当代艺术的拓展和建构

　　随着中国社会经济的迅速崛起，中国的当代艺术也获得世界性的普遍关注。但中国艺术现状中的很大一部分却被有意无意地忽视。虽然这部分艺术和中国的传统文化无论在形式、主题还是媒材上都有着不可分割的联系，且实践者众多，但在当代艺术的研究中却没有受到应有的关注。

　　随着中国社会迅速的现代化转型，这些艺术实践无论是用“国画”还是“水墨”的概念都难以完全概括。艺术家们无论是在观念的表达、题材的选择，技法和媒材的运用上，都表现出极大的包容性和可塑性。他们的作品已超越了笔墨的零和之争，跳出了“传统”与“现代”, “东方” 与 “西方”, “具象”与“抽象”,“民族性”与”世界性”等的简单二元对立的框架。以水墨为媒材的艺术不再只是修身养心、陶冶性情的棲居之地，它和当代艺术中其他门类一样，直面人生、自然和社会的各种问题，同其个人和周遭的环境进行对话和交流，和当下社会、政治、经济、文化的变动直接联系在一起。

　　其实, 放下水墨情结所带来的焦虑, 我们看到一个更为广阔的艺术表现的空间。媒材的选择和表达的方式从来就不是艺术表现的最终目的。仅从这些参展的作品中，我们可以看到艺术家采用不同的媒材和表现形式，既有传统的水墨绘画和书法，也有装置、摄影和录象, 既有精细入微的写实刻划，也有洒脱虚幻的抽象表现，但都自如地运用水墨性话语展露他们的观感世界，描述各自的人文景观，表达对生活和生命的关注，揭示对精神世界的求索，提出对传统或现代的质疑，而在同时也都保持着同中国传统文化间的某种内在联系。这些艺术家的作品显示它们本身已成为当代文化建构的一个重要组成部分。它们既是中国文化身份的一种表征，又不是传统文化的简单延续，无论观念形态还是图式语境都在当代社会中得到拓展，体现了社会文化的当代性。

　　在全球化和中国国际影响力日益扩大的背景下，中国文化本身已成为一个新的不断变化的全球文化和艺术建构过程中的一部分。在这一建构的过程中，文化艺术的多元化是必然的。不论是传统意义上的国画还是近年涌现的前卫艺术都无法最准确、全面地呈现当代中国社会文化的发展面貌。本次双年展就是试图客观地展示中国当代艺术发展历程中的多元格局中的一个重要部分，重新定义中国当代艺术。在保持自身的创造性的同时, 探索突破困境和局限的各种可能性，启动中国当代艺术全面发展的新局面，进而推动中国的文化与艺术同其他文化艺术之间更多的对话和交流。我们知道，各种文化只有在不断的、直面的碰撞和磨合中, 才能产生和达到理解, 融会和互补。

　　Construction and Expansion of Contemporary Art

　　Kuiyi Shen

　　In recent years, as China has experienced a dramatic economic boom, the country’s contemporary art has become the object of widespread international interest. A significant segment of the Chinese art scene has, however, largely escaped notice. Although it is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese art in terms of form, theme, and materials, and although its practice enjoys unflagging popularity, it has not received the attention it deserves as an aspect of the study of contemporary art.

　　Despite the rapid modernization of Chinese society, this segment of the arts remains difficult to adequately define—variously described using the term guohua (“national painting”) or shuimo hua (“ink painting”). No matter whether in expression of concept, selection of theme, application of skill, or use of materials, these artists show enormous tolerance and adaptability. They have already gone beyond the debates about “brush-and-ink,” and have leaped the boundaries of simple dualities such as “traditional” and “modern,” “East” and “West,” “real” and “abstract,” or “national” and “international.” Art that takes ink as its medium is no longer a refuge for self-cultivation. It is the same as other contemporary art forms facing various issues of human life, nature, and society. It engages in constant dialogue and communication with the environment and the people around it and is directly linked to changes in contemporary society, politics, economics, and culture.

　　Actually, if we leave behind the anxiety that comes with the ink “complex,” we will see a much broader space for artistic expression. The choice of medium and method of expression are never the final goal of art. Through the work in this exhibition we can see artists using different media and artistic forms, from traditional painting and calligraphy to installations, video, and photography, from detailed and realistic to distorted or abstract, to confidently display their visual experience, describe their personal perceptions, express their concerns in life, explore their spiritual aspirations, and raise questions about both tradition and modernity. At the same time, they all retain a certain inherent relationship to the traditional culture. These artists’ work has already become an important component in the process of constructing contemporary Chinese culture. It stands as a symbol of Chinese cultural identity, but is not to be simply confined within the bounds of traditional culture. Rather, it is clearly affected both in concept and attitude by contemporary society. As with other forms of Chinese art today, it expresses the contemporary spirit of society and culture.

　　Against the background of globalization, and given China’s expanding influence in the world, Chinese culture itself has become a part of the process of building a global cultural and artistic structure. In this construction process, artistic pluralism is inevitable. Neither Chinese painting in the traditional mode nor avant-garde artistic practice alone is adequate to represent the progress of contemporary Chinese culture. The Third Chengdu Biennial attempts to present objectively the multifaceted process of the development of Chinese contemporary art, to redefine the contemporaneity of this segment of the arts, and to explore the potential inherent in breaking boundaries, so as to increase people’s understanding of the interaction between Chinese culture’s unique aspects and internationalism and to encourage dialogue between the art and culture of China and that elsewhere. As we know, only through the constant and direct contact and friction between different cultures can they reach a state of comprehension, integration, and mutual benefit.

　　编辑：admin