Xiao Lu, Tang Song
Concise situation account of the “Shooting Incident” of 5 February, 1989 at the China/Avant-Garde in Beijing. Naturally, the facts in my account are selective and have a motive, namely to draw people’s increased attention to the facts of these events. Our original object in this action was to let the situation speak for itself.
Towards the end of 1988, Tang Song and Xiao Lu received notice of approval to take part in the Exhibition.
On 21 January, 1989, Xiao Lu’s work Dialogue was shipped from the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou to Beijing.
On 25 January, 1989, Xiao Lu arrived in Beijing with a letter from Tang Song to the organizers of the Exhibition enquiring about the specific rules of the Exhibition.
On 2 February, 1989, Tang Song arrived in Beijing, and on the same evening Dialogue was moved into the exhibition space to begin installation. At the same time, the Organizing Committee of the Exhibition announced that any artistic activity by artists in any context inside or outside the Art Museum was prohibited.
On 3 February, 1989, Xiao and Tang continued the installation of Dialogue.
On 4 February, 1989, Tang and Xiao in accordance with the on-the-spot decision of the Organizing Committee, moved Dialogue to the first room as one entered the east great hall on the ground floor, and the installation was completed at approximately 2 p.m. of that same day.
At approximately 3 p.m. on 4 February, Xiao and Tang left the Art Museum. At 5.18 p.m. Tang and Xiao went to a Beijing cinema to watch the film “Bathing Beauty” (出水芙蓉). At 9 p.m. Tang and Xiao took photographs of nocturnal scenes outside the high wall of the moat of the Forbidden City.
At around 9 a.m. on 5 February, Xiao Lu arrived at the Art Museum.
At 9 a.m. sharp at opening of the China/Avant-Garde , the Organizers and relevant people gave speeches of acknowledgement.
At around 11 a.m., Tang Song arrived at the Art Museum.
At around 11.10 a.m. the spectators surrounding Dialogue were managed and moved away from Dialogue, and a final check was made of the materials to make sure that was no possibility of bullets ricochet’ing.
At 11.19 a.m. facing Dialogue at a distance of 5 meters, someone holding a handgun as a prop fired two shots in a row straight at Dialogue.
At 11.20 a.m. Tang Song was arrested under accusation of firing a gun at another person’s artwork.
At 11.30 a.m. Tang Song was removed from the Art Museum by police officers.
At 11.30 a.m. Xiao sat in front of the art supplies shop opposite the Art Museum and observed the situation.
At 11.40 a.m. the police began their interrogation of Tang, who said he refused to answer their questions for the time being.
At around 12 noon, ticket sales for the Exhibition were suspended, and an announcement was made that the Exhibition would be temporarily closed. People and staff within the Exhibition began to be escorted out.
At around 4 p.m.the National Art Museum of Chona was formally closed, and announced that the Art Museum would be closed for four days as usual during the Spring Festival.
At 4.10 p.m. Xiao Lu reported herself to the police.
Beginning from the evening of 5 February, international media organizations began reporting colourfully about the “shooting” incident.
At around 5 p.m. after Tang heard that Xiao Lu had reported herself, he and Xiao at the same time confessed the facts of the “incident” to the police and acknowledged that they were both responsible for it.
At 5.50 p.m. on 5 February, Tang was released from his handcuffs, and he and Xiao were separately placed in male and female cells respectively in the detention center.
Shortly afterwards, the person in charge of the Beijing Beicheng Detention Center showed preferential treatment of artists and pointed out that the so-called artistic action of both Tang and Xiao infringed the criminal law in China and would be punished appropriately. The menu in the detention center that night was dumplings with beef and candied melon seeds.
In the evening of 5 February, the people working in the Exhibition held a group meeting and the organizers of the Exhibition threatened to slap Tang’s face to express his indignation.
In the evening of 5 February, Tang Song and Xiao Lu explained issues relating to modern art to the prison inmates.
