这是一次由中央美术学院他们TA MEN团体组合创作、参与的展览，同时也在实验着一种不同于当下流行的“同一首歌”式的新型展览方式。

　　在文化全球化的今天，一个新崛起的社会文化已经有了新的规范和秩序，这种规范和秩序乃是建立在市场化的基础上。他们TA MEN虚拟注册了一家“他们有限责任公司”作为其组合作品的切入点，认同并利用了现实中市场经济的种种操作方式和程序，假借这个生产“概念艺术”为主的“高新技术企业”，在颁奖典礼、人才调查、招聘方式以及交互联系的网络系统中，采用虚拟、戏仿的表演，设计、上演一台真实、诙谐、幽默的“舞台剧”，在似真似幻的娱乐狂欢中，表达出他们作为年轻一代的未来艺术家对当下艺术圈内存在状态和正在经历的美术学院艺术教育的一种看法和态度,以此凸现跨世纪时代年轻艺术家的特别经验。

　　展览的具体内容包括：一是举行“2004年度中国当代艺术“他们”金像奖”颁奖典礼。即根据目前各种类型颁奖晚会的样式和提名及观众投票结果，戏仿获各奖项的艺术家或替代者走台领奖和展演其代表作的盛况。二是“艺术人才招聘会”。即根据“他们有限责任公司”设计制定的招聘考题，在展览现场模拟人才招聘会的方式，面向观众诚聘宣传策划总监、艺术家、客户总监等公司职务。三是“图像聊天室”展示及观众的直接参与。即将已由他们TA MEN建立的图像聊天室的图像内容，以DV和喷绘的方式展示，在其背景和氛围中，观众可根据图像聊天室设定的图像，以“接龙”图像进行聊天，并在展览现场呈现观众参与完成的图像作品。

　　“虚拟”、“自由”、“快乐”、“戏仿”是这次他们组合创作和展览的关键词。

　　“虚拟”是一种超越现实的创造性思维，是“指向不可能的可能”。所谓“虚拟生存”实际上是依赖于电脑网络技术而产生的一种新的生产方式和生活方式。虚拟可以超越现实，但并不是使现实性的范畴变小了，尤其是数字化方式构成的虚拟更是极大地拓展了这个空间。他们的作品和呈现方式试图摆脱现行艺术圈内的系统，依托网络技术的虚拟图像艺术营造一种具有亲历性的空间。换言之，创作者和接受者都不再是一个外在的旁观者，而是一个身临其境的参与者，在其中担当某一角色，从而调动了整体作品情节的发展。在这种亲历性的视觉化空间中，创作者有一种现场发挥的自由度，接受者可以获得一种审视的自由感。在这样的一个虚拟空间中，作为社会主流艺术和当代艺术圈内的主流之外的系统来说，他们企图打破主流组织的某些潜规则，突破常规的一些禁忌，消解等级界限。人们尽可以摆脱在现实生活中的固定角色的束缚与限制，让所有的来者共同参与，登台表演，从而使生活变得丰富而多彩。也许有人会说，通过想象所获得的自由更加宽广，但是想象所带给人的是一种抽象的生动性，而在虚拟空间中所带给人的是一种身在其中的可感性。因此这种亲历性尽管是虚拟的，但它毕竟是对诸种可能生活的直观与体验，甚至是未来生活、理想生活的预演。尤其是他们对于传统的、现行的秩序不再是简单的叛逆或批判、揭露，而是按照当下的价值行事，并在身临其境的模拟中，以一种正面的接纳和利用的立场，在强调自我、快乐、时尚、游戏化的场景中展示自己的存在，也使不同层次的观者直接体会他们的乐趣，并从中感受到快乐和满足。

　　他们对“自由”的理解更多的是一种感受的自由，一种没有约束的状态，一种基于对前卫艺术界现状解构的基础之上的随心所欲。我们可以从他们拼贴的图像中感受到这一点。如果说他们的自由主要是主观的，他们并不因此降低对这种自由的评价，相反，他们乐于在主观的自由里找寻快乐。

