内容提要
序言
赖香伶
上海外滩美术馆 馆长
自20世纪后期以来，随着全球化风潮的急速扩延，世界政经局势的激烈竞合，以及多元社会文化的蓬勃发展，有关博物馆在新世纪的使命与功能，以及在当代社会的角色扮演，已成为博物馆界讨论的最热门议题之一。2006年国际博物馆管理年会即以《博物馆的新角色与使命》作为大会研讨主题，强调博物馆对于社会责任的积极角色。博物馆作为非营利性的机构，追求以文化体现公益，并彰显平等与公正的基本社会价值。同时，博物馆应该积极面对社会文化发展所带动关于其定位的转变，挑战昔日作为权威式或刻板化的展览机关角色，探索当代社会中艺术与生活的多样化互动可能性，并敏于思考博物馆的社会责任的实践方式和途径。
历经多年的规划和整建，座落于亚洲文会大楼的上海外滩美术馆在2010年与世界博览会同期开幕。上海外滩美术馆源于19世纪中期英国皇家亚洲文会所创建的上海博物院，当时曾是最具活动力的东方学研究中心，以及中国最早的博物馆之一。新的上海外滩美术馆在原址的建置开馆，代表了对于其昔日同作为文化展示和交流平台的前身(英国皇家亚洲文会，以及上海博物院)之历史的文化承续和新的意义宣示。美术馆也期能汇聚来自企业界以及学术界的资源，探索民间美术馆专业运营之可能性。透过展览、研究、教育与推广活动的举办，开发多向度的活动形式与多层次的研讨议题。鼓励参与和互动，启发思考与对话，进而发展成为当代文化对话与交流的平台，原生创意发声之场域。
有鉴于此，上海外滩美术馆之开馆展览以美术馆昔日历史传承与未来发展愿景作为出发点，试图在不同时空和文化语境中，开启对于艺术观看、诠释的探讨，并进行社会和文化的对话。开馆首展邀请蔡国强先生策划《蔡国强：农民达芬奇》展览，以当代创作置换了当年的博物馆科学搜奇式的展示，代之以中国基层农民的梦想，使之呈现出在历史文化的语境之下，中国现代化的一种民间力量的视野。同时，透过中国农民的创造性劳动，和苏联太空科技影片等素材，这个展览体现为对某种社会主义根本脉络的反思，并在此基础上与世界博览会所表征的全球资本主义趋势进行差异式的对话。
近年来，蔡国强先生尝试在中国的语境以及历史延续中寻找创作元素，尤其对于生活于城市边缘、社会底层，却作为城市现代化建设中坚的广大的农民，具有持续的关怀。作为一个壮观能量的集合性场域，《蔡国强：农民达芬奇》展览引入农民活泼自发的创造性，再现农民的各式发明物件的生产和装置过程，以及农村中随处可见的类宣传字报形式。展览现场虽似乎不见艺术家的签名作品，然而在其慧心巧思构造下，看似平凡的发明物件被整体赋予了艺术语言。对于艺术家而言，艺术创作已经成为一种艺术生产，更是文化对话的载体。原来的创作者角色，已经转变为策展人，以及艺术生产机制的操控者。这些被蔡国强先生称为“文化现成物”的物件装置，不仅体现了中国农民与生俱来的旺盛创造力，以及对于未来生活充满想像的尝试，同时也在这些企图与全球高科技趋势对话的实验中，展现出了农民对于难以企及的世界理想的梦想力量。
作为一项全新的创作计划，《蔡国强：农民达芬奇》展览仿佛艺术家丰沛的创作光谱中，一束崭新光脉的耀眼绽放。展览呈现出具有史诗般的流动诗意，更形塑出一种清新质朴的另类展览美学。同时，为美术馆开馆以及展览开幕所规划的学术研讨会，力邀国内和国际重要学者专家共同参与，就全球化影响下民间美术馆的角色与挑战，以及当代艺术创作的新思维等议题，进行对话与交流。《蔡国强：农民达芬奇》展览和研讨会将共同开启上海外滩美术馆正式作为当代艺术的新的展示空间，服务于民众生活与教育的公益性场所，以及当代文化的国际交流平台。
上海外滩美术馆运营的正式启动，首先应向上海洛克菲勒集团外滩源综合开发有限公司致上最高敬意。在开发外滩源历史片区的过程中，他们本着尊重人文历史，保存文化资产的信念，全力支持重现亚洲文会大楼原初的博物馆功能，以实际行动体现公益社会中的文化企业的角色。在开馆筚路蓝缕的过程中，美术馆董事会主席欧亚平先生是最重要的推手，感谢他持续的鼓励、协助、体恤以及支持。而来自David Chipperfield建筑事务所和洛克外滩源公司对于馆舍修复设计的专业实践，以及美术馆全体同仁始终不懈的努力付出，都是开馆不可或缺的助力。
同时，开馆首展《蔡国强：农民达芬奇》的圆满呈现，美术馆也很荣幸地得到了文化部中外文化交流中心协办此项意义非凡的展览。而来自各方的鼎力支持，包括现代传播集团的媒体协办，震旦集团所提供的户外宣传荧屏，琉璃奥图码数码科技(上海)有限公司的投影器材赞助，资生堂株式会社对于研讨会的襄助，以及上海戏剧学院师生的参与，使得这个展览活动丰富而完整的呈现成为可能，谨在此表达谢忱。最后，诚挚地向蔡国强先生、蔡工作室团队，以及所有参与展览的农民发明家致意，衷心感谢他们为上海外滩美术馆的开馆提供如此旨义深沉，形式丰富的展览，也给予了美术馆最完美的启航。
FOREWORD
Lai Hsiangling
Director
Rockbund Art Museum
Since the latter half of the 20th century¡ª
which saw a swiftly spreading tide of
globalization, intense cooperation and competition in the world¡¯s political and economic spheres, along with flourishing social and cultural diversity¡ªthe mission and function of museums in this new century, as well as the role they play
in contemporary society, have been subjects of animated discussion in the museum community. The 2006 INTERCOM annual meeting and its theme,
New Roles and Missions for Museums, emphasized the active responsibility museums have to society. As non-profit institutions, museums pursue culture in the public interest and manifest the fundamental values of social equality and justice. Yet they must also confront the transformations brought about by social and cultural development, challenging their former role as authoritative, rigid institutions and exploring the diverse possibilities for interaction between art and life in contemporary society¡ªall the while remaining sensitive to practical ways in which museums might carry out their responsibilities to society.
