徐冰：有問題就有藝術(shù)

文德加 圖尤倫斯當(dāng)代藝術(shù)中心（UCCA）

從去年到今年，藝術(shù)家徐冰在澳門、武漢和北京相繼舉辦個(gè)展，7月21日至10月18日在北京尤倫斯當(dāng)代藝術(shù)中心舉辦的“徐冰：思想與方法”展覽更是他在大陸舉辦的規(guī)模最大作品最全的回顧展，力圖全面梳理藝術(shù)家自上世紀(jì)70年代開始至今40余年的創(chuàng)作歷程。

40年以來，無論是從20世紀(jì)80年代末開始的《天書》系列和《鬼打墻》，20世紀(jì)90年代的《英文方塊字》和《背后的故事》，還是最近的《蜻蜓之眼》，徐冰的創(chuàng)作一直基于大量的研究，試圖打破人們對(duì)藝術(shù)邊界的既有認(rèn)知，作品與作品之間更形成彼此激活、互為闡釋的關(guān)系。作為在國際舞臺(tái)最具影響力的藝術(shù)家之一，徐冰以其持續(xù)不斷、數(shù)量蔚為可觀、類型涵蓋寬廣的藝術(shù)實(shí)踐深入影響了中國當(dāng)代藝術(shù)的歷史書寫。他始終對(duì)自身所處的時(shí)代保持高度敏感，其作品與當(dāng)下社會(huì)文化現(xiàn)實(shí)聯(lián)系緊密且發(fā)人深省，正如他所言：“你生活在哪，就面對(duì)哪的問題，有問題就有藝術(shù)?！?/p>

我走得很快，是因?yàn)闀r(shí)代走得快

徐冰的藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作在多條不同線索上交叉進(jìn)行，從早期研究的文化、語言及傳統(tǒng)知識(shí)體系，到上世紀(jì)90年代至紐約后開始關(guān)注的跨文化與全球化議題，再到本世紀(jì)對(duì)于不斷飛速發(fā)展的社會(huì)新現(xiàn)象的探討，他始終專注于尋找新的藝術(shù)方法以回應(yīng)新問題；其創(chuàng)作概念嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)，媒介多樣，藝術(shù)表達(dá)清晰明確，在世界當(dāng)代藝術(shù)中具有很高的辨識(shí)度，也在不同層面上影響著中國當(dāng)代藝術(shù)整體面貌的構(gòu)成，某種意義上為公眾提供了一幅中國當(dāng)代藝術(shù)發(fā)展的縮略圖。

上世紀(jì)70年代，在北京山區(qū)插隊(duì)務(wù)農(nóng)的徐冰與當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)民和知青共同創(chuàng)辦了手工油印刊物《爛漫山花》，他在這個(gè)過程中積累了許多對(duì)于漢字間架結(jié)構(gòu)設(shè)計(jì)中所蘊(yùn)含的社會(huì)政治涵義的認(rèn)識(shí)，而鄉(xiāng)村民俗也為他提供了吸收借鑒傳統(tǒng)文化的土壤；上世紀(jì)70年代末至80年代中期，徐冰創(chuàng)作了以《碎玉集》為總題的袖珍木刻版畫，并對(duì)版畫語言特性進(jìn)行創(chuàng)新探索，其作品《五個(gè)復(fù)數(shù)系列》頗具實(shí)驗(yàn)特質(zhì)。這些早期的嘗試和探索為藝術(shù)家其后更具觀念性特征的藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作做了準(zhǔn)備。上世紀(jì)80年代末期，徐冰創(chuàng)造出并無意指功能的“偽漢字”，并將之以活字印刷的方式按宋代版式制作成不可讀之“書”——《天書》。這些形式與內(nèi)容呈現(xiàn)出錯(cuò)位感的文字，映射出改革開放之初的中國知識(shí)分子對(duì)自身所根植的傳統(tǒng)文化的智性思考與審視。而裝置作品《鬼打墻》中，巨大的中國長城墨拓片對(duì)存在于真實(shí)時(shí)空中的歷史遺跡進(jìn)行了一種“如實(shí)的扭曲復(fù)制”，這也揭示出中國歷史遙遠(yuǎn)而觀念化的存在。

“這輩子像是由什么東西在催著走，又像是在找回什么丟了的東西。世界急速變異，越找線索越多，越發(fā)的不清楚，想說又說不清楚的話就越發(fā)的多。前人創(chuàng)造的說話的方式，包括自己以前用過的，沒有一個(gè)能直接拿來再用的，都已經(jīng)不是當(dāng)下要的這種感覺了，只能忙著去找、去實(shí)驗(yàn)新的方式，所以就做了這么多東西”，他感慨。

