Far and Away: Reporting From the Brink of Change (73 page)

98
 Andrey Urodov’s magazine
Russia Without Us
features in Michael Idov, “No sleep till Brooklyn: How hipster Moscow fell in love with Williamsburg,”
Calvert Journal
, December 31, 2013; this article is also the source of the quote “Every Moscow restaurant is a theme restaurant . . .”

98
 The censoring of musicians Andrei Makarevich and Noize MC for their expressions of support for the people of Ukraine is reported in Karoun Demirjian, “Russian youths find politics as their pop icons face pressure,”
Washington Post
, December 2, 2014.

99
 Human Rights Watch has documented the oppression of Russia’s LGBT population and their allies in considerable detail; see Cooper, op. cit.

99
 Official and popular responses to Yelena Klimova’s creative work are described in Alec Luhn, “LGBT website founder fined under Russia’s gay propaganda laws,”
Guardian
, July 29, 2015.

99
 The quotes from Dmitry Kuzmin come from his essay “On the Moscow metro and being gay,” trans. Alexei Bayer,
Words without Borders
, 2013.

99
 The role of conservative religious authority figures in the contemporary Russian power structure, and allegations against Patriarch Kirill, are discussed in Peter Pomerantsev, “Putin’s God squad: The Orthodox Church and Russian politics,”
Newsweek
, September 10, 2012. Churchgoing habits in post-Soviet Russia are documented in Alan Cooperman, Phillip Connor, and Erin O’Connell, “Russians return to religion but not to church,” Pew Research Center, February 10, 2014. Quotes from Patriarch Kirill, Ivan Ostrakovsky, Georgi Mitrofanov, and the Orthodox skinhead gangsters come from the
Newsweek
piece.

100
 Alleged affiliations between Vladimir Putin and Russian criminal gangs are described in Tom Porter, “Vladmir [
sic
] Putin allies named as ‘key associates of Russian gangsters’ by Spanish prosecutors,”
International Business Times
, June 30, 2015; Porter discusses the Russian mafia in depth in “Gangs of Russia: Ruthless mafia networks extending their influence,”
International Business Times
, April 9, 2015.

100
 Freedom House’s assessment of corruption in Russia appears in Freedom House, “Nations in transit 2015: Russia,” Freedom House, 2015.

101
 Putin’s offer of amnesty to criminals with assets abroad, and the quote from Andrey Makarov, are reported in Rob Garver, “Putin lets criminals bring money back to Russia,”
Fiscal Times
, June 11, 2015. Capital flight from Russia is put at $150 billion in Stephanie Saul and Louise Story, “At the Time Warner Center, an enclave of powerful Russians,”
New York Times
, February 11, 2015.

101
 Russian authorities’ crackdown on imports of foreign food is described in Shaun Walker, “Russia swoops on gang importing £19m of banned cheese from abroad,”
Guardian
, August 18, 2015.

101
 Economic inequality in modern Russia is discussed and the wealthiest oligarchs are listed in Maria Hagan, “The 10 richest Russians in 2014,”
Richest
, October 10, 2014.

101
 Russia’s schools for aspiring tycoons are described in Alexandra Tyan, “Classes aimed at raising a new generation of Russian businessmen,”
Moscow Times
, July 27, 2015.

102
 My discussion of the Russian economy relies heavily on Ian Bremmer’s excellent “These 5 facts explain Russia’s economic decline,”
Time
, August 14, 2015.

102
 Max Katz, Isabelle Magkoeva, Roman Dobrokhotov, and other young movers and shakers are the subject of Shearlaw, op. cit.

102
 The modern Russian protest movement and official retaliation against its leaders are examined in Alexander Korolkov, “Is the protest movement dead?”
Russia Beyond the Headlines
, January 15, 2015; this article is the source of quotes by Georgy Chizhov, Nikita Denisov, and Yelena Bobrova.

Their Irony, Humor (and Art) Can Save China

135
 The phenomenal prices realized for the works of contemporary Chinese artists are reported in Nazanin Lankarani, “The many faces of Yue Minjun,”
New York Times
, December 5, 2012; Ian Johnson, “Some Chinese artists are testing their limits,”
Wall Street Journal
, October 2, 2009; and Eileen Kinsella, “Who are the top 30 Chinese artists at auction?”
Artnet News
, September 8, 2014.

135
 The quotes from Lao Li (Li Xianting) come from Jackie Wullschager, “No more Chinese whispers,”
Financial Times
, October 2, 2004.

