生活在别处 Living elsewhere
生活在别处
“生活在别处”展览了Lukas Birk（奥地利/中国）、陆佩（北京）与颜石林（北京）三位艺术家以摄影、绘画、雕塑为媒介探讨中国当代社会中个体生命生存现状的作品。这种探讨跨越时间、空间、生命、痕迹等不同维度。探讨的同时也在以各自的作品介入上述维度，并试图在对常态的破坏中揭示个体生命并非单纯的生存于一个简单的二元对立世界，个人对此时此地的感受，在此时此地的生存痕迹，并不一定是确切的，真实的，提示人们以一种更加敏感、诗性的目光重新审视所处的生存环境与自己的精神世界。
“生活在别处”是兰波的一句诗，是米兰.昆德拉的一本小说的书名，在此处，它是一个视觉展览的主题。“别处”是与“此处”相对立的，与一切限定性的指代相对立的，它是一种先锋的态度，也是一种充满生命活力的状态。这个展览主题确立的瞬间就形成了一个矛盾体：生命个体都活在此时此地，而在此时此地阅读与观看的是关于“别处”的表达。这个矛盾的形成有一个隐性的前提，即作为“物质体”的个人有意无意中觉察到自己的精神世界与其身处的外部物质世界的错位。
这种生存状态的错位在当代中国社会表现的尤为明显。在当代中国这个工业大生产社会与后工业社会两种社会形态并存、现代性与后现代性问题并置的特殊语境中，“生活在别处”是当代中国大多数人群的生存状态，也是被大多数人群所忽略与遗忘的问题。被忽略和遗忘的不仅仅是“生活在别处”的状态，此时此地发生的一切都在被快速的忽略和遗忘，这种忽略和遗忘的根源正是当代人所面临的危机：地球村时代的快捷交通与通讯模糊掉了人的生存时空，自由消费的狂热化将文化艺术引向大众娱乐与实用至上，对自身生存环境的质疑与个人精神的痛苦都被消费的快感温柔抚平。
中国一线城市的快速发展造成了区域发展的不平衡同时也产生了数以千万计的城市移民与流动人口，这种流动的速度远远高于其所需的相应制度性建设的速度，每个流动的个体仿佛生活在一个个永不停息的建设工地，自身的成长背景与此时此地不断变化中的景观被硬性融合，“在场”的感受也不乏虚幻性。即使是城市的原住民或年轻一代，高速转变的周围环境也极易造成他们精神世界的断层与错位，怀旧、抗拒、对自身生命所感受到的痛苦的表达，这些都是个体对“生活在别处”状态的呈现。
在艺术表现形式上，“生活在别处”中的三位艺术家摒弃了当代艺术求奇求新的“恶习”，以艺术家敏锐的洞察力和相对保守的艺术表现形式来表达观念、探讨问题，而感动观众的恰恰是似乎已经沦为陈词滥调的“审美美感”。这对于波普精神、艳俗形式以及一味强调观念而忽略形式美感的创作趋势无疑是一种“别处”的反叛，这种反叛建立在对当代个体生命的生存状态的切实关注与思考的基础之上，而不是将主题与意义消解至虚无，更不是将视觉模糊至毫无确定性的一个投机取巧的“点子”。
相对于“为艺术而艺术”的创作态度，“生活在别处”多了一层人道主义关怀的色彩，这关怀不是扭捏作态，而是艺术家对中国当代社会中个人的、甚至艺术家本人的生存态度与状态的真实表达。这种表达依托不同的艺术媒介所释放的张力来自于对中国当代社会中反乌托邦图像的捕捉。反乌托邦图像的捕捉并非持不同政见者的激烈陈述，而是以一种细腻的、柔和的方式呈现一个普通的个体或人群是如何在感受此时此地的生命与生存的状态，这种状态与宏大的意义、消费的快感没有关系，与“现代化”或“后现代化”的理想景观相对立。事实上，当我们想认真的讨论“现代性”时，就会发现这一问题在中国有着极其尴尬的处境，且不谈社会学角度，从视觉艺术这个很小的角度切入，将西方艺术带入中国本土的老一代艺术家们带来的其实是西方学院派的艺术，是西方古典艺术的尾巴或被革命现实主义化了的西方古典艺术，而被带入中国本土后却被称为“现代艺术”，直至今日当代艺术在西方的学理支撑到了中国本土变成了被断章取义的只言片语，这其间“错位”一直存在着，或许这是一种有创造性的误读，但误读的主体是否具有独立消化能力的系统值得商榷。这虽然不是本次展览参展艺术家创作的出发点，但展览的作品对这一问题也形成了独立的质疑与诘问。
“后之视今，亦犹今之视昔”，这是中国传统文化中对个体生命存在乃至历史发展的规律性总结，但规律性的总结总是要撇弃一些曾经真实存在的不同音符，当代艺术的意义之一就在于记录并艺术的表现这些别处的音符。
生活在别处，艺术或许也在别处，展览在此处。
（文：许崇宝）
Living Elsewhere
“Living elsewhere” exhibits the works of three artists, Lukas Birk (Austria/China), Lu Pei (Beijing), Yan Shilin (Beijing) that use the media of photography, sculpture and oil painting to question about human existence in the context of contemporary Chinese society. This research crossed the different dimensions and issues of time, space, life, and vestiges. The works presented by this exhibition involve all the above mentioned dimensions and by breaking the normality， try to demonstrate that mankind does not live in a pure, simple binary opposition world. The way we perceive space and time, the traces we leave in this world, are never well defined or real. These works want to push us to re-examine our existence environment and our own inner world from a more sensitive and poetic perspective.