2007年開始創(chuàng)作《鳳凰》時(shí)，徐冰剛從美國回國，“我回來以后，其實(shí)一直在提醒自己：我離開中國的這一段，我遺漏了什么東西，這是我最需要反省的?！彼X得自己面對(duì)著一個(gè)嶄新的中國，“它的文化方式，它的工作方式，它的運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)方式，是什么在讓中國往前走，這些都是我完全不了解的”。一直做當(dāng)代藝術(shù)卻一直秉持著“藝術(shù)來源于生活，高于生活，還原生活”的簡單藝術(shù)觀的他，覺得自己一不小心成了當(dāng)代藝術(shù)家，“時(shí)代進(jìn)入現(xiàn)代，我就是現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)家；時(shí)代進(jìn)入當(dāng)代，我就是當(dāng)代藝術(shù)家；時(shí)代開始搞實(shí)驗(yàn)，我就是實(shí)驗(yàn)藝術(shù)家。我走得很快，是因?yàn)闀r(shí)代走得快”。

藝術(shù)家一輩子都在建造屬于自己閉合的圓

上世紀(jì)90年代初期，徐冰移居美國紐約。藝術(shù)家與西方當(dāng)代藝術(shù)進(jìn)行了“短兵相接”式的交流——他試圖擺脫自身所背負(fù)的文化重負(fù)，并為融入西方做了一系列概念藝術(shù)嘗試。在《在美國養(yǎng)蠶系列》《熊貓動(dòng)物園》《野斑馬》等作品中，借鑒自西方的藝術(shù)表達(dá)形式與特定中國傳統(tǒng)元素相互交織，展示出中西方文化的交融、碰撞或排斥等復(fù)雜關(guān)系；在《A,B,C…》與《后約全書》等作品中，不同語言之間看似合乎邏輯的轉(zhuǎn)譯過程，與最終呈現(xiàn)出的不合邏輯的怪誕與荒謬結(jié)果，展示了藝術(shù)家面對(duì)全新文化語境的陌生與隔閡之感；《英文方塊字書法》系列則進(jìn)一步將英文以漢字書法的形式進(jìn)行重構(gòu)，這種“陌生化”的處理方式同樣暗含了初至紐約的藝術(shù)家對(duì)語言交流本質(zhì)的思考，卻也似乎在中西方之間達(dá)成一種和解關(guān)系，在呈現(xiàn)出中西方文化基因嫁接與融合的奇異面貌的同時(shí)，將人們舊有的知識(shí)概念逼入了一種失去判斷支點(diǎn)的境地。

他的《何處惹塵埃》是一件很美的作品——徐冰將在9·11事件中收集到的塵埃吹到展廳中，經(jīng)過24小時(shí)，展廳的地面上，由灰白色的粉塵顯示出兩行中國7世紀(jì)的禪語：“本來無一物，何處惹塵?！?。威爾士卡迪夫國家美術(shù)館展廳被一層像霜一樣均勻且薄的粉塵覆蓋，有著寧靜、肅穆之美，但這寧靜給人一種很深的刺痛與緊張之感，哪怕是一陣風(fēng)吹過，“現(xiàn)狀”都會(huì)改變。

9·11那天，徐冰在與曼哈頓一河之隔的布魯克林威廉斯堡，自己的工作室里，看到雙塔的倒塌，“就像被地心給吸引下去似的一種感覺——剩下的是濃煙”，從那一刻，他強(qiáng)烈地意識(shí)到，世界變了。

9·11事件后，整個(gè)曼哈頓下城被灰白色的粉塵所覆蓋，徐冰在雙塔與中國城之間的地帶收集了一包9·11的灰塵?！暗?dāng)時(shí)并不知道收集它們干什么用，只是覺得它們包含著關(guān)于生命、關(guān)于一個(gè)事件的訊息。”兩年后，徐冰讀到六祖慧能的詩句，讓他想到用“塵埃”作為裝置的核心材料。

徐冰在9·11之后虛空的日子里，從下城收集到的這些灰塵，不僅是具有寓意的,它還包含著那個(gè)九月的微風(fēng)中夾帶的尋常與不尋常的內(nèi)容，融匯著那一天所帶來的獨(dú)有顆粒：大樓在倒塌中轉(zhuǎn)化成的粉末，從大樓中散落而出的、如枯葉般的紙片，以及人類質(zhì)地的灰燼，所有這些在火和力的作用中，融合成一種統(tǒng)一的、永恒的純粹，并與每日的塵?；祀s在一起。過去10年，關(guān)于“自由塔”以及9·11紀(jì)念碑的、冗長而毫無結(jié)果的爭論中，沒有人注意到，其實(shí)這座紀(jì)念碑早已在那里：就是那些塵埃本身。

