一

　　1985年，美国艺术家劳申伯格（Robert Rauschenberg）不远万里再次来到中国，并先后在北京、拉萨举办了两场个展。这其实是他第二次来中国，早在三年前，他就来过中国，还访问了安徽泾县宣纸厂。“ROCI”（Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Interchange，即“劳申伯格海外文化交流组织”）这个项目的理念就是源于这次中国之旅。 作为“ROCI”项目的一部分，他在西藏革命展览馆（拉萨）的展览动机和起因至今仍然是个不解之谜。只是作为一种“新与旧、东方与西方、地方性与国际性的文化交流” ，显然解释不了他的这一非凡之举。在我看来，这其中更值得玩味的是波普艺术的世俗性与拉萨这一佛教圣地之神圣性的碰撞。

　　世俗性一直被视为波普艺术的质地和内核。但实际上，早就有学者留意到安迪·沃霍尔、劳申伯格等波普艺术家作品中的神圣性和宗教性。我们熟悉的沃霍尔的“最后的晚餐”“鸡蛋”等系列作品，本身就是以宗教为题材创作的，如《大C》（The Big C），拉斯·舒梅克（Russ Shumaker）说，这让他想起了用来推销美国化基督教的粗俗营销策略，就像跨国公司利用消费者信息来向我们推销那些薯片那样，画面中的摩托车是自由、权力、感性和叛逆的象征，而基督却常被视为这些术语的反义词。另如《鸡蛋》（Eggs）中的那些彩蛋，在安迪所信奉的天主教中则象征着不朽与复活。 如果说在这两件作品中还保留着明显的宗教痕迹的话，那么还有一些作品中他完全摒弃了明显的符号和叙事。就像托马斯·克洛（Thomas Crow）在《偶像无存：缺失于艺术的神学》一书中所说的：“任何在真正神学意义上站得住脚的现代艺术，恰恰是建立在对于传统圣像、符号以及叙事的摒弃上。” 《金色的玛丽莲·梦露》（Gold Marilyn Monroe）便是一个典型的案例，由于同为金色背景，它不禁让我们想到中世纪的圣像画。在沃霍尔的眼中，画中的梦露就像圣母一样，也是一个万人敬仰的偶像，不过这里的偶像不是圣母，而是商品，所以，这里真正神圣的与其说是宗教（性），不如说是世俗的商业社会。换言之，在这幅作品中，本身就充满着世俗性和神圣性的张力。另外，卡罗琳·A.琼斯（Caroline A. Jones）发现，在沃霍尔的身上，还有作为佛教徒的一面--尽管他不是真的佛教徒，但无论是玛丽莲·梦露的重复，还是电椅的重复，都带有佛教的意味。

　　这样一种世俗性与神圣性也同样体现在劳申伯格的作品中，尤其体现在他对于但丁《神曲·地狱篇》的视觉演绎中。1958至1960年间，劳申伯格创作了在其漫长的职业生涯中少有的插图性作品《地狱》（Inferno）组画。他通过“溶剂移画”（solvent-transfer drawing）的方式，以大众媒介的图像为要素，在重绘但丁诗篇的同时，视觉化地重整了美国社会的世俗景观。尤其是他在处理《地狱》篇章时的切入点，正是西蒙娜·薇依（Simone Weil）箴言中所描述的基督教神圣空间观念的重负问题。  这意味着，在劳申伯格这里，同样充满着世俗性与神圣性的张力。至少说明，神圣性一直是劳申伯格作品中的要素之一。

　　曾全程参与劳申伯格在拉萨展览全过程的李新建在回忆中提到，当时藏族人最感兴趣的不是他那些丝网印刷，而是录像艺术中的米老鼠和唐老鸭。反之，劳申伯格真正感兴趣的也是藏族人面对他作品时的不同反应，如有些藏族人会沾点酥油摸一下他的作品，这是他所期待的。劳申伯格认为，“精神的神秘性是藏在高的地方，而这儿是世界最高的地方”，因此，他想“探讨的是神秘及未知的世界”，以及如何“在陌生的环境里找到新的原动力” 。而展览的场所西藏革命展览馆本身亦内含着这一复杂性--它既是世俗性革命的象征，但同时，也依然带有宗教的神圣意味。我猜想，这应该是劳申伯格在拉萨举办展览的神秘动因。

