第86期 “东方假设”中我的思考（2013年）
学术主持：吴洪亮
主题：李曦 倪有鱼 吴啸海 尹齐 张帆 王子 范安翔 季大纯
新作：施少平 周韶华 洪耀 吕墩墩 严智龙 孟思特 童颜汝南 董继宁 韩方 姜淼
Issue No. 86 (2013)
Theme: My Reflections on the “Eastern Assumption”
Academic Host: Wu Hongliang
A.T: Li Xi, Ni Youyu, Wu Hai Xiao, Yin Qi, Zhang Fan, Wang Zi, Fan An Xiang, Ji Dachun
A.N: Shi Shaoping, Zhou Shaohua, Hong Yao, Lv Dundun, Yan Zhilong, Meng Site. Tong Yan Runan, Dong Jining, Han Fang, Jiang Miao
“东方假设”中我的思考
My Reflections on the ” Eastern Assumption ”
学术主持：吴洪亮 ACADEMIC HOST: WU HONGLIANG
对“东方精神”正经八百的考量抑或闲情逸致的偶思，发觉她没有消失，她还在那里。无论因时间的磨砺而有了包浆，因沧海桑田的变故而被隐没，还是因凤凰涅槃而得到重生，总之，“还在”是核心，她在那里，无论被“假设”成何种模样。
2010年，我在位于798艺术区的中国雕塑学会沙龙策划过一个小型雕塑展，为那次展览所起的题目叫做“东方假设”。展览前言是这样开始的：“这里呈现的是六位艺术家安安静静的雕塑作品，他们来自东方或与东方有关，中国人、日本人、在日本生活的美国人。他们作品所传递出来的气质，很东方吗？还仅是一个假设？”这一本来非常有指向性的、信手拈来的题目，反倒在展览之后引起了自己内心的好奇，这一假设的“东方”命题好像应该具有更可被思考和挖掘的可能。因此，不久之后在南京举行的亚洲美术馆馆长论坛上，我以“东方”为主题形成了进一步的表述：“东方假设，这里的假设不是西方对东方的假设，是东方对被西化的东方的假设，是21世纪的东方对有数千年文明的东方的假设。这是个腹背受敌的题目，但又是个无法回避的题目。”这一长串如绕口令式的语句，是我对自己所拥有的对传统、对历史、对地域的所谓的东方精神和思考方式的质疑。在全球化的背景下，独立的东方精神已然是一个假设，我们是否有可能以一种东方的思维模式准确地思考东方本身恐怕已经是一种假设。再有，如果我们把视野投向当下中国的艺术生态，“东方假设”这一问题的提出，恰恰是具有现实意义的。在今天，我们曾经认为最新鲜的从西方飘来的当代艺术于这片土地上已经生长了30多年，可以隐约感到其生命的活性从形式到创作方法都日渐呈现出老化的迹象。因此，不少艺术家开始自觉地从这片土地的深处寻找新的可能性（当然，现在已出现一些投机的跟风者，不仅有艺术家更包括策展人），在这一过程中我们会发现由于历史等诸多的原因，我们已经生活在一个被西化了的东方世界中了。我们甚至在运用西方的思维模式来分析、寻找、呈现东方，那个我们思念的东方竟已然存在于一个“假设”当中，而很难触手可及了。这是个问题吗？或许这些假设，已无所谓是否能够找到过往的那个纯粹的东方，而是在借助艺术的“天才”状态创造一个可供分享的东方气质，甚至在建构某种日渐自信的文化形态。因为艺术家是最敏感也最个人化的，他们去寻觅被隐没的东方或创造心中的东方。其动力是源于过去，而其指向性是面向未来的。因此，在《美术文献》杂志以严肃的态度邀请我介绍几位艺术家并提出一个可以表述他们共有气质的主题时，我就翻出这个思量许久的旧案，再次提出“东方假设”这一命题与大家分享，我视这次对尹齐、季大纯、范安翔、李曦、倪有鱼、王子、吴啸海、张帆作品的刊载是一回纸上的展览，是如今艺术生态中这道独特风景的“美术文献”式的呈现。
具体到每一位艺术家，我还是非常想以娓娓道来的方式铺陈一下他们所传递出来的东方气质而不是东方的做作。这几位都不属于艺术市场的大红人，但他们是艺术思考、艺术研究的好对象。
尹齐
