易　英

 

一個(gè)藝術(shù)家畫了某些私密性的題材，如果這些作品在公共場合展出，就會(huì)引起一些爭議，最多的指責(zé)是不雅觀或不道德。這些指責(zé)似乎是為公眾代言，實(shí)則是出自自身內(nèi)心的某種恐懼。藝術(shù)中有很多不能言說的東西，言說出來就成了表征。鄧箭今的畫可以是一種表征，他言說了不能言說的東西。不能言說包括兩個(gè)方面，一個(gè)是不便言說，由于某種顧忌或禁忌，說出來怕別人接受不了，也可能觸犯“道德底線”，受到衛(wèi)道士們的詰難。另一個(gè)不能言說是自己沒有意識(shí)到的東西，說出來了自己還不知道。事實(shí)上，這兩種不能言說都存在于鄧箭今的藝術(shù)中。

在鄧箭今的早期作品中，經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)他自己的形象，這個(gè)壓抑的漂泊的形象與超現(xiàn)實(shí)的空間結(jié)合在一起，是他的精神世界的真實(shí)寫照。鄧箭今沒有受過專門的油畫訓(xùn)練，這使得他在創(chuàng)作上有某種程度的自由。自由也意味著某種程度的真實(shí)，他不會(huì)去想怎么符合某些教條與規(guī)則，而是以真實(shí)和自由獲得打動(dòng)人的力量。在那時(shí)的畫中，他塑造了一個(gè)被壓抑的形象，痛苦的表情、扭曲的身體、荒誕的透視和虛幻的空間，這個(gè)形象雖然來自他本人，但更多地是個(gè)人內(nèi)心的發(fā)掘。那個(gè)形象在緊張地向外注視，也就是有一個(gè)同樣注視著他的他者，那是一個(gè)使他恐懼的他者，是在他的生命歷程中壓制和困擾著他的他者。在有些作品中，還會(huì)出現(xiàn)

都市的背景，這其實(shí)是很重要的暗示，都市作為他的生存環(huán)境，對(duì)他的精神狀況有著決定性的影響。那個(gè)時(shí)候，正是90年代初期，中國社會(huì)正在發(fā)生重大的變化，都市化進(jìn)程隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)的快速發(fā)展對(duì)人的生活產(chǎn)生影響，新生代的藝術(shù)家對(duì)這種變化也做出了深刻的反映。不過，新生代藝術(shù)家主要是用現(xiàn)實(shí)主義手法如實(shí)地記錄現(xiàn)實(shí)，鄧箭今則是注重心理的描寫和表現(xiàn)。按照現(xiàn)代主義的傳統(tǒng)分類，鄧箭今應(yīng)該是超現(xiàn)實(shí)主義的類型。超現(xiàn)實(shí)主義意味著主體的自我審視，客體通過主體的精神性暗示出來。在鄧箭今的早期作品中，其精神性并不完全體現(xiàn)在超現(xiàn)實(shí)的形式，主體的意志是客體反映的鏡像，那種痛苦與緊張，性的壓抑與愛的向往，一切客體造成的結(jié)果，都是通過自我的形象表現(xiàn)出來。這個(gè)特點(diǎn)，使鄧箭今一開始就在新生代獨(dú)樹一幟。另一方面，這種狀況的形成與他不按規(guī)矩出牌很有關(guān)系。無論從哪個(gè)角度來看，鄧箭今的油畫都談不上正統(tǒng)，從陶藝轉(zhuǎn)向油畫是出于內(nèi)在的需要，這種需要被他對(duì)油畫的偏愛所掩蓋。在他的畫中，看不到任何規(guī)范的油畫語言，而內(nèi)心述說的沖動(dòng)總是在這種不規(guī)范中涌現(xiàn)出來，形成他獨(dú)特的表現(xiàn)形式。我們很難把他歸類到寫實(shí)的、表現(xiàn)的，甚至是超現(xiàn)實(shí)的；那種無深度的虛無的空間，無體積的平面化的形象，似乎都不需要過多的油畫技巧，而且沒有技巧的包袱，更適合于他的自由的表達(dá)。在談到自己的創(chuàng)作時(shí)，鄧箭今談得多的是形式。他的形式包括兩個(gè)方面，一個(gè)是形式的獨(dú)創(chuàng)性，他在骨子里是瞧不起那套學(xué)院派的油畫規(guī)則，那種無生命無精神性的油畫語言只是屬于歷史，無法表現(xiàn)今天的生活，今天的需要新的表達(dá)方式。其二是形式作為個(gè)人的表達(dá)，在當(dāng)代的生活與現(xiàn)實(shí)中，個(gè)人遭遇的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，他的觀察與體驗(yàn)，他的情境與思考，都以他自己的方式表達(dá)出來。這樣也涉及到了題材。本來在他的作品中題材是不重要的，自我的形象加上形式的處理，就是他的題材。不過，那個(gè)焦慮的自我在某種意義上也是脫離了主體的客體（題材），即客體的人格化。主體被一分為二，一個(gè)是審視著客體的主體，一個(gè)是被客體鏡像和被另一主體審視的主體。因此，鄧箭今的作品從來不是自我表現(xiàn)的，客體總是存在著，但是以他自己的方式存在的，這樣也形成他獨(dú)特的形式。