"Life is elsewhere" is a quote from a poem of Arthur Rimbaud and also the title of a novel by Milan Kundera. Besides this it is also the theme of this visual exhibition. "Elsewhere" is the opposite of "Here" and it is the opposite of everything that is restricted and limited; it indicates a pioneering attitude, as well as lively, full of life status. A contradiction occurred as soon as this exhibition theme got finalized: we all live "here" and "now", however the way we look at "here and now "is an expression of the "elsewhere". There is a hidden prerequisite for this conflict to take place: individuals are somehow aware of the difference that exists between their inner world and the external material world they live in.
This confusion between these two living status is more evident in Chinese contemporary society. In the peculiar Chinese context, where an industrial society and a post-industrial society coexist, modern and post-modern issues juxtapose; "living elsewhere" is the existence condition of the great majority of Chinese people, and it is also an often neglected issue. Not only the condition of "living elsewhere", but also what really happens in this moment and in this place is ignored and quickly forgotten , and this is the origin of the crisis our contemporary world is facing: the quickness of modern communication and transportation of the global village have blurred space and time; the craziness of consumerism made the entertainment of the masses become the main goal of culture and art, the query about oneself’s living environment and the spiritual sufferings of individuals have been softened by the delights of consumption.
The rapid development of first tier Chinese cities caused imbalances in the regional development as well as tens of millions of city migrants and floating population. The speed of this immigration flow far surpassed the one of the required systematic construction, and it is as if this floating population was living in a perpetually ongoing construction site. The different backgrounds of each individual are forced to fuse with the ever changing sceneries of "here" and "now", the perception of being in a place is an illusion. Due to the fast changes of their living environment, even cities' residents and young generations can easily feel a sense of confusion in their inner world; nostalgia, resistance and the pain one feels in his life, all of this are an expression of the condition of "living elsewhere".
In terms of artistic expression, the three artists of "Living Else Where" abandoned the "bad habits" of seeking novelty and singularity; instead, they used sharp artistic insight and a relatively conservative artistic representation to express opinions and questions about these issues. What really touches the audiences is the beauty, the aesthetical sense that nowadays is almost seen as an old cliché. This is a clear artistic choice that refuses everything that is pop art and gaudy art aesthetics; it is a revolt against an art that sacrifices the sense of beauty to emphasize only ideas and concepts. This is a revolt coming from "elsewhere", it comes from a genuine attention and reflection upon the contemporary human condition. It consists in the refusal to blur ideas and concepts, in the refusal to use them in an opportunistic way.