二

　　近四十年后，杨冕也带着自己的作品来到了拉萨。尽管，此前他曾数次来这里旅行，但还是第一次以艺术的名义，朝圣至此。巧合的是，杨冕严格意义上说也是一位波普艺术家--尽管他不见得承认这一点。但无论是沃霍尔，还是劳申伯格，都曾是他心目中的英雄和偶像。也是受他们的影响，从早期的“美丽标准”系列，到后来的“CMYK”系列，流行文化与图像一直是杨冕重要的创作母题和观念。不仅如此，神圣图像也早已进入了他的创作视野中，如几年前，他就用“CMYK”的方式重新演绎过永乐宫壁画《朝元图》，特别是为此次展览“照见”量身定制的系列作品，图像母题全部来自藏传佛教壁画。从某种意义上说，杨冕重蹈了劳申伯格“覆辙”，并以自己的方式再次提出世俗性与神圣性的问题。当然，和80年代中期相比，经过全球化的洗礼，现代世俗性早已成为圣城拉萨（症候）的一部分。这对于杨冕而言，才是真正的挑战。

　　杨冕既不是一个艺术史的研究者，也不是一个佛教徒，所以在面对源远流长的藏传佛教壁画史和藏传佛教史的时候，他并没有丝毫胆怯和顾忌。当然，作为艺术家，了解基本历史是一方面，另一方面，他还必须根据自己的经验迅速作出判断和选择。经过数月的考察和斟酌，他决定从11世纪的扎塘寺“佛说法图” 作为开端，沿着14世纪日喀则夏鲁寺的“五方佛”， 15世纪的江孜白居寺“绿度母”等、贡嘎曲德寺的“喜金刚双身与空行母”，16世纪古格故城的“南方宝生佛及众菩萨”等，18 世纪罗布林卡格桑颇章的“白度母”，一直到此次展览的场所--19 世纪的吉崩岗拉康中的“莲花生大师”，一条简明的藏传佛教壁画史线索构成了整个展览的框架。

　　即便如此，对于作为当代艺术家的杨冕而言，他亦无需去考证每一张壁画的意涵及其历史渊源，甚至都不必去观看原作，因为他的创作起点是图像，而不是一张实在的绘画。何况，只有图像才可以分解出CMYK，一张实在的绘画是无法按此标准进行分解的。

　　关于杨冕的“CYMK”，迄今已有不少相关的讨论。简单地说，它就是通用的印刷色彩模式，其中“C”指“青”，“M”即“品红”，“Y”为“黄”，“K”是“黑”。四种色彩构成了杨冕作品的基本色系。虽然印刷图片的类型不同，但通过电脑放大处理后，都被他归结为“CMYK”四种色点的类型化或标准化构成。 近十年来，他已经用这样的方式创作了多个不同的系列，除了流行图像外，也包括我们耳熟能详的艺术史经典之作。这些图像的底本是有等级的，比如一件古典艺术原作，它对观众是有选择的，并不是所有观众都能理解。可是，当我们将它还原为标准的CMYK色系构成的时候，对于所有人而言，它都是一种平等的存在。借伊夫·克莱因（Yves Klein）的话说：“聚焦于（相对）单一的色彩，是对盛行的文化阶级制度进行根本性的挑战。” 杨冕称其为“视觉的民主”。

　　朗西埃（Jacques Rancière）所谓“观看的平等”或许是对“视觉的民主”最适切的解释。根据黑格尔关于穆里洛《小乞丐》的描述，朗西埃追溯了一种所有人可能共享的精神自由。他说：“作品的可贵之处并不在于它表现了这些平常的事物，它的魅力在于画面上的光亮和影照。因此，绘画并不是要画出什么内容供人信奉，也不是要画出某种自命的伟大而加以称颂，在这里，任何社会力量都不见踪影，人们看它，只为欣赏那些外表上的游戏，享受利欲消解时的纯粹快乐。正是这种外表的游戏，实现了普遍的精神自由。” 在“普遍的精神自由”这一点上，朗西埃认为所有人都是平等的。他诉诸画面或图像的表面，无独有偶，迪迪-于贝尔曼（Georges Didi-Huberman）对于潘诺夫斯基之图像智性结构的不满也体现在这里 ，不同的是，杨冕的视觉民主或平等观并不诉诸表面，而是图像的深层结构或技术本源，即CMYK。可是，当我们面对杨冕画面--而非图像--的时候，画面的表面即是CMYK。在此，真正给予人们普遍的精神自由的与其说是图像的深层结构，毋宁说是杨冕画面的表象。

