三个单元计划｜杨陆峰：“上善若水”，浅见艺术创作的核心

[ 1 ] 

你的创作题材从过去的山海图景逐渐转向了数字符码，是什么促使你做出转变？

Your creative focus has shifted from traditional landscape and seascape themes to digital codes. What prompted this transition?

两方面的原因，一方面从内容上说，2019年底全世界因为不可控的原因迎来了一次巨大变革，各种乱象与怪象丛生，很多曾经荒诞的事情在那时的社会语境下显得异常合理，也有很多事情的标准无常变化着：同一件事你今天做就是对的，明天做又变成错的。正是这些现象引发了我对“真实”和“虚假”在当下时代展现出何种关系的思考，这种思考成为促使我在创作中寻求转变的基础动力。另一方面从绘画语言上来讲，同样是2019年暑假，我去威尼斯国际艺术双年展，看到了主题展中乌拉圭画家吉尔·穆勒迪（Jill Mulleady）的画作，给我一种新奇的绘画语言感受，让我不由赞叹绘画艺术的核心果然还是要回归本源：绘画语言。同时这也刺激了我探寻绘画语言转变的欲望。

There are two main reasons behind this shift. On one hand, in terms of content, the end of 2019 marked a period of significant global upheaval, driven by uncontrollable events. This led to the emergence of various anomalies, where many previously absurd occurrences suddenly made sense within the new social context. Standards became unpredictable—what was right today could be wrong tomorrow. These changes led me to deeply reflect on the relationship between "reality" and "illusion" in our time, which became the core motivation for my creative transformation. On the other hand, in terms of artistic language, during the summer of 2019, I attended the Venice Biennale, where I encountered the work of Uruguayan artist Jill Mulleady in the thematic exhibition. Her innovative approach to painting struck me, reaffirming my belief that the essence of art lies in its painting language. This experience ignited my desire to explore new directions in my own painting language.

[ 2 ] 

红蓝边缘重影的视觉效果给人一种向过去闪回的感受，为什么你选择运用这一手法进行创作？

The red-blue edge ghosting effect in your work evokes a sense of flashback to the past. Why did you choose this technique?  

从“真实”和“虚假”边界关系入手，我本能的想到小时候喜欢看的一本杂志《恐龙》，那时每本杂志都会随书附赠一幅霸王龙形状的眼镜，眼镜的镜片一片是红色的一片是绿色的，杂志的最后一页是一幅模糊的、红绿重影的，像是印刷错误的图画，但当你戴上那副眼镜再观看，竟会得到一种三维超?体的视觉体验。通过改变观看?式就能把图像视错感转化成视觉超真实感，就如“明确”和“模糊”本是?对反义词， 但在特定的情况下，两者的边界会被打破，不仅能共存又能相互转换。我把这种“红绿或红蓝边缘重影”所营造的模糊感提取出来并明确化，通过这种视觉感受的转换，我也想阐述，也许万事万物所谓的“真实”和“虚假”都隐藏在我们广泛认知的表象之下。

The concept of the boundary between "reality" and "illusion" naturally reminded me of a childhood favorite magazine called Dinosaurs. Each issue included a T-Rex-shaped pair of glasses, with one red lens and one green. The final page of the magazine featured a blurry, red-green ghosted image that appeared to be a printing error. However, when viewed through the glasses, this image transformed into a three-dimensional, hyper-realistic visual experience. By altering the way we look at things, this visual illusion became hyper-reality. Much like how "clarity" and "blurriness" are opposites, under certain conditions, their boundaries can blur, allowing them to coexist and even interchange. I extracted and enhanced this sense of blurriness created by "red-green or red-blue edge ghosting" to convey the idea that the so-called "reality" and "illusion" of everything may be hidden beneath the surface of our widely accepted perceptions.

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在《明确的模糊》这一系列中，画面上重叠了电子设备的符号或文字，它们是否象征着某种特定的时代特征或情感？

In your series "The Defined Ambiguity", you often overlay images with symbols or text from electronic devices. Do these elements represent specific traits or emotions of the times?  

这些“符号和文字”来自于美图秀秀、激萌、咔叽等手机app的贴图素材，它们既有这个时代特有的符号性（如《明确的模糊—世间的日常》中的“LPL加油”，恰逢创作年代的一个社会电竞热点话题），也是21世纪信息时代手机编辑图象的产物，手机编辑后的图像和“原图”哪个才是更“真实”的这个问题就像哲学命题一样好像并没有标准答案，但这些符号化的贴图素材切实让人在画面中找到了亲切感和熟悉感。同时，这些“符号和文字”诙谐、突兀且荒唐地随机冲入画面，它们不与画中的拼接图像产生任何叙事性的联系和遐想，而是作为“戏剧冲突”打破了画面中原有的二元式的拼接关系，形成了第三层关系。

