2018 new year 2019 4716个中国新年 a.pureapparat.us Aaron Krach A Cartography of Fantasia: An Interface for Post-speculation Landscapes Adriana Martínez Adrian Mangel adrien delestre Aida Miro Aita Sulser Alan Warburton Alchemist Alden Copley Alex Compton Alex Heine Alfred Hitchcock algorithm composition algorithmically-neglected content Amaia Marzabal Ambassadors of Faust American Artist Amy Lockhart anamorphic skull Anamorphosis Andrew Sanford Andrew Sapala animation Annapurna Kumar Anthony TK Yung Aojie Lin architect archive Archiving fun Aria Dean ArtAsiaPacific art handler art historian artist collective artistic treasures art teacher Athena Rigas Austin Swearengin Banyi Huang basement of everyday ephemera Beijing Club beyond the avatar Bing Bin black autodidacticism Blake Hiltunen Blow Job bonfire of time book launch party boost to overcome breakfast in taipei Bruno Latour buddha-like people buddha machine buddhism chantings replay machine bài mã tóu bài mǎ tou 拜碼頭 Cai Guojie Cali Kurlan Canton Gallery Cao Shu Cao Zilin carry-on/to-go buddhist practice Cartography Of Fantasia cat cave China economy Chinese Animal Idioms Chinese folk religious site in NYC Chinese ideological adaption of Karl Marx Chinese psychic twin Christine Love Clapback CoBo Social collaborative communal identity conditions of representations contemporary abstraction coronavirus pandemic Cui Shaohan cultural relic curator Damien Zhang dance Daniel Cerrejón Danish Arts Foundation Darshana Javemanne David Hu David Lawson Dentist design diagram of 24 dogs digital formalism digital life digital object dignity displacement distorted projection Divinatory Cards dog-shit don't panic Don Porcaro Dr. Johann Georg Faust Durable Pixels early computing technology eat healthier Edge of Frame education Edwin Rostron elon musk's imagination Elysa Batista empathy erotic et.alia Everything Included exchange experimental education experimental game Feel the Magic: XY/XX feng shui figuring interfaces fixed meaning of objects food football free freedom Funa Ye future resurrects past Gabby Madden gallerist gallery director Game game art gameplay Gao Yuan Geng Jianyi Gently Weeps George Harrison getting rich Giant Sparrow Giovanna Olmos good luck grounded Growing Pebbles Haleigh Nickerson Half-Field Plan Hans Holbein der Jüngere Hao Ni happy new year Heaven Ender Hebe Tien He Huang Here For The Right Reasons Hildos home school HOT SWEET TOFU housing Howie Chen Huang Jingying Huang Jingyuan Hyun Cho Ian Costello Ian Gouldstone Igor Kovalov India China Institute Ingrid Burrington innovative education Interface For Post-Speculation Landscapes international lover IN THE SHADE BUT NOT THE SHADOW Jaakko Pallasvuo Jake Goelman Jakob Steensen James Bridle Jefferey D'Alessandro Jeffrey D'Alessandro Jeremie Queyras jerk off Jessica Saldana Jeweler Jing Yu Jiwon Choi Job Creator Jodie Mack Jonathan Gillie Jose Maria Rocha Jouissance Juan Sebastían Pelaez Juchuan Li Juliana Echavarria Juliet Johnstone Justin Xie Kaini Zhou kaleidoscope Katie Fuller Katy Mccarthy keep calm and carry on Kelli Dunham Kelsey Lynn Ken Goshen Kerim Zapsu Kika Espejo Kill Kim Laughton Kitty Shenlin Mai Kuldeep Singh kung hey fat choy Kurt Woerpel labor Ladykiller in a Bind Laika LAM Sio Man land deed landscape Lan Xu Larry Cuba Legends in Human World Less/Love Lihsin Tsai Lilli Carré Li Ming Linda Frank Lin Shengkai Li Qi Li Ran Lisa McCleary LITTLE SOUND look in the rifts Lorenzo Bueno LOVE Love Conquers All Games Love Yourself Lucia Kempkes LUCK Ludic Homunculus Lunar New Year made on earth by humans Mahayana Temple Buddhist Association mah jong Maksym Kazarin mannerism manuel arturo abreu Margaret Friedman Mariel Rolwing Montes Marina Claire Marina Molarsky-Beck marketplace master of art and teaching meme age Mensur Bojda MIAMI Practicas Contemporaneas middle class Midnight Sale Milosz Minecraft Mini Wong Miriam Weeks modern china anthem modern Chinese moment of capture moment of identification Mountain River Jump! 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Press

  • 2023/08 Tianran Qian

    An Interview with Rui Lin from SLEEPCENTER to XINYI (新意计划):The Power of Participation and Sharing

    The New School India China Institute 2023/08 Tianran Qian The New School India China Institute

    Press Link (EN/CN):https://www.indiachinainstitute.org/2023/10/09/an-interview-with-rui-lin-from-sleepcenter-to-xinyi-%e6%96%b0%e6%84%8f%e8%ae%a1%e5%88%92%ef%bc%9athe-power-of-participation-and-sharing/

    indiachinainstitute.org, August 26th, 2023

    Text by Tianran Qian

    SLEEPCENTER (SC) was the starting point of my research towards NYC alternative spaces founded by the diasporic-Chinese community. I got to know SC’s founder Rui Lin, when I applied to become SC’s space manager last year. I met him in person this summer in Shanghai, and interviewed with him on his journey with SC, and his new research project “XINYI(新意).”

    SLEEPCENTER, initially established in 2015 on the harmonious Monroe street of Chinatown, New York City, is a transnational independent 501c (3) and C.I.C (Community Interest Company) not-for-profit agency for art and ideas that provides local communities and international audiences with a forum for “Cultural +” dialogue…After 50 fruitful public programs, the once shabby art space gradually evolved into a sustainable bi-lingual transdisciplinary cultural agency, which provides a variety of steady public programs and social services.

    – Why did you found SC? 为什么创立了SC?

    – At first we didn’t have a clear vision for this space. Freshly graduated from college, I just wanted to express and create exhibitions. As a fresh college graduate in New York, I was swiftly drawn into the necessity of networking and social connections. However, I found this aspect off-putting, sensing a distortion of priorities. In response, I felt it might be more worthwhile to create a space of my own, considering my capabilities. I am a practicing artist, and around 2012, I began curating as well, which brought me into contact with numerous intriguing artists and venues. Gradually, I accumulated experience through practices. Given New York’s habit of gallery hopping, physical spaces are vital for nurturing a community and facilitating genuine communication and artistic experiences.

    一开始并没有考虑过这个地方会变成什么样子,纯粹是刚刚大学毕业,有表达欲,想要办展览。在纽约作为一个刚刚起步的大学毕业生,很快被卷入了必须混圈子、需建立人际关系的局面。但我很讨厌这一点,觉得本末倒置。与其这样,不如自己找个地方做事情,毕竟有能力!我是一个practicing artist,2012年左右也开始策展,接触到很多有趣的艺术家和空间。逐渐我开始积累经验,通过实践的经历,来练习和思考如何更好地呈现内容。纽约有gallery hopping的习惯,实体空间对社群是很必要的,真正的交流和艺术的体验都需要线下空间。

    – Did you collaborate with anyone at first? 起初有合作伙伴吗?

    – My initial partner was Turkish, and our team was quite diverse, including friends from South Korea, the United States, Vietnam, Japan, and more. Right from the start, we were dedicated to approaching this venture seriously. Our ideas for the space varied; for instance, some partners saw it becoming a gallery. However, I personally lacked interest in the gallery format. New York has a flaky and transient nature; turnover of staff is high, resulting in various changes within the team. Nevertheless, the space naturally drew in a range of individuals, forming a community organically.

    起初我的合作伙伴是土耳其人,团队里有韩国、美国、越南、日本人等,非常多元,都是同学和朋友。我们选择开始时就决定要认真对待。大家对空间的有很多不同的展望,比如合作伙伴想发展成画廊,但我对画廊这个载体本身不太感兴趣。纽约很flaky,人员流动性大,团队也经历了几次更替。但空间还是自然地吸引了很多人,形成了一个community。

    Our very first exhibition, “Wake Up Stamark,” showcased the work of Jakob Steensen from Denmark. While he already managed a similar venture in Denmark, he aspired to make his mark in New York. After an introduction through mutual friends, I found his work to be captivating, still a work-in-progress. Little did I anticipate that he would later participate in the Venice Biennale.

    我们的第一个展览是“Wake Up Stamark”,来自丹麦的Jakob Steensen,他虽在丹麦也运营空间,但想来纽约闯荡。通过朋友介绍认识后,我发现他的作品非常有意思,还是work-in-progress,没想到后来他还参加了威尼斯双年展。

    – How did you pick the site? 如何选址?
    – We stumbled upon a truly abandoned basement space on Monroe Street in Chinatown. Originally known as the “Beijing Guild Hall (北京会馆),” it used to be a gathering place for Chinese immigrants from the northern regions. In comparison to the established Fujian and Cantonese-speaking population, the Northerners were much more marginalized. Making things happen in a foreign land is challenging, and the walls aren’t hidden; they’re quite apparent. A foreigner in China can never fully grasp the complexities of this society, let alone participate in its processes. In contrast, the United States is an immigrant society with a relatively well-defined structure.

    当时在Chinatown的Monroe Street找到了一个地下室,真正的废弃,曾经多次被火烧过。它原本叫“北京会馆”,是北方移民的聚集地。与大量的福建和粤语区移民相比,地位更底层。你们也知道在异国他乡想做点什么并不容易,我不认为那堵墙是隐形的,它非常明显。一个外国人在中国也理解不到很多很多事情,社会的复杂性和精神都无法体会,也无法参与社会进程。美国是一个结构相当清晰的移民社会。

    – Why a physical space? 为什么要一个实体空间?
    – The exploration of spatial utilization and its relational attributes began. From a contemporary art standpoint, spatial practices are in line with the concepts of “social sculpture” and “relational aesthetics.” Consider Joseph Beuys planting trees in Kassel or Rirkrit Tiravanija preparing Thai fried noodles—these are involvements that go beyond art and enter social realms. Initiatives like New Inc and Rhizome employ themselves as vessels and bring innovation to multiple institutional levels. I have always placed great importance on practical implementation. Without grounded research and experimentation, ideas can easily become abstract. Opting for a physical space holds substantial relevance. Space, as a medium, holds immense potential. It’s also a more artistic approach.

    我在实践的过程中认识到许多不足之处,于是我带着明确的问题阅读,思考社会结构作为载体的可能性。在经营空间的过程中,我逐渐理解空间自身的媒介性,这使得整件事突然变得非常有趣,再加上我本科期间就开始研究空间的利用和属性关系。从当代艺术的角度来说,空间的实践与社会雕塑(social sculpture)和关系美学(relational aesthetcis)相关,如博伊斯(Joseph Beuys)在卡塞尔种树和提拉瓦尼(Rirkrit Tiravanija)做泰国炒面。还有像New Museum的New Inc和Rhizome这样的项目,它们都把自己作为载体,在各个层面上进行机构的创新。我一直相信实践的重要,缺乏实际落地层面的研究与尝试很容易虚无缥缈。选择实体空间也与其实质性相关,空间这个载体可以承载极大的可能性,且更艺术化了。

    – Why did you register as “501c (3) and C.I.C”? 为何注册非营利组织资质?
    – I’ve always aimed to obtain nonprofit designations like 501(c)(3) and C.I.C. However, certain criteria needed to be met, including providing a resume and a list of contributions to the community. We initiated this process in late 2016 and completed it in 2017. Gradually, I recognized the significance of the 501(c)(3) status and how it enables us to genuinely engage with society through this structure.