在哲學(xué)意義上說，主體的分裂往往是思想與身體的分裂，主體作為能思的實(shí)體觀照無思想的生命。不受思想支配的生命就是欲望的身體，被思想所鄙視。2000年前后，鄧箭今的作品掀開了客體的面紗，自我隱退，那個(gè)鏡像自我的客體浮現(xiàn)出來。在這一批作品中，自我的形象沒有了，超現(xiàn)實(shí)的虛無空間也沒有了，代之以景觀的或客體的形象，但這種形象是隱喻與象征的，而非特定的人物形象。90年代波普化的大潮終于對(duì)鄧箭今產(chǎn)生了影響，晦澀的顏色被明亮鮮艷的顏色所代替，這種顏色不是自然的顏色，更不是傳統(tǒng)油畫所追求的色調(diào)，它來自于當(dāng)代生活的空間，亦即圖像與景觀的視覺空間。但是，這種新的形式在鄧箭今那兒應(yīng)該不是直接來自他的視覺經(jīng)驗(yàn)，而是藝術(shù)潮流的影響。也就是說，90年代風(fēng)行的波普畫風(fēng)的影響。從90年代初開始，中國經(jīng)濟(jì)的迅速發(fā)展，市場經(jīng)濟(jì)取代計(jì)劃經(jīng)濟(jì)，社會(huì)生活發(fā)生深刻變化，權(quán)力與金錢、暴富與赤貧、欲望與現(xiàn)實(shí)所導(dǎo)致的各種現(xiàn)象充斥于生活。鄧箭今開始關(guān)注這些現(xiàn)象，并想探索造成這些現(xiàn)象的原因。這個(gè)時(shí)期的作品是《有關(guān)目擊者的夢境記錄系列》（1998-2001）。大多數(shù)新生代畫家都走向了純粹客體的表現(xiàn)，從語言形態(tài)到客觀場景，在商業(yè)化的驅(qū)使下，這些表現(xiàn)又很快演變?yōu)榉?hào)化的模式。鄧箭今注意到了這種變化，他從幽暗的心理空間出來，自我被置于公共的象征性空間，但這個(gè)象征性的客體只是自我的存在條件，自我被挪出歷史的境遇，從現(xiàn)代轉(zhuǎn)變到后現(xiàn)代，但還有一半留存在歷史。這是什么意思，可以通過畫面來解讀。《夢境記錄系列》的畫面主要有兩個(gè)部分，即兩個(gè)沒有面目的人物，男人和女人，男人西裝革履，女人幾近裸體。兩個(gè)人物都握有一支手槍，或相互對(duì)峙，或相互親熱。兩個(gè)人物都近似夢中的景象，弄不清真實(shí)的身份，行為也十分怪異。與他前面的作品不同，以前在夢中漂浮的人物，可以明確地辨識(shí)出自我，但空間是虛幻的。因此，在那兒有一種絕對(duì)的主體性，形象與形式都再現(xiàn)了自我的精神世界。在《夢境記錄系列》，自我被抽象了，被分裂為兩個(gè)模糊的形象。也就是說，作品中的兩個(gè)人物是一個(gè)人，是表象與本質(zhì)、欲望與理智、頭腦與身體的分裂。實(shí)際上，畫面上還有第三個(gè)部分，就是畫面的顏色，畫中的人物是用各種單純的顏色來代表的，有些背景也是用的純色，顏色的運(yùn)用是有象征性的，這種單純的不協(xié)調(diào)的顏色可以說是景觀顏色的象征，即由商業(yè)、消費(fèi)、大眾文化等構(gòu)成的景觀社會(huì)的視覺環(huán)境。景觀的顏色是自我分裂的基礎(chǔ)，它代表了物質(zhì)利益的誘惑作為欲望的來源，將人格分裂為欲望的沖突與傳統(tǒng)人格的堅(jiān)守。男人代表理性與傳統(tǒng)，女人代表欲望與身體，各自手中的槍則是沖突的標(biāo)志。這種沖突不是絕對(duì)的，有時(shí)是相互對(duì)抗，有時(shí)是相互結(jié)合，如同欲望的誘惑與達(dá)成。在這里女性的形象具有雙重性，她既是欲望的對(duì)象和象征，也是從男人或自我中分離出來的感性部分。但是，男人的形象并不代表思想和道德，而是在欲望的誘惑下走向墮落的深淵。欲望的表象有內(nèi)在的因素，也有外部的因素。作為外部的因素，色彩的設(shè)計(jì)與某些符號(hào)的設(shè)定是重要的暗示，即景觀社會(huì)的表象，物質(zhì)利益至上，理性喪失原則，思想流于貧乏，精神墮入空虛。內(nèi)在的因素則是以性來代表的，具體體現(xiàn)在兩性之間的關(guān)系上。盡管如此，性并非指具體的性的行為與對(duì)象，而是潛意識(shí)的欲望沖動(dòng)。因?yàn)楫嫾以跇?biāo)題上指明了“目擊者的夢境記錄”，即，日有所思，夢有所想，目擊者可以理解為藝術(shù)家本人，日常生活中的觀察與體驗(yàn)在夢中折射出來，夢境不是對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)的復(fù)制，而是經(jīng)過潛意識(shí)的歪曲與變形，而潛意識(shí)的深層則是性的沖突。孤立地考察夢境，只是個(gè)人生活的變形的寫照，但目擊者的對(duì)象則規(guī)定了潛意識(shí)的對(duì)象不是個(gè)人的性的壓抑，而是客體的反映。我們不清楚的是，鄧箭今是把自己作為“目擊者”，真實(shí)地記錄自己的夢境，還是對(duì)一種風(fēng)格與樣式的挪用，即超現(xiàn)實(shí)主義樣式的當(dāng)代翻版。如果是后者，鄧箭今還實(shí)現(xiàn)了形式的突破，在觀照現(xiàn)實(shí)的基礎(chǔ)上，以一種超現(xiàn)實(shí)的象征反映社會(huì)的深刻變化，在這種方式中，也包括藝術(shù)家本人的深刻體驗(yàn)。

