The Red Revolution

THE RED REVOLUTION REN SI HONG

1

Untitled 380mm high x 260mm wide x 270mm deep, Bronze

Ren Sihong, born in 1967, graduated from the Fine Art Department of Hebei Normal College in 1991. From 1991 to 1993 her studied in the Teaching Assistant Program for the Oil Painting Class in Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1993, his solo exhibition was held in the Central Academy’s gallery. He now works as a professional painter. In 1995 his works “For a Girl’s Birthday in Summer of ‘94” was selected to show in the 3rd Chinese Annual Oil Painting Exhibition.

2

2

Kicking Action Mao Approximate Height 42 inch, Bronze

3

3

Jumping Action Mao Approximate Height 41 inch, Bronze

4

Country with 2 Faces Approximate Height 37 inch , Bronze

The history of China’s nationwide development to a sports power starts from the saying of “The great leader Chairman Mao teaches us to stay alert and protect our country: to prevent myopia, let’s do the eye massage starting from now”.

The nationwide practice of eye massage and broadcast exercise belong to the collective memory of those who were born in the 70s and 80s. Ren’s work can be classified as Political Pop, in which the great leader is presented in such a light-hearted and humorous way that the distance between the untouchable, glorified giant and our realistic experience vanishes. In the sculpture ensemble, Mao leads the children of the consumer society do the broadcast exercise. He turns the uniformity of the exercise movement into a free and idle, self-entertaining behaviour, which brings a post-ideological linguistic feature to politics and sports. It is also a variation to dispel politics under the atmosphere of consumer culture. In Ren’s concern of the western modern art and thinking, he rouses from the impractical universal questions of mankind and if art and turns into the concern of the real existential space in which the Chinese live. His political pop is presented with humour and has a tendency to dispel their inner political complex.

5

identical Shadow of Emptiness 950mm high x 750mm wide x 280mm deep, Bronze

6

Octagonal Hat Series Approximate Height 30cm , Bronze

7

Octagonal Hat Series No. 4 380mm x 420mm x 440mm, Bronze

8

雨夜 - Rainy Night 2000mm x 2000mm, Oil On Canvas

8

避寒 - Hibernate 1800mm x 1800mm, Oil On Canvas

Sihong Ren: the culture characters of the “cute Mao” and the period of “post-Mao”

Campaign- Broadcast Exercise

By Sihong Ren, 31 September 2005 (Sport: Rensihong Works, 2005-2006)

By Zhu Qi , written in Wangjing on May 27th, 2006, ( Sport: Rensihong Works, 2005-2006) Starting from 1990, China entered the “post-Mao” period. The use of Mao’s portraits and images, and socialist cultural images in the Mao period has become mainstream in Chinese contemporary art. Sihong Ren’s recent art works rely mainly on cultural resources from the Mao period. The main purpose of his art work works “Broadcast Exercise” and “Great Olympic”.

Mao, who liked continual campaigns and the Broadcast Exercise under Mao’s suggestion, takes on a new meaning in Sihong Ren’s art works.

“Broadcast Exercise” (2005) is a series sculpture, which represents a group of contemporary fashionable people doing “Broadcast Exercise”. “Great Olympic” is a painting series. It shows different kinds of cute Maos playing with swords, and engaging in football, basketball, Tai Chi, and piano practice.

In fact, “Great Olympic” was a great exploitation of Mao images in the 1990s. This series has two new meanings. One is to make Mao’s images cute. Another one is the character, signifying the place between campaign and political culture. By the end of the 1990s, the way to represent Mao had already progressed from blind idol worship to sarcasm and a disassembling of godhood. The images of Mao gradually became neutral and more humanized. Mao’s images now have a symbolic connection with Kwanyin Boddhisattva, family heroes, and contemporary officers who approve of capitalism and entertainment to a certain degree. The images of Mao in Sihong Ren’s art work make a sharp break with Mao’s historical image. The images of Mao have become humanized and cute. It seems that he has temporarily discarded the heavy burden of saving history and representing cruel reality, in order to enjoy a happy, carefree lifestyle.

Making Mao cute reveals that people have chosen a special self-survival mode, which is that people no longer revolt, instead searching for relief, in order to adapt to the new consumerist social system. This new consumer society has forced people to make this choice, a choice that has become the new generation’s core character and concept of value. Wealth, health, exercise, esthetic sense and entertainment can all be found in Sihong Ren’s art work. Meanwhile, Sihong Ren adopts exaggerated elements from Hong Kong movies.