    我从一开始就想申请501c (3) and C.I.C。但申请有一定条件,包括简历、对公众和社区的贡献,要承担社会责任。于是从2016年底开始,2017年完成。在实践过程中我逐渐意识到,必须要注册,才能和社会真正地建立连接。

    In New York, more and more places are emerging, closely tied to people’s emotions and the events occurring in our cities. For instance, due to some U.S. schools discontinuing art education, policies shifted. This created an opportunity for groups like ours to step in, offering a safe space for young individuals after school to prevent them from getting into trouble. These policy changes provided strong motivation. Even during the pandemic, while organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) received reduced funding, places like The Met still garnered substantial support. However, many other groups expressed financial constraints. Post-pandemic, there was an abundance of vacant spaces and free time, but people lacked the skills to pursue their interests and didn’t know where to start. This led to spaces for activities related to humanities and social sciences becoming popular gathering places, and universities also began to participate.

    纽约出现越来越多的空间,与都市中人们的情感需求和社会状况都有关。比如,为了弥补美国许多学校取消了艺术课程导致的社会空缺,通过政策变化,如给非营利机构提供场所,让青少年们放学后有处可去,以免走上不良道路。在这背后,政策变化起到了推动的作用。疫情期间,虽然国家艺术基金NEA(National Endowment for the Arts)的拨款减少,但像大都会博物馆(The Met)这样的机构依然得到了大量资助,同时许多其他机构都声称自己资金匮乏陷入困境。疫情后,有大量可被填充的空间和闲暇的人,想要实现社会理想却缺乏专业能力,又找不到途径。也因此,人文社科类的活动空间更容易成为聚集点,大学也开始积极参与这些活动。

    – How is SC financially sustainable? 收入和运营?
    – The initial investment for SC mainly came from my personal Airbnb income, including renting the space and renovation costs. Later on, through space rentals and various collaborations, we were able to sustain our basic daily operations. Over time, we grew beyond the limit of a physical space, and planned for 3 new programs.

    SC的前期投入主要来源于我个人的Airbnb收入,包括圈下空间和装修经费。后期通过空间出租与各类合作,基本足以支持日常运营。但逐渐,我们开始不局限于传统的空间概念,开始进行组织结构上的调整,规划了三大新方向。

    SC Creative Service(灵光助力):
    “SCCS specializes in B2B ecosystem and logistic support for clients in the arts, design, pan-entertainment, and the content creation industry. We engage in global/local Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) by distributing Portable Service Modules, which are assembled with professionals and skillsets corresponding to the project’s specific terms.” Based on our extensive curation experiences, we developed a curator’s tool book, similar to the “Smithsonian Guidelines.” The catalog included details from light effects, floor reflectivity, to hardware’s wiring connections. Additionally, our services include project communication, documentation, and event-planning in various forms.

    “SCCS专注于为当代文化艺术、泛娱乐、以及内容生产行业提供全面的B2B生态运营支持,为客户提供嵌入式服务模块(Portable Service Module):根据特定项目的具体需求与客观条件,通过业务流程分包(BPO)及知识流程分包(KPO),调配SCCS资料库中对口的技术人力资源,精准制定并投放在地/远程服务模块。” 我们通过丰富的展览经历,总结出了一个相当成熟的展览搭建系统,包括整理了一份类似“Smithsonian Guidelines”的布展指南。其中包括诸多细节,如物件悬挂高度、灯光效果、地板反光度、设备连接与驱动方式等。同时,我们的服务还包括展览的对外沟通、记录、期间各类活动策划,因为活动多样性也是我们的重点之一。
    SC Newsstand(新声书报亭):
    Newsstand is an O2O (online to offline) publishing platform. On the one hand, we have archival materials derived from exhibitions, which doesn’t require ISBN registration. On the other hand, we could do independent publishing with ISBN, using publishing as a commercial method with promotional functions. We’ve also come to realize the importance of archiving. Both the act of publishing collecting social relics (my personal hobby), are archiving processes. I tend to enjoy the present and the happening when an event takes place, and I don’t care much about others’ thoughts. But after realizing the importance of documentation and sharing, I came up with the idea of a “Newsstand”. It synthesizes a wide range of content to this platform, for more effective information documentation and dissemination. I also want sell the social relics I’ve collected, to contribute to the space’s income but also serve as a means of dissemination, because I believe in the value of these projects.

    想要进行出版,分两个维度:一是属于展览衍生的文献,无需注册书号;二是独立的出版物发行,需要申请书号,因为出版作为一种商业传播方式,也有其特定的目的与影响力。同时,我们也逐渐认识到归档(archiving)的重要性,无论是出版,还是我收集的当下social relics的爱好,都是归档的过程。我在实践过程中很容易忘记记录和整理,和性格有关,我更关注当下如何做得更好更得,也不太在乎别人的看法。后来意识到自己忽视了记录和传播的重要性,花时间做归档机构也不多,就想到了Newsstand的概念。不仅关注事件本身,也关注更多内容,将各类信息、出版物整合到这个平台上,以便记录与传播。除出版外,也想探索社交领域,比如收集与销售我收集的social relics。销售不仅作为空间的收入,还起传播作用,并且我相信这些项目的价值。

    SC Multiverse(多元宇宙):
    Think Tank.

    – Why did you register for a company in China? 为什么注册了中国的公司?
    – Gradually, we began to receive inquiries for creative and curatorial consultancy from clients in mainland China, the UK, and Taiwan. During that period, China was witnessing the establishment of numerous art institutions. They reached out to us due to the scarcity of available curatorial teams. We aspired for our services to extend beyond the limitations of physical space, aiming to connect with a broader audience and more public spaces. I was engaged in planning a Community Culture Center in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. The government showed significant enthusiasm for collaborating with me, embracing my background and approach that differed from their established system. Fueled by my interest in local participation, I even registered a Chinese company to accommodate clients from China.

    当时逐渐有些creative service前期咨询类的需求,比如有大陆、英国、台湾的客户想让我们承接策展项目。当时国内新建了很多美术馆,但缺少有能力的策展团队,就也会找到我们。基于这些机会,就回到creative service的初心,超越已有实体空间,去联结他人和公共空间的可能性。我当时参与了北京朝阳区政府一个社区文化中心的规划,意识到政府单位因客观社会实践方面的需求,不仅接纳体制外部的思考与实践的方向,并且主动向我发起合作,鼓励我的参与。再加上我对落地项目的兴趣,服务中国的公司也必须在中国注册,于是就有了“财思泉涌”。

    – What happened during Covid? 疫情了怎么办?
    – Our second new space in Williamsburg had recently opened. Coincidentally, I returned to NY from China and realized the situation wasn’t promising. Upon my arrival, I instructed everyone to halt their work and prioritize acquiring protective equipment, as well as stocking up on food and sanitary supplies. Subsequently, we decided to sublease the space at a price below market value to ensure the space’s fundamental operations could continue.

    当时我们Williamsburg的第二个新空间才没开多久。我正好从中国飞回纽约,知道情况不对,一到就让大家暂停工作,先采购物防疫资提前囤货。我们尽快把空间用低于市场的价格转租出去,用稳定的租金的保证空间的基本运营。

    – Why did you go back to China? 为什么决定回中国?
    – We were also engaged in commercial and research projects in the UK and the US. However, some projects couldn’t advance due to factors such as the absence of internet infrastructure in areas outside of major urban centers. I have always held an interest in the evolution of China’s digital ecosystem. Take TikTok and Bilibili as examples; content creators on these platforms have generated high-quality, in-depth videos. China has one of the highest averages of smart devices per person globally. Nearly everyone is familiar with using image editing apps like Meitu and Jianying — it has become a commonplace skill. Around 2015-2016, Alibaba introduced “Aliwood,” a product that enabled overseas businesses to craft videos from a few images. This product could comprehend image content, incorporate subtitles, and support various languages. It existed even before the widespread adoption of big language models. China just evolves so fast. I had to go back.

    我们在英国和美国也涉足一些商业和研究项目。有些项目因做不到内容生产的最后一公里,无法推动。英国有时候在主城区外,连相应的网络基础都没有,更别说生产内容。我一直关注中国数字内容生态的发展,举个例子,抖音目前的内容质量和深度已经相当不错了,他们哔哩哔哩等平台挖掘了许多优秀的内容制作人。中国是每人平均智能终端拥有率全球最高的国家,同时也是数字内容编辑比例最高的国家。几乎没有人不会使用图像编辑软件,如用美图秀秀、剪映等app进行图像处理和剪辑,这已经成为一种普遍的能力。阿里巴巴在 2015/16年左右推出了一个“阿里木”的产品,帮助海外商家利用少量图片生成视频。它可以解析图片内容、添加字幕,还支持多种语言,而且这个技术在大语言模型普及之前就已经存在。中国的新基建和时代发展息息相关,再加上发展速度和变化太快,我就选择了回国。

    – What is the new project XINYI? “新意计划”是什么?
    – XINYI is a research project with a specific focus on China’s digital content industry. Every year, the catalog comprises 10 categories, each featuring 50 visionary and socially impactful cases. Through extensive field research and thorough analysis, we will disseminate our findings online, in public spaces, and through the organization of a variety of academic and social events.

    “新意计划”是一个专注于中国数字化内容新业态的创新研究与展示推广的专题项目。通过对行业供给侧的田野调查,在10个业态细分目录中,以一年为周期,每周期内共遴选50个具有前瞻性和社会价值的创新案例、应用场景与解决方案,进行深入合作研究。并集成转化为案例展示,在线上线下公共场域中投放分享,辅以学术及社会活动,持续输出一份跨场域立体多维的行业报告。

    什么是“中国数字化内容”行业?
    The term “content” carries a more positive connotation within the Chinese context, signifying a broader embrace of diverse meanings. It’s possible that emerging enterprises and initiatives might not neatly conform to the structures of traditional business models. Could the introduction of novel terms or vocabulary create more space for discussions? During the “13th Five-Year Plan,” discussions around “digital content” primarily revolved around concepts like “digitalization,” “cultural digitalization,” and “artistic digitalization.” However, terms like “culture” or “art” might undergo substitution now, considering that the use of specific vocabulary to some extent narrows down the scope of concepts, consequently limiting engagement from industry, technology, and talent perspectives.

    “内容”这个词在中国语境下可能比在西方语境下更积极,代表不同内涵的容纳。或许新型企业和事务并不适合套用传统企业模式的框架来讨论。一个新的术语或词汇,是否给更多讨论提供空间?在“十三五”时,讨论“数字化内容”的重点为“数字化”、“文化数字化”和“文艺数字化”。但现在,“文化”或“文艺”这个词会被替换,因为词汇的使用在某种程度上限制了概念的广度,因此也限制了行业、技术和人才的参与。

    The digital content industry in China holds immense potential across various domains; partnerships between sectors such as culture, technology, and advertising can bring about entirely novel prospects. Our report is designed to deepen the comprehension of these changes for businesses and society, encouraging heightened engagement and collaboration. Numerous inquiries are ripe for exploration, including the nexus between a company’s inception, evolution, and the prevailing spirit of the times. How do a company’s internal operations intertwine with shifts in the industry supply chain? What anticipations do industry leaders and participants hold? How do affiliations with collaborators and rivals evolve? How do enterprises recalibrate growth objectives to harmonize with an ever-evolving landscape?

