北宁公园 / BeiNing Park
A座 / Pavilion A
1楼/1 Floor
策展人 / Curator
邓国源 / Deng Guoyuan
伊甸园的时候，一切都甚美好。之后的历 史却又重新开始于一片废墟，关于废墟的 感怀和重生就此成为艺术历史中的重要内 容。因为人类根本的有限性，每一次重建都 再次归于废墟。也因为人类的可拯救性，每 一次废墟都起死回生。邓国源近年的一系 列水墨和装置作品，愈加明确了这一认知。 邓国源的水墨围绕一个主题“在花园”，园 林在艺术史中是一个长久不衰的话题，仿 佛浓缩了整个世界以及对过往的缅怀。皇 家园林古已有之，普天之下莫非王土，园林 之中宫苑仙山，尽显皇家富贵。文人画兴起 之后，逐渐出现了与文人山水相应的造园风 尚，以明清苏州园林为代表。明清文人园林 身处文人画复兴之际，社会生活日益商业 化，园林寄予着文人艺术生活化的理想，成 为逍遥山水画的镜像再造和观念形态。那 也意味着园林是为杜尚意义上的山水观念 的现成品，山水画与造园构成文人士大夫 艺术创作中的一组互文关系。而今这种互 文性又出现在邓国源的“在花园”，传统山 水画已历经古今之变成为了现代水墨，苏州 园林则是其中的中保。传统水墨变为现代水墨，表面上是笔墨— 形式之变，实则是天人合一世界观—现代性 世界观之变。曾为传统山水镜像的苏州园 林，而今成为了现代水墨的反思对象。反思 并非反对，现代水墨最应反思的恰是现代 性本身，即工具理性对人性的压制。继而传 统的天人合一观念也并不能成为当然的反 思结果，因为古今之变已不可回避，况且传 统之中所谓天已被矮化为自然。由此经过 传统和现代性反思的天人合一，既强调人 的主体性，又追问自由天赋的本原。惟其如 此，水墨能贯通古今。苏州园林指向文化本 源，伊甸园则指向世界本原，邓国源“在花 园”的现代水墨同时意蕴了回望历史的两 层追问，直至终极存在。 由此产生了邓国源的《诺亚花园》新媒体 艺术装置。诺亚的意义在于，在大洪水来 临的时候拯救人类。花园则意味着拯救人 类回到伊甸园的艺术想象。大洪水在后来 的历史中更像是一个隐喻性的危机符号， 时时警示着失忆自负的人类。邓国源更在 这一系列的创作中形成了清晰的主题和方 法论，直接面对有待救赎的现代世界的废 墟现场。 现代世界最大的景观是城市化的加速，而 其中有无数钢铁蠕虫疾驰狂奔，或拥挤堵 塞。每天有成千上万辆汽车加入，也有相当 数量的汽车报废，成为废墟。景观社会的 表象是消费社会，本质则是废墟社会。艺术 之为艺术，在于自由创造，更在于化腐朽为 神奇，使浪子回头，成为美好。在邓国源的 手下，汽车废墟居然鬼斧神工化身为通灵剔 透的太湖石，“皱、漏、瘦、透”，姿态万千， 宛若天成。各种颜色又喷于石面，或沉静冷 艳，或肆意怒放，若石头花开。 石头怎么可能开花?唯有超自然的力量使 然，并以艺术的方式可以表达。花园之中原 本都是美好，之后却有背叛和杀戮，直至世 界成为废墟。若没有复活与重生，一切都是 枉然。所以石头可以开花，一定开花。从终 点回到起点，重新在花园。邓国源的信心从 未失去，花园是他不变的归宿。 整个世界都应相信，废墟重生，石头花开。
Everything was beautiful back in days of Eden. Afterwards, the history began in ruins, and the feelings and rebirth of the ruins became an important part of the history of art. Because of the fundamental limitation of humanity, every rebuilding once comes again to ruins. Because of the salvation of mankind, every time the ruins are brought back to life. Deng Guoyuan’s recent series of ink paintings and installations have made this recognition clearer.
Deng Guoyuan’s ink wash paintings (shui mo hua) is surrounded with the theme “in the garden.” Gardens are a long-lasting topic in the history of art, as if they have condensed the whole world and remembered the past. The ancient gardens have existed in the ancient times, and it was the royal lands in the all-encompassing world. After the rise of literati paintings, the gardening style corresponding to the literati landscape gradually emerged, represented by the Ming and Qing dynasty gardens in Suzhou. With the revival of literati paintings in Ming and Qing dynasty literati landscapes, social
life has become more and more commercialized, and gardens have been cherished with the ideals of the literati’s artistic life, which has become the image reconstruction and concept form of the lyrical paintings. It also means that the garden is a ready-made product of the concept of landscape in the sense of Duchamp, and landscape painting and gardening constitute a set of inter-textual relations in the artistic creation of the literati.
Nowadays, this kind of inter-textuality reappears in Deng Guoyuan’s “In the Garden”. Traditional landscape paintings have been transformed into ancient ink paintings through ancient and modern times. Suzhou gardens are among them the mediators.
Traditional ink and wash became modern ink washing painting. On the surface, it was the change
of brush and ink — change of form. In fact, it was the combination of heaven and human worldview — the modern worldview. Suzhou gardens, once mirrored by traditional landscapes, have now become the object of reflection of modern ink and wash painting. Reflection is not objection. It is the modernity itself that reflects the suppression of human nature by instrumental rationality. Then the traditional concept of harmony between man and nature cannot be a natural result of reflection, because the changes between ancient and modern times cannot be avoided. Moreover, the so- called heavens in tradition have been dwarfed as nature. From this perspective, the combination of tradition
and modernity rethinks the relationship between man and nature, emphasizing the subjectivity of people and asking the origin of the gift of freedom. Only in this way, ink and wash can connect ancient and modern. Suzhou Garden points to the origin of culture, while Eden refers to the world. Deng Guoyuan’s “In the Garden” modern ink painting also implies two layers of questioning and looking back to history, until the ultimate existence.
This resulted in Deng Guoyuan’s “Noah Garden” new media art installation. The significance of Noah is to save mankind when the great flood arrives. The garden means saving the human imagination of returning to the Garden of Eden. In the later history, the Great Flood was more like a symbol of metaphorical crisis. It constantly warns people who are amnestic and conceited. Deng Guoyuan has formed a clear theme and methodology in this series of creations, directly facing the ruins of the modern world to be redeemed.
The biggest landscape in the modern world is the acceleration of urbanization. There are countless steel worms galloping or jamming. Thousands of cars join in every day, and a considerable number of cars are scrapped and become ruins. The appearance of landscape society is a consumer society, and the essence is a ruin society. Art is art for it is created
by freedom. It is even more magical, and it makes the playboy become good again. In the hands of Deng Guoyuan, the ruins of the car actually transformed itself into a psychic and translucent Taihu Lake stone, “wrinkled, leaky, thin, and transparent” and its posture was like nature. Various colors are sprayed on the stone surface, or calm and cold, or arrogant, if the stones bloom.
How can a stone bloom? Only by the power of the supernatural, it can be expressed in an artistic way. The garden was originally beautiful, but there was betrayal and killing until the world became a ruin. Without resurrection and rebirth, everything is lost. Therefore, stones can bloom and they must bloom. Return to the starting point from the end and return to the garden. Deng Guoyuan’s confidence has never lost, and the garden is his constant home.
The whole world should believe that the ruins can reborn and the stones can bloom.
