展覽海報
展覽名稱：《紅色機器·昨天今天》
藝術家：周向林
策展人：杜曦雲
主辦單位：橋藝術空間
開幕時間：2023年03月04日 下午3:00
展覽時間：2023年03月04日-2023年3月27日
展覽地點：北京朝陽區酒仙橋路4號798藝術區D09-1
心理投射物理：周向林畫中的機器
文/杜曦雲
柏拉圖認為世界分為現象世界和理念世界，前者為“可見世界”，後者為“可知世界”。可見世界裏，外科大夫無論做多少例開顱手術，都看不到“思想”。但另一方面，萬事萬物都有其特徵、屬性、秩序等，尤其是形形色色的人造物，方方面面體現著製造者們的“理念”，更容易被他人發現和理解。
視覺藝術家的職業使然，周向林更偏重事物的“視覺”方面，從“藝術”的角度感受和想像其中之“理念”，用視覺方式表達出來。於是，他的作品乍看是科學氣質的，細看是藝術氣質的；乍看是在表達物理，細看是在表達心理；乍看是側重於實用層面，細看是側重於象徵層面。冷靜的思辨和熾熱的情緒，融匯于照相寫實般的繪畫手法中，撐開了藝術作品的魅力空間，供人駐足回味。
《紅色機器·昨天今天》No.1 綜合材料 85x120cm 2022年
越逼真的繪畫，越是幻術：亦真亦幻、忽真忽幻。手藝嫺熟卻不動聲色的周向林，如同冷面魔術師般在二維平面上調動物料、施展手段，把握尺度，誘導觀者進入他的視覺力場中。藝術人終生在形式和內容（或曰美學和觀念、能指和所指……）的關係中糾纏不休：孰先孰後、孰為本體……但從觀看習慣來回想，觀者往往是先被形式吸引，然後才可能反覆品咂被形式化的內容。
越是了解以往歷史和現代文明的人，可能越會有感於周向林作品所牽動的史料和觀念。但藝術有其自身規律和尊嚴，並非歷史學、社會學的圖解，尤其是經過“為藝術而藝術”的現代主義階段後。周向林是視覺藝術家，是出生於1955年的中國大陸人，視覺藝術獨有的能量和他本人具體而微的生命體驗，才是驅動他創造這些作品、感動觀者駐足停留的主因。
《紅色機器·昨天今天》No.8 綜合材料 85x120cm 2022年
細膩逼真地寫生“東方紅”號拖拉機時，剝離了背景的對象被標本化，保留了歷經滄海桑田的各種痕跡，供人在當下和過去之間穿行。解放CA10、東風金龍、北京BJ212、上海SH760、紅旗CA770……這些具有實用功能的汽車，在特定的時段和情境中，曾被賦予了相當重要的文化價值。當藝術家把它們的模型（比原車縮小了多倍）在畫布上放大到原車尺度，用照相寫實手法重現時，三維的原車、縮小的模型、放大的二維圖像之間，透疊出豐富的意味來，視覺刺激作為起點，啟動觀者的人生經歷和知識儲備。何況，周向林的畫面中，這些模型身披密集的光斑，散發炫目的夢幻氣息，超出物理的心理意味更加深長了。
人是文化動物，文化是“意義”的生産系統和操縱系統。文化環境中的物遠不止是物本身，而是或多或少具有文化意蘊。甚至，很多物的價值完全是被文化賦予的。在特定社會的文化、歷史語境與意義、觀念體系中，憑藉隱喻與聯想的方式，特定的物與人所欲求的豐富“意義”可以聯結起來。而且，不管出於有意還是無意，對單個物的價值賦予，必然同時推廣著它所攜帶的整個文化共同體的價值體系。身處特定情境中的個體，對此往往渾然不覺，以為屬於文化範疇的價值是物的自然屬性。直到時過境遷有所對比時，才恍然察覺。
《紅色機器·之一》 布面油畫 195x195cm 1993年
天生稟賦、人生經歷和知識結構使然，周向林傾向於解析物的文化價值，進而推測其所歸屬的價值體系。《紅色機器》、《模型》、《基因工程》等系列作品，聚焦于各種機械。這些機械看似客觀中立、普適通用，但科學技術從來都貫徹著人性，機械是實用功能、美學趣味和被賦予的文化價值的綜合體。周向林嚴謹細緻的繪畫，時而如同機械製圖，散發著冷峻的科學氣息，但打動人的卻是美學魅力——美學化的情緒和觀念。
這種奇特的效果，源於他對各種因素的微妙處理。經過他的處理後，很多方面被調換，無情之物有情了，實用之處變成象徵之處，科學功能轉為美學功能。這種調換，在科學角度是不合理的，但在藝術角度合乎情理，是心理投射于物理後生長出來的美學效應。這在《基因工程》和《紅色機器·昨天今天》中體現得更為明顯。
《基因工程•Ⅱ》 布面油畫 180x410cm 2019年
今天的我們，已經身在2023年，見多識廣的周向林為何仍然專注于“紅色機器”？“你不知道那是新的。你不知道那是‘什麼東西’。它要等到差不多十年後才會成為新的，因為那時候它才顯得新。”（《安迪·沃霍爾的哲學》）享年59歲的“波普教皇”的“波普啟示錄”，激發青春的生命對全新未知的期待。“已有的事後必再有；已行的事後必再行。日光之下並無新事。豈有一件事人能指著説這是新的？哪知，在我們以前的世代早已有了。”(《聖經·傳道書》) 從人類文明軸心時代流傳至今的古老話語，告誡我們人心和世道從來沒有變過。
經歷了成千上萬個昨天后走在今天的人，細思刻骨銘心的人生經歷時，不難體會到變和不變。有所體會後觀看周向林的繪畫，缺乏體會時觀看周向林的繪畫，會有不同的反應。藝術作品是感官魅力托底的個人表達，對藝術作品的感受是開放的，這是觀者的自由。
2023年2月16日于北京
Psychological Projection of Physics: The Machines in Zhou Xianglin's Paintings
By Du Xiyun
