Charles Hecht | Writings

Tuesday August 22, 2006

After an early breakfast, I got on my bike and went into the telephone store to get more cards so that I could use the phone on the last day. I then went back to the studio to get packing supplies and give it a once over once more to make sure that whatever I wanted to take with me back to the U.S. was coming with me. I also wanted to make sure that everything was in order and then I was able to lock up. Most of the time was spent organizing the wood cuts so they could be packed properly in the carrying tubes that contained all of the prints and the two Ren Jies. Per Li Gang’s instructions I left three prints of each, two artist proofs and an extra copy of Darfur Genocide. I then spoke to David about coordinating certain things concerning Lennart’s keys and we made arrangements to have a farewell lunch. I asked David if we could do lunch at 12:00 rather than 12:30 because Li Gang’s cousin was coming to pick me up at 1:00. Also if for some reason Li Gang’s cousin doesn’t show up I wanted to leave enough time to get to the airport.

I got a call from Li Gang at 12:30 saying the driver was at my unit. I asked Gang if his cousin could wait until 1:00, as we had previously discussed, so I could finish lunch with David, or at least a substantial portion of the lunch. Approximately 200 feet from the restaurant the electric motor to the bicycle went dead. I had to pedal the bike back. Because the electric bike has a 20 pound battery, it was a lot of work. However, I wanted to get back to the unit as close to 1:00 as possible, so that the car would not leave me. The flight back was full but it arrived on time. But, we had to wait over an hour for our baggage, possibly because of the heightened security after the London incident.
The change in SAC was remarkable. In three months it had gone from basically an abandoned artist’s community to one that was almost completely occupied and extremely vibrant. I also could not get over the friendliness and community spirit of the artists who lived in SAC. The Artist’s Inn is an excellent idea. With proper management it provides a real service to the visiting artists, as well as the resident artists. It is a logical place for the resident artists to meet for dinner and enjoy some camaraderie. It is also a logical place for visiting artists to meet and interact with the resident foreign artists. Beijing is extremely hot in the summer, and in that area there is no air conditioning, but art projects get completed and the excitement continues. I hope Li Gang and his family enjoyed their much needed vacation.

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