江衡：借用女性角色表现中国社会变迁下的消费文化

　　Jiang Heng: Expressing cusumer culture under a changing society of China in women’s role

　　编者按：王林策划的《未曾呈现的声音》是中国参加2013威尼斯双年展规模最大的平行展，

　　本次展览分为九个单元，分别是记忆、历史、底层、身体、家庭、村落、废墟、风景和巫咒，

　　力图比较整体地展示中国当代艺术的面貌。

　　“The Voice Unheard”curated by Wang Lin are the largest  parallel exhibiton that chinese has ever had at vinesse bienial. It includs nine parts: Memory, history, the lowest class, body, family, village , ruins, landscape, sorcery and curse ,dedicates to reveal a overall outlook of chinese contemporary art.

　　其中，艺术家江衡参展的作品为《风声水起》和《梦幻般的风景》，属于“风景”系列。

　　这两幅作品将中国传统山水画和西方消费文化符号之一的芭比娃娃相结合，现了中国自改革开放以来的社会变迁，展示了艺术家对中国汲取西方文化这方面做出的思考。针对本次展览，99艺术网对江衡进行了专访。

　　Artist Jiang Heng’s works and were shown in the landscape part. His two works combines chinese traditional painting with

　　barbie girls which is a symble of western consumer culture, expressing the changes since china’s reform and open-up, and they also show artist’s thinking on china’s absorption of western cluture. The 99 art has an interview with the artist about this exhibiton.

　　99艺术网：这次参加2013年威尼斯双年展，您为什么选择《风声水起》和《梦幻般的风景》这两幅作品?

　　99 Art: This time at the Venice Biennale 2013, why do you choose < Storming Wind and Water >  and to be shown there?

　　江衡：这两件是我近几年转型的作品，能够代表我近年来最新的创作面貌。这些新作品很多人还没有看过，所以我觉得可以借这个机会让它们曝光。

　　JH: These two works mark an turning point for me and they can represent my latest thinking on art in recent years. As most of people haven’t seen my new works yet, it’s a great opportunity that they can be exposed at Venice Biennale.

　　99艺术网：这两件作品表现的是中国现在社会的哪些状况?

　　99 Art: what social issues in china today does these two works express?

　　江衡：《风声水起》运用的是中国传统山水画的远景构图。中国的远景山水画，我们虽然看到的是山水，但其实里边有很多内容。

　　JH: I composed< Storming Wind and Water >in a traditional way which always used in chinese ink painting. We may only saw moutains and waters in chinese traditional ink paintings , but there are far more things than that.

　　我在画山水的时候，里边有人，有物，还有动物，像宋朝或者更远年代画家描绘大自然的一种景象。这种远景山水就构成我想表达的一种意境，也表达了我对改革开放这么多年来中国目前社会状况的思考。为什么我要把传统山水画的画法变成我的画法?因为我觉得现在这种手法，可能和我内心世界的表达更吻合一点。

　　In my painting I also draw people, animals and other things except moutains and waters to show an image from nature , just like what the artist do in Song dynasty and earlier time. In this way I got an vision that express myself well, and it also expresses my thinking on today’s chinsese society since china’s reform and open-up .Why I use traditional Chinese ink painting way in my painting? Because I think it suits me much well to express my inner world.

　　人物基本上用芭比娃娃，其实九十年代初我们在广州发起“中国卡通一代”，这么多年来，我想我还是会受当时这些物象，包括卡通的影响。芭比娃娃本身就不是中国的，为什么会叫“中国制造”?因为它本身就不是中国制造的，来源于西方或者某个国度，所以传到中国的时候，本身的文化含义由于在不同语境可能发生一个质的变化，可能跟人家所认同的这种符号的解说方式不一样。

　　The people in my painting are Barbie girls. In fact I was one of the artists who launched Chinese Carton Generation movement in Guangzhou in the early 1990s. I have been influenced by the vision memories since then, including Carton figures. Barbie girls is foreign to China and why was called“Made in China”? Because it is just not made in China but from foreign countries. When it comes to China, the meaning is totally changed in the new culture background and probably becomes very different with its well-recognized ones.

　　当时恰好是中国改革开放三十年，其实也可以说是一个物欲的社会。为什么用芭比娃娃作为创作的组成部分?这有很重要的现状意义，这个符号和传统的山水放在一起构成了一个完整的图景，就是当下整个中国时代的变迁，包括改革开放三十年来中国大环境的变化。

　　China has become a materialistic society in the past three decades of reform and open-up. I use Barbie girls in my painting because it has a very important practical significance. The Barbie girls together with the Chinese traditional landscape are made up a complete image, which shows the change of whole china in the history, precisely in the past three decades since China's reform and opening -up.

