“城市之上”—2020·第五屆昆明美術(shù)雙年展 海報
城市之上
總策展人
中國美協(xié)美術(shù)理論委員會主任
博導(dǎo)/尚輝
城市是現(xiàn)代文明的象征。
地理學(xué)上的城市，是指地處交通便利的自然環(huán)境、并覆蓋有一定面積的人群和房屋的密集結(jié)合體。經(jīng)濟學(xué)上的城市，是一個坐落在有限空間地區(qū)內(nèi)的各種經(jīng)濟市場——住房、勞動力、土地、運輸?shù)认嗷ソ豢椩谝黄鸬木W(wǎng)絡(luò)系統(tǒng)?，F(xiàn)代城市概念是工業(yè)革命促使大量農(nóng)牧民逃離土地涌向工業(yè)中心，從而形成的工業(yè)生產(chǎn)與消費的聚集地。從這個角度看，中國現(xiàn)代城市的產(chǎn)生起自19世紀(jì)中葉，而大規(guī)模的城市化進程則發(fā)生在20世紀(jì)80年代以后。美術(shù)學(xué)上的城市形象，并不單純是對城市建設(shè)場景的描繪，而是對大批農(nóng)民進城打工形象的捕捉。那些作品所聚焦的疏離土地的農(nóng)民來到城市而形成新型勞工階層的形象，也真正標(biāo)志了中國在20世紀(jì)末發(fā)生的城市化革命。
中國經(jīng)濟的快速增長都高度濃縮在中國大陸境內(nèi)一座座拔地而起的規(guī)?；鞘薪ㄔO(shè)上。以低碳與智能為目標(biāo)的現(xiàn)代城市，創(chuàng)造了人類嶄新的生活方式。原工業(yè)遺址改造的創(chuàng)意產(chǎn)業(yè)園、美術(shù)館，逐步取代原有的城市標(biāo)志而成為城市最富活力的新的文化地標(biāo)。視覺藝術(shù)因多媒體的普遍運用，既獲得前所未有的大眾化發(fā)展，也改變了架上藝術(shù)的單一模式。城市是視覺藝術(shù)的創(chuàng)造園、生產(chǎn)機器和消費黑洞。從手工性的繪寫到數(shù)字模擬，從美術(shù)館的珍品展陳到網(wǎng)上瀏覽，從現(xiàn)實場域的裝置營造到云端儲存、隔空披閱，美術(shù)學(xué)上的城市形象已不完全是社會景觀的再現(xiàn)，而是人類想象生活與想象能力的探索，似乎那些云端之上的東西在維系著城市生活中的人的精神，似乎那些飄渺的東西在真正支配著人們的心靈、情感與行為。
有關(guān)美術(shù)學(xué)中的中國城市化形象，這里提供了三種最富代表性的城市樣板——上海，深圳，昆明。
作為中國現(xiàn)代城市的起源，上海從灘涂漁村在170余年間，從多國租界而迅速生長為國際化的大都市。中國最早的工業(yè)集群、產(chǎn)業(yè)工人、通信報業(yè)、西洋文化等都促使這座城市的生長與國際接軌，成為中國最富象征意義的現(xiàn)代城市模型。繪畫作品中所追溯的老外灘形象，是民國時代東方巴黎的縮影；而這座城市的移民文化色彩，也造就了藝術(shù)家對外來美術(shù)的天生親和性，國際意識似乎是這座城市與生俱來的一種文化本能。
作為中國改革開放的前沿城市，深圳今年迎來建市40周年。在這短短的40年，深圳創(chuàng)造了人類創(chuàng)建現(xiàn)代都市最短卻最富活力的奇跡，這里成為全球最重要的數(shù)字產(chǎn)業(yè)基地與設(shè)計之都。新移民城市帶來文化融混的巨大活力，從“都市水墨”概念的提出，到“深圳國際水墨雙年展”的創(chuàng)建，再至“深圳水彩畫國際雙年展”“深圳觀瀾國際版畫雙年展”“中國（大芬）國際油畫雙年展”等雙年展群的創(chuàng)設(shè)與舉辦，深圳的經(jīng)濟騰飛帶動了文化藝術(shù)發(fā)展的新組合與新拓展。
作為中國西部重要的中心城市之一，昆明早在兩千多年前就成為“南方絲綢之路”的重要驛站，這座古城至今都維系著東亞大陸與中南半島、南亞次大陸各國間的經(jīng)濟貿(mào)易往來，是中國面向東南亞、南亞開放的門戶城市。作為云貴高原少數(shù)民族聚居地的昆明，這里始終保存著多民族文化習(xí)俗，并滋養(yǎng)了新時期以來中國現(xiàn)代性美術(shù)的變革。不論本土美術(shù)家，還是中國其他地域的美術(shù)家，都曾在這片紅土綠地與民族傳統(tǒng)文化中獲得中國美術(shù)現(xiàn)代性突進的靈感與路徑，美術(shù)作品中的城市變遷體現(xiàn)了多民族文化交融的特質(zhì)，傳統(tǒng)與現(xiàn)代、鄉(xiāng)村與城市、自然與時尚往往在同一個桌面打開共享。
這個展覽以“城市之上”為主題，通過美術(shù)學(xué)講述了這三座城市的故事。來自中國現(xiàn)代城市的起點、來自改革開放城市的前沿和來自古代南方絲綢之路門戶的驛站，讓上海、深圳、昆明這三座不同歷史時空的城市構(gòu)成一種獨特而意味深長的連接，從而揭示了中國城市化進程在不同地理環(huán)境、不同文化背景形成的不同樣態(tài)。
展覽分為“歷史文脈”、“當(dāng)代景觀”、“云端世界”三個單元結(jié)構(gòu)。
“歷史文脈”試圖以歷史軸線展開三座城市的歷史變遷。古滇文明延續(xù)的民俗傳統(tǒng)可能依稀留存在不多的古宅老街的磚石間，老外灘的萬國建筑群最形象地詮釋了民國時代殖民文化的繁華，而深圳的小漁村早已被一座座撥地而起的樓宇覆蓋，最晚的記憶是中英街嘈雜的洋貨販賣。藝術(shù)圖像努力恢復(fù)曾經(jīng)的記憶，這種記憶圖像早已不單純是城市歷史的客觀記錄，而是從當(dāng)下視角對城市演變的文化發(fā)掘，最可貴的是其中夾雜著每個生命個體對歷史的認(rèn)知與對城市的體驗。
“當(dāng)代景觀”是對當(dāng)下這三座城市的現(xiàn)實呈現(xiàn)。這里有人們最熟悉的跌宕起伏的城際線，有人頭攢動的商業(yè)街，有密集的住宅區(qū)和擁堵的街道，而這些城市在人們精神烙印的景觀，則是時尚服飾所掩映的焦慮、困頓、倦怠和疲憊的面孔。城市化所堆砌的高度發(fā)達(dá)的物質(zhì)文明不斷刺激著人類欲望的增長，便捷、快速、準(zhǔn)確的勞作模式卻滋生著肆無忌憚的人性分裂，性別差異的縮小與錯置、身份等級的拉大與教條、自然生態(tài)的失衡與毀滅，藝術(shù)家所呈現(xiàn)的當(dāng)代城市景觀從人性與文明的關(guān)系延伸到對人類命運的關(guān)切與反思。
