==> Well, I am glad if it interests you! And pleased to say that the text is now being translated in its entirety into Chinese, after a partial publication in Urban China magazine. So I will be very curious about the uses that can be made of it, once it circulates in print and online in China. best, BH

great piece - and I am particularly interested in the CI line of thoughts. Working as an international consultant in publishing, and returning from Beijing where I could meet a number of publishing people, I wonder if you have thoughts on comparing your observations in art and architecture with book publishing (or publishing in general - including online).

Books are subject to more direct state control so far, but does this make their sphere different from what you see in the arts?

==> You know, as I don’t read Chinese I would rather ask for your thoughts on the matter. There are serious limits to what I can grasp.Can philosophy and literature be so deftly channeled and commodified as visual art appears to be? How does self-censorship play out there, and what are its limits? Is China a mirror for the Western societies, revealing truths about contemporary forms of developmet and control that also hold “for us”? Are there not forms of ironic resistance and critical reserve that go far beyond and even nullify everything I have said in this text? I wish I knew the answers.

best, BH

Michael: Thanks for your remarks and I’m glad you noticed that bit, for me it’s fundamental. From the period of my rural grandparents to this day, the extension of access to culture for Americans has been extraordinary. When I reflect on that and I look at what’s going on in China, of course I see productive regimes, monetary interests, patterns of control and so forth - because those things are real, just as they are in America - but I also see fabulous chances for people to open up their imaginations and to invent things of which we can’t yet even dream….