Li Gang_Between

李钢 LI GANG 之间 BETWEEN 《打-算》2011, 局部, 煤, 螺丝, 30个, 尺寸各异

“Da-Suan” 2011, detail, coal, screws, 30 pcs., different sizes

Like a Tree with Many Branches On the Recent Works of Li Gang

by Heinz-Norbert Jocks

In considering Li Gang’s (*1986 in Dali, China; lives and works in Beijing, China) very diverse groups of works and individual pieces, the increasingly strong impression one has is that this is someone who believes that working with form and materials is as important as the exploration of content and ideas, and that the artist is looking to balance the two. Li Gang describes his works as parts or derivatives of a tree that – like buds, blossoms, leaves, branches and twigs – have their own unique appearances, while at the same time remaining part of a whole and thus referring to a greater context. Again and again, the artist creates new works that are clearly different from their predecessors, and not simply because he uses a variety of media. They are so distinct that one cannot, at first, relate them to each other at all. Yes, one might even believe that they are pieces by very different artists, each expressing extremely different ideas and statements. Only gradually, when one begins to consider the mindset behind it all, is it then possible to discern internal connections and thematic focal points.

In conversation with the artist, one also notices how very much the works – even the highly abstract, specific meditations – are founded in life, although they do not attempt any sort of illustration of it, even in the artist’s approach. Now, the abstract zeniths he achieves in this way recall the concepts of western artists. This, however, points up something that Li Gang is aiming for. It is not just an entirely different way of thinking and seeing. Although he has read Schopenhauer as well as Confucius, there is only a partial correspondence to western ideas. In addition, the path that he has taken in order to discover a general form of expression is evidence of a certain kind of incomparability. Frequently, he comes up with aesthetic solutions based on the experience that someone else has already discovered what he wants to say, but has not expressed it in the way that Li Gang would have wished. Having experienced the fact that traces of something, the memory of it, can reveal a somewhat more lasting effect, fe artist removed the paint from the canvases of finished figurative paintings and sealed the pigments inside transparent plastic bags as mementos, so that only a little bit of paint is left on the canvas to hint at the old image. This is the kind of detour Li Gang takes when he finally finds the most appropriate means of expression.

Creating a sense of unfamiliarity is, incidentally, a concept that arises relatively frequently in his work – for instance, in a conversation about his unique cellophane tape series,2010). Here, the artist used transparent tape to depict a small stone so that it suddenly looked unfamiliar. Instead of unfamiliarity, though, it could also be called a shift in perception – something that happens, for example, when we see an enlarged section of a familiar object, or just a tiny part of a broad landscape we think we have known inside and out for years. At that point we feel more than just a slight irritation, because we are surprised to find that the aforementioned object or landscape is hurling its Otherness straight at us. Li Gang tries to convey this experience in his piec2011). We do not see a normal painting in a rectangular shape, but a circular one, something like a sphere.

He does not leave it at that, though, because he confronts a small version of this with one that is considerably larger, and we involuntarily wonder if it is an enlargement or a reduction. Are we seeing the same thing in small and large versions, or something quite different? The fact that we are dealing with a round, black form that looks like a tennis ball eliminates each and every question about what it might represent. This is not about the delayed identification of a section of the world, but quite simply about the disconcerting feeling that we have when faced with the monumental version of something small.

Li Gang is as interested in transforming or converting things that seem familiar to us as he is in forms of expression that do not yet exist. Let us single out a work made this yeahe idea came to him as he was free-associating one morning in the bath. Among other things, he imagined what it would be like if he could swim in the water with which he was at the moment washing his hands and face – swim like a fish from his kitchen to the gallery; independent of this fantasy of a “line of flight,” as Gilles Deleuze calls it, he then had the idea to make a mirror out of a manhole cover. He polished a manhole cover in the middle until he could see a matte reflection of his face in it. It seemed to him that the repetitive act of polishing was like a process of self-discovery. However, this work has nothing to do with the concept of the readymade, as the western mind will all too suddenly assume, if only because Li Gang has never intensively studied Marcel Duchamp. Nor is he interested in trying to define art; rather, it is about expanding the levels of meaning of a peripheral object, something to which we would ordinarily never pay much attention. Perhaps it is even about the aspect of self-recognition in what he makes.