“云端世界”展示了城市文明進入數(shù)字時代的種種可能。藝術(shù)家的想象為人們呈現(xiàn)了“5G時代”所建立的“云端城市”。在現(xiàn)代文明體系如此發(fā)達(dá)的時代，人類居然沒有逃脫新型冠狀肺炎的大規(guī)模侵襲，人類建立的現(xiàn)代疾控體系，似乎在一夜之間被摧毀。但5G網(wǎng)絡(luò)像一張生命的“網(wǎng)”罩在城市之上，人們通過這張無形的“網(wǎng)”開始了地面的封閉與天空的打開的生活。虛擬世界在疫情時代成為人們非正常生活回到現(xiàn)實的路徑，虛擬改變了現(xiàn)實，乃至替換了現(xiàn)實。藝術(shù)家為此而展開的想象力與創(chuàng)造力，意味著“城市之上”給予人類未來的福音。
公元2020年的最后一天，讓我們祭奠在這場病疫中逝去的所有生命；這里所有的藝術(shù)作品，都鋪墊了邁向云端城市的階梯。
“城市之上”是審美的仰望。
Beyond the Metropolises
SHANG Hui, Chief Curator of Kunming Art Biennale, Director of Fine Arts Theory Committee of China Artists Association, Doctoral Supervisor
Metropolises are symbols of modern civilization.
In geographic terms, metropolises refer to a densely populated area with clusters of buildings, accessible geographical locations and convenient transport systems. From an economics perspective, metropolises are a network of markets – housing, labour, land and transport – that are housed in a certain area. A modern metropolis was forged when a great number of farmers and herdsmen were forcibly displaced and driven into industrial centres amid the industrial revolution, hence creating the clustering of industrial production and consumption. In this sense, Chinese metropolises started to take shape in the middle 19th century, while the massive urbanization process did not kick in until the 1980s. The image of metropolises, from an angle of fine art, is more than simple depiction of urban construction - it also captures images of migrant workers from rural places. A new working class, namely farmers who came to work in cities and therefore became disassociated from land, captured in artworks symbolizes the urbanization started in China at the end of the 20th century.
Fast economic growth in China has been largely reflected in massive urbanization that has been taking place within its border. Modern metropolises, with a goal to realize low-carbon and smart development, have enabled new lifestyles for people. In the metropolises, creative parks and art galleries that are transformed from former industrial buildings are gradually replacing the old landmarks as new, dynamic cultural landmarks. Thanks to the wider use of multi-media, visual art has made progress at a scale that we have never seen before, which has overhauled the dominance of easel art. Metropolis serves as creative host, production machine and consumption black-hole of visual art. Be it the manual artwork or the digital-analog, the gallery displaying or the online browsing, the real-life installation or cloud-based storage/remote review, images of metropolises from an art perspective has a broader meaning than a simple recreation of the social landscape, which has been expanded to imaginary exploration in terms of both depth and capacity. It appears that what is kept on the cloud is sustaining the spirituality of men and women living in cities. The illusion seems to have ultimate control over people’s minds, emotions, and behaviours.
