雷子人的创作在当代艺术中是一个异数。他追寻艺术的最根本的问题，即当代审美是如何变迁的，这种变迁的根源是什么，是否可以用更综合的方法，如采用了人类学、社会学的方法，对当代审美重新阐释，等等。所以，雷子人的创作充满了问题意识，由此形成了他独特的表达和风格：通过对整个变革时代及其文化传统的观照，凸显出审美的变迁及其意义。雷子人力图在后现代语境中表达传统或传统秩序的瓦解，或者更准确地说，消解和转移的过程。

　　雷子人的问题意识表现为，其笔下传统意义的身份（如农民）变得越来越模糊，在传统与后现代之间所搭建的沟通也越来越复杂。同时，美学获得了更广义的解读，而有关中国当代后现代艺术的种种虚无缥缈的构想，则完全不在雷子人的视野里。至少在他的创作中，他直接面对传统，直接面对传统与现代、后现代之间的勾连和纠缠，直接介入被调侃的美学领域，直接表达被认为是没有意义的美学意涵。

　　在雷子人《陂》中，时间和时尚留在了家庭的墙壁上，那些东西是自在的，不是为了某种观念而刻意设计的。然而，生活中自在的节奏在改变，时间在流失，从中我们读到了历史变迁的轨迹。他似乎力图消解当代艺术所推崇的符号化。陂自身的文化意涵是被某种被支离的空间感来表达的，用雷子人自己的话说，这个空间是由时间对物质的空间意义转换而来的，而物质存在因不同的时间切片呈现了不同的解读可能。粗糙的手、锋锐的刮刀与陂人脸面交织在一起的视觉意象，当然从属于艺术表达。但也能想像：在不同的时空里，其意涵可能发生什么样的变化。造型是传统的，姿态和眼神等等都是自在的，但却传达出后现代艺术的意味。其内在是还是雷子人的问题意识，即对生存逻辑的质疑，以及表现这些质疑的表现方式的探索。原来破烂的碾米场，隐约有一些诗意情怀；尘土飞扬的一条街，好象呈现了一种特别的热情；革命的图景，透露出对时光的怀念。

　　虽然陂作为一种呈现性的表述，但问题意识是一种必要的催化剂，使雷子人先生时刻保持某种自省力。雷子人的艺术不再是作为某种视觉消费而存在，毋宁说是重建美学的意义，即在传统、前现代、现代和后现代之间建立互为诠释的可能。雷子人的创作，强烈地让现代性和传统发生了关系，也就是建立审美意义和价值的变迁过程，让“传统”遭遇“现代”，多维地去界定它们的关联。当当代艺术高度变异的时候，我们突然看到雷子人反差很大的风格，他的创作不是自娱自乐的表达，而是对更长时间更大跨度的历史的集体式生存记忆。一言以蔽之，这就是文化。

　　Aesthetic Exploration: Between Tradition, Modernity and Postmodernity

　　Xu Xun

　　Lei Ziren is an exception in contemporaryart. He explores the most fundamentalquestion in art, e.g. how contemporaryaesthetics shifts, what is the origin ofthis shift, can this shifting contemporaryaesthetics be reinterpreted by a more comprehensive methodology, egant h ropology, so ciology, etc .This particular question sense helps him developunique expression and style: expose the shifting aesthetic and its significance underthe general background of reform time andcultural tradition.

　　Lei Ziren tries to present how tradition/ traditional order collapse, or be moreexact, distract and displace in postmoderncontext.

　　His question sense embodies as the blurred traditional identities, e.g. peasant, as wellas the more complicated communicationbet ween t radition and post-modern.

　　Aesthetics achieves wider interpretations,while the various visionary conceits oncontemporary Chinese postmodern artis never into Lei Ziren's mind, at leastnever into his works-in the works, hedirectly confronts tradition, confronts theinvolvement and entanglement betweent radition, moder n, and post moder n,interpose "derisory" aesthetic field, andexpress "meaningless" aesthetic meanings.

　　In Meibei, time and fashion fixed on family wall in a leisure way, not designedfor any particular concepts. However, withtime flaps, the leisure rhythm is changing,from which we can trace the historicalvicissitude. He makes quite some effortsto dissolve the symbolization popular incontemporary art. The cultural meaning ofMeibei is expressed as broken spaces. Assaid by Lei Ziren, time has special meaningto substances, while various time piecesoffer various interpreting possibilities tosubstances. The mixed imageries of coarsehand, edging drawknife and Meibei facesof course attribute to artistic expression. But we can also imagine how its meaningcould be changed in different timespaces.With traditional modeling, andleisure postures and eye-expressions, theimageries express postmodernity due toLei Ziren's problem-solving sense-hisdoubts to survival logic, as well as exploreto the expressions of these doubts. Then,the shabby mill appear some poetr y;the dusty street seem enthusiastic; therevolutionary scene indicates cherish ofpassed life.

　　His question sense becomes a necessaryactivator to maintain his introspectivethrough the presentational narrative ofMeibei. In this way, his art no longerexist as visual commodities, but bear thesignificance of aesthetic reconstruction,viz. the possibility of mutual interpretationbetween tradition, pre-modern, modern,and post-modern.

　　His practices firmly associates modernityto tradition, or in another word, rebuild theshifting procedure of aesthetic meaningsand values-in the procedure, "tradition"confronts "modern", and multidimen sional defin ingof the associates . With the dramatic change happen edincontem porary art, Lei Ziren presentscontrar y styles in his own practices.

　　Instead of self-entertainment, he exploresthe collective memories across longer andwider history. In a word, this is culture.