　　无论是图像的寓意，还是其绘制过程，藏传佛教壁画的构成皆依赖于一套严格的程序和等级秩序。杨冕的CMYK转译一方面瓦解了其表面的秩序，另一方面又高度依赖这套秩序。这也是他与用同样方式绘画的草间弥生、赫斯特（Damien Hirst）的区别所在--尽管他们都可以归至波普的范畴，且在草间弥生这里同样不乏宗教的意味。当然，“CMYK”的这一悖论也意味着杨冕所谓的“视觉民主”其实取决于我们的观看距离，或者说，它只是在观念层面上实现了观看的平等，本质上并没有脱离它原有的图像秩序和等级结构。另外不能忽视的是，如果说图像的底本是佛教壁画的话，那么杨冕所依循的并非是原壁画，而是作为“次底本”的数字图像，准确地说是CMYK的技术生成机制，在这个意义上，不妨说“视觉民主”的背面即是技术霸权，甚至连“（美丽）标准”也是一种霸权。此时，杨冕想表达或想揭示的看似是一种“视觉民主”，其实是隐藏在“民主”背后的世俗的技术霸权。

　　事实上，当作为数码图像四处传播的时候，这些佛教壁画的神圣性已经遭遇了空前的世俗性挑战。此时，我们并不是被壁画或其圣像所捕获，而是被屏幕和数据所俘虏。所谓“视觉民主的霸权”只是一种说法，若换作观者的角度看，它更像是一种图像（技术）拜物教。而杨冕“CMYK”的意义就在于，它不仅暴露、并放大了这一新的宗教。在这一点上，它与图像母题本身的宗教性和神圣性其实是高度契合的。所以，表面的世俗与神圣之张力并不是杨冕“CMYK”的目的，至少在这里，这只是一方面，他真正关心的是世俗与神圣之间的往复与颠倒，包括叠加、融通与相互的增殖。

三

　　如前所言，CMYK一方面依赖于--甚至保留了--图像原有的结构秩序，另一方面，特别是在我们近观的时候，它其实已经瓦解了图像的结构秩序（尽管并不彻底），同样大小的四色圆点的“无序”分布，模糊了“图形”与“基底”的边界，并以抵抗写实主义的方式 ，在通往巴塔耶（Georges Bataille）所谓的非定形（formless）面/体。1996年，蓬皮杜国家艺术和文化中心举办了由伊夫-阿兰·博瓦（Yve-Alain Bois）和罗莎琳·克劳斯（Rosalind Krauss）策划的大型展览“非定形”（“Formless”）。整个展览的主题和构架便直接来自巴塔耶的这一同名理论。博瓦指出：“就非定形而言，问题在于定位与现代主义格格不入的种种运作，不去反对现代主义的形式确定性。相反，这些运作从现代主义中分化出来，诋毁形式和内容间的对立--这一对立本身就是形式的，其源自一种二元对立的逻辑--宣称其完全无效。” 但事实上，博瓦、克劳斯的“非定形”本质上还是形式主义，准确地说，是一种反形式主义的形式主义。

　　在最近的一篇关于巴塔耶“非定形”理论的论文中，王春明指出，“不成形”（即“非定形”）并不是简单的反形式（主义），其背后还有一个神圣的基础。而这一神圣之本性特征，归根结蒂是死亡的特征。诚如巴塔耶所说的：“神圣与超越实体的脱离”，重新打开了死亡的领域。 杨冕以CMYK的方式脱离原图像也可理解为一种“超越实体”的尝试，且在表面上也的确脱离了图像本身的神圣性。在此，我们姑且认为杨冕的“CMYK”也是一种“非定形”实践，尽管它无关巴塔耶所谓的“圣性学”“污秽学”等，但同样不乏死亡的意味 ，而在我看来，这里的“死亡”所指涉的不仅是某个具体的佛像，还有图像本身。

