艺术是一个动词

Art is a verb

写在“论艺十章”展览前

Before the exhibition

" Ten Chapters of Artistic viewpoint"

田萌 Tian Meng

艺术是一个名词，也是一个动词。

Art is a noun and a verb.

我们总是在过去的某种艺术经验、知识和现象中寻找艺术的定义，并确认艺术的本质以及解释当代正在发生的艺术。进入1990年代以后，文化多元性成为一个基本的共识。艺术的本质论在多元文化中被悬置了，取而代之的则是不同文化语境下艺术的对话与协商。保守与激进、东方与西方、传统与当代、形式与观念等过去讨论艺术的二元结构也在这个裂变中变得松动。在全球化的过程中，各类双年展、文献展、美术馆的主题展以及相关的学术讨论会等都为多元文化提供了展示平台，也促进了不同文化之间的对话与协商。

We always look for the definition of art in some artistic experience, knowledge and phenomenon of the past, and confirm the nature of art and explain what is happening in contemporary art. Since 1990s, cultural diversity is becoming a basic consensus. The essence of art has been suspended in multi-culture and replaced by the dialogue and negotiation of art in different cultural contexts. Conservative and radical, east and west, tradition and contemporary, form and concept and other binary structures of the past discussion of art are also getting loose in this fission. In the process of globalization, various biennales, literature exhibitions, themed exhibitions in art museums and related academic seminars are providing a platform for multiculture and promoting the dialogue and negotiation among different cultures.

在一个迅速变化的时代，艺术也开始急剧地裂变。协商与对话不只是发生在不同文化之间，而且也发生在同一个文化的内部。以往的艺术知识固然掌握着解释艺术的话语权力，但是，这种权力正在慢慢被削弱。艺术正在艺术家的行动中抵达未知地带，并裂变出更多可能的方式。这是一个从确定性到不确定性的裂变的过程，也是一个话语中心解体的过程。个体在这一裂变的过程中显现出了耀眼的光辉。

In a time of rapid change, art also begin to split sharply. Negotiation and dialogue not>y happen in different cultures, but also within the same culture. It is true that the former art knowledge holds the discourse power of explaining art, but this power is gradually being weakened. Art is becoming uncharted and having more possibilities by artists' movement. It is a process of fission from certainty to uncertainty, and also a process of disassembly of discourse center. Individuals in this process are showing a dazzling brilliance.

于中国艺术家而言，他们思考问题的方式，不再仅限于自身历史文化的语境中，他们对西方所做出的回应，也不再仅仅是像过去一百多年那样。他们需要在一个更为复杂的语境和新的参照系中，展开自己的工作。原有的二元结构之间不再是一个简单的对立关系，而是构成了一种对话与协商的关系。艺术在对话与协商中被重新定义。

For Chinese artists, they thinking way is no longer limited to their own historical and cultural context, and their response to the west is no longer just as it has been for more than over 100 years. They need to work in a more complex context and a new frame of reference.The relationship between the original binary structures are becoming more conversational and negotiable,it’s no longer opposed to each other. Art is redefined by the new relationship .

“论艺十章”是一个关于艺术家个体在全球化语境中如何工作的展览，也是关于艺术协商的展览。所谓“十章”，即是强调艺术家个体的工作方法与逻辑，强调艺术家之间的差异。参展的十三位艺术家无论在艺术媒介、形式和观念上都表现出了明显的不同。承认和展示他们之间的差异，即是呈现今天艺术的丰富性。每一个艺术家的工作就像艺术的一个篇章，他们以各自的方式言说何谓艺术，回应着艺术何为的问题。正是艺术家的工作，使艺术成为了一个不断闪烁的动词。

"Ten Chapters of Artistic Viewpoint" is an exhibition about how individual artists to work in the globalization context,it is also about art negotiation. "Ten chapters" means to emphasize the working methods and logic of individual artists and the differences between artists.These 13 artists show different artistic media, forms and concepts. To acknowledge and show their differences is to show the abundance of art today. Each artist's work is like a chapter of art,they say what art is in their own way and respond to the question of what art is. It is the work of the artist that makes art a flashing verb.

是为序！

That's the preface.