136
 Quotes from Cao Fei and Huang Rui come from Christopher Beam, “Beyond
Ai Weiwei: How China’s artists handle politics (or avoid them),”
New Yorker
, March 27, 2015.

136
 The history of Chinese artist villages is explored in Angela Lin Huang, “Leaving the city: Artist villages in Beijing,”
Media Culture Journal
14, no. 4 (August 2011). The quote from Li Wenzi comes from Zhu Linyong, “Art on the move,”
China Daily
, January 25, 2010.

136
 Fang Lijun’s praise for Lao Li occurs in Andrew Cohen, “Off the page: Li Xianting,”
Art Asia Pacific
71, November/December 2010.

136
 The shuttering of the Beijing Independent Film Festival was reported in Jonathan Kaiman, “Beijing independent film festival shut down by Chinese authorities,”
Guardian
, August 24, 2014.

137
 The ongoing ordeals of Yuanmingyuan “mayor” Yan Zhengxue are described in William Wan, “Chinese artist recounts his life, including the one time he painted ‘X’ on Mao’s face,”
Washington Post
, June 2, 2014.

137
 Ma Liuming’s 1994 arrest and incarceration is noted in the artist’s biography, “Ma Liuming,”
Chinese Contemporary
, 2002, at
http://chinesecontemporary.com
.

137
 The uproar over Zhu Yu’s video in the
Fuck Off
exhibition is described in Wullschager, op. cit.

137
 The quote from Wang Peng comes from William Wan, “China tried to erase memories of Tiananmen. But it lives on in the work of dissident artists,”
Washington Post
, May 31, 2014.

137
 Chen Guang’s work and the official reaction to it are described in Mallika Rao, “Five Chinese dissident artists who aren’t Ai Weiwei,”
Huffington Post
, June 10, 2014
.

137
 Dai Jianyong’s arrest is reported in Jamie Fullerton, “Chinese artist who posted funny image of President Xi Jinping facing five years in prison as authorities crackdown [
sic
] on dissent in the arts,”
Independent
, May 28, 2015.

137
 The story of and quote from Zhao Zhao comes from Ulrike Knöpfel, “Risky business: China cracks down on Ai Wei Wei protégé Zhao Zhao,”
Der Spiegel
, August 28, 2012.

138
 Wu Yuren is the subject of Arvind Dilawar, “Teatime with Big Brother: Chinese artist Wu Yuren on life under surveillance,”
Vice
, June 15, 2015. Wu’s exchange with his arresting officers relies on a November 4, 2015, personal communication via Ysabelle Cheung, Klein Sun Gallery, New York.

138
 The description of the arrest and torture of Wang Zang and the quote from his wife come from Wan, op. cit
.
Tan Jianying’s observation on the limits to freedom of speech in modern China comes from Jack Chang, “Chinese art colony’s free-speech illusion shatters,”
Asahi Shumbun
, October 17, 2014.

139
 Quotes from Xi Jinping and other PRC officials on the role of art and artists in society come from Fullerton, op. cit
.

139
 My discussion of Ai Weiwei’s work and Chinese officials’ response to it relies on Emily Rauhala, “Complete freedom, always just eluding the grasp of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei,”
Washington Post
, July 30, 2015. The quote “Chinese
art is merely a product . . .” comes from Ai Weiwei, “Ai Weiwei: China’s art world does not exist,”
Guardian
, September 10, 2012; “They always stand on the side of power” comes from Beam, op. cit. The comment from the Beijing curator critical of Ai Weiwei comes from Wan, op. cit.

140
 The anonymous Chinese curator’s and Ouyang Jianghe’s words come from Lankarani, op. cit.

The Artists of South Africa: Separate, and Equal

175
 Observations on the South African art scene by National Gallery director Riason Naidoo come from Jason Edward Kaufman, “South Africa’s art scene is poised for a breakthrough—at home and abroad,”
Huffington Post
, February 19, 2013.

175
 For full text of the ANC’s objections to
The Spear
, see Jackson Mthembu, “ANC outraged by Brett Murray’s depiction of President Jacob Zuma,” African National Congress, May 17, 2012. Protesters’ vandalization of the painting is described in Alex Perry, “South Africa: Over-exposing the President,”
Time
, May 23, 2012. The Shembe Church leader’s call to stone Brett Murray to death, and quotes from Steven Friedman, Aubrey Masango, and Jonathan Jansen, come from Karen MacGregor, “A spear to the heart of South Africa,”
New York Times
, June 5, 2012. For the withdrawal of the classification of the painting as “harmful,” see South African Press Association, “Appeal tribunal declassifies ‘The Spear,’”
City Press
, October 10, 2012.

