鋒刃為誰而雪──關於行為藝術與大陸行為藝術

文/王林

（一）
行為藝術是以身體作為媒介，通過某種行為方式或表演方式，以展示有針對性的文化觀念和美學態度的藝術。從形式上看，行為藝術是一種表演藝術，藝術家要把自己經過構思的行為展示出來。但不同於一般表演的是，行為藝術更注重行為在社會現場中的針對性──挑戰性、挑逗性和挑釁性，更注重藝術家自身在行為過程中的身心經歷和對於經歷的精神體會。
由於行為藝術是身體性的，所以它必然與人的生理、心理體驗有關。在行為藝術中，身體既是一種符號化的存在，又是一種過程性的存在。儘管每個人的身體都具有最真實、最具體的個別性，但從身體的誕生開始，人就被打上了社會、時代的烙印。身體及其動作既是生理和心理的即時反應，又是文化和經驗的必然結果。所以，身體的差異性也就包含著傳統與習俗，成為荷載文化身份也成為挑戰文化問題的代碼。可以說個人身體是精神最初的也是最後的歸宿，是藝術最初的也是最後的手段。
在對行為作品進行價值判斷的時候，有三個問題是應該加以甄別的：
其一，甚麼行為是藝術行為？
行為之所以成為藝術行為，是因為其具有藝術意義，而藝術意義的產生則在於日常行為的陌生化和反常行為的意圖化，也就是說，必須有日常行為的非日常化即意義化的轉換。同樣是打卡，一個公司職員的行為和臺灣行為藝術家謝德慶的區別，就在於後者以每小時一次、連續一年的極端方式使之變得非日常化、變得反常、變得陌生化。而一個精神病人的反常行為則由於缺少針對性即意圖性，反而是作為病人的正常行為，與行為藝術家並不一樣。
其二，行為藝術的針對性何在？
人的行為在社會中發生，即便是自然行為，比如睡覺，也是有社會性的：和誰睡覺？睡在何處？睡得如何？等等。人的行為總是在一定的社會環境、社會歷史和社會規約中發生的，行為藝術正是在行為和環境、行為和歷史、行為和規約的相互關係中，敏感到精神意識的某種動向，使之作具有當下文化意義的鮮明呈現，從而讓人反省和審視自己建立起來卻又反過來壓制自己的異化現實。行為藝術不僅僅是關於行為的藝術，而且是關於行為規約的藝術，也因此而具有泛政治化傾向。其意義深淺取決於作為藝術的“行為”與社會環境、社會歷史、社會規約的關係如何。其觀念與行為的結合要達到睿智的、深刻的思維水準，必須有超越習慣、慣例和既有案例的難度。
其三，行為藝術有無道德界限？
道德是一個歷史概念，行為藝術經常挑戰既有道德制約而為精神尋找新的可能性。但精神之於道德的更新，是建立在一個基本出發點之上的，即個體精神需要不斷生長、發育、豐富、深化和升華。從這個意義上講，行為藝術是對人的愛護，是對人的行為自由特別是精神自由的嚮往。自由對任何人來說都不是絕對的，其有限性在於一個人的自由祇能以他人的自由作為界限。因此行為藝術之所謂行為，不能是未經他人同意而傷害他人的行為。比如說你要做一個關於死屍標本的行為藝術，你就應該預先通知作品的參觀者，讓其有參觀或不參觀的自主選擇，以避免可能對他人的精神心理造成傷害。任何未經他人同意而傷害他人的行為，祇是有問題的行為，而絕不是甚麼行為藝術，即使打著藝術行為的幌子。藝術有突破歷史道德的無限可能性，但其最終的倫理邊界則在於對人的尊重，對生命、對他人身心的尊重。