回首自己的40年，徐冰認(rèn)為，藝術(shù)家一輩子都在建造屬于自己閉合的圓。“只要你是真誠的，這些作品不管什么形式，或者大或者小，不管多早和近期，其實(shí)最后它們之間的這種關(guān)系都在建造閉合的體系。過去的作品其實(shí)完全是對(duì)后來作品一種解釋，雖然它們的表現(xiàn)形式和材料非常不同，而這個(gè)新的作品是對(duì)過去的作品中存在著一種有價(jià)值的東西、并沒有被充分意識(shí)到的部分的提示?！彼f。

藝術(shù)為人民（裝置） 徐冰Arts for People (Installation) XU Bing

榮華富貴（66萬支“1st class”牌香煙，尺寸可變）弗吉尼亞美術(shù)館（里士滿，2011）展覽現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。圖片由徐冰工作室提供Honor and Splendor,660,000 1st Class brand cigarettes,dimensions variable.Installation view,Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond,2011).Courtesy XU Bing Studio.

天書（綜合媒材裝置，尺寸可變）加拿大國家美術(shù)館（渥太華，1998）展覽現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。圖片由徐冰工作室提供Book from the Sky (mixed media installation,dimensions variable) Installation view,National Gallery of Canada (Ottowa,1998).Courtesy XU Bing Studio.

天書 綜合媒材裝置，尺寸可變 加拿大國家美術(shù)館（渥太華，1998）展覽現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。圖片由徐冰工作室提供Book from the Sky mixed media installation,dimensions variable.Installation view,National Gallery of Canada (Ottowa,1998).Courtesy XU Bing Studio.

方塊字書法教室（ 綜合媒材裝置，尺寸可變）。倫敦現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)學(xué)院（倫敦，1997）展覽現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。圖片由徐冰工作室提供Square Word Calligraphy Classroom,（mixed media installation,dimensions variable）.Installation view,Institute of Contemporary Art,London (1997).Courtesy XU Bing Studio.

From last year to this year,the artist XU Bing has held solo exhibitions in Macau,Wuhan and Beijing successively.From July 21thto October 18th,the "Xu Bing: Thoughts and Methods" exhibition held at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing is the most comprehensive retrospective of his largest work on the mainland,endeavoring to fully comb the artist's creation process of more than 40 years since the beginning of the 70s from the last century.

Since the year of 1978,both theTianshuseries andGhost Wallsince the late 1980s,theEnglish BlocksandThe Story Behindin the 1990s,or the recentEye of the Dragonflies,XU Bing's creation,which has been based on a large number of research,trying to break people's existing cognition of artistic boundaries,and the relationship between works is more active and explanatory.As one of the most influential artists on the international stage,XU Bing has profoundly influenced the historical writing of Chinese contemporary art with his continuous,quantitative and extensive artistic practice.He has always been highly sensitive to the times he lives in,with his works,closely related to the current social and cultural reality,are most thought-provoking.As he said: "You have to deal with issues existing at places you live.Existing issues lead to arts."

I Have to Walk Fast as Times Pass Rapidly

His artistic creation crosses on many different clues,initiating from the cultural,linguistic and traditional knowledge systems of early research,to the cross-cultural and global issues that began to be concerned in the 1990s after arriving in New York,and then the discussion on the new phenomenon generated in rapid development of society in this century.He has always focused on discovering new artistic methods to respond to new problems;his creative concept is rigorous,with diverse media and clear artistic expression,presenting a high degree of recognition in the world of contemporary art and affecting China's overall contemporary art at different levels,and,in a sense,providing the public with a thumbnail of the development of Chinese contemporary art.

In the 1970s,XU Bing,who was committed to farming in the mountains of Beijing,has co-founded the hand-printed publicationLanman Shanhuawith local farmers and educated youth.In the process,the he has accumulated many social and political implications for the structural design of Chinese characters,while the rural folklore also provided he with the soil to absorb traditional culture; from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s,XU Bing has created a miniature woodcut print with the theme of "Jade Collection" and innovatively explored the language features of printmaking.His worksFiveComplex Seriesis quite experimental.These early attempts and explorations have prepared the artist for artistic creation with more conceptual features accordingly.In the late 1980s,he created a "pseudo-Chinese character" that did not mean function,and made it into a non-readable "book" in the Song Dynasty version in the form of movable-type printing -Tianshu.These forms and contents presented a sense of error,reflecting the intellectual thinking and examination of the traditional Chinese culture rooted in the Chinese intellectuals at the beginning of reform and opening-up.And this work has also become the definition of Chinese contemporary art history.However,in the installed work ofGhost Wall,the ink rubbings of the huge Chinese Great Wall have carried out a "truthful distortion copy" of historical relics existing in real time and space,revealing the distant and conceptual existence of the history of China.

