中国当代艺术年鉴展2017

前言

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朱青生

中国当代艺术作为我国艺术现象的三个方向之一，与中国传统的艺术和从西方引进的经典艺术共同构成了三足鼎立的状态。中国当代艺术是随着改革开放发展起来的新艺术，以前虽有探索，但难成气候。自1979 年兴起以来，20 世纪80 年代出现了一系列现代艺术运动，90 年代至今继续发生着新的变化。其几十年间变化的轨迹和历史的痕迹，被记录在“中国现代艺术档案”中。档案创建于1986 年，伴随着对“’85 美术运动”调查的开展而成立，又随着时间而持续不断地发展，直至今日。而当代艺术每一年的新变化，则通过《中国当代艺术年鉴》来加以记录和总结。

2017 年，我们一共调查了3776 个展览，记录了12780 位艺术家的材料，阅读和分析了4652 篇文献，得到了一系列相对完整的统计数据，并对这些数据进行了慎重的处理，对不同的地点、时间、问题和方法展开分析，增减权重，根据统计结果排序，得到一个初步名单。如此出现的数据和统计必然会出现偏差，即无法顾及因为才气和感觉而创造出来的绝妙之处，而此处正是艺术精华之所在。我们有一套补救机制，即从这一年的文献和研究统计中选出十多位在评论和理论方面发表过最有针对性的论述的艺术界同仁，会同本年年鉴资深编委，以自己的丰富经历、严格的观察和高度的见识，对上述的名单进行通盘检验，每人具名增删一位艺术家，如此来弥补在机械的数据统计中不可避免的讹误和缺陷，形成141 个艺术家名单，希望尽可能把一年中具有杰出才能的作者和高度成就的作品展现在这里。我们今年选出的艺术家，有些是在2017 年贡献了新的作品，有的则是在2017 年的展览中取得了重要而突出的成绩。基于此，档案和编辑部对这些艺术家进行进一步的调查和研究，建立中国现代艺术档案次位艺术家的专门档案，成为当代艺术国家档案的专项，每一位艺术家的成就也因此能够得到适当的评述和介绍。这些方法和结果合在一起，共同构成了中国当代艺术的现象。

中国现代艺术档案所执持的当代艺术的标准不是一成不变的，而是一个不断研究和讨论的过程。但是无论怎么变化，这些标准在每一年度的工作规范始终是清晰并且可执行的。而今年新媒体、新技术和新观念的作品再度占据创造性发展的主要分量，既符合当代艺术的实际，也应合社会演变的潮流。中国在其中，已经从一个国际当代艺术的参与者，悄然变为局部的引领者。何处有时代前沿的剧烈涌动，那里必有强大而丰富的当代艺术！我们用以评价的工具和方法，也将会在每次年鉴展中公诸于众，其中包括统计方法和权重的设置、回归方程的计算方法，都会在展览中呈现。对入选艺术家的补充调查、作品分析，包括访谈和研究，也会在展览中有所陈列，并经由二维码导向档案。

我们在这里欣慰地通报，《中国当代艺术年鉴》刚刚获得了第十二届AAC 艺术中国的“年度出版物”大奖。这不仅是对“中国现代艺术档案”编辑团队的长期工作的肯定，也显示出国内国际业内学者对我们的档案和年鉴的充分认可与表彰。现在我们把档案和年鉴的成果以展览的方式展现在大家面前（虽然因条件所限，原作部分只展出了37 位艺术家的作品），一方面更有自信，另一方面也希望能够借此进一步寻求各位的补充和批评。

中国当代艺术年鉴展是北京民生现代美术馆的品牌展览项目，也是国家艺术基金支持的重要项目，自2015 年起，每年6 月至8 月举行，此次已经是年鉴展举办以来的第四届。展览《中国当代艺术年鉴》的编辑自始至终都得到了民生银行和吴作人国际美术基金会的支持。

The Exhibition of Annual

of Contemporary Art

of China 2017

Introduction

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LaoZhu

Along with traditional Chinese art and imported Western classical art, contemporary art is one part of the tripartite structure of art in China nowadays. It is a new kind of art booming since the Open and Reform era since 1978. In the 1980s, a series of modern art movements surged in China. Ever since, contemporary art continues developing till today. Its trajectory of change is recorded in the Archive on Modern Chinese Art, which was launched in 1986 as part of the effort to investigate the 1985 Art Movement, and has been constantly consolidating. The changes that contemporary art undergoes each year is recorded and summed up in the Annual of Contemporary Art of China.

In the year of 2017, we have surveyed 3776 exhibitions, recorded 12780 artists, and perused 4652 articles/ documents, thereby accumulated a relatively complete set of statistic data. Then we analyzed these data by the denominators of place, time, issue and method, evaluated pros andcons, and came up with a preliminary list of artists based upon statistic results. As statistic data may bypass the merits of artworks that derive from talent and sensibility, while it is exactly these merits that constitute the quintessence of art. But we figured out a way of amending such inadequacy of statistic data. More than a dozen of colleagues in the artistic circle, whose specialties are most suitable for the task, were chosen to scrutinize the preliminary list, together with veteran members of the editorial board of the Annual of Contemporary Art of China. Each one of them was assigned to add and delete one artist from the list, and their nominations redress the lapses of statistic data and result in a list of 141 artists, which hopefully may represent those most talented artists and highly accomplished artworks. Based upon the list, the personnel of the editorial board of the Annual further researched on the artists included, building up a subsidiary archive within the Archive, a specialized block in the national archive on contemporary art. Hence the achievement of every artist may be duly introduced and analyzed. Such a process is part and parcel of the contemporary art scenario in China nowadays.

The criteria that the Archive applies to evaluate contemporary art are not static, but in a process of constant research and discussion. Yet, however they may change, these criteria are definitive and highly functional for every annual editing process. Artworks that employ new media, new technology and new ideas again play a major role in creative artistic development this year, which not only further enliven the contemporary art scenario, but also resonate with the trends of social change. From being a participant on the global scale, China has developed to become a regional leader in the sphere of contemporary art. Wherever there is drastic change at the forefront of society, there certainly will emerge a kind of contemporary art that is strong and diverse. The means and approaches of our evaluation will become known publicly during the Annual Exhibition, including statistic mechanisms, deployments of emphasis and computing methods. Supplementary surveys on selected artists, and artwork analyses, including interviews and researches, will also be presented during the Exhibition by scanning a QR code.

Finally, we are very glad to announce that the Annual of Contemporary Art of China has just won the "Annual Art Publication" award at the 12th Award of Art China (AAC). Such an honor not only is a token of recognition of the long-term work of the Archive’s editorial team, but also proves that scholars both in China and abroad have endorsed the values of the Archive and the Annual. Now, by holding this exhibition, we succeed in presenting the outcomes of the Archive and the Annual to the public. On one hand, we are more self-confident than before, and on the other, we hope the Exhibition may be a wonderful occasion for you to contribute your ideas and suggestions on how we may improve.

The Exhibition of Annual of Contemporary Art of China is the trademark exhibition of Beijing Minsheng Art Museum. It has been listed as an important project supported by China National Arts Fund. Since 2015, the exhibition is held every year from June to August. This is the fourth time. Both the exhibition and the edition of the Annual of Contemporary Art of China have been supported by China Minsheng Bank and Wu Zuoren International Foundation of Fine Arts.