尹齐应视为当代艺术概念的早期触碰者。油画出身的他，曾在中央美院任教。以偏“表现”的作品曾经参加过1989年在中国美术馆举行的“现代艺术大展”和“人体艺术大展”。尹齐后来到法国留学，先后毕业于巴黎美术学院和巴黎高等造型艺术研究院。他在巴黎学习装置，甚至于塞纳河畔拥有了自己的画室。尹齐再次回到中国时已是2000年之后，当他的创作从空间的多媒介回到架上，当他洗净了绚烂的色彩归于黑白，他抛弃了现世的繁华将目光投注到室内的一组沙发、一张睡床。他从西方艺术的发展脉络中找到了将客体“我化”的手段，这一由西而东的艺术融合，建构了尹齐作品的精英气质。因为他作品的冷，犹如倪瓒那疏离中的雅意，一直令不少人敬而远之，所以他的作品与观者总是那样的若即若离。或许，正由于这一点，使尹齐拥有一队小众而忠实度极高的粉丝，包括我自己。
季大纯
季大纯早早成名，而心却流离于世外，属于“隐于市”的不高的高人。他那些太个性化的构图，太“脑筋急转弯”式的文人幽默，太刻意的随意，甚至影响了一代小小的敏感的心。而这五年，季大纯式的戏谑变为了季大纯式的严肃。那些刻骨铭心的、冷冷的点、线、面，是大纯攀岩的装备，是让他可以鸟瞰的双翼。在阿城先生为大纯写的文章《内心风景》中是这样起头的：“我将季大纯的画当成风景画。这个风景是俯视的，我是鸟。”他是这样结尾的：“季大纯的画，当中的痕迹的生长关系，就像是自然中的生物，不按概念中的逻辑发展，而是像孔子说的：‘从心所欲，不逾矩’，意思是自由而没有违犯。内心自由的外化，画笔停止的时候，也是画面永生的时候。自由而没有违犯，内心的风景。”对阿城先生的表述，我无话可说，只有站在远处为大纯心喜。
范安翔
范安翔是如此的具有西方严谨气质的东方考古者。他的确在用“考古”的心态，进行着东方文明的“假设”性图示。范安翔有着自己的“范儿”，无论是将大柜子当成博古架摆上些需要猜测才能识别的旧物，还是在心灵的森林画入一本《心经》，抑或将梦幻的考古现场挪进画布。总之，范安翔在造境的手法上下功夫，书写着一首首神曲，由作品本身来演奏，而他却在一旁观望。这种将自己置于幕后的心态，的确值得回味。
李曦
李曦的作品是以哲学为起点，图像为终点的思维呈现。她的近作《变生山》中的变与生，所提供的思考取向恐怕直指宇宙与某些终极问题。这样的课题以视觉艺术的方式加以诠释是需要胆量与能量的！
李曦是两个孩子的母亲，油画出身却选择了以中国式的“线”来表达她对天地的认知。这样的探索她已经坚持了12年，何谓笔墨之趣，何谓笔笔相生，何谓物我两忘，李曦在以修炼的方式进行着她每天的日课。笔底生成的线条连着手、连着心也连着万象。12年的打磨，李曦对于变、生二字，方有所悟：“变生，变生，由变而生；变其所形，变在其时；何为生变，何为变生；无变无生，生无所变；变无所生，是为变生。”
张帆
回望张帆的艺术求索，他的理性、他的严肃、他的恪守，浮现在我脑子里的就是一个“品”字。张帆是用油画表达中国意念的理性的艺术家。他对笔墨的兴趣、对传统的尊敬、对细节的苛求，都在他设计的框架里。他从考入中央美术学院版画系到硕士毕业再到成为一名职业艺术家，近20年的岁月里，他始终只关心一件事儿：自己的画“有品”吗？正是这简单而又复杂的诉求，外化成了他这三年作品的三个主题：“水卷”、“自叙”、“采薇”。以中国人谦逊、内敛的态度呈现张帆对“品”的认知。
王子
王子是生活在我身边的艺术家，因为距离近而忽视了对他才华的认真观察，直到一次在东站画廊看到那一堆被时间打磨得发亮的小板凳以及听到安装在板凳上的八音盒发出的稚嫩声响，我才认为我认识了王子。清瘦的王子有他自己的能量。他可以将不相干的东西如此简单地拼接在一处，生成出融于一处的意外合理性。因此，这位80后艺术家的轻松，给沉闷的当代艺术带来一股吹去陈习的清风。
吴啸海
吴啸海是我在中央美院前后届的同学，属于交往不多，但互相看着非常顺眼的那种。无论何时坐在一起，仿佛都是昨天刚见过面，谈话的题目和内容无需衔接与勾兑，而直入主题。对于啸海作品我最为推崇的是2011年，由周翊策划的吴啸海一件作品的个展“是真的吗”。那件将整个中间美术馆环形展厅制造成一条时空隧道的作品，为我们提供了多层次、多角度、而且是人造自然式的自然体验。他们两位有一个很长的对话，我在这里引用一小部分，既是对此作品的说明又是对本文中某些观点进行落地式的表白。