《目擊者的夢境記錄》實(shí)現(xiàn)了超現(xiàn)實(shí)的形式轉(zhuǎn)換，轉(zhuǎn)換的要害是景觀社會(huì)的視覺經(jīng)驗(yàn)與社會(huì)現(xiàn)象。由于鄧箭今以前的作品是在傳統(tǒng)的超現(xiàn)實(shí)風(fēng)格中，反映的也是80年代的生存經(jīng)驗(yàn)，這種轉(zhuǎn)換猶為顯得重要。同時(shí)，轉(zhuǎn)換也為他提供了新的形式，但形式不是樣式化的，而是具有現(xiàn)實(shí)與精神的內(nèi)涵。主體的分裂是在客體作用下的對(duì)象化，這種對(duì)象化在《目擊者的夢境記錄》中以異性的身體體現(xiàn)出來，而《夕陽為什么讓我們?nèi)绱嗣利悺穭t讓身體獨(dú)立出來，夢境成為現(xiàn)實(shí)，主體與客體分離，主體成為觀看者，客體成為再現(xiàn)。按照鄧箭今自己的說法，無論是前者還是后者，都是為了反映對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)的思考，是對(duì)青春、性、暴力、欲望等引發(fā)的社會(huì)現(xiàn)象的模糊的表現(xiàn)。實(shí)際上，鄧箭今考慮得更多的還是藝術(shù)的本體，現(xiàn)實(shí)是形式得以實(shí)現(xiàn)的誘發(fā)劑。對(duì)于鄧箭今來說，現(xiàn)實(shí)是模糊而抽象的，盡管所有社會(huì)事實(shí)是具體的，但他的目的不是直觀地反映現(xiàn)實(shí)。在《夕陽為什么讓我們?nèi)绱嗣利悺分校宋镆膊皇蔷唧w的，似乎是某種現(xiàn)象的暗示而非事實(shí)的表述。身體不再是從主體分離的客體的象征，而是直接作為主體的對(duì)象，裸體的異性暗示了她們作為欲望的載體，圖像化的色彩是消費(fèi)社會(huì)的象征，“美麗”是針對(duì)性的消費(fèi)而言，“夕陽”則是墮落的喻意。也就是說，在當(dāng)今社會(huì)性別已墮落為消費(fèi)的對(duì)象，只要有錢，一切都可以買賣。印象派畫家馬奈的《奧林比亞》最先表現(xiàn)了社會(huì)的這一事實(shí)，性成為公開的合法的商品，側(cè)臥在床上的“奧林比亞”目視著她的客戶，旁邊的女仆正接過客人送來的鮮花，“奧林比亞”之美正是等待客人消費(fèi)的商品。在鄧箭今的畫中，這種關(guān)系被虛化了，它不是現(xiàn)實(shí)場景的反映，而是形式與內(nèi)容的互動(dòng)，形式的實(shí)驗(yàn)甚于內(nèi)容的表達(dá)。90年代以來形成的波普畫風(fēng)在多大程度上對(duì)鄧箭今發(fā)生影響，從這些畫面中可以看出。波普藝術(shù)以消費(fèi)社會(huì)為背景，在中國這個(gè)有限的消費(fèi)社會(huì)，波普藝術(shù)體現(xiàn)得并不純粹，鄧箭今對(duì)于波普的借用也是如此，在背景的處理上有明顯的波普化圖像化的特征，這既可視為潮流的影響，也可視為畫面的需要。更為重要的是，圖像化也包含了藝術(shù)家本人的視覺經(jīng)驗(yàn)，對(duì)他本人而言，即從鄉(xiāng)土經(jīng)驗(yàn)向都市經(jīng)驗(yàn)的轉(zhuǎn)化。應(yīng)該指出的是，鄧箭今的圖像化是非常隱晦的，也就是說，他不是對(duì)圖像的直接挪用，直接反映自然而制作的圖像可以稱為元圖像，而不論這個(gè)圖像的功能是什么。波普藝術(shù)往往是對(duì)元圖像的直接挪用，即圖像的再現(xiàn)，或者說是再現(xiàn)的再現(xiàn)。元圖像的梯次再現(xiàn)在中國是很獨(dú)特的現(xiàn)象，原因在于中國繪畫的寫實(shí)傳統(tǒng)，鄧箭今也不例外，人物與背景就是這種關(guān)系的體現(xiàn)，但兩者都打上了他自己的印記，既非樣式化地挪用圖像，也非寫實(shí)傳統(tǒng)的簡單重復(fù)。他的人物按照自己的傳統(tǒng)來變形，并不協(xié)調(diào)于背景（的顏色），這不僅暗示了人與景觀的異化，也形成他自己的獨(dú)特的形式。