After years of planning and renovation, the Rockbund Art Museum opens in the Asiatic Society building in 2010, alongside the World Expo. The former Shanghai Museum, founded in the mid-19th century by the Royal Asiatic Society, was the most active center of academic research in the Far East, as well as one of China¡¯s earliest museums. By locating a new platform for cultural exhibitions and exchange on the same site, the Rockbund Art Museum represents a continuation of its cultural heritage even as it brings new meaning to its former incarnation, the Royal Asiatic Society and the Shanghai Museum. The Museum seeks to bring together resources from the business community and academia to explore the possibili-ties of a private, professionally-run art museum. It seeks to develop a wide range of activities and well-rounded discussions by hosting exhibitions, research, and educational and outreach programs. By encouraging participation and interaction, sparking reflection and dialogue, and developing a platform for contemporary cultural dialogue and exchange, it aspires to be a birthplace for original
creative voices.
To this end, the Rockbund Art Museum¡¯s inaugural exhibition takes its historic heritage and vision for future development as the starting point for a dialogue between culture and society, as well as for an exploration of art appreciation and interpretation in different chronological and cultural contexts. For its first exhibition, the Museum invited Cai Guo-Qiang to present Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant da Vincis, which substitutes contemporary creativity for the scientific curiosities that characterized the museum¡¯s displays in the past. Replacing them are the dreams of grassroots Chinese peasants, presented within a historical and cultural context as a vision of the populace¡¯s strength during China¡¯s modernization. This exhibition also reflects something fundamental to socialism through the creative labors of Chinese peasants and other material such as films about Soviet space technology, through which it engages in a dialogue of contrast with the trend of global capitalism that characterizes the World Expo.
In recent years, Cai Guo-Qiang has sought out creative elements in a
Chinese linguistic context and historical continuum, holding a particular affection for the rural citizens who occupy society¡¯s lower rungs and urban fringes¡ª
and who form the backbone of urban construction and modernization. The convergence of spectacular energy that makes up Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant da Vincis incorporates the lively spontaneity of peasants to recreate the process of production and operation of their various inventions, as well as the propaganda posters that blanket the countryside. Although the artist¡¯s own hand is not visible in the exhibition itself, ingenuity of its conception seems to infuse these ordinary inventions with the language of art. For the artist, artistic creation itself has become a medium for cultural dialogue as well as a form of artistic production. The role of the creator has been usurped by that of curator and manipu-lator of the mechanisms of artistic
production. These devices, which Cai Guo-Qiang has called ¡°cultural ready-mades,¡± reveal the innate creativity of Chinese peasants and their endeavors to imagine life in the future, and at the same time these attempts to dialogue with global high-tech trends express a powerful dream of elusive world ideals.
As an utterly original creative undertaking, Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant da Vincis radiates a dazzling new beam of light from the artist¡¯s rich creative spectrum. The fluid poetry of the exhibition conveys a sense of the epic and formulates an aesthetic that is fresh and unadorned. A concurrent symposium planned for
the museum launch and exhibition opening, to which major domestic and international scholars and experts have been invited, will address topics such as the role of private art museums and the challenges they face under the influence of globalization, as well as new ways
of thinking about contemporary art. Together, the symposium and the Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant da Vincis exhibition inaugurate the Rockbund Art Museum
as a new exhibition space for contemporary art, a public space for public life and education, and a platform for international exchange of contemporary culture.
The official launch of the Rockbund Art Museum is first of all a great tribute to the Shanghai Bund de Rockefeller Group Master Development Company, Ltd. Throughout their development of the Bund historic area, they maintained a spirit of respect for cultural history and preservation of cultural assets, and they gave their full support to restoring the Royal Asiatic Society building to its original function as a museum, demonstrating through their actions the role of a cultural enterprise in the interests of society. Mr. Thomas Ou Yaping was the principal motivator throughout the arduous founding process, and we are grateful for his continual encouragement, assistance, understanding, and support. And this launch would not be possible without the work performed by David Chipperfield Architects and the Rockbund Company to realize the restoration, as well as the tireless efforts of
all of our colleagues at the museum.
For the successful staging of its first show, Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant da Vincis, the Museum is also honored to have the
support of the Center of International Cultural Exchange at the Ministry of
Culture, who co-sponsored this highly significant exhibition. The Aurora Group provided their landmark outdoor screen and Optoma sponsored projection equipment. Shiseido Co., Ltd. granted the symposium, and the students and faculty of the Shanghai Theatre Academy participated in the process to make this exhibition possible, and I would like to express our gratitude. Finally, let me pay tribute to Mr. Cai Guo-Qiang, the team at Cai Studio, and all of the rural inventors who took part in the exhibition. I offer my heartfelt gratitude for their contributions to such a rich and profound inaugural exhibition, and for granting the Museum such a perfect launch.（文章来源：《蔡国强：农民达芬奇》）
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