This is the Final Struggle

Hi Arts, combined issue of July and August, 2012

I first heard the Internationale on the street. Back then, after the program of Abstract of News and Newspapers broadcasted by China National Radio at 8 o’clock every night, the Internationale will be broadcasted. People didn’t mind whether it’s noisy or not, they consider the free loudspeaker broadcasting a kind of welfare, at least they didn’t need to pay the electricity bills form that. I didn’t think the tones of announcers weird, for they have to spice up the atmosphere for the song. If the contents are too flat and dull, I’m afraid that following forceful song would scare the hell out of them on the instant.

Qu Qiubai and Xiao San first translated the Internationale into Chinese. Black Bird Band in Hong Kong and Tang Dynasty rock band on mainland China both adapted that song. Personally, I think Tang Dynasty band’s version is better. It became such a hit that I can’t think of any other songs they produced over so many years.

The Internationale was not localized as well as Cui Jian’s I Have Nothing , which integrated western rock music’s rhythm and China’s lyrics, while the Internationale was introduced to China with set lyrics. In those years, that song was always connected to The East is Red. Even at the beginning of Women's Federation’s meeting in the village, it’s always the The East is Red.; at the end, the Internationale. ”there is never a savior, we do not depend upon gods or emperors” following the lyrics “He serves the country wholeheartedly, he is a great savior of people.”

The only thing perplexing for Chinese is the Internationale’s word interantionale, a French word means international, a hope of warriors from Paris Commune to realize “one world, one dream”.  Many things are originally small things, or regional or industry problems, but if get internationalized, they could become international issues affecting the big picture. We often get involved in the affairs we are not even clearly about. What’s worse, the real estate dealers and developers have learned from this.  A small real estate company near where I live built several villas with limited property rights, claiming to be “German style”, which could not be sold for dozens of years. However, after they change the advertising band from “the last nine in the county” into “the last nine around the globe”, they were sold out in less than half a year.

It’s a pity for a painter if he hadn’t participated in international exhibitions like biennale or documenta. I first heard Kassel in the 1990s. There was a story about it: two men send painters letters of invitation in the name of the organizing committee of German Kassel documenta. The letters were written quite like real and some people who took it seriously and began preparations.

In the early 1990s, some artists had begun participating in biennales like Venice Biennale and Sao-Paulo Biennale, getting involved with the international community. Like auctions of today, back then, it had the biennale and triennial fever. Every day, painters search for news on biennales and whether foreign curators have come. Many artists felt inferior for not being able to enter biennales.

Some painters can be very conceptual like some movie directors who shoot movies simply to participate in some movie festival. Some movies participated in international movie festivals and received award bored people so much that eventually they would not make into movie theaters.

Sometimes painters don’t paint seriously, too. They think about what the curators are thinking all day long with restless minds, regarding creation the least important thing. Some painting can be seen is obviously painted for a certain exhibition title at the first sight, but they were displayed in another exhibition, while the painter talking about his art innocently in front of the paint. I can’t help wondering what face they wear during painting.

Painters can feel helpless when they are painting sometimes. The contemporary art, in particular, doesn’t have certain standards or set patterns. Internationally renowned curators are few. If you turn away one, you may lose the chance of becoming a master simply by a piece of work or an exhibition.

Kassel Documenta was founded in 1955. It’s held every 5 years. This year marks the 13th Kassel Documenta with the slogan of Collapse and Recovery, dominated by politics, feminism, archaeology and encyclopedia knowledge. It is not as crowded as 1977 when 622 artists participated with over 2700 works. The participators may not necessarily be artists; some are not even related with art. Many of them are anthropologist, biologist, engineer, politician, theorist, Hypnotist, zoologist, etc. The ever increasing internationalized contemporary art research subject is: what is art? What is not art? The boundary is not important. I sincerely hope that the contemporary art based on that theory will not be filled with superstitious atmosphere and brutal force.

 Last year, I had a chance of participating a symposium of rock music. During the meeting, someone pointed out that the rock music of nowadays, especially the rock music of post-1980s and post-1990s, are increasingly get internationalized. It’s more and more losing Chinese style; you can hear everyone in that music. Currently, internationalization is a common goal for global art workers, which requires common efforts for several generations of artists. When necessary, you may have to fight to death, but that’s definitely not the last fight. After internationalization, it follows localization, regionalization, nationalization and uniqueness.

You need to believe in recirculation and life’s struggle, or how could people live such an age.