《再見和不眠夜》是《夕陽為什么讓我們?nèi)绱嗣利悺返难永m(xù)，這種延續(xù)不是指形式，而是指主客體的關(guān)系，無論是超現(xiàn)實(shí)還是圖像化都在這種延續(xù)中隱退，從無意識(shí)的主客體分裂到客體化的暗示，純粹的客體終于浮出水面，這在鄧箭今是一個(gè)很大的轉(zhuǎn)變。《再見和不眠夜》使人感到震驚的是對(duì)色情的赤裸表現(xiàn)。在以前的畫中，主體總是顯現(xiàn)于畫面，盡管主體不是以明確的身份出現(xiàn)，但在夢境與幻覺中的形象暗示了主體的在場。在《再見和不眠夜》中，主體被徹底地分離出來，他成為現(xiàn)場的觀者，不過，這個(gè)觀者與作者的雙重身份迫使真正的觀者服從于作者的意志。對(duì)于任何觀者來說，《再見和不眠夜》的題材是自明的，《目擊者的夢境記錄》和《夕陽為什么讓我們?nèi)绱嗣利悺酚蓧艟撑c幻覺成為現(xiàn)實(shí)，其象征的意義還在于隱秘的色情成為公開的交易。作為作者的觀者也是隱秘的在場。與前面的作品相比較，《再見和不眠夜》有兩個(gè)顯著的特點(diǎn)，一個(gè)是強(qiáng)烈的現(xiàn)場感，作者一反以前模糊和抽象的形象，畫中的人物形象似能清晰地辨析，如果說以前的人物是從主體分離出來的象征，現(xiàn)在的人物則是作者直觀的對(duì)象。人物之間的關(guān)系構(gòu)成色情的場景，甚至那些男人的形象都可以理解為低俗的暴發(fā)戶。其二是風(fēng)格的變化，以前的人物表現(xiàn)講究體積與塑造，這可能反映了鄧箭今在潛意識(shí)中對(duì)專業(yè)身份的追求，隨著藝術(shù)的波普化與圖像化，這種追求已不必要，或者說他的成就已不取決于這種身份，于是形象的自我追尋變成形式上的自我表現(xiàn)。風(fēng)格的變化并不完全是形式的意義，因?yàn)樵谛问降谋憩F(xiàn)中有強(qiáng)烈的個(gè)人印記，這種印記標(biāo)志著個(gè)人的在場。《再見和不眠夜》中的人物大多直視著畫面的正前方，也就是直視著現(xiàn)場的觀者。這個(gè)觀者也就是作者本人，他是作為事件的目擊者和記錄者，但是也正是這種在場破壞了色情的邏輯，使作品回歸象征。這不是說事實(shí)的不真實(shí)，而是并非具體的事件。題材對(duì)于形式有著創(chuàng)造性的意義，尤其在鄧箭今的畫中，題材是現(xiàn)實(shí)的，然而又不是真實(shí)的再現(xiàn)。畫中的人物有符號(hào)化的特征，形象、服飾、發(fā)型等，這些都暗示了事件的整體性，一個(gè)整體的墮落。物質(zhì)主義社會(huì)中的社會(huì)的分裂、貧富的分化、道德的崩潰被濃縮在他的畫中。曾經(jīng)在他的心靈中掙扎的自我、分裂的人格被徹底地對(duì)象化了。但是我相信，鄧箭今不是在執(zhí)行社會(huì)批判的職能，他仍然是在他的個(gè)人世界里面，從他創(chuàng)作的初始，他就把自我放在中心的位置，這個(gè)自我總是在外部的壓力下徘徊、困惑和抗?fàn)帲瑝毫赡軄碜陨娴沫h(huán)境、藝術(shù)的內(nèi)部或社會(huì)的生活，但從來不在他的作品中直接地顯現(xiàn)。但他必定要走出自我的世界，尋找壓力的根源，其中重要的原因是“外面的世界太精彩”，在自我表現(xiàn)的語言行將枯竭的時(shí)候，生活本身更新了自我。曾經(jīng)作為客體鏡像的自我成為客體的窺視者，色情、墮落、金錢與性的交易，這些在繁華下隱秘的社會(huì)毒瘤被他揭示出來，使觀眾也站到了窺視的位置。