（二）
廓清以上問題，我們再來看中國大陸的行為藝術，就不至於在許多無謂的問題上糾纏不休了。
大陸行為藝術初起於八五時期“廈門達達”的藝術活動，至八九年北京現代藝術展可視第一階段。此一時期出現了不少藝術家包裹自身的東西，如魏光慶模擬臥軌自殺，其作品的抗議性在八九年後詩人海子在山海關臥軌自殺身亡後更值得加以追認。其實在八九年現代藝術展上，真正引起強烈反響的恰恰是行為藝術，如蕭魯槍擊電話亭、張念孵蛋、吳山專賣蝦以及至今匿名的假裝爆炸中國美術館等等。其中蕭魯的槍擊之所以影響巨大，原因是那一聲槍響，不僅擊碎了伊斯堤思式的電話亭，宣告了中國當代藝術挑戰歐美中心的必要性，而且作為一種巫術式的預言，揭示了中國政治專政的鐵血現實。
八九後藝術是中國大陸行為藝術尋求自身價值的轉型階段。如果說，八五時期的行為藝術主要是針對美術史既成話語的反傳統行為，以黃永砯在洗衣機中洗滌《中國美術史》和《西方現代美術簡史》為總結，那麼，八九後藝術之於行為，一開始就表現出廣泛的文化針對性。張隆首先在上海美術館完成了《蘋果的闡釋》，其作品以植物學、醫學、社會學、美學的種種方式處理蘋果，在《大不列顛百科全書》 “蘋果”條目的朗誦聲和中國幼稚園互讓蘋果的兒歌聲中，作者以故作正經的方式解構了我們對於熟悉事物一本正經的集體認知。這是大陸行為藝術中不太為人所知的優秀作品，也是第一次在官方美術館正式實施的行為藝術。無獨有偶，九十年代初期另一件令人振聾發聵的作品，是孔永謙一九九一年七月一日在北京實施的文化衫活動。“我是黨的一塊磚，哪里需要哪里搬”；“讀毛主席的書，聽毛主席的話，照毛主席的指示辦事”；“煩著哩，別理我”；“是上班還是練攤兒？”──這些話語印在公開出售的文化衫上，是一個真正的創舉。在特定的時間、特定的地點針對特定的現實，其中國智慧的幽默與挑釁至今無人企及。這是政治波普中最為優秀的作品，長期被資本化的相關宣傳所遮蔽，是中國藝術批評的恥辱。這種出於話語權佔有、功利性追求以及體制化妥協的批評闡釋，是今天必須加以反省的。這裡祇指出兩個同樣被人忽視的重要史事：
一是一九九三年五月四日在上海華東師大圖書館舉辦的第三回中國當代藝術研究文獻展（裝置──環境──行為），展出了一百多位元藝術家的觀念藝術作品，其中專門剪輯了八九後行為藝術作品錄影帶，題為《媒體的變革》，收集了三十多位元行為藝術家的作品，包括張隆、鄭國谷、宋冬、佟飆、朱發冬、邱志傑、成力、莊輝、新歷史小組等等。這些作品或者針對現代主義的終結，或者批判藝術市場的操縱，或者提示自我意識的迷失，或者反省集體話語的荒謬。從各個不同的方向表現出大陸行為藝術家對當代文化和中國社會的關注。九十年代伊始，大陸行為藝術就具有強烈的現實性和批判性。
二是世紀之交成都行為藝術群體的活動，以戴光郁為主要組織者，成都集結了一大批行為藝術家，除了居住於此的余極、羅子丹、周斌、朱罡、劉成英、曾循、張華、尹曉峰等人，還有來自全國各地的藝術家溫善林、宋冬、邱志傑、尹秀珍、蒼鑫、張盛泉等等。不僅多次舉辦了“水的保衛者”大型行為藝術系列活動，而且前後有國內外藝術家上千件行為藝術作品在這裡完成。正是長期持續的行為藝術改變了成都市民的文化意識，同時也推動了西南當代藝術的發展，並從中產生了不少至今執著於行為藝術的優秀藝術家，如羅子丹、周斌、戴光郁、何雲昌、朱發冬、李川、李勇等。成都也由此成為中國當代藝術的重鎮，成為西南當代藝術的策源地之一。考察與之相關的行為藝術活動，產生了眾多優秀之作，如戴光郁《久已擱置的水指標》、尹秀珍《洗冰》、張盛泉《放生》、羅子丹《一半是白鬚一半是農民》、周斌《神六》、朱發冬的《出售》、何雲昌的《出逃》、幸鑫的《託運》等等，這些作品以現實追詢和精神拷問的方式，給人帶來強烈、濃重而富有深度的感受性，其藝術傾向完全不同於世紀之交中國藝術界流行的玩世與調侃，無疑是中國當代藝術交響樂中的重音。
前些年受使館文化的影響，北京曾興起一股行為藝術熱，出現了一批效倣赫斯特動物標本的作品，其間鬥酷、比狠、較殘，從殺生到放血，從剝皮到暴屍，虐待動物，嗜食死嬰，祇要能引起注意無所不致其極。然而曾幾何時，這股風潮就煙消雲散，不再有人問津。大概最近已轉向“影像北京”，可能也會有一陣影像運動熱罷。行為藝術因其挑戰性而具有很大的新聞效益，在國際文化資本的操縱下，中國藝術界出現功利共謀的運動潮流，是不足為奇的。這對於真正的行為藝術家不啻是一種考驗：一方面、我們需要在當代資訊背景和問題意識中進行國際交流，另一方面，我們更需要在本土文化語境和社會現實中追尋藝術價值。行為藝術作為當代藝術的一個方面，對於中國而言有其特殊重要性。行為藝術的機遇性、偶發性和一次性，使之成為最不容易樣式化、也最不容易商業化和體制化的藝術。目前，中國當代藝術正遭遇體制官方化、資本國際化、媒體市場化、學術功利化等等困境，行為藝術的野生性、個體性和當下性，將有助於藝術家磨礪精神銳氣和思想鋒芒，並從中創生蘊含中國經驗和中國智慧的思維方式和藝術方法。
因為澳門美術館一直致力於追蹤、梳理、展示中國行為藝術的歷史成果，並且已經做了很有成效的工作。對這一項長期堅持的學術計劃，我個人是非常支持的。

