钞氏兄弟的心思
文/宋伟光
如果把钞氏兄弟的作品划分到陶艺当中，表面上看似乎没错，但切实地有些不妥。因为一般“玩陶”者重釉色，重机变，求偶然，而钞氏的“陶”重“写实”，是少依赖于偶然，多依靠控制的费神之作，是把“制陶”作为“制艺”的手段，充分地发挥着陶的这种难以替代的语言功能。说起来钞氏的“写实”，是对现实有心的琢磨、选择和提炼，他们的作品似乎可以理解为是现实物品的“肖像”，且看作品《东方红号》，这件破旧的拖拉机驾驶室的顶棚遮盖着防雨布，防雨布的四周均匀的、牢牢地钉嵌着的按钉已在悄悄生出锈斑，驾驶者早已离去，座位上被遗弃的布包仿佛尚留余温。它虽摆脱了劳作和重负，得以喘息，但它老了，不中用了，它辉煌的时代已经过去，如今只剩下残破的肢体，伴随着它的风烛残年，抚摸着破败的车头，心生感叹，蓦然见到“东方红”这鲜红的标示，依旧夺目、依旧光艳，挣扎着向人们提示它那永不泯灭的骄傲-------
这件作品已经远远的超过了一般的“现实”，一般的客观模拟，它具有肖像般的功能。因为这只“拖拉机”有使用者的痕迹，有它经历岁月磨砺的风雨记忆。像这一类型的作品钞氏兄弟还有许多，如老屋、老城楼、老火车头、老汽车------这不禁使笔者要追问，他们在干什么？他们想干什么？他们想干的原来是人类的一种心理需要——回忆。钞氏兄弟用艺术留住了那一典型时代的典型物件，那种机械化作业给当时的劳作带来的欢乐和美好。他们用这种细腻入微的“笔触”通过现实的种种表象陈述着记忆的价值。
钞氏兄弟眼下又完成了新作，此作唤作《昨天》，这件作品入选了第十一届全国美展。这是一组大型的由流逝岁月的物件和不同角色穿的“鞋”，共同组合构成的记忆，它们按照一种节律来排列组合，在组合中烘托出了作品的主题——“昨天”。
且看，引领这只队伍的是一双巨大的“解放鞋”，它表示时代的巨人在引领方向，而随后者以不同的姿态，不同的身份，从不同的方向朝队伍靠拢。这件组合式的作品像小说一样有故事的开始，发展和插曲，而这个插曲便发生在作品的左角，看到了吗？有一只在行进的过程中鞋底朝天的“鞋”它暗喻掉队者，掉队者的出现使得故事中更有了故事，有了花絮，也平添了几分猜测，几分想象-----
故事叙述到这里就完了吗？还没有。在队伍的后面有三组物件，左侧一组是旧军帽、军包、冲锋号等；右侧一组是皮箱、冲锋枪、防毒面具等；而中间一组是则是由炉子、旧笔记本还有毛主席语录等构成。它们分别寓意着战争与和平、火红的年代和冲锋与防守等多重含义，这是故事的策源点，使人们可以凭借着这种象征语言、回忆起那逝去的但仍然记忆着生命与活力的美好年华。
在此，鞋子是群体的象征，是人群的抽象和隐喻，是笔不到意到的留白。从“鞋子”的不同新旧程度，不同的破损与皱褶，不同的生活痕迹和种类中我们得知，这是行进在艰苦岁月中的工农大众，是共和国建设的一代力量。从这些作品中可以看出钞氏兄弟是用心地在琢磨每一个人，每一只脚，每一只鞋，希图通过这些“鞋子”使人们产生联想，唤起它的潜在功能，并由此生出对他们的怀念和敬意。这与“拖拉机”等异曲同工，都是对选取的现实进行的提炼和浓缩，因为典型的物件本身便具有表现性。
有意思的是这组作品中的构成单元本来是各自独立的，各自具有独立的表现内容，然而通过重组，遂产生了互动，生成了故事，形成了指向。这也说明当代艺术以何种方式展示，本身就是一种创造，所以无论你“在场”与“不在场”，当代艺术都应建立一个自身的语言系统。
起先，钞氏兄弟有“造房计划”，之后又有“旧物件的记忆”和“老城门的诉说”等，而今这些旧物件又在生成一种交响，变幻成一个事件，一种评价，一个故事。这是把生活记号转化成艺术符号，形成了“睹物思人”的纪念性价值。钞氏兄弟的作品不是陶艺，不是波普，也非古之“像生”，而是有心思的以细微的情感撷取和选择典型事物，深化细节，关注社会，追忆过去，留住残缺，留住思考的当代之作。
说到这儿，引发出了一点思考。这可能稍稍偏离开文章的主题，即艺术是要与人交流的，一件作品产生之后，应当要考虑受众对它的理解，这样便于传播自己的艺术主张。在艺术作品前观者的位置是可以转换的，即我看艺术品；我看艺术品，艺术品也在看我。当艺术品也在看我时，便可能产生了共鸣，就钞氏兄弟的作品而言，这种共鸣，应该就是——历史应当记住，精神价值应当永存，因为历史尚有启发今人明晰事理以供借鉴之用，而典型的物件恰是对历史的证明，钞氏兄弟又恰是把这种“原型”的信息细致、入微地传达下来，这种有选择的“摹真”便于深度地留住记忆，留住思考，这便是钞氏兄弟的价值点和心思。
2009年
宋伟光 ，雕塑杂志社副主编
Idea of the CHAO BROTHERS
Song Weiguang
If we divide the works of CHAO BROTHERS into ceramics, it looks right superficially, but actually it seems inappropriate. While the common “ceramics players” think highly of glazing color, chance variation and contingency, the CHAO BROTHERS focus on the reality, their great works mainly depend on the control. They regard the “making ceramics” as the “creating art”, in other words, it is a way of creating sculpture, which fully expresses such linguistic function that is hard to be substituted. As to the CHAO BROTHERS’ “realistic writing and painting”, it is a kind of consideration, choice and abstraction of actuality. It seems that their works can be understood as “portrait” of real objects. For instance, Dongfanghong tractor, the beat-up driving cab’s overhead guard is covered with waterproof cloth, which is symmetrically surrounded by rusty thumbtacks. The driver was gone, left the fabric bag that seemed with residue temperature. Although it gets rid of hard work and deadweight, it is old and useless, its resplendent times was gone, only the dilapidated body left. Touching the beat-up headstock, there was a sense of plaint. When you suddenly see the red marking “Dongfanghong”, it is bright-colored and dazzling as before, which struggles to show its indelible pride.