Zhu Wei

Sunday, July 8, 2012

这是最后的斗争

《HI艺术》2012年七、八月合刊

最早听《国际歌》是在街上。当年每到晚上八点中央人民广播电台《新闻和报纸摘要》节目一播完，紧接着就放国际歌。那个时候不讲究噪不噪音，免费的高音喇叭广播算是福利，最起码不用自家掏电钱。前有《东方红》，后有《国际歌》，当时不觉得播音员说话的腔调特别别扭，要是不把气氛煽起来，把气场托到一定程度，没法接《国际歌》。如果播音员现在都叫主持人或主播心平气和、细皮嫩肉地播半个小时的内容，接茬就放排山倒海、气势迫人、把人往沙滩上拍的《国际歌》，当场就得先把自己吓死。

《国际歌》到中国，最早是由瞿秋白和萧三翻译的，香港的黑鸟乐队、大陆的唐朝乐队都先后改编过。我觉得唐朝版的国际歌较为成功，以至于时过多年，除了国际歌再也想不起来唐朝还唱过什么。

《国际歌》到中国一直没能很好的落地，不像崔健的《一无所有》，把摇滚天衣无缝地本土化了。《一无所有》是西方摇滚乐的节奏，中国的词，《国际歌》是带着词儿来的，这就不好办了。当年《国际歌》一般都是和《东方红》放在一起唱的，就连村里妇联开会，一律开始曲是《东方红》，散会结束的时候《国际歌》。前边鼻涕眼泪地唱完“他为人民谋幸福，他是人民的大救星”，后面紧跟着“从来就没什么救世主，也不靠神仙皇帝”。

《国际歌》唯一让中国人听了莫名其妙的，就是英特纳雄耐尔（Internationale）。英特纳雄耐尔乃法语国际的意思，是巴黎公社战士们满腔热情希望全世界人民万众一心，同一个世界同一个梦想，也就是国际化的意思。很多事情本来是小事，或者是局部问题行业问题，但如果把它国际化了，有可能成为影响大局的国际问题。我们不也经常能遇到，很多事情还没听说过，就已经被算在内，放在多少多少亿人民坚决不答应这种政治喊话里了。更可气的是，现在大大小小的地产商、开发商也学会了这手。我住的附近一个乡办小地产公司盖了几套号称“德国风格”的小产权别墅，十几年没卖出去。后来广告牌子上的“全县仅剩九套”，改成了“全球仅剩九套”，半年不到，就告售罄了。

一个画家没参加过双年展、文献展之类的国际大展，怎么说都是个遗憾。最早听说卡塞尔是九几年，当时圈子里出了一段子：有俩哥们儿以德国卡塞尔文献展组委会的名义给大家伙儿每人发了一封邀请信，信写得很像那么回事，有鼻子有眼儿，结果有不少人中招，还有人当真已经开始做准备工作了。

九十年代初开始已经有艺术家陆陆续续参加了威尼斯双年展、圣保罗双年展等等双年展，开始和国际接轨。就像现在议论拍卖一样，当时是双年展三年展热，大家每天都提着鼻子踅摸着双年展的消息，每天都打听是否有国外策展人到了。很多艺术家都为没能进入双年展而闷闷不乐，多年抬不起头来。

画家画画有的时候非常概念。就像有些电影导演，从拍电影的那天起就为了去参加某个电影节，以至于大批所谓参加了国际各大电影节、获了奖的电影，把大家都给看腻了。腻到这些电影最后连影院的梦幻小厅都进不去。

画家画画有的时候也很不严肃，尽跟策展人过不去，天天琢磨策展人在想什么，心无宁日，诚惶诚恐，创作成了最不重要的事。有些画一眼就能看出是为了某一个展览命题画出来的，最后却进了另外一个展览。画家还站在作品前，一脸无辜，叭叭地白话。有时候经常在想，这样的画家坐在画布后面画画的时候，会是一张什么样的脸。

画家画画的时候有时候也很无奈。特别是当代艺术，没什么标准，套路也不固定，国际上知名的策展人也就那么几个。一不留神慢待了一个，可能这辈子就失去了仅凭一件作品或一个展览就一举成事，或者因此错过了坐四望五、成为大师的机会。

卡塞尔文献展创立于一九五五年，五年一回，今年是第十三回。这次的口号是Collapse and Recovery，以政治、女权主义、考古学以及百科知识为主，参加的人数没一九七七年那回多。七七年参展的艺术家人数622人，作品2700多件。卡塞尔文献展参展的并不一定都是艺术家，甚至连搞艺术的都算不上，很多是人类学者、生物学家、工程师、政治家、理论家、催眠师、动物学家等等。其实日趋国际化的当代艺术研究的课题就是：什么是艺术，什么不是艺术，其边界并不重要。我衷心希望以此作为理论的当代艺术周围不要出现迷信的气氛和蛮横的力量。

去年有机会参加一个摇滚圈的座谈会，会上有人提出，现在的摇滚乐，特别是八零后九零后的乐队，音乐越来越国际化了，听起来谁的影子都有，什么都像，就是越来越不像中国的摇滚乐。眼下国际化是全世界艺术工作者共同的奋斗目标，这需要全世界艺术工作者几代人的共同努力，必要的时候还要不惜流血牺牲，鱼死网破，倾家荡产。但这绝对不会是最后的斗争，国际化之后紧接着就是地域化、区域化、民族化、丰富多彩化。

要相信轮回，相信折腾，要不人怎么会是现在这个寿命。

朱伟

2012年7月8日星期日