Hugo linked Yuanmingyuan and Parthenon together in his letter to Captain Vattel because, as representatives of eastern and western civilizations, both of them could not escape the fate of being plundered in the war of foreign aggression. However, the eastern and western civilizations they represent have not been destroyed like themselves, but are still radiant. From this, I deeply feel the strong vitality of civilization or culture, which is rooted in mountains, rivers and people's hearts. This is also the original intention of my creation with Yuanmingyuan as the material.
Since 2009, I have taken many documentary photos in Yuanmingyuan with photographic sensitivity. After I came back, I studied this absolutely beautiful "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens" day and night. Looking at these dilapidated scene photos, watching many historical documentaries and digital movies "restore" the original appearance of Yuanmingyuan with high technology, I tried my best to imagine and express the Yuanmingyuan in my mind, trying to find some connection and grafting between imagination and reality. The "Zodiac" series is based on Yuanmingyuan and the absent "Zodiac". In the creation, I borrowed the information retrieval method of notebook computer, and all the pictures of the 12 Zodiacs were obtained by Baidu search. Then I juxtaposed these pictures with the site of Yuanmingyuan, forming a seemingly objective and uninspiring fact. I tried to get the Chinese zodiac animals back to their original places, but they really couldn't go back. The distance between virtual and reality is so far away that we can only use the word "history" to summarize and express it.
When I was writing the "Zodiac" series, I had the initial idea of finding some kind of grafting between Yuanmingyuan and Shanghai World Expo Park and making a historical thinking. Seeing the successive establishment of national pavilions in the Shanghai World Expo Park, between this thriving construction scene and the ruins of Yuanmingyuan, some silent narrative shocked my soul, so it came down in one continuous line with the Zodiac series, forming my later creation-the Universal Garden series. At the same time, I thought of the historic moment of 20 10. The Yuanmingyuan, built in the 48th year of Kangxi (1709) as a symbol of the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty, was scarred and humiliated by history in the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860). Today (20 10), China is becoming stronger and stronger, and history has gone through three hundred years between these two glories. Standing on this symbolic historical point, which is worth summarizing and thinking about, I want to re-examine China's situation and the great changes in the world from the perspective of historical existence and change, dig deep into its historical enlightenment and give people deep thinking.
Therefore, I take "history" and "thinking" as the basic tone and main clue of my creation, and try my best to express China's gradually powerful mental state through the artistic technique of photography. With the historical opportunity of hosting the World Expo in Shanghai in 20 10, we can think of the invasion of China by Britain, Russia, Germany, France, the United States, Japan, Italy and Austria in history, which led to the tragedy of Yuanmingyuan. /kloc-Today, more than 0/00 years later, they set foot on the land of China again. The striking similarity of history makes us have to reflect on this dramatic contrast: the former is the burning and destruction of China's architectural art and culture, while the latter is a friendly display of architecture and culture. The two G-8 gatherings in China brought us many associations. We don't need to witness a big scene, just a change. In the "World Garden" series, I juxtaposed the site of Yuanmingyuan with the national pavilions of these eight countries in the Shanghai World Expo Park. The laptop I opened tells and records the vicissitudes of history like a history book. I used my camera to witness every moment when New China grew into a world power. As a historical existence, Yuanmingyuan Ruins and the G8 Pavilion are never-ending cameras. They quietly witnessed and experienced history, telling the story of China yesterday and today.
So I hope to combine the two series of Zodiac and Garden of the World to make an exhibition to fully express my creative ideas, and I hope it can inspire more people to care about our history, reality and future. Here, photography breaks through the documentary significance in the general sense, interprets the economic and cultural state of China society with its unique artistic way, and becomes a new way to express contemporary artistic concepts; Here, photography is no longer a simple image, but a witness of history.
Works review
All history is just a form.
The historical style is "you sing and I will come on stage", and there is no absolute heart. Even in Audoul, a French philosopher who preached "field theory", it is a social space that changes with capital and power. The fate of Yuanmingyuan, a garden of ten thousand gardens, is bound to be "ruins", and the fate of the British Pavilion in the Expo Park is bound to be "demolished", which is full of mystery.
It took 150 years from 1860, when Yuanmingyuan was looted by foreign powers, to 20 10, when many countries attended the Expo site. During 150, it was still a confrontation between Wang Ba and the avenue was stealthy. The changes in the world are unparalleled. Whether it claims "the end of history", "the clash of civilizations" or "the rise of postmodernism", in fact, four major ideological trends are still dominating the world-Darwin's theory of evolution (1859), Marx's Das Kapital (1867) and Freud's theory of sexual motivation (1959).
It is precisely because history "pulls the bellows" between nothingness and truth (between heaven and earth, it is still charming! Tao Te Ching), Mr. Fu Wenjun used photography to express his thoughts on the way of history: all history is a formality. The protagonist of that year is now a walk-on, the villain of that year is now a positive image, and the success or failure of that year is now incalculable. Maybe.