    中国数字内容产业拥有跨领域带来的众多可能性,如文旅、科技、广告等领域间的合作可以带来许多全新的机会。我们每年产出的这份研究报告可以帮助企业和社会更了解这些变化,激发更多积极的互动和合作。有许多值得研究的角度,比如企业的创立、转型与时代背景的联系?公司内部运转与产业链变化的关系?公司的掌舵人及参与者对行业有什么预期?合作与竞争伙伴们之间关系的变化?企业如何调整成长的目标与方向,以适应不断变化的环境?

    We aspire to contribute to the establishment of this industry framework, one that lacks clear delineation and warrants in-depth exploration of its significance.

    我们想参与这个行业框架的建构,它的边界并不明确,所代表的意义也需值得更深入的探索。

    – What are some case examples? 有什么案例?
    – iSTART
    (Public Welfare, Education, and Social Affairs 公益公教与社会事业):
    iSTART is an exceptional children’s art festival project initiated by A4 Art Museum since 2014. I hold it in the highest regard within the curatorial industry. For instance, their “Gaga Universe Republic” project engaged hundreds of children, collectively participating in nation-building from perspectives like currency, law, hierarchy, holidays, and dreams, functioning as “national think tanks.” I met Li Jie in New York, where he was a researcher at ACC. Our friendship developed during his visit to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Over the years, his organization has persevered in exploring how it can grow alongside and contribute to local culture and the urban landscape.

    iSTART是A4美术馆从2014年开始举办的儿童艺术节项目,做得非常出色,我给他策展行业最高水平的评价!比如他们的“嘎嘎宇宙共和国”项目,邀请上百个孩子参与,从货币、法律、等级、节日、梦想等任何角度,作为“国家智囊”来共同参与国家的建设。我在纽约认识的李杰,那时他是ACC的一名研究员,去布鲁克林的儿童博物馆进行访问,我们从那时起建立了友谊。他的机构坚持了多年,真正在探索和挖掘可能性,以及与这片土地和文化体系成长的方式。

    Henan TV Latern Festival Gala x Bilibili 河南卫视元宵奇妙夜
    (Quality Digital Content 优质内容呈现):
    In 2021, Henan TV hosted an extraordinary Lantern Festival Gala in collaboration with Bilibili (bilibili.com). Traditionally, gala shows adhered to a schedule with hosts announcing segments, followed by midnight bells or fireworks. However, with the advent of streaming media, audience viewing habits and show design have evolved. This gala lasted just 30 minutes, eschewing traditional hosts and leveraging cutting-edge post-production technologies to transform the usually extended “accompaniment-style” gala into a compilation catering to “on-demand” preferences.

    河南卫视于2021年在B站(bilibili.com)举办了一场非常出圈的元宵晚会,叫《元宵奇妙夜》 。通常晚会节目都会按照时间表进行,主持人宣布时间,在半夜敲响钟声或放烟花。然而,流媒体时代的观看方式、节目的时长与设计,都发生了变化。晚会仅半小时,没有主持人串场,制作完全利用了最新的后期技术手段,将原本冗⻓的 “陪伴型”晚会模式转换成了适应“点播式”需求的集锦模式。

    Conflux 数图
    (Sustainable Development & New Infrastructure 绿色可持续发展与新基建):
    Conflux, headquartered in Shanghai, is a trailblazer in China’s public blockchain system. Amidst the complex global landscape, various entities are propelling blockchain-related regulations and applications. While many may make superficial efforts, who are the true architects behind the infrastructure system? How do they integrate China’s technological support within its unique context to chart their future course? This field inherently looks forward and holds immense future value. Consequently, engaging in research and collaboration with these pioneers and showcasing their narratives through our platform significantly contributes to industry-wide communication. Thus, “XINYI” is primarily oriented towards advancing the industry from within.

    中国的公链项目叫“数图(Conflux)”,总部位于上海。在当前这个充满复杂性的全球环境下,各方都在推动区块链相关法规和应用的发展。许多人虚晃一枪,但在幕后实际搭建系统的人是谁?他们如何在这个框架下,结合中国最先进的技术支持,决定他们所认可的发展方向?这个领域必然是极具前瞻性和未来价值的,因此与他们交流,研究他们的方向,通过我们的平台去展现他们是非常助于行业交流的,也才能与社会交流。所以“新意”的研究首先是为行业内部做的。

    Yellow River Hotel Collective 黄河宿集
    (Local Regeneration and Organizational Innovation 地方创生与组织结构创新):
    “Yellow River Hotel Collective” is located in the Huanghe Bay of Dawan Village, Zhongwei City, Ningxia Province. This village was once forsaken, but a collective of hotel and hostel proprietors converged here, each owning their own hotel brands across destinations such as Qingcheng Mountain and Bishan. With minimal expenditures, they undertook the revitalization of the old village, facilitating the autonomous functioning of their respective lodging enterprises. In parallel, they introduced lifestyle brands encompassing bars, restaurants, and even established artist residency programs. Through innovative organizational structures, this cultural and tourism project revitalized the abandoned local economy, which is a remarkable achievement in China.

    “黄河宿集”位于宁夏中卫大湾村的黄河湾,那里曾是被遗弃的农庄。在那里聚集了一帮做民宿的人,各自拥有不同品牌在青城山、碧山等地。他们用非常低的成本修复老村庄,让民宿自己经营,同时引进了都市中的酒吧、餐厅等生活方式品牌,还设立艺术家驻地项目。“宿集”不只是一个集体,更是一个集合(collective)。通过组织结构形态的创新,这个文旅项目盘活了一个遗弃的村落甚至小镇,让它重焕生机,这在中国是非常难的。

    学术合作?
    We have academic partners, but our research institute itself is not affiliated with any institution. “XINYI” relies more on the power of societal participation to maintain a certain level of freedom. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is one of our academic partners, known for its strong research capabilities in computer media and arts, including digital visualization. Positioned as a research university, it emphasizes academic publishing and top-tier academic conferences participation. The Future Lab of Tsinghua University focuses on applying new media and interactive technologies to everyday life, such hearing enhancement applications. These hot topics in academia not only attract attention but also contribute to raising awareness of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance), a point of emphasis in China today. The China Academy of Art’s School of Innovative Design also offers numerous launched projects worthy of research and collaboration.

    我们有学术合作伙伴,但研究所本身不挂在任何学院名下。“新意”更依靠社会的力量来推动,也保持一定的自由度。香港科技大学是我们的学术合作伙伴,他们的计算机媒体与艺术系有很强的研究实力,如数字可视化。它的定位是研究型大学,注重发表学术论文,参加顶级学术会议。清华大学未来实验室定位是未来生活的应用,更关注新媒体与交互技术如何应用于人类生活中,如听障人士的听力扩展。这些学术界的热门话题除关注度外,也作用于ESG(Environmental, social, and corporate governance)意识的提高,也是中国现在重视的一点。还有中国美术学院创新设计学院,都有很多落地项目值得研究与合作。

    如何研究?
    We have a team of five researchers who travel across the country to explore and study different places. Being there in person helps them see interesting things happening locally. Our researchers study what we’ve researched before and choose what topics to focus on from ten different categories. The team helps with managing projects and doing research. We want our researchers to have an open-minded and practical outlook, be sensitive and aware of what’s happening, and be ready to keep learning and push past their own personal views and limits.

    我们有五个研究员,会在全国各地乱跑进行调研和探索,要去实地才能看到本地在发生的有趣事情。研究员在选定目录方向后,先了解我们的前期研究内容,再判断是否想要深入研究。团队也会负责统筹,一起讨论方向。我们希望研究员有相对客观、务实的视角,有敏感度,愿意不断学习突破受限的视角。

    – How to Share? 如何分享?
    – Establishing a connection with the public is the initial step of our comprehensive program. This is precisely why XINYI functions as a “Research and Sharing Initiative.” Our objective is to assist individuals in comprehending how this industry exerts influence on and shapes our daily lives, as well as how concepts can be contemplated within the context of this industry framework. For young individuals who may be feeling adrift, there exists an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the foundational companies and projects that are actively shaping the very trajectory of our digital ecosystem. This exposure provides valuable insights for their future learning and careers. Furthermore, within the industry itself, this initiative aids enterprises and organizations in identifying and establishing connections with like-minded allies.

    与公众建立联系是全计划的第一步,因此叫“研究与分享计划”,让大家真正了解我们周围有许多事情都与这个行业有关,或者可以放在这个行业的框架内来思考。比如对迷茫的年轻人来说,有机会通过了解有趣的、在幕后默默付出而成为行业中流砥柱的企业,看到未来的学习机会与工作方向。同时,也可以帮助行业内部的企业和机构也意识到,行业内外都有许多人在这条路上共同努力。

    Apart from public programs such as seminars, workshops, exhibitions, and various other activities, our research outcomes will be shared through diverse channels. Firstly, we will publish interactive webpages and multimedia research outcomes on social media platforms. Throughout the year, the website will be consistently updated, enriching the reports with increasing fascination and complexity. Secondly, we intend to produce 1-minute videos for each case or company, showcasing them in prominent public transportation hubs nationwide, including screens within high-speed trains and subway stations. The collaboration between Central South Media and Changsha National Group resulted in the exceptional transformation of the Changsha subway station, a prime example of digitization advancement. Utilizing high-quality 1.8P screens, they encourage investments in screen development and content creation. This approach fosters engagement by actively involving individuals through actions and investments. I firmly believe that “participation” carries substantial business value. Given that XINYI is closely connected to public education, we find presenting concise videos in public transportation hubs to be an accessible strategy. Despite the videos’ brief duration, their content will maintain both scholarly depth and genuine emotional resonance.

    除讲座、工作坊、展览等形式之外,研究成果会以多种形式分享。其一,我们通过互动网页和社交媒体平台发布,网站内容将不断更新研究内容,包括文字、影像等,一年下来研究报告会越来越丰富有趣。其二,我们将为每个企业制作一个短视频,在全国各大公共交通场所播放,比如高铁车厢和地铁的屏幕中。比如长沙地铁站是中南传媒跟长沙国家集团合作的,是全国公共交通枢纽数字化转型的最佳案例之一。他们通过1.8P的高质量屏幕鼓励招商对象投资屏幕建造,同时鼓励他们投入资金做新的内容,让大家通过做事情和投入金钱,共同参与数字化进程。我认为“参与”是重要的商业价值,因此研究项目本身也和公共教育相关。短视频在交通枢纽是一理解门槛较低的媒介,一分钟的时长虽短,但内容可以保持一定学术性,无论对一个创业者、公司或任何话题,都可以保留它的深度与真实性。

    (Translation supported by Chat GPT)

  • 2020/04 Peiyue Wu

    Chinese art community’s response to the pandemic in New York

    CAFA.com 2020/04 Peiyue Wu CAFA.com

    Press Link (EN) http://www.cafa.com.cn/en/news/details/8328830

    Press Link (CN) http://www.cafa.com.cn/cn/news/details/8328830

     

    CAFA.com, April, 2nd, 2020

    Text by Peiyue Wu

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    Just as China has managed to bring the COVID-19 under control, the western world has gradually become the hardest hit area from the outbreak. At this critical moment when news about the closure of museums and galleries has surfaced, there is a petition signed by art students for the refund of tuition fees and the financial crisis faced by several art schools begin to flood influential news outlets. When most of the media focuses on the reporting of mainstream western institutions, the COVID-19’s impact on overseas Chinese art groups in the pandemic was neither covered by the western media nor by the domestic media. Therefore, CAFA ART INFO specially interviewed four Chinese art practitioners based in New York to learn about the COVID-19’s impact on the small and medium-sized galleries, non-profit art spaces and online organizations led by them. Besides, the interviewees also shared how they are going to adjust the original operating model and develop long-term plans during the outbreak and how the pandemic inspires them to reflect on their roles and practices.

