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Lin Tianlu's Variables Adjustment

2007-10-15 11:47:02 Xia Kejun

Before our very eyes are objects that we could not be more familiar with, dull, stifling and oppressing us on a daily basis just like the monotonous sentiments we experience; not only do they oppress us, they hinder our understandings of them. However, once these objects are given a chance to be presented on their own merits, they start to appeal and express themselves as if they had begun to expose their true nature in the still of a gloomy night, even though they might in so doing present themselves as grey and dark faces radiating miraculous light. But when we humans drag our heavy selves to retire, exhausted, the objects, thick and heavy as they are, stay awake perpetually. Could it be that they had never had any rest? In the pitch dark night, these ordinary objects, sleepless as they are, appear to be ceaseless in their work; while those that bear the brunt of wears and tears seem to be in the constant toil of tremor and gasp that go with their function. Although they have always appeared to be grave and solemn, they are indeed no longer being utilized save as decorative items or craps, just like the dark-faced horrid people inside the bureaucratic organizations portrayed in Franz Kafka’s The Trial. However, in the hands of the artist, they have been restored to their own selves: the self of the objects and their innate texture; their physical features are being for the first time exposed. The first time to expose the pure nature of objects, the first time for us to see the grey mask of materials, the first time for us to hear the explosive energies that are issued by the stillness and uproar of objects--- that is the so-called grey matters that artist Lin Tianlu has uncovered. If it had not been the artist, who brought the grey matters before our very eyes, we would not have known their existence, despite the fact that they are all around us, influence our way of life and their hues have infiltrated our daily life. The works of Li Tianlu in this exhibition have seen weakened colors, brush and ink, and have apparently diminished all poetic imports; what they have is only a reconstruction of objects using only pure grey color, thus restraining the expression of feelings and returning to the material features of objects. At a moment when the material characteristics are fully exposed, a kind of deep-lying innate rationality illuminates our gaze with a crystal clear and hale expression. What is also exposed is the intrinsic reticence that is imbedded within the objects, some sounds that we have been unable to hear, something that is only in the pitch darkness of a night can the artist enter and discover. So much so that the painter has been without fail using dark gray pigment to portray the innate sounds of objects through subtle changes and by using a pure albeit monotonous hue. So real do these objects look that under bright light we may tend to think that they are authentic objects that some of us could not help, say, trying to grab the handle of the suitcase. It is said that a photographer while photographing these objects, due to lighting reasons, went over to fetch a bag but failed repeatedly. This fantastic illusion is of course only an indication of the realism of these works, and of their feel of substance. However, once we realize that they are products of art, we suddenly see the fakeness of duplication, an extreme untruth. In other words, amidst realistic presentation and apparent copies that are devoid of any poetic contents, the artist would have to present the nature of the substance, which may resemble that of leather and skin. It is this deception that restores our senses. The reason for an object to be an object starts from the feel and touch of its substance. But it is not only its skinny feel, the little specks that radiate fluorescent light out of the dark grey pigment also appear to resemble the touch of marble. Against the huge dark grey background, the objects look so cumbersome and sturdy that they are no longer correlated with daily objects. The painter has returned the objects to their more solemn characteristics of matter, and to the original state of matter when nothing is veiled. When we are face to face with these objects, on the one hand, the tables are to us tables and bags bags; but on the other hand, as we near them and see only a portion of the objects, what we see are actually some radiating and sparkling spots that dance against the dark grey background. It is through the sharp contrast between the bright white spots and the dark background that the artist ushers us into the realm of the unique characters of substance. It is the commonplace macro observation on the one hand, which allows us to see the tactility, the representational realistic objects, and the feel of varied touches: such as being marble-like or skin-like as we mentioned before. To the painter, these are changeable because senses are not original as the sense of life evolves and changes, and is without an established form. Therefore the nature of substances is different in different lights. Lin Tianlu’s objects are not fixed items at all as the dancing bright specks are themselves infused with intrinsic vitality and are changing amidst the gazes from multiple perspectives. Therefore, the objects are flowing and moving, which is the fundamental feature of substance. On the other hand, as we see in the localized details there are some bright spots and black hue, which are like abstract self-bumping spots, looking for possibilities in incessantly uncertain forms. The artist opens up a micro world, where matters are not isolated but are moving constantly just like the intangible atoms exploding within themselves. The explosions go on and on. What we observe is a mere record of one of many but the picture retains all the possibilities. To find the inherent energies of matters and to see the change of substances as objects are in invariable motion, as is being hinted at by the title of the exhibition: variable adjustment. This means that uncovering the forms of matters in constant motion as if these matters unleash innumerable particles in an original explosion. The particles are looking for interpersonal relationships which are the so-called deflective moments or moments that bring about autogenesis and freedom, and therefore are unable to form concrete and explicit shapes. This represents the sense of