Untitled 1968

Ming Wang made this untitled print using lithography on paper. Its dense, scribbled marks raise questions about the social conditions that shape artistic production. Born in China in 1921, Wang’s life spanned a period of immense upheaval, including the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Communist Revolution, after which he moved to the US in 1949. His art embodies how global cultural exchange has played out in the institutional space of the American art world. We might ask if this piece makes a commentary on the social structures of its time? The dark and tangled mass could be read as a veiled reference to the political turmoil and personal struggles he witnessed. The layered strokes and semi-obscured lighter spaces also encourage our reflection upon the nature of concealment and visibility that is endemic to political life. To understand such artworks better, one must research the artist's biography, the cultural milieu, and the prevailing political climate of the period. It reminds us that the meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.