The Flip-Side of Cultural Diplomacy-- China's Exhibits of RomanticTibet

Cultural diplomacy through the foreign exhibition of art is an extension of diplomacy which is usually positive and uncontroversial. But as the example in this article shows, countries can and do use cultural diplomacy to manipulate foreign opinion in support of their foreign or domestic policy.

In October 2009 the Chinese government sponsored an exhibit titled "Snow-Covered Plateau--Chinese Painting Works" that was displayed for six days in Milan, Italy. The explicit intent of the exhibit was to showcase the region's "social and economic development in past 50 years," and therefore the benefits of "cooperation" with China.(1) The purpose of having this exhibit in Italy instead of in Tibet or Beijing logically must have been to garner support for the cooperation between Tibet and China and to divert popular support for the cause of Tibetan independence, which has significant support in the rest of the world. 

The Diary of Banned Frank

T., Banned Frank, 2008, silkscreen print on paper

Banned Frank is a 2008 image that inspired a great deal of debate in the Netherlands and on that lightning rod of controversy we call the international blogosphere. In this post, I want to write about the image itself briefly and then discuss some of the controversy. The intent is not to feed the fire because honestly, the debate is over. I just recently learned about this image and wanted to offer my own perspective.