This work has the “portrait function”, which has surpassed the common “reality” and objective simulation, because this tractor shows the driver’s history and the memory of suffering. Just like such series of works, there are many others like Old House, Old Gate Tower, Old Locomotive and Old Truck. You may ask, what are they doing? What are they thinking? What they want to do is to retrieve the memory, which is a kind of psychological needs of human being. The CHAO BROTHERS retained these typical objects in that typical time, the mechanization work, which brought happiness and goodliness. They indicated the value of memory by means of “writing combination” though several practical images in daily life.
A new work has been created, Yesterday, which has been selected into the 11th National Art Exhibition. This is a combination of memory, the passed objects and shoes worn by different people. They are arranged and composed according to a kind of rhythm, in which contrasts the theme of this work——“Yesterday”.
Just look at the leading huge “Jiefang Shoes” of this troop, which indicates the era giant who leads the direction, and the followers who get close together to the troop are in different poses, identities and directions. This combined work likes a novel, which has the beginning, progress and episode, and the episode is at the left side of this work, see? The upside down shoe, which is the metaphor of straggler, and it makes the story colorful and arouses more guess and imagination.
Is it the end of the story? No. There are three groups of objects in the end of the troop, an old army cap, army bag, bugle, etc in the left group; leather suitcase, submachine gun, respirator, etc in the right group; camp stove, old notebook, Chairman Mao's Ana, etc in the middle group, which respectively reflects war and peace, flaming times, attack and defend, etc. This is the point of story, which makes people recall the past lives and energy through the signify language.
Hereon, shoe is the symbol of group, and it is the abstract and metaphor of public crowd. From the different new and old levels, dilapidation and rumple, living histories, we can find that the CHAO BROTHERS paid much attention to each person, foot and shoe, in which way make people arouse its profound function through these “shoes”, and subsequently indicate the miss and respect. Such work has the same effect as “tractor”, which is the abstraction and concentration of reality; because the typical object itself has the expressive character.
It was interesting that each unit in this work was originally independent and respectively had its own expressive content. However, after the recombination, the interaction, story and direction formulated. The art itself was a kind of creation no matter it was expressed in what way, modern art should set up its own language system no matter you “present” or not.
The CHAO BROTHERS had the idea of “Building House Plan” at first, then “Memory of Old Objects” and “The Old City Gate’s Complain”, and these old objects made the symphony and turned into an event, opinion as well as story. It was a monumental value that life marks had been transformed into art symbol and formed “Missing the people while watching the object”. The CHAO BROTHERS’ works were not ceramics, bop or the ancient “Xiangsheng”, but the modern works, which focused on the exquisite feeling of deepening details, attention to the society, recalling the memory and thinking.
It comes a thinking that has little to do with the theme. That is to say, art needs communication with people, and it should considered that audience’s understanding after one work is finished, which is helpful to spread the art proposition. The other people may also make such theme, but it causes different understanding because of the different points, methods and ideas. Once a work is finished, it doesn’t mean the finish of significance, which is gradually shaped during the process. However, as to the original meaning of the work, it needs to be explained widely and effectively, which is the characteristic of modern art, because the modern art depends on the attitude of the elucidator. The position of the spectator could be switched, in other words, the artwork watch you when you watch the artwork, at the same time, the resonance may arise, as to the CHAO BROTHERS, the resonance is that the history should be remembered, spiritual value should be kept in mind forever, because history is helpful to explain matters, and the typical objects are the proofs of history. It is the CHAO BROTHERS who transmits the “original” information carefully and in great detail, which is convenient for retaining memory and thinking. This is not only the writer’s “discovery” of the CHAO BROTHERS, but also their value and idea.
2009 BeiJing
Song Weiguang Sculpture magazine deputy editor