【评论】贲离绚烂的美学——陈志光的卷轴与册页新作解读

【评论】贲离绚烂的美学——陈志光的卷轴与册页新作解读

【评论】贲离绚烂的美学——陈志光的卷轴与册页新作解读

时间:2011-01-12 14:52:22 来源:

>【评论】贲离绚烂的美学——陈志光的卷轴与册页新作解读

作者:余丁  发布时间: 2010-01-22 14:00:10
  以“蝼蚁之道”来创造所谓“动物政治学” 的陈志光曾被人称为具有“魔幻的诡异” ,在最近一年来的作品完会摆脱了所谓的政治学和意识形态的特征而呈现出了新的面貌。2008年底,借赴厦门参加首届海峡两岸文化产业博览会的之机,我参观 了陈志光在漳州的工作室,在那个大而朴素的工作室里,我看到了他新创作的卷轴作品。那些镜面不锈刚所作的传统花鸟画卷轴,把人工雕凿之美与自然之美结合在 一起,在自然的光线下焕发出绚烂的光芒。与他坚持多年的“蚂蚁”系列作品相比,那是一种完全不同的视觉感受,除了在材质上与以前的作品相关,其他的一切似 乎从头开始,那种异样的感觉,使人一时无法理解他的意图所在。 
  以中国花鸟画的图式为母题,以不锈钢的高浮雕描绘传统中国画中的图像,陈志光在空间维度上再现了传统的中国美学。文人画是表达传统中国美学的重要载 体,而卷轴和册页是传统文人画的最重要的形式,陈志光运用这种形式,向观众传达希望把当代艺术与传统美学联结起来的意图。以雕塑的立体空间方式,在形式上 对于传统水墨画进行模仿,这种行为本身带有更多的观念色彩。虽然美国波普艺术家利希腾斯坦也会把自己的平面作品转化为雕塑,会把一个类似水墨的笔划放到立 体的空间当中,然而那只是一种简单的由平面向空间的转化。陈志光的卷轴和册页作品似乎带有波普的观念,但它们与波普更早的源头马塞尔•杜尚有更紧密的关系。杜尚把“现成品”的观念引入艺术领域,成功的把“反艺术”变成了艺术 。“现成品”的观念几乎影响到了整个上世纪的艺术,它成为了当代艺术的一个重要标签。陈志光并没有想“反艺术”,但他把“现成品”扩大为“现成的艺术品” ——作为平面的、传统中国水墨画,被复制到了立体的空间当中。为此,当代艺术的观念与传统水墨形式,被陈志光“整合”在同一个空间系统当中,这是一种突破 和创造。
  然而,仅以“现成品”来解读陈志光的这些作品,并把它们定义为当代艺术未免太过简单,“当代艺术”这个词作为一个标签曾经在过去几年里,被泛泛地用来说明 某些类型化的作品,这种类型化体现在观念上对西方现代主义和后现代主义的抄袭,样式上对西方艺术的模仿,意识形态上对西方的迎合。经过艺术市场的潮起潮落 和全球金融危机的洗礼,我们发现所谓当代艺术的“样式主义” 已经成为了中国当代艺术发展的最大瓶颈。陈志光的早期作品就已经呈现出与众不同的个性,以至于有些艺术批评家认为他的创作在当代艺术中无法归类。 事实上,“无法归类”既表明了艺术家凸显的个性,又说明他的作品不能简单地打上任何标签。艺术创作本是一个复杂的事物,即使美国的极少主义艺术也不是一个 简单的标签,而是包含着复杂的创作动机、负载着丰富的文化史,并仍然关注艺术本体的发展,尽管极少主义之后艺术被宣布走向了死亡。
  陈志光的卷轴和册页新作同样不能简单地打上 “当代艺术”的某种标签,比如说观念艺术或者其他类似的标签。对他的作品的意识形态解读、政治学的阐释,抑或是单纯的文化批评都将是片面的。从某种意义上 说,陈志光选择传统中国画的卷轴和册页作为母题就已经进入了一个复杂的系统,因为传统中国画是诗、书、画、印一体,它本来就不是一个简单的绘画概念,而画 外的精神阐释往往比画内的图像系列更为复杂。今天我们谈论水墨时常常聚焦于笔墨,仿佛笔墨就是中国画的精神载体,以至于当有人提出“笔墨等于零”时会引起 美术界的掀然大波。笔墨固然重要,但它却不是传统中国画的全部,也无法独自承载文人画的精神内涵。陈志光似乎意识到了这一点,在他对传统花鸟画的“现成 品”进行搬用(或许应该用“转译”这个词更准确)时,笔墨并不是他重点关照的,尽管他也很在意笔墨。我想,陈志光关注更多的是空间。在这里空间包含了两层 含义,一是传统中国画的空间观念,二是雕塑的空间意识,陈志光的作品是这两种东西超乎想像的奇怪混合。一方面,他关照传统中画的天人合一、时空一体的空间 表达,另一方面又十分注意作品本身与现实空间的关系。这种混合造成的是现实空间与画面空间的充分融合,形成一种虚幻的视觉感受。 
