杨小彦
谈论江衡的艺术，有几个关键点是必须提到的，这些关键点是：
首先要提到江衡的老师。江衡当年就读于广州华南师大美术学院，跟从李邦耀学习油画。本来，常识判断，华师美术学院从档次和规格上似乎应该比广州美术学院略逊一筹，但是，正因为华师美术学院在九十年代初期果断地从湖北美术学院引进了一批老师，他们同时也是中国当代艺术运动的重要成员，结果便逐渐改变了学院原有的艺术生态，在南方本地的气氛之中，催生了完全不同的艺术结果。江衡是这“结果”之一。
当年南下的艺术家，今天仍然留在华师美院教书的，除了李邦耀之外，还有方少华、杨国辛和石磊、他们四人的油画在当代油画艺术格局中各有位置。尤其重要的是，他们带来了发轫于内地的艺术思想和造型观念，包括九十年代初湖北的“政治波普”和他们所特有的表现主义描绘方式。更重要的是，他们在教学中一直强调个性的张扬，强调个人与情境的结合，强调艺术对现实的干预，从而形成有意义的艺术问题，并以此为基础去达成切入当下的目的。看江衡早期留下来的几幅油画，的确受到非本土因素的影响。1994年的《无题》系列，主角是扭动的红色男人体，背景则是表达欲望的图案。这几张作品混杂了某些“波普”的风格，却又用了表现的手法，有着湖北画风的影子。1996年的《卡通一代系列》，在画风上则显然受到李邦耀艺术的影响。毫无疑问，这是江衡艺术的风格起点。
其次，九十年代中广州以黄一瀚为首的“卡通一代”运动，对江衡形成了直接的影响。今天，已经没有谁去怀疑广州的“卡通一代”了，即使评价有差异，但风靡当下画坛的所谓“卡通”风，追根溯源，和广州还是有着密切的联系。我的意思并不是说所有包含“卡通”风格的艺术都根源于广州的“卡通一代”。在我看来，造成“卡通”风气漫延的原因，比人们想象的还要复杂，来源更是千差万别，但类似风格的确是在广州最早出现的。有意思的是，身为广州美院教师的黄一瀚，却要到华师美院来寻找支持，让第一回展和第二回展在华师美院展厅成功举办。这说明华师美院的确存在着某种令人感动的宽容气氛。江衡从一开始就是广州“卡通一代”的积极参与者，并用自己的油画风格去印证“卡通”的合理性。以至于最后成为九十年代中期中国“卡通一代”的重要艺术家代表人物之一。上面提到的《卡通一代》系列，就是这场不大不小的南方艺术运动的直接结果。后来他那著名的风格标志，也就是睁着天真媚眼、高度物质化的女性偶像，就是在这当中成型的。
再其次，发生在九十年代中国社会的急剧转型，尤其是发生在南方的经济改革大潮，不但彻底改变了以往艺术所固有的精神格局与表现方式，而且，更重要的是，这场大潮还催生了新生代直接而坦率的物质欲望。不要小瞧这场在转型当中催生出来的物质欲望，也不要把这欲望仅仅看成是一种被动反应，恰恰相反，今天，中国的物欲，早就超越了自我范畴，而成长为一种精神现象。忽视这一精神现象，我们就无法对当下艺术做出哪怕是万分之一的客观判断。
也就是说，来自内地的艺术思潮、本土掀起的艺术运动和中国社会的急剧转型，是造成江衡艺术之面貌的外部条件，没有这些条件，很难想象他会创作出现在人们所熟悉的风格。
除此之外，江衡本人的视角，他对生活和社会的独特把持，对他人与艺术的广泛认识，也起到了关键的作用。
现在，世人所熟悉的江衡的艺术，便是他那几乎千篇一律的符号化的媚眼美女，她们傻笑着，做着各种符合世俗要求的媚态和表情，传递着一种或可称之为“天真”与“美丽”的性别信息。从某种意义来看，我觉得江衡的媚眼美女像是一句重复出现的反语，述说着与表面信息完全相反、甚至是相互抵触和冲突的内容。
记得当年我在一篇谈论广州卡通一代的文章中，提到了造成这种风格出现的某些原因：
“卡通一代”首先针对的对象是自己，看自己是否具备足够的穿透力，用以穿透南方人在文化上的局限性，以便得到一块观察的平台，并为作品的文化价值寻找新的定位。作为外来文明的一块跳板，南方的确具备了某种优越性，但处在边缘区域，受各种各样的诱惑太多，艺术容易走向肤浅和矫情，也是显然的事实。．．．．．．影响我们的正是对所谓“深度”的不正常迷恋。．．．．．．卡通大量涌向中国，既迅速冲垮原来的古典阅读方式，也造就了与五、六十年代相异的“卡通人”。同时，电脑的普及以及人造环境的空前增长，进一步阻隔了人与自然的有机联系，使得除了“卡通人”之外，又不断产生大量的“电脑人”。“卡通一代”的发起人黄一瀚用“我们是长不大的孩子”来命名他的一件作品，其实用这个题目来指称那些生理上过早成熟而心理上却迟迟不发育、整天埋头在卡通和电脑之中难以自拔的新一代的族群是相当确切的。 [1]
