| 放逐與守望
偶然的機(jī)會認(rèn)識了顧雄和楊述，頗為投緣。顧雄和楊述是多年的好友，個性迥異卻志趣相投。二人聯(lián)合辦展的念頭醞釀已久，于是順其自然地有了此次牽手。
籌展期間正值金融危機(jī)席卷全球、藝術(shù)市場的狂熱進(jìn)程遭遇戛然寒冬，人們在驚呼錯愕的同時更多的卻是暗自長吁：終于到了可以靜心思忖中國當(dāng)代藝術(shù)未來如何健康發(fā)展的時候了！我欣喜地發(fā)現(xiàn)混沌的疑問似乎將在此展中找到些許豁然的光亮——盡管答案的終極仍隱含于艱辛的實(shí)踐。
海德格爾曾說，人類在現(xiàn)代社會面臨的根本的問題仍然是人格的異化。這種異化表現(xiàn)為人的主體的喪失，即人在大眾化、一體化、物化、機(jī)器化等方面的沉淪。的確，人生最大的慶典，莫過于內(nèi)心信仰和理想大廈的落成。藝術(shù)家作為一個特殊職業(yè)的從業(yè)者，對生命本質(zhì)和終極精神的渴求更甚于常人。如果說，前幾年眾神狂歡、群魔亂舞的“盛景”是年輕單純的中國當(dāng)代藝術(shù)不幸的短暫異化的話，那么，從現(xiàn)在開始，重新鑄造藝術(shù)的“巴別通天之塔”就成了回歸本性的正途。于是，我們主動并幸運(yùn)地重現(xiàn)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這樣一批藝術(shù)家：他們同樣經(jīng)歷過中國當(dāng)代藝術(shù)20多年間的跌宕和風(fēng)雨，同樣曾經(jīng)滿懷激情的抱負(fù)和敏感的神經(jīng)，但選擇了自我的放逐與精神的守望，選擇了與藝術(shù)終身為伴、卻無意以此為生（計(jì)）或流芳百世的存在方式，我們期待著與他們碰撞出新鮮的火花。顧雄、楊述可以說是這種合作的開始。
嚴(yán)格來說，作為朋友的顧雄和楊述除了同是重慶人、同求學(xué)于四川美術(shù)學(xué)院、同為“八五”新潮美術(shù)運(yùn)動西南藝術(shù)群體中的活躍分子外，藝術(shù)經(jīng)歷、志趣和風(fēng)格十分獨(dú)立。顧雄，出身書香，但家境清貧，繪畫成了其逆境中堅(jiān)守理想的依托。1978年考入川美，后研究生專習(xí)版畫，創(chuàng)作了以沈從文《邊城》為題的組畫，受到廣泛的認(rèn)可，也因此獲得了進(jìn)修加拿大的機(jī)會，這對當(dāng)時的年輕中國藝術(shù)家來說是非常難得的機(jī)會。在班芙藝術(shù)中心獲得的世界當(dāng)代藝術(shù)發(fā)展的信息和初次接觸到的裝置藝術(shù)形式，打開了顧雄藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作的新天地?！鞍司努F(xiàn)代藝術(shù)大展”中的《網(wǎng)》是其早年的成功代表作。后來，對新知識和觀念的渴望促使他毅然選擇了離開故土，遠(yuǎn)赴溫哥華，至今近20年。其間經(jīng)歷了艱辛的生活和創(chuàng)作實(shí)踐，發(fā)展成多媒介、多語言的藝術(shù)面貌，現(xiàn)為不列顛哥倫比亞大學(xué)大學(xué)終身教授。楊述，少年時特立獨(dú)行。13歲（1978年）考入川美附中，后順理成章地入學(xué)川美油畫系，研究生畢業(yè)后留校任教至今。八十年代中期，他十分活躍，但并沒有追隨盛行其時的“傷痕美術(shù)”、“鄉(xiāng)土美術(shù)”或參加其他前衛(wèi)團(tuán)體，而是聚焦“城市”命題，大肆宣泄著自己的情感涂鴉——在這一點(diǎn)，我不得不感喟于藝術(shù)家的超驗(yàn)?！俺鞘小笔乾F(xiàn)今的流行話題，楊述從上世紀(jì)末就注意到這個與當(dāng)代文化和精神問題息息相關(guān)的內(nèi)容，并研究至今，其20年豐富的個人涂鴉敘述就是中國城市發(fā)展的視覺縮影。當(dāng)然，1995年的荷蘭和歐洲之行、1996年的紐約聯(lián)展（《夢的分享》，同展藝術(shù)家有張曉剛、葉永青、毛旭輝、郭晉等），使這位視西方現(xiàn)代精神為父的藝術(shù)家受到了巨大的文化震動。他開始思考更加“形而上”的和關(guān)注繪畫本身的問題。
在我看來，顧雄和楊述以各自不同的方式選擇了藝術(shù)的自我放逐。前者帶著深刻的中國文化烙印蟄居西方當(dāng)代世界，經(jīng)受著多元文化的劇烈撞擊和交融而堅(jiān)守內(nèi)心的獨(dú)立，這本身就是一種藝術(shù)的生存狀態(tài)。只有遠(yuǎn)離才能更好的認(rèn)知，只有浸淫其中才有突破的意義。回溯顧雄的作品，就像他個人的視覺日記。從不知所措的移民心態(tài)，到深刻理解西方當(dāng)代體制的本質(zhì)，再到胸懷世界的國際化視野，他的所謂“中國身份”非常不明顯，但多元的藝術(shù)面貌中閃現(xiàn)著東方的詩意和智慧。楊述的放逐之旅則頗有“大隱隱于市”的味道。他在西方之行后的自述中說過：“我發(fā)現(xiàn)，我內(nèi)心的根在西方文化，這讓我很失落，因?yàn)槲鞣轿幕瘜ξ襾碚f事實(shí)上是遙遠(yuǎn)和陌生的，……，我覺自己像個流亡者，身在此處而心在彼地，也許命中注定就此流亡，永遠(yuǎn)放逐自己”。我佩服他的自我反省，同時認(rèn)為正是這種虛無末世的世界觀給他的藝術(shù)帶去了鮮活。看似隨波逐流地存活于現(xiàn)世（都市）只是表象，追尋個人的藝術(shù)信仰才是真相。