　　99艺术网：这次在威尼斯双年展上中国当代艺术和西方的并置，您觉得两者主要的区别是什么?

　　99 Art: This time at Venice Biennale, Chinese contemporary art and western art are together shown at the same time, what do you think the most important difference between them?

　　江衡：按道理文化和艺术是没有国界的，但肯定有差异性，因为宗教、文化、人的行为方式决定了这种差异性。西方人看作品的时候会很直接，他看到一个物品，会认为这个物品就是这样的，并且认为它有积极意义，不管这个物品好和坏，都会这么认为。可能中国人看作品的时候，特别是艺术创作者可能会对某一个艺术品或者某一个对象赋予很多其他的含义。

　　JH: It’s said that culture and art are no boundary actually, but of course they have some differences because of the religions, cultural background and ways of human behavior. Western people usually see things in a more direct way. When they see something they think that was all about it, just like what they saw. And they prefer to give a positive think to what they saw no matter it was or not. But Chinese viewer, also Chinese artists maybe like more to give much more meaning to what they saw, especially to art.

　　99艺术网：参加这次威尼斯双年展，您最深的体会是什么?

　　99 Art: What is your most memorable experience at Venice Biennale this time?

　　江衡：我前两年也参加过一次，基本上是平行展。

　　不管是国家展、主题展还是平行展都没有关系，重在交流。

　　JH:I also participated Venice Biennale two year ago in parallel exhibition.

　　The most important thing is not to care about National Pavilion, thematic Exhibition or parallel exhibition but to communication.

　　展览对当代艺术家来说不能是一种比赛，也不能是一个拿名次的活动，当把它作为比赛，然后拿名次的时候，我觉得它可能会变质。认为某个展览很烂，某个展览很好，某个展览应该得到什么奖项，某个展览应该怎么样，这些应该不是最重要的，重要的是你在做什么事，这事情对自己来说是不是很有意义。抱着一种很积极的态度去对待这些问题，可能这种功利性就会消失。

　　Exbhitions can be neither a compitition nor a event for prize to an artist, any of them can desroty the exhibition. It should not to judge how good or bad an exhibiton is , or what prize or anything else it deserves, on the contrary the most important things is what are you doing now and whether it makes any sense to yourself. Focuing on these issues in a positive way will save you from seeking quick success insant benefits.

　　我觉得重在交流，不管怎么样，一个展览的存在应该有它的合理性，所以我觉得不管是主题展也好，国家馆也好，平行展也好，有机会交流，干嘛不去呢?并且我会对批评家、策展人很感恩，他们给我一个机会跟别人交流，让我能够看到更多很好的作品，每个艺术家都有各自的优势，我能够去学习。假如我觉得自己作品不是太好，通过这样的交流，我就能够知道哪些需要改进，会激励自己做得更好。

　　Communication is the most important. Everything that is , is resonable. So no matter in National Pavilion, thematic Exhibition or parallel exhibition , since I have an opptunity do it and why not go? Evenmore I will thank very much the critics, curators for giving me such a opputiunity to communicate with other artists and to see much more great works . Every artist has it own advantages and I would like to learn. And If I feel my works still need to improve during the communicating ,I will able to know which part I should work harder and also will encourge myself to do much better.

　　99艺术网：这次参加威尼斯双年展对您以后的创作有影响吗?

　　99 Art: Does the Venice Biennale this year will influence you on your works in the future?

　　江衡：对我个体而言，这是一次很好的旅行，我学会了很多东西，也看到了很多很优秀的作品。有一些很好的作品，不管是从文化还是从社会等方面，我觉得是值得学习的。所以不管怎么样，总体来说我觉得是积极的。

　　JH: For me it is really a great journy. I learned a lot and also saw many great works. A few of very best works are worthy emulating no matter in a cultural context or a social one. In a word, has a positive impact on me anyway.

　　99艺术网：您的作品大多是女性卡通形象，您主要探讨的是中国的消费文化问题还是中国社会的女性角色问题?

　　99 Art: Most of the figues in your painting are female cartons, so the issues you are explroing is chinese consumer culture or the role of women in chinese society?