According to Plato, the world is divided into the world of appearances and the world of ideas, the former being the "visible world" and the latter being the "intelligible world". In the visible world, no matter how many brain surgeries a surgeon performs, they cannot see "thoughts". However, on the other hand, everything has its characteristics, attributes, and order, especially the various artificial objects, which reflect the "ideas" of their creators and are more easily discovered and understood by others.
As a visual artist, Zhou Xianglin focuses more on the "visual" aspect of things, feeling and imagining the "ideas" behind them from an artistic perspective, and expressing them in a visual way. Therefore, his works, at first glance, have a scientific quality, but upon closer examination, have an artistic quality; at first glance, they focus on physics, but upon closer inspection, they express psychology; at first glance, they focus on practical aspects, but upon closer inspection, they focus on symbolic aspects. The calm contemplation and intense emotions are integrated into the photographic realism of his painting techniques, creating a fascinating space for viewers to pause and reflect.
紅色機器·昨天今天》No.14 Red Machine·Yesterday Today No.14 綜合材料 Mixed media 85x120cm 2022年
The more realistic the painting, the more illusory it is—both real and illusory, sometimes real and sometimes illusory. With his skilled technique, Zhou Xianglin, like a cold and composed magician, manipulates materials and employs his methods on two-dimensional surfaces, manipulating scale and inducing viewers into his visual force field. Artists are always entangled in the relationship between form and content (or aesthetics and ideas, signifiers and signifieds, etc.); contemplating which is more important, which is the essence… But in terms of viewing habits, viewers are often first attracted by form, and then repeatedly examine the formalized content.
The more one understands the history and modern civilization, the more one may be moved by the historical and conceptual implications of Zhou Xianglin's work. However, art has its own laws and dignity, and is not a diagram of history or sociology, especially after the modernist manifesto of "art for art's sake". The unique energy of visual art and Zhou Xianglin’s specific and detailed life experience—being a visual artist, a mainland Chinese born in 1955—are the main reasons that drive him to create these works and move viewers to pause and reflect.
