会的预定截止时间已经延伸至周一即7月21日。并且从现在开始出售入场券，价格为50美元。所有收入都将用来制作这次在广州和旧金山的硬核广州展览。并且，所有的捐款、贡献将通过印刷品以及本网站予以感谢及发扬。
这场音乐会是即将来临的展览会的一个预展，同时也是由中国传统乐器音乐家Ma Jie及电子音乐家Christopher Willits为主的一场本土音乐会。

您可以通过以下任一方式预定入场券：

电话至Justin: 415-425-1647
邮件至: jhoover.charles@gmail.com

或者通过Paypal支付

Cantocore; an international exhibition of contemporary Chinese and U.S. art, opening in Guangzhou and San Francisco, fall 2008.

On Art, War, and Dialogue

Lebbeus Woods, the internationally renowned architect is known to have said that Architecture is War. By this he means that in life art and architecture can be understood as a process of making ideas become actual, upsetting the balance, destroying certitude, and reconfiguring power. In terms of architecture, the tangibility of this concept is palpable. Monuments create history, building express philosophies, and nations judges other nations according to their level of development.

More abstractly however, in the arts, the structures of life that undergo reconfiguration are oftentimes much less evident. In this way artists seek to reassert a voice to alternative viewpoints and philosophies, often times on an intimate scale, or on a microscopic level. Together the simplest gestures or ideas can equate to a movement, a revolution. In this way, Cantocore seeks to foment an exchange of new ideas between China and the United States. Specifically, we are targeting San Francisco, due to its cultural and spatial proximity to China, and Guangzhou, due to its emergence as one of the many new Asian art poles. This series of collaborations known as CANTOCORE Signifies the building of a bridge between two distinct yet intertwined worlds. Together this intercultural dialogical bridge will bring the seeds of abstract and alternative thought to their fullest manifestations.

– Justin Hoover – Thoughts on peace, war, and intercultural dialogue

欢迎来到“硬核广州”

硬核广州，一个关于当代中国和美国艺术的国际性展览，于2008年秋季开幕于广州及旧金山。

关于艺术、战争与对话

Lebbeus Woods这位国际著名建筑家因为曾说过建筑是战争而闻名。因此他认为生活中艺术与建筑可以被理解为一个将理想变为现实的过程，这一过程打破着平衡、破坏着真实并且重新配置着权力。就建筑而言，这一理念的确实性是极其明了的。纪念性建筑物引发着历史来历，房屋建筑传达着哲学态度，并且一个民族因为其发展水平而对另外一些民族具有裁判权。

然而更为抽象地，在艺术方面，遭受重配置的生命结构经常是不明显的。在这种情况下，艺术家们对于可选择的观点及哲学，寻求重新主张一种声音。同时最简单的比画或者思想可以等同于一场运动、一场革命。在这种情况下，“硬核广州”尝试、寻求去促进中国与美国间新兴理念交流的可能。具体地我们将目标选定在旧金山是因为其在文化以及空间上接近中国，同时我们选择广州是因为其渐渐已成为众多亚洲新兴艺术区之一。这一系列被称作是“硬核广州”的合作开展，将意味着是这两个不同但却交织在一起的世界间桥梁的建起。同时，这一不同文化间的对话桥梁将使得抽象理论的或者其他可供选择的想法之种子完满盛开。

– Justin Hoover – 关于和平、战争以及不同文化间对话的思考