鄧箭今仍然在經(jīng)歷一個(gè)精神的歷程，現(xiàn)實(shí)震撼了他的心靈深處，他以自己的方式表達(dá)出來，我們也感到了震撼。

 

                                                            2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An artist paints some privacy themes. If these works are displayed in public places, some controversies will arise, most about the accusation of immorality of offensive to eyes. It seems that these accusations are speaking for the public, but actually, they are from some kind of fear in inner heart. There are many unsayable things in art. Saying will become tokens. Deng Jianjin’s painting can be taken as a token. He is speaking many unsayable things. The unsayable includes two aspects: one is inconvenient to say because of some scruple or taboo, and the fear of the others’ unacceptability or the committing of “moral line” as well as the accusation from the apologists.  The other one unsayable is something hasn’t be realized by oneself. It is still unknown by oneself even if it is spoken out. In fact, both of these two unsayable ones exist in Deng Jianjin’s art.

       In Deng Jianjin’s early works, his own images always emerge. This pent-up and drifting image together with the surreal space is the real reflection of his spiritual world. Deng Jianjin never takes the professional training of oil painting, which gives some degree of freedom on his creation.  Freedom also means some degree of truth. He doesn’t think of how to meet these rules and dogmas, but accesses the power to touch others by truth and freedom. In the paintings at that time, he created a pent-up image with painful expression, twisted body, absurd perspective and virtual space. Although this image comes from him, it’s more about the exploration of the inner heart. This image is nervously watching outwards, which means there is another one watching him as well. This is the one making him fear; the one suppresses and disturbs him in his life. In some works, the emergence of the urban background is an important hint. City as his living environment has the decisive impact on his spiritual state. At that time, the early 1990s, Chinese society is undergoing the huge changes; the process of urbanization along with the rapid development of economics influences the people’s lives. The artists of the new generation make profound reflections to this change. However, the artists of new generation record reality mainly by realistic ways, while Deng Jianjin emphasizes on the psychological description and expression. According to the traditional classification of modernism, Deng Jianjin should belong to the type of surrealism. Surrealism implies the self-examination of subject and the object suggested by the spirit of subject. In Deng Jianjin’s early works, his spirit is not totally reflected in the surreal form. The subjective will is the mirror of the objective reflection. The pain and tension, the sexual oppression and the longing for love, and all of the results caused by objects are expressed by self-image. This characteristic makes Deng Jianjin unique from the beginning in the new generation. On the other hand, the formation of the state is much related to his actions violating rules. To any point of view, Deng Jianjin’s oil paintings are not orthodox. The conversion from pottery to oil painting is for the internal need. This need is covered by his preference to oil painting. In his paintings, we can see no standard language of oil painting. The inner impulse of teller is always emerging in the irregularity, forming his unique form of expression. It is difficult to classify him to realism, expressionism even surrealism; the space of non-depth and emptiness, and the plane image without cubage does not need too many skills of oil painting and don’t carry the burden of technique, which is more suitable to his free expression. When talking of his own creation, Deng Jianjin is mostly frequently talking about form. His forms include two aspects. One is the formal originality. He deeply looks down the set of academic rules of oil painting. The dead and unspiritual language of oil painting only belongs to history and cannot describe today’s life which asks for new expressive ways. The second is that the form as the personal expression. In the contemporary life and reality, his personal experience, his observation and experience, as well as his situation and thinking, are expressed in his own way. This also relates to the theme.  Originally, the themes are not important in his works. Self-image in addition to the treatment of form is his subject. However, to some extend, the anxious self is the object (theme) departing away from the subject, which is the personification of object. The subject is divided into two: one is the subject watching the object; the other is the subject being watched by objective mirror and another subject.  Therefore, Deng Jianjin’s works are never self-expressive; the object always exists but exists in its own way, which also creates it unique form.