出现在当年的这场南方艺术运动，曾经受到几乎整个艺术界的反对。曾几何时，类似风格却成为大多数70年代以后出生的新艺术家群体的图式选择。这种现象在时空中的反差，甚至导致了人们对当初事实的忽视。就像一开始我所指出的，江衡属于早期的“卡通一代”，他的符号形成与发展已经有近十年的时间。从这个角度来说，我也算是比较早对这一艺术现象做出反应的批评家。检索当年言论，我发现，我所感兴趣的并不是表面的“卡通”。站在今天的情境去审视当年，所谓“卡通”，可能只是一种巧妙的图式挪用策略。当然，其中也呈现了年轻一代成长时特有的视觉背景。就在批评家用不同的概念去述说今天的“卡通”风格时，我觉得其中一个问题是，他们几乎都对“卡通”当了真，而忘记类似风格早在七十年代前后，就成为出版产业和影像产业的重要内容。我之所以把当年自己的言论刊在这里，是我发现，即使在当年的关注中，我就已经多多少少地把“卡通”视为与成长密切相关的一个问题。黄一瀚提出“长不大的孩子”，可能只是他作为“长辈”对年轻人的主观看法。如果稍微深入到新一代的具体环境中，对于“成长”，他们所面临的，显然不是“长不大”，而是“拒绝长大”。这种“拒绝”的态度，切中了与成长有关的社会与历史背景，体现了成人社会和非成人社会的紧张关系，甚至是冲突关系。我承认，当年我也只是看到“生理成熟心理不成熟”这个自为是的表象，而忽略了其中的意义。在我看来，新艺术家们之所以选择偏向卡通或与卡通趣味有关的形象，表面看是其青春期受特定的视觉形象影响的结果，但深入看，却透露了他们在成长过程中，对规训其发育的成人社会的态度。如果这个猜测成立，那么，我要说，呈现在视觉上的形象的某种一致性，本身就是一个有趣的答案，并告诉我们，他们是如何看待成人社会的。面对一个日益虚伪的犬儒化成人社会，作为艺术家，他们大概只能通过选择曾经被成人社会（在这里我更多是指成人社会当中的“艺术界”）所遗弃或忽视的形象类型，比如卡通，来表达对这个社会的“拒绝”。当然，随着艺术界本身的变化,卡通也开始成为一种显赫的“风格”，使“拒绝”上升为新一轮的艺术运动。后起的追随者究竟是否因为相同的原因，还是为业已成功的前景所左右，才继续选择“卡通”，这自然要另当别论了。
当我把江衡的“媚眼美女”放在这样一个与成长相关的背景上时，他的作品的反语效果就开始呈现出来了。那是一个潜藏在青春早期甚至前青春期的粉红色梦想，曾经是成人社会压制的对象，并且和一个时期以来，艺术界所推崇的“深度”背道而驰。自然，就“反语”而言，我并不是说江衡有意要用“媚眼美女“这样一种视觉修辞去从事反抗或者讽刺。我相信他并没有“反语”式的创作意图。也就是说，他不关心表面的反抗。他甚至一点也不反抗。相反，他只关心图像所传达的物质欲望。正因为这样，我才读解出他作品中的某种真实性，因为内里所透露的，可能连他本人都不能清醒意识到，是一种“拒绝”成人社会的温软态度。
这样，我以为我们就能理解江衡笔下的“媚眼美女”了。那本来就不是真实的美女，而是想象中的物欲偶像，呆在虚空中，瞪着假装天真的媚眼，以永远不变的面容和表情，注视着成人社会的持续膨胀。也就是说，江衡通过“媚眼美女”，既实现了他的拒绝意图，让年龄永远驻足在足以让艺术家感到愉快率性的时刻，同时又把一种少年的伤痛隐藏了起来，而用偶像取代对现实的插入。
Materialistic Idols’ Reluctance to Grow Up
- Jiang Heng’s Flirtatious eyes and Gaze
Yang Xiaoyan
Speaking of Jiang Heng’s art, one must mention a few key points. They are:
First of all, we must speak of Jiang Heng’s professor. Jiang Heng was a student in the oil painting department at the art college of Huanan Normal University, and studied under professor Li Bangyao. Albeit our common understanding that Huanan Normal University categorizes as an institution of a lower tier in comparison to the Guangzhou Academy of Art, however Huanan Normal University hired a groups of professors from Hubei Academy of Art in the early '90s. They were once important players in the movement of contemporary Chinese art. As a result, their presence at the art college has gradually changed its artistic ecology of the former academy. With the local southern artistic sphere, it had induced completely different artistic outcomes. And Jiang Heng is part of its “harvest”.