　　这亦表明，“非定形”在杨冕这里不仅是关于某种图像形态的表述，同时也是一种死亡观。然而，这种死亡并非指图像的终结，而是赋予--或揭示了原本内在于--图像内部某种新生的势能。正是这样一种流动的势能，在其图像底本与标准化的CMYK结构秩序之外，开启了一条超出我们经验的异质性道路。就像莱布尼茨笔下的“单子”（Monade），作为图像的基本原素，画面中的这些圆点仿佛受到某种欲求（appetition，又译“欲望”）的内在驱动，通过坍塌、消亡、创造、再生等相互作用，产生感知（Perzeption）的过程，进而再驱动欲求，由无限的单纯实体形成宏观感知。四色圆点的自足性所对应的正是作为“隐德来希”的“单子”，而它们的形态也是莱布尼茨所谓的“无形体的自动机”（des Automates incorporels）--这里的“无形体”回应了巴塔耶的“非定形”。 至于这一宏观感知，在杨冕这里即回到对于佛像的整体感知。与之相应的便是藏传佛教图像所隐示的生死观。藏传佛教继承了包括印度早期佛教生死轮回观的理论基础“十二因缘论”，以及小乘佛教的“三世两重因果”轮回理论等，认为生命是一种轮回。 虽然这是两种不同的死亡观或生死观，但我们依然在“单子论”（包括“非定形”）与佛教所谓的“因缘论”中找到某种内在的亲缘关系。正因如此，我们方可认为杨冕的“CMYK”与其说是图像的一种技术性还原，不如说是图像的一次重生，它所传递并非某种象征的图式--甚至在消解图式及其象征，而是图像原素衍生的无限潜能。

四

　　和以往不同，此次杨冕将“CMYK”带到了拉萨这座神圣之城，特别是展览的所在地吉本岗艺术中心，本身就是藏传佛教的圣地之一。吉本岗（意为“十万宗喀巴圣所”）地处拉萨大昭寺、小昭寺之间，历来被视作拉萨城的能量中心。现存拉康（即神殿）建筑始建于19世纪，后由中央拨款修缮。上世纪60年代以来，一直被当作粮库，隐没于城中。2017年，应当地政府的委托，“醍醐”团队启动了对整座建筑的再次修缮和改造，直到2020年才全部完工。整个改造工程不仅复原、保留了建筑的历史宗教性，同时也赋予其种种当代功能。在杨冕眼里，吉本岗就是一个超级能量场，“CMYK”同样也是一个能量场。所以，当“CMYK”被置于吉本岗的时候，更像是两个能量场的碰撞和较量。

　　无数闪烁的四色小圆点有序地弥散在这座神圣的殿堂之内，并与四周的藏传佛教壁画形成了一种“影像”关系--此时，这些CMYK画面仿佛是一组有序排列、被放大、能动的多屏幕影像。一方面现场充满了历史与当代、宗教与世俗的张力，而另一方面，这些张力又尽数消失在强大的宗教能量场中。在我看来，“CMYK”不仅召唤藏传佛教图像本身的象征力和神圣性，同时图像底本和四周的壁画也鼓荡起了“CMYK”本身所具有的“非定形”“单子化”的欲求驱力和神圣潜能。

　　回想近四十年前，当劳申伯格来到拉萨，将自己的作品置于这个超级能量场的时候，显然并不只是为了以世俗的方式来回应或挑战这座神圣之城，他真正看重的还是如何通过这样的方式，鼓荡起自己作品中的神圣之力。何况，他的艺术实践中并不乏“非定形”及其神圣的基础。他也参加了1996年克劳斯和博瓦策划的“非定形”展览，参展作品正是他的泥土绘画（Dirt Painting）。而这一系列作品显然更接近他达达的一面，且在很大程度上正是受禅宗的启发所致。要知道，早在黑山学院学习的时候，劳申伯格就已经通过约翰·凯奇（John Cage）接触了禅宗的思想。因此，无论是作为一个波普艺术家，还是作为一名“新达达”成员，宗教与神圣已然成了他作品的底色之一。巧合的是，此次杨冕“CMYK”的拉萨之行也不只是为了以世俗的方式回应吉本岗这个神圣的场所，不只是为了诉诸技术拜物教批判，他希望将“CMYK”从以往图像元素的还原机制这一阐释中解放出来，而视其为一个往复于--甚至超越了--世俗与神圣之间的新能量体/场。或许，这才是“CMYK”在吉本岗的意义所在。