176
 The withdrawal and reinstatement of Ayanda Mabulu’s painting of Zuma is the subject of “Zuma, Marikana painting pulled from Jo’burg Art Fair,”
Mail & Guardian
, September 27, 2013; and the quote from Avanda Mabulu (“It’s not the first time I’ve been censored . . .”) comes from Matthew Krouse, “Art Fair forced to reinstate Mabulu painting after Goldblatt threat,”
Mail & Guardian
, September 28, 2013.

176
 The controversy over South Africa’s choice of curators and exhibitors for the 2015 Venice Biennale is chronicled in Stefanie Jason’s reports, “Venice Biennale: SA Pavilion finally announces artists,”
Mail & Guardian
, April 16, 2015; and “SA trips as Joburg lands on the steps of the Venice Biennale,”
Mail & Guardian
, April 30, 2015 (source of the “reputation of butchering foreigners” quote); see also Jeremy Kuper, “Venice Biennale: View from the ground,”
Mail & Guardian
, May 20, 2015.

Vlady’s Conquests

177
 The BBC’s assessment of Vladimir Zhirinovsky appears in British Broadcasting Corporation, “Profiles of Russia’s 2012 presidential election candidates,”
BBC News, March 1, 2012; Howard Amos’s characterization comes from Howard Amos, “Russian publisher prints books about Putin under names of western authors,”
Guardian
, August 11, 2015.

“Don’t Mess with Our Cultural Patrimony!”

203
 The renovation and reopening of Taiwan’s National Palace Museum was reported in Keith Bradsher, “Rare glimpses of China’s long-hidden treasures,”
New York Times
, December 28, 2006. Attendance figures come from “Blackout hits Taipei’s Palace Museum Thursday afternoon,”
Want China Times
, July 10, 2015. The opening of the Chiayi branch is the subject of “NPM southern branch to open with jadeite cabbage display,”
Want China Times
, September 18, 2015.

203
 The National Palace Museum’s refusal to exhibit sculptures allegedly looted from the Summer Palace is described in British Broadcasting Corporation, “Taiwan rejects ‘looted’ China art,” BBC News, October 7, 2009. The loan by the PRC of Qing dynasty relics and Taiwan’s restrictions on loans to other countries are discussed in Tania Branigan, “Chinese treasures to be reunited in Taiwan,”
Guardian
, February 19, 2009. For more information on cooperation between the two museums, see Yin Pumin, “Probing ancient mysteries,”
Beijing Review
, December 7, 2009.

203
 Quotes from White Shirt Army founder Liulin Wei come from William Wan, “Taiwan’s ‘white shirt army,’ spurred by Facebook, takes on political parties,”
Washington Post
, November 11, 2013.

203
 The Sunflower movement is described in “ ‘Sunflower’ protesters break on to political scene,”
Economist Intelligence Unit
, April 2, 2014.

On Each Palette, a Choice of Political Colors

210
 I reported on Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Golden Missile” project in Andrew Solomon, “As Asia regroups, art has a new urgency,”
New York Times
, August 23, 1998.

Enchanting Zambia

227
 Recent developments favorable to the Zambian tourism industry are discussed in Matthew Hill, “Yellow fever relaxation by South Africa helps Zambia tourism,” Bloomberg, February 5, 2015.

Phaly Nuon’s Three Steps

229
 The horrors of the Khmer Rouge are extensively documented. For a vivid if slightly fictionalized reenactment of the atrocities, I would commend the 1984 film
The Killing Fields
.

235
 The death of Phaly Nuon was announced in Rob Hail, “Madame Nuon Phaly is gone,”
Out of the Blog
, November 27, 2012; her funeral observance is described in Sophanna Ma, “Funeral of our beloved Mum Phaly Nuon,” Ezra Vogel Special Skills School, December 2012.

235
 For in-depth analyses of the impact of human trafficking and forced displacement on the mental health of Cambodians, see Ligia Kiss et al., “Health of men, women, and children in post-trafficking services in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam,”
Lancet Global Health
3 (March 2015); and Jayson Richardson et al., “Mental health impacts of forced land evictions on women in Cambodia,”
Journal of International Development
, September 27, 2014.