CMYK

　　杨冕的作品所使用的是CMYK分色而不是RGB分色。 RGB指的红色绿色蓝色三原色光，用英文表示就是R(red)、G(green)、B(blue)。我们完全可以把RGB想象为烹饪里面里面的糖、盐、味精，任何一道菜都是用这三种调料混合的。不同的口味，三者的比例不同 。因此不同的图像中，RGB各个的成分也不尽相同。我们所有的电子图像都是基于RGB分色技术，而每个颜色都有一个RGB数值。RGB是一个色彩通道。我们可以把这三原色光比作三盏不同颜色的可调光台灯，那RGB作为一个色彩通道就相当于调光的按钮。对于观看者而言，他们关注的知识图像本身，而不会去联想究竟三种色光是如何混合的。因此作为色彩通道的RGB其作用是“控制”，而不是“展现”。RGB作为一种物理色彩模式，也是一种发光的色彩模式，比如我们你在黑房间内仍然可见屏幕上的内容；而CMYK是一种依靠反光的色彩模式，我们是怎样阅读报纸的内容呢？是由阳光或灯光照射到报纸上，再反射到我们的眼中才看到内容。它需要由外界光源，如你在黑暗房间内是无法阅读报纸的。 CMY是3种印刷油墨名称的首字母：青色Cyan、洋红色Magenta、黄色Yellow。而K取的是black最后一个字母，之所以不取首字母，是为了避免与蓝色(Blue)混淆。因此，所有在电子屏幕上出现的图像都是RGB图像，而所有在印刷中出现的图像都是CMYK，包括期刊、杂志、报纸、宣传画和画册。

　　与杨冕而言，选择CMYK而不是RGB已经明显表现了这批作品的观念之所在。他关注的是图像在复制传播中的文化含义，而不是图像本身，他关注的图像的如何被呈现、展示传播的，而不是什么数字化时代技术对图像的控制。也正是因此，这批作品和他早期的标准系列乃至“到中国去”是一致，其重点在关注文化和趣味的传递，而不同的是这次他的出发点更关注图像的生产机制以及这种机制与我们视觉的直观联系。

　　色点

　　CMYK的核心是四种颜色的印刷，它把任何图像拆分成青、洋红、黄和黑，然后通过每种颜色的灰度来分别调配油墨进行印刷。因此每张白纸都是被通过印刷4次获得图像的。每个色彩的灰度在印刷中体现为油墨的多少，而在杨冕的画面中则体现为四种色点排列。这些作品的制作是一个非常严密的过程，它几乎相当与一种手工的印刷。 艺术家将图像在计算机中进行自主的分色，并用主观的点手工绘制，输出成矢量图最后才是用手工和辅助工具相结合的方式，将四种颜色的色点并置在画面上。这些色点的排列有着双重的意义。

　　从绘制技术上来说，杨冕将自己置于两种技术矛盾冲突之中。手在绘制过程中自由度的减少是一方面，而重要的是整个过程不再是对于眼睛的追随，而是对一堆指数的机械沉陷。它们不是对于现实的复制，而是对于现实的“反光”的呈现，因此对于复制的复制的复制。这种不断的传递过程，也是一个图像含义衰减的过程，杨冕将对绘画手工性的限制与这个图像含义的衰减过程对应起来，与此同时他也把自己的艺术家身份弱化成印刷程序的一部分。而这恰恰是对在图像泛滥时代个体艺术创造的限度与可能性的一个微妙隐喻。

　　而这些色点的另一层含义在于，它们在作品和观众中制造着某些新的读图关系。这些色点的稠密首先是对四种颜色的灰度的表达，同样它们也制约着图像的清晰程度。确切的说，观众的视网膜必须在面对这些作品时不由自主的调节一下，才能将这些颜色调和在一起从而获得对于图像的印象。在这个过程中，观众永远没有办法获得对于原始图像完整而固化的印象。考虑到这些作品都是中国艺术史中经典的图像，观众永远是在一个视网膜调节和记忆补充的双重动作之中。