The Secular and the Sacred： CMYK at Jebumgang

Lu Mingjun

I

　　In 1985， American artist Robert Rauschenberg returned to China to hold solo shows in both Beijing and Lhasa. This was his second trip to the country； three years prior， he had visited China and the famed xuan paper mill in Jing County， Anhui Province. The idea for the ROCI (Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Interchange) stemmed from this trip to China.  However， the motivation behind his exhibition at the Tibet Revolutionary Exhibition Hall in Lhasa as part of the ROCI program remains a mystery. A simple cultural exchange “between old and new， East and West， parochial and international”  clearly does not explain this extraordinary gesture. The aspect of this project most worthy of further contemplation is the collision between the worldliness of Pop Art and the sacredness of Lhasa， a holy city of Buddhism.

　　The secular world has always been the core of Pop Art， but scholars noticed early on that the work of Andy Warhol， Robert Rauschenberg， and other Pop artists had sacred or religious aspects. We are familiar with Warhol‘s The Last Supper or Eggs works， which took on religious subject matter. For Russ Shumaker， The Big C “brings to mind the crass marketing strategies used to sell Americanized Christianity […] much like a multinational corporation capitalizes on consumer information to sell us those potato chips， all for a single low price. Motorcycles are symbolic of freedom， power， sensuality， and rebellion， yet Christ is often typified as the antonym of these terms.”  Turning to Eggs， he notes that， “in the Byzantine Catholicism Andy had been raised in， colored eggs represent immortality and resurrection.”  If some obvious traces of religion remain in these two works， then there are others in which he completely abandons symbolism and narrative. In No Idols： The Missing Theology of Art， Thomas Crow wrote， there is now “an imperative that any modern work of genuine theological import abjure conventionally religious signs， symbols， and narratives.”  Gold Marilyn Monroe is a classic example. Because of the gold background， it is clearly reminiscent of a medieval icon painting. For Warhol， Monroe is like the Virgin Mary， an icon venerated by thousands. However， the icon is a commodity， not the Virgin， so what is truly sacred is our secular commercial society， rather than anything religious. In other words， this work exudes the tension between the worldly and the sacred. Moreover， Caroline A. Jones believes that Warhol had a Buddhist side-he was not a true Buddhist， but the repetition of Marilyn Monroe or an electric chair has a Buddhist sensibility.

　　The secular and the sacred also appear in Rauschenberg’s work， particularly in his visual interpretations of Dante‘s Inferno. From 1958 to 1960， Rauschenberg created his Dante Drawings， some of the few illustrations he made in his long creative career. In these transfer drawings， he portrayed cantos from Dante’s famous poem using mass media images， visually reorganizing the secular landscape of American society. His particular entry point into Dante‘s Inferno was Simone Weil’s discussion of the burdens of the concept of sacred space in Christianity.  For Rauschenberg， this series also embodied the tension between the secular and the sacred. At the very least， this shows that the sacred has always been an element in Rauschenberg‘s work.

　　Li Xinjian， who worked on bringing Rauschenberg’s exhibition to Lhasa， recalls that the Tibetans were more interested in the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck characters in his video pieces than in his silk-screen prints. Conversely， Rauschenberg was truly fascinated by how local audiences reacted to his work； he had expected that some Tibetans would apply a bit of butter to certain pieces. According to Li， Rauschenberg believed that “the mysteries of the spirit are hiding in the highest places， and this is the highest place in the world.” He wanted to “explore mysterious and unknown worlds” and “find new motivations in unfamiliar environments.”  The exhibition venue， the Tibet Revolutionary Exhibition Hall， embodied this complexity-it was a symbol of secular revolution， but it still retained a sacred air. I think that this was the mysterious motivation for Rauschenberg‘s exhibition in Lhasa.

