Arts, Crafts And Entertainment

Moganshan Road once only consisted of old warehouses and factories, but in recent years the locality has become one of the most renowned art districts of Shanghai. The small winding streets feature modified factory buildings where seemingly every inch of available space has been utilized to create art workshops and exhibition spaces. On display are both the works of leading Chinese contemporary artists and the up-and-coming aspiring newcomers.

A bewildering array of all kinds of art will be seen by the visitor, from oil paintings and modern sculpture to creations made of scrap metal and Art Deco furniture. There are innumerable small scale art galleries on Moganshan Road, so many that a visitor will be unable to visit them all in an afternoon. Many of the galleries feature sculpture, photography and other media in addition to paintings.

The Shanghai Author Gallery is one of the district's exceptional galleries, presenting a typical Chinese outlook on art with a celebration of the beauty and courage of everyday activities. Many of the artworks demonstrate exceptional mastery of form and technique. The visitor will see soapstone sculptures, innovative oil paintings and various unusual pieces in different media.

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History

The earliest known structure on the site was the Convent of Santa Isabel, whose church was built in 1680. However, significant Aztec finds, such as a sacrificial altar in the shape of a plumed serpent have been found here. The convent area suffered frequent flooding during the early colonial period and development here grew slowly. In spite of this, the convent remained until it was forcibly closed in the 1860s by the Reform Laws. It was replaced by a textile mill and lower-class housing.

Facade of the Palacio

A section of this housing, on Santa Isabel Alley, was torn down and replaced by the National Theater in the latter 19th century. During the late 19th century and very early 20th, this theatre was the site of most of Mexico City high culture, presenting events such as theatre, operettas, Viennese dance and more. It was then decided to replace this building with a more opulent one for the upcoming Centennial of Mexican Independence celebrations in 1910. The old theatre was demolished in 1901, and the new theatre would be called the Gran Teatro de pera. The work was awarded to Italian architect Adamo Boari, who favored neoclassical and art nouveau styles and who is responsible for the Palacio del Correo which is across the street. Adamo Boari promised in October of 1904 to build grand metallic structure, which at that time only existed in the United States, but not to this size. The first stone of the building was place by Porfirio Daz in 1904. Despite the 1910 deadline, by 1913, the building was hardly begun with only a basic shell. One reason for this is that the project became more complicated than anticipated as the heavy building sank into the soft spongy subsoil. The other reason was the political and economic instability that would lead to the Mexican Revolution. Full hostilities suspended construction of the palace completely and Adamo Boari returned to Italy.

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One of the latest in home improvement nowadays is the contemporary or modern setup. Some people think that in order to achieve such a setup, you would only need furniture that can be considered as modern. However, successfully creating a modern home is not limited to bringing in the right kind of furniture. To complete the modern theme of your abode, you might want to add in a splash of art – modern art to be exact. If you really want to create an authentic looking modern setup, here are some of the ways you can use modern art to spice up your home.

Use Modern Paintings

Usually, decors that are considered as modern or contemporary give off the semblance of being in a museum or art gallery.  You can further enhance such semblance by introducing different modern paintings. Modern art is not limited to paintings, but paintings are the easiest to find. Some of the major art movements in that era are the Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Cubism and many more. Hanging paintings is also one of the easiest ways to introduce a certain style in anyone’s home.  If you find that getting an original is way out of the budget, you might want to check out reprints or the works of upcoming artists.

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Once an industrial section of cold cement warehouses and rusting rail yards with a flurry of yellow taxicabs passing through, Chel­sea now sparkles with art galleries, trendy new restaurants and its first expensive residential explosion. The conversion has been gradual with an unusual symbiotic relationship be­tween the industrial and the art mart.

The photography gallery of Yossi Milo exists upstairs from a taxi garage. The PaceWildenstein's Minimalist mausoleum on West 25th is down the street from old artist's coops. Elite art collectors rub shoulders with auto mechanics as they walk through the streets. But despite this unusual relation­ship, after more than ten years of growth, the Chelsea neighborhood possesses more than 250 galleries that extend from West 13th to West 29th Streets and from 10th Avenue to the West Side Highway in Manhattan, about twice the amount of galleries SoHo had in the early 1990's.

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Young artists, plus young collec­tors, plus newly established gal­leries and the love of art equal the cultural phenomenon sweep­ing the Chelsea art district, as thirty-something art enthusiasts flock to galleries. Has the art world spawned a new generation of young, hip, savvy art aficiona­dos who are destined to become tomorrow's well informed art col­lectors?

The Chelsea art community is boasting of the new involvement with the thirty-some­thing crowd. Texting your friends about the newest opening and exhibition is easy. With new artists and emerging galleries experimenting with various concepts and ideas, the diversity of Chelsea has now ca­tered to this new audience and market giv­ing new energy and vitality to art spaces for creativity.

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