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Big Era, Small Order
Art Seasons 10th Annivesary, published by Art Seasons, 2011 Art Seasons Gallery is marking her tenth anniversary. Situated in the northeastern part of 798 Art District, Art Seasons occupied a large building. In terms of space, the gallery is among the largest of all galleries in the area - big enough. Art Seasons has a great repute, and a low and well-founded profile. Few people ever feel that it is Singapore in origin. Seen from atop the building, the entire 798 district is noisy and shambolic, both night and day - a lively miniature of the Chinese society, with the old value system having been overthrown but the new one yet to be built. Tourists, audience, artists, art critics, dealers and gallerists congregate as if everyone sees hope but none the exit. As the new value system has yet to be established, people have to rely on their instinct and choose the most eye-striking and promising: money. Galleries, art museums, auction houses, tens of thousands of artists are all working to achieve one thing, i.e. sell the paintings and swap them for money. Since 2005, all art related newspapers, magazines and media, to the exclusion of none, discuss money and auction in every edition, almost exceeding commercial and stock and exchanges related journals. Auction charts, collector charts, authority charts etc., give the sense that prices alone dictate the quality of Chinese art. What is more, even the TV screens at the airport continuously showcase shots from certain studios with the artist working. Also, some artists craving for money like crazy pose before the video camera talking about their devotion to art and aloofness in life. It is indeed true that China was in poverty for quite a while, or even two whiles, which make people quite apprehensive and fearful of waking up in a nightmare. After China opened up her door, the Chinese people have not changed but the system has seen some fundamental reformation and the people no longer collectively talk about ideals in life with their bellies empty, or talk about future with their doors closed. They have started to heed the present, daily necessities and what is unraveling in life. The people remain who they are but the background has changed and money has become the only standard by which to judge progress. What appears in the rearview mirror is quite imaginable, and fully in compliance with a ready-made idiom: the eight immortals crossing the sea, discharging arrows in disarray, assuming various stances, they strive to make money. What the artists create is spiritual wealth and nobody will judge the artist’s art by the money he makes. Even fouler societies cannot make such a demand of the artists. The reason artists are respected is because his objective in life is not money or to paint while making money. Artists, like intellectuals, are the conscience and souls of the society and are there to criticize and to adjust, to balance the general trands of the society with their spiritual works. They are to make sacrifices or they mind not at all making sacrifices. The function of galleries is to find, popularize and market art works and even artists when the occasions call for it. In the art industry, galleries are