II.

　　Forty years later， Yang Mian is bringing his work to Lhasa. He has traveled here several times， but this is the first time he has made the pilgrimage in the name of art. Coincidentally， he is also， strictly speaking， a pop artist-although he is not likely to admit it. However， both Warhol and Rauschenberg were once his heroes and idols. Because of their influence， popular culture and pictures have always been important creative motifs and concepts in his work， from his early Beauty Standards to his later CMYK. Moreover， sacred images have been part of his creative lexicon for quite some time. A few years ago， he applied his CMYK technique to a reinterpretation of The Procession (Chaoyuantu) at the Yongle Palace in Shanxi， and the series made specially for this exhibition in Lhasa will be based on images taken entirely from Tibetan Buddhist murals. In a sense， Yang is retracing Rauschenberg’s steps， raising the issue of the secular and the sacred， but in his own way. Of course， unlike in the mid-1980s， globalization has now introduced modern secularism into the sacred city of Lhasa. For Yang Mian， this is the true challenge.

　　Yang is neither an art historian nor a Buddhist， so he has not the slightest trepidation in confronting Tibetan Buddhist history and the long-standing mural tradition. Of course， as an artist， understanding history is one part of it， but he must also make rapid judgments and choices based on his own experiences. After months of study and deliberation， he decided to begin with the eleventh-century Buddha Teaching at the Dratang Monastery， before moving on to the fourteenth-century Five Tathāgatas at the Shalu Monastery in Shigatse， the fifteenth-century Green Tara at the Palcho Monastery in Gyantse and Hevajra Tantra and Dakini at the Choide Monastery in Konka， the sixteenth-century Southern Ratnasambhava and Bodhisattvas in the Old City of Guge， the eighteenth-century White Tara from the Gaisang Pochang at Norbulingka， and culminating in a painting from the venue for this exhibition： Padmasambhava from the nineteenth century. This concise history of Tibetan Buddhist murals serves as the framework for the exhibition.

　　Despite this， contemporary artists like Yang Mian have no need to verify the meaning and historical origins of every mural. He may not even need to view the original work， because the starting point for his work is always a picture， and not an actual painting. Moreover， only pictures can be decomposed into CMYK dots-this is impossible with an actual painting.

　　Yang Mian‘s CMYK has already been extensively discussed. Simply put， CMYK is a common way of printing colors， in which the “C” stands for cyan， the “M” is magenta， the “Y” is yellow， and the “K” is black. These four colors clearly make up the basic palette of Yang’s work. All of his printed picture sources are different， but after enlargement on a computer， they are all reduced to CMYK dots in those four colors.“  In the last ten years， he has used this technique to create many different series. In addition to popular images， he has turned his attention to familiar art historical classics. There is a hierarchy to the originals of these images. For example， a classic work of art is optional for viewers， and not everyone will understand it. However， when we return it to the standard CMYK color system， it is equal for everyone. Yves Klein claimed that the “focus on a single color entailed a fundamental challenge to the prevailing cultural hierarchy.”  Yang Mian calls this “visual democracy.”

　　Jacques Rancière‘s conception of equality may be the most fitting explanation of visual democracy. Rancière traces a freedom of mind that could be shared by all people to Hegel’s description of Murillo‘s beggar boys， writing：

　　It is not the representation of these ordinary objects that makes for the value of the painting， but the glimmerings and reflections that animate its surface， “the pure appearance which is wholly without the sort of interest that the subject has.” [… Painting] is also the art that manages to prove itself fully once it no longer serves any faith nor celebrates any self-perpetuating greatness： a village scene is something in which no social power seeks its image， it is thus what we look at for the pure “disinterested” pleasure of enjoying the play of appearances. And it is this play of appearances that is the very realization of freedom of mind.