    How exhibitions and programs were affected regardless of the prevention of the pandemic.

    As the COVID-19 outbreak started in China at the beginning of this year, Chinese communities in New York realized the severity of the epidemic ahead of other ethnic groups. Knowing that the “disaster” would soon strike New York, they started to work on pandemic prevention relatively early on.

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    “A Room of One’s Own” installation view. Photograph by Huang Jingyao. Courtesy of Fu Qiumeng Fine Art.

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    “The Null Set ∅ ” installation view. Photograph by Huang Jingyao. ©Feng Mingqiu, courtesy of Fu Qiumeng Fine Art.

    Fu Qiumeng, the founder of Fu Qiumeng Fine Art (a New York-based gallery that primarily represents Chinese contemporary ink art), revealed in an interview with CAFA ART INFO that the COVID-19 outbreak in China had allowed her to foresee the upcoming pandemic in New York and plan ahead of time: there was no opening scheduled for the group exhibition on the Chinese contemporary ink art in March, and the show can only be viewed by appointment. “The group exhibition was in line with the schedule of Asian Art Week in New York (March 12-19),” Qiumeng explained why she did not include any public events accompanying the exhibition during the early preparation stages. “Consideration has been given to our customers who all have a deep relationship with China, we believe that many people must have returned from a recent business trip to China.”

    Qiumeng originally planned to have the artists interact with spectators in the form of an “elegant gathering”, replacing a crowded art opening with several small-scale sharing sessions, with two or three people entering each time. “This type of viewing experience would align with our interest in exploring the relationship between the present and the past,” Qiumeng said. “While contemporary audiences view artworks in public spaces, Chinese literati viewed art privately.”

    Even though this cautious and thoughtful appointment-based exhibition viewing had taken into account the need to minimize crowding, it was not implemented. After the World Health Organization (WHO) officially announced the COVID-19 outbreak a worldwide pandemic on March 11, the Metropolitan Museum of Art together with other major art institutions and galleries shut down one by one. “Our entire art community has stopped working,” Qiumeng explained why she decided to cancel the appointment-based exhibition viewing. “Also, I don’t want to expose artists to risks.”

    Financial dilemma caused by the pandemic

    Qiumeng admitted the sales volume of the primary market gallery that she runs will be affected more directly by COVID-19 pandemic than those dealing with the secondary market. “We do not represent artists such as KAWS, who has been already very well-known in the secondary market led by big auction houses. We have to educate museum curators and collectors about the historical significance of our artists through face-to-face communication, and thus help them to land high-profile positions in the industry.” Qiumeng considers collectors’ behaviors in the primary market as experience consumption, “Now there is no way to have such direct interaction with people. ”

    Echo He, who has worked for Pace Gallery in New York for ten years and founded Fou Gallery in 2013, also accepted an interview with CAFA ART INFO. When being asked to talk about the capital turnover, Echo’s attitude was relatively optimistic: “Fou Gallery has always been operating in a low-key fashion and does not follow a large-scale commercial operation. Things would be fine if we tightened our budget a little bit and adapted flexibly to changes. ”

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    SLEEPCENTER’s new space in Brooklyn. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

    Except for the decline in sales that galleries are facing, many non-profit art spaces have also cancelled or postponed projects that could have generated revenue to support space operations. Lin Rui, who has run SLEEPCENTER a non-profit art space in New York for five years, revealed to CAFA ART INFO that a series of social enterprise projects planned to be launched in 2020 with the support of SLEEPCENTER has been affected severely by the COVID, including a project of place-making (activation of abandoned space) in Beijing, and several Asian galleries’ landing projects in New York. The consultation fee earned from these projects could have funded SLEEPCENTER to transform its operational model. “We realize that in this era, it is impossible for a non-profit organization to rely solely on grants and patrons as the main source of income,” explained Lin Rui. “We want to go beyond this unsustainable model.” However, as the space can only be funded after the completion of those projects, the COVID-19 has greatly slowed down this transition. “We have started planning to postpone many projects since the end of 2019,” Lin Rui said. “Taking into account the current situation, this impact may last until May and June.”

    As revenue drops, how to cover the high rents in New York becomes the biggest challenge for those who run art spaces. Faced with this problem, Lin Rui joined an online petition asking for rent suspension initiated by the Senate Deputy Leader while actively negotiating acceptable rents with his landlord.

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    SLEEPCENTER’s space in Chinatown. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

    As a particular type of small business, galleries seem to have another solution which cannot be adopted by non-profit space, namely to apply for subsidy grants and emergency funding for small business. However, Echo explained to CAFA ART INFO that it is difficult for the art industry to meet the application requirements of government subsidies for small businesses. The New Art Dealers Alliance, which Echo joined earlier, calls on the government of New York to adjust the funding scheme to the needs of art practitioners, including rent reduction and direct funding. “The art industry is very different from the catering and retail industries. If examined under a one-size-fits-all standard, few galleries can get these funds,” Echo said. “Notwithstanding, the art industry is one of those most severely affected.”

    Time to build online platform and digital archives

    Although the contemporary art world has been enthusiastic about online exhibitions in recent years, the huge amount of time and effort required by physical exhibitions and programs has prevented galleries, museums, and art fairs from incubating a better platform for digital presentation. This pandemic has obviously propelled the entire art industry to look for a more diverse and effective way for art to be felt in the virtual world, rather than treating online exhibitions as a vague concept.

    In terms of online selling, Fou Gallery has responded in a timely manner. According to Echo, although many previous transactions were conducted online, the method was rather traditional and mechanical: collectors usually made their decisions according to the catalogs that gallery staff sent out through WeChat or email. Two of Wendy Letven’s works on display were sold this way. After the gallery space closed, Fou Gallery’s partner and art director Lynn Hai designed and released an online gallery providing an immersive experience.

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    “Wendy Letven: Lines Falling Together in Time” installation view. Photograph by Lynn Hai.©Wendy Letven, courtesy Fou Gallery.

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    “Wendy Letven: Lines Falling Together in Time” installation view. Photograph by Lynn Hai.©Wendy Letven, courtesy Fou Gallery.

    Lin Rui said in the interview that the content placed by art institutions and galleries on their websites had not been effective enough in terms of enhancing the general public’s understanding about art. Considering archiving and researching projects that non-profit art organizations often deal with, Lin Rui believes that the public will have a better learning experience when more information is available online. “Now there is an opening, I don’t want to see it close after the pandemic passes,” Lin Rui said. “The online presentation reflects the actual strength of institutions and galleries, and it takes time to optimize.”

    For Qiumeng, who temporarily stopped all gallery activities, she finally gets the time to organize academic archives and begin a long-planned project: Integrate the domestic media’s coverage of artists represented by the gallery into its own newsletter, and help collectors to understand the art ecology of China. Qiumeng believes that this type of work that involves writing and documenting can increase the value of artwork in the long run.

    After interviewing the three art practitioners who run physical art spaces in New York, CAFA ART INFO also learned that a non-profit academic community named “Trigger” has been conducting online panel discussions between Chinese artists and American artists. As an important part of the Chinese art community in New York, “Trigger” was initiated by art students, artists, and a halo of interested parties with similar educational backgrounds in the United States. Cai Xingyang, the founder of “Trigger”, told CAFA ART INFO during the interview that online tools had already been used at times when Chinese contemporary artists were invited to join the conversation who cannot pay a visit to NY.

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    Ni Youyu’s artist talk at School of Visual Art. Courtesy of Trigger.

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    Ni Youyu’s artist talk at School of Visual Art. Courtesy of Trigger.

    Xingyang suggested that the participation experience improved after the events switched from being semi-offline and semi-online to being completely online. “I feel that we have now drawn closer,” Xingyang said, “it is no longer that divisive, like the guests are staged while audiences are sitting at the back.” Xingyang expressed his optimism about the future of such online art events. He explained: “Online events do not have the rigid form that live events always keep. Instead, it creates a form of communication which is light and handy, and thus helps participants to stay sober.”

    ChineseArtCommunityNYC_09.jpg

    Screenshot of Trigger’s artist panel held on Zoom. Courtesy of Trigger.

    ChineseArtCommunityNYC_10.png

    Screenshot of Trigger’s artist panel held on Zoom. Courtesy of Trigger.

    Breaking through the cultural strata through cooperation and dialogue: the world has never been so connected

    While the COVID-19 pandemic has created a human crisis, it also provides an opportunity for the Chinese art community in New York to break through its original cultural strata and truly participate in local social and public discussions happening here.

    Echo told CAFA ART INFO about N95 FOR NYC, a mutual aid group initiated by several Chinese art practitioners based in New York. This group collected funds from collectors of major galleries, as well as other art practitioners in New York, purchased personal protective equipment (PPE) from trusted suppliers in China and distributed them to various hospitals in New York. Echo revealed that the first batch of PPE that had been purchased included 10,000 N95 respirator masks, 20,000 general surgical masks and 350 medical protective overalls and they would arrive in New York in early April. “In the past few days, I have cleared away a lot of blind spots in medical knowledge,” said Echo, who has been actively learning about each implementation section of the donation. “There are questions such as what kind of documents we need to sign when donating to hospitals, which supplier is the best option, and how to ensure that the supplies can be delivered to the hands of frontline healthcare professionals without too many bureaucratic layers.” Echo also suggested that in the future, it is better to send small-scale donations directly to small clinics, which often cannot compete with large hospitals in terms of seeking resources.

    As China has been at the center of Western mainstream media coverage since the COVID-19 outbreak started, the Chinese art community in New York has never been so enthusiastic about tracking the US media coverage of one particular event from beginning to end and therefore has a deeper understanding of strategies behind the US media operation, as well as the drawbacks of the public opinion environment and the medical social security system of the United States. In this regard, Lin Rui said in the interview that he hopes that through this incident, the mid-career Chinese artists, as well as the younger generation, could have a “parallel perspective” to look at the world, understand the differences between countries and have more equal communication with American peers. “I hope that we no longer look up to (everything in the United States) with strangeness and distance,” Lin Rui said. “If we approach culture here with a more open and peaceful mentality, we may get more.”

    ChineseArtCommunityNYC_11.jpg

    “Juchuan Li: Wuhan Club” installation view. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

    ChineseArtCommunityNYC_12.jpg

    “Juchuan Li: Wuhan Club” installation view. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

    ChineseArtCommunityNYC_13.jpg

    “Juchuan Li: Wuhan Club” installation view. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

    ChineseArtCommunityNYC_14.jpg

    “Juchuan Li: Wuhan Club” installation view. Courtesy of SLEEPCENTER.