the most Avant-garde, at the forefront and the most important part. Galleries choose art at their own peril. Galleries have to rely on their know-how and knowledge to judge and discover quality artworks and artists. Art museums and museums rely on galleries to choose well-established artists rather than making acquaintance with them on their own feet or their progress will be severely curtailed. When you visit an artist who keeps a dog, you may get bitten; or when you visit a hospitable artist, you may be invited to dinner and the day will fly away. At the auction house, in theory, everything can be auctioned off, including real estate, works of art, gloves, socks, wine. Everything is accepted and sold on commission. Both in history and at the moment, overseas or domestically, no auction houses purely rely on art for a living, therefore it maybe inferred that auction houses are not charged with the responsibility of discovering and judging artists. Certainly, auction houses in China are now competing with frontline galleries to do what the latter innately must do, but that is only temporary. Sooner or later, the auction houses will learn their lesson and walk along a more professional line. However, now is not the time. To assess a gallery, it is essential to see how many good artists the gallery has cultivated and what kind of artistic trends it has ushered in. At the same time, it is necessary to see whether a good interactive relationship is built (by the gallery) between the artists and collectors and that the gallery has a few good stable collector clientele and market. One needs only see what has been auctioned off and the sales price to evaluate an auction house; nobody expect an auction house to make art history by the sheer act of auction sales. To judge an art museums or a museum, it is necessary to see how many good works of art it has done for public collection, how much art facts and figures it has made known to the public, and whether it accurately documents the shift of art in a given age. What comes foremost in judging a piece of art and the artist, is to see if he has accurately recorded the age, and if it is an original artwork and can pass the value test. In accordance with the philosophical classification of works of art, the work will have to be subject to three types of judgment: fact judgment, interest judgment and value judgment. The so-called fact judgment refers to the authenticity and rationality of the depicted scene. The interest judgment takes better account of the interests of ordinary audience and resembles the Baihua Film Award of the popular cinema. The value judgment comprises of aesthetics, morality and history, which are used to judge the value and significances of the work, reflecting ultimate human ideals and helping people to make an judgment of right, wrong, good, evil, beautiful, ugly; it is the ultimate judgment, surpassing the interest judgment. Secondly, it is to see whether there are any innovations in the artistic techniques, and any breakthroughs in originality. Also, what is done is acknowledged to be sensible and unique. Thirdly, to see if there are any breakthroughs in the material used, without any pretense and exaggerations. Artists and galleries work alongside each