管郁达
2008年由美国华尔街呼啸而来的全球金融风暴不但重创了艺术资本主义的市场体系和展览制度，也给刚刚走出意识形态牢笼、在追求现代性道路上步履踉跄的中国当代艺术，提出了许多亟待反思和检讨、而且是不可回避的尖锐问题。中国当代艺术目前正处在一个特殊的充满挑战的文化转型时期：一个杂语并存与“众声喧哗”(heteroglossia)的时代。所有古已有之和从西方舶来的现成的时髦的理论方法都无法对今天纷繁复杂的艺术现象给出有效合理的解释，那种指望靠一把手术刀一劳永逸地解决中国当代艺术问题的想法，已经被证明是一种一元论的乌托邦。中国当代艺术的发展必须与当下现实的身体实践和学术建设同步，寻求新的突破和可能性。今年六月份在云南丽江召开的“领升艺术论坛：修正与重写—首届中国当代艺术学术研讨会”和即将在北京举办的“领升•2009中国美术批评家提名展”，正是在这样一种“山雨欲来风满楼”的形势下应运而生的。它所背负的文化理想主义情怀和积极推进中国当代艺术学术性建设的姿态不言而喻。
如果把当代艺术视为一种双向的“言词” 活动的话，我们就会发现当代艺术这种“言词”活动必须受到“言词”本身和“言词”的接受者的双方决定。作为“言词”，艺术好比就是说者与听者、讲话人与接受者之间相互关系的产品。所以，艺术创造不是一种象牙塔里的自言自语的精英式独白和黑社会老大的“行话”，而是自我与他人之间沟通与交流的桥梁，是说话者与接受者共同分享的领地。因为 “向某人说话，这可能就是听见自己说话，被自我听见，但同时，如果人们被别人听见，也就是使得别人对我造成了‘被听见—说话’的关系，也就是不求助于任何外在性而再产生纯粹的自我影响。”（巴赫金〈M.M. Bakhtin〉《陀思妥耶夫斯基诗学问题》）所以我以为，对正在沦为艺术资本主义专制牢笼的中国当代艺术而言，走出那种单语独白式的、自命为新权威的“行话”言词活动，重新回到精神独立和人的心灵自由这一启蒙主义原点，的确是至关重要的本质问题。
“众声喧哗” （heteroglossia）是前苏联文学批评家巴赫金（M.M. Bakhtin）发明的批评观念。上个世纪三、四十年代，在苏联斯大林的强权高压统治下，巴赫金（M.M. Bakhtin）隐姓埋名，“动心忍性，空乏其身”，潜心学术。虽未受到当时批评界的关注，但却在困苦中独自成就了许多对文学艺术的真知灼见，成为一家之言。“众声喧哗” (heteroglossia)意为各种不同声音的交错、对话关系。所以这个词可以说是人与人之间相互沟通，运用艺术这种“语言”传达意见、彼此交流时所产生的一种现象。人是生而自由的，但又无时不在各种牢笼当中。所以，人们像需要吃喝并享有安全和行动的自由一样需要归属某一个群体，人们如果被剥夺这种归属感就会感到孤单、与世隔绝，就会变得不愉快，仿佛自己因此而渺小。赫尔德（Herder, Johann Gottfried von）也说，在所有痛苦中，怀乡是最为高尚的。因为成为人类的一份子意味着能够在某个地方感到像在家一样自在，那里有自己的族类。因此，当我们运用艺术这种“语言”表达意见时，总预期有“听众”与自己互动，也就是预设了一个最小范围的社会表意、交互沟通的前提。所以即便是那些最强调个性的艺术创造，它们其实也是社会约定俗成的表达意义的符号，在人与人沟通时产生的一种功能。一个健康的自由的民主的社会要维持其活力就必须承认并接受“众声喧哗” 的必然性与必要性，在“众声喧哗”之下，各种符号繁殖、演变，进而产生始料未及的意义扩散的结果，而这正是促进社会意义衍生的要素。也是中国当代艺术走出象牙塔和江湖行会共同体，重建公共空间、回归日常生活的必由之路。
巴赫金（M.M. Bakhtin）认为，“众声喧哗”一方面是社会实践的必然现象，也是人我沟通时必然操作的本能。然而社会却不完全总是容忍所谓“众声喧哗”的可能性，于是乎这中间便产生许多张力。在政治高压的社会里，“众声喧哗”变成不可企及的乌托邦构想，但也正因这乌托邦构想的存在，才能让我们的社会即使在最暗淡的岁月也仍然保持最基本的生命活力。上个世纪八十年代以来中国当代艺术由一元论话语独断论向“众声喧哗” 的多元论转变最终酿成“思想解放”的话语气候，已经向我们证明了这一点。