    As the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the cancellation of major exhibitions around the world, Lin Yan, an artist represented by Fou Gallery, recently brought a large installation  to “Clouds Gathering and Unfolding”, an exhibition held by Lakeside Art Museum in Japan. According to Echo, the planning of the exhibition started in January, but the outbreak prevented the curatorial teams in China and New York from traveling. Under quarantine, they used WeChat groups to communicate about the modification of layout sketches, the shipping arrangement, the design of the catalog, and so on. In the end, the Japanese team purchased material and installed the work according to the proposal given to them which had been translated into Japanese.

    The global series “Regeneration of Hope” had already landed in Wanying Art Museum (Shijiangzhuang) earlier, where Lin Yan constructed a maze with hundreds of rice paper hanging from the ceiling. Echo read out the artist statement written by Lin Yan at that time to express her recent feelings: “The path is very narrow. As you walk forward, the sound of the paper will follow. Look up, you can see a line of sky. Isolated, we still share the same sky and water. ”

    The rest of interviewees also mentioned the decrease in global carbon emissions, believing that the pandemic may be a form of self-protection for the planet. At the end of the interview, Echo said that the pandemic made her and her partners more determined about the 15-year plan for the gallery: “We will continue to explore a more decentralized state of being, build an art space far from the hustle and bustle, and integrate art with nature.”

  • 2019/11 邓天媛

    今日功绩社会的历史溯源——人间指南和武汉会馆的九十年代

    LEAP 艺术界 2019/11 邓天媛 LEAP 艺术界

    Press link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/usN9OTPzSd48kCqVdxDvxg

    LEAP 观点,2019年11月11日

    文|邓天媛

     

    人间指南(上、下)

    时间:2019.5.18-8.18(上) 

    2019.8.31-11.24(下)

    地点:UCCA尤伦斯当代艺术中心,北京

    武汉会馆——李巨川

    时间:2019.9.13-10.20

    地点:SLEEPCENTER,纽约华埠空间

    如果说理想与启蒙并进的八十年代是一个“大”时代,那么它的遗产在被市场经济荡涤数十载的今日却难以指认。倒是融入全球经济和迎接互联网的“小”时代九十年代,更是今日功绩社会的精神原点。个人从集体的剥离和阶级话语的消弭伊始于这个十年,仿佛在人文热情被清算之后,改革开放所蕴含的全部潜力才被释放。从这个意义上说,被广为歌颂的八十年代也许才是一个前承革命乌托邦、后启发展硬道理的“过渡”年代。而九十年代,既是八十年代的精神遗产的试金石与炼金石,也是对千禧时代全面世俗化的历史溯源。近来艺术界不乏对于这十年的梳理。大致上,这些梳理基于个人的能动性。譬如,2001年巫鸿在首届“广州当代艺术三年展”中提出“实验艺术”这种说法以统摄九十年代的艺术发生,并认为实验性的来源正是“人的主体性”2。以九十年代作为开端的“想象主流价值”展览(中间美术馆,2018)也以个案为入手点。对于个体的强调,除了有李佳所言的九十年代再无易于被整体叙述的先锋派的原因 ,笔者还发现另外一个常被提起的动机:以艺术家本身作为叙述出发点,可以防范理论假设的硬掰风险,规避西方舶来叙述的窠臼。这不失为一种脚踏实地。

    UCCA的九十年代回顾展《人间指南》(上、下)在延续关注个人能动性的基础上,格外着力于还原彼时彼地的社会情境。不管是(上)的重现九十年代信息环境的档案室、九三大消费,还是(下)中将双飞的九室一厅生活场景的还原,《人间指南》花了极大努力营造九十年代那股扑面而来的“年代感”。这不是普通的“还原语境”,因为社会语境已经被作为作品的审视对象。它不仅是补充作品的辅助信息,而是内构于作品的意义。对于社会语境的着力,可谓是《指南》在前人基础上的更进一步。

    此次展览标题取自九十年代初的室内喜剧《编辑部的故事》里的一份杂志《人间指南》,这个选择显然不仅是巧合。在这十年中,休闲和购物代替了运动和集会成为了社会的重要组织和调动方式,而陡然兴起的大众媒体也正在代替八十年代的精英知识分子成为引导人民的主力军,或曰“指南人”。“指南型”小报,譬如《精品购物指南》和《购物导报》,层出不穷地教化着人们如何包装自己去合乎一个体面的“中产”身份(而与其说这是一种已有的阶层趣味,不如说正是媒体在喂养或“指南”着一种中产阶级身份认同)。这种自我审视(向内)与自我符号化(向外)的齐驱并进,是九十年代始有的,也可谓是(上)展览中艺术家们共同体察到、做出回应的。(下)则将这种审视所携带而来的自觉在空间自觉、生产方式自觉等各个维度上延展,为二十世纪的最后十年留下了一阕蕴含各种可能性的尾音。

    以陈劭雄、王晋、任戬和新历史小组的实践为线索的人间指南(上)对于流行文化、大众消费、城市景观等时代面貌的回应已有不少评论者着墨,而“审视” (gaze)和围绕着审视的概念——“他者”、“景观”、“符号”——确乎成为了(上)中作品和评论都难以回避的关键词。这指向了一个并未浮出地表的可能性:如果说八十年代人们共同沉浸在对于现代化的渴望中,那么九十年代对于“审视”的锁定表明“现代性”可能已经开始渗透进了生活的肌理。“审视”与“现代性”的联系在现代性沉淀更久的西方更加明显,譬如巴黎在十九世纪后半叶的现代化直接催生了以审视路人和街景为创作推动的印象派。就连陈劭雄自己对于《街景》的描述都和德加和马奈如出一辙:“城市的确很像一个舞台,自家的窗口就是一个观众席…工作就是为了获得这张城市戏剧的门票。” 而不同于西方的是,中国现代性的有效艺术表达多在影像领域。陈劭雄的《视力矫正器-7》中,市井生活的两段录像被投射在一个白盒子式的小空间中,但因为投影仪在360度地打转,你无法同时看到两端录像,却可以听到它们的吵闹。如果说城市生活的信息过载与信息断层在这件作品中被翻译成了感观语言,那么毗邻的天河城商业街景则让观者察觉到了另外一层含义:《矫正器》中的菜场和小店等市井场景并没有被“指南”成风景,虽然它们才是“沉默的大多数”的真实生活。陈也在展览中对资本构筑出的“风景”们给出了自己的回应,他用它们自己的生产语言去指认它们的生产运作:这条街上,路人、公交车、广告牌和楼宇之间的区别全部被溶解,都如架上货物一样一色排开,可供携带也可供摆布。直至今天笔者依然以为,陈的这种手法是颇得波普精髓的:波普的要点在于借力打力,以商业之道还商业之身,却不控诉,让樯橹灰飞烟灭须在“谈笑间”

    如果说(上)中王晋的“美元”叩门、新历史小组的“九三大消费”和展末阅览室对于文化研究热的场景再现都以不同切面回应了世俗生活的发轫,那么(下)穿透了表面可触的发轫现象,反刍了它的正反两面。戴锦华在反思九十年代的《隐形书写》中指出了一个资本风景所遮蔽掉的现象:贫富差距。虽说在下海潮和下岗潮并行的背景下,一个新富阶层的崛起和大批下岗职工的无所适从几乎可以说是必然,但是这种必然被指南人间的传媒和消费所遮蔽。徐坦的综合媒介作品《回忆与制造》(1996-2019),看似只是平实地将东莞工人等平常百姓的图片或者琐碎回忆打在A4纸上,然后放置放在布口袋中任人抽取和阅读。但是在“万元户”愈发吸睛的年代,对于这些实际上构成大多数的所谓“弱势群体”的关注已然成了一种温情的再现。同样地,徐勇的《到胡同去》(1989-2017)呈现了北京胡同的景点化,并置了盖茨夫妇等名人游览胡同的纪实相片和胡同原住民的肖像。这些因为被覆盖而本将流逝于时代长河的人和记忆,以个人经历的证词(testimonial)的形式重新浮出地表。有趣的是,似乎正是“当代艺术”这个标识为这些脆弱的个人记忆提供了避难之处。这个标识所自带的反抗主流气质让“边缘”、“弱势”或者仅仅是无法兼容于商业等特征取得了别处难以获得的正当性。

         这份正当性之所以珍贵,也是因由“当代艺术”可以容纳公民们关于城市空间的时空边界(包括公民对于空间的拥有权利)的讨论。(下)中,建筑师李巨川的作品里多数都围绕着他通过一块砖块与城市互动,不管是每早十点在轮渡上向江心抛掷砖块(《武汉长江大桥》)、还是放置一块砖块在公交车上、等待它回站的时候取回(《43路公共汽车》)。虽然砖块在不同的影像和行为中意义各不相同,但是它可以被理解为贯穿这些行为的一种丈量时空的工具。不管是公交还是轮渡,李往往选择在空间里移动、并且遵循时间表的物体作为丈量对象,可见城市的“时空”是被处理的真正对象。此外,李巨川的另外一项九十年代艺术行为《东湖计划》亦同时期在纽约SLEEPCENTER的《武汉会馆》展览中展出。在武汉的东湖面临房地产开发改造之际,李邀请公民围绕东湖展开开放式艺术行为,以回应这种不透明的对公共资源的商业开发。李的作品中对于时空的自觉在《东湖》里凝聚为一种集体自觉,将针对城市空间的思辨最终转化为对于空间所属的诘问。触及“权”字,自然是举步维艰。但是我看着年轻人们在东湖边沿着搭起的栈道骑着自行车,一头扎进湖水,不亦快哉,不禁感叹:这不就是雅克·拉康对于“享受”(Jouissance) 的解释么:以冲破藩篱为乐,却达到了一种超越了单纯快感的亦苦亦乐的境界。

    在城市空间的思考上,(下)基于(上)的另外一个重要延展是对于艺术生产空间的自觉。九十年代是商业和美术馆机制都并未成熟的十年,也是各类商业尝试鹊起、双年展三年展模式逐渐全球化的十年。虽然对于展览模式的自觉在这样的背景下仿佛很自然,也并不是第一次被提出(譬如巫鸿著的90年代实验艺术的《关于展览的展览》),但是之前主要是在艺术史学科语汇里被提出的。(下)中,虽然展览也作为一种知识生产范式被审视,但是态度就不那么拘谨了。双飞艺术中心的《九室一厅》里一台客厅电视机里这么唱着:“出卖我的爱/逼着我当代/最后知道不展览我鸡鸡软下来/终于被当代/你背了良心债/就算付出再多材料费也不会来…”在这里,“当代”是一个动词,并且这个动词的展开形式颇像情色交易。这种戏谑的态度是断然有别于八十年代的迫不及待想要学会“当代”的热忱的。九十年代的“当代”走下神龛,被双飞唱成了一桩打打闹闹的事。不过对于亦正亦邪的双飞来说,情色交易未必全然是坏。九室一厅的生活居室里有大量的黄色涂鸦和有色无色的碟片,不禁让人想起九十年代另一大特色:夜总会、录像厅、盗版碟片等等非官方的娱乐传播途径的兴起(方才提到的《武汉会馆》里也实体还原了当时的一个录像厅)。如果说携带启蒙功效的开放化和自由化于八十年代末在官方体制内被收紧,它的剩余能量可以说在这种地下空间得到了一种延续。