　　身处一个印刷图像泛滥的时代，杨冕似乎把艺术家的能动性限定在一个范围内，但是他制作的这些图像却迫使观众在阅读图像时必须调动自己的经验，从而在图像轰炸中调动自己的能动性。从这个意义上看，这些色点的使用看似是对印刷文化驯服，其实是一种伺机的反抗。

　　图像

　　图像在杨冕的作品中具有多重含义。它包括原始的图像，艺术家制造的画面以及观众根据视网膜的调节和经验补充出来的图像。总的说来，杨冕堵截了艺术作品和社会现实之间直接而明了的关系，而是将目光聚集在我们知识上。所以这些图像都是我们知识背景的一部分，在这个展览中，它们体现为中国绘画，而它们也可能转换成为另一种类型内容的集合。因此，在这些作品中图像的元叙事并不重要，艺术家关注恰恰相反，即元叙事如何在图像的传播中消失，而作为叙事载体的图像及其复制开始获得了一种独立的存在。

　　杨冕所创造的图像并非是一个坚实的，边缘线清晰的图像。这些图像看似尊崇于四色印刷的分色原则，但其实也还保留了某种随意性。如果我们把清晰的原始图像作为一个终极的话，那么这些图像是在背离那个图像，朝向我们运动的过程中一个任意的停留。如果说艺术家将自己的绘制至于印刷文化的控制之下的画，那么他的能动性体现在他人工的控制了图像与我们的距离。一方面他要让这些图像可识别，另一方面，他要最大限度的为我们置入经验保留可能性。

　　在这个随意停留中，它开始变得模糊而分离，并不再承载着叙事。也正是因此，它呼唤着观众经验的填入，而这些填入必然进一步对图像的元叙事形成对抗。于是两种彼此置入与重构模式出现在画面中，一层是个人经验与印刷图像的之间的置入与重构，而更深层次则是艺术家试图创造一个模糊的维度，通过置入当下经验重构我们对历史的阅读与想像。因此，从呼唤着经验的填入这个角度来说，这些看起来仿佛是印数的作品充满了别印刷产品所没有的温暖的特性。而这个温暖的特性恰恰是它们作为艺术品在机械复制时代的“光晕”之所在。

　　CMYK， Colored Dots， and Images：

　　Notes on Three Keywords for Yang Mian‘s New Work

　　Pi Li

　　CMYK

　　Yang Mian’s work employs CMYK， not RGB， color separation. “RGB” refers to red， green， and blue. We can envision RGB as sugar， salt， and MSG in cooking. Any dish blends these three seasonings， and different proportions of the three will produce different flavors， just as different proportions of red， green， and blue create different images. All of our electronic images are based on RGB color separation technology， and every color has an RGB value. RGB is a color channel， so we can compare these three colors to three adjustable reading lamps. The RGB color channel is like an adjustment knob on those lamps. Viewers are focused on the content of the image， and do not associate it with how the three colored lights are blended together. As a color channel， RGB is a mode of control， not representation. RGB is a luminous color standard； we can still see a given image on the screen in a dark room. CMYK is a color standard that relies on reflected light. How do we read a newspaper？ When sunlight or artificial light shine on a newspaper， the light reflects off the paper and into our eyes， allowing us to see the words. It requires an external light source； you cannot read a newspaper in a dark room. C， M， and Y are the first letters of the three printing inks： cyan， magenta， and yellow. K is the last letter in “black，” which was used to avoid confusion with blue. Thus， all of the images on electronic screens appear in RGB， and all of the images in printed material， including periodicals， magazines， newspapers， pamphlets， and catalogs， appear in CMYK.

　　Yang Mian‘s choice of CMYK over RGB obviously reflects a conceptual element to the work； he focuses on the cultural meaning of images when they are replicated and disseminated， and not the images themselves. He is interested in how images are displayed and disseminated， and not the technological manipulation of images in the digital era. As a result， these works are consistent with his early Standard series and To China， as they all focus on how culture and taste are conveyed. The difference with this series is that his starting point was a closer focus on how these images are generated and the intuitive connection between this generative mechanism and how we see.