　　“快乐”是他们在创作过程中的主要感受，也是他们的一个目的。他们说：这些作品的创作始终是在欢声笑语的过程中完成的。因此所有会给他们带来痛苦的因素和图像符号都要被剔除，所有令他们感到沉重和压抑的东西都要被排斥。这实际上是他们解构一切的一个主要动机。当然，他们也很清楚他们没有办法把快乐贯穿始终。因此在艺术创作中就更是要崇尚快乐就是一切的原因。

　　我以为他们的作品是对前卫艺术界的一次严肃的戏仿。之所以说是严肃的，是因为奖项的设置和调查，晚会的编排与上演，强调的是获奖者的艺术与日常生活的状态，比如最佳着装、最佳夫妻拍档等，是将我们聊天式的玩笑评价搬到了正式的颁奖当中。所以揭示深刻的主旨并不是他们的目的，他们的创作方式常常是组合式的，非常热衷于把各中不同的元素拼合到一个关系里面，既本真，又调侃和游戏化。于是我们看到，著名的艺术家、策展人、批评家在台上台下来回穿梭，历史身份与现实角色不断地在某个人物身上重叠，形成了某种看似凌乱无序的前卫艺术界的存在景象。人才招聘的繁忙，图像聊天室的热闹，客观现状与艺术虚拟图像频繁地交织在一起。以此显示出以大众传播媒介为手段，按商品市场规律去运作的，旨在使大量普通市民获得感性愉悦的日常文化形态的大众文化的概念和力量。

　　每一个时代造就着存身于其中的个人的活法，每一个特定的年代所依赖的文化背景以及生存状态，决定着这一代人的思维方式、价值观念和行为模式。年轻的艺术家代表着某种观念，其价值和表达方式有别于主流文化。青年亚文化作为青年价值观的文化定位，一方面由于它在整个文化系统中经常表现出自己鲜明个性而引人注目;另一方面由于青年人是未来社会的主干，其代表的次文化经常作为测知未来文化变化的重要指标。从青年亚文化对主流的渗透与价值扩张的角度来看，青年亚文化将反过来影响整个社会主流文化的丰富、深化与发展。或许，这也是我和柳淳风策划这次展览的主要目的。

　　——此文为“所以是他们及这就是他们”

　　个展专题文章

　　They are like this or like that

　　Feng Boyi Independent Curator

　　This is an exhibition collectively created and participated by TA MEN Team of Central Institute of Fine Arts, and also a kind of new-pattern experiment which is different from currently popular “SING ALONG SONG”.

　　In the current society of cultural globalization, a new kind of newly-rising social culture has formed new criteria and order, which are established on the basis of market orientation. TA MEN registers a virtual “TA MEN Co., Ltd.” as its cut-in base of creating works, recognizes and makes use of various operating manners and procedures of market economy in reality, makes it a “high-tech enterprise” for producing “conceptual art”. In awarding ceremonies, talents investigations, recruiting manner, the inter-related network system, it applies virtual, imitative performance and design, and makes a true, humorous “living theatre”. In illusive-like and true-to-life entertainment and bash, as future artists, the young express a kind of viewpoints and attitudes on the currently existing status and currently experiencing education in an arts college so as to embody special experience of young artists who live in a cross-century era.

　　The concrete content of the exhibition includes: The first is the awarding ceremony of “TA MEN Oscar Award for China’s Modern Art ”. According to various operating manners of awarding parties, manner of nomination, poll from the audience in the current era, they imitate the pomp that the artists awarded or replacers go to the stage to draw the prizes and perform their representative works. The second is “Talents Recruiting Meeting of Artistic Talents”. According to the designed examination questions of “TA MEN Co., Ltd.”, in the manner of simulating the locale of talents recruiting meeting, they recruit from the audience majordomo of propaganda planning, artists and majordomo for clients’ service etc. The third is the exhibition of “image chatting room” and the direct participation of the audience. The content of the image chatting room set up by TA MEN is exhibited in the manner of DV and drawing. In the background and atmosphere, the audience can chat with each other according to the designed images of the image chatting room in the manner of “connecting images”, and exhibit the works completed together with the audience in the locale.

　　“Virtual”, “freedom”, “happiness” and “mock” are the key words of the exhibition of their collective creation.