　　江衡：其实我觉得还是消费文化的问题。中国本来就是一个消费大国，改革开放三十年，在这么短暂的时间里，它让很多人去思考，为什么在这么短的现代化进程里，中国的很多东西变得面目全非，这可能会对人的心理造成一定的影响。

　　JH: Actually I think it is consumer culture. China itself is a big consumer and it has been 30 years since its reform and open-up. It makes peole to think why so many things completly changed in such a short time in the process of mordenlization. It definitly makes an psychologycla influnce on people.

　　所以我觉得我关注的还是一个消费的题材，跟女性的角色关系不大，只不过我借用女性的角色。我初中和小学阶段临摹了很多中国古代的仕女图，可能因为有这种情结，人有时候会回到原点，会找适合自己的方式去表达。那种记忆可能使我的创作把这些元素放进去，仅此而已。

　　So I said the issue I am discussing is consumer culture but not women which I used just as an image. It is an obsession to use female in my painting because I used to copy a lot of women portait from chinese traditinal painting during my primory and middle school. People sometimes gets back to the very first things and try to find a suitble way to express themselves . It is the memory that makes me to do it, that is it.

　　另外，在消费时代，为什么很多广告会选择女性去做宣传?可能跟女性的优势有一定关系，所以我为什么选择女性做创作也基于这样的原因，并不是针对具体的女性，我针对的还是社会变迁中的消费文化对自身的影响。

　　In addition, in the consumer era , why there are so many women models in Ads for promtion? Maybe women have innate advatage that is another reason why I choose them. I am not discussing a spicific woman but an issue that how people thenselves were influnced by consumer culture in a changing society.

　　99艺术网：您参加威尼斯双年展，其中的一件作品是《梦幻般的风景》，里边的人物为何是受伤的状态?

　　99 Art: The other of your work exhibited at Venice Biennale called ,why the people in the painting suffers injuries?

　　江衡：我觉得中国在这短短几十年的社会进程中，有优越的一面，也有消化不良的一面。九十年代初我们已经进行这样的创作，就是把非常漂亮、空心，讽刺的一些东西作为我们创作的素材。

　　JH: I think china bears its positive aspect as well as the negative one in such a short span of several decades of social progress. I have been doing this since1990s by putting some very beautiful, meaninglessful, ironical things in my painting.

　　卡通、芭比娃娃是什么?因为很多人都喜欢他们。他们很简单，不是很复杂，是这个时代商业社会的产物，我当时的选择也是基于这样的原因。此外，芭比娃娃是西方文化的一个象征，她有精神的一种指向。当芭比娃娃进入另外的国家，特别是来到中国的时候，我们首先看到的是商业，并没有看到她的精神内涵，这样就有一种文化的落差，所以我把她放到我的创作里。为什么里面会用古代的剑，有流血?商业社会的特征，可能会导致很多伤害。

　　Why is carton and why is barbie girl? Because so many people love them. They are simple, not complicated, and they were born for the morden comerical society. That why I choose them. In addiion, barbie girl is a symble of western cultuel and has a spirital meaning. When they come to others contries , especilly to China, the first thing we see is her comercial sense but not her inner spirital meaning. There is a gap between the cultures so I choose them. And the reason why I acient sword and blood in my painting is that they are symbles of comecial society and the injuries it may bring.

　　99艺术网：您的创作主要是卡通形象，以后会改变吗?

　　99 Art: There are mainly carton figues in your painting, will it have any chage in the future?

　　江衡：我借用的并不是表面性的形象，而是卡通的精神特质，是在这个时代里延伸出的对人的心理或者精神有影响的内容，并不是表面的光滑、亮丽，而是实质性的东西。

　　The carton figures I am using in my paining are not just an image with its apprent simplicity but an spirital symble. They are born in this era and and have an impact on people’s heart or spirit .They are not just smooth and colorful on the surface but meaningful inside.

　　广州是中国改革开放的南大门，可能南方人对生活的嗅觉更为敏锐，因为基本上受港澳台，以及日本流行文化的影响，所以我们当时为什么进行这样的创作也是有原因的。九十年代初根本没有考虑到商业，还是针对当时历史时期特有的文化和社会现象去创作。

　　Guangzhou is a very important southern city for china’s reform and open-up. It probably gives people there a sharper eye as they were basically influenced by popular culture from Hong Kong, Macon, Taiwan and Japan. Maybe that is also why we begin our carton style art. In the 1990s, we do our art not for commercial at all but most because of the particular cultural and social conditions at that particular period.

　　我的创作也一直在转变当中，也在自我调节当中，以后怎么变，现在我也不知道，但是我会忠于我的内心世界进行创作.

　　My art is always changing and so does myself.I don’t know what they will be in the future but I will always follow my heart.