In Nanjing, It's Art for Art's Sake

The peasants are stealing your artwork!" I yelled to Yu Xiao Yu. I had just run halfway across a tiny, muddy island on the outskirts of Nanjing, dodging several avant-garde sculptures and art installations along the way."Really?" asked the artist, as his round face broke into a smile. "That's great!" A group of fellow Nanjing artists laughed and pointed at the leather-faced farmer in a worn Mao jacket who, along with his wife and son, was cheerfully scooping armfuls of seaweed from Yu's installation: a giant ditch in the shape of a gingerbread man, which was filled with water and what...

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