　　Due to this freedom of mind， Rancière believes that everyone is equal. He appeals to the surface of the painting or picture， which is， coincidentally， the source of Georges Didi-Huberman’s dissatisfaction with Panofsky‘s structured conception of images.  In contrast， Yang Mian’s visual democracy or equality does not appeal to the surface； it deals with CMYK， the deeper structure or technological source of the picture. However， when we are confronted with Yang‘s work-and not the pictures-the surface of the image is CMYK. Here， what truly gives people a freedom of mind is the deeper structures of the pictures， rather than the surfaces of Yang’s images.

　　Both the significance and painting process of Tibetan Buddhist murals rely on strict procedures and hierarchies. Yang Mian‘s CMYK translations dissolve this superficial order， while also remaining highly reliant on it. This is the difference between his paintings and works by artists who use similar techniques， such as Yayoi Kusama and Damien Hirst. Even though all of them can be categorized as pop artists， Kusama also has a religious sensibility. Of course， the paradox of CMYK implies that Yang Mian’s visual democracy is decided by our viewing distance， or in other words， it only achieves this equality on a conceptual level， without being fundamentally able to withdraw from the original pictorial order and structure. We also cannot overlook the fact that the basis for the picture is a Buddhist mural and Yang is relying on a digital picture-a secondary image-or more precisely， the technology that generates CMYK， instead of the original mural. In this sense， visual democracy is underpinned by technological hegemony； even (beauty) standards may be a form of hegemony. This time， Yang wants to express or reveal a kind of visual democracy， so there is a secular technological hegemony behind that democracy.

　　In fact， when disseminated around the world as digital images， the sacredness of these Buddhist murals confronts an unprecedented secular challenge. This time， we are captured by the screens and data， rather than by the murals or their sacred content. The “hegemony of visual democracy” is just a turn of phrase， but if we look at it from a viewer‘s perspective， it becomes more like pictorial (technological) fetishism. Yang Mian’s CMYK is significant because it reveals and magnifies this new religion. In this sense， CMYK is closely aligned with the religious and sacred aspects of pictorial motifs. The tension between the secular and sacred on that surface is not the goal of Yang‘s CMYK. At least here， this is just one aspect of the series； what he truly cares about is the interaction between and inversion of the secular and the sacred， which encompasses layering， circulation， and proliferation.

III.

　　As we have noted， CMYK relies on-and even protects-the originals structural order of the picture， but it also， particularly when we look closely， dissolves the structural order of the picture (even if not completely). The “random” arrangement of evenly sized dots in four colors blur the boundaries between the figure and the ground，  moving toward Georges Bataille’s l‘informe (formlessness) in a way that resists realism. In 1996， the Centre Pompidou held the major exhibition “Formless” curated by Yve-Alain Bois and Rosalind Krauss. The theme and structure of the exhibition was directly inspired by Bataille’s term. Bois noted：

　　Rather， with regard to the informe， it is a matter instead of locating certain operations that brush modernism against the grain， and of doing so without countering modernism‘s formal certainties by means of the more reassuring and na？ve certainties of meaning. On the contrary， these operations split off from modernism， insulting the very opposition of form and content - which is itself formal， arising as it does from a binary logic - declaring it null and void.

　　However， Bois and Krauss’ formlessness was still just formalism； more precisely， it was an anti-formalist formalism.

　　In a recent paper on Bataille‘s theory of formlessness， Wang Chunming noted that formlessness is not mere anti-formalism； there is a sacred foundation to it. This inherent characteristic of the sacred is， in the final analysis， a characteristic of death. Bataille wrote that the separation between the sacred and the transcendent re-opens a realm for death.  Yang Mian’s departure from the original picture using CMYK could be understood as an experiment in transcending the physical， and on the surface， a departure from the sacredness of the image itself. Here， we could posit that Yang‘s CMYK is also a practice of formlessness. Even though it is unrelated to Bataille’s interests in divinity and scatology， the series has many ties to death.  In my view， death as defined here can touch a given Buddhist image， as well as the picture itself.

