Xiao Lu, Dialogue (1989)

Xiao Lu is often credited as the founder of the Chinese contemporary art movement, having quite literally fired the "shot heard round the world." Exhibited at the show China/Avant-Garde in 1989, Dialogue displays a man and a woman in two telephone booths unable to communicate with each other.  In between the two booths, is a mirror with a red cross behind a receiver dangling off the hook.  Xiao Lu then turned the work into a performance piece by shooting the mirror with a cross twice, causing the whole exhibition to be shut down by the authorities and her to be arrested.  Xiao Lu and her artist boyfriend at the time turned the show into a statement about the government's preferential treatment when they were released after a day because of their families' high statuses in Chinese society.  Her act of rebellion seemed to preface the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square later that year.