Nowadays, there are more and more artists who are interested in performance art and try to create with this medium; however, there is no teaching of performance art in Chinese art colleges, and there are very few books of this kind. As a result, people practice self-study by reading scattered information. In order to establish a professional, open and equal communication platform for teaching and learning performance art, focusing on theoretical research and creative methodology practice, the Archive launched the Night School program. Since the first session was held on May 23, 2022 at the Archives, six events have been held so far. There are various ways such as dialogues, workshops, lectures, observation sessions, special projects, etc. On November 13, 2022, the seventh issue of Night School, the Archives invited artist Mr. Yang Zhichao to come to the Archives to share the clues and reflections of his performance art works on the spot. A comment by critic Mr. Wu Hong can open a perspective for us to understand Yang Zhichao’s performance works. “Skin is the material boundary of one’s body. Within the skin’s envelope is the human body, the seven emotions and six desires…and beyond the skin is the Other, the world, and the gods. In most of Yang Zhichao’s performance art works, the moment he cuts open the skin of his own body, he seems to have completed a channel for the physical self to merge with the other, the world, the spirit and the soul.” Yang Zhichao himself says, “Compared to a painter, my body is my canvas.” In more than 30 years of performance art practice, the creative direction of personal life, social reality and the body of the self has been the theoretical guide for Yang Zhichao’s performance art practice, resulting in personalized works such as “Love Story” and “Professional Nanny,” as well as “Jiayuguan” and “Within the Fourth Ring Road”. “Within the Fourth Ring Road”, and ‘Hidden’, ‘Planting Grass’ and ‘Apocalypse Series’, which use the body as a material. At the same time, there are also “Hidden”, “Planting Grass” and “Apocalypse Series”, which are performance art works created by using the body as a material and medical procedures. In the post-pandemic era, when humanity and magic are almost indistinguishable, how should performance art develop? How to keep oneself awake and express his continuous thinking about performance art is what Yang Zhichao is thinking about the most at the moment.
‘Jiayuguan’ | Performance | Yang Zhichao 1999.12.30-2000.1.30 (one month)
Rules: I. Accept the treatment program and treatment measures arranged by the hospital. II. Comply with the rules and regulations of the hospital. Do not leave the hospital without reason or terminate treatment. Process: Admission to the psychiatric hospital as a patient and treatment.
Planting Grass | Performance | Yang Zhichao2000.11.05 | Shanghai East Gallery Art
Procedure: without anesthesia, make two 1-centimeter cuts in the back and plant the grass. Time: 45 minutes.
Macau | Performance | Yang Zhichao 2005.11.27 – 11.29
Procedure: The actor draws blood from his or her own body, flows it into a mold, the blood solidifies, and the flipped dice are removed. The blood is collected in three separate sessions, totaling 45 minutes.
The Chinese Bible｜Performance Works | Yang Zhichao| Beijing Art Document Warehouse
Process: From 2005 to 2008, a collection of 3,000 notebooks from various periods were categorized, scanned, numbered, archived, and then exhibited. Date of notebooks, 1949-1999