To sigh with China's play is: "Look at him starting from Zhulou, watching him entertain guests and watching his building collapse". You can imagine Mr. Fu Wenjun's feelings about his home country and history when he gazed at Yuanmingyuan and the Expo Park in the sunset. So when he asked me to hold an exhibition, I couldn't help being asked.
In terms of aesthetic technology, its importance has been waiting for it. His collage and appropriation belong to the rhetoric of contemporary art, and the post-photography treatment is his practice of the concept of "photography". Obviously, radiation photography is closer to creation, which is the artist's ambition. I like a sentence by Professor Xu Tianjin from the Department of Archaeology in Peking University: "The ancient and the modern are integrated, and the present is eternal." As a gift for fellow artists interested in contemporary art. If contemporary art is to last forever, history and futurology are excellent artistic resources. The beauty of operation lies in one heart. As a respected senior artist, Mr. Fu Wenjun's travel skills are inspiring.
In the face of this garden festival spanning more than a century, from Beijing to Shanghai, from barbarism to peace, he always has a feeling of "dreaming in the garden" and doesn't know where he is. Finally, it was condensed into 12 photos of Yuanmingyuan and 8 Expo sites. The dream of visiting the park thundered in a quiet place.
It is better to stay in the middle than to talk too much and calculate too little. Go to the theater
A new world has begun, Wang.
Fu Wenjun's images are very visual, and the effect is very outstanding when we cut into a new perspective. This effect is that the artist wants to achieve his intention and purpose. After all, today's image is an active visual creation, not a passive creation. Passivity can be a snapshot or a record. From the artist's point of view, it is actually passive, although he found it on his own initiative.
His works belong to this kind of active creation, which embodies the characteristics of domestic video art creation in recent years. The moment I saw these works, I felt much clearer than the works of other authors before, and the language was brighter and more straightforward than before. The background is the architecture of eight countries in the World Expo, but the foreground is a laptop screen with a picture of Yuanmingyuan. In this way, the images in the computer and the external space images form a linkage relationship, and several layers of relationships are formed under the time comparison. Computer is not only a modern product, but also a contemporary high-tech product, which has the contemporary nature of the times. But the image content is the old Yuanmingyuan. Therefore, the external and internal forms the contrast and confrontation of time. In fact, the author's intention is here.
The reason why the author calls this group of works "Eight-Nation Alliance" is to replace the concept of history and pull this group of words with the most tragic historical color into the landscape of contemporary globalization, that is, to actively and subjectively engage in dialogue with western countries. There are many subtext in this dialogue. For China people, the "Eight-Nation Alliance" is an aggression against China and a great power, not an equal relationship between countries in today's society. Although this relationship has not yet reached a universal level, and everyone is equal, the country is equal, the nation is equal, and the culture is equal. Although there are economic, cultural and political conflicts and competitions in globalization, being called the "Eight-Power Alliance" makes time go backwards. This is the author's intention.
Here, the key to reflect on the modern history of China under the symbol of Yuanmingyuan lies in what position to take and whether to put forward a new cultural perspective on contemporary issues. Therefore, naming a work with a cultural symbolic word like "Eight-Nation Alliance" will arouse the historical memory in the hearts of China people. In fact, the author tries to use a historic word to have a dialogue with contemporary society, contemporary China and contemporary globalization.
Obviously, artists are pursuing a new height, a new vision or a new perspective to look at China's social culture, hoping that China today will have an open attitude towards the world. "G8" is a historical concept, and now it has been extended to G8, G20 and even countries around the Asia-Pacific region. The expansion of the concept of the Eight-Power Alliance means abandoning the shadow of history and releasing heavy cultural psychology, which is just a new cultural attitude between countries after contacting the new world pattern, indicating a national psychology and self-confident attitude. Only by stepping out of historical self-confidence can we move towards a more open and conscious cultural wide area. Therefore, the information or visual feeling conveyed by Fu Wenjun's pictures is positive, not tragic or negative. In a flash, a new world began.
In today's China, including the world's contemporary image creation, there has been such a conscious use of computer technology, photography technology, combined to form a new visual way. They create new possibilities for today's artists, which also means being more subjective and positive. For Fu Wenjun, these techniques and means became a part of his art media, enabling him to freely realize his creative ideas. This is a trend and trend of artistic and cultural expression. Fu Wenjun uses concrete practice to express a gesture, which is also to further promote the combination of traditional photography and contemporary digital technology, not only the combination of technology, but also the combination of contemporary culture, society, how to look at things and how to express them. In this way, art will become more and more valuable and meaningful.