  有关空间描述,其实更多是关乎审美的。换言之,陈志光的这批新作更多地与美学联系在一起。20世纪最有影响的中国美学家宗白华是第一个在中国画理论中 借用西方“空间意识”这个概念的。在他看来,中国画中所表现的空间意识,不是像那代表希腊空间感觉的有轮廓的立体雕像,不是像那表现埃及空间感的墓中的直 线甬道,也不是那代表近代欧洲精神的伦勃朗的油画中渺茫无际追寻无着的深空,而是“俯仰自得”(目送归鸿,手挥五弦。俯仰自得,游心太玄。——嵇康)的节 奏化的音乐化了的中国人的宇宙感。《易经》上说“无往不复,天地际也。”这正是中国人的空间意识! 宗白华借用“空间意识”这个词来描述中国美学中的那种天人合一的理想和根本的宇宙观, 《易经》上说“一阴一阳之谓道”,我们画面的空间感也凭借一虚一实、一明一暗的流动节奏表达出来。 从某种意义上说,陈志光的作品是真正在实践中借用西方的“空间意识”来传达中国的宇宙观,这几乎与宗白华是同一种方法论。 
  或许陈志光在方法论上受到了宗白华的影响,因为除了“空间意识”的借用,他的作品还从另一个方面涉及到了中国美学,这就是色彩。宗白华曾经对中国美学 有一个精炼的概括:“绚烂之极归于平淡” 。中国历史上两种美感、两种美的理想:华丽繁富的美和平淡素净的美。在《易经》当中,也包含了这两种美学思想的对立。例如在贲卦中就是如此,贲者饰也,意 为用线条勾勒出突出的形象,这同中国古代绘画思想有联系。《易经》中说“上九,白贲,无咎。”贲本来是斑纹华采,绚烂的美。白贲,则是绚烂又复归于平淡。 所以荀爽说:“极饰反素也。”有色达到无色,例如山水花卉画最后都发展到水墨画,才是艺术的最高境界。所以《易经》杂卦说:“贲,五色也。”这里包含了一 个重要的美学思想,就是认为要质地本身放光,才是真正的美。所谓“刚健、笃实、辉光”就是这个意思。我不知道陈志光是否读过《易经》,是否读过宗白华的美 学著作,然而他的作品中利用不锈刚的五彩之色,正是所谓的贲,是绚烂之美。
  陈志光强调作品的工艺制作,也体现了《易经》另外一种美学概念,就是“离 ”。《易经》中的离卦和古代工艺美术、建筑艺术都有联系,宗白华先生在论述“离”时谈到:“离者,丽也”,即附丽在器物之上的东西是美的,器具的雕饰具有 美感,离就是附丽和美丽的统一。陈志光的雕塑是花鸟画附丽在不锈钢上,一方面是雕塑之美,另一方面则是水墨画本身之美。与此同时,宗先生指出,“离也者, 明也”, “明”古字,一边是月,一边是窗。而离卦本身形状雕空透明,同窗子有关。离卦的美学表明人与外界既有隔又有通,这是中国古代建筑艺术的基本思想。陈志光的 作品要表达的正是这种既隔又通的空间感,传统花鸟图像的格调变成了一种理想化的境界,这是“隔”,而镜面不锈钢反光所形成的实与虚的融合便是“通”。此 外,由于“离”就是丽,丽加人旁成“俪”,有并偶之意,因此陈志光在作品中的对偶、对称、对比等对立因素也是离卦中所含的审美因素。 
  贲离的审美因素见于中国古代盛世的艺术作品,特别是六朝、隋唐之际,那种绚烂之美源自民族与文化的交融,拥有那种审美的文化是开放,那决不是的片面的 政治学、狭獈的民族主义或者孤立封闭的意识形态的反映。今天,我们中国正处于一个千年来前所未有的盛世,或许许多人还没意识到陈志光的作品正在反映这个时 代,因为他的作品并不是对这个时代特征最直白的表述,而我们的批评又总是习惯以意识形态眼光,社会与文化批评的观念去看待当代艺术。今天对当代艺术的解读 早已经放弃了美学,而我们恰恰应该从美学而不是其他的方面来看待陈志光的作品。我想陈志光的新作给了我们这样的启示,当代艺术决不只是今天时代的简单符号 与标签,它还应该为漫长的人类文化史留下遗产。当代艺术如果能够重返美学,就可以重返艺术本体,重归艺术语言的表达。只有这样,今天的艺术才会存留下来, 成为永恒。