二零零八年十月二十一日
四川美院桃花山側

For Whom is the Blade Sharpened?
Performance art in Mainland China

by Wang Lin

Part I

Performance art recruits the body as its medium and certain modes of behaviour or representation as its vehicle for specific cultural ideas and aesthetic attitudes. It is a performing art in form, through which the artist attempts to present preconceived behaviour in a manner that is different to ordinary performance, dwelling much more on the significance of behaviour within a social context (e.g.) by harnessing properties such as challenge, amusement and provocation as well as the artist’s personal and spiritual experience during the process.

Since performance art employs the body as the medium, it inevitably addresses human physiological and psychological experiences. In performance art, the body exists as a symbol and a process. While every human body possesses the most tangible and concrete individuality, each is infused with the effects of society and the times. The body and its actions enacts both spontaneous physiological and psychological reactions, which are also the inevitable outcome of culture and experience. Therefore, in the heterogeneity of the body tradition and customs are embedded, and as such are a code of cultural identity as well as a challenge to cultural issues. It is no exaggeration to say that the body is the first and last resort of the spirit just as it is the first and last channel of art.

In the evaluation of works of performance art, three questions should be examined.

Firstly, just what is performance art?

For behaviour to become artistic, it must possess artistic significance, which comes from the estrangement of commonplace behaviour and the internalising of abnormal behaviour. That is to say, commonplace behaviour must become unusual (i.e.) there must be a change of significance. Take the act of clock-punching. The difference between that of an office worker and that of the Taiwanese performance artist Teching ‘Sam’ Hsieh is that the latter does it with the abnormal frequency of once every hour for an entire year, thus rendering a usual and routine act unusual, abnormal, and estranged. The abnormal behaviour of a psychotic lacks intention, and as such it becomes normal insofar as it is by a patient and is different from that of an artist.

Secondly, what constitutes performance art’s addressing nature?

Human behaviour takes place in society, and behaviour such as sleeping, even if natural, is social. With whom does one sleep? Where does one sleep? How does one sleep, etc? Human behaviour is bound to take place within a certain social environment, history, and norms. It is in this interrelation between behaviour and environment, behaviour and history, as well as behaviour and norms, that a certain spirituality and ideological tendency is sensed and made representative of the cultural significance of the present time, through which one may reflect upon and examine the alienated reality one establishes but which ends up depressing oneself.

Performance art is not merely concerned about behaviour but also about the norms of behaviour, and therefore it tends towards pan-politicisation. The depth of significance depends on the relationship between behaviour as art and social environment and history, as well as accepted norms. For the combination of ideas and behaviour to transform into wisdom and profundity of thought behaviour must go beyond habits and usual practices, as well as the level of difficulty of precedents.