       To the philosophical sense, the split of subject is always the split of thinking and body. Subject as the thinking entity reflect the life without thinking. The life without the dominance of thinking is the body of desire, which is disdained by thinking. Around 2000, Deng Jianjin’s works lift the veil of object. The self retired and the mirror-object of self emerges. In this set of works, the self-image disappeared and the surreal empty space disappeared. They are replaced by landscape or objective images, but these images are of symbol and metaphor, rather than particular figures. In the 1990s, the trend of Pop art finally had an impact on Deng Jianjin. The obscure colors are replaced by bright colors which are neither the natural colors nor the tone pursued by traditional oil painting. They come from the space of contemporary life that is the visual space of icons and landscapes. However, for Deng Jianjin, this new form should not be directly from his visual experience but the impact of art trend. In other words, it’s the impact of the pop art fashionable in the 1990s. Since the early 1990s, China’s economy has rapidly developed. The market economy has replaced the planned economy. There are profound changes have happened in the social life. The various phenomena derived from power and money, wealth and poverty, and desire and reality fill in lives. Deng Jianjin began to concern these phenomena and wanted to explore the reasons of these phenomena. His typical work of this period is the series Dream Records about Witness (1998-2001). Most of the artists of the new generation came to the expressions of pure objects, from language modal to objective scenes.。Under the drive of commercialization, these expressions soon turned into symbolic models. Deng Jianjin noted these changes. He departed from the dark psychology. The self is located in the public symbolic space, but the symbolic object is the condition of self-existence. The situation of the self’s being removed from history is changed from the modern to the postmodern, but there’s a half retained in history. What does it mean? It can be interpreted through the screens. In Dream Records Series, the screens mostly have two parts, namely, two figures without faces, men and women, the men in suits and the almost naked women. Both of them are holding a pistol, confronting with each other or affecting each other. The two figures are of dream-like scene, unclear of their identities, with weird acts, and different with his previous works. In his previous works, the subjects of the figures floating in dreams can be recognized, but the space is illusive. Thus, there is an absolute subjectivity. Both of form and image reproduce the spiritual world of the self. In Dream Records Series, the self is abstracted and split into two fuzzy images. In other words, the two figures in the works are oneness. It’s the split of appearance and nature, desire and reason, and mind and body. In fact, there exists the third part on the screen: the colors. The figures in the screen are represented by a variety of solid colors. Some backgrounds also use solid colors. The solid and unharmonious colors can be taken as the visual environment of the society of spectacle constituted by business, consumer, and public culture and so on. The color of landscape is the basis of self-split.  It represents the material profits as the origin of desire. The personality is split into the conflict of desire and the firmly standing by the traditional character. Men represent reason and tradition; women represent desire and body. The pistol in each hand is the symbol of conflict. The conflict is not absolute. Sometimes they are confronting with each other, and sometimes they are combining with each other, like the temptation and achievement of desire. Here the female image has duality. She is both the object and symbol of desire and the sensitive part separated from man or self. However, the male image doesn’t represent thinking and morality, but it falls into the abyss of degeneration under the temptation of desire. The appearance of desire has internal factors as well as external factors. As the external factors, the design of color and the set of some symbols are the important implications, namely, the appearance of the society of spectacle, the material interests above everything else, the loss of reason, the poorness of thinking, the spirit falling into vainness. The internal factors are represented by sex and concretely embodied in the intersexual relationship. However, sex doe not refer to the concrete sexual action and object, but the impulse of subconscious desire. As the painter indicates in the title “the dream records of witness”, as the saying “the night dreams reflect the daytime thinking”, so the witness can be understood