I remember when / I remember / I remember when I lost my mind / There was something so pleasant about that place / Even your emotions had an echo in so much space
Ha ha ha / You really think you're in control / I think you're crazy / I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy / Just like me
— Gnarls Barkley “Crazy”
From September 13 to September 22, 2019, Rockbund Art Museum will host its special annual program RAM HIGHLIGHT 2019: Before the Whistle Blows, curated by Hsieh Feng-Rong, Senior Curator of the Rockbund Art Museum. From the light in daybreak to the neon in deep night, from historical memories to moments of the everyday, the rhythms of nine artists or collectives will intertwine and overlap one another within the museum space, as sentiments and backgrounds that are worlds apart will sound together in resonance. There are no spectacles here that are redundant, no information that is excessive. The endless crises and the noisy din of daily life become blurred, and “moments from the inner world” gradually arise. We have finally entered into time.
Before the Whistle Blows gives us a sense of time, a sense of time that is unclear. We are not sure if the blowing of the whistle signals a beginning or an end, but is that detail important? What is more important is that before something begins or ends, there is a period of wait, and it is in this period that time becomes elongated, where we may feel a complex array of emotions: excitement, anger, joy, sadness, numbness, fear, warmth, passion... In this age of chaos and disorganized information to the point that such information may fall apart, the world continues spinning at its high speed; yet we desperately need to stop and observe the changes that happen as time passes, and to have the chance to take a deep look at ourselves as well. In the works of Lee Kit there is often a kind of ambiguity, in the mood or context, which may come from a portion of text, a song instrumental or from the capturing of light - it is through a combination of these intangible elements that a complex mood emerges in his works. In Lee’s works of recent years, text has played an increasingly important role. Some of the text would be written by the artist himself, some would be lyrics taken from songs, yet they all have a certain characteristic in common - with no specific objects being referred to, the text becomes open to multiple interpretations, according to each viewer’s train of thought. The artist leaves this freedom and these possibilities to the viewer. Through the omission of certain lyrics and the leaving behind of only song instrumentals, the viewer’s mood may be influenced in a completely different direction, and it is this very displacement that gives the work its immense strength and impact.
With history being a kind of ‘past tense’, would revisiting the past make our vision clearer when examining stories which are re-enacted over and over again? In this exhibition, artist Jankowski uses humor to deconstruct the mass of history accumulated over time. In his work he invites weightlifting champions to lift up sculpture after sculpture, monument after monument; some of the artifacts are easily picked up, while others refuse to budge an inch. Amid the cheers of onlookers, new possibilities arise in understanding and exploring what is usually considered to be ‘already established’ and ‘set-in-stone’ history. Another artist, Luka Yuanyuan Yang, researches the Chinese women of San Francisco’s cabaret scene in the 1950s - 1960s, and utilizes the documentary format to record and direct a four-scene play, portraying the realities of individual lives in the progression of history. Artists Zhao Chuan and Wu Meng borrow from the text and spirit of writer Lu Xun’s Old Tales Retold in their examination of the past, using space to concretize the aspect of time in history. In their carrying of rock after rock, the performers seem to be building something, or perhaps they are taking down and demolishing something; it is in this divide between construction and deconstruction that a new critical viewpoint can emerge. Yet another artist, Ho Tzu Nyen, uses the widely popular gong music of Southeast Asia as a reference tool, in exploring the characteristics of bronze - its flowability, adhesiveness and meltability - and in depicting the history of the region, revealing the complex societal, political and environmental contexts of Southeast Asia as well as the influence of its colonial past.
The works of Dai Chenlian and River Lin share by chance a common theme: an investigation of the unconscious ‘day-to-day mode of living’ of people in present society. In this lively era of group performances, Dai attempts to go against the current through exploring whether it is possible for the exaggerated and glorified “performance time” to return to and be concealed within the framework of daily life. Lin on the other hand focuses on the intangible functions of the human body, as well as on how the capitalist system dictates the time schedules of individuals in contemporary society. Through Lin’s repeated acts of sleep and wake in his performance, the artist slowly breaks down the notions of ‘beginning’ and ‘end’ in our linear concept of time, perhaps even eradicating them completely. IsLand Bar is a collaborative project executed by artists from mainland China as well as from other Asian countries. In our present day where boundaries between people have become increasingly defined, visitors at the bar may trade conversational exchange for a glass of the house special, as the project targets the coldness and indifference of modern-day human relationships, which can be seen as a metaphor for inter-regional politics. IsLand Bar is an attempt to reestablish intimate connections between individuals; as visitors become tipsy from their drinks, they begin to share more than usual with one another and rediscover the true feelings and sentiments that are buried within their hearts. Senwaya’s experimental music performances are a fusion of avant-grade and traditional Indonesian music, and push the limits of barbarity through howls, shrieks and wails. Featuring a mix of non-verbal language with lyrics in multiple languages, through a singing that is almost ritualistic, the performance is at times fast-paced, fierce and majestic, at other times slow, harmonious and detached, with raw emotion having surpassed time by the end of the performance.
