New China Chic

I am here not to talk about ancient Chinese art or poster designs in 1930s Shanghai or Mao style as Vivien Tam did in her book China Chic. Yes, it might be chic, but our knowledge should be updated as fast as the speed of Chinese design development. The younger group of Chinese graphic designers has started to emerge among us. We can tell most of them have been profoundly inspired to western cultures, however, they still maintain the Chinese style and aesthetic principles. The pictures above are my collection of CD covers from Modern Sky Entertainment Co. Ltd, a Beijing based record and design company. Last year, it established a subsidiary company in SOHO, New York City, to celebrate its tenth birthday. It was the largest independent record label in China, which not only released the records but also designed graphics, animation and published books.

The artists in Modern Sky are the new generation of Chinese Avant-garde. They have been created the new genres of contemporary Chinese music and graphic design. Even though the design company has only been operating for three years, their design potential seems obvious. It was fascinating to see how these Chinese designers completely broke out the confinement of traditional elements, like old Shanghai and dragon images that the western people associated with China. As a native Chinese woman, a Beijinger, I couldn’t be more excited to see designers in China starting to create the Chinese version of Pop Art.