Sport also played a very important role in the Mao period. It was an instrument and expression of the new political reality, as were Broadcast exercises. Both were forceful, regulated, and full of group slogans. They trained the public to have discipline and obedience.

The title, “Great Olympic”, also has special meanings. It emphasizes the special meanings if body and Olympic sport in Chinese politics after the 1990s, and the connection between the Mao period, post-Mao period and modern age. Moreover, this title has a strong connotation with the 2008 Olympic Games. Sihong Ren regards Olympic sport in the 1990s as a kind of benign politics. Although Olympic sport was also an instrument of politics it was a healthy instrument because it brought Olympic related economic profit and improved China’s international image.

Although Sihong Ren has used many funny Mao images, he has two main aims. One is to make Mao’s images cute. The other is to humanize. This shows there is still lots of room to use Mao’s images and resources. China still hasn’t entirely departed from the Mao period. Those Mao visual forms still have emblematic game space. Sihong Ren’s art work increase the possibility of Mao’s definitive image.

For most people, school recess is a time of play and relaxation. For schoolchildren during China’s Cultural Revolution, it was a time for group callisthenics performed to the dictates of an authoritarian voice broadcast over every school’s PA system. These endless group exercise sessions form a collective indelible memory in the minds of those who experienced them as schoolchildren.

During the 1970s and 1980s when I was young, the voice of the broadcast was always rigid and emotionless. Every movement was expected to be in harmony with the voice, a voice that was at once our authority and our mainstream media. The Impressions we form in childhood was usually always fresh and innocent. Blue skies and white clouds were enough to bring brilliant smiles to our faces. In the face of those monotonous, artless, and vapid broadcasts, only the girl’s graceful postures and curves afforded us any distraction or delight.

Teachers and leaders regarded broadcast exercise as an organized and disciplined review of students. It was individual exercise appropriated by the group, and hence largely symbolic of the zeitgeist of the time, though we were too young to know it. Furthermore, good individual performance in broadcast exercise brought group honour. However, if an individual performed too well, it could bring critical comments borne of jealousy.

Beset by deep social revolution, people’s thoughts changed dramatically.

Surviving became the most important thing. New values also appeared.

Likewise, desires and requirements have also changed with the new political environment. People facing these various drives and choices feel tired and embarrassed, sometimes enough so to miss their innocent childhoods and the pure, regimented broadcast exercises.

On the other hand, my sculpture, “Broadcast Exercise”, serves as a framework in which to examine and reflect on the great variation in society’s shifting modalities. Through the contemplation of different characters’ appearances, and clothes especially, we can feel the shift in society’s economy and consciousness during our age of growth. It seems that the eight actions of the broadcast exercise sessions match up perfectly with these shifts in social reality.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Extending Action- The incipience of constructing new China Punching Action - The period of Cultural Revolution Kicking Action - The period of appreciating the intellectual Twisting Action - The period of sexual awakening Sidebend Action – The period of appearing parvenu Squatting Action – The period of high criminality Jumping Action - The period of many stars appearing Adjustment Action – The period of adjusting to a new order

A child is easier to love than an adult: 1. A child is easy to be satisfied by sweet 2. A child has no thought 3. A child doesn’t have the ability to fight Changes and revolution are a denial of values. Who would have believed that the sun would rise from the West.

