A monument depicting two of China's "Super Girl" pop divas, in a style
similar to those of revolutionary heroes, at a Beijing art festival has caused
wide public debate.
A statue of 2005 Super Girl Contest winner Li
Yuchun and first runner-up Zhou Bichang stands in a square in Songzhuang,
Tongzhou District, Beijing on October 11, 2006. The work of two domestic
sculptors, the artwork was unveiled on October 6 in honor of the
Songzhuang Culture and Art Festival, which runs until the 16th.
[Beijingtimes]
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The four-meter-high monument
featuring Li Yuchun and Zhou Bichang, champion and runner-up of perhaps the
country's most successful all-girl singing contest "Super Girl" in 2005, is on
show at the Songzhuang Art Festival in east Beijing.
The two figures, both leaning forward with one foot striding out, resemble
portrayals of revolutionaries although their rise to fame bears no such
resemblance.
Made in two months by respected sculptors Sun Zhenghua and Dai Yun, the
monument has drawn mass criticism on-line.
Most Internet users argued the "super girls" deserved no such honor.
Chu Tian Nan Min (Refuge) said, "A monument should be built for the country's
heroes or martyears only, whose deeds should be respected and remembered by
people. It's not for young pop stars."
Other voices also suggest the artists created the sculpture to satirize the
current "super girl" frenzy. A netizen called "Mars Clover" even shouted out
"the world is crazy that Beijing has a 'Super Girl' monument".
Even Li and Zhou's fans protested that "monument should only be built for the
deceased".
The star-making reality show "Super Girl" by central China's Hunan TV is
generally regarded as the Chinese version of American Idol. It drew an audience
of 400 million for the finale of its four-month run in 2005.
But there are also strong voices criticizing "Super Girl" for promoting
"vulgarity", and discouraging youngsters from living life practically by
providing instant celebrity.
Sun, also dean of the Shenzhen Sculpture Institution in South China, insisted
that sculptures do not have to represent revolutionary martyears but should
reflect modern society.
"Making a monument is to reflect a new cultural trend in society and to
record it," he said.
Li Zhiqiang, organizer of the Songzhuang Art Festival, said the sculptors
would dispose of the monument after the October 6 -16 art festival.
The two "super girls" seemed irritated by the tribute. The agent for Li
Yuchun said her company would take legal action for violations of the singer's
image.
Yu Binghan, agent of Zhou Bichang, expressed a similar view, saying Zhou was
new to the music industry and her performances and social contributions still
fell far short of being commemorated in a monument.
Sun Yuanming, a research fellow with the Chongqing Municipal Academy of
Social Sciences, attributed lack of timely laws and regulations to the emergence
of many new things in the society like the monument, a "very easygoing" item in
his words.