皮力 Pi Li

　　杨冕将自己的作品定义为“标准”。在过去三年里他一直坚持对现实消费文化进行一种直观的近乎于统计学的考察。在这个考察过程中，他挑选出那些排名在前面的图像，用自己的方式将他们表现出来。在这样一个过程中，被保留和表现的图像，将是时尚的、潮流的、有商业资本支持的、浮现率高的、美丽的而同时又不是过于另类和反叛的图像。就图像本身而言，这是一些温和的图像。就其性质而言，她们代表着强大的商业资本和传媒效应合力作用的结果。对于杨冕来说，这些图像代表着社会趣味和时尚的方向。
　　杨冕的工作不是简单的再现这些图像，也不是简单对于时尚趣味进行批判。相反，他是对于时尚趣味进行一次标本的分析。在他的作品中，他抽离了原先和这些图像混合在一起的品牌和故事，将对象直接表现在画布上。所以，在这些图像中，我们看到的是抽离了上下文的“美丽”和“直观”。
　　现代社会的特征是消费不再出于人的本质需要，而是人们定义自己身份和社会角色的一种手段。如果说传统的消费形态是人通过消费来装饰自己，那么在今天，消费已经获得了一种独立的存在，而开始取代人的存在。前者是一个“遮蔽”的过程，本质被外表所掩盖，而后者是一个“仿真”的时代，即本质被外表所取代。充满新奇图像的广告在今天就是按照这样一个逻辑所制造出来的。人们认同广告是认同广告所代表的生活价值，但是在认同的同时也是被“囚禁”的开始。同样在这些广告中出现的这些人物，也是处在一种被“囚禁”的状态之中。她们的个性、相貌、姿态都是按照产品的特性，经过无数的“市场分析”、“受众调查”和“创意”所规定下来。真实的人将不再存在，人的价值被用来体现为商品设计所能吸纳的受众量。
　　在这样一个过程中，人的存在开始变得可疑而漂浮。杨冕的工作则是解放这些被囚禁的人。在他的作品中，这些图像虽然有着明显的、路人皆知的图像来源，但是其商品图像却被取消了。她们成为一个相貌、一个姿态。对于艺术家而言，其工作的核心意义在于思索这样一个问题：“如果没有消费、商品和商业资本，今天的美丽和标准是什么？或者说它们还是否存在”。
对于“标准”的追问意味着对于现实的追问。如果说这些作品展示了弥漫在社会上的标准是什么的话，那么这些作品的潜台词是“谁是这些标准的制定者？”或者“这些标准是如何被制定出来的”。从社会学的意义上说广告形象的出现本身或许不是处于为了确立某种标准的明确意识，微笑和美丽本身的也不过是一种引诱而已。这些形象的个体存在尚可以让人们感觉到其肤浅，但是一旦它们超量的存在，肤浅就开始隐含在美丽之中，并深深的渗透在整个社会的潜意识之中。杨冕的作品正是以一种反讽与调侃的形式暗示出这种超量的存在和亲情的虚伪性，并试图解救出图像背后的本质。
　　杨冕的解救不仅体现在对于文本上下文的撤消，同时也体现在手工图像对于机械图像的修正上。和当下所提倡的所谓“影像绘画”不同。杨冕的基本工作是反影像的。机械影像的基本特征是高还原和高仿真。而杨冕的工作是把机械影像的仿于是，这些画面呈现出一种打磨过后的“褪色”效果。美丽的图像被洗净铅华，光泽不在。在此，人性的手工方式片刻的取代的商业的机械制造方式。 所有的这些人物在他的画面中失去了原先的光泽，他们被画家用各种技巧虚化，弱化，沦为一个平面，或者说是一个不真实的存在。这些图像即使是真实的，也像是被蒙上了一层人工的迷雾。所有的这些无异于在向人们展示左右我们生活的各种“标准”的虚幻的一面。在这里，微笑已经不复是一种表情，一种情绪的外化，相反它只是一个面具，一个现实和梦想之间距离的指示物。它越是灿烂就越意味着距离的遥远和标准的高不可攀。
真和还原“打磨”掉。在画面中，他消除皮肤与服装以及道具之间的质感差异，不追求大的色彩差异，而是寻找纯绘画的微妙变化。于是，这些画面呈现出一种打磨过后的“褪色”效果。美丽的图像被洗净铅华，光泽不在。在此，人性的手工方式片刻的取代的商业的机械制造方式。 所有的这些人物在他的画面中失去了原先的光泽，他们被画家用各种技巧虚化，弱化，沦为一个平面，或者说是一个不真实的存在。这些图像即使是真实的，也像是被蒙上了一层人工的迷雾。所有的这些无异于在向人们展示左右我们生活的各种“标准”的虚幻的一面。在这里，微笑已经不复是一种表情，一种情绪的外化，相反它只是一个面具，一个现实和梦想之间距离的指示物。它越是灿烂就越意味着距离的遥远和标准的高不可攀。
　　用来对抗机械图像的另一个方式就是在所有画面中反复出现的非理性的色彩。如果这一个个美妙的瞬间虚化处理还为观众们保留着撩开面纱，接近美好的可能的话，那么这道色彩的出现则似乎预示着无可挽回的否定。我们甚至可以将它看作是一种故意的破坏。这道色彩是一种象征意义的色彩，是一种情绪的泄露。它的含义在于揭露“图像”的虚伪性、遮蔽性和欺骗性，在于手工图像和机械图像的无情PK。
无论是解救、修正、打磨还是PK, 在一个高度“仿真”的时代，其结果不得而知，但是对于艺术家和我们来说，重要的是对于这个时代的清醒意识。这种意识应该和画面中的那抹色彩一样，是一个象征，而且应该明确而清晰。

　　Yang Mian defines his artworks as ‘standard’. In the past 3 years, he has insisted on observing the consumption culture in real life with a direct and statistics-like way. During the course, he sorts out the images on the top and represents them again with his own way. The images that have been kept and represented during such process are those of fashioned, modern, commercial capital supported, highly exposing rated and beautiful but not too different or rebellious. As to the images themselves, they are gentle ones. However, referring to their attributes, they stand for the result of combination of powerful commercial capitals and media effects. For Yang Mian, these images stand for the social taste and fashion trend.