吴：我希望它的杂念越多越好。实际上我在做一个境界，我们的观看需要前提，需要营造一个环境来观看作品。我老想到中国传统绘画，比如说挂在家里的中堂画，除了题材，挂的位置，旁边的环境、光线，都（与视觉）效果有直接关系。或者手卷的观赏（也是如此）。
周：需要一边展一边看。
吴：对，它需要移动，需要你来参与，并在限定中观看。
周：你这个100米隧道可以是一个长卷。
吴：有一点直接联想。我不知道怎样去设计这个观看方式，所以用这个有点强制性的方式。手卷也有强制性，只那么宽，或者只能从两边展开。但是比起我们看到的很多中国当代艺术品要温和些，更符合中国传统观看方式的精神。
周：你采用传统材料、选择保留古老生活习惯的地方做作品这个前提很重要。从我这个角度看，中国近代接受了很多西方思想，速度很快，直接嫁接理论，时髦词汇一大堆，精英的话语发生了很大变化，但是要改变老百姓的生活习惯和思维方式很困难，你的思想一点也不保守，但你的方法是很缓慢的，是基于记忆、感官的。
吴：专业的东西比较窄，会把很多人有意无意地排除在外，我不需要太专业。
周：比如隧道染色，你不会自己去染色，让女人们染色，避免这个东西做出来很专业。篾匠本来很专业，但你要的这个形状是在他们专业之外的东西，所以你把他们也变得不专业了。
倪有鱼
倪有鱼的确是个特例，他属于那种“管理型”的艺术家。他创作中的东方不是“假设”而是“营造”。他在策划、在组织他的作品，甚至会让显意识潜意识化的艺术家。因此，在读他的作品时，给你的感觉是你好像看到了，还很熟悉，但细想一下，你其实没见过。如在他的作品《银河》中，倪有鱼将钱币砸扁，以细密画的状态用小笔绘出中国的山水，再将其如星光般散落于黑色背景之上。此时粗放与精细，近观与遥望，“尽精微”与“致广大”被汇于一处，而并不纠结。在倪有鱼的另一件作品《观音》中，他将一尊由肥皂制成的小观音寄给不同职业的朋友使用并写出自己的感受，再回寄给艺术家。这一有仪式感的创作，在借助很多人的智慧与倪有鱼一起，同庄子说“鱼”。
如此的假设，只要是严肃的，而非形式化的模仿那些所谓东方的小情小调，恐怕假设本身即是创造，进而对其呈现出的体验性表述本身自然也是创造。21世纪对此的认知就是21世纪的，我们应该不必纠结于没有新意或者不准确。这一状态或许也暗合了中国艺术千年发展的基本脉络，就是对过往的尊重以及对自我的真实，有则表达无则传承。偏颇时矫正，跌倒时站起，不沉迷于功利，不纠结于比较，自然而顺畅，东方不是对象而是自己。
因为对这样一个命题不知如何结尾，所以想再次引用冯友兰先生在他所著的《中国哲学简史》的最后，讲的一个禅宗故事：
俱胝和尚。凡有诘问，惟举一指。后有童子，因外人问：“和尚说何法要？”童子亦竖起一指。胝闻，遂以刀断其指，童子号哭而去。胝复召子，童子回首，胝却竖其指，童子忽然领悟。（《曹山语录》）
此后，冯先生总结说：“在达到哲学的单纯性之前，他必须通过哲学的复杂性。人必须先说很多话然后保持静默。”
对“东方”的思考，也是如此。
（此文部分文字引自笔者为之前所策展览写的文章）
2013年11月10日
完稿于敦煌飞往兰州的航班上
On both rigorous consideration and casual thinking of ” Eastern Spirit” , I find it still there, not vanished yet. Is it wrapped in slurry due to the hardening of time, or concealed in the evanescence of worldly affairs, or reborn through the nirvana of the phoenix? No matter what, it is ” still” there, in whatever form it is ” assumed” to be. ” Still” is the core.
