The Politics of Art

Museums, opera companies and charitable arts foundations in America, like Wall Street and the U.S. economy, have nearly killed themselves because of their failure to keep their eyes on the bottom line instead of their art. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, one of the most dynamic museums in the country ─ the opening of which I attended in 1979 ─ is a prime example. MOCA, and all artistic groups in America should emulate the partnership between the World Monuments Fund, a private non profit New York-based preservation group and China’s Forbidden City Palace Museum to restore the Juanqinzhai studio ─ “Studio of Exhaustion From Diligent Service” ─ a two acre retreat in the northeastern corner of the Forbidden City that was built in the 1770s by Qing dynasty Emperor Qianlong for personal use after his retirement. In fact, it is the cooperative model America and China should adopt on the political front as well.

The emperor personally oversaw every inch of design and creation and issued an edict that nothing could be altered by future generations. Few had set foot in the studio since 1924, when Puyi, China’s last emperor, vacated the palace and locked the door behind him. The studio was used as a warehouse.

The $3-million restoration, which took nearly a decade to complete, marks an extraordinary partnership of Chinese artisans and American expertise to refurbish one of the historically important interiors to survive from China’s imperial period. It was the first time the Palace Museum cooperated with a foreign organization. Palace officials visited the Peabody Museum in Washington D.C. to view firsthand U.S. techniques of restoration. Both sides are satisfied with the results and looking forward to more collaborative restorations.

The refurbishing partnership can and should be emulated on the economic and political front in the 21st-century. Just as China’s outreached hand in the arts has been clutched by America, China’s repeatedly outreached political hand to the U.S. must also be grasped. Global economic and political leadership by America and China can bring about global peace and harmony and an end to global conflicts sparked by religion, ideology, ethnic conflict and nationalism which are taking the world to the precipice of Armageddon.