What Yang Mian does is not to simply reshow these images, nor simply criticize on fashion taste. On the contrary, he analyses the samples of such fashion taste. In his artworks, the brands and stories previously mixed with the images have been taken out by him, and the models are being represented directly on the canvas. Hence in such images, what we see are ‘beauty’ and ‘intuitiveness’ without relevant context.
　　The characteristics of modern society is that consumption doesn’t reflect people’s basic or metal demands, however it has become a means of how people define their identities and social roles. If traditional consumption was a way that people decorate themselves through it, then today’s modern consumption has gained an independent position for existence and even starts to take people’s place. The former one was a process of ‘hiding’, essence had been covered by appearance; but for the latter one is a time of ‘simulation’, which means essence has been replaced by the appearance. The advertisements full of new and fresh images are being produced by such logic. People identify these advertisements for the life values they stand for, through which means a start for being ‘imprisoned’ at the same time. Also the models in such advertisements are in the status of being ‘imprisoned’. Their characteristics, appearance and gestures are all set by numerous ‘marketing analysis’, ‘consumer survey’ and ‘creative ideas’ according to the characteristics of products. In such case, the real people don’t exist anymore, the value of people are used for representing the rate of popularities of the product is occupied. During such course, the existence of people is becoming suspicious and floating. Yang Mian’s job is to liberate such people from being imprisoned. In his artworks, although these images have the obvious and all-known origins, the images of product have been taken out. The models have become an appearance and a gesture. For the artist, the core meaning of his work lies in thinking deeply on one question: what will the beauty and standard be or will they still exist today if without consumption, products and commercial capitals? To question the ‘standard’ means to question the reality. If these artworks have shown what kinds of standard are being circulated in society, then the unspoken words are: ‘who set such standards?’ or ‘how do these standards be set?’ As to the significance of sociology, the emergence of advertisement images may not mean to establish definite consciousness of some standard. Smiles and beauty themselves are just a kind of seduction. People may feel the superficiality when facing individual existence of such images. However, once the images exist with overwhelming quantities, superficiality starts to be concealed in beauty, and then deeply soak into the unconsciousness of the whole society. Yang Mian’s artworks are just implying such existence of overwhelming quantities and falseness of kindred 　　relations with his irony and teases way, and trying to find the essence behind the images.
Yang Mian’s rescue is shown not only by the deleting of context, but also by using handcrafted tion in the mechanical images. In his paintings, he dedicates to clear up the quality differences of skin, clothes and props, finding delicate changes of pure paintings instead of pursuing much difference in colors. Therefore, these paintings present an effect of ‘fading’ after polishing. The brilliance no longer exists when the beautiful images have been cleansed. The humanistic handcraft way takes the place of commercial mechanical production temporarily. All the people lose their former brilliance in the paintings; they have been virtual and vague by the painter’s skills, being reduced to a plane or an unreal existence. Even if these images are real, they are seemed to be covered by a fog artificially. All of these certainly show to the people the illusory aspect of the standards that dominate our life. Smile has not been a kind of facial expression or an expression of one emotion; on the contrary, it has just become a mask, indicating the distance between real life and dreams. The more brilliant it is, the further the distance will be and the more unachievable the high standard will be. images to modify mechanical images. Quite different from the so-called ‘images painting’ that is popular currently, Yang Mian’s basic work is anti-images. The basic characteristics of mechanical images are high-reversion and high-simulation. Though what Yang Mian does is to polish the mark of such reversion and simulation in the mechanical images. In his paintings, he dedicates to clear up the quality differences of skin, clothes and props, finding delicate changes of pure paintings instead of pursuing much difference in colors. Therefore, these paintings present an effect of ‘fading’ after polishing. The brilliance no longer exists when the beautiful images have been cleansed. The humanistic handcraft way takes the place of commercial mechanical production temporarily. All the people lose their former brilliance in the paintings; they have been virtual and vague by the painter’s skills, being reduced to a plane or an unreal existence. Even if these images are real, they are seemed to be covered by a fog artificially. All of these certainly show to the people the illusory aspect of the standards that dominate our life. Smile has not been a kind of facial expression or an expression of one emotion; on the contrary, it has just become a mask, indicating the distance between real life and dreams. The more brilliant it is, the further the distance will be and the more unachievable the high standard will be. Another way to confront mechanical images is the irrational color that repeated in all paintings. If using an illusory method for such wonderful moments intends to keep the possibility for the audience to unveil and to achieve beauty, then the appearance of this stroke of color indicates an irretrievable negative. We can even regard it as a kind of destruction with intent. This stroke of color is with symbolization, it is a release of a kind of emotion. It means to uncover the falseness, veil and fraudulence of ‘images’; and it also lies in the ruthless PK* between handcrafted images and mechanical ones. mechanical ones. No matter what for rescue, modify, polish or PK, mechanical ones.
　　No matter what for rescue, modify, polish or PK, no one knows what the result will be in such ‘high-simulation’ era. However for the artist and all of us, the most important thing is to keep a clear consciousness for this era. Such consciousness should be like that stroke of color in the paintings, being a symbol, clear and definite.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　文章来源：《2005杨冕眼中的“标准”》