《紅色機器·昨天今天》No.20 Red Machine·Yesterday Today No.20 綜合材料 Mixed media 85x120cm 2022年
When he meticulously and realistically draws the "Dongfanghong tractor", the object, stripped of its background, is objectified and retains all the traces it has undergone over the years, allowing people to travel between the present and the past. The Liberation CA10, Dongfeng Golden Dragon, Beijing BJ212, Shanghai SH760, Hongqi CA770... these practical cars were given significant cultural value in specific times and circumstances. When the artist enlarges their models (which are reduced several times from the original size) to the scale of the original car on the canvas and reproduces them with photographic realism, rich meanings are layered between the three-dimensional original car, the reduced model, and the enlarged two-dimensional image. Starting with visual stimulation, they trigger viewers' life experiences and knowledge reserves. Moreover, in Zhou Xianglin's paintings, these models are adorned with dense spots of light, emitting a dazzling dreamlike aura, which carries deeper psychological meanings beyond physics.
Humans are cultural creatures, and culture is a system for the production and manipulation of "meaning". The objects in a cultural context are not just objects themselves, but often contain varying degrees of cultural significance. In fact, the value of many objects is entirely bestowed by culture. Within the specific cultural, historical, and conceptual framework of a society, individuals can connect specific objects with the rich "meaning" they desire through metaphor and association. Furthermore, whether intentionally or not, assigning value to an individual object inevitably promotes the value system of the entire cultural community it carries. Individuals within a specific context often take this for granted, believing that the value assigned to an object is its natural attribute. It is not until they experience a contrast that they realize the truth.
《模型·1/20×20·東風金龍》 Model·1/20×20·Dongfeng Golden Dragon 布面油畫 Oil on canvas 200×200cm 2010年
Due to inherent talent, life experience, and knowledge structure, Zhou Xianglin tends to analyze the cultural value of objects and speculate on the value system they belong to. His series of works, such as The Red Machine, Model, and Genetic Engineering, focus on various machines. These machines appear to be objective, neutral, and universally applicable, but scientific and technological development is always imbued with humanity, and machines are a synthesis of practical function, aesthetic interest, and bestowed cultural value. Zhou Xianglin's rigorous and meticulous paintings sometimes resemble mechanical drawings, exuding a cool scientific atmosphere, but what touches people is the aesthetic charm—the emotional and conceptual aestheticization.
This unique effect is due to his subtle handling of various factors. After his handling, many aspects are swapped, the heartless object becomes emotional, the practical use becomes symbolic, and the scientific function becomes an aesthetic function. This kind of swap is unreasonable from a scientific perspective, but reasonable from an artistic perspective. It is an aesthetic effect that grows out of psychological projection onto physics. This is more evident in Genetic Engineering and Red Machine · Yesterday Today.
《紅色機器·昨天今天》No.12 Red Machine·Yesterday Today No.12 綜合材料 Mixed media 85x120cm 2022年
Today, in 2023, why does Zhou Xianglin, who is knowledgeable and experienced, still focus on "The Red Machine"? "You don’t know it’s new. You don’t know what it is. It doesn’t become new until about ten years later, because then it looks new (The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, 1975)." The "Pope of Pop" who passed away at the age of 59 in his "Pop Revelation (or From A to B & Back Again)" inspired young people's expectations for the unknown. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" (The Bible Ecclesiastes 1:9). This ancient saying passed down from the axial age of human civilization to the present day reminds us that human nature and society have never changed.
After experiencing thousands of yesterdays and walking in today, people who have deeply felt life experiences can easily understand the change and the unchanged. When watching Zhou Xianglin's paintings with such life reflections, they will have a different reaction than those who lack such experiences. Artworks are personal expressions based on sensory appeal, and the feelings of viewers towards art are open—this is the freedom of the audience.
Feb. 16, 2023, Beijing
周向林
周向林
畢業于湖北藝術學院（現湖北美術學院），中央美術學院
法國布爾日國立美術學院訪問學者
湖北美術學院教授，原副院長
Graduated from Hubei University of Arts
(now Hubei Institute of Fine Arts)
and Central Academy of Fine Arts .
Visiting scholar of National Academy of
Fine Arts, Bourges, France.
Professor of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts,
former Vice president.