任思鸿艺术策略和美学 杨心一 初见任思鸿的作品，就被它们所带有的独特的任式风格和幽默所吸引。 在他近期的作品中是以毛泽东为主要题材的创作。在艺术家主要的近期 绘画作品《伟大的奥运系列》中，毛的既有形象被赋予了运动员的角 色，例如在《伟大的奥运系列之6》中，毛的形象转化为一个篮球选手的 形象；相同的，在他的近期主要雕塑作品《广播体操2005》系列中，毛 的既有形象也被转化为广播体操的执行者。 任思鸿的仿拟 在任思鸿的作品中，我认为不论是绘画还是雕塑都明显表现出一种强烈 的艺术手法——仿拟。这个手法，最初出现在文学里。对作家来说，仿 拟是一种常见修辞格或是修辞方式，它和其他常见的比喻、比拟、借 代、夸张、双关、映衬、拈连、等修辞格相同是用来提高修辞行为的效 果而运用的组织语言材料的策略性方法，追求语言形象上的创造的策 略。具体地说，仿拟就是对现成的固定词组、句子、篇章甚至语体临时 性地加以仿照。主要分为两类（1）被仿对象出现的仿拟，（2）被仿 对象不出现的仿拟。仿拟的对象通常是一般都知道的事物。对观者来 说，他们就会对仿拟的对象物有感受，而进一步对作家的仿拟产生一种 比较。简单地来说，仿拟就是用一种既有的成规来创作出另一种新的作 品，目的是来审视这个概有的成规，也就是被模仿的对象。这种手法和 其所展现的美学经验就是讽刺和趣味。特别注意的是，这种讽刺和趣味 是非常具有破坏性。也不能只单单的理解为讽刺或开玩笑，因为它主要 的作用是籍由此手法来解开仿拟的构成意涵和其所赋予的特有时代、文 化、社会等各方面的意义进而形成一种新的意义。 在视觉艺术的范围中，任思鸿所运用的仿拟手法是被认为构成前卫艺术 的主要手法之一，而前卫和现代艺术的差别就是在于不同风格的美学。 此手法改变了观者认知或认识对象的结构性观点，例如早期的前卫艺术 团体达达就是个中高手。他们常籍由仿拟的手法来批判20世纪初期工业 化及殖民主义所构成的社会多元复杂结构，以及由艺术给观众一种对自 我和其构成结构的反思及批判。像任思鸿的作品，达达主义者的作品不 强调艺术家有独特创意和具有绝对性存在艺术创作的合法性，也不强调 艺术家们讲求独一无二的形式表现。更重要的是和达达主义者相同，任 思鸿艺术手法的意义来自于一种对既有规范的挑战，试图引导观众周游 于仿拟对象在其既有和新赋予的背景脉络中，在仿拟对象既有的意义和 概念中进行再探索。因此，我们不难了解，在我前述任的近期作品中， 他所仿拟对象（毛主席）通常都被转化为另一种角色。接下，我们要问 的是任所要仿拟的对象是什么呢？也就是说，他的转化角色为何？ 毛主席塑像与公共政治场域 首先来看，任所要仿拟的是毛的形象。但是，我认为这只是一种最表面 的认知，我建议我们应该将此问题作为一个更深的探索。在前面已提 到，仿拟的主要目标不是在形象这个层面上而已，而是它所构成的含 义。也就是说我们在理解任的题材时不能仅仅只认为他选用了毛这个主 体或形象，而是要把它和其背景所赋予的时代意义联系起来。在任的上 述雕塑作品中，我认为它仿拟的对象是毛主席塑像，用此来探索政治形 象所建构的公共空间意义。 众所皆知，毛主席塑像或称毛泽东塑像是在文化大革命时期中普遍兴建 的。它以毛主席全身像为标准，放置在全国各地公众的户外或室内场所 里。一般来说，它被理解为对毛泽东个人崇拜的代表物。自1966年在清 华大学设立了全国第一个毛主席塑像后，全国各地尉然成风；而随着文 革的结束，这股风潮也宣告停止，在1987年时，第一座毛主席塑像被拆 除；而迈进90年代，各地重大广场的此类塑像也纷纷被拆除掉。因此可 看出，毛主席塑像强调的是公众领域里政治权力的影响。古今中外，此 类例子常常出现，例如在西方的罗马帝国时期，随着军队四方战争的胜 利，罗马统治者的塑像就会被塑造出来且放置在主要的公众场所中，以 强调征服者对被征服者的无形控制力，也就是权力的一种表现。而任思 鸿将既有的毛主席塑像所代表的权力及公众性籍由广播体操的方式解构 出来，艺术家用看似开玩笑的方式，转变了政治及公众性，其实是他经 过长期的生活经验所观察出来的。思鸿认为：“我的《广播体操》作品 是我对体制变化的一种记忆连线。透视人物外形和服饰特征可以感觉到 我们成长中的经济及意识的变化。八节广播体操的名称和社会体制变化 的节拍似乎一致。”