Among the artists who came to the south and are still teaching at the art college of Huanan Normal University, besides Li Bangyao, there are also Fang Shaohua, Yang Guoxin and Shi Lei, they each occupies an important position in the framework of contemporary oil painting. What is especially important is their importation of artistic thoughts and compositional concept from China’s interior. It includes the “Political Pop art” from Hubei in the early '90s and the artists’ individualized approach of representation in expressionism. More importantly, throughout their teaching, they have always put the emphasis on highlighting individuality, emphasizing on incorporating the individual with his emotions, emphasizing art as an intervention on reality. With which, meaningful artistic issues could be formulated, and using it as a base of entry to current matters. Looking at a few oil paintings from Jiang Heng’s earlier period, they were indeed influenced by foreign elements. For example, Jiang’s Untitled series from 1994 depicts a red male body in swing as its main subject and contrasting with a background motif expressing desire. These works have mixed certain styles of pop art, yet was executed in the expressionist approach. There are shadows of the Hubei style of painting. And the Cartoon Generation series from 1996, has stylistically reflected the art of Li Bangyao. Without a doubt, this was the formative years of Jiang Heng’s artistic style.
Secondly, the “cartoon generation” movement headed by Huang Yihang in the Guangzhou area in the mid-nineties has also had a direct impact on Jiang Heng. Today, no one questions the significance of the “Cartoon Generation” from Guangzhou, even though there are different opinions about it. Although if we trace back on the origin of the so-called “cartoon” wave now popular in the art arena, we find close ties with Guangzhou. I am not making the statement that art with “cartoon” features are all derived from the Guangzhou’s “Cartoon Generation”. In my view, the reason for the popularization of “cartoon” style is more complex than what we imagine, its sources were diverse. However, similar styles were indeed first appeared in Guangzhou. What is interesting is, as a professor of the Guangzhou Academy of Art, Huang Hanyi had to come to Huanan Normal University art college to seek for support. Thus the first and second exhibitions were successfully held at the exhibition hall of the art college. It demonstrates certain moving tolerance from the art college of Huanan Normal University. Jiang Heng has been one of the active participants in the formative stage of Guangzhou’s “Cartoon Generation”, and testified for the rationale of “cartoon” with his own style of oil painting. Consequently, he became one of the most representative Chinese artists from the “Cartoon Generation” in the mid-nineties. The aforementioned Cartoon Series was a direct outcome of this sizable southern artistic movement. Later on, his famous signature style – wide opened eyes with the naïve and flirtatious gaze on the highly materialistic female idols, was formulated in this process.
Moreover, the rapid transformation of Chinese society in the '90s, especially once the wave of economic reform hit on the southern provinces, not only the existing spiritual framework and its artistic approach of representation were completely changed, but more importantly, this wave has induced the direct representation of the New Generation’s materialistic desire. One should not belittle the material desire induced from this transformation, nor should one treat such desire as a passive reaction. In contrast, the materialistic desire in China today has far exceeds the boundary of the individual, but has grown into a spiritual phenomenon. If we ignore this phenomenon, we will be unable to make the slightest objective judgment on the art of today.
In other words, the artistic trend from China’s interior, the local uprising of artistic movement and the rapid transformation of Chinese society make part for the external conditions of Jiang Heng’s art form. Without these conditions, it would be difficult to imagine how he could formulate the style we are familiar with today.
Besides, Jiang Heng’s perspective, his unique view on life and society, as well as his overall understanding of others and on art were also crucial to this formation.
Today, Jiang Heng’s art people are familiar with is his repetitive symbolized beautiful women gazing with flirtatious eyes, they smile innocently, posing in various flirtatious poses and expressions that satisfies the secular standard. They display this kind of so-called “naïve” and “beautiful” gendered information. To a certain extent, I think Jiang Heng’s women with flirtatious looks is a repetitive statement of sarcasm, it conveys information contrasting with its superficial appearance, or even of opposing and conflicting content.