freedom in artistic creation. In such micro realism and minute abstractness, and between such representations and non-representations, Lin Tianlu’s works have unearthed the myths of matters, which are the objects that paintings have given rise to and are brought together as an unmatchable match. He started by spraying pigments onto the black-colored canvas (brushed so). The spraying process, if recorded, would doubtless startle and please us beyond measure. The feelings this gives are exactly the reverse of what the painting leaves you when it is completed, which is also contrary to the singularly sober and rational characters of the artist. Those who know him can easily discern the introverted and composed aspect of his personality. But, this aparent spraying at random has a touch that is only possible after long-term dedicated training in line with the idea of Jackson Pollock, who is an American artist preferred by Lin. Jackson Pollock does not spray at random and at will; he has an innate mechanism in place to control the spray and he also has the dexterity that is achieved in the wrists through long-term painting practices. Similarly, to Lin, the spraying process has numerous and indescribable pleasures in store for him: to see the layer upon layer of dotted overlay, the changes in thickness of the colors, the changes in the light dark and heavy dark hues, the great density and richness in layers. Without doubt, the artist has experienced the bliss of art creation himself. Art is an absolute perception at its best. Obviously, this process is very behavioral in nature. Lin Tianlu further develops the essence of the American action painting, and has inherited its intrinsic spiritual characters. Sometimes, if the spraying is suspended suddenly, it may have become an impeccable abstract painting. However, the serious artist does not do that; in fact, he continues to look for his way of expression, to changes forms until he finds a new concept that is uniquely his. Then using white color or covering the layers with dark grey and cold grey, he produces an effect like the strikes of bright spots, and forms a sense of bulkiness and weight. He also leads the material to display their own charms and breaths, keeps the special features of the materials in large part, outlines the concrete identities of these objects using more direct and clear lines and brings us to a world of bona fide objects. The evolutionary process is one that turns objects into their original state and one that shows us the grave inherence of matters. These deliberately planted materialized spaces, the apparently familiar but virtually abstractly void space are also a spiritual realm as the spots still undergoing the explosive process are on their way to being the “matter”. They are not really matters but only a sphere in which matters happen to be, a sphere that breeds the light of life and has a certain innate mental depth as it keeps making things happen. Substances or matters are on their way to this place as it changes forms perpetually. It may be a desk or a suitcase, or a stereo system; it may also transfigure itself into any objects. So, the object is not dormant or soundly asleep, it has been sleepless in the still and gloom of the night so as to maintain its abnormal sensibility to a certain state of matters. It is gazing intensely, so intensely that we feel that these grey matters are gazing at us attentively and fixedly. In darkness or in dark nights, they are monitoring the gloomy night, which coincides with the intrinsic nature of the artist himself: deep calmness and rationality. So on the one hand our calm intuitions are required but on the other hand we have to tolerate the absorbent charm of these bright spots in motion. It requires that the audience be balanced between sensuality and rationality. These works, cold as they look, emanate an atmosphere that is both baffling and hindering. Nevertheless, the sparkling spots give you an enchanting visual pleasure. Perhaps, the artist himself is often enchanted by this unexpected visual effect. By doing a pure spiritual description of the exterior of objects through a nonchalant means, the artist has inspired us to defend ourselves against the uncertainties and conceits of this era of desires by aspiring to the spiritual significance of the subject matters. In addition, the innately flowing spiritual space, in combination with the outwardly space mix, has triggered the audience into contemplation: the picture itself assumes the existence and participation of audiences; the picture brimful with contents, although originally intended to portray the haleness and sturdiness of matter itself, oppresses the audience. Not that the picture itself is oppressive but in strict compliance with the three-dimensional features of the matters, a sense of oppression is generated in the course of visual observations. This is the effect the painter intended, in full consideration of the act of observation and reading; while the dancing bright spots have given wings to the imagination of the spectators. It does not confine the sentiments of the audience, instead, it gives them more space for comprehension. Just as the artist thinks himself: the over simplistic representation of matters is richer in significance than the arranged details of art. The works at this exhibition revolves around an office, which is also a manifestation of the past life of the artist. Even though he graduated from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, the artist has shown us his unique personal styles, which are closely related to his office job in Guangzhou, Southern China, and to his acute and direct observation of society and human nature. So he has set himself free from the shackles of academic techniques and of the trend to imitate, has surpassed the romantic emotions of youth, and has directly confronted the inner spirits of human nature. Still, this is an expression of matters at heart, the discovery of the inner flowing of objects and the hearing of sounds that reside inside the objects. The mute sounds of the objects, the lending of ears to dark grey and cold grey hues by the artist. The paintings of Lin has meditative qualities. The office space that he has created is not a materialized space but one that is spiritual and is crammed with the hidden currents of life. It invites us to go deep in.
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(责任编辑:谢慕)

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