    站在今天看九十年代的展览范式,笔者颇为唏嘘。八十年代的张力,很大程度上是“江湖”和“精英”的对立所产生的。九十年代,先锋和学院的区别在“新生代”等年代初展览中已经呈现失效,邱志杰、王功新等海归或学院“精英”在(下)里的“野生计划”中的非官方、半地下空间里”野生”着;尚未成熟的学生们像双飞一样拥抱“民间”身份,在城乡结合部、超市、家具城、酒吧、马路等公共空间举行展览,展糙态度不糙。2000年,依然出现了对抗第三届上海双年展的名为“不合作”的展览。经过又几载洗礼的今天,当代艺术似乎已经被年复一年的双年展合法化了,只要一些指标符合了,谁也不需要去解释在展厅里做一些奇怪行为为什么就值得投入那么大的财力物力。但是似乎有一种乏力感在想认真对待当代艺术的人当中蔓延。可供指认的原因当然很多,但是不论为何九十年代那股会自娱却依然认真的劲儿,也许依然可以作为我们的精神资源。

    注释:

    1. 策展人卞卡在《北京裸奔》里引用了功绩社会这个概念。此概念由哲学家韩炳哲在《倦怠社会》一书中提出,指向我们的竞争性的、效绩主导的社会正在产生着从抑郁症到注意力分散等普遍蔓延的社会症候。卞卡在《北京裸奔》中将现下艺术机构的“流量指标化”等现象与功绩社会联系起来。而功绩社会的逻辑始于九十年代。
    2. 苏伟,“实验艺术:全球视野与主体性,对话巫鸿,”澎湃新闻,2019年10月29日
    3. 李佳,“人间指南(上)展评,”艺术论坛, 2019年6月21日

  • 2018/06 杨紫

    Pity Party 干扰惨淡的派对

    艺术世界 Art World 2018/06 杨紫 艺术世界 Art World
    艺术世界第330期,2018年6月

    Art World, issue 330, June 2018

    pp. 98-104.

    文|杨紫

     

    去年10月,我在深圳偶遇SLEEPCENTER的创始人林锐,并听他大致描述此地展场的环境,萌生了策划展览“Pity Party”的念头。SLEEPCENTER坐落于曼哈顿下东区唐人街一条不算繁华小巷的地下室,前身是“北京公馆”。20世纪初,中国北方移民曾在这片福建人的地界租下这座逼仄、潮湿的洞穴。他们往往生活困窘,从事报酬微薄的体力劳动,或许为了排解内心的郁闷,在此处结识同乡,谈话、赌博、嫖娼、取乐,有时候也居住于此。几年前,刚刚在纽约结束学业的林锐对这个无人问津的、价格低廉的空间进行大幅改造,隔出储物空间和展示空间,试图将它营造成艺术家工作室和展厅。尽管改造颇为成功,水房漫出的刺鼻味道,以及挥之不去的苍蝇,还是提示着它的过往。在空间正上方盘旋的西禅寺,占用了楼房的一层,将门脸改头换面,居然也颇具中式风格。念经僧人的袅袅佛音,在下午布展期间出来透气的时候,能听得一清二楚。

    从构思阶段开始,展览的背景就与对纽约的想象有关。美国的流行文化——公告牌排行榜音乐、肥皂剧——给80年代成长起来的中国人留下了广泛的记忆烙印。这不仅仅是因为其中输出的幸福生活,更是因为丰富物质生活背后运行的自由市场经济,作为一种获得人生自由的解决方案所摆出的诱人姿态。在某些社会制度理想破灭之后的1990年代直至21世纪之初,中国知识分子以及更广泛的社会群体一道沉醉于这种幻想。

    在2018年寒冷的初春,简陋的纽约地下展场和富足的美国梦幻同时纠缠在我脑海。我来到纽约,坐上SLEEPCENTER的另一位合伙人李沛原的汽车,径直奔向布鲁克林区的“Party City”派对百货商店。我惊讶于这里琳琅满目、应有尽有的派对用品,以及收银台前排起的长队。我了解在《老友记》等等美国电视剧中频繁出现的家庭派对是美国文化的重要部分,但未曾料到它形成了如此规模的产业化。超过860家“Party City”零售商店将40,000种派对商品(我从美国股票投资类的网站得到这些数据)流通到千家万户,让人们在熟悉不过的环境里,从日常的反复和疲惫中抽离出来。

    拿着战利品——鲜艳、喜庆的彩旗、气球和塑料门帘——回到SLEEPCENTER,我们开始装饰 “洞穴”。我希望将国人对美国的向往勾画成具有如第二段所述的时代氛围困境,反衬出参展的艺术家对此有意无意的反应。在我看来,他们戳破不切实际的幻想肥皂泡的办法,并非是消耗所有精力对社会或艺术系统进行表演性抵抗,而是在有原则地吸纳和处理生存现实基础上,自觉地给自己提供一个警惕、孤独和隔绝的思考和创作环境。这些作品的气质和呈现它们的场域几乎形成了对峙的局面。

    外在的世界被暂时隔离之后,自我的感受和意识状态浮现出来——“PITY PARTY”表面看起来像一场对“自我”概念考察的展览。李维伊邀请一对恋人蒙上印着自己脸部画皮的围巾,然后亲吻,以观察自己出窍。作为展览的开场白,艺术家直接将客观化的自省视角摆在观众面前。李琦、曹澍、高源等人的作品均体现出了自传性质。李琦、高源和宾冰展现了意识流淌时记忆、现实、想象的切换状态;而李然影射了自己工作方法——探寻湖底般的潜意识抓取信息,再跃出水面让它们见得天日。在展场最深处,几位中国美院的校友(曹子林、崔绍翰、黄晶莹、李明、唐潮、朱昶全)将共同的经历和表演积累成一个海量的视频资源库,他们从中各取所需,按照各自视角编排出面貌各异的片段,留给观众广袤的完形空隙。展览的尾声是曾对国美观念艺术深远影响的已故艺术家耿建翌在1990年代创作的第一件录像作品《视觉的方式》。三频录像中,濒死鸭子的眼睛忽闪,时而分泌出泡沫,是在极度虚弱时能表现出最大气力的悲恸。深邃的眼睛似乎能反射出屏幕之外世界的倒影,倾其残留的片刻,尽力与永恒运转的世界融为一体。

    展览中所有的作品都是录像。展览给人的基本印象,是狭长、深邃的地下展厅之中播放着晃动的幻影,让人联想起柏拉图著名的洞穴隐喻。在洞穴说中,囚徒们生活在不自由的、被灌输虚假信息的环境。过分用力的布展方式五彩斑斓、夺人眼球,让人联想起当代文化批判对“洞穴说”的套用方式,即消费至上的物质生活有益无害,像是口味诱人、满足快感却营养贫乏的垃圾食品。有些“浪漫主义反讽(romantic irony)”意味的是,以“猴子捞月”为题的录像也组成了这些“囚徒幻影”的一部分。“囚徒们”一不小心欣赏到了自己未曾反思的牢狱生活。或许,这也是艺术家们在剪辑《灌肠III:猴子捞月》时的心情。他们从事着艺术工作,不懈挖掘着自觉处理着的幻象。创作者之一李明在一次微信聊天中这样开玩笑说:“猴子是愚蠢的,这是人类的看法,他们捞月亮可能在做点白南准(式)的水波碎片效果吧。”我并无挑衅经典文本的意图,但在艺术的领域中,我不相信真实和虚妄是不可动摇的铁板一块。我着迷于在艺术作品中观看到永无止尽的颠倒和反转,以及滞留在思辨灰色地带的勇气。我同样认为,绝对正确的真实是随着时空转换不断变化的价值判断,在跨文化、地域的条件下展示我所熟悉的艺术家的作品时,这种清晰的混沌、微妙、狡猾和晦涩,是中国当代艺术短暂脉络中逐渐萌芽出的价值导向。

    2001年,皮力博士在《关于“感觉化倾向”的笔记》一文中曾指出,“感觉化倾向是中国当代艺术在90年代发生的最深刻的一次创作观念的转向……感觉化倾向在取消了观念性和意义性之后,将艺术的目光投向了感觉身体和想象,感觉化倾向强调的是表现精神和肉体,‘二者之间的中间地带及其统一性’。”据文章发表二十年过去,时至今日,录像艺术媒介的创作环境发生了一系列的改变。首先,录影设备普及化,变得唾手可得,在生活中随处可见。这让艺术家适应影像的存在,也为积累上手经验提供了条件。此外,艺术家们能接触到丰富的影像视觉经验资源(例如,欧洲电影以及在美国兴起的流行音乐录影带的语言脉络),同时,密集的网络信息快速传达之快,使艺术家个体必须设定原则,规定自己对这些无尽的信息(尤其是图像和影像信息)敞开和关闭的限度。“感觉化倾向”产生了新的面貌。它从早期录像艺术的“枯燥传统”中发展出较为复杂的形态。错落、跳跃乃至异质的时间感和冗杂、海量的视觉资源拼凑取代了漫长的沉浸体验,“自我”的边界感及肉身经验在一代人感受力日渐麻木的反作用力下变得更为迫切。但同时,由于信息交流的高速,消费社会(以及艺术系统)残酷的运转节奏,让个人化的经验变得越来越难以“个人”。艺术家周遭的充斥着的林林总总的干扰难以连根剔除,就像SLEEPCENTER墙上悬挂的塑料彩旗和缓慢旋转的无线蓝牙彩灯。精神肉体的统一、观众和作品的统一、创作者和作品的统一过程,即便从未停止过,也难以再以哲学化的、纯净的、理想的面貌示人。

  • 2018/06 Banyi Huang

    Ian Gouldstone: Exploring The Lifecycle Of Digital Objects

    CoBo Social 2018/06 Banyi Huang CoBo Social

    May 18th – June 17th, 2018

    When we play computer games, the goal is to be hyper-engaged and defeat the opponent. When we meditate, we let our minds wander to achieve a calm and spiritual state. Though the two cannot be further apart from one other, Ian Gouldstone manages to use the mechanisms of the former to come close to the latter, allowing chance operations to prolong repetitive movement into an imponderable infinity. Inside SLEEPCENTER’s dimly-lit gallery space, the artist has created a somewhat self-contained universe using elemental shapes and luminous colors, ruminating on the philosophical implications of motion, order, and chaos through code.

    Needless to say, artists have long explored the poetic aspect of technology and programming, but to do it well requires not only a level of technical expertise, but also an awareness of established modes in which new media objects are often exhibited and understood. Many, including theorists and practitioners, approach new media as if it could only be accessed through a rectangular screen, whether a projection, monitor, or computer screen, often linking such a framing mechanism to historical lineages of cinema and photography. Gouldstone, however, takes active measures to break out from the screen, setting up environments that attempt to collapse the perceived distance between the observer and the observed, the alive and the inanimate, human and other.