Thirdly, does performance art have moral boundaries?

Morality is a historical concept. Performance art tends to challenge existing moral constraints in order to explore new spiritual possibilities. However, the renovation of the spirit as opposed to morality is based upon a fundamental starting point, namely that the individual spirit seeks to continuously grow, develop, enrich, intensify and transcend. In this sense, performance art is a form of love of humanity and a longing for the freedom of human behaviour, particularly that of the human spirit. Freedom is not absolute to anyone; the limit of one’s freedom is the freedom that it allows others.

Acts of performance art, therefore, may not hurt others or what is not approved of in advance. For instance, if one were to produce performance art related to a dead body one should inform visitors in advance so that they have the choice of visiting or not, and thereby avoid hurting people psychologically. Any act that hurts other people without their permission in advance is merely problematic behaviour rather than performance art, even if it is done under the banner of art. While art may offer infinite possibilities to break through historical morality its ultimate ethical boundary lies in its respect for others, for life, and for the bodies and minds of others.

Part II

Having clarified the aforementioned issues, much confusion may be avoided when we look at performance art in Mainland China. Performance art in Mainland China dates back to 1985, when the art exploration of Xiamen Dadaism was in its prime. From then until 1989 - when the Beijing Exhibition of Contemporary Art was held - can be considered its first phase. This period witnessed quite a few incidents with which artists immersed themselves (e.g.) Wei Guangqing’s simulated Suicide by Lying on a Rail. The remonstrative nature of his work was worth further acknowledging after Haizi  committed suicide by lying on a rail at Shanhaiguan in 1989.

At the 1989 Exhibition of Contemporary Art, what truly caused a sensation was performance art (e.g.) Xiao Lu’s Shooting at the Telephone Booth, Zhang Nian’s Egg Hatching, Wu Shanzhuan’s Selling Shrimps - plus the as yet anonymous simulated Blowing up of the National Art Museum of China, etc. Of these, Lu Xiao’s shooting was so shocking - not just because the shot smashed the XXX-styled telephone booth - which declared the necessity of Chinese contemporary art challenging the central position of its Western counterpart - but also because it prophesied the blood-and-iron reality of autocratic Chinese politics.

The post-1989 period was a transitional period in which performance art in Mainland China sought its value.

If the 1985 period of performance art engaged in anti-traditional acts against the existing discourse of the history of art - which concluded in Huang Yongping’s throwing History of Chinese Art and Brief History of Western Modern Art into a washing machine - then post-1989 art, as far as its acts are concerned, demonstrated the nature of addressing a broad range of cultural issues at their inception. Firstly, in the Shanghai Art Museum Zhang Long completed his Interpretation of an Apple, whereby apples were approached from various angles such as botany, medical science, sociology, and aesthetics. In reading the Britannica entry of the apple as well as broadcasting songs of apples for kindergarten children, the author, poised as if serious, deconstructed our collective understanding of a familiar item. This is a lesser known and yet excellent example of performance art in Mainland China, and it was also the first performance art to be incorporated into an official art museum.

It so happened that there was a similar case: another sensational work from the early 1990s was Kong Yongqian’s Cultural Cloth in Beijing, which was made on 1st July 1991. ‘I am a brick of the party, I go wherever it needs me’, ‘Read Chairman Mao’s book, heed Chairman Mao’s words, follow Chairman Mao’s orders’, ‘I’m bothered. Leave me alone’, ‘To go on working for others or to run a small business of my own?’… Having those slogans printed on T-shirts for sale was an act of creativity in those days. At a specific time, in a specific place, and aimed at a specific reality, the humour and provocation in it have yet to be matched. This is the most excellent work in the political pop art of China, which, however, having long been obliterated by capitalised publicity, shames Chinese art criticism. It is this type of criticism and interpretation, made from a dominating position for material pursuits as a result of an institutionalised reconciliation, that we should reflect upon today.