  2009年5月20日于中央美术学院作者简介:余丁,艺术史博士,著有《中国油画文献》、《向艺术致敬:中美视觉艺术管理》等专著,现为中央美术学院人文学院副院长。

 


【评论】Dazzling Aesthetics— Anatomy of Chen Zhiguang’s New Scrolls and Volumes
作者:Yu Ding  发布时间: 2010-01-13 10:36:56
Chen Zhiguang, who has created “animal politics”   with stainless-steel ants, is regarded as a “magical”   figure in the art world. His works of the recent one year have largely shaken off the traits of politics and ideology, to represent new images. At the end of 2008, I visited Chen Zhiguang’s large but simple studio in Zhangzhou, where I had a chance to witness his newly created scrolls. The flower-and-bird scrolls made of stainless steel mix the beauty of sculpture and nature and bring audience completely different feelings, compared with his ant series. He started his new series almost from scratching, which shares nothing in common, but basic material, with his ant series. The unusual feelings make it difficult for us to perceive his real intention.  Chen Zhiguang combines traditional Chinese flower-and-bird painting and stainless-steel high relief, to represent traditional Chinese aesthetics in three dimensions. Scholar painting is the most important carrier of traditional Chinese beauty, and scroll and volume are the most important forms of traditional scholar painting. His real intention is to connect modern art and traditional aesthetics. To imitate traditional ink-and-wash painting in the form of three-dimensional sculpture there is a highly conceptualized methodology. Roy Lichtenstein, a prominent American pop artist, also transformed his flat artworks into sculptures, but it was simply transformation from two-dimension to three-dimension. Chen Zhiguang’s scrolls and volumes seem to have the traits of pop art too. However they are actually more closely related to Marcel Duchamp, the ancestor of pop art. Marcel Duchamp introduced the concept of “readymade” to the art world and successfully converted anti-art to art . The concept of “readymade” is one that influenced the art of entire 20th century and has become an important mark of modern art. Chen Zhiguang never thought about anti-art, but he expands the concept of “readymade” to “readymade artwork” and copies flat ink-and-wash painting to a three-dimensional space. This way, a modern art concept and a traditional art form are combined to catalyze new miracles.  It is not appropriate to simply regard Chen Zhiguang’s works as “readymades” or define them as modern art. In the past few years, the term modern art is even used to indicate the imitation of western art’s concept, style and ideology. Having witnessed the vicissitude of the art market and the global economic crisis, we come to realize that Mannerism  in modern art has become the biggest bottleneck of modern Chinese art’s development. Chen Zhiguang’s works are so unique that some critics believe that there is no way to categorize his works in modern art.  This not only suggests the individuality of the artist, but also entails that nobody can simply label his artworks in any way. The creation of art is a complex process. Even minimal art is more than a label, and encompasses complex motivation of creation and rich history of culture.  We cannot simply label Chen Zhiguang’s newly created scrolls and volumes as modern art, because it would make our understanding of his works too narrow and incomplete. His scrolls and volumes compose a huge and complex system, whose spiritual aspect conveys more meaning than images themselves. Some people believe that ink is the carrier of traditional Chinese painting’s spirit. Actually as important as ink is, it cannot fully convey the spiritual connotation of traditional Chinese painting. It seems that he has sensed this. Therefore, ink does not seem to be what he cares most about when he transforms flower-and-bird paintings. What he cares about most is space. The space here means both flat space in traditional Chinese painting and three-dimensional space in sculpture. Chen Zhiguang’s works are amazing mixtures of the two kinds of spaces. In this mixture, real space and painting are fully blended to bring to the audience an unparalleled visual enjoyment.  