Three representative Chinese cities, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Kunming, have been selected to best convey the images of metropolises from the perspective of fine art.
Shanghai, the very start of a modern Chinese metropolis, has grown to be a global metropolis from a foreign settlement region about more 170 years ago when Shanghai was nothing but remote fishing villages. The earliest industrial clusters, workers, newspapers and western cultural communities in China, pushed this city to integrate with the global community and grow into a significant model for Chinese metropolises. Images about the Bund in paintings provide a glimpse into the "Paris of the East" in the period of the Republic of China; the immigrant culture in this city also contributes to the innate inclination for extraneous art. Global perspectives seem to be an inherent cultural instinct of the city.
As a pioneer of reform and opening up, Shenzhen Special Zone celebrated its 40th anniversary. In just four decades, a miraculous record in creating a dynamic, large metropolis has been set. Now, Shenzhen is among the most important hubs of the digital industry and design sector. This new immigrant city has unleashed tremendous power for cultural integration. Through the concept of “Beyond the Ink” and a host of art biennial events including Shenzhen International Ink-wash Biennial, Shenzhen International Watercolor Biennial, China-Guanlan International Print Biennial and Dafen International Oil Painting Biennial, the economic growth in Shenzhen has stimulated new combinations and development in culture and art.
Over two thousand years ago, Kunming was an essential hub along the “Southern Silk Road”. Now, it is a key city in western China. With a long history, the city has been sustaining economic and trade ties between the East Asian Continent, Indo-China Peninsula and South Asian Subcontinent, as a key gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asia. A locus of ethnic groups living in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Yunnan has accumulated rich reserves of cultures and customs of multiple ethnic minorities and nurtured the reforms in Chinese modern fine art in a new age. Here, inspired by this land rich in beauty, local artists and those from other regions in China have found paths for breakthroughs in modern arts. The revolution of cities reflected in art manifests the integration of diversified cultures, where tradition and modernity, countryside and urbanity, nature and fashion can be shared on the same facet.
Themed as “Beyond the Metropolises”, the Kunming Art Biennial narrates the stories of three metropolises from an angle of fine art. The three cities with distinctive histories, Shanghai as the start of the modern metropolis in China, Shenzhen as the pioneer of reform and opening-up and Kunming as the gateway of Southern Silk Road will generate a unique and significant connection. In doing this, we set to unveil diversified patterns under different geographic conditions and cultural contexts over the course of urbanization in China.
The Biennial includes three sections - “History and Literature”, “Modern Spectacle” and “World in the Cloud”.
The first section “History and Literature” displays the transformation of three cities in history. Folk customs that have been kept alive since ancient times in Yunnan can still be found in rare remaining buildings and blocks, while the Bund is the direct visualization of the colonial culture in the period of the Republic of China. The small fishing village that Shenzhen used to be has been replaced by the high-rises and the memories of the earliest days of the city may be found in the images and sounds of the vendors in Zhongying Street. Art images set to recover the memories that we have of the past. Those images serve a purpose greater than an objective recording of the cities – they help discover cultural elements in city revolution from an up-to-date perspective. What are the most valuable lies in each individual memories and experience of the history and the cities.
“Modern Spectacle” offers a realist presentation of three metropolises as they are now, with artworks about the up-and-down skylines that everyone is familiar with, busy commercial centres, dense residential areas and congested streets. Images of metropolises in the emotional world are manifest in forms of anxiety, fatigue and depression of people dressed in style. Extremely abundant material life in today’s cities has stimulated growing desires, while the fast-paced work models that are all about efficiency and accuracy have split human nature. In the Modern Landscape depicted by artists, narrowing gender differences and even misplacement, growing class disparity, rigid status, imbalance and destruction of natural ecology constitute an extension from the humanity-civilization relationship to the reflection on and concern for our fate as human beings.
The section "World in the Cloud" envisions possibilities of metropolises into a digital age. Using an imaginary approach, artists create a “city in the cloud” at a “5G age”. In such an advanced civilization of today’s world, mankind was surprisingly gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Overnight, the modern health system seems to have collapsed. Then the 5G network provides a life network beyond the cities, an invisible network that helps mankind re-establish connections with the world and break away from the isolation. The virtual world is a path for us to get back on our feet amid the pandemic. The virtual has changed the reality and even replaced the reality. From this perspective, artists envision and present the blessing on mankind brought by “Beyond the Metropolises”.
On the last day of 2020, we pay tribute to all who have lost their lives to the pandemic. Here all the artworks serve as stairs leading up to metropolises in the cloud.
“Beyond the Metropolises” is an aspiration of aesthetics.