    Occupying the entrance area, Instrument (2018) consists of software-generated structures projected onto three yoga balls, which are each affixed to wooden stools. The viewer is invited to sit on the floor, coming at eye-level with moving elements in the piece: a dot tumbles inside a circle composed of dots, at times rebounding from the momentum generated from hitting another dot, at times escaping quietly through the spaces in between. While initial parameters are determined by code, the dot’s trajectory is a product of chance. Whenever it bounces against a border, it makes a crisp, resonating sound, as if a gong is being struck. Combined with the installation’s simple geometry, its spectral shadows, and repetitive movement, the intimate soundscape pulls the sitter into a meditative trance. Drop Process (2018) employs a similar strategy of toying with randomness and expectations. Unlike Jenga, which is a manual tower-building game designed to test the player’s coordination and dexterity, the work simulates a scenario where rectangular blocks are dropped to form stacks, either reaching a precarious balance, or destroying the stack to form a new one.

    Like artist Ian Cheng, Gouldstone uses gaming simulation and procedural generation to stage a state of uncertainty and instability. It is worth pointing out that simulation is normally understood in terms of representation, of replicating a system in real life through mathematical models, whether for purposes of recreation or functional prediction. But what happens when simulation takes on a life of its own, and generates its own rules of thought and behaviour? As illustrated by the fear provoked by Facebook’s AI algorithm inventing its own language, humans are regularly threatened when machines acquire a sense of vitality, thereby infringing on anthropocentrically territory. As such, Wanton Boys (2017) is an abstract exercise in exploring the ambiguous lifecycle of software-generated digital objects. Varying in size and dispersed in groups, x-shaped forms are projected onto wooden blocks distributed throughout the space. Algorithmically-controlled, they fluctuate between a state of inactivity and frenzied scissoring movement, not unlike a sophisticated version of the Tamagotchi—a handheld digital pet popular in the late 90s. While it is unclear to what degree of independence these forms are operating on, the work is undoubtedly a simulation of the imaginary realm of digital life, and, as the title suggests, it gestures at the liminal moment when the spinning ‘x’ shapes burst out of the imprisonment of two-dimensional space.

    In his treatise De Anima, Aristotle outlines a conceptual foundation of Western thinking: movement constitutes one of the fundamental feature of the soul, that which distinguishes life from inanimate matter. The exhibition asks, is it then possible apply the same level of inclusive understanding when movement crosses over to the realm of software and digital objects? In these works, the unpredictability of the result frustrates, while the repetition reassures, and it is the space in between feelings of frustration and reassurance that opens up a new understanding of our own positionally.

     

    Ian Gouldstone - IN THE SHADE BUT NOT THE SHADOW curated by William Lee

    Source: https://www.cobosocial.com/dossiers/ian-gouldstone-digital-objects/

  • 2018/05

    New Media Art Map (Manhattan)

    OUTPUT 2018/05 OUTPUT

    Press Link https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4DgY1L7wabQtcOI2MyueQg

    “ 接地气的实践空间 ”

     Sleepcenter 

    Sleepcenter是由来自中国的年轻艺术家林锐建立的一个实验项目空间,位于热闹的唐人街。有趣的展览定期在这里发生,近200平米的半地下室,后面用做工作室,前面的则用来展览,目前,Sleepcenter已经策划25个展览。

    🌎:http://www.sleepcenterny.org/

    📍:9 Monroe St, Basement, New York, NY10002

    📧:info@sleepcenterny.org

  • 2017/11 Mimi Wong

    Generation One-Point-Two-Five: The ecology of emerging Chinese-run art spaces in New York

    ArtAsiaPacific, issue 106, Nov/Dec 2017 2017/11 Mimi Wong ArtAsiaPacific, issue 106, Nov/Dec 2017

    Generation One-Point-Two-Five

    The ecology of emerging Chinese-run art spaces in New York

    ArtAsiaPacific, issue 106, Nov/Dec 2017

    Essay by Mimi Wong

  • 2017/11 Pauline Tan

    紐約中國城、某間廟的地下室,成了孩子的藝術啟蒙地

    yamNews蕃薯藤 2017/11 Pauline Tan yamNews蕃薯藤

    Press Link (CN): https://n.yam.com/Article/20171130217704

     

    yamNews蕃薯藤, November 30th, 2017

    Text by Pauline Tan

     

    SLEEPCENTER位於紐約市中國城的門羅街(Monroe Street ) ,這是中國城裡最老的一條街,居民以義大利移民和中國華僑居多(附近的Knickerbocker Village在60年代曾經住著許多義大利裔犯罪集團成員)。目前住著的,大多是老一輩的福建人。

    林銳,26歲來自中國深圳的年輕人,大手大腳小平頭,說話的時候,聲音猶如低音貝斯(有點像深夜廣播節目的那種音質),在大學時主修藝術,最初因為創作和展出的需求,和朋友合租了這個位於門羅街上,一間歷史悠久、叫做「泰山宮」的宮廟下的地下室空間。

    SLEEPCENTER據點,就在紐約中國城的「泰山宮」B1

    從非法移民聚散地  變身藝術空間

    這個地下室也很有故事,本來叫做北京會館,是一個提供非法移民庇護的場所,裡頭的住客形形色色,有賭客,也有妓女。當林銳和朋友決定租下進行改建之初,這裡有的是散佈各處的「驚喜」:死了或者還活著的老鼠和蟲子、能把雙眼薰到睜不開的臭氣外,還有之前住客們遺落的情趣玩具和情色錄影帶…

    幾個人於是藝術家身兼水電工,從打掃、拆牆、接電路、粉刷開始。原本這個空間沒有名字,妙的是,當時泰山宮隔壁,剛好有間治療失眠的會所正要關門大吉,林銳他們索性拿下了會所SLEEPCENTER的名字,於是可供藝術活動、實驗性策展,和畫廊使用的空間,正式開幕。

    幾個朋友聯手,把非法移民聚集地 變身藝術空間

    節目內容質量 才是空間重點

    對林銳而言,畫廊的大小質量是其次,重點是節目內容編排(program)本身要大於空間。以作為畫廊空間使用來說,如果空間過大、挑高過高,其實某種程度上反而是具有威脅性的。在SLEEPCENTER這樣低天花板、多隔間的地下室裡,反而可以讓藝術家發揮創意,與空間互動。(比如說可以利用小隔間作放映室,地下室的鍋爐房也變成了有趣的展示空間),而對參觀者來說,也是一種用新方式欣賞作品和空間的方式。

    SLEEPCENTER由一群懷抱夢想的年輕人營運

    這個由一群對文化藝術抱持認真思維的年輕人,以開放而擁抱挑戰的態度,營運的實驗性空間、非營利組織,它存在的目的,不僅僅是為了藝術家,更是為了社區(community)而存在。除了藝術圈的朋友,這裡也成了鄰居們交流的場所: 社區的老太爺常拖著孫子的手來看展;今年夏天因應居民要求,舉辦了適合小孩的夏季藝術講座…

    這裡也成了鄰居們交流的場所

    在未知前的姿態  考驗藝術家韌性 

    對藝術家來說,考驗著是否堅持下去的關鍵,有時不全是財力的問題,而是對自己韌性、自我認同的探索(或者試煉),以及,在未來面前,對未知的柔軟性。

    從組成分子複雜、人人避之唯恐不及的地下室,搖身成為社區親近的集散中心,藝術文化絕對是成功轉化空間性質的最大功臣。也讓在這段空間運營的時間內,同時還申請上,位於倫敦藝術研究所的林銳,學著將自己亞洲出生、以人文關懷為本的背景,和因為繼續唸書,飄洋過海到了新城市,所得到的多元文化/藝術啟發,在SLEEPCENTER這個大鍋裡,翻滾出一些有趣的價值觀。

    帶著亞洲以人文關懷為本的背景,林銳在SLEEPCENTER這個大鍋裡,翻滾出一些有趣的價值觀

  • 2017/11 顾虔凡

    魏晓光谈“持久像素”

    Artforum.cn 艺术论坛中文版 2017/11 顾虔凡 Artforum.cn 艺术论坛中文版

    2017.11.05

    艺术家魏晓光正在纽约SLEEPCENTER举办个展“持久像素”(Durable Pixels),展览中的一系列画作以极其逼真的手法描绘虚构的场景、荒谬的物件拼贴、甚至对电脑拟像进行写实,他通过绘画对抽象与叙事、心理层面的内外观照、绘画的历史与当下的新媒介等议题进行探讨。展览期间,魏晓光还与艺术家Jeffrey D’Alessandro持续进行一项在绘画与雕塑间跨越媒介的合作。在采访中,魏晓光谈及对自己作品“数码样式主义”的定义,他在绘画中想要呈现的不合理现实,以及他对绘画媒介本身的思考。

    “像素”除了指我们通常理解的影像在屏幕显示的基本单位之外,它原本的词义是“图像的元素”。图像是通过笔触、尺幅、版本、屏幕、风格等各种元素而被人感知的,它们都是图像的载体。这次展览的概念以图像的元素为基本出发点,我想关注这些元素本身的局限,而不是预先假定其发展的无限性。

    在艺术史上,欧洲绘画的样式主义(Mannerism)侧重于对文艺复兴大师风格的模仿,因为本身没有提供更新迭代的内容而受到批判。反观中国艺术,如果后来者没有首先师承前人,甚至都无法被审美语系所接受。书法、国画、京剧等中国传统的艺术形式,其内容涵义和风格在创作时已经锁定在表达系统的框架中,比如每个人写出的字意思是相同的,京剧脸谱的图案是程式化的;但是像《肚痛帖》这种文本含义没有太多艺术性的便笺反而突出了张旭的草书,使表现元素本身成为经典。对我来说,“样式主义”的意义,就是带着对表达系统的局限性的意识进行创作。实质上,中国书法的核心概念同波普艺术中贾斯珀·琼斯(Jasper Johns)画国旗、标靶,安迪·沃霍尔(Andy Warhol)画梦露的意义相通,二者都是本体论艺术。当图像的元素高于内容的时候,就会形成“样式”。它并不是一件坏事,它有可能让创作者打破范式跳脱出来,去回顾样式的起承,然后进行重新发明。对图像元素局限性的理解,在当下数码媒介的演化中也有反映,比如早期电子游戏的制作力求场景的逼真,但是当整个行业可以轻易呈现相当程度的现实感时,以往开发者试图抹去的方块像素反而被审美化,成为了新的样式,像是2012年左右开始流行的《我的世界》(Minecraft)等。

    我常把自己近期的绘画作品界定为“数码样式主义”。这次展览中,《无题(山洞)》(2017)可以作为这一概念的入口,这件作品通过将两种历史性绘画风格并置而制造冲突的同时,建构出新的现实感。其他几件作品中出现的“EDUCATION”和“忍”字,都是代表极端确切概念的词,由于司空见惯,反而让人难以审视它们的涵义。数码建模的文字被置于不同的虚拟情境,凸显了字面意义微弱的转换。《监狱》(2015)也直白地表现了由不同绘画技法构建出的叙事,以此询问图像元素与现实的关系:现实感是否只是我们乐意接受的某一个“版本(version)”。

    在媒介更替极速加剧的当下,同样的叙事内容通过媒介更新而呈现出不同的版本;而版本演化本身,是否已经开始替代艺术家的设计,成为新的艺术演化动力?在 “绘画已死”的艺术史时期,我认为绘画当然仍有可能带给人新的视觉经验,而对图像元素有限性的意识,总是把我带回绘画最原初的问题:画什么、怎么画。

    — 文/ 采访/顾虔凡

    https://artforum.com.cn/words/10961

  • 2017/07 Siqiao Lu

    Twenty-First-Century Oracles: Interview With Mountain River Jump!