和毛主席塑像一样，广播体操也是权力和公众之间的一种表现。思鸿认 为：“广播体操是老师和领导检阅学生的组织性、纪律性的汇总。它是 个人的，也是集体的。动作的好坏决定着集体的荣誉。个人的出风头既 会带来掌声，也会遭到批判。语录式的宣传教育和口号式的说教对一个 学生的影响是一种话语的广告式的重复记忆。我们的视野里只有大字； 耳朵里只有大话！”我认为艺术家用的仿拟手法的目的是在表达中国公 众空间里权力构成的因素已由中国革命性的力量转变为以全球化为主的 多元及商业力量。对任来说，这种新的力量是一种不得不面对的公众权 力。从我上述分析看，毛主席塑像所代表的力量在80年后走到了尾声。 不难发现，这是伴随着中国1985年以来城市改革开放所产生的改变，当 城市开放后，公众空间被赋予了新的意义，所构成的权力因素也自然有 所不同，新的权力因素就是消费和全球化，在城市公众空间中巨大的广 告看板分布在角落，以各种形式和民众产生互动形成了一种新的权力架 构。 毛主席塑像和艺术商品 在任的雕塑作品中，我认为对此权力的的探索正是艺术手法所处理的目 标之一。这尤其反映在任所选用的材质、尺寸及质感上。我们都知道雕 塑成为一种主要的艺术形式主要就是从我上述的政治、时代背景下发展 出来的，在希腊、罗马的雕塑中使用的形式、尺寸和材质都是最好的， 以凸现被塑造者的伟大功勋。而在任的雕塑中，他也用仿拟的手法来解 构此传统，他们选用的尺寸是最适合放在家里，成为装置品，同时也是 基于对成本的考量，材质及质感上所展现的美感都是当代速食工业化下 常见的当代美感，当他用仿拟的手法将毛主席塑像的既有意义和概念解 构后，他赋予了它一种当代的美感，一种和生活更为相近的表达风格。 毛所提供的口号“艺术为人民服务”也被转换为当代艺术的现状“艺术 为资本服务”如上所述，任的仿拟手法所代表的意义是深层的，有前卫 艺术所强调的批判意义。值得强调的是，任的前卫概念不只是停留在相 似达达主义的手法上的，而是反映了他所身处的时代和社会背景，而这 和任在2000至2004年离开艺术创作专心从事商业所得的遭遇有极大的关 联， 正如理论家Andreas Hayssen在对前卫艺术的反省所提出的新前卫 主义的看法： 历史的前卫主义不仅成为了过去式，同时在任何面貌下使它复活的尝试 也都变得毫无益处。它的艺术创发与技艺早已在西方大众传媒文化于 好莱坞电影、电视、广告、工业设计与建筑的各式展现中，被吸收、 选取至科技的美学化与商品美学之中……成功地改变二十世纪日常生 活方式的，是文化工业而非前卫艺术。然而，历史前卫主义的乌托邦 希望却被保留——尽管是以一个扭曲的方式——在这个可以委婉称之 为大众文化的间接剥削系统中。（Andreas Huyssen,” The Hidden Dialectic：Avant-garde—Technology—Mass Culture” in After The Great Divide: Modernism, Mass culture, Postmodernism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986), p15.) 从以上的分析来说，我们可以得出结论：任思鸿的艺术手法在探索艺术 和商品，消费文化间的关系不能仅仅只是理解为单纯以毛形象的艺术 品，他的手法和一些以此为创作的著名艺术家有本质上的差异。而这点 对任思鸿来说是相当难能可贵的，因为它和这些艺术家们都是身处于圆 明园时期的前卫艺术家，也是中国90年代初期兴起的前卫艺术风潮， 在其提倡者栗宪庭的笔下这些艺术家们如方力钧、岳敏君等早已被归纳 为“泼皮现实主义”、“政治波普”和随后的艺术风格早已被其他评论 家总结为“艳俗艺术”或“媚俗艺术”，顾名思义就是以消费文化为主 的美学所创作依归的艺术形式。任思鸿的作品形式上或选题上看似归属 于这个现象，但其实不然，因为这些艺术家的手法只能被理解为挪用、 并置、拼凑；将既有的政治意义与当代语境凸现连接以跨越时代、超越 历史而形成的一种新的消费图像，他们的手法和任最根本的不同就是在 艺术创作概念上的差异，他们强调形象及图像所构成的政治意义，形式 上的再现，而不是像思鸿所关心的此政治意义的构成结构和其所存在的 权力层面。基于此，我认为思鸿的作品极具思想性，在中国当代艺术的 主流形象中，他的作品看似是主流风格的延续，因为他们两者都关心于 中国政治权力及消费文化的依存关系，但是，他的作品在概念上又有发 展性，也具有强烈的个人风格，在主流的风格中，是一股强劲的新生且 成熟的风格。

252, North Bridge Road, #01-36 E/F Raffles Shopping Centre, Singapore 179103 Tel +65 62501901 Fax +65 62505354 sales@odetoart.com www.odetoart.com