金融风暴登陆中国迄今尚未消停，且有摧枯拉朽、重新洗牌之势。中国当代艺术的发展也由此情势的变化显现出一种蓄势待发的不安和躁动，那么艺术批评、艺术史写作和相关的艺术制度建设与讨论是否也在呼应这样的气氛呢？作为矢志推进中国当代艺术学术建设的“领升艺术论坛”的重要批评实践活动，参与这次“领升•2009中国美术批评家提名展”的十六位提名批评家、学者和三十五位参展艺术家，期望通过搭建这样一个批评与创作良性互动的学术平台，特立独行，自求真趣，作出各自的思考和行动。我们并不指望通过这样的思考和行动去建立一个通向不朽天庭的、人人都只使用一种语言如巴别塔（Tower of Babel）一样的宏大话语体系。因为，自由和体系是反义词，每个人、每个艺术家都只能成为他自己。所以这个展览虽然由我们领衔组织，却并非一个由策展人构想规划的命题作文，也不是要对中国当代艺术的发展作出理论预测。而是当下中国当代艺术生态和创作“众声喧哗” 的一种客观的问题呈现，它没有主题、没有中心，也没有体系，其本身的“杂语”和多元状态就构成了对体系和中心这种自以为是的一元论宏大“言词” 的反驳。它推崇的是思想的无碍和心灵的自由交流，正如英国文人以赛亚•柏林(Isaiah Berlin)所崇敬的那位“伟大的外行”、十九世纪俄国思想家赫尔岑（Herzen，Aleksandr）在他的自传《往事与随想》里所说：“生活的终极目的就是生活本身。时光自己结束，不是通向另一天或另一种体验的方式……艺术与个人幸福的夏日闪电：这是我们仅有的两样好东西”。
2009年10月18日于昆明
“Heteroglossia” and Free-talk
Preface of “Lead Up” Exhibition of the Chinese Fine Arts Critics’ Nominations 2009
Guan Yuda
The global financial crisis started from the Wall Street in 2008 not only inflicted heavy losses on the capitalistic system of art marketing and exhibition, but also posed many sharp questions to the Chinese contemporary art which had just broken the bonds of the ideology and started for the modernity, however, unavoidable to reconsideration. It is in a special period of cultural transition full of challenges that the Chinese contemporary art has been; the coexistence of miscellaneous languages and “heteroglossia”. Neither the Chinese traditional theories nor the Western existing methods can provide sufficient explanations to the complex situation of the Chinese contemporary art at present. It has been proved to be a monistic Utopia that the idea of a single cut would solve all the problems forever. Chinese contemporary art should develop with the present physical practice and academic construction for the new breakthroughs and possibilities. “Lead Up” Art Forum (Lijiang): Amending and Rewriting-The First Academic Seminar on Chinese Contemporary art held at Lijiang in June this year, as well as the “Lead Up” Exhibition of the Chinese Fine Arts Critics’ Nominations 2009 to be held in Beijing soon, are to satisfy the current requirements, which have been self-evident to take on the cultural idealism and promotion of the academic construction of the Chinese contemporary art.