as the artist himself. The observation and experience of daily life are reflected in dreams. Dream is not the copy of reality, but distorted and deformed by sub-consciousness whose nature is the sexual conflict. If we explore dreams alone, they are just the distorted reflections of personal life, but the object of witness stipulates the object of sub-consciousness is not the personal sexual oppression, but the reflection of object. We are not clear whether Deng Jianjin is taken himself as “witness” truly recording his dreams or it’s a embezzlement of style, namely, the contemporary copy of the surrealistic model. If it’s the latter, Deng Jianjin realized the breakthrough of form, on the basis of observing reality reflect the profound changes of society by surreal symbol. This way also includes the profound experience of the artist himself.

 

The Dream Records of Witness achieves the formal conversion to surrealism. The key of the conversion is visual experience and social phenomena of the society of spectacle. Because the previous works of Deng Jianjin are of the traditional surreal style, reflecting the survival experience of the 1980s, the conversion seems very important. At the same time, the conversation also provides him the new form which is not formalistic but with the spiritual and realistic connotation. The split of subject is the objectification influenced by object. In The Dream Records of Witness, this objectification is embodied in the body of the opposite sex. In Why Does Sunset Make Us So Beautiful, body is allowed to be independent, dream becomes reality, subject is separated from object, subject becomes observer and object becomes reproduction. According to Deng Jianjin’s interpretation, whether the former or the latter is to reflect the thinking of reality, and the fuzzy expression of the social phenomena caused by youth, sex, violence, desire and so on. In fact, the most consideration of Deng Jianjin is the ontology of art. The reality is the inducing agent of the realization of form. For Deng Jianjin, the reality is vague and abstract. Although all of the social facts are concrete, his goal is not to directly reflect the reality. In Why Does Sunset Make Us So Beautiful, the figures are not specific. They seem like the implication of some phenomena rather than the statements of facts. Body is no longer the symbol of object separated from subject, but directly the target of subject. The naked women imply that they are the carrier of desire. The colors constituting images are the symbol of consumer society. “Beauty” is aimed at the sexual consumer; “sunset” is the metaphor of degeneration. In other words, gender has been degenerated into an object of consumption in today’s society. Everything can be sold for money. Impressionist painter Manet’s Olympia firstly demonstrates this social fact. Sex becomes the public legitimate goods. Olympia is side-lying in bed watching her client; the maid alongside is taking over the flowers the guest brought. The beauty of “Olympia” is the goods waiting for the guest to consume. In Deng Jianjin’s paintings, this relationship is virtualized. It is no longer the reflection of real scenes, but the interaction between form and content. The experiment of form is more than the expression of content. How far the Pop style since the 1990s impacts on Deng Jianjin can be seen from these screens. Pop art takes the consumer society as the background. In China, the limited consumer society, pop art is not purely reflected. Deng Jianjin’s use of pop art is also like that. The treatment of background obviously has the characteristic of the pop icon, which can be taken as the influence of the trend and the requirement of the screen. More importantly, the icon also includes the personal visual experience of the artist. For him, it is the conversion from rustic experience to urban experience. It should be noted that Deng Jianjin’s icons are very obscure. In other words, his use is not the direct embezzlement of icons. The images directly reflecting nature can be known as primary image regardless of the function of the image. Pop art is always the direct embezzlement of primary image, namely, the reproduction of image or the reproduction of reproduction. The echelon reproduction of primary image is very unique phenomenon in China due to the realistic tradition of Chinese painting. Deng Jianjin is not an exception. Figure-background is the embodiment of this relationship, but  both of them are marked with his own imprint. It is neither the formal embezzlement of image nor the simple repeat of non-realistic tradition. His figures are deformed according to his own tradition, incoordinate with the (color of) background. It not only implies the alienation of people and landscape, but also forms his own unique form.

