| Yue Minjun is one of the most
important Beijing-based artists of the Chinese avant-garde.
He is part of the key movement of the post-1989 era in Chinese
avant-garde art – Cynical Realism . Cynical Realism developed
in the aftermath of the events of 1989 which included not only
the demonstrations at Tian’anmen Square but also the closure
earlier that year of the “China Avant-garde” exhibition at the
China National Gallery in Beijing by the authorities. As the
1980s were characterized by great idealism and hope in the artistic
community that they would be able to contribute to the regeneration
of Chinese culture, the 1990s were characterized by a loss of
idealism, a more ironical or personal viewpoint and a greater
detachment from any regeneration of society.
Yue Minjun’s works are instantly recognizable
by the characteristic laughing figure, actually the artist
himself, depicted in various guises in virtually all his works.
The figure has more teeth than one could possibly want, like
the expensive smiles of fashion models advertising the latest
whitening power of a toothpaste brand. This figure also shares
the exaggerated nature of these advertising images. Yue Minjun’s
trademark smile is many things at once. It is hilarious and
infectious yet cynical and mocking. It appears superficial,
mindless, even ridiculous but is deeply revealing and compelling.
There are instant parallels to be drawn with the Social Realist
propaganda posters of earlier eras of communism. There are
the bright colors, the intense enthusiasm in the expressions
of the figures and the implied joy and total fulfillment if
one adopts the message of the poster/painting as one’s own
mission. The difference is in the initial innocence of any
idealistic movement there is no taint of cynicism but China
post-1989 is a much less utopian place.
A wonderful take-off of the propaganda poster
is the painting “Red Flag”. This work could be straight out
of an advertising campaign for the 1970s music group Village
People. The figure in the painting is a PLA soldier gone camp.
All that is left of his soldier’s uniform is the cap. We see
a nude torso adorned with a pink bow tie and a tattoo of a
dragon. The multicolored balloons in the background, recalling
those always launched at any Chinese celebration, contribute
to the crazy party atmosphere. The smile is there, provocative
and willful. The work is a sign of liberation in its obvious
references to gay men but even more significant is that a
Chinese artist can thus appropriate and subvert the revered
Peoples Liberation Army. Mockery of even greater sacred images
is found in “The Five Greats”. This is a take-off of a famous
image of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao. Yue Minjun has
left Mao but places him in the company of Piero della Francesca,
a character from the cartoon series The Simpsons, a rooster
and the artis himself, as usual in his laughing guise. While
in the original image Mao is serious and surely inspired,
he too laughs with Yue Minjun in “The Five Greats”.
What are Yue Minjun’s figures laughing at or about?
In some works it is easy to believe at first they may be laughing
at their own situation in the painting-for example in “Paradise”
they are floating on clouds and obviously enjoying it. But
then does the title “Paradise” mean they are dead? Are they
happier there than alive? If so, why? What happened? Initial
hilarity quickly gives way to darker thoughts – all is not
as it seems, something is not quite right and it is probably
quite wrong. Then again perhaps they have always wanted to
float on clouds and doing so is paradise. It is this ambiguity
that is disturbing in Yue Minjun’s work. It parallels a life
that is not all it appears to be. On the surface all is hilarious,
all is fun but that smile is too perfect, then grin a little
too forced. Its repetition in a given painting and its repetition
throughout the artist’s work makes one suspect things are
not at all perfect.
Some recent work has concentrated on a cosmetic,
make-up theme. In “Red Ocean” three ostensibly ecstatic characters
float above a sea of red flags while they apply makeup. As
with all Yue Minjun’s works the figures are men but these
men have manicured and varnished fingernails and lipstick
of differing colors. The positions of the hands are delicate
and this is echoed in the delicacy of the pink flags fluttering
at the bottom of the picture. Again references to propaganda
posters are instantly apparent – all those flags recall the
masses of Red Guards in Tian’anmen Square frantically waving
their little red books. Cosmetics are a significant art of
new commercial China. As in the West every department store
has it floor devoted to a huge array of products. Advertising
tells the Chinese this or that lotion or shampoo or lipstick
will change their lives for the better. In “Red Ocean” this
face of new China is elevated to cult status, as was Mao,
far above and beyond the nationalist mass below.
Yue Minjun is a highly perceptive and intelligent
artist. His wit is sharp. He addresses the question of reality.
What constitutes reality? Is it the images we see, be they
advertisements, propaganda or famous paintings? Does reality
lie with those who produce the images or with those who consume
them or somewhere else? He views the follies of the past and
present and exposes them naked. He singles out vanity, regardless
of era or place, and reduces it to its essential ridicule.
Nothing escapes his humorous mockery, not even himself. All
this he does with a smile and we all laugh.
London, Feb,2000
摘自《我们都在大笑》（朱丽叶·科曼，中国当代艺术有限公司）——《岳敏君：红色的海洋》，CCARTUK画廊，伦敦，英国，2000，展会画册
|