other, shoulder by shoulder. Art museums and museums are like umpire on the football field and must be objective and fair. If some players fully intend to become pals with the umpire, they would by no means be able to play well on the field. Auction houses however may become enemies of artists and galleries, as they represent a different force have little to do with art. the rise of the force will influence the artist’s work and exploration. Many artists stop their exploring steps for fear of the fluctuation of the prices. This pressure is tangible, real and can be felt, even surpassing the dominance and influence of power and ideology, and influencing the judgment of art practitioners as well as the general public alike. 798 is a miniature of our age and society, and Art Seasons is an important member of the art district, testifying to the progression and advancement of the age, which is doubtless filled with great transformation and repetitions of history. This age is a wild, reckless, blood-stained age. This age is one that requires regulation and order or it cannot function normally.
Zhu Wei
大时代小秩序
《季节十周年》，季节画廊2011年出版 季节画廊十周年了。北京的季节画廊位于七九八艺术区东北，一座很大的厂房。论面积在七九八也是数一数二的，够大。季节画廊口碑很好，从容低调，落地生根，从来没人觉得这是一家来自新加坡的画廊。 站在楼顶一眼望过去，整个七九八无论白天还是晚上，从来都是人声鼎沸，杂乱无章，活活一个小型的中国社会缩影：旧的价值观被推翻，新的价值观又迟迟没能建立起来，游客、观众、艺术家、批评家、Dealer、画廊老板拥挤在一起，仿佛每个人都看到了希望，却永远找不到出口。由于新的价值观迟迟建立不起来，人们只能凭着本能，拣最显眼最出数的：奔钱去。画廊、美术馆、博物馆、拍卖行、成千上万的艺术家个体，界限混淆，视线模糊，都在做一件事，就是把画卖出去，变成钱，千万别砸在手里。从二??五年起北京和艺术相关的报纸、杂志、媒体，没有一期不谈钱的，没有一期不谈拍卖的，几乎超过商业证券类期刊杂志。拍卖排行榜，收藏家排行榜，权力排行榜，等等等等，琳琅满目，仿佛价格的高低是目前中国艺术的唯一评价标准。甚至机场候机大楼里的电视屏幕也在不停地播出某某当代艺术家在工作室画画的镜头。还有的艺术家背地里想钱想得要疯，却板着脸对着镜头侃侃而谈，白话自己对艺术的执着和生活中的清高。 的确中国确实踏踏实实地穷过一阵子，甚至是二阵子，大家至今想起来还心有余悸，每每能从噩梦中惊醒。改革开放以来中国人没变，制度上却有了不少根本性的改进，全国人民不再集体饿着肚子谈理想，关起门来谈未来，开始关注现在，关注吃喝拉撒，关注眼前的事。人还是那些人，场景发生变化，钱成了衡量事物发展的唯一标准，后面的镜头大家可想而知。应了一现成的成语：八仙过海，乱箭齐发，跟头把式，发奋图钱。 艺术家创造的是精神财富，不会有人以这个艺术家钱挣的多少来怀疑他艺术水平的高低。再混蛋的社会，也不会对艺术家有这个要求。艺术家之所以受人尊重，是因为他不是以挣钱为目的、或挣钱的同时再画几张画。艺术家和知识分子一样，是这个社会的良知，是起批判和调和作用的，是用精神产品来平衡这个社会的普遍倾向，是在某些方面要做出牺牲的，或者说是根本就不在意的。 画廊的功能是发现、普及和经营艺术作品，有的连艺术家也能一起经营。在艺术产业链中，画廊是最前卫的，是一线的，是最重要的环节。画廊起着大浪淘沙的作用，而且还要冒一定风险。画廊的经营者要用自己所知道的知识，判断和发现优秀的艺术作品和艺术家。美术馆和博物馆是通过画廊来选择成熟的艺术家，而不是挨家挨户地敲门，到艺术家家中去家访，那一天才能看几个。碰着艺术家有养狗的，可能会被咬一口，或者碰着艺术家实诚热情的，非留下吃饭，一天不就过去了。拍卖行应该是什么都拍，上到房屋地产、艺术作品，下到手套、袜子、葡萄酒，只要有人接，就提成。古今中外，没一家拍卖行只靠拍卖艺术作品营利，所以说它没有发现和判断艺术家好坏的职责和义务。当然中国的拍卖行现在抢着干一线画廊的活儿，这毕竟是暂时的，相信它们早晚会悟出来，会做得专业一些。但现在绝对不行。 判断一个画廊的好坏是看它培养出了多少优秀的艺术家，引领了什么样的艺术潮流，同时又能在艺术家和收藏家之间建立良好的互动关系，有一定的优秀稳定的收藏家和市场。 判断一个拍卖行的好坏，只要看它拍出了多少东西，成交额是多少，没人期望拍卖行为艺术家书写历史。 判断一个美术馆、博物馆的好坏是要看它为公众收藏展示了多少优秀的艺术品，普及和传达给公众多少艺术常识，是否准确地记录了一个时代的艺术流变。 判断一件艺术品和艺术家是否优秀，首先是要看他在创作思路上是否准确地记录了这个时代，是否是原创，是否能通得过价值判断。按照哲学上对作品的判断分类，一件作品一旦拿到人们眼前，首先要通过大家的三种判断，即事实判断、趣味判断、和价值判断。 所谓事实判断也就是艺术作品所指的事件的真伪性、合理性，而趣味判断则更照顾普通观众的喜好，犹如大众电影百花奖。价值判断则是从审美、道德、历史三个方面判断作品的意义和价值，是体现出人类的终极理想，并能主导人们对是、非、善、恶、美、丑、正、邪的判断，是超越趣味的判断，是终极的判断。 第二，是在技法上有所创新，是原创的突破，而且，还能被大家认为是合情合理的，是唯一的。 第三，是在材料上的突破，还不能无病呻吟，装神弄鬼，故弄玄虚。 艺术家和画廊是同一战壕的战友，美术馆博物馆犹如球场上的裁判，必须公正客观。如果有的球员一心要和裁判混成哥们儿，那球踢得一定不好。而拍卖行有可能是艺术家和画廊的敌人，因为它代表着另外一种和艺术无关的势力。这种势力的做大，会影响艺术家的创作和探索，因为畏惧价格的起伏，多少艺术家因此停止了向前探索的脚步。这一压力是有形的，实实在在，是看得见摸得着的，甚至超越了权力和意识形态对艺术创作的控制和影响，甚至影响到了从业者和普罗大众对艺术的判断。 七九八是这个社会和时代的缩影，而季节画廊作为其中重要的一员，验证了这个时代的演进和发展。这个时代无疑是巨变和对历史重复的时代，这个时代又是个狂妄无知、血腥露骨的时代。这个时代更是一个亟需建立秩序、规则，以便恢复正常运行的时代。
朱伟 |
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