If we look the contemporary art as a round-way activity of “words”, we will find such activity has to be decided by both the “words” and the recipient. As the “words”, art is like the product by the interaction between the speaker and the listener. Thus, artistic creativity would rather to be like a bridge for the communication between self and others, speaker and listener, than the monologue of the elite in the ivory tower, or the jargons used by the head of underworld. “When talking to others, one can hear what he himself is saying and heard by self. In the meanwhile, if people are heard by others, the “heard-talking” relation has been achieved on oneself by others, which is the pure self-influence without any externalities.” (M. M. Bakhtin Dostoevsky's Poetics) It is the reason why I suggest that the essence of the Chinese contemporary art, which is becoming the capture of the art capitalism, should give up the monological and authoritarian “jargons”, and return to the initial point of the Enlightenment being independent spirit and free mind.
“Heteroglossia” is the concept initiated by M. M. Bakhtin, the literary critic from Former Soviet Union. In the last thirties and forties, Bakhtin concealed identity and dived into the academic research against the might by Stalin. Even not being paid much attention to, he still became the leader by the achievements he got during the hard times alone. “Heteroglossia” means the mix and dialogue of the different voices, which describes the phenomenon when people are communicating and exchanging ideas by using art as the “language”. Human are born to freedom, however, being captured easily. So, they need a group to belong to, while they enjoy the food, beverage, security, and freedom of action. They would feel lonely, isolated, and unhappy if deprived of such sense of belonging, looking down on them. Herder, Johann Gottfried von said that nostalgia should be the most distinguished of all kinds of pains. Being human means having a home and partners of his kind. Therefore, when we use art as the “language”, we are expecting the “audience” will join the action, and a minimum scope for social expression and communication. Even the most individual artistic creation is still produced to be conventional to the society and relations. If a healthy, free, and democratic society wants to maintain its energy, it has to accept the inevitability and necessity of the “heteroglossia” which contributes to the reproduction and evolution of various symbols till the unexpected significance of social meanings. That’s the road the Chinese contemporary art must follow to go out of the ivory tower and guild for public space and daily life.
Bakhtin thought that “heteroglossia” was not only the inevitable outcome of social practice, but also instinctive behavior when communicating. However, since all the society does not accept the so-called “heteroglossia”, it will cause the tensions. In a society of coercion policy, “heteroglossia” would just be a dream untouchable. But, without such a dream, the society might not survive from the darkness. And it has been proved by the transformation of the Chinese contemporary art from last eighties when the monistic dogmatism of language changed to the pluralism “heteroglossia”, and finally turned out to be the “emancipation of mind”.
The financial crisis in China has not been to a stop, and it will continue to destroy and reshuffle the present system. However, the Chinese contemporary art has been ready to change along the situation. So, can the art criticism, art history literature, and relevant system respond to the atmosphere? “Lead Up” Art Forum is committed to promote the academic construction of Chinese contemporary art. All the participants to the “Lead Up” Exhibition of the Chinese Fine Arts Critics’ Nominations 2009, including sixteen critics and thirty five artists, are expecting such a stage for the criticism and creativity where they can seeking for the individuality and true delight by independent thought and action. We would not like to build an immortal magnificent language system like Tower of Babel, because freedom and system are the opposites; every single person, or artist, will only be himself. Although we organized the exhibition, it would not like to be a controlled composition writing planned by the curator, nor prediction it will be. It is the objective presentation of the “heteroglossia” to the current art status and creativity. Without subject, focus, or system, the “mix of the language” and the multiplicity disproved the monistic magnificent “words” from system and the center by valuing the free talk from heart and spirit. Just as the Herzen, Aleksandr, a Russian thinker in 19th century revered by British literator as a “great amateur”, said in his autobiography My Past and Thoughts: “The final aim of life is life itself. Times will end by itself rather than being the way to another day or experience……Art and the summer lightning of personal happiness are the only good things we have.”
Kunming, 2009.10.18
【编辑：郑红】