I remember in one of my essays discussing the Cartoon Generation of Guangzhou, I have mentioned certain causes for the formation of this style,
“The primary subject of the “Cartoon Generation” is the self, whether the self possess sufficient ability of transcendence, can the self go beyond the boundary of southern culture in order to gain a new platform of observation, and to redefine themselves according to the cultural value of their artwork. As a steppingstone to foreign civilization, there are indeed certain advantages in the south. However, as region on the periphery, it is lured by various sources, therefore it is easy for art to sidetrack to the path of superficiality and contentiousness, which is now obviously a fact. … what influences us is precisely the abnormal infatuation of the so-called “depth”. … cartoon overflowing into china caused the traditional way of reading to rapidly collapse. This gave birth to many of the “cartoon characters” from the 1950’s and 1960’s. At the same time, the popularization of computer technology and the increase on artificial environments further barricade the organic relationship between human and nature, yielding large production of “computer characters” besides the already existing “cartoon characters”. The founder of “Cartoon Generation”, Huang Yihan has entitled his first work, We are children reluctant to grow up. The truth is, this title accurately refers to the younger generation who has physically reached maturity yet are psychologically lacking behind – a generation who completely immersed themselves in comics and computers.
This southern art movement at the time was once almost rejected by the entire art world. And not so long ago, its similar style has become the illustrative choice for most young artistic groups born in the 1970’s. The contrasts of this phenomenon in time have even caused people to ignore its initial fact. As I have mentioned at the beginning, Jiang Heng belongs to the earlier “Cartoon Generation”, the formation and development of his symbolism has been almost ten years. From this perspective, I am also one of the earliest critics who have commented on this artistic phenomenon. As I retrieve my comment from the time, I discover that my interest was not on the “cartoon” per se. To analyze them with today’s context, the so-called “cartoon” perhaps was only a intelligible strategy of compositional appropriation. Of course, from which we also find the visual reference specific to that young generation. As critics apply different concept to comment on the styles of today’s “cartoon”, I think one of the problems among them is their gullible believe in “Cartoon”, and have forgotten that similar style has already been important content in publishing and film industries around the 1970’s. The reason I am reiterating my comment from the past is that I discover, even with my view at the time, I have already more or less treated “cartoon” as an intimate issue reflecting on the process of growing up. The Children reluctant to grow up proposed by Huang Yihan was perhaps his subjective view of young people as an “elder”. If we enter into the particular context of the new generation, in terms of “growing up”, what is before them is obvious not “unable to grow up”, but “refusing to grow up”. This attitude of “reluctance” strikes a cord with the social and historical background associated with growing up, which reveals the intense, or even conflicting relationship between the adult society and its non-adult counterpart. I admit, what I noticed at the time was the symptom of “physical maturity and psychological immaturity”, but have perhaps neglected its meaning. In my view, the reasons for artists to choose cartoon or cartoon-like forms, from the surface it’s an outcome of their specific visual influence during their adolescent period, more thoroughly, it infiltrates their attitudes on the adult society that manipulates their growing process. If this hypothesis is true, then certain types of uniformity shown visually are in themselves an interesting response. It tells us how they view the grown-up’s society. In dealing with the grown-up’s society, that is becoming gradually pretentious and cynical, as artists, they can perhaps only use forms that has once been abandoned or neglected by the grown-up society, such as cartoon, to express their “rejection” of this society (here I am referring to the “art world” in the grown-up society). Of course, as the art world transforms itself, cartoon began to come a prominent “style”, and letting this “rejection” to become the beginning of a new cycle of art movement. Whether its later followers shared similar motives, or was driven by the prospect of future success and have chosen “cartoon”, of course needs to be discussed otherwise.”
As I set Jiang Heng’s “flirtatious beauties” against the background related growing up, the sarcasm of his works began to emerge. The rosy dream hidden subconsciously in the early years of adolescence or pre-adolescence was once oppressed from the adult world, and also parts separate ways with the promotion of “depth” in the art world in the past while. Naturally, as of “sarcasm”, I am not emphasizing Jiang Heng’s intended “flirtatious beauties” as a visual description to react or ridicule. I believe he did not have any “sarcastic” creative intent. In other words, he is not interested in the superficial reaction. Or even, he’s not rebellious at all. In the contrary, he is only concerned with the material desire conveyed through the images. It is precisely for this reason, could I have interpreted the certain truth in his works, because what it essentially displays, perhaps he might not even be clearly aware of, is a kind of deterrent attitude in “rejecting” the grown-up society.
With this, I think we have a better understand the “flirtatious beauties” under Jiang Heng’s brush. They were not representations of true beauty to begin with, but the imagined idols of desire, who are placed in a void, gazing with pretentious and naïve eyes, observing the constant inflation of the grown-up society with their constant facial expression. In sum, Jiang Heng has not only realized his intent of rejection with the “women gazing flirtatiously”, but have allowed that age to be eternally planted in a moment of enjoyment for the artist. At the same time, he has also concealed a type of sorrow of adolescence, and has used idols to replace the intervention of reality.
【编辑：霍春常】
编辑：霍春常