【新聞特報】智能社會的拙樣 在廖堉安個展《智慧失能》

智能社會的拙樣

在廖堉安個展《智慧失能》
 

廖堉安，台灣首位登上國際雜誌ASIAN ART NEWS雜誌封面的新星藝術家，是2003年台北美術獎首獎得主Taipei Arts Award 2003，他以平面繪畫《鳥人》獲獎，在裝置藝術實驗風潮的一片流行中，更凸顯出其繪畫確有傑出的表現。2011年台北市立美術館的《蹩腳症候群－廖堉安 2011個展》之後，他沉潛兩年經歷思考的轉變，發展出更成熟的藝術語彙，再於2013年8月3日起於亞洲藝術中心大直館展出30件新作，展期至9月1日。

廖堉安這次越見深度的繪畫主題和藝術語言，折射出他日益成熟的心理狀態。此次探討E世代的科技生活，這群人沉浸在網路中，高科技產品、傳媒等事物無孔不入地滲透，改變了人們的生活方式。人際之間，有互動的溫度、溝通的情意；而生命的本質是心靈境界慢慢趨向自我的一個過程，然而在這個所謂「智能型」的社會裡，疏離已經成為常態。

一位博學的澳洲藏家指出，100年前奧地利精神醫師佛洛伊德說「文明」、「進步」是一種超越動物原始慾望的發明，正因如此，文明和人的本能一直互相拉鋸。100年後高度文明世代的藝術家廖堉安作品中，總愛戲謔地挖苦文明社會壓抑了人性，他畫出現代人在實際的互動中，整顆心卻被科技產品拉離現場，因而出現一些荒誕笨拙的姿態；還有用仙人掌、捕蠅草象徵人的心靈被進步社會的條規所限制而產生壓抑，這種壓抑就像一株帶刺的植物在背上刺痛著你。廖堉安的新作依然維持討喜的色彩，貼近社會脈動，藏家讚許這個階段的他更能巧妙使用象徵、轉化手法直指現代人的矛盾，藝術境界更上一層樓，令人更想了解他未來的創作！

本展開幕前幾個月廖堉安才剛結束紐西蘭藝術家駐村計畫，從首都威靈頓回到台灣。紐西蘭人崇尚自然，有當地特殊的動植物，非常重視毛利文化，刺激他開始對原有的慣性產生自覺，之後的創作想試著退一步觀察現世議題，實驗不同的材質，繼續在美學境界上嘗試超越。紐西蘭的創作以小品為主，有長條狀及菱形作品，可以看到他脫離侷促的實體空間或心理空間：異地時空中陽光下的奇異鳥、毛利人的圖騰等等，都是他的紐西蘭奇想。

來訪的中、青世代的藝術家們也都同意，人類不可能放棄文明，現代人才會一直處在焦慮和抑鬱之中，我們的希望有文明的生活，同時也想返歸自然與本能。廖堉安結論認為，不要用二分法來看待這兩種狀態，大家可以期待在下一個階段的創作中更圓融地處理這個議題。

《智慧失能－廖堉安個展》展出至9月1日，請至亞洲藝術中心位於大直的台北二館(中山區樂群二路93號)。

 

展覽資訊

Ludicrous Folly of Intellectual Society

Intellectual Numbness – Liao Yu-An Solo Exhibition
 

Liao Yu-An, the first Taiwanese newly emerging artistic superstar to grace the cover of international magazine Asian Art News, and who earned the First Prize at the Taipei Arts Awards in 2003 for his remarkable trio of works entitled “Duckman”, is unwilling to blindly follow contemporary installation arts trends and remains faithful to his creative techniques in painting to establish his own unique path in the arts scene. After his large exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum entitled “Lame Syndrome” in 2011, he spent two years working on creating new perspectives, and has now developed a more sophisticated artistic language. Spanning from August 3^rd to September 1^st, 2013, the artist’s recent 30 artworks are on view at Asia Art Center Taipei II.

Liao Yu-An’s growing maturity in art is represented by the profundity of themes in his paintings, and by the artistic language featured in this exhibition. “Intellectual Numbness” explores the lifestyle of the “e-generation”—a generation of people who immerse themselves in cyberspace day in and day out. The artist explores the omnipresence of high-tech products and media information that alters our way of living. He suggests that the warmth and affection of normal human interaction diminishes as we continue to rely on technology. Life’s journey is a process of looking inwards for spiritual development, but alienation from others as well as from ourselves has become the norm in this so-called “smart” society.

An Australian collector recollected something from the Austrian psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud, after seeing Liao Yu-An’s works. The art collector paraphrased that “civilization” and “progress” are products beyond human primitive desires; civilization and human instincts will always struggle against one another. In fact, one hundred years later, Liao Yu-An’s works mock the repression of humanity in civilized society. He depicts emotionless distractions in scenes of actual human interactions, which is due to an overreliance on technology. It results in some ridiculous and mindless scenarios. He uses cacti and venus flytraps to symbolize our minds being held captive by social norms and restrictions. Liao Yu-An’s recent works retain visually appealing colors and stimulate thoughts concerning social phenomena. Many collectors are amazed by the artist’s way of cleverly using symbolism and transformative method to highlight our conflicts. He has truly attained a new artistic level, leading us to look forward to his new creation in the future!

About a couple months before the opening of his exhibition, Liao Yu-An finished his Artists in Residence program in Willington, New Zealand. In New Zealand, Kiwis not only attach great importance to the Maori culture, but they also respect indigenous flora and fauna. These elements continue to stimulate the artist in Taiwan, leading him to become more conscious of habitual thinking patterns. He observes social phenomena and then experiments with different artistic media in order to reach new aesthetics goals. His artworks created in New Zealand are relatively small in size, stripe or diamond in form. In his works, he steers away from cramped physical and mental spaces, and instead fills his New Zealand Rhapsody with sunshine, kiwi birds, and Maori totems.

Younger artists who attended the opening also agreed that depression and anxiety are a huge part of life in the modern world because we cannot turn our backs on civilization. We feel attached to a convenient and civilized lifestyle, yet we also wish to return to our natural state of being. Liao Yu-An concluded at the opening that we should not dichotomize these two conditions. In fact, we should expect to see the artist’s harmonious way of dealing with this issue in his next creative stage.

Intellectual Numbness – Liao Yu-An Solo Exhibition is on view until September 1^st at the Asia Art Center Taipei II in Dazhi, Taipei (No. 93, Lequn 2nd Road).

Exhibition Information