In 2010, I named a small sculpture exhibition in China Sculpture Institute salon in 789 Art Zone ” Eastern Assumption” . The preface began like this, ” What presented here are the quiet sculptures by six artists coming from the East or related to the East including Chinese, Japanese, and Americans who live in Japan. Is the temperament diffused from their works very Eastern or is it only an assumption?” This pretty directional and easy-to-think-of name surprisingly aroused my own curiosity after the exhibition. It seems that there are more to think and dig about on this assumed topic of ” East” . Therefore, I made a further statement around the theme ” East” on the Asian Art Museum Directors’ Forum later held in Nanjing:” Eastern Assumption, the assumption here is not the assumption of the West of the East, but the assumption of the Westernized East by the East, the assumption of the East with several thousand years by the East in the 21st century. This is a issue between the devil and the deep, yet one that has to to addressed” . This long tongue-twister-like statement is my questioning of the so-called Eastern spirit and way of thinking that I have on tradition, history and regions. With globalization, independent Eastern spirit has clearly become an assumption only. Whether we are able to accurately think of the East with an Eastern thinking mode is likely to be an assumption even. And if we look at the present artistic ecology in China, the proposal of the issue ” Eastern Assumption” bears actual meanings. Today, contemporary art from the East which we considered to be the freshest has grown in this land for over 30 years. We can vaguely feel that its liveness in forms to creation techniques is gradually aging. Consequently, a few artists start to consciously seek for new possibilities in the depth of this land. (Certainly, speculative followers including artists and exhibition planners have also showed up.) During the process, they will find that we are living in an Eastern world that has been Westernized due to historical issues and etc.. We are even employing the Western thinking mode to analyze, search for and present the East. The East that we miss so much is now beyond our touch, only existing in an ” assumption” . Is this a problem? Maybe these assumptions are not really targeted to find the pure East in the past, but rather to create an Eastern quality that can be shared or even construct a more confident cultural form with the help of the ” genius” status of art.This is because artists are the most sensitive and individualized group of people who either seek for the concealed East or create a East in their mind. Though the impetus is from the past, the aim is for the future. Therefore, when Fine Art Literature seriously invited me to introduce a number of artists and propose for a theme that matches their common quality, I rummaged this old case that I thought a lot upon and raised the theme of ” Eastern Assumption” to share with you. I see the publishment of Yin Qi, Ji Dachun, Fan Anxiang, Li Xi, Ni Youyu, Wang Zi, Wu Xiaohai and Zhang Fan’ s works as an exhibition on paper, a ” fine art literature” -style presentation of the unique scenery in the existing art ecology.
As specific to each artist, I prefer to take some time to elaborate on the Eastern qualities shown in their works, which is not the Eastern affectation. None of them are the favorites of the art market, yet all of them are good objects for artistic thinking and study.
YIN QI
Yin Qi should be seen as an early artist who touched upon the concept of contemporary art. With the background in oil painting, he used to teach in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His ” expression” -inclining works were demonstrated on the Modern Art Exhibition and Body Art Exhibition held in National Art Museum of China in 1989. Later on Yin Qi went to study in France, where he learned about installation and graduated from Paris Academy of Fine Arts and Paris Academy of Plastic Arts. He even got his own studio by the River Seine. Yin Qi didn’t come back to China until after 2000. The focus of his creation shifted from spatial multi-media back to shelves. When he washed off all the blazing colors and went back to black and white, he abandoned the earthly bustling and devoted his attention into things like a bed or a group of sofa indoor. From the development of Western art, Yin Qi has found a means to internalize the object. It is this West-to-East artistic combination that constructs the elite quality in his works.The coldness in his works, just like the elegance in Ni Zan’ s alienation, has distanced many. So his works are always here and far away for the audience. However, this may just happen to be the reason why Yin Qi has a group of loyal minority fans including me.
