Intellectuals in Yang Fudong's Works

As an image artist, Yang Fudong is probably the busiest artist in the international art world. According to the information on the website of Na Xiang Gallery, he has held 28 solo exhibitions around the world since 2003, and participated in many group exhibitions every year, reaching 28 at the peak in 2003 and 2004. Art critics at home and abroad invariably regard his video works as a spiritual portrayal of young intellectuals in China in the new century. However, in Na Xiang Gallery's solo exhibition Dongque Village in September, 20 13, Yang Fudong unexpectedly aimed the camera at wild dogs in rural areas of Hebei, showing the artist's brand-new creative trend. Castle realized his dream of video art.

"Later, most of my opportunities were brought out by the exhibition. The exhibition brought me a platform and improved my confidence. "

In an interview with reporters, Yang Fudong admitted that he was the curator of the 1 1 Kassel Literature Exhibition in 2002, and realized his dream of video art. His first film "Strange Paradise" shot in 1997 stopped because of lack of money, so he had to work as an art designer in a French company that played games in Shanghai. After seeing the silent version of the work, the curator decided to let him participate in the exhibition, so that the work could be completed in 2002. The following year, he participated in the 50th Venice Biennale, and began his shuttle performance at international art exhibitions.

Yang Fudong, a Beijinger, studied in the Oil Painting Department of China Academy of Fine Arts and made his mark at the Youth Art Exhibition held in Shanghai in 1990s. But his dream is to make movies. After Yang Fudong arrived in Shanghai, he organized a series of famous exhibitions in Shanghai from 1999 to 2000 with artists of the same age, such as Yang and Xu Zhen. Among them, in exhibitions such as "supermarket" and "expiration date", he tried to display images on multiple TVs at the same time. In his view, from the oil painting painted at the beginning to the photos taken later, there is only one frame of the film, and the image is in the same strain as painting and photography; As for the multi-screen works starting from Broken Bridge Without Snow, it further broadens his artistic expression space.

Pursuing the effect of "eye movement and heartbeat"

"These two works are an attempt to go hand in hand:" Broken Bridge Without Snow "is a feeling of horizontal expansion, and" Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest "is a depth direction, just like a forest path."

From 2003 to 2007, Yang Fudong filmed Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest. He recalled: "I remember worshipping the Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest at school, and what they did was enviable. I shot the modern version of the seven sages, seven young intellectuals, and the future direction of an unknown youth group. Many states in the film are uncertain and cannot be defined. It's really a bit utopian. " This work is divided into five independent parts. He made a film every year and didn't finish it until the end of last year. After that, I shot 8 screens of "Broken Bridge without Snow" which was played at the same time. He pointed out that this work does not set a special plot, but has characters, environments and people's behaviors. You can choose only one screen to watch alone, or you can choose eight screens to watch together. He said: "I hope it looks like an audience plus a director: let the audience tell their own stories and write their own articles." I don't think this is a disorderly state. " A little poetic improvisation. "Multi-screen playback, in Yang Fudong's view, has a special viewing effect, that is, the eyes will have a sense of stagnation when watching the screen, the so-called" eye movement ". "This effect is his deliberate pursuit.

He said that at that time, I felt that artists were making works too fast, the development speed of the contemporary art market and the consumption speed of artists' works were too fast, so I wondered if I could do something without worrying about making works, and spend my whole life doing something, dare to spend this time. He said: "When I filmed the Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest, there was no script, only a big outline. Different life experiences every year will lead to different directions of this film, so I don't know what the final product will be like. However, I am still very interested in this point, so I will look forward to it sometime every year. "

Life still has to face the real society.

"When filming Seven Sages, the most talked about is Utopia, like shooting in mid-air. Quecun East is a bit like imitating a documentary, like something made on the ground."

"Quecun Eastbound" was filmed by Yang Fudong in his hometown in early 2007. In his words, "it can be said that it is a very cold utopia with a kind of cruelty in reality." This work is related to Yang Fudong's childhood feelings. He said: "When I was a child, I felt that the winter in the north was particularly cold and the snow was particularly thick. There were always horizontal dogs in the village." He also revealed that he plans to shoot a movie in his hometown, which may be called Xianghe, with larger capacity, slightly heavier taste and darkness.

Similar works include Green Kirin, which he shot in Shandong, and Qingshi Sculpture Factory in Shandong. Those workers made many stone lions, Kirin, Chinese watches and so on. Although they are visually shocking, it is hard to say that they are artistic. He said: "It was made as a cheap commodity, and the traditional craft was almost lost. It's too extravagant to talk about art in the local area. They are purely for their livelihood. Many places in China are actually very realistic in terms of living conditions and consumption. " He admits that the living condition of that kind of person is a cruel scenery, which makes people really feel something, and there will be a strange and inappropriate feeling: you are a bystander watching the scenery, and you are fighting in your heart. He said that after making these two films, he felt that he had to face the real society and could not think like a scholar in a book.

There is a sense of vicissitudes in Kan Kan's talk. Yang Fudong concluded: Over the past decade or so, I have photographed a lot of "grand little themes", and the way of looking at things has changed as I get older. The first work "Strange Paradise" is a more realistic film, and the final argument is that you should adapt to life, not life for you. He admits that this is a bit pessimistic. Next, he may follow the original clue and continue to shoot his hometown. It is neither an absolutely true record nor a false utopia, and there may be a way to reconcile it. He said: "Many artists turn a blind eye to many things in life and are easy to ignore. In fact, art and social life should not be this kind of dialogue, just like the strange contrast of elite culture. "

There are still many uncertainties, but what is certain is that Yang Fudong will walk out of the "utopia" of intellectuals in his new works.

(Source: shanghai securities news Author: Qiu Jiahe Qian)