　　“Virtual” is a kind of creative thought which transcends the reality. It “points to impossible possibility”. In fact, the so-called “virtual existence” is a new production manner and living manner generated by depending on the computer and network technology. The virtual can transcend reality but it does not make the scope of reality smaller. What’s more, the virtual consisting of digital manner greatly extends this space. In their works and representing manner, they try to get rid of the system in the current artistic circle, base on the art of virtual images via network technology to create a kind of real space. In other words, neither of the creator nor receiver is an exterior looker-on, but a participant who is personally on the scene and plays one of the roles so that the development of the plot of the whole work is motivated. In this kind of visual true-to-life space, the creator has the freedom to bring their talents into full play on the locale and the receiver will have a sense of freedom in appreciation. In such a virtual space, in the system beyond the mainstream art and artistic circle of the current society, they try to break some potential regulations of the mainstream, conventional taboos, and eliminate the boundaries of social hierarchy. They do their best to get rid of the constraints and limits to play the fixed role in reality, let all comers participate and put on performance on the stage so as to make life rich and colorful. Some may say that the freedom gained through imagination will be wider, but imagination brings people a kind of abstract vitality. In the virtual space, people can feel a sense of experiencing. Although this sense of experiencing is virtual, it is the intuition and experience of many kinds of potential life, even is the preview of future ideal life. Especially, their efforts are not simple treachery, criticism, disclosure of conventional or current order, but the acts in accordance with current values. In the true-to-life simulation, on the basis of a standpoint of direct acceptance and utilization, in the scene with the emphasis on self-determination, happiness, fashion, game, they exhibit their existence, so that the audience at different levels can directly taste their delight and feel happy and satisfied.

　　Their understanding of “freedom” is the freedom of sense, a status without constraints, and a kind of freedom at their pleasure based on the deconstruction of fore-grounded artistic circle. We can see this point from the images combined by them. If their freedom is said to be mainly subjective, this is not the derogatory comment on this freedom. On the contrary, they are delighted to seek happiness in the subjective freedom.

　　“Happiness” is the main sense in the process of their creation and also one of their aims. In their view, these works are completed in the atmosphere with happiness and joy. Therefore, all factors and images which may bring them pain will be eliminated and everything that will make them feel heavy-burdened and depressed will be excluded. In fact, this is one of the main motives for them to deconstruct everything. Of course, they understand well that they cannot feel delighted all the time. Thus, this is the reason why they believe happiness is everything in artistic creation.

　　I thought their works were a serious mocking at popular artistic circle. It is serious because the setting of awards and investigations, the planning and performance of the evening party, emphasize the artistic talents of prize winners and the status of ordinary life, for example, the best dressing and the best partners. It imitates formal awarding ceremony by the application of mocking comments in the manner of chatting. Therefore, their aim is not to open out a profound principle. Their creating manner is often the combined type, and they are wild about combining various factors into an integrated relationship, which is true, humorous and game-like. Thus we can see that famous artists, planners, critics go up and down the stage, historical figures and roles in reality constantly overlap on certain personality and form a kind of scene of the current artistic circle which is seemingly disordered. The busyness of talents recruiting, liveliness of the image chatting room make objective actuality continually interweave with artistic virtual images. This shows the conception and force of popular culture which takes the approach of mass media, operates according to market regulations so as to make a great many ordinary citizens feel delighted in ordinary cultural modality.

　　People in each different era will surely have different ways of living. The cultural background and living state for each specific era determine the thinking mode, values and behaving mode of the people living in this era. The ideas, values and expressing manners of young artists are different from the mainstream culture. Young sub-culture is the cultural orientation of youth’s value system. On the one hand, it is conspicuous as it often represents its brilliant characteristics in the whole cultural system; one the other hand, the young is the backbone of the future society, the young sub-culture they represent is often regarded as the important index to predict the trends of future culture. From the perspective of young sub-culture’s infiltration into the mainstream culture and value extension, young sub-culture will influence the mainstream culture and make it richer, deepen and develop it. Maybe this is also the main aim of Liu Chunfeng and me to plan this exhibition.

　　—from the solo exhibition of “Therefore it is and Surely it Them”of TA MEN

作者：冯博一