JI DACHUN
Ji Dachun became famous very early in his life yet his heart is always wondering out of the earthliness. He is a secluded ” tall person” (expert) who is not tall. His personalized picture composition, brain-teaser literatus’ s humor, pretentious liberty even influenced the tiny and sensitive hearts of a generation. However, in the recent five years, Ji Dachun-style banter has turned into Ji Dachun-style seriousness. Equipped with the wings of cold and unforgettable dots, lines and planes, he can look down from above the sky. The Inner View dedicated to Dachun by Mr. A Cheng begins like this: ” I regard Ji Dachun’ s paintings as landscape paintings. The landscape here is seen from above and I’m the bird.” It ends with: ” the growth relationship of the marks in Ji Dachun’ s paintings resembles the creatures in nature, which does not develop according to the conceptual logic but rather, as Confucius has mentioned, ‘follow the heart yet not breaking the rules’, meaning freedom without trespassing.” I have no further comment on the statement of Mr. A Cheng, but to joy for Dachun at a distance.
FAN ANXIANG
Fan Anxiang is an Eastern archaeologist with the Western rigorous quality who truly applies the ” archaeological” mindset in the ” assumptive” graphic demonstration of the Eastern civilization. His unique style is presented in everything he does, whether to regard a big cabinet as an antique shelf to put in some old belongings that can only be identified through guessing, or to paint a book of Heart Sutra in mind’ s forest, or to move the imagined archaeological site onto the canvas. In conclusion, with concentration on the methods for artistic conception creation, Fan Anxiang is writing the holy songs one after another played by the work itself with him standing by, watching.
LI XI
The presentation of thinking in Li Xi’ s works starts with philosophy and ends with images. The reflection triggered by the change and birth in her latest work The Mountain of Change and Birth is likely to point to some ultimate questions of the universe. It takes bravery and power to explain on such themes through an visually artistic way.
Li Xi is the mother of two children. Though her background is in oil painting, she chooses to express her recognition of the world through Chinese ” lines” . She has been exploring in this aspect for 12 years. The fun in brush and ink, the enhancement between brushes, the realm without the external or self are what Li Xi practices to achieve every day. The lines flowing from the brush are connected to the hand, the heart and all manifestations of nature. Only after 12 years’ polishing, did Li Xi gain her insight on change and birth: ” Between change and birth (of new things), birth happens in change; changes take place in the object’ s form at its time; what is the birth of a change and what is a birth from change; If there is no change or birth, life remains the same; If there is change yet no birth, this is a birth from change.”
Zhang Fan
Looking back at Zhang Fan’ s artistic pursuit, what floats to the surface of my mind is the letter ” pin” (good character or trait). Zhang Fan is an artist who expresses the rationality in Chinese ideas with oil painting. His interest in brush and ink, his respect for traditions and his demands for details are all included in the framework he designs. In the 20 years from his entrance to the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts to his graduation and to being a professional artist, all he ever cares is one thing: does my painting have ” pin” ? It is simple yet complicated pursuit that has been externalized into the three themes of his works in the recent three years: ” shuijuan” (paintings of water), ” zixu” (self-narration) and ” caiwei” (paintings of flower). Zhang Fan’ s perception of ” pin” is demonstrated in these works bearing the Chinese attitude of modesty and self-restraint.
WANG ZI
Wang Zi is an artist living among us. He is so close to us that I didn’t observe his talents until one time I saw a pile of small shining stools polished by time and heard the tender sound from the music box installed to the stool in the East Station Gallery. Being thin and lean, Wang Zi has his own strength. He can put things that don’t relate to each other so simply together, yet surprisingly creating an integrated rationality. For this, the relaxation in him as an artist of the 80s generation has brought to the contemporary art circle a breeze that blows away the outdated beliefs.