On 6 February, the Beicheng Detention Center announced to Tang and Xiao an administrative penalty of five days detention for the illegal carrying of firearms. His was only 20 hours after the incident itself.
On 6 February, The Beijing Daily and the People’s Daily newspapers in quick succession reported on the “shooting” incident.
On 6 February, in response to the demands of the detention center, Tang gave some popular explanations about the art, and especially the modern art, that the prison guards were interested in, and on the spot, in response to the demands of the prison guards, engaged in some performances to explain modern art.
On the same day, a female inmate told Xiao’s fortune using the Yijing and taught her the principles of fortune-telling.
On 7 February, the Xinmin Evening News (新民晚报) published an interview of one of its journalists with Zhou Yan (周彦), one of the organizers of the China/Avant-Garde. According to the journalist’s report, Zhou considered the “shooting” incident a news incident manufactured by Tang that had as its consequence the undermining of the credibility of the Exhibition, and denied responsibility for the event. See the report in Xinmin Evening News 7 February.
On 7 February, Tang continued to explain artistic questions raised by inmates, along with various circumstances in the world outside prison.
On the same day, Xiao in response to her fellow inmates showed them the new 10 yuan RMB banknote.
On 8 February, Editor of Fine Arts in China (中国美术报) Li Xianting with two others went to visit Tang and Xiao with birthday cake.
At 11.20 a.m.on 8 February, Tang and Xiao were declared released. Tang left the male inmates a six-month old turtle that he had bought in Hangzhou.
On 9 February, media organizations reported the release of both Tang and Xiao.
On the evening of 9 February, Zhang Peili, one of the participants in the Exhibition, declared that Tang and Xiao through their action had satirized all the participants in the Exhibition including himself. Tang and Xiao believed that this included also themselves.
On 10 February the China/Avant-Garde reopened.
At 11.20 a.m. on 10 February Tang and Xiao holding invitations to the Exhibition entered to see it. While they were there, they refused to answer the questions put to them by Chinese and international journalists.
At around 12 noon on 10 February,the person responsible for organizing the Exhibition expressed to Tang that he hoped that Tang would forgive the speech he had made at the group meeting on the evening of 5 February, and said that he agreed with the reporter from Xinhua on this “incident”on 5 February, namely that it was an artistic activity relating to destructive art. Tang replied that he and Xiao were not to be classed as destructive artists, nor was it related to performance art. Tang drew attention to the fact that his and Xiao’s action was art related to social situations and the nature of events.
At around 3 p.m. on 10 February, Tang and Xiao placed a bunch of flowers as a tribute to Dialogue.
At around 10 a.m. on 11 February, Tang and Xiao authorized the person responsible for the Exhibition to publish their Explanation of the artistic questions involved in their action.
At 5.20 p.m. on 12 February, Tang and Xiao left Beijing and travelled back south.
From 13 February, news media severally reported information about Tang and Xiao’s Explanation.
On 20 February, Tang denied news reports about his having destroyed another person’s artwork. He only indicated to the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts the he was willing to take full responsibility for the “shooting:” incident and that he was willing to accept unconditionally any disciplinary treatment from the Academy.
On 27 February, Tang made confession of the process of committing the crime to the Security Section of the Zhejiang Academy.
Tang Song, 27 February 1989
Regarding this simple situation account, what is not ideal is that there are many things that I cannot talk about at present, nor is it possible to understand the circumstances before and after the event more deeply and more comprehensively. What I have done here for the convenience of your work is to construct this sort of scaffold in the hope that you understand that as an artist I have the courage to design and run risks in this way, but that as a human being I haven’t the courage to go against my conscience by implicating more innocent people.
With all best wishes,
Tang Song, 25 February 1989
(Li Xianting’s note: I only carefully read through Tang Song’s account and letter regarding the Shooting Incident after I edited my interview with Xiao Lu in the spring of 2004. I do not know whether the “Account” was published at the time or not, nor have I asked Tang Song and Xiao Lu. I originally received this Account and letter in June 1989, and the postmark on the envelope is 21 June, 1989.)
