The Stars Art Group
20th-century Chinese avant-garde group of non-professional artists
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The Stars Art Group or simply "The Stars" (Xīngxīng 星星) was a Chinese avant-garde group of non-professional artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s (the exact interval usually given as 1979 to 1983). It was founded by Ma Desheng and Huang Rui; its members included Wang Keping (王克平), Qu Leilei, Ah Cheng, Ai Weiwei, Li Shuang, and Yan Li[1][2]. A historically significant exhibition, now called the Star Art Exhibition, took place in late 1979 in Beihai Park, Beijing, outside the China Art Gallery.[3][4][5] After the exhibition was closed by officials, the group staged a protest for cultural openness. They succeeded in reopening the exhibition.[6] The exhibition took place between 23 November and 2 December, in which around 200,000 people attended the event.[6] The group organized another exhibition the next year.[6] Around and after 1983, the group disbanded, partly due to their members going into exile under political pressure, especially the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign of 1983.[7]
The Stars Art Group was a foundational movement of the contemporary Chinese avant-garde active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mostly self-trained, the Stars championed individualism and freedom of expression both in their work and public activities. Taking personal experience and social issues as their subject matter, they pointedly diverged from state-sanctioned Socialist Realism. Other members and affiliates included Zhang Hongtu, Zhang Wei, Yang Yiping, Mao Lizi, Bo Yun, and Shao Fei.[8][9]
Arrest of Li Shuang
Because of her radical movement in art and politics, and her relationship with a French diplomat, Emmanuel Bellefroid, Li Shuang was arrested by the government and received a two-year sentence.[10] This led to a political tension between China and France at the time. Later an agreement was made between two countries and Li was released. This incident abolished the banned interracial marriage in China.