Hao Ke：Rich Man, Let Us Be Friends!
Graduated from the school of design in Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, working as the chief editor of Oriental art.
When you enter the 798 Art District, you are likely to be greeted by the slogan that you and your family are all artists, the bright smile of a middle-aged man, and the Beijing dialect which tries to overturn your confidence on your identity.
There are people from all fields, including students, artists, business curators, media, wandering tourists and people who pretend to be literary. Going through all types of advertising boards, you will see a photo of Xiao Han. It was hidden behind many posts on exhibition, constantly caring for your curiosity, vigilance, or numbness towards 798 with the same expression.
Xiao Han, who has recently exhibited his work “The Power of Body” in the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, entered the contemporary art circle by his breast augmentation surgery in the name of performance art. A scalpel placed on a pile of thick money, triggered the heated debate on whether surgery can be viewed as an art form, and at the same time it also illuminated countless drooling red eyes above the of grinding teeth.
Han is a successful plastic surgeon, with a plastic surgery hospital of his own and donations to the charity. The most intuitive impression that he left on people is nothing more than rich. However, this rich man does not just have plenty of money, but he is also rich the spiritual pursuit. For example, he likes to taste tea and wine, travel around, read books, and perform art for personal preference .
As an alien stone which can not be defined by the art theory at present, Han naturally goes to the "cross-border" field. The ripples he stirred up in the lazy art pond seemed to have more ductility and instability than the exhibition itself. Only if one’s desire has something to do with his social status, can others’ secret sneer be momentarily switched to devout facial expression, even more "real" than their natural expressions. In many cases, scholarism plays the role of an unfailing gold medal,which can prepare for reasonable connections in the future, without causing any shame. Han’s work "Winner takes all”failed to pass the audit, and thus he needed to realize the association between the reality and ideal on his own, just like a solo cricket. At that point, the challenge we confronted in the contemporary art circle became a kind of self-entertainment, with a strong sense of irony. Nevertheless, it did not really hurt anyone else, except for a few who fought like crickets. After that, there was plenty of gossip over a glass of wine on the way the rich men behaved, which seemed harmless, but more brutal in fact.
Assuming ( we can only assume) after Xiao Han gave up his material identity as a rich man, there would be still someone saying to him "Rich man, let us be friend!" That king of free and earnest talk over a glass of wine should be closer to the original intention of art, and at least should act as a sincere recognition for his rich spiritual world. The earnest words “ Rich man, let us be friends!” spoken with worry and hesitation were much better than the crafty self- justification after people’s indirectly rapacity.