瓦林•布尔斯 × 严磊
Waling Boers × Yan Lei
Waling Boers × Yan Lei
颜磊: 我的创作是为了显示在当今社会中一名艺术家的角色及艺术创作的可能性。
瓦林: 那你作为艺术家的角色如何？或更好的问法是，艺术家是什么？
颜磊: 我也会想这个问题。目前而言，貌似所有人都可以是艺术家；不管做什么都可以被认为是艺术。所以为什么我不能是个艺术家？
瓦林: 我觉得你是不是个艺术家不是问题。你接受专业美术教育成为一位艺术家，并在当代文化中生产图像。
颜磊: 但我自己不创造图像。我把所有能激发想象的图像集合起来作为一种方法。这种方法让我得以更自由地与周围的世界有情感联系，并且保持艺术家的身份。做作品好像更职业化。
瓦林: 那你怎么看中国艺术？
颜磊: 在中国做艺术挺容易的。在中国做艺术挺容易的。只要你堕落了就会成功。
……
瓦林：让我们换个话题：艺术有意义吗？真的没有吗？
颜磊：可能我们对意义的理解与理想不同。我理解的意义是艺术家存在的价值。
……
瓦林：你能谈谈政治在你作品中的位置吗？
颜磊： 拿第五届深圳雕塑双年展（2004年）来说吧。我给主办方的提案是，给我一块相当于一家高尔夫球场大的土地，我把它围起来保留两年。选择高尔夫球场是因为它同深圳特殊的文化身份有着直接联系，这是一个关乎房地产发展与商业生意的城市。为了说服这块土地的拥有者和这个城市的管理部门，我们费了许多口舌。最终我获得了这块土地的使用权，但被批准使用的土地只有400平方米。这个提案探讨了公共土地问题，探讨了是保持土地的开放性还是把它围起来，探讨了土地、资源与公共的艺术。
瓦林：这个理念很明白。那么你重做其他艺术家的作品又是怎么回事？如毕加索和曹斐的图像出现在你的绘画作品中。
颜磊: 我创作这些图像时在想些什么，都可以从这些图像上看出来。前段时间有个藏家送了我一套年历，12个月12张风景照，我想这些风景照也反映了他的品味。我也得承认这个藏家的取向影响了我，所以我基于那些风景照做了一批画。
毕加索“叼烟斗的男孩”最近的拍卖记录创下新高。当我得知我自己的作品将在同一家拍卖行被拍卖时，我就想到了他的这张画。所以我复写了这张画，并将再造的作品提交给拍卖行。但最终他们没让它上拍。
2006年是狗年。我正巧看到一批曹斐的作品，那些图像中有些人打扮成狗的样子，蠢头蠢脑的。苏富比也刚巧在那一年组织有史以来最大型的中国当代艺术拍卖专场。我把这几件碰巧事都凑在一幅画里，标题叫“纽约，狗年”。出于我的个人喜好，我选择了这些事件并将之转换为我作品中的新的现实。这就有了“特醇”系列。
瓦林：你的作品有颠覆性吗？
颜磊：我不知道这些画是否有颠覆性，结果就是我也不知道这些图像是否会有这么大的魔力。
瓦林：你的创作发展出了一套系统方法或策略，比如对技术、色彩、尺寸、构图及生产方法的有序利用，还有每天为你画画的工人。能不能谈谈？
颜磊: 这套方法阐发了我对艺术的理解和态度。事实上，我知道我站在画布前面的内心是不纯粹的。我染了画布，颜料也会染了我的双手。在画布面前，我未必比雇来的工人强。
我的创作系统是我对图像艺术在知识上的延展，这些知识包括如何应用我对光影、构图、色彩、创作系统的理解。有趣的是，经常有人觉得我其实什么也没干，或作品里找不到任何观念的痕迹。他们没意识到我对这些事情怀抱着多大的情感。这些误认也许是一件好事，一件艺术作品就好比一颗种子，一旦扔出去，就与自己无关了。翻译：顾灵
(此文经曾发表于瓦林•布尔斯编著《Touching the Stones: China Art Now》一书，此书由Timezone8出版发行，2007年)
YL: My work is to show what the role of an artist is in our contemporary society and what art making can be.