The fourth RAM HIGHLIGHT, Before the Whistle Blows, continues the “use of performance as a method” in the planning of the program, commissioning as well as supporting artists in the creation of completely new works, in order to facilitate existing artistic practices which do not conform to any current art genre. The entire program will last ten days and ten nights, and will comprise of smultiple art forms such as video, photography, 360-degree virtual reality installations, song and dance performances, chanting rituals, durational performances, and a bar for chatting. RAM HIGHLIGHT aims to go beyond the boundaries of traditional exhibition-making, to reconstruct the relationship between the viewer and art. In the duration of the program, the museum will also invite interaction with visitors through educational events such as symposiums and post-performance talks. As such, museum visitors will have the opportunity to converse with artists after performances, and to partake in deeper discussion and understanding.
I remember when / I remember / I remember when I lost my mind / There was something so pleasant about that place / Even your emotions had an echo in so much space
Ha ha ha / You really think you're in control / I think you're crazy / I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy / Just like me
—— 奈尔斯·巴克利《Crazy》
2019年9月13日至2019年9月22日，年度特别项目“RAM HIGHLIGHT 2019：哨声响起前”将于上海外滩美术馆开幕，由上海外滩美术馆资深策展人谢丰嵘策划。从黎明的光线到深夜的霓虹，从历史的记忆到日常的时刻，九位/组艺术家的时间节奏在美术馆的空间内交叉更叠，迥异的情感在此推拉共振。这里没有多余的奇景，没有过量的信息。接连不断的危机和现实世界的嘈杂开始变得模糊，而“内在时刻”逐渐浮现。我们终于进入了时间。
“哨声响起前”给予我们一种时间感，但那是不明确的时间感。我们不知道当哨声响起时，究竟是开始又或是终结，但这重要吗？更重要的是在一切开始/终结前的那段等待时间，在这个时刻，时间是被延展的，我们可以清晰地感受到当下复杂的情绪，那是兴奋的、愤怒的、喜悦的、悲伤的、麻木的、害怕的、温暖的、激昂的.......在这个纷乱不安、信息错乱以至分崩离析的时代，世界仍不停快速运转中，而我们急需一次驻足观看时间流动中的变化并且自我省视的机会。在李杰的作品中往往有一种暧昧不明的情绪与情境，可能是一段伴奏、一段文字，也可能是对光线的捕捉，透过这些不可触及的元素的组合，复杂的情绪油然而生。在李杰近年来的创作中，文字的重要性越发显著，部分是他自己撰写的，部分是引用自歌词，而这些文字都有一种特征，从字面上阅读并无具体事物的指涉，根据每个人相异的脉络，文字便能被多重诠释，艺术家将这个可能性与自由留给观者。特意被隐去的歌词，徒留下的伴奏将观者的情绪引向完全相反的方向，正是这样的错位，带来巨大的冲击与力量。
历史作为一种时态，重访过去是否能带给我们更清晰的视野，检视那些一再重演的戏码？扬科夫斯基以幽默的方式解构积淀的历史重量，他邀请举重冠军们抬起一个个雕塑与纪念碑，有些纹风不动，有些被轻易举起，在观众们一片欢呼之下，早被定调的历史有了重新被理解与探讨的可能性。杨圆圆对二十世纪五六零年代旧金山夜总会场景中华裔女性群体的研究，以类纪录片的方式，记录、访谈并编导一场四幕戏，揭开历史变迁中个体生命的褶皱。赵川与吴梦借用鲁迅《故事新编》的文本与精神进行考古，以空间代替时间的历史还原，在搬运一颗颗石头的过程中，看似在建造，又像是拆除、破坏，在建构与解构的裂缝之间，新的批判观点因此产生。何子彦以东南亚盛行的锣乐作为检索工具，进一步对青铜材质的特性：流动、粘度以及熔融性的探讨，演奏着地域的历史，打开东南亚地区复杂的社会、政治与环境的脉络，以及殖民历史的影响。
戴陈连与林人中的创作不约而同地检视当下社会人们无意识的日常状态。在这个集体表演、狂欢的时代，戴陈连尝试反其道而行，那些被夸张放大的“表演时间”是否有回归、隐没在日常生活中的可能性。林人中则是关注身体的非物质性劳动、资本社会体系如何宰制现代人的日常时间表。在他的表演中，透过反复睡醒的动作，逐渐瓦解线性时间观起点与终点的意义，以至消散。在壁垒逐渐分明的当下，岛屿酒吧汇集来自亚洲各地与国内艺术家，以一段交谈换取一杯特调，冲击冷漠的人际关系作为区域政治的隐喻，重新建构人与人之间亲密的交流，在微醺之际，彼此倾诉，找回隐藏在心中的“真情实感”。Senyawa的实验音乐演出，融合前卫与传统的印尼音乐，狂野的极限，咆哮、尖叫和呜咽，把非语言的声音和各种语言的歌词混合在一起，如同仪式般的吟唱，时而快速、猛烈、澎湃，时而缓慢、和谐、超脱，最终情绪溢出了时间。
第四届上海外滩美术馆RAM HIGHLIGHT年度特别项目“哨声响起前”延续“以表演作为方法”进行策划，委托并支持艺术家进行全新作品创作，促成诸多正在发生且无法被现有框架分类的艺术实践。整个艺术项目将持续10个日夜，糅合录像装置、摄影、360度虚拟现实（VR）录像装置、歌舞演出、吟唱仪式、长时表演、清谈酒吧等多元形式，突破传统展览的界限，试图重构观者与艺术之间的关系。展期内，还将举办一系列与公众互动的教育活动，包括演后谈和座谈会。届时，观众将有机会在表演结束后与艺术家面对面交流，激发更深入的讨论和理解。