The description of space in Chen Zhiguang’s new works is closely related to aesthetics. Zong Baihua, the most influential Chinese aesthetician, was the first one to borrow the western concept “space consciousness” to Chinese painting theory. In his opinion, the space consciousness represented in Chinese paintings is unlike those represented in Greek sculptures, Egyptian pyramids or western oil paintings. It is Chinese people’s perception of the universe. The Book of Changes says “anything that goes away comes back; this is the rule of the universe”. This represents the very space consciousness of Chinese people.  The Book of Changes also says “the constant change of Yin and Yang is the ultimate power of nature”.  To a certain extent, Chen Zhiguang’s works use western “space consciousness” to represent Chinese people’s perception of the universe, and this largely coincides with Zong Baihua’s theory.  Maybe Chen Zhiguang has learned a lot from Zong Baihua, because his works heavily involve another very important aspect of aesthetics, color. Zong Baihua once said “the ultimate flamboyance is simplicity” . Two kinds of beauty existed in Chinese history, i.e. the beauty of flamboyance and the beauty of simplicity. The Book of Changes mentions the two kinds of beauties by saying “beauty becomes noble when it is simple”. Xun Shuang also said “the ultimate ornament is no ornament”. Maybe colorless is the highest level of color. I do not know whether Chen Zhiguang has read The Book of Changes, but I do recognize the ultimate beauty of his stainless-steel artworks.  Chen Zhiguang’s works also reflects another aesthetic concept in The Book of Changes, i.e. attachment. Zong Baihua said “attached things, such as decorations, are beautiful”. Chen Zhiguang’s works attach flower-and-bird painting to stainless steel, and forge the mixed beauty of sculpture and ink-and-wash painting. The beauty of attachment implicitly entails that people are simultaneously separated and connected to nature. The artists’ works represent the concept of separation through the style of flower-and-bird and the concept of connection through the light reflected from the surface of stainless steel. Chen Zhiguang’s works also display other aesthetic factors, such as balance, symmetry and contrast from The Book of Changes.  The aesthetic factors from The Book of Changes are vividly displayed in the Six Dynasties, Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, when different peoples were mixed and open to new ideas. Today, China is witnessing prosperity never seen in the last millennium. Maybe some of us have not yet recognized that his works are reflecting this very prosperity, because he does not depict it in an explicit way. Some of the art critics have abandoned aesthetics, Chen Zhiguang’s works, however, should be analyzed from the aspect of aesthetics, instead of anything else. His new works enlighten us with the idea that contemporary art should be far more than a symbol and label and become precious heritage we pass on to our children. It is only by embracing aesthetics once again, that we can preserve the real meaning of art and make it eternal.May 20th, 2009In China Central Academy of Fine ArtsIntroduction of the author: Yu Ding, PhD in art history, vice-president of Humanity College, China Central Academy of Fine Arts. His major works include Chinese Oil Painting and Respect for Art, Visual Arts Administration in and Management in China and the United States.

 

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