因此，我更愿意稱他們?yōu)椤八囆g(shù)精神的守望者”。他們之所以與現(xiàn)今的“當(dāng)代藝術(shù)明星”師出同時并得到了應(yīng)有的認(rèn)可和尊重，但卻沒有成為鎂光燈的焦點(diǎn)，只是因?yàn)闆]有形成、或者說不愿選擇“符號化”、“圖式化”的藝術(shù)表達(dá)方式。他們有非常明確的個人藝術(shù)理念和價值觀，用的是樸實(shí)的、個人化的、與自身生活和生命有關(guān)的不同語言闡述和尋找著藝術(shù)的原初意義。這樣的藝術(shù)家還有很多……
作家龐進(jìn)在《也算散文觀》中這樣寫道：“人生只能干一件事。……時間就那么多，干了這一樣，就干不了那一樣。能集中精力干一件事，而且是自己最想干的事?！渌脑俸檬伦寗e人去干吧，——這樣的人生就很幸福?！蔽蚁耄@兩位年輕的老藝術(shù)家，也是這么想的吧。
湯靜
The Catchers in Exile
While Gu Xiong and Yang Shu have different approaches to art, their long-standing friendship has made them kindred spirits. For one reason or another, their desire to hold a joint exhibition has been delayed for years. Until this cold winter when the whole world encountered the notorious financial crisis, I coincidentally got acquaintance with the two artists, and unexpectedly found out that now is time for them to show.
The current global financial crisis has cooled the burgeoning international art market for Chinese contemporary art. While the art world is, naturally, very dismayed by this development, we should bear in mind that there is an upside: it gives us time for a retrospective pause, and to formulate strategies for pushing the future development of Chinese contemporary art in the right direction. This very exhibition illuminates the current shadows over our hearts, while still pointing toward a future for Chinese contemporary art that will rely on the lasting efforts of true artists.
According to Heidegger, the fundamental pain that modern man suffers from is alienation, defined as the loss of his essence due to popularization, integration, materialization and the development of modern technology. In contrast, it is the existence of belief and the pursuit of ideas that lends meaning to human life. This is especially true for artists. If the recent frenzy and hysterical “spectacle” of the growing Chinese contemporary art market can be identified as an instance of temporary “alienation,” we are now back on track and rebuilding the Tower of Babel of Chinese contemporary art. Luckily enough, we have found just such a group of artists to cure this tendency toward alienation: while they were as ambitious and artistically sensitive as their peers, and experienced along with them the past two decades of tumultuous ups-and-downs in Chinese contemporary art, they choose to live lives in which art is fully integrated, not merely a means to earn a living or a reputation. We look forward to cooperating with them in the near future; and this exhibition of Gu Xiong and Yang Shu marks the start of this spirit of cooperation.