This also applies to the wooden pedestal he made this year. Instead of elevating something to the status of a work of art, this cube, painted white, stands on its own, and the artist himself has declared it an actual work, tiThe sight of it raises two questions: why is the pedestal declared a work of art in this way, and what is the meaning of the red color on the white paint that covers it. It is not until one knows that the traces of red come from banknotes rubbed onto the white paint that one understands that this work subtly and critically circles around the complex relationship between art and money. First, Li Gang was looking for a way to create a work with money, in a way that no other artist had undertaken before. A coincidental discovery, made when he was replacing an old briefcase with a new one, helped him. While emptying the old briefcase, he saw the discoloration caused by the banknotes that had been kept in it. So it was possible to dye things with money. In coloring the pedestal by rubbing the banknotes on it, he points out that the purpose of pedestals in art is to declare that whatever is placed on them is a work of art. Second, the

color of the money itself becomes one of the materials in the work of art and thus the meaning of its exchange value becomes an open question.

Money has meaning because it is needed in order to acquire materials for making art, and because it elevates the status of a work when it is sold for a high price. Yes, it seems ironic that the object that is elevated to the status of a work of art is not actually a work of art. Whether it is good or bad does not appear to be very relevant when it is evaluated on the art market. Even a non-work-of-art can achieve the exchange value of a work of art there, and thus become a work of art, because it is being treated as such.

In his wo Li Gang examines the relationship between modern technologies and resources. He has drilled holes at regular intervals into a total of thirty variously sized pieces of coal. By twisting screws into them, he describes the process of exploiting nature. One is reminded of the process of drilling to obtain oil and other resources, as well as the way that technology has penetrated the natural world. Like a colony of ants marking its path with the rice it leaves behind, Li Gang installs the pieces of coal in the space as if he is creating a poetic image from which one can draw endless associations. Each in his own way.

Translated from German: Allison Plath-Moseley

“之间”, 麦勒画廊 北京-卢森, 中国北京, 2011

“Between”, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Beijing, China, 2011

