Quick updates: Beijing to Beijing, all that happens isn’t blog worthy, Sheng Qi’s new car, and navigating avante garde bickering, Zhang Hui's grass

Quickly now, because the march of time is double paced and as spaces and places tie themselves in knots I have fallen way behind on my blogsphere responsibilities. I went back to Beijing from Shanghai but never caught up with the blognotes of the last trip so very quickly back to Beijing:

1. I stayed for 7 days and each day the meals I ate became increasingly spicy: Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, and a fusion Thai hot pot that literally lit my pants on fire. The question is why in Beijing? Why this dry, northern town known for its noodles and salty bean sauces? Why so much severely spicy food? Rumor has it that Beijingers have a fetish for strong sensations whether they be sewer smells, orgasms or spicy food - they have to continually assault their senses one way or another in order to remind themselves that they are still alive… otherwise the traffic will swallow them whole.

2. The above mentioned Thai hotpot with Zhang Dali, Sue Qiu, Zhang Nian and Sheng Qi, The meal is worth mentioning because of the high octane chili and the fact that Sheng Qi, who has made a mint selling photos of his pinky-less hand as a contested memorial of the (jeez afraid to say it just might get censored again) bad things that happened one day in June nineteeneighteenninetianannmensquare, just bought a new VW bug and was able park on the sidewalk and block the pedestrian traffic. Yeah so what- well the sidewalk in China isn’t off limits to road traffic and road traffic isn’t off limits to pedestrian traffic and this is one theory as to why there is such horrible traffic. In addition, people with new cars in China, especially fancy German imports, receive special VIP treatment and Sheng Qi, former dissdent artist type turned noveau riche, is a VIP> BACK TO THE FINGER. I say contested because according to Zhao Shaoruo (an artist jailed and subsequently exiled to Finland for many many years because he inserted his own image over that of Chairman Mao in his photographs works) Sheng Qi chopped off the finger because of a Van Gogh-esque love ordeal with an Italian lady…. truth of the matter is that both are true – the finger came off as a combination of betrayal by both state and by love… but Sheng Qi has bought the VW by slightly mis-representing the missing pinky and cashing in on Tiananmen - but some body had to do it... Sheng Qi was the man
The contestation by Zhao Shaoruo’s, which happened on the second trip to Beijing over lunch with Wang Qingsong and a bunch of artists with integrity, of course raises another issue that dominates the discourse of China’s contemporary arts- bad tact: infighting, dissing, back stabbing, playground bullying and name calling.

3. Zhang Hui is painting like mad in yet another artstudio ghetto located somewhere along the Airport service road. Nice imaginatory people-scapes based loosely on the surreality of social transition, Chinese contemporary art rumors, and his own blurry dreams… The paintings are painted then painted again and then again… blocking out old imagery and forging a flip flop spatial depth. He uses a lot of chalky, flat, dry colors, Paine’s grey, pinks, etc. He said that he’ll give me a painting if I get him a show in NYC. Any NYC gallerists out there that want to show this brewing painting force please stand up! Besides painting he’s growing grass in his patio, hoping it will fill up to the ceiling, but I think its just gonna flatten itself to death.