Compared to the ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ creative attitude, ‘Living Else Where’ has more humane concerns. Such concerns are not pretended, but they are a genuine attempt to represent the human condition in the contemporary Chinese context, and also the artists’ own condition, in a realistic way. The tension is expressed through different artistic media and comes from the attempt to catch anti-utopian images of contemporary Chinese society. These anti-utopian images are not represented in violent way, they are not a dissident statement, and instead they depict the existence condition, the perception of reality of individuals and multitudes in a refined and mild way. This condition has nothing to do with the grand meanings, with the pleasure given by consumption and the idealistic representation of "Modernity" and "Post-Modernity".
Actually, if we want to seriously discuss about ‘Modernity’, we’ll find out that this issue has an awkward situation in China. Let’s forget about the sociological issues and let’s simply start from visual arts. The old generation of artists who brought western arts to China, actually brought along western classic arts academism that is just small part of western classic art, and it’s far of being exhaustive. Furthermore, what they brought along went through many changes due to the contact with revolutionary realism and local culture. The result of this process was what was called “Modern Art” in China. After having arrived in China, a part of the western artistic academicism became “Chinese Modern Arts” and this misplacement still exists. Perhaps it comes from a creative misreading, however whether it has the capability of becoming an independent system or not, still remains uncertain. Although this is not the main theme of this exhibition, these works also question about these issue.
“People of the future will look upon us exactly as we look upon those who have gone before us”
This is Chinese traditional culture’s conclusion about life and history. However this way of looking at life and history will always sacrifice the particular for the sake of universal. One of the meanings and aims of contemporary art is to record the particular, and to give voice to the different. This is what we call “Elsewhere”.
Living elsewhere. Art might be elsewhere, the exhibition is right here!
“生活在别处”展览了Lukas Birk（奥地利/中国）、陆佩（北京）与颜石林（北京）三位艺术家以摄影、绘画、雕塑为媒介探讨中国当代社会中个体生命生存现状的作品。这种探讨跨越时间、空间、生命、痕迹等不同维度。探讨的同时也在以各自的作品介入上述维度，并试图在对常态的破坏中揭示个体生命并非单纯的生存于一个简单的二元对立世界，个人对此时此地的感受，在此时此地的生存痕迹，并不一定是确切的，真实的，提示人们以一种更加敏感、诗性的目光重新审视所处的生存环境与自己的精神世界。
“生活在别处”是兰波的一句诗，是米兰.昆德拉的一本小说的书名，在此处，它是一个视觉展览的主题。“别处”是与“此处”相对立的，与一切限定性的指代相对立的，它是一种先锋的态度，也是一种充满生命活力的状态。这个展览主题确立的瞬间就形成了一个矛盾体：生命个体都活在此时此地，而在此时此地阅读与观看的是关于“别处”的表达。这个矛盾的形成有一个隐性的前提，即作为“物质体”的个人有意无意中觉察到自己的精神世界与其身处的外部物质世界的错位。