WB: What is your role as an artist? Or better to ask: What is an artist?
YL: This issue intrigues me too. At the moment, it seems that everyone could be an artist; whatever one does can be considered as art. Then why cant I be an artist too?
WB: I dont think its a question whether you are an artist or not. You are educated as an artist and you produce images in contemporary culture.
YL: But I dont create images. As method, I sum up all of the images that can stimulate my imagination. I use this methodology to be freer in how I am emotionally related to the world around me and still be an artist. To make the work is more like a job.
WB: What is your attitude towards Chinese art?
YL: It’s easy to make art in China. You only have to use your brain and forget about your soul.
WB: Within the context of contemporary art, it looks as if Chinese contemporary art needs specific definition of it context to be understood by others. Is this kind of identification with Asian or Chinese art needed, you think?
…
WB: Let’s change the perspective: Does art have any meaning? Or isnt there any meaning in art?
YL: We might have different understandings and ideals of meaning. The meaning that I understand is the integrity and value of an artist’s existence, how it reflects her or his emotions.
…
WB: Could you give us an example of how the political aspect works in your work?
YL: Take the Shenzhen Sculptural Exhibition, The 5th System for example. I made a proposal for the organizer in which I asked to occupy a piece of land in the size of a golf course to fence it and keep it for two years. The nature of golf courses is related to the particular cultural identity of Shenzhen as a city that is all about property development and business. In order to reach an agreement with the owner of the land, the city, we had to negotiate many things. Eventually I obtained the right to use a land, but they only allowed me a piece of land that was about 400 square meters. This proposal involved the issue of public lands. It was related to keeping the land open or fenced off. It was a discussion of land, resources and public art.
WB: Thats clear. What does it mean to you to reproduce paintings of other artists, like Pablo Picasso or Cao Fei?
YL: Those images corresponded to what I was thinking at the moment of making them. Some time ago a collector gave me a calendar of 12 landscape paintings, which I thought were representative of his taste. And I admit that the collectors preferences affected me so I made paintings based on those images.
Picasso’s painting, “Boy with a Pipe,” won the highest bid ever in an auction. The image of the painting came to my mind when I knew that my work would be auctioned in the same place as Picasso’s work. So I made a reproduction of it and offered it to them. But it didn’t enter the auction eventually (see annotated image page 144/145).
Sometimes, I enjoy the excitement brought about by a matter of fortuity. 2006 is the year of the Dog in China. I happened to see some images of Cao Feis work where men were dressed up as dogs, behaving stupidly docile. Sotheby’s also organized the biggest Chinese contemporary art auction ever. These few events collided I combined them in one painting and called it “New York, Dog Year.” Based on my liking, I chose those events and turned them into a new reality in my work. I called this series “Super Light.”
WB: Is there a subversive element in your work?
YL: I dont know whether the actual paintings are subversive as a result I dont know either whether images can have such a magic power.
WB: In your work, you have developed a kind of systematic method or strategy, like consequential use of technique, color, seizes, composition and producing methods, workers who are working on you paintings every day. Why?
YL: I use this method to demonstrate my understanding of art. This state of working is my attitude towards art. In fact, I know that my spirit is not pure in front of canvases. I might soil the canvases and the paint might soil my hands too. In front of the canvases, I was not necessarily a better painter than those I hire.
This system of working is the extension of my knowledge in the art of creating images, including the application of what I understand about light, composition, color and the system of making. What is interesting is that people sometimes don’t think I have done anything at all, or there is any trace of concept in it. It is good that they dont really realize how passionate I am about these things. An artwork is like a seed. After you throw it out, you dont have any control over it.