　　Colored Dots

　　Four-color printing is the core of CMYK. Any image can be separated into cyan， magenta， yellow， and black， then a certain degree of grey is mixed into every color of ink for printing. Thus， an image is printed on every piece of white paper with four layers of printing ink. In printed material， the amount of grey in every color is determined by the amount of printing ink， but in Yang Mian’s works， this is represented by the arrangement of the four colors of dots. Yang employs a very rigorous production process in his painting； it‘s almost equivalent to hand-printing. He performs his own color separation on his computer， then he subjectively hand-paints these dots from an exported matrix. He uses a combination of hand painting and supplementary tools to juxtapose four colors of dots in the image. The arrangement of these colored dots has dual meaning.

　　Yang Mian situates himself within the contradictions and conflicts between two painting techniques. In this painting process， he reduces the hand’s freedom. The entire process does not follow the eye； it is an immersion in a pile of mechanical indices. These works do not replicate reality； instead， they are presentations of reflections of reality. They are copies of copies of copies. This constant transmission attenuates the meaning of the image. Yang matches the limitations of the handmade quality of painting with the attenuation of the meaning of the image. At the same time， this reduces his role as an artist to part of the printing process. This is a subtle metaphor for the limitations and possibilities of individual artistic creation in an era inundated with images.

　　Another reason for these colored dots was the new interpretive relationships created between the works and the viewer. The density of these dots is an expression of the grey in these four colors， but it also restricts the clarity of the images. More precisely， when viewers confront the works， their retinas have to adjust， mixing these colors together to obtain an impression of the image. However， in this process， viewers are never able to gain a complete， fixed impression of the original. Because the works involve classic images from Chinese art history， the viewer‘s retinas are always adjusting， even as they are supplementing the images from memory.

　　Finding himself in an era inundated with images， Yang Mian seems to restrict the artist’s initiative to a specific scope， but the images he creates force viewers to bring their own experience into play when looking at them. As a result， he forces the viewer to be more active amidst this explosion of images. In this sense， the use of these colored dots seems to domesticate print culture， resisting an opportunity.

　　Images

　　In Yang Mian‘s work， images have multiple meanings. These images include the original image， the work created by the artist， and the image that results from the viewer’s retinal adjustments and supplementary experience. Overall， Yang intervenes in the direct and clear relationships between works of art and social reality and turns his attention to our knowledge. These images are part of our intellectual context， and in this exhibition， they are represented as Chinese paintings， and they can be transformed into an assemblage of other types of content. Thus， the meta-narratives of the images in the works are not important. Yang is actually interested in the opposite aspect： how meta-narratives disappear in the dissemination of images and how images find an independent existence as a narrative vehicle， beginning with their replication.

　　The images Yang Mian creates are not solid or clear-edged. These images seem to pay homage to the color separation principles of four-color printing， but they also retain a certain casual quality. If we consider the clear original image as the pinnacle， then these images are moving away from the original and toward a random stop in our movement. If Yang‘s paintings are images controlled by print culture， then his initiative manifests in his artificial control of the distance between us and the images. He wants to make these images identifiable， but he also wants to preserve the possibility for us to embed our experience in them to the greatest possible extent.

　　In this random stop， the image starts to become obscure and separated， and no longer conveys a narrative. Thus， it calls upon viewers to embed their experiences， and these insertions must further resist the meta-narratives of the images. Therefore， two modes of embedding and reconstruction appear in the images. One layer is the embedding and reconstruction of personal experience and printed images. On a deeper level， Yang attempts to create an obscure dimension， reconstructing our reading and imagination of history by embedding current experience. Thus， in calling viewers to embed their own experience， these seemingly printed works are full of a warmth that other printed products do not have. This warmth is the “aura” of the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction.