米飯是中國人的主食?！墩撜Z•鄉(xiāng)黨》中說：“肉雖多，不使勝食氣”。就是說，不要吃太多的肉而不吃谷物?？鬃拥倪@句話雖然應(yīng)當(dāng)從健康的角度來理解，但他的這一陳述也應(yīng)該包含了合于禮教和尊崇文化傳統(tǒng)的意思，因?yàn)閭鹘y(tǒng)農(nóng)業(yè)社會的根基在于糧食的生產(chǎn)，而理想的儒家社會建立于穩(wěn)定的倫理和情感的遵循和守護(hù)中。西方人來到中國，最直接感受到的差異之一就是飲食，它來自最基本和直接的身體體驗(yàn)。除了中國人的外表特征外，語言、飲食、文化系統(tǒng)的各種表征使西方人感受到了異質(zhì)文明的特征。然而在中國現(xiàn)代化的過程中，日常生活已經(jīng)少有與西方不同體系的元素，衣、食、住、行中唯有“食”還保持著獨(dú)特的面貌。當(dāng)代中國處于傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)業(yè)社會向工業(yè)和后工業(yè)社會轉(zhuǎn)化的時期，飲食習(xí)慣與文字和各地的方言一樣，仍然保留著古老的傳統(tǒng)。
米飯有著比西餐中的面包更重要的地位。這是一個從日常經(jīng)驗(yàn)來了解中國和西方差異的例子。此次18位奧地利藝術(shù)家展出的作品有一些直接來源于他們在中國的日常經(jīng)驗(yàn)。例如Ronald Kodritsch直接將“米飯”的拼音寫在他非常個性化的繪畫作品上，并且還標(biāo)注了漢語特有的音調(diào)。同樣的情況還有畫面上的中文“牛肉面”等。G.R.A.M.小組中國戲曲臉譜化妝的西方人形象也是出沒于中國城市的各個角落，作用于日常空間和氛圍，尋求文化之間背后的和潛在的交流。雖然作品背后有著深刻而復(fù)雜的概念和形成的過程，但Michael Höpfner旅行西藏的結(jié)果只是非常日常化的當(dāng)?shù)厝说暮嫌昂图o(jì)念照。Ulrike Johannsen 的作品利用在中國大量出版的時尚雜志。Rainer Prohaska對中國三輪車的改造，以及他在北京街道的行駛并且與街頭的普通人的交流都脫胎于對日常的現(xiàn)實(shí)生活的觀察和認(rèn)識。還有Ralo Mayer 偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)的中文標(biāo)語橫幅，Karel Dudesek 找到的無用的現(xiàn)成物品，Kerstin von Gabain 搜集的被扔掉的紙牌，Lukas Birk用過期的波拉片拍攝的旅游照片等，都是從觀察身邊的人和事，親身介入到日常面對的生活當(dāng)中，以藝術(shù)家各自的藝術(shù)認(rèn)識和藝術(shù)探索同環(huán)境中的現(xiàn)實(shí)相契合來創(chuàng)作作品的。
藝術(shù)家們還利用了不同文化元素的對照、并置、融合和互動。G.R.A.M.小組的中國戲曲臉譜對應(yīng)著歐洲人的臉孔和當(dāng)代人的裝束。Ulrike Johannsen的時尚雜志用中文歌詞對應(yīng)著西方產(chǎn)品廣告。Matthias Meinharter和Nikolaus Gansterer的傳“畫”游戲讓啟動游戲的原稿——墨西哥女畫家弗麗達(dá)正在創(chuàng)作自畫像——逐漸消失在產(chǎn)業(yè)化的拷貝圖景中。Gerald Nestler 和Sylvia Eckermann對奧地利和中國的藝術(shù)家和學(xué)者的采訪使從各自角度出發(fā)的言論聚合到了同一個平臺上。Rainer Prohaska的三輪車糅合了不同價值體系下對交通工具的態(tài)度。Jasmin Ladenhaufen 從繪畫到服裝設(shè)計(jì)再到繪畫的操作過程對比和綜合了各種因素介入下產(chǎn)生的結(jié)果。
歐洲的藝術(shù)家對時空概念是敏感的。地點(diǎn)、路線以及到達(dá)特定的地點(diǎn)所產(chǎn)生的意義常常出現(xiàn)在他們的作品中。Rainer Prohaska走遍北京的三輪車有精確的軌跡圖。Michael Höpfner在西藏的行走也使他體驗(yàn)了預(yù)期與到達(dá)中種種思想和情感的演化。G.R.A.M.到達(dá)了中國，他們用臉譜和錯位的載體強(qiáng)調(diào)這一點(diǎn)。批量復(fù)制油畫的深圳大芬村是Matthias Meinharter和 Nikolaus Gansterer作品發(fā)生的地點(diǎn)。位置移動和交換是構(gòu)成Karel Dudesek作品的重要元素，通過地點(diǎn)和場所的改變，物品具有了不同的狀態(tài)和意義。
在今天的中國，無論來自西方或東方，藝術(shù)家們的創(chuàng)作都在一個日益深化和發(fā)展的全球化的背景之下。傳統(tǒng)的消亡，環(huán)境、生活方式、價值觀念的急速的轉(zhuǎn)化和變遷達(dá)到驚人的程度。Lukas Birk時空錯位的作品的意義最能在這種境況中體現(xiàn)出來。他貌似時光倒錯的照片探討和展現(xiàn)了在這樣一個快速變化的時代被遮蔽的真實(shí)性。而Kamen Stojanov的說唱樂則以一種幽默的方式展現(xiàn)了在全球社會經(jīng)濟(jì)動態(tài)背景下的地域性事件。Michael Höpfner在作品背景介紹中講述了進(jìn)入歷史空間中的特殊體驗(yàn)，觸及了傳統(tǒng)生態(tài)價值觀在今天的困境，以及對發(fā)展和進(jìn)步的懷疑。Ulrike Johannsen對雜志廣告帶有批判性的處理表明了藝術(shù)家的態(tài)度:被指定的行為方式與個性和想象的沖突。雖然Ronald Kodritsch的繪畫風(fēng)格在中國藝術(shù)家中屬于司空見慣，這同樣有賴于中國對西方藝術(shù)的學(xué)習(xí)和借鑒，但他的作品更具靈動的個人色彩，而不像中國藝術(shù)家在社會轉(zhuǎn)型當(dāng)中往往背負(fù)很沉重的思想包袱。Matthias Meinharter和Nikolaus Gansterer的“畫中畫”演繹了一個全球化的產(chǎn)業(yè)鏈的實(shí)例，勞動力的價值、手工性、體制化和產(chǎn)業(yè)化、文化差異等等系統(tǒng)和表現(xiàn)都被這一作品所衡量和判斷。Gerald Nestler和Sylvia Eckermann利用全球化本身所具有的形式來邀請人們談?wù)撊蚧淖h題，再用非常精巧和個人化的形式呈現(xiàn)出來。Michael Höpfner，Ralo Mayer和 Rainer Prohaska的作品映襯了全球化并非對等的狀態(tài)：資本、技術(shù)、意識形態(tài)在全球擴(kuò)張，而邊遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)的勞動力和他們的文化卻被禁錮在原地。
藝術(shù)家們總是在探索著藝術(shù)的內(nèi)涵和外延以及新的藝術(shù)形式的意義。富于行動能力的藝術(shù)家總是敏于體驗(yàn)不同于自身文化背景的現(xiàn)實(shí)。這種面對和體驗(yàn)伴隨著藝術(shù)家們對各自的藝術(shù)思維進(jìn)行延續(xù)、豐富、發(fā)展甚至轉(zhuǎn)化的過程。Matthias Meinharter 和Nikolaus Gansterer的“傳畫”用誤差這一概念作為工具，探討了我們時代風(fēng)行的各種強(qiáng)勢力量如何作用于個體的內(nèi)在稟賦和某一文明中延續(xù)的傳統(tǒng)，濃縮并呈現(xiàn)了一個隱藏的現(xiàn)實(shí)。Rainer Prohaska的三輪車在過程中增長發(fā)展，并被賦予了交流的媒介的作用，它是對現(xiàn)實(shí)的挑戰(zhàn)，也是對現(xiàn)實(shí)的解釋。Ralo Mayer的標(biāo)語橫幅在語義被阻斷的情況下用相同的形式來介入表達(dá)。Karel Dudesek開始在市場上定做物品而非自己制作或是直接采用存在的物品。
展覽中的作品具有多方面和多角度的實(shí)驗(yàn)性和當(dāng)代意義，反映了藝術(shù)家們在中國或長或短的多種層面的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和體悟。無論是對直接相關(guān)的身體體驗(yàn)，思想和情感的交流狀態(tài)，對意識形態(tài)議題的探討，對食物、語言文字、大眾文化、地域和場所、日常生活、文化符號等等的關(guān)注，這些藝術(shù)家們表現(xiàn)出的狀況已經(jīng)同中國剛剛開始開放的時候非常不同了。作為中國觀眾，人們能感受到交流和互動的加深，以及所產(chǎn)生的更實(shí)際和更內(nèi)在的意義和影響。交流是相互的，希望前往歐洲的中國藝術(shù)家們也能將自己內(nèi)心的體驗(yàn)出色地表達(dá)出來，在更深層次的互動中推進(jìn)人類文化的發(fā)展。
張離
2009 10 北京
Sharing Difference
by Zhang Li, October 2009 Beijing
Rice is the staple of Chinese people. “Xiang Dang,” Chapter 10 of The Analects, says: "Excess meat does not a winning meal make." This Confucian adage is meant to warn against consuming excess meat and no grains. While these words should be understood from a health perspective, they also allude to the Confucian ethical code and traditional culture of reverence because traditional agricultural society is founded on grain production and the ideal Confucian social establishment is based in the adherence and safeguard of stable ethics and social relations. One of the most obvious differences Westerners arriving in China notice is the staple food. Aside from physical characteristics, language, diet and various other cultural differences, staple food involves the most direct bodily experience. Given the course of China's rapid modernization, few elements whether in dress, diet or lifestyle, remain distinct from the West besides "food." Contemporary China is transitioning from an agricultural society to an industrial and post-industrial society. Eating habits, like written Chinese and its spoken dialects, have nonetheless maintained its traditional form.
Rice occupies a status that is more important than Western bread. It is an example of the difference between China and the West that can be experienced in daily life. Many works in this exhibit, which features 15 Austrian artists, derive directly from daily life experiences in China. For example, Ronald Kodritsch paints the pinyin for rice ("mifan") directly onto his very individualist painting, even making note of the tonal marks. Similarly, in another work, he paints the Chinese characters for beef noodles (“牛肉面”). The G.R.A.M. group presents a set of photographic works in which they appear with Chinese opera style face painting with different Chinese cities as backdrops. Like the artists’ Western facial features that are masked behind Chinese paint and camouflaged amidst Chinese spaces, the work seeks to reveal hidden and potential opportunities for cultural exchange behind and between cultures. While Michael Hoepfner’s work involves a deep and complex concept and process, the end result of his trip to Tibet is a seemingly straightforward set of travel photos depicting locals and tourism sites.
Ulrike Johannsen's piece makes use of the myriad selection of Chinese fashion magazines. Rainer Prohaska remodels and rides a three-wheel pedicab through the streets of Beijing. His interactions with locals during these rides offer a unique view and familiarization with real daily life. There are also the randomly “discovered” Chinese propaganda banners by Ralo Mayer, the “readymade” objects found by Karel Dudesek, the discarded playing cards collected by Kerstin von Gabain, the travel photographs shot with expired Polaroid film by Lukas Birk and more. These are all works created from the artists’ firsthand observations and experiences of everyday people and events in the same environment, China.
The artists also contrast, juxtapose, fuse and mix different cultural elements. The G.R.A.M. group's use of Chinese opera make-up is a direct contrast to Western facial features and contemporary attire. Ulrike Johannsen's piece juxtaposes Chinese song lyrics with Western advertisements found in fashion magazines. In “Chinese Whispers,” Matthias Meinharter and Nikolaus Gansterer “chain” painting originates with a Frida Khalo Self Portrait and gradually recesses or fuses into a series of commercially reproduced copies. Gerald Nestler and Sylvia Eckermann interviews based on Chinese and Western views on art, nature and environment. While the interviewees never meet each other, their responses are edited into one conversation that spans history, time and ideas of both cultures in what the artists refer to as a “paradox conversation.” Rainer Prohaska's pedicab mixes different socioeconomic attitudes on the issue of transportation. Jasmin Ladenhaufen contrasts and mixes the effect of turning a painting into real life fashion and back into a painting. European artists are sensitive to the concepts of time and space. The various meanings that derive from the start point, itinerary and end point often manifest in their works. Rainer Prohaska made accurate maps of his pedicab journeys across Beijing.
Michael Hoepfner documented the evolution of his thoughts and emotions throughout course of his Tibetan journey. Upon arriving in China, the G.R.A.M. group used dramatic make-up and physical displacement to emphasize both time and place. Dafen, a village in Shenzhen renowned for mass produced oil paintings, is the location of the work by Matthias Meinharter and Nikolaus Gansterer. Physical displacement is a significant element in Karel Dudesek's work. An object that is removed, replaced, or slightly altered takes on a new meaning.
Artists in China today, whether hailing from the West or the East, are producing under an increasingly global backdrop. The disappearance of tradition and rapid transformation in the environment, lifestyle and value systems have reached an alarming degree. The significance of temporal and spatial displacement in Lukas Birk's work is very apparent in this context. His photos distort the sense of time to explore and develop a reality that is hidden by the rapid changes currently underway. Kamen Stojanov's rap song takes a humorous approach to discovering the localism behind a backdrop of global economic trends. In the introduction of Michael Hoepfner’s work, he writes about the unique experience of walking into a historic space and confronting the predicament of a vanishing tradition along with the doubts raised towards development and progress. Ulrike Johannsen's standpoint toward magazine advertisements is clearly a critique of the clash between mainstream fashion and individualistic style. Despite the fact that Ronald Kodritsch's paint style is common among Chinese artists – something that has much to do with Western art education and exposure – his work possesses an individual flair dissimilar to most Chinese art that is often, invariably, burdened by social and historical changes. In "China Whispers," Matthias Meinharter and Nikolaus Gansterer use the example of a painting
factory to critique the global manufacturing chain and its various systems and manifestations such as the value of labor, manual labor, and cultural differences. Gerald Nestler and Sylvia Eckermann edit interviews conducted in a global format and context in an individual style. The works of Michael Hoepfner, Ralo Mayer and Rainer Prohaska challenge the notion of globalization by highlighting elements of labor and culture, particularly in outlying regions, that remain confined to the local.
Artists perpetually explore the meaning of art and new art forms. Artists who work extensively in physical formats are always sensitive to experiences that are different from their own cultural backgrounds. This form of confrontation and experience goes along with artists' process of the continuation, fulfillment, development and even transformation of artistic thinking. Matthias Meinharter and Nikolaus Gansterer use the concept of an error as a tool to explore and expose the ways in which various power structures use inherent and cultural traditions to condense and expose a hidden reality. As Rainer Prohaska's pedicab project developed, it became a vehicle for exchange and both a challenge to and an interpretation of reality. Given a context in which semantics fails, Ralo Mayer's banners find expression in sameness. Karel Dudesek finds and alters or displaces “readymade” objects as opposed to making or purchasing objects.
The works in this exhibition represent an array of experimentation and contemporary meaning. They reflect the artists' multi-faceted experiences and revelations during their stay in China – through direct bodily experience, food, spoken and written language, popular culture, place, daily life, cultural symbols, the exchange of thoughts and feelings, an exploration of an ideology and other themes. Chinese viewers can see the deepened sense of exchange and interaction in the works, as well as the more realistic and inherent meaning and influences they produce. Exchange is reciprocal. I hope that the Europe-bound Chinese artists can also express their experiences as colorfully and meaningfully to contribute to progress in human culture and development.
【編輯：霍春?！?/span>