 

Farewell and Sleepless Night is the continuation of Why Does Sunset Make Us So Beautiful. This continuation is not referring to the form but to the relation of subject and object. Either surrealism or pictorialization is retreating from this continuation. From the unconscious split of subject and object to the hint of objectification, the pure object finally surfaced. This is a significant change of Deng Jianjin. Farewell and Sleepless Night astonishes the audiences by the naked expression of pornography. In his previous works, subjectivity is always appeared in screen. Although the subject is not present as a clear identity, the images in dream and illusion imply the presence of the subject. In Farewell and Sleepless Night, the subject is thoroughly separated and becomes the observer of the scene. However, the dual role as audience and author forces the real audience obey the will of the author. For any audience, the theme of Farewell and Sleepless Night is self-evident. The Dream Records of Witness and Why Does Sunset Make Us So Beautiful are composed by dream and illusion. Their symbolic significances lie in the private eroticism as open trading. The audience as author is also of hidden presence. Compared to his previous works, Farewell and Sleepless Night has two specific characteristics; one is strong sense of scene. The author is opposite to the previous fuzzy and abstract images. The figures in the image can be recognized clearly. If we say the previous figures are the symbols separated from the subject, then the current figures are the objects of the author’s direct perception. The relationship between figures constitutes the pornographic scenes; even the male images can be understood as the vulgar upstarts. The second is the change of his style. The previous figures just pay attention to size and shape, which might reflects Deng Jianjin’s pursuit of professional identity in his sub-consciousness. Along with the art trend of pop and pictorialization, this pursuit is not necessary, or his achievement no longer depends on this identity, so the pursuit of self-image turned into the self-expression of form. The change of style is not entirely of the formal significance, because in the formal expression there’s strong personal imprint. This imprint signifies the personal presence. Most of the figures in Farewell and Sleepless Night are looking steadily at the front of the screen, namely, the present audiences. This audience is the author himself. He is the witness and recorder of the event, but just this presence destroys the logic of eroticism and makes the work return to symbol. It doesn’t mean the event is not true, but means it’s not specific event. Theme has creative significances to form. Especially in Deng Jianjin’s paintings, the themes are neither real nor the reproduction of reality. The figures in the paintings have the characteristics of symbols. Shape, costumes and hair styles imply the integrity of the event-a degeneration as a whole. The social division, the division between the rich and the poor, and the moral collapse in the material society are concentrated in his paintings. The struggling self once in his heart and the split personality are thoroughly objectified. But I believe Deng Jianjin is not implementing the function of social criticism. He remains in his own world. Since the beginning of his creation, he has been self-centered. The self is always wandering, confused and resistant under the pressure of the outside world. The pressure may come from the living environment, the inner of art or the social life, but it is never directly expressed in his works. However, he has to come out of his own world to find the origin of pressure. One of the major reasons is “the outside world is too splendid”. When the language of self-expression is going to be dried up, the life renews itself. The self once as the objective mirror becomes the voyeur of object. He revealed the social malignant tumors hidden in prosperity, eroticism, degeneration, money and sexual trades, made the audiences stand in the position of peep.

 

Deng Jianjin is still going through a spiritual journey. The reality has shocked his deep soul. He expresses it in his own way, which also shocks us.

 

2008