text by Cheng Nai-Ming
Set-up a time to define the coordinates of both sides of the straits to find what different essence lies in the cultural logic, thus to this work at this stage of my role actually is the most enjoyable thing. On Taipei Soka contemporary space opening, I tried entries of age and correlations. I hope it shows a cultural geographical presence, but not for measuring of the art performance. I hope it shows a generation of artists obtains nutrients from the cultural environment rather than purely historical and cultural canal as a pretext for landing. In this process, I found artistic specification released from four artists filled with unlimited extension of space, and there is no choice of market symbols but clear in style, rich in expression.
At first, I selected two artists from both sides of the strait, considering being different with the customary contemporary space Beijing; yet extending the spirit and character to Taipei. In other words, contemporary Taipei Soka contemporary spaces. I opening should keep continuity of the rules while bring about new look to art, to pave the way for future interaction between Taipei and Beijing Soka contemporary spaces. I firstly lock up the age in birth of after 1975, secondly I hope the work itself in the right place to set up, thirdly I hope this collective sample shows different areas of pop art ideological context. The so-called pop art ideology can be defined by the popular culture, also could compare out the difference in the expression if environmental receiving and reflection capability of the two stages of young artists. Finally, I set the participating list: Li Hui(1977) and Wang Yaqiang(1977) of Mainland, Zeng Yuqin(1978) and Xiao Zhufang(1980) of Taiwan.
In this match, Li Hui and Zeng Yuqin set in a pair; former sculpture installation and latter video art, and coincidently use modern technology as material element, however the spirit and character can still be different. Wang Yaqiang and Xiao Zhufang consist of another match, since both opted for painting as tools but the former easel works with previous life products, toys brochures as medium and addition of modern alienate grammar, not excessive impudent strokes to convey the mood of life. Xiao Zhufang’s painting is fully displayed ideas in the very first burst of firing, this artist still studys at Tainan Institute of Art structure, is not purely base on duplication of reality but samples Taiwan generations of artists influenced by visual images and revealed in their works the ideology transmission. While selecting, I deliberately filtered works that with excessive market symbols, in other words, I try to avoid political pop symbols, or a big round silly laughing face, even not lost bloody animation, instead I do expect to see our young artists shape new style through their own experience.
Zeng Yuqin’s video art obviously keeps his own desirable conceptual language. From another direction, Zeng Yuqin’s works gas some amount of similarities with Li Hui’s that both could be regarded as a liberal installation art performance, only differs in the choice of materials and expression. With video art, Zeng tends not to follow the majority of contemporary art content which is close to societal ideology. Instead, he records and reveals his own personal experience, even with dramatic style and some degrees of visual MV context, of which I personally could well understand. Since young generation in this background widely exposed to video messages, secondly access to computer greatly extended video images. We might not feel these accumulating visual symbols before switch them to personal creativity style that inevitably bring this experience into consideration. However, Zeng Yuqin art has a great part of extremely personal description, like a private novel easy to identify itself to build up mutually recognized psychological style. This in one way could be the special feature different from other video art forms, other ways it would be a hidden drawback if being excessive self-addiction, and surely worm out the appetite of audience.
However, Zeng’s art indeed endowed with a strong sense of personal style that his works, rarely found in Taiwan video art collection in terms of color, temperature, atmosphere, composition in particular that he is not randomly holding a simple DV. For example, “the part not stated” led us into a pedophile and homosexual atmosphere, but actually not the same subject since in the whole works, Zeng involved the detailed scenario to deep the dramatic tension in consistency. Moreover, he paints with plant green, saturated, thick, ambiguous, impermeable overwhelming. Entering language in work is one of Zeng’s artistic qualities.
He is good at setting up novel scenarios through conjunction of pictures to lead the audience into his” designed story” and this creation beyond traditional video expression that formed the basic prototype. Zeng’s art not only stay with unconscious patterns of visual signal, he bought up constantly various personal memorial footage which however not necessarily individual-based, but a process continued by his guidance. Art; turned into a common experience at this moment.
Xiao Zhufang’s paintings more inclined to freestyle, are not focused on deep analysis of cultural life, since excessive mental issues could not turn in to energy for her creativity but more of material inapplicable.
For art generation after 1980’s, essence of life is a consumable open space filled with much meaningful or meaningless behavior, rapid and extremely addicted to visual reading. This younger generation with their own values, their views to nature, is hardly measurable to old value system. Xie Suzhen who has served as director of Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art has a more tangible opinion.
Neo-generation artists naturally lay down their footsteps on data consumption, capitalism, not lonely creation, to release art in design, to feel concrete life experience, to promote betrayal language, petty bourgeoisie humor, sub-cultures—these high security youth culture with a sense of spiritual carnival favored by the commercial mechanism and world ever.
That is to say, art in the ways of this generation has their own set of value system, and avoids being over strict academic rules in artistic language to express in a more independent space. The most important thing is this generation of creators extremely concerned about partner relationship and recognition more than opinions of older generation. However the right & wrong of this value could not be identified with dichotomy—this is after all, the environment cultural issues rather than historical cultural issues.
Xiao Zhufang paints in a graffiti but more precise manner. She thought with her own language rather than draw from the existing Animamix subjects then further evolution. Her creation demonstrated in a rush, in this case, it maybe well classify to automatic style but I am more tend to believe this option is reflected in her living environment. Give it a thought, the youth generation naturally accept visual signals like their father generation accustomed with literally reading. But the two have developed in vastly different ways that image signals in a very automatic linear way without literal explanation.
Reading, often need a lot of words to spell out to be able to clarify, thus Xiao’s work full of precision writing, emotional rhythm, a self-demanding context. This kind of works often communicate efficient with a generation, since brief images established upon extreme beauty in the characterization and art itself as a natural visual consumption has become easy rhythm of life. The reason why I emphasize rhythm is because traditional performance tends more quiet, and spiritual communication. Art nowadays has already set-up visual rhythm; the rhythm is not referring to the voice from internal resonance and also a reflection on common values of peer generation. Today, retrospect over 70s art performance, the key reason caused cognitive gap lies in different rhythm patterns. Slowly sipping tea generation may hardly understand that excitement from computer game. I personally appreciate very much Xiao’s style and confidence in creating images. In fact, Taiwan contemporary artists long living under the open free environment formed a unique model of thinking. Thought tradition is not necessarily meaningless, what they really expect is to establish their own value of reading experience not just an acceptation of existing concept.
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