这种生存状态的错位在当代中国社会表现的尤为明显。在当代中国这个工业大生产社会与后工业社会两种社会形态并存、现代性与后现代性问题并置的特殊语境中，“生活在别处”是当代中国大多数人群的生存状态，也是被大多数人群所忽略与遗忘的问题。被忽略和遗忘的不仅仅是“生活在别处”的状态，此时此地发生的一切都在被快速的忽略和遗忘，这种忽略和遗忘的根源正是当代人所面临的危机：地球村时代的快捷交通与通讯模糊掉了人的生存时空，自由消费的狂热化将文化艺术引向大众娱乐与实用至上，对自身生存环境的质疑与个人精神的痛苦都被消费的快感温柔抚平。
中国一线城市的快速发展造成了区域发展的不平衡同时也产生了数以千万计的城市移民与流动人口，这种流动的速度远远高于其所需的相应制度性建设的速度，每个流动的个体仿佛生活在一个个永不停息的建设工地，自身的成长背景与此时此地不断变化中的景观被硬性融合，“在场”的感受也不乏虚幻性。即使是城市的原住民或年轻一代，高速转变的周围环境也极易造成他们精神世界的断层与错位，怀旧、抗拒、对自身生命所感受到的痛苦的表达，这些都是个体对“生活在别处”状态的呈现。
在艺术表现形式上，“生活在别处”中的三位艺术家摒弃了当代艺术求奇求新的“恶习”，以艺术家敏锐的洞察力和相对保守的艺术表现形式来表达观念、探讨问题，而感动观众的恰恰是似乎已经沦为陈词滥调的“审美美感”。这对于波普精神、艳俗形式以及一味强调观念而忽略形式美感的创作趋势无疑是一种“别处”的反叛，这种反叛建立在对当代个体生命的生存状态的切实关注与思考的基础之上，而不是将主题与意义消解至虚无，更不是将视觉模糊至毫无确定性的一个投机取巧的“点子”。
相对于“为艺术而艺术”的创作态度，“生活在别处”多了一层人道主义关怀的色彩，这关怀不是扭捏作态，而是艺术家对中国当代社会中个人的、甚至艺术家本人的生存态度与状态的真实表达。这种表达依托不同的艺术媒介所释放的张力来自于对中国当代社会中反乌托邦图像的捕捉。反乌托邦图像的捕捉并非持不同政见者的激烈陈述，而是以一种细腻的、柔和的方式呈现一个普通的个体或人群是如何在感受此时此地的生命与生存的状态，这种状态与宏大的意义、消费的快感没有关系，与“现代化”或“后现代化”的理想景观相对立。事实上，当我们想认真的讨论“现代性”时，就会发现这一问题在中国有着极其尴尬的处境，且不谈社会学角度，从视觉艺术这个很小的角度切入，将西方艺术带入中国本土的老一代艺术家们带来的其实是西方学院派的艺术，是西方古典艺术的尾巴或被革命现实主义化了的西方古典艺术，而被带入中国本土后却被称为“现代艺术”，直至今日当代艺术在西方的学理支撑到了中国本土变成了被断章取义的只言片语，这其间“错位”一直存在着，或许这是一种有创造性的误读，但误读的主体是否具有独立消化能力的系统值得商榷。这虽然不是本次展览参展艺术家创作的出发点，但展览的作品对这一问题也形成了独立的质疑与诘问。
“后之视今，亦犹今之视昔”，这是中国传统文化中对个体生命存在乃至历史发展的规律性总结，但规律性的总结总是要撇弃一些曾经真实存在的不同音符，当代艺术的意义之一就在于记录并艺术的表现这些别处的音符。
生活在别处，艺术或许也在别处，展览在此处。
（文：许崇宝）
Living Elsewhere
“Living elsewhere” exhibits the works of three artists, Lukas Birk (Austria/China), Lu Pei (Beijing), Yan Shilin (Beijing) that use the media of photography, sculpture and oil painting to question about human existence in the context of contemporary Chinese society. This research crossed the different dimensions and issues of time, space, life, and vestiges. The works presented by this exhibition involve all the above mentioned dimensions and by breaking the normality， try to demonstrate that mankind does not live in a pure, simple binary opposition world. The way we perceive space and time, the traces we leave in this world, are never well defined or real. These works want to push us to re-examine our existence environment and our own inner world from a more sensitive and poetic perspective.
"Life is elsewhere" is a quote from a poem of Arthur Rimbaud and also the title of a novel by Milan Kundera. Besides this it is also the theme of this visual exhibition. "Elsewhere" is the opposite of "Here" and it is the opposite of everything that is restricted and limited; it indicates a pioneering attitude, as well as lively, full of life status. A contradiction occurred as soon as this exhibition theme got finalized: we all live "here" and "now", however the way we look at "here and now "is an expression of the "elsewhere". There is a hidden prerequisite for this conflict to take place: individuals are somehow aware of the difference that exists between their inner world and the external material world they live in.