The "symbols and texts" in my work are drawn from sticker packs in popular apps like Meitu XiuXiu, FaceU, and B612. They reflect the unique visual language of our era, as seen in pieces like The Defined Ambiguity—Daily Life in the World, where the phrase "Go LPL" reflects a trending e-sports phenomenon at the time. These elements are also products of our information age in the 21st century, where image editing tools have become ubiquitous. The question of whether the edited image or the original is more "real" is akin to a philosophical debate with no clear answer. Yet, these symbolic stickers resonate with viewers, offering a sense of familiarity. Moreover, the symbols and texts intrude into the compositions in a way that is humorous, jarring, and absurd. Rather than establishing any narrative connection with the splicing imagery, they serve as "dramatic conflicts" that disrupt the original binary relationships within the painting, creating a new layer of interaction.

[ 4 ] 

你绘画的对象，如物件、场景、排布等似乎存在某种选择逻辑，这些画面是否有特定的标准或灵感来源？你为什么对它们感兴趣？

Your paintings often feature specific objects, scenes, and arrangements that seem to follow a particular selection logic. Do these compositions have any set standards or sources of inspiration? What draws you to these subjects?  

“明确的模糊”系列，延续了“从个体到群体，再回归本我”的创作主题，我首先把画面的构成以拼接的方式呈现，力求拼接的两方展现出“群体的状态”和“个体的命运”，其次刻意的选择绘画对象或场景，我将童年到成人历程中喜欢关注且和我发生关系的事物，如海鲜、灭绝或濒临灭绝的动物、人的腿、药片、鸡和兔子、大合唱等以记忆碎片化的方式收集起来（以海鲜为例，因为我出生于一座海滨城市，从小吃鱼虾蟹已成为一种习惯，“海鲜”也成为了物化这个群体的统称，自然而然就会忽略掉“海鲜”生命个体的意义），我把这些“碎片”以及上个问题中提到的“符号和文字”随机拼接组合，想让它们产生某种荒诞、突兀的对话关系，我不去用叙事性和逻辑性强行定义这种对话关系，更想把定义这种对话关系的权利交由到观看者的?中，从观看者丰富的想象力延展并赋予更多对话关系的可能性。

The Defined Ambiguity series extends my exploration of themes from the individual to the collective and back to the self. I start by composing the images through splince, seeking to juxtapose the "state of the collective" with the "fate of the individual." I then intentionally choose subjects or scenes that have personal significance to me, collecting fragments from my life—from childhood to adulthood—such as seafood, extinct or endangered animals, human legs, pills, chickens and rabbits, and choral singing. For instance, having grown up in a coastal city, seafood has always been a part of my life, to the point where "seafood" has become a term that objectifies these creatures, leading to an unconscious disregard for the individuality of each life. By randomly combining these "fragments" with the "symbols and texts" mentioned earlier, I aim to create absurd and unexpected dialogues within the work. Rather than forcing a narrative or logical structure onto these dialogues, I prefer to leave their interpretation to the viewer, allowing their imagination to explore and expand the possible meanings.

“无主”系列剔除掉了“明确的模糊”中的图像拼接和“红兰重影”，我开始追求画面更加直接与简单，绘画的对象和场景变为了丛林，本是生机盎然的绿意，我却想隐喻当下社会达尔文主义盛行的残酷丛林法则，人们比以往更加追求真实、真象，可是在精神世界中却更接近虚无的状态。画面中我同样借鉴了图像编辑的语言：灰白格子在视觉平面编辑中代表空白和透明图层，蓝屏在视特效中同样代表空白和后期可编辑。我将画面中的主体，濒临灭绝的“鸟”和通常被作为背景的“植物”用上述图像编辑语言元素置换，这样原本的主体就变为了“空白”，也许就像本系列画作的名称《未被涂污的鸟》，空白可以给人更深广的想象空间，过于完美的填充却是一种毁坏和涂污，同样也是我对这个时代人类集体虚无主义映射下过度修饰外化、过度追求当下完美化的一种反思。

The Subjectless series departs from the stitching image and "red-blue double vision" techniques used in The Defined Ambiguity. I started to seek a more straightforward and simplified visual approach. My subject matter shifted to jungles, which, while typically lush and green, I used as a metaphor for the harsh law of the jungle in today’s society, where Darwinism prevails. In this context, people are more eager than ever to uncover truth and authenticity, yet their spiritual lives seem to be drifting toward nihilism. I also draw from the language of image editing in these paintings: the gray-and-white checkerboard pattern that represent blank spaces and transparency in image editing, and the blue screen used in special effects to signify a blank canvas ready for post-production. By substituting the main elements—endangered "birds" and what would normally be background "plants"—with these digital editing symbols, the original subjects become "blank spaces." This idea mirrors the title Untainted Birds and suggests that empty can offer a deeper scope for imagination, whereas excessive perfection can lead to destruction and contamination. This is also my reflection on how, under the influence of modern nihilism, humanity tends to over-decorate and over-perfect the present moment.