Although both are Chongqing-based artists, having graduated from the Sichuan Fine Art Institute and having been part of the ’85 New Wave Art Movement when it swept through southwest China, the two are otherwise dissimilar in terms of artistic experience, interests and style. Born into a poverty-stricken family of intellectuals, Gu Xiong chose painting as his path towards his dream of artistic excellence. He entered Sichuan Fine Art Institute in 1978, and there pursued a graduate degree in printmaking. His series of printmaking based on the theme of Bian Cheng (literally “the frontier town”) written by Shen Congwen earned him great recognition, and won him the golden opportunity to further his education at the Banff Center for the Arts, Canada, where he was more fully exposed to the world of contemporary art. Becoming interested in installation and performance art, he expanded his repertoire from the limitations of traditional painting. The China / Avant-garde Art Exhibition in 1989 witnessed his earliest success in the field, including his work “Enclosures”. Later, he immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, in pursuit of new artistic perspectives. Twenty productive years later, he is now tenured faculty at the University of British Columbia, and has established himself as a multimedia artist of international reputation.
As an adolescent, Yang Shu was known for his independence and unconventional attitude. At the Sichuan Fine Art Institute he majored in oil painting, and after graduation he stayed on as teacher, a position he has remained in to the present day. In the mid-80s, when avant-garde art such as Scar Art and Folk Art held sway, he focused on the motif of “the City” which has only recently garnered wider attention. His passion, energy, and emotion are evident in all his graffiti, as he has charted more than twenty years of Chinese urbanization using his visual language. Yang’s 1995 journey to the Netherlands and other European countries, and his participation in a 1996 joint exhibition in New York (“Shared Dreams,” together with Zhang Xiaogang, Ye Yongqing, Mao Xuhui, Guo Jin, etc.) significantly influenced him, and since his travels he has more closely engaged issues relating to a society as a whole, and to the art of painting itself.
It seems to me that both Gu Xiong and Yang Shu are exiles in the art world; however, they have both chosen their own way in a journey into the wilds of art. Setting off west with his roots in Chinese culture, Gu Xiong embraced the interweaving of different cultures—keeping his inner independence in such a situation embodies a certain living statement of art. While increasing distance opens new pathways of perception, its shrinking brings its own breakthroughs. To reevaluate Gu Xiong’s artworks through time is like reading his private visual diary. From an embarrassed immigrant confronting cultural conflicts, to the mature émigré scholar comprehending the essence of western mechanism, to today’s international artist using multimedia for self-expression, it is interesting to trace the increasing complexity of Gu Xiong’s “Chinese identity”; yet through all his multifarious work characteristics of “oriental wisdom” and Chinese poetics shine bright.
As for Yang Shu, living in spiritual isolation expresses a genuine ambivalence. After returning from his journey to the west, Yang Shu said: “I found out that the innermost part of me was taking root in the Western culture, which is, both in terms of distance and familiarity, considerably far away from my reality. I felt so depressed that I was doomed to be an exile. In a way my body and mind are parted.” Admiring his frank self-reflection, I attribute the vitality of his artwork to this Weltanschauung of mixed vanity and pessimism. In fact, only through this seeming drifting along, living an urban life in present world, can we perceive his pursuit of a personal artistic credo.
This is why I’ve entitled the two artists “The Catcher of the Art Spirit”. Both artists are from a generation where some of their peers have already enjoyed the spotlight, but they have shied from the public attention and the use of highly recognizable signature styles. With extremely clear perceptions, they have applied the various languages of their personal experiences to rediscover the original meaning of art.
As the writer Pang Jin has put it: “There aren’t many paths in our lifetime that can be followed by a single person… as time’s limited, when you’re dealing with a certain path, you hardly have time for another. Therefore, stop bothering yourself with all kinds of stuff. However great they are, let them be someone else’s priority. When you concentrate on a truly beloved path, you are sure to gain a life full of happiness.” Well, I wonder if this might be the philosophy of two young, yet experienced artists: Gu Xiong and Yang Shu.
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