High Life

24 品 就 在中国当代艺术的领军人物徐 冰的澳门个人展开幕前一个 月，他的代表作之一《一个转换案例 的研究》在纽约古根海姆博物馆遭遇 撤展风波。作为美国年度最大规模的 中国当代艺术展《1989年之后的艺 术与中国》当中的重要展品，《一个 转换案例的研究》和其他两件与动物 相关的作品遭到动物权益支持者的持 续施压，迫使主办方决定撤下这三件 展品。然而馆方这一行为又招致艺术 界的强烈批评，认为这一决定是对艺 术自由的重创。 《一个转换案例的研究》1994 年的最初版本里有一公一母两头活 猪，它们在北京的一个早期非正式艺 术空间里当着观众的面交配，猪背上 J ust one month before the leading Chinese contemporary artist Xu Bing’s first Macau solo exhibition opened, one of his masterpieces, A Case Study ofTransference , was pulled byGuggenheimMuseumfromahighly anticipated exhibition in New York. The museum made the decision after coming under unrelenting pressure from animal rights supporters and critics over three works involving animals, including Xu’s piece in the exhibition Art and China after 1989 . But for many artists, the museum’s decision is a major blow to artistic freedom and has resulted in strong criticism from the artworld. The original version of A Case Study of Transference from 1994 澳门艺术博物馆现正展出《徐冰的文字》，这是享誉国际的当代 艺术家徐冰近年来在海外举办过的最大规模的个人展。 TheMacaoMuseumofArt is currentlypresenting the exhibition Language & the Art of Xu Bing – the largest solo exhibition ever held overseas by this internationally renowned artist. 印着用罗马字母和他发明的天书文 字。有意思的是，人们之前担心的猪 会“怯场”的问题并没有发生，结果 恰恰相反，它们“做爱”的尽兴与旁 若无人，将观众置身于一种尴尬的境 地中。这件作品突出反省了被“文明” 烙印过的人类面对原生态的尴尬与局 限性。 现身澳门时，身处风口浪尖的徐 冰本人对这件事的态度倒是颇为淡 定，或许是因为这已经不是第一次他 的作品受此对待。1988年徐冰在中 国美术馆展出其最著名的作品《天 书》时，即饱受当时官方媒体的广泛 批判。但这部作品随后多次在海外展 出，并令徐冰在二十世纪九十年代迅 速在国际艺术界崛起。 featured two pigs – a boar and a sow – having sex in front of audiences at one of the early informal art spaces in Beijing. The backs of the pigs were stamped with gibberish composed from the Roman alphabet and Xu’s invented Chinese characters, but most notably the work revealed an unexpected dynamic between the spectators and the spectacle. Despite concerns prior that the pigs might have “stage fright”, the result was the exact opposite with the pigs completely unfazed and the audience instead finding itself in an awkward position. The work highlighted the embarrassment and limitations that humans feel when faced with raw nature.