    ArtAsiaPacific 2017/07 Siqiao Lu ArtAsiaPacific

    2017. 7. 17

    The identical twin sisters who make up the artist-duo Mountain River Jump! debuted in New York City. Their solo show “Reality Check 鬥法” transformed a Chinatown basement into a ritual space, where they played the roles of astrologer and shaman. Amid the installations of personalized tarot cards, a ceremonial fire GIF, and a video of star charts at Monroe Street’s art lab Sleepcenter, I met up with Guangzhou-based Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain) and Huang He (Yellow River), whose names uncannily allude to the grandeur of the Chinese nation. The artists offered a birth chart reading, and I had the chance to ask them about the trajectory of their practices.

    In this interview with ArtAsiaPacific, Mountain River Jump! discuss how their common interests and unique knowledge system prompted them to form an artist duo, how they connect the culture of divination with collective psychology, politics and visual culture, how ancient methods of image making and ritual practice have influenced their understanding of art, and finally, what they struggle with in their material and spiritual lives as young professionals in China.

    Your works in this show tell me that each of you has a distinctive path shaped by different conceptual questions and practical approaches. Before 2016, you mostly worked separately and only collaborated a few times. What prompted the decision to officially form an artist duo?  

    River: Mountain River Jump! started in January 2016 at Guangzhou’s 5art Space. Our shared interests—spirituality, divination and the supernatural—are outside of the dominant culture, and uncommon in contemporary art practices. The duo creates a zone for us to explore questions that I previously considered inappropriate to discuss in my work because they are personal and sometimes bizarre. Our current direction with this platform is cultural psychology and collective unconscious.

    Which of your earlier ideas have continued to draw your attention?

    River: My works focus on the gradual evolution from my personal psychology to collective psychology. I made drawings about collective memory—Point at. . . (2016), for example, depicts the situation in which several people point at one individual, calling him a dog, and he somehow becomes a dog. I’m influenced by Carl Jung’s idea of collective unconscious, and believe that this is what the so-called “subcultural” phenomenon of divination is fundamentally about. Although we observe the common need for divination—astrology as the most popular form—it is still a hidden stream of thoughts running underneath the intellectual discourse.

    I think Roland Barthes is quite right to criticize the way astrology has become “the literature of the petit bourgeois world,” but I still want to explore the connection between Wu Xing (Five Elements) and contemporary politics. Focusing on “the Star Chart” – Cultural Psychoanalysis (2017), the video installation in the show, demonstrates my theory that the star arrangement on the Chinese national flag relates to the feudal idea of the divine right of kings.

    Mountain: I work with ancient imageries. Modeled after pre-modern divination cards, Chinese Immortal Cards of the 21st Century (2016–17) associates the professions of ancient immortals with contemporary occupations, indicating that a certain professional identity corresponds to a specific worldview or personality.

    Unlike the images surrounding us nowadays that function primarily as decoration, ancient ones embody sacred beliefs and manifest the people’s attachment to the spiritual realm—as seen in archeological sites from Mawangdui to the Shang tomb of Fu Hao. Previously, I’ve made GIF amulets, downloadable from computers and cellphones, to respond to contemporary fears and needs, such as the fear of random computer crashes, and demands on the progress of the feminist movement. Behind the GIF amulet is shamanic thinking, a suggested positive approach to conceptualize one’s desires and requests. Ancient paintings with spiritual functions were sometimes painted by shamans. Thus, our methodology may bring us closer to the original purpose of art-making.

    Divining the future using Chinese Immortal Cards of 21st Century and other sets of animal cards is not your first time fusing artistic gesture with spiritual practice. In the light of your collaboration with Cao Fei in A Three Day Treatment: Feng Shui Cleansing (2011), how have you evolved since? 

    Mountain: I find the 30-minute cleansing ritual quite naïve now. We gathered objects with cleansing functions, such as spice, mineral salt and water, and placed them within the space according to the five elements. The audience watched attentively and followed us while we were moving around.

    River: Similar to the performance, which is a personalized ritual based on the classic model, our current approach to divination cards have predecessors in the ancient times. The texts and images on these cards function as oracles, the subject of which is specific to a cultural episode—for instance, the Oracle of Kuan Yin (also called lottery poetry) often quotes plots from popular novels, such as the classics Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Chamber. Ancient intellectuals, who share the same beliefs with the commoners, sometimes invent a set of lottery poetry for the enjoyment of literary elegance. We originally wanted to investigate the cultural history of language through Cards of Chinese Animal Idioms: Legends in Human World (2017), but ended up using it in divination in order to have some kind of interaction with our audience.

    In conjunction with this exhibition, you led a small cultural anthropology field investigation group to visit and pray at a dozen temples in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The locality and itinerary of this exhibition and its programs contribute to the integration of the artistic practice into the larger social realm. Can you tell us more?

    River: Rui Lin, the curator, designed the course of this investigation. I find that co-existing temples of different styles and distinctive characters testify to the complexity of communities in Chinatown. We know that the temple previously on the ground floor of Sleepcenter preserves the original images and statues from one of the three boats that came from a temple in Fuzhou; the other two boats sank. People constructed these sites out of the desire for security and cultural identity, and they manage to maintain prosperous fronts for these temples despite the heavy history of immigration. The story is quite touching.

    What are the challenges of creating works that treat spirituality as the primary subject in China? Who are the artists that inspired you? Do you think the so-called “religious revival” in China will benefit your practice?

    Mountain: There are many challenges. Despite our persistent efforts in presenting our work as a specimen of comparative cultural studies, our audience insists that it is only about fortune telling. And we began to understand the severity of cultural discontinuity in China—most people don’t know the ancient immortals’ names, let alone their professions. I find Lu Yang’s audacious use of images encouraging. She is also a follower of Tibetan Buddhism.

    River: The religious revival in China is a managed and controlled revival, which provides little room for new discoveries. It is more about tourism and psychological comfort. I’m inspired by Yin-Ju Chen, an artist from Taiwan, and Chinese artist Zheng Guogu.

    Are there any new exhibitions or projects coming up? Can you give us a preview of something that you’re working on now?

    Mountain: Recently, I showed Inanimate Sattva (2017) at Canton Gallery. This work incorporates stickers of animated characters that I put a lot of effort into making when I was a video game designer. Inspired by the idea of animism, I wanted to develop a dialogue between animate and inanimate matter through these cartoon characters endowed with my life. The autobiographical video installation also reflects the harsh living conditions of young professionals in China.

    River: Contrary to the usual portrayal of the youth as consumers, Mountain presents them as producers. I’m researching the connection between the myth of the dragon and a sea creature.

    Source: http://artasiapacific.com/Blog/TwentyFirst…
  • 2017/06 Howie Chen

    Mountain River Jump!

    Artforum 2017/06 Howie Chen Artforum

    by Howie Chan

    2017.06.30

    We are in a struggle of competing realities. The Guangzhou-based collective Mountain River Jump!—comprising identical twin sisters Huang Shan and Huang He—locates this conflict in a dimension where transcendent forces govern complex relations in our world. “REALITY CHECK 鬥法” is an exhibition bearing two names (the Chinese portion can mean “battle of magical powers”), embodying the strange agonism at play. A series of sculptural and diagrammatic works presents a syncretic cosmology that analyzes the mythical, political, and technological realms we experience.

    In Chinese Immortal Cards of the 21st Century, 2016–17, a circular cosmogram made of divination cards maps the crossroads of traditional beliefs and secular modernity. Each card connects a modern cultural icon with an esoteric Chinese god. High-profile figures such as movie actors, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals represent various themes, including death, power, and justice. In this new mythical universe, the ascendance of technology is undeniable. On one card, the image of the world in ancient Chinese cosmology is replaced by Instagram’s logo. This syncretic system becomes a tool for Mountain River Jump! to interpret the meshing of traditional, Communist, and Western life. Each scenario in the exhibition demonstrates how this divinatory practice is a form of cultural psychoanalysis—as both spiritual cartomancy and Western psychology have long sought access to a collective unconscious. The father/mother and Son of psychoanalysis, 2017, is a kind of Buddhist altar to this project, in which a lenticular image of Sigmund Freud and an image of the Greek urn containing his ashes face off under breast-like shrine lights.

    This exhibition can be seen as an addendum to Bruno Latour’s concept of secular modernity, defined not only by the radical separation of natural and social phenomena but also by the exclusion of the supernatural. By combining these elements, including ghosts, their new worldview may be the true parliament of all things.

    https://www.artforum.com/picks/id=69302

  • 2016/06 Xin Wang

    Of Gentrifiers And Rice

    Randian.com 2016/06 Xin Wang Randian.com

    By Xin Wang

     

    2016.04.29

    “CLAPBACK 2.Gently Weeps”

    The familiar story of gallery-led gentrification in New York took a fetishistic turn with its latest expansion to Chinatown. Look no further than i-D’s romanticizationof “garbage-laden streets” in a profile of the area’s new comers for your daily dose of hipster-doom. While most galleries and art spaces saw nothing more than cheap rent (and just about everything else) and a fusion oriental backdrop, the neighborhood has a way of interfering with what’s on show in the art spaces. Prototypes of joss-paper funerary offerings have been placed in pristine wall niches at James Cohen Gallery, where The Propeller Group’s vertiginous video of distinctly Vietnamese burial rituals is currently on view, in a funeral shop two storefronts down. Even for those sporadic initiatives that do intend to convene a critical commitment, the contrast between the place’s social and aesthetic density and the dearth of imagination in engaging with them is often astounding.

    These annoyances set me up for a pleasant surprise at SLEEP CENTER, a project space founded by young artists Rui Lin and Kerim Zapsu at the southern edge of Chinatown (Monroe Street), ensconced among robustly local worship/community/ therapeutic centers. Its recent two-man show featured Hao Ni and Blake Hiltunen, and managed to congeal nicely the disparate sculptural practices of the two in their shared teasing of the sensual (if not the fetishistic) in disparate mediums. During the exhibition’s two-week run, Ni’s “Hickies”—a constellation of found images printed and transferred onto the wall—would remain fresh as Hiltunen’s wax-based “Double Self Portrait” underwent a grotesque metamorphosis induced by a hovering heat lamp. Sometimes one sensed a nod to Chinatown as an unlikely imaginary, which comes in a good range, too. Hiltunen’s readymade of a Styrofoam container lid delivers a deadpan and slightly sinister message: “Destroy Yourself.” Ni’s faux-rice sculptures—kneaded together with embroidered/patterned fabrics or forming a fabulous arch atop two bowls—assert an uncanny claim to monumentality. Another manifestation of this almost non-cynical sense of wonder is “Tiger”, also by Hao Ni; installed deep in the adjacent boiler room, a hologram image of the big cat is at once obscured and accentuated by a translucent floral scarf. It is gorgeous and unapologetic—not to mention extremely comfortable in its own skin.

    http://www.randian-online.com/np_review/73722/?utm_source=Randian+Full+List&utm_campaign=993ee06e5b-2016-0429-editorial-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ad1d28775-993ee06e5b-297275565