枝杈横斜的大树 —— 评李钢近期作品 文：Heinz-Norbert Jocks

李钢创作的不同系列和单件的作品各异其态，愈发给我们留下这样的印象：这里的这个人对于作品的形式和材料同样看重，就像他对待作品内容和 个人思考的交锋一般；这里的这个人试图在两者之间寻求一种平衡。李钢说，他的作品就像一棵大树生长出的部分，如它的衍生物一般，是嫩芽，是花 朵，是树叶，是枝杈，有着非比寻常的面貌，但共同指向着支撑整体的树干，互相隶属。他不断创作着面貌完全不同的新作品，这些作品并非由于艺术 家使用的不同媒介而与先前的作品明显区分开来。这区分如此强烈，以至于让人一开始无法看到新旧作品之间的任何关联。人们甚至会认为，是不同 的艺术家创作了这些作品，他们的观念和表达如此相异。而当你开始关注隐藏在作品之后的思考方式时，才能渐渐看清其内在的联系和主题重点。 在和艺术家的对话中，尤为引人注目的是，他的作品，即使是那些高度抽象的创作，仍然根植于艺术家对于生活的具体观察，然而这些作品并非旨在 试图诠释生活，甚至在艺术家的切入方式上也毫不显现。李钢在作品中将抽象推向极致，引发我们对西方艺术家提出的一些观念的回忆。尽管他本 人既读过儒家经典，也读过叔本华，但他的探索所依仗的东西，产生自另一种不同的、与西方文化只是在某些环节一致的思考和观看方式，而且不仅 如此。他在寻找着某种常态的表达形式，这条道路孕育着无可比拟的特质。艺术家有着这样的经验，那些已经被他人发现的美学处理方法无法将他 想表达的东西以他期望的方式表达出来，因此，他常常通过自己之手发掘美学手段。李钢以这样一种体会作为他的创作背景：有些事物留下的痕迹和 我们对之的回忆会带来某种更为持久的影响。藉此，在系列作品《流年》（2008-2009）中，他搓洗已经完成的绘画作品，把洗去的颜料放在透明的 塑料袋中保存，画布上只留下斑驳的颜料痕迹。通过类似的周折，最终找到了很恰当的表达方式。 制造陌生感也是李钢创作的关键词，比如在他谈到曾经用胶带创作的系列作品《它》（2010）时，这个词经常出现。在该作品中，他用胶带的叠加来 描绘普通的石子，以至于我们忽然之间无法再辨识出它的本来面目。除了陌生感，这里呈现出的也是一种感知的转换。举例来说，当我们看到一件熟 悉的物品某一放大的部分，或者面对我们认为早就看惯了的广阔风景的一个细小局部时，就会出现这种感觉。除了视觉上小小的刺激之外，我们还会 惊喜地发现，之前如此熟悉的物体或风景抛给我们一个完全陌生的侧影。李钢在作品《误差》（2011）中也表达了这种经验。我们看到的绘画并非在 常见的四角形画框里，而是以一个圆形的、好似球体的形式呈现出来。然而他并未止步于此，而是呈现了一大一小两种球形的对立，我们不禁要问， 大球形是小球形的放大版本，抑或小的是大的的缩影？眼前看到的放大和缩小版本是否来自同一图像，还是并非如此？实际上，眼前的这个看似好 像网球的黑色圆形物体打消了我们对于探求其内容的一切疑问，在这里，重要的也不是对于世界某一片段的延迟认同，而只是那种令人不安的感觉， 这种感觉是把某个不起眼的小东西宏大化后的结果。 李钢对于我们所熟悉的事物的变形和转化有着极大的兴趣，这就像他非常看重从未被使用过的表达形式一样。在此，我们可以讨论一下他今年创作 的作品《镜子》（2011）。李钢不断地抛光井盖表面的中心部位，直到看到自己的脸庞反射在哑光的井盖表面上。这个不断重复的抛光动作对他来说 似乎是一种找寻自我的过程。西方人会急匆匆地将这件作品看作是现成物的实践，而实际情况却非如此，李钢本人也没有对马塞尔·杜尚进行过深入 的研究。在这里，艺术家并非要凸显艺术的定义问题，而是让那些在人们日常生活中经常被忽略的边缘事物的意义得到延展。或许，这也呈现了艺术 家对于自己作品的一种自我认同。 李钢今年用木制展台制作的一件作品也出于这个理念。艺术家并未做任何处理来让展台看起来更像一件艺术品，这件表面刷成白色的立方体就自立 在那里，艺术家把它命名为《展台》（2011），由此，它成为了一件以自身为目的的本真作品。看到这件作品，人们会提出这样的问题：为何一个普通的 展台可以以这种方式成为一件艺术品？展台白色表面上覆盖的红色痕迹有着怎样的涵义？当我们得知，红色的痕迹是艺术家用钞票在展台表面不断 摩擦留下的，我们才能领会到，这件作品是以如此敏锐而批判的方式呈现了艺术与金钱的复杂关系。构思这件作品时，李钢试图找到一种可能性，用 其他艺术家迄今没有采用过的方式，制作一件与金钱有关的作品。他给一个展台配上了用钞票摩擦留下的颜色，一方面暗示，艺术中展台的作用是将 在其上放置和展示的东西解释为艺术品；而另一方面，钞票的颜色在这里也成为了艺术品的质料；这样一来，交换价值的意义就变成了公开的问题。 金钱具有意义，既是因为艺术家只有有了它才能购买材料，制作艺术品；还因为艺术品的价格往往会左右艺术品地位的高低。是的，我们会觉得在这 件作品上感受到某种嘲讽的姿态，嘲讽那些变成艺术品的东西其实什么都不是。艺术市场给出的价值评断与其质量好坏也并无太大关系。一件非艺 术作品只要和艺术品达到一样的交换价值，也可以摇身一变，成为艺术品。 同样，在2011年创作的作品《打-算》（2011）中，他探讨了现代技术和资源的关系。我们看到三十块大小不同的煤块，上面均匀的钻着数十个小孔。 小孔中拧入钉子，艺术家以此方式刻画了自然被开采的过程。人们会联想到钻井打油或者其它自然资源的开采，联想到技术对于自然空间的侵略。像 一队蚂蚁用留在身后的米粒标识出走过的路线一样，李钢小心翼翼地把这些煤块布置在展览空间中，营造出一幅充满诗意的画面，任每个观者以自 己各自的方式自由想象。