Below are two important yet overlooked historical events:

The first is the 3rd Edition of the Chinese Contemporary Art Document Exhibition held on 4th May 1993 at the East China Normal University in Shanghai, where conceptual art pieces by more than 100 artists were exhibited. Amongst these, a video tape of post-1989 performance art - titled Transformation of Media - was compiled. It included works by more than 30 performance artists such as Zhang Long, Zheng Guogu, Song Dong, Tong Biao, Zhu Fadong, Qiu Zhijie, Cheng Li, Zhuang Hui, and the New History Task Force. These works addressed the end of modernism and criticised the manipulation of the artistic market to signal the loss of self-consciousness and reflect upon the absurdity of collective discourse. They expressed the different ways performance artists concerned themselves with contemporary culture and Chinese society. From its beginnings in the 1990s performance art in Mainland China occupied strongly realistic and critical ground.

The second is the collective art activity in Chengdu at the turn of the century. With Dai Guangyu the principal organiser, a large group of performance artists gathered in Chengdu. In addition to Yu Ji, Luo Zidan, Zhou Bin, Zhu Gang, Liu Chengying, Zeng Xun, Zhang Hua, and Yin Xiaofeng, etc, artists from all over the country such as Wen Shanlin, Song Dong, Qiu Zhijie, Yin Xiuzhen, Cang Xin, Zhang Shengquan arrived. Not only was the Protector of Water art series held several times but some 1,000 pieces of behavioural works by Chinese and foreign artists were also completed. It is precisely because of these long-term and persistent performance art pieces that the cultural concepts of the Chengdu people has changed and at the same time promoted the development of contemporary art in southwest China, whereby many excellent artists dedicated to performance art such as Luo Zidan, Zhoy Bin, Dai Guangyu, He Yunchang, Zhu Fadong, Li Chuan, Li Yong, etc., have emerged. Hence, Chengdu has become a centre of contemporary Chinese art and one of the origins of South Western contemporary art.

Many outstanding pieces of performance art related to Chengdu have been produced such as Dai Guangyu’s The Long Left-Aside Water Indicator, Yin Xiuzhen’s Washing Ice, Zhang Shengquan’s Freeing the Captured, Luo Zidan’s Half White Beard, Half Peasant, Zhou Bin’s Shenzhou 6, Zhu Fadong’s For Sale, He Yunchang’s On the Run, and Xing Xin’s Luggage Check-in. In the form of the pursuit of truth and spiritual interrogation, these pieces have brought to audiences intense and profound sensations, and, with their artistic tendency completely different from the cynicism and disdain of Chinese artistic circles popular at the turn of the century no doubt put the stress on the symphony of contemporary Chinese art.

A few years ago, influenced by exposure to culture from various embassies, there arose in Beijing a surge of performance art, which featured some Hirst-like animal specimens. Its representative works vied to be most cool, ruthless, and cruel: from killing to bloodshed, from flaying to leaving carcasses exposed, abusing animals, consuming dead babies, etc. Anything went as long as it caught the attention. Soon after, this vogue vanished into thin air, and people no longer showed any interest. Attention might have been turned to Imaging Beijing, where image capturing might have been the vogue.

Thanks to its challenging nature, performance art has huge journalistic value. With the manipulation of international cultural capital, it is not surprising that in Chinese art circles there has appeared a tendency to pursue both effect and profit. To genuine performance artists, this is not only a test: on the one hand, we need to carry out international exchanges with a contemporary information background as well as a problem-wary mentality, while on the other hand we need, more so than ever, to seek artistic value in a local linguistic setting and social reality.

As a facet of contemporary art, performance art has its unique importance to China. The occasional, accidental, and one-off nature of performance art renders it the art most resistant to stereotype, commercialisation, and systemisation. At present, contemporary art in China is experiencing a series of difficult situations (e.g.) the bureaucratisation of the system, internationalisation of capital, marketing of media, materalisation of academics, etc. The wild, individual, and time-specific nature of performance art will help artists sharpen their morale and determination, whereby artistic measures holding Chinese experiences and way of thinking in accordance with Chinese wisdom will be created.

The Macau Art Museum has always been dedicated to tracking, arranging and exhibiting the historical achievements of Chinese performance art, and it has already accomplished significant success. This author is strongly in favour of this long-term, resilient academic project.

21st October 2008
At the foot of Peach Blossom Hill,
Sichuan Fine Arts Institute