MUCH CONTROVERSY has been raised lately over the legacy of the Long March. Jung Chang and Jon Halliday's Mao: The Unknown Story has generated debate about what was generally regarded as the Communist army's triumphant journey against the elements and the Nationalists. They describe it as 'the most enduring myth in modern Chinese history, and one of the biggest myths of the 20th century'.
Mark Harris, a British artist, critic, curator and professor at the University of Cincinnati is trying to come up with an alternative interpretation of the Long March and Mao Zedong.
With an eye to examining Mao's legacy, Harris has developed a project based on the poetry he wrote from 1934-36. Harris says Mao's poetry is significant because it represents the kind of ruler-artist that doesn't exist in the west. Mao was a calligrapher, poet and politician - and 'this is an effort to pay homage to that', Harris says. 'I like his political writings and his poems, and it makes sense to use poems.'
To bring seven of Mao's poems to life, Harris has asked 20 Beijing musicians, from rappers to rockers and buskers, to interpret the works spontaneously on film. He plans to combine this footage with live performances for exhibitions on the mainland and overseas.
This isn't Harris' first project involving musicians. In 2003, he co-curated Streets of London, a video installation and live performance in which street musicians were asked to interpret the song Streets of London, as well as perform any other song about the British capital.
The Beijing project is similar, he says. 'The problem with Streets of London was that we asked people to play a crappy song that most people don't like - which is more interesting than asking them to play a song they like a lot. In Beijing, people have issues [with the material]. He has left a large spot in people's consciousnesses. Mao is like the Great Wall.'