翻译：苏伟

《金边》2011 布面铅笔, 木框 200 x 140 cm

“Golden Rim” 2011 pencil on canvas, wooden frame 200 x 140 cm

《北京下午－15:50》2011 布面铅笔 150 x 130 cm

“Beijing Afternoon - 15: 50” 2011 pencil on canvas 150 x 130 cm

《北京下午－16:20》2011 布面铅笔 150 x 130 cm

“Beijing Afternoon - 16: 20” 2011 pencil on canvas 150 x 130 cm

《北京下午－16:30》2011 布面铅笔 150 x 130 cm

“Beijing Afternoon - 16: 30” 2011 pencil on canvas 150 x 130 cm

《北京下午－17:00》2011 布面铅笔 150 x 130 cm

“Beijing Afternoon - 17: 00” 2011 pencil on canvas 150 x 130 cm

《误差》2011 布面油画 大直径 205 cm, 小直径 30 cm

“Error” 2011 oil on canvas large ø 205 cm, small ø 30 cm

《展台》2011 木制展台, 纸币上的浮色 120 x 80 x 60 cm

“Pedestal” 2011 wooden plinth, banknote pigment 120 x 80 x 60 cm

《镜子》2011 井盖 直径72 cm

“Mirror” 2011 manhole cover ø 72 cm

李钢 1986

生于中国云南大理 生活和工作在中国北京

2007 2009

毕业于云南大理学院油画专业，中国云南 进修于中央美术学院实验艺术系，中国北京

个展 2011

“之间”，麦勒画廊 北京-卢森，中国北京 “缓缓而序”，麦勒画廊 北京-卢森，瑞士卢森

Li Gang 1986

born in Dali, China lives and works in Beijing, China

2007 2009

graduated from the Department of Oil Painting, Yunnan Dali Academy, Dali, China further education, Department of Experimental Art, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

Solo Exhibitions 2011

“Between”, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Beijing, China

“A Tranquil Order”, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland

出版：麦勒画廊 北京-卢森为李钢个展 “之间” 而出版, 展出于中国北京麦勒画廊 北京-卢森 2011年 9月3日至 10月 23日 编辑：麦勒画廊 北京-卢森; 文章：Heinz-Norbert Jocks; 翻译：Allison Plath-Moseley（英文）, 苏伟（中文）; 设计：李建辉; 摄影：古小波, Eric Gregory Powell, 孙建伟 © 2011 麦勒画廊 北京-卢森, 李钢 未经出版人的书面许可, 本书所有内容不可用于任何形式及目的, 包括但不限于图片复印、抄录或其他信息存储及文字转换的复制及传播。 印刷：中国北京 Publisher: Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne on the occasion of Li Gang’s solo exhibition “Between” at Galerie Urs Meile in Beijing, China, from September 3 to October 23, 2011 Editor: Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne; Text: Heinz-Norbert Jocks; Translators: Allison Plath-Moseley (E), Su Wei (C); Designer: Li Jianhui Photography: Gu Xiaobo, Eric Gregory Powell, Sun Jianwei © 2011 Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Li Gang All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including but not limited to photocopying, transcribing or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in China 麦勒画廊, 北京市朝阳区草场地104号, 邮编 100015, 电话 + 86 10 643 333 93 Galerie Urs Meile, No. 104, Caochangdi, Chaoyang District, PRC -100015 Beijing, China, T + 86 10 643 333 93 Galerie Urs Meile, Rosenberghöhe 4, 6004 Lucerne, Switzerland, T + 41 41 420 33 18 galerie@galerieursmeile.com, www.galerieursmeile.com