"I have been urged to move forward by something in this life,and it seems like finding something lost.The world is rapidly mutating,the more the clues are,the more unclear it is.The more you want to say but remaining unclear.The way the predecessors created concerning the speech,including those that I myself used before,none of them can be used directly,they are no longer belongs to the feeling of the moment,urging people to remain busy looking for and experimenting with new ways.So I did so many things." he said.

Upon starting to create thePhoenixin 2007,XU Bing just returned from the United States."After I came back,I have been reminding myself: I have missed something during the period that I was in China,this is the reflection that I need most." He felt that he was facing with a brand-new China,"the ways of culture,how it works,functions and what drives China moving forward,you don't understand them at all." He has always been committed to contemporary art,but always adhering to the simple artistic conception of "Art comes from life,higher than life,and restores life".He felt that he has become a contemporary artist unintentionally."The era enters modern times,I am a modern artist; when it enters the contemporary era,I am a contemporary artist; the times began to be undertaken by experiments,I am an experimental artist.I have to walk fast as times pass rapidly."

Artists have been building their own closed circle for the whole life

In the early 1990s,XU Bing moved to New York of the US.The artist has communicated with Western contemporary art in a"short-handed" style - he tried to get rid of the cultural burdens he carried,and made a series of conceptual art attempts to integrate into the West.In such works asSerials of Sericulture in the US,Panda ZooandWild Zebra,the art expressions from the West have been intertwined with specific Chinese traditional elements to showcase the complex relationship between Chinese and Western cultures,such as blending,colliding or repelling; In the works asA,B,C...andThe Post-Contract,the seemingly logical translation process between different languages,and the resulting illogical,ridiculous and absurd consequences,presented the strangeness and estrangement ofcultural context faced by the artist; The "English Square Calligraphy" series further reconstructed English in the form of Chinese calligraphy.This "De-familiarization" treatment also implies that the artist's thinking about the nature of language communication when he first arrived in New York,but it also seemed to be achieving a reconciliation relationship between the East and the West.,while presenting the singular features of the grafting and fusion of Chinese and Western cultural genes,simultaneously pushing the old concept of knowledge into a situation where the judgment fulcrum was lost.

地書 創(chuàng)作空間Di Shu Space for Creation

His worksHow to Borrow Troublesis a beautiful work - XU Bing blew the dust collected in the September 11thincident into the exhibition hall.After 24 hours,the floor of the exhibition hall has been shown by grayish white dust as the Zen words of the 7thcentury in China: "As All is a Dreamland,How to Borrow Troubles".The exhibition hall of the Cardiff National Gallery in Wales has been covered with a layer of frost-like uniform and thin dust,showing a quiet and solemn beauty,but the tranquility has presented a deep feeling of tingling and tension,even if there were a gust of wind,the "status quo" would change.

On the day of 9/11,XU Bing saw the collapse of the twin towers in his own studio in Brooklyn Williamsburg across the river from Manhattan."It's like a feeling of being attracted by the Earth heart,the rest is the thick smoke." From that moment,he was keenly aware that the world has changed.

In the days when Xu Bing was in the void after 9/11,the dust collected from the Lower City not only has an implied meaning,it also contained the usual and unusual content entrained in the September breeze,shouldering the unique particles that day brought about: the powder that the building was transformed into during the collapse,the pieces of paper scattered from the building like those dead leaves,and the ashes of human texture,all of which are merged into a unified,eternal purity in the role of fire and power,and mixed with the daily dust.In the long and fruitless debates about the "Freedom Tower" and the September 11th Monument in the past decade,no one has noticed that the monument is already there: the dust itself.

Looking back on his 40 years,XU Bing believes that the artist has been building his own closed circle for the whole life."As long as you are sincere,no matter what form these works are,large or small,no matter how early or late,in fact,the last relationship between them is to build a closed system.The past works are actually an interpretation of the later counterparts,although their expressions and materials are most different,and this new work is a reminder of the existence of something valuable in the past works that is not fully realized." he said.