　　This also indicates that formlessness in Yang Mian‘s work is not just an expression of a given pictorial form； it is also a conception of death. However， death does not mean the end of the picture. Instead， it endows the picture with a new potential energy， or reveals energy it always possessed. In addition to the base picture and the standardized structural order of CMYK， this fluid energy opens up a different path for transcending what we have experienced. Leibniz wrote about monads as the basic elements in pictures， and these dots in Yang’s paintings seem to be internally driven by appetition. The interactions among collapse， withering， creation， and rebirth produce perception and further drive appetition， a larger perception comprised of countless pure substances. The self-sufficiency of dots in four colors echoes the entelechy made up of monads. Their forms are what Leibniz considered to be “incorporeal Automatons，” and here， his use of “incorporeal” echoes Bataille‘s idea of formlessness.  For Yang， this larger perception returns to the total perception of Buddhism， which in turn corresponds to the conception of life and death suggested in Tibetan Buddhist imagery. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition incorporates the twelve links of dependent origination (nidanas) which are foundational to early Indian Buddhist views on the cycle of life and death and the Hinayana Buddhist conception of samsara-all of which holds that life is one large cycle.  These two conceptions of death， or of life and death， may differ， but we can still find an inherent affinity between monadology (and formlessness) and Buddhist ideas of dependent origination. As a result， Yang Mian’s CMYK could be considered the rebirth of a picture， rather than its technological recovery； the series does not convey symbolic imagery-it may even be eliminating the image and its symbolism-but it does convey the infinite potential to be derived from pictorial elements.

IV.

　　For this exhibition， Yang Mian has brought CMYK to the sacred city of Lhasa and to the Jebumgang Art Center， which is a sacred site in Tibetan Buddhism. Jebumgang (meaning “the holy place of the Hundred Thousand Tsongkhapas”)， located between the Jokhang Monastery and the Ramoche Monastery in Lhasa， has always been viewed as the energetic center of the city. The present temple was built in the nineteenth century， and the central government has provided funds for the renovation. Since the 1960s， it has been concealed within the city and used as grain storage. In 2017， the Nirvana team started to renovate and transform the building as part of a commission from the local government， which was completed in 2020. The renovation project was intended to restore and preserve the historic religious function of the building， while also adding contemporary utility. Yang sees Jebumgang as an energy super-field； CMYK is also an energy field， so placing CMYK in Jebumgang is like a collision or contest between the two.

　　Countless glittering dots in four colors are spread throughout this sacred temple in an orderly way， creating an almost dynamic relationship with the Tibetan Buddhist murals on the walls. Here， the CMYK images are like a multi-channel video that has been ordered， magnified， and animated. The setting overflows with the tensions between historic and contemporary， religious and secular， but these tensions totally disappear in this immense field of religious energy. In my view， CMYK draws on the symbolism and holiness of Tibetan Buddhist imagery， while the base images and the surrounding murals activate the formless or monadic desires and sacred potential of CMYK.

　　Thinking back nearly forty years， when Rauschenberg came to Lhasa and placed his own work in this energy super-field， he was not merely challenging or responding to this sacred city in a secular way； he truly wanted to learn how to activate sacred power in his work using these methods， because his artistic practice involved formlessness and its sacred foundations. He also participated in Krauss and Bois‘ “Formless” exhibition in 1996 with Dirt Painting. This series is obviously closer to his Dadaist side， but to a significant extent， it was inspired by Zen Buddhism. It is important to note that， when he studied at Black Mountain College， Rauschenberg encountered Zen ideas through John Cage. As a Pop artist or a Neo-Dadaist， the religious and the sacred has been an undertone in Rauschenberg’s work. Coincidentally， in making the trip to Lhasa， Yang Mian‘s CMYK does not simply respond to a sacred space like Jebumgang in a secular way or critique technological fetishism. He wants to liberate CMYK from the interpretive frame of the mere restoration of past pictorial elements， and instead see the series as a new energetic entity that moves between， or even transcends， the secular and the sacred. Perhaps this is what makes presenting CMYK in Jebumgang so significant.

　　References

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　　Didi-Huberman， Georges. Confronting Images： Questioning the Ends of a Certain History of Art. Translated by John Goodman. University Park， PA： Pennsylvania State University Press， 2005.

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　　Leibniz， Gottfried Wilhelm. “The Monadology.” In The Philosophical Works of Leibniz. Translated by George Martin Duncan， 218-232. New Haven： Tuttle， Morehouse & Taylor， 1890.

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