WU XIAOHAI
Wu Xiaohai is a schoolfellow about the same grade with me in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Though we didn’t have much contact, we liked each other. Whenever we meet, it’ s just like we have met yesterday. We never need warming up for the topic and content of our conversation. What I like best among Xiaohai’ s works is a piece of work called Is It True demonstrated in his solo exhibition planned by Zhou Yi in 2011. It a piece of work that made the circular hall of the cental art museum into a space-time tunnel, a piece that provided us with multi-layer, multi-angle and artificially natural experience. I quoted here a small part of the long dialogue between Wu and Zhou to serve as both the illustration for this work and a conclusion remark for some ideas in this essay.
Wu: I want it to have as many distractions as possible. Actually I’m creating a realm. To observe this realm, a certain environment must be built. I often think of traditional Chinese paintings such as those hung at the central wall of the living room for which the position of hanging, surrounding environment and lighting are all related to the (visual) effect. So are the appreciation for hand scrolls.
Zhou: Exhibition and appreciation should go hand in hand.
Wu: Right. It needs to move and you need to participate and appreciate it in limitations.
Zhou: The scroll for the 100-meter tunnel can be a long one.
Wu: I do have some direct associations, but I don’t know how to design the way of seeing it, so I adopted this little method with limitations. Hand scroll also bears limitations with width or the direction of extension. But it is more gentle than many Chinese contemporary artworks we have seen, thus better complies with the Chinese traditional spirit of seeing things.
Zhou: It is an important prerequisite that you choose traditional material or places that reserve old living habits as objects of your creation. From my perspective, in modern period, China has been receiving a lot of Western ideas hastily with theory grafting. A heap of fashionable vocabulary has caused great changes to the language of the elite class. However, it is more challenging to change the living habits and thinking mode of ordinary people. Your ideas are not at all conservative, yet your methods are slow and based on memory and senses.
Wu: If things get professional, intentionally or not, it exclude many people. I don’t want it to be too professional.
Zhou: For example you didn’t do the tunnel dyeing yourself and instead you asked the women to do it so as to avoid being too professional. Bamboo strips craftsmen were professional, but what you asked for is something beyond their profession, thus you again made them unprofessional.
NI YOUYU
Ni Youyu is an excerption who falls to the category of a ” managerial” artist. The East in his creation is not ” assumption” but ” construction” . He plans and organizes his works in a way that makes conscious unconscious. Therefore, when you read his works, you feel as if you saw it and were familiar with it, but upon second thought you would realize you’ve never seen it before. In his work The Galaxy, he flattened the coin and scattered them like stars upon the black background of the miniature painting of Chinese landscape, in which roughness and fineness, close-up and distant view, extremes of details and delicacy and the acme of grandness and width are brought together into integration without tangles. In his another work Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara), Ni Youyu send a small guanyin to friends of different professions for use to collect their experience. This ceremonial creation has allowed him to borrow the wisdom of many to talk about ” Yu” (fish) with Zhuang Zi.
Such an assumption itself, as long as it is rigorous instead of being only the formalistic imitation of the so-called Eastern minor sentiments, is creation. Naturally the experiential statements of the assumption are also creation. The perception of it in the 21st century belong to the 21st century and we should not entangle ourselves over the issue whether it is not innovative or not accurate. This status may also secretly coincides with the general development theme of Chinese art over the last millennium, which is the respect for the past and expression of the truth of oneself if there is and inheritance of it otherwise. Correct when mistaken and stand up when fall down. Do not be addicted to material gain or entangled in comparison, then everything will be natural and smooth. The East is not an object, but ourselves.
Knowing not how to conclude such a theme, I again quote Mr. Feng Youlan’ s Zen story at the end of his book, A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy.
There was a monk called Ju Di who answered everybody’ s questions only by putting up a finger. On hearing that the chore boy in his temple also put up a finger at people’ s questions, Ju Di cut off his finger and the boy ran off crying. Later on Ju Di called at the boy and put up a finger at the boy as he looked back. At the moment, the boy got a sudden enlightenment. (Sayings of Cao Shan)
Mr. Feng Youlan concludes after the story: ” He who reaches the purity of philosophy must first go through the complexity of it. People only become silent after they speak enough.”
And so is the case with the reflections on the East.
(Note: This part is quoted from the author’ s essay for previous exhibitions)
Nov. 10th, 2013
Completed on the flight from Dunhuang to Lanzhou