ABSTRACT
This chapter proposed the Chinese yaji garden event (literally an ‘elegant gathering’ of artists and collectors) as a model for a new kind of viewing experience. Opposed to the typical Western museum with its strict separation between object and audience, Chang describes a more participatory experience where artists and collectors met to inspect and discuss their favourite objects. In the case of artworks such as ink drawings and scroll paintings, owners would even add their own appreciative annotations in the form of seals and colophons, which then became part of the ‘original’. By directly handling the objects, the viewer achieved a more intimate encounter with the work, while at the same time enjoying the distinctive atmosphere of a carefully designed naturalistic environment. As a deliberate provocation to the ingrained Euro-American model of the so-called white cube gallery, Chang coins the term ‘yellow box’ to describe this alternative scenario.