This confusion between these two living status is more evident in Chinese contemporary society. In the peculiar Chinese context, where an industrial society and a post-industrial society coexist, modern and post-modern issues juxtapose; "living elsewhere" is the existence condition of the great majority of Chinese people, and it is also an often neglected issue. Not only the condition of "living elsewhere", but also what really happens in this moment and in this place is ignored and quickly forgotten , and this is the origin of the crisis our contemporary world is facing: the quickness of modern communication and transportation of the global village have blurred space and time; the craziness of consumerism made the entertainment of the masses become the main goal of culture and art, the query about oneself’s living environment and the spiritual sufferings of individuals have been softened by the delights of consumption.
The rapid development of first tier Chinese cities caused imbalances in the regional development as well as tens of millions of city migrants and floating population. The speed of this immigration flow far surpassed the one of the required systematic construction, and it is as if this floating population was living in a perpetually ongoing construction site. The different backgrounds of each individual are forced to fuse with the ever changing sceneries of "here" and "now", the perception of being in a place is an illusion. Due to the fast changes of their living environment, even cities' residents and young generations can easily feel a sense of confusion in their inner world; nostalgia, resistance and the pain one feels in his life, all of this are an expression of the condition of "living elsewhere".
In terms of artistic expression, the three artists of "Living Else Where" abandoned the "bad habits" of seeking novelty and singularity; instead, they used sharp artistic insight and a relatively conservative artistic representation to express opinions and questions about these issues. What really touches the audiences is the beauty, the aesthetical sense that nowadays is almost seen as an old cliché. This is a clear artistic choice that refuses everything that is pop art and gaudy art aesthetics; it is a revolt against an art that sacrifices the sense of beauty to emphasize only ideas and concepts. This is a revolt coming from "elsewhere", it comes from a genuine attention and reflection upon the contemporary human condition. It consists in the refusal to blur ideas and concepts, in the refusal to use them in an opportunistic way.
Compared to the ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ creative attitude, ‘Living Else Where’ has more humane concerns. Such concerns are not pretended, but they are a genuine attempt to represent the human condition in the contemporary Chinese context, and also the artists’ own condition, in a realistic way. The tension is expressed through different artistic media and comes from the attempt to catch anti-utopian images of contemporary Chinese society. These anti-utopian images are not represented in violent way, they are not a dissident statement, and instead they depict the existence condition, the perception of reality of individuals and multitudes in a refined and mild way. This condition has nothing to do with the grand meanings, with the pleasure given by consumption and the idealistic representation of "Modernity" and "Post-Modernity".
Actually, if we want to seriously discuss about ‘Modernity’, we’ll find out that this issue has an awkward situation in China. Let’s forget about the sociological issues and let’s simply start from visual arts. The old generation of artists who brought western arts to China, actually brought along western classic arts academism that is just small part of western classic art, and it’s far of being exhaustive. Furthermore, what they brought along went through many changes due to the contact with revolutionary realism and local culture. The result of this process was what was called “Modern Art” in China. After having arrived in China, a part of the western artistic academicism became “Chinese Modern Arts” and this misplacement still exists. Perhaps it comes from a creative misreading, however whether it has the capability of becoming an independent system or not, still remains uncertain. Although this is not the main theme of this exhibition, these works also question about these issue.
“People of the future will look upon us exactly as we look upon those who have gone before us”
This is Chinese traditional culture’s conclusion about life and history. However this way of looking at life and history will always sacrifice the particular for the sake of universal. One of the meanings and aims of contemporary art is to record the particular, and to give voice to the different. This is what we call “Elsewhere”.
Living elsewhere. Art might be elsewhere, the exhibition is right here!