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为什么你选择用架上绘画的方式来呈现带有数码视像属性的图像，而不是直接利用电子媒介进行创作？

Why did you choose to convey images with digital visual characteristics through traditional easel painting instead of using electronic media directly?

首先，我从小学画画算科班出身，对绘画有很深的情感基础，本科的时候我选择了央美的设计学院，几年的学习和实践工作经历让我对电子媒介产生了些许倦怠和逆反，相反在绘画领域我依然充满了表达欲和探求欲，我感知电子媒介或者计算机软件像是一个中间人、传话者，不如画笔来得更加直接准确；其次，80后是被屏幕图象深深影响的一代，从儿时的小彩电到586、686电脑，再到液晶显示器的普及、WINDOWS XP系统、4K屏显、智能手机等，我们这代人几乎经历了所有屏幕视觉的变革，我们没有70后使用计算机时面对图象编辑的无力感，也不如90后视计算机、各种电子媒介如吃饭喝水般使用自如得心应手，80后这种不上不下的尴尬体现在对屏幕视觉的熟悉、依赖，同时又有质疑、警觉，所以我要用架上绘画的方式来表达这种时代撕裂的尴尬感。

Firstly, I have a deep-rooted emotional connection to painting, having received formal training in it from a young age. During my undergraduate studies at the School of Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, I have become fatigue and rebellious with electronic media after several years of study and practical work experience. In contrast, painting still fills me with a strong desire to express and explore. I see electronic media and software as intermediaries or messengers, but the brush feels like a more direct and precise tool. Secondly, as someone born in the 1980s, my generation has been profoundly shaped by screen imagery—from the small color TVs of our childhood to the 586 and 686 computers, the rise of LCD monitors, the WINDOWS XP era, 4K screens, and smartphones. We’ve witnessed nearly every major evolution in screen visuals. We don’t experience the same frustration with computer image editing as the 1970s generation, but neither do we navigate digital media as effortlessly as those born in the 1990s. This in-between, somewhat awkward position manifests in our familiarity with and dependence on screen visuals, balanced by a sense of skepticism and caution. By using easel painting, I aim to convey this sense of generational dislocation and discomfort.

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本次展览展出了新作《无主》和《明确的模糊》两个系列，以不同的表现形式延续了“绘画性”和信息时代视觉图像工具之间复杂关系的主题，不仅限于对创作和生产方式的探讨，还指向社会真实图景的建构。可否从创作者的视角，说明两个系列的“延续”“深化”和“差异”部分？

This exhibition features two new series, Subjectless and The Defined Ambiguity, both of which continue to explore the complex relationship between painterly techniques and digital visual tools, but through distinct forms. Those series are not limited to the discussion of creation and production methods, but also reference the construction of a true depiction of society. Could you elaborate on how these series represent a "continuation," "deepening," and "differentiation" from the creator's perspective?

面对次世代和后科技时代的过渡期，数字化、数据化、智能化、模块化给人类世界带来了更高的效率，我把这看成一种新型的社会生产力生产关系，很多人认为绘画的逻辑应该区别于这种新型社会发展关系，完全与数字化、数据化、智能化、模块化背道而驰才能体现出人的温度感与复杂感性之处。可我认为上述的新型社会发展关系正是因人的需求从人类世界演化而来，它也确实不可逆地改变着我们的生活，我不想对抗而是选择另一条路：尝试顺应它的思维逻辑进行创作。

As we transition into the Next Generation and Post-Technological Era, shaped by digitalization, datafication, intelligence, and modularization, these advancements have brought unprecedented efficiency to our world. I view this as a new kind of social productivity and production relations. Some argue that painting should operate independently of these new social developments, diverging entirely from such advancements to preserve the warmth and complexity of human emotions. However, I see these developments as natural evolutions, born out of human needs, which have irreversibly transformed our lives. Instead of resisting, I chose to align my creative process with this new logic.

在《明确的模糊》系列和《无主》系列的创作中，我首先在起线稿的阶段就明确规定了每一个色块的区域，我把这看成一种类数据式的“预设”，接下来我规律地填充这些色块，在填充这些色块的过程中我追求平均主义，不着重描绘和刻画，于是在“预设”后便“生成”了一个图象，这种“预设”和“生成”图象的过程并不定义图象具象性还是抽象性的差别。诚然，两个系列又有不同之处，不同点在于绘画语言性的差别，即“生成”的过程，也是填充这些色块时笔感笔触的差异，《明确的模糊》系列我“明确”预设线稿，用极度冷静和克制的笔触填充色块，去“人”化，“生成”了具有重影且“模糊”感的图象；《无主》系列中，我在“生成”这一步寻求绘画语言的变化，用更自由随机更有情绪感的笔触填充色块，两种不同的语言方式使这两个系列既有联系，又有差别和延续。

