The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Standard Family

1996

Wang Jinsong

(Chinese, b. 1963)
China
Chromogenic print
Image: 43.8 x 122.2 cm (17 1/4 x 48 1/8 in.)
Jo Hershey Selden Fund 2023.114
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Serial imagery—the repetition of a subject or format with slight variations—has been used by artists ranging from Claude Monet to Andy Warhol and Sol LeWitt.

Description

Wang Jinsong’s composite of portraits of 200 families employs serial imagery to address China’s one child policy. Instituted in 1980 to combat rapid population growth, it limited most couples to have just one child. The policy had additional unforeseen, undesirable consequences: having a predominantly male population further lowered birth rates and yielded a shrinking workforce. Repealed in 2016, the policy is negatively impacting China’s prosperity.
  • Refocusing Photography: China at the Millenium. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 8-November 16, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=Standard Family|url=false|author=Wang Jinsong|year=1996|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.114