politic

In 1913, Yuan Shih-k’ai (Yuan Shikai, 1859-1916) became the first president of the Republic of China after he helped Sun Yan-sen overthrow the last Qing emperor in 1911. In 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself the Hung-Hsien (Hongxian) Emperor but ruled for only 83 days before being forced to back down from his claim. During his very short imperial reign, Yuan ordered Guo Baochang to re-start the manufacturing of imperial porcelain at Jingdezhen which had ceased production with the fall of the last Qing emperor.

This mysterious 10”x10”x11” cardboard box and its contents, designed for Documenta: The Paolo Soleri Retrospective held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1970, re-envisioned the concept of an exhibition catalog. Paolo Soleri (1919-2013) was an Italian architect who studied in the United States under Frank Lloyd Wright. He developed a theory of “Arcology” which proposed a fusion between architecture and ecology. Look closely at the exterior of Documenta and you will see a collage of text sampling Solari’s manifesto.