In both The Defined Ambiguity and Subjectless series, I begin by delineating each color block at the sketching stage, a process I liken to a data-driven "preset." Then, I methodically fill in these areas, striving for an egalitarian approach that avoids detailed rendering. Through this "preset" approach, the image is "generated." This process doesn't determine whether the resulting images is figurative or abstract. Of course, there are differences between the two series. These differences lie primarily in the painting language—the "generation" process and brushstroke techniques used when filling in the color blocks. In The Defined Ambiguity, I "defined" the sketch with extreme precision and controlled brushstrokes to fill the color blocks, which "generated" an image with double vision and a sense of "ambiguity", and avoid human marks. In the Subjectless series, I sought to evolve the painting language during the "generation" stage, using more free, random, and emotionally expressive brushstrokes. This approach creates a continuity between the two series while also highlighting their distinct differences.

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那么你如何看待高度数字化时代下技术对艺术的影响？

In this age of rapid digitalization, how do you perceive the influence of technology on art?

人类每个时代的更迭，都是因为宗教、哲学思辨后生产力、生产关系发生了巨大的变革，艺术在这些迭代中“生生死死”不断发展变化，我相信我们这个时代也不会例外，次世代和后科技时代的过渡期高度的数字化、智能化所催生的新技术已经给人类生存、生活等方方面面带来了不可逆变化和影响，艺术也势必随之展现出不一样的面貌。

Each shift in human history has been driven by significant transformation in productivity and production relations following profound religious and philosophical reflections. Art has always evolved within these cycles of "life and death." I believe our era is no different. The transition period from the Next Generation to the Post-Technological Era, marked by advanced digitalization and intelligent technologies, has already brought irreversible changes to all aspects of human life. As a result, art will inevitably take on a different form.

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在呈现真实与虚构、明确与模糊等的关系时，你如何在创作中平衡这些对立的概念？还是说你更倾向蓄意制造二者之间的冲突？

When presenting the relationship between reality and fiction, clarity and ambiguity, how do you balance these opposing concepts in your work? Or do you prefer to intentionally create tension between them?

我有故意制造两者冲突的意图，但更多的时候我想让它们随机组合，顺其自然，不去刻意平衡矛盾的双方，就像我之前所阐述的，“明确和模糊”、“真实和虚假”、“群体的状态和个体的命运”本是冲突的、对立的， 但在特定、特殊的情况下，不管你是改变视角，亦或是意识到真相隐藏于表象之下，两者的边界也许会被打破，不仅能共存又能相互转换，这与我想表达的概念是?致的。

While I sometimes deliberately create tension between these concepts, more often, I allow them to interact spontaneously, letting things unfold naturally rather than forcing a balance. As I mentioned earlier, concepts like "clarity and ambiguity," "reality and fiction," and "collective states and individual fates" are fundamentally opposing and conflicting. However, under certain circumstances—whether by shifting perspectives or uncovering the hidden truths beneath the surface—the boundaries between these concepts may blur, allowing them to coexist and even transform into one another. This is very much in line with the ideas I seek to convey.

[ 9 ] 

这次展览的主题是“流动的本能”，你怎样理解“流动”这种状态与你自身及创作的关系？

The theme of this exhibition is 'Flowing Instinct'. How do you perceive the relationship between the state of 'flowing', yourself and your creations?

我喜欢“流动”这个词，很容易让人联想到水。就如老子所说：“上善若水”。水是最接近“道”的，它永远往低处流动，谦虚并与万物不争；滋润、洗净一切，不做选择；顺其自然。这是一种可贵的真实与真诚，也是一种本真和本我的状态。我虽不想狂妄地大话艺术，但我浅见艺术创作的核心应该是创造与真诚，我认为上述状态就是真诚，也是创造绘画语言精进的基础。我的作品经历了几个系列的变化，里面一直有“我”的存在，随着时间的变迁，“我”在作品中愈发明显，作品里的有“我”就是一种真诚的表达，这就好似一种“流动”的状态吧。

I am drawn to the word "flow", as it naturally evokes the image of water. As Laozi said, "The highest good is like water." Water embodies the essence of the "Dao," always flowing downwards, humble and without contention; it nourishes everything and cleanses all, without making distinctions; it follows its natural course. This reflects a precious truth and sincerity, as well as a state of authenticity and innate self. While I do not wish to make grandiose statements about art, I believe the core of artistic creation lies in creativity and sincerity. The state of flow mentioned earlier represents sincerity, which in turn is the foundation for advancing the language of painting. My work has evolved through several series, with "myself" always present within. Over time, the presence of "myself" in my work has become more pronounced, and this personal presence is a sincere expression, much like a state of "flow".