Literary criticism丨 is not to hang a picture, write a preface, or curate

"The exhibition is no big or small, only good or bad." "It's either hanging a picture, writing a preface, or curating." At the recent training course for young curators in the Yangtze River Delta region, a number of expert mentors repeatedly asked and threw out important topics: What is a good exhibition, and how should such an exhibition be created?

In recent years, when art museums have expanded and beautified, people are more concerned about the exhibition as the core content of the art museum. The concept and level of curation are directly related to whether an exhibition can become a high-quality cultural supply, echoing the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people.

The dual functions of a real curator overlaid as a screenwriter and director are not so simple

What is a curator? Today, the concept of "curator" has been heavily generalized, as if a random exhibition can be called "curator". In fact, there are very few curators in the strict sense in China, and the threshold is quite high. In the eyes of Yi Calyx, director of the Exhibition Department of the National Art Museum of China and research librarian, the curator is equivalent to superimposing the dual functions of screenwriter and director, not only professionally able to play, but also first-class communication, and coordinating all aspects of the source of the collection, the sponsor, the designer, the construction party, the artist and so on. Moreover, curating not only includes holding exhibitions, but also publicity, promotion, cultural and creative development, and subsequent public education activities.

Although many times, curators take on a lot of trivial and transactional work, But YiCai pointed out that the deep academic background can be described as the basic skill of curators, and according to her observation, this basic skill is lacking in a large number of curators today. Yi Calyx believes that the exhibition should be based on its own research and nurture, first have views, ideas, and then think about what kind of exhibition methods to present, the professional ability is solid, before it can talk about mobilizing planning means. Among the many curatorial programs submitted by the participants of the training course, the most eye-catching is often those that show a solid appearance from the beginning of the basic academic combing.

Jiang Mei, vice president of the Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Institute, further pointed out that only when the curator reflects a considerable understanding of art history and art status can he have a certain sense of history and the present, showing the sensitivity and understanding of considering the content to be cured in horizontal and vertical coordinates, so that the final exhibition has a pertinence and a certain depth. She expressed great interest in a new media art exhibition project brought by Li Yi of Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art. Under the theme of "Adding to Each Other", this exhibition uses artwork to explore contemporary digital interpersonal and social relationships. Jiang Mei believes that what it focuses on is the new phenomenon emerging in modern life, which comes from the keen observation of the changes in human relations at present.

However, there are also many times when the theme of the exhibition is relatively static, bringing together works of a certain era. Jiang Mei believes that curators can also grasp such historical topics with their current consciousness. She gave an example of the "Landscape and Water Chronicles: Searching for the 'Eight Scenic Spots of Jinling'" program brought by Xie Rui of the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, which is eye-catching in this regard. This exhibition takes the "Eight Views of Jinling" of the Ming Dynasty Huang Kehan in the Sumei Collection as the origin, combing the theme of the ancient people's travel landscape, but taking the present as the focus, after the evolution of landscape painting in the 20th century, it extends to the contemporary multi-screen interactive art works, and finally points to the thinking about the shaping of today's urban culture. Jiang Mei believes that as a display of visual art, the exhibition is not a simple list of contents, can not be on the phenomenological phenomenon, excellent curators should be able to find problems and raise questions.

Exhibitions are not one-way outputs, but should be communicated between works and people in a specific time and space

Nowadays, the exhibitions in many art museums in China are not too few, but too many, and there are not a few that are held twenty or thirty times a year or even an average week. Under this circumstance, many exhibitions have become "quick finished products", and there is not much pre-planning, which not only lacks research on the content of the exhibition, but also causes waste of exhibition funds. If it is observed, lu hong, executive director of the He Art Museum. He believes that the exhibition cycle should be extended to three months, and the corresponding curatorial link should attract more attention from the industry.

Of course, in the actual process of promotion, curation is inevitably constrained by different factors, such as poor space conditions, limited collections, and lack of funds. In the view of Li Xiangyang, consultant of the Shanghai Artists Association, the most important thing at this time is to act according to one's ability and seek to maximize creativity under practical conditions. He believes that a good exhibition has nothing to do with size, so it is better to grasp the small point of view and explain it thoroughly. According to him, the research exhibition "Portrait of the Times - 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art" held at the beginning of the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai was actually a classic exhibition due to insufficient budget. From the portrait, which is familiar to the people, combing through the 30 years of Chinese contemporary art, presenting works in several major sections such as "specific people", "inner world", "body language" and "social image", this exhibition is targeted, but allows the audience to clearly see the artistic evolution in it.

In addition to professionalism, the empathy ability of the exhibition is also increasingly emphasized by the academic community, which is directly related to the sense of acquisition of the exhibition. Wu Hongliang, president of the Beijing Academy of Painting, deputy director and secretary general of the Curatorial Committee of the China Artists Association, pointed out that as an exhibition of sensory communication, it is not a one-way output, but to communicate works and people in a specific time and space. It is also because of this characteristic that it must communicate with the audience to achieve a kind of harmony. An exhibition called "Guan", which was practiced at today Art Museum, is quite enlightening. This is a useful discussion of how to enter Chinese art more effectively in the exhibition space, how to return to the unique appreciation of Chinese painting - the entire exhibition space is constructed into a long volume of the body, and after viewing the painting, the exhibition also opens an exchange room similar to the inscription of calligraphy and painting to collect the direct and true feelings of the viewer. Another thought-provoking example is the exhibition "Local Soundscape: Sound Geography of Suzhou" at The Hanshan Art Museum that brings together a multi-sensory experience. This is an experimental project that has been launched since December 2020 and is still advancing, trying to turn off vision, amplify hearing, discover sound symbols that represent the local genes of Suzhou, and promote the formation of local identities and deep interactions among urban residents.

There is no standard answer to what kind of exhibition is a good exhibition, and the pursuit of a good exhibition is worth continuous exploration in the industry.

Author: Fan Xin

Edited by: Shang Hui

Editor-in-Charge: Xiaofang Xing

*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.