The Game of Memory and Amnesia \ Zhang Qikai
Fu Wenjun is an artist who insists on using photographic lenses to express his artistic ideas. In his works, memory, as one of the functions of art, always seems to be emphasized by him: abandoned industrial equipment, the old city that is about to be submerged by the wave of modernization, is facing the traces of life ... Not only traditional memory, Fu Wenjun pays attention to the notches of time on objects, and these notches are one of the steps that natural forces will destroy memory. Fu Wenjun's works seem to contend with nature's amnesia. Sensitive viewers can judge their own aesthetic and cultural values according to Nick's hints in his images, and recall the amnesia in their memories.
As a visual display of the game between memory and amnesia, Fu Wenjun's new works "Zodiac" and "Garden of Nations" exhibited in his solo exhibition in Beijing Today Art Museum are cultural explanations of memory and amnesia. This group of pictures of the Chinese zodiac is based on the historical site of Yuanmingyuan, which is familiar to China people. Not far away, on an open computer screen, the head of the zodiac in Yuanmingyuan is in a state of panic. In fact, these weird animal heads have no lofty aesthetic value, but they are extremely ugly and can even be classified as modeling failure. However, the historical destiny of China people they symbolize endows these unremarkable bronze sculptures with great cultural value, which leads to high commercial value. The animal head of Yuanmingyuan once confirmed the tangled mentality between the humiliation and pain of the Chinese nation in the past and today's economic success, and became the focus of auction and media attention. Fu Wenjun took advantage of the high-density accumulation of media and turned it into images and words. The images on the computer screen, the animal heads of the 12 Zodiac Animals and the remains of Yuanmingyuan imply the multiple times complex of history and present, virtuality and reality, failure and success, and commerce and communication. Fu Wenjun revealed the unique cultural spirit of China people in the struggle between reality and history, that is, "keep cutting, get back to chaos".
Fu Wenjun will never treat computers as a great achievement of modernization. He fixed it in the image as a stable symbol and regarded it as the logical clue of his artistic system. His other work, Garden of the Nations, is also connected to his schema series through this clue, just like the zodiac. The World Expo and the Chinese Zodiac are the same in form: architectural background, computer props and images in the computer. The difference is that the content has been greatly changed: the story of the World Garden has replaced the Yuanmingyuan site in the Chinese zodiac with different figures in the national pavilions of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the United States, Russia and Japan at the 20 10 Shanghai World Expo, and the images in the computer have been replaced with the Yuanmingyuan site. As we all know, the appearance of Yuanmingyuan ruins at this moment has made the eight countries in the China World Expo Park reappear their historical faces. These countries once formed an alliance and launched a campaign against the Qing Empire in 1900. As the victors of this war, they set fire to the Yuanmingyuan, which was burnt down by the British and French allied forces in 1860, and carried out more brutal plunder. Therefore, the Yuanmingyuan site is not only a historical relic, but also a war wound on the body of the Chinese nation. It is also a spiritual pain that China people will never heal. In China's memory, the G8 has almost become the chief culprit of our suffering.
National humiliation is hard to level. We can imagine that the 20 10 World Expo would have evolved into the home of China today if it hadn't gone through a hundred years of vicissitudes, the awakening of modernism, the baptism of a revolution and the rise of the economy. Fu Wenjun's works were born in this complex background, mood and context. His creative notes record: "Seeing the successive establishment of national pavilions in the Shanghai World Expo Park, between this thriving construction scene and the ruins of Yuanmingyuan, some silent narrative shocked my heart ... I thought of the historic moment of 20 10."
Therefore, we always say that contemporary art is an art with problem consciousness and a meaningful visual symbol. Fu Wenjun's photography consciously used this symbol to refer to China's confidence and confusion in the golden opportunity. His historical mentality of success and reflection, complacency and inferiority deliberately provoked a fierce game between memory and amnesia.
1955 was born in Chongqing, graduated from sichuan fine arts institute, and is now a freelance artist. He is a member of China Photographers Association, a member of American Professional Photographers Association (PPA), a senior arts and crafts artist, a national first-class photographer, and has served as a judge of various art competitions for many times. He has held exhibitions in Grand Palace Art Museum, JACOB K. JAVITS Exhibition Center in new york, Japan, Tokyo Art Museum in Japan, Yokohama Art Museum in Japan, Hong Kong Cultural Center, Dubai Culture and Art Center in United Arab Emirates, Bangkok Art Center in Thailand, China Military Museum, China Three Gorges Museum, Beijing Today Art Museum, Beijing Yuanmingyuan, Chongqing Art Museum, Chongqing Library, Guangdong Art Museum and Yunnan Provincial Museum. In 2009, he won the gold medal in AJAC International Artists Invitational Exhibition in Japan, and the international gold medals in 201and 20 12 World Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition. In 20 12, he was rated as the artist with the most academic value and market potential, and won international art awards such as the title of outstanding Chinese artist in the world.