展览名称：隐藏——张锰个展
展览地点：美国明尼苏达大学
展览时间：2013年1月8—18日
隐藏——应对这个世界的入世方案
——张锰的艺术
关于创作，没有文字可以形容，基本上从冲动开始，谈不到意图或动机，归纳想法分析理念形成理论进而去指导实践，至此时，晚了。但关于对表达的冲动多数情况下是源于早年的记忆与当时当下的个体处境，在所有的作品里，就是用这样的灵动来捕捉生存个体的焦虑，在从孔洞中窥视变异的社会，思考个体与作为聚集体的社会达成谅解的可能。在相当长的时间里，保留自己的状态，以至于发现一种对待世界的方法，习惯自己安然的隐藏在暗影里，像马王堆里毫无注脚的西域女尸，坦诚着裸露在众人的目光之下，却又好似藏匿着隐隐的诉说，无人领却，在相当长的时间里，这种状态持续至今。
在中国的历史上，张扬的个性从来都只是异端分子的选择，除了魏晋时期，没有哪个时代的体面的士大夫会为自己身上的碌碌平庸而烦恼。到了近代的中国，情况并未改变，甚至在相当长的一段时间里，一度只有群体意识才被集权所许可而在那片特殊的政治土壤里生长，任何对个体意识的肯定和对个人存在价值的呼唤往往要付出生命或是自由的代价，而那些微不足道的细小声音甚至大多数都没有留下任何历史的痕迹，就被完全淹没在口号组成的巨大浪潮里，基于此，在长时间的创作中，把隐藏做为了看待世界的方法，一旦方法明确，作品面貌清晰，为寻求准确表达而做作品样式随之自由，新媒体／绘画／装置。。。都为合理准确的表达提供了最好的方式，基于此，我选择了做为中国人最为熟悉的水墨，因为水墨对我来说有一种非常强烈的安慰感，使我内心心有所依，包括我的video作品，仍然可以感受到强烈的水墨感。
从表达方式的扩散，扩散为传统的绘画；诗歌与video，乃至多重表达的媒体艺术，我的艺术找到了自己的位置，不再为实用和功利而追求重现、塑造、颂扬、批判，它抛弃客体的羁绊，追寻心灵内在的映象（心灵亦有内在，有更深处），深入到渴望、疑惑、迷茫、怀疑、否定，进而到当代，所以在这貌似的传统水墨样式之下隐藏着明确的当代中国式的处事态度－无为而治进而以隐为显。
在此以中国当代艺术家的身份，重新提出了自己的看法与解释，通过固守自己的生活领域并在其中不厌其烦的将之进一步分化、切割，以对周遭广袤的莫大尊重去驱使自身，游离于不同的生存层面进而达成或细微或深邃或异态的视角去探究这个世界。赋予树／雪／枝以至高的社会学意味，将这个最日常的自然造物作为自己自由思维的精神隐居之所。透过这些自然物的朴拙，一切浮躁归于平静，如巨大的屏障守住心灵的安宁。
隐藏，这是本人做为艺术家对所持观点的一次精确表达，更是在深刻思索之后而拿出应对这个世界的入世方案。
（美国明尼苏达大学“隐藏－张锰个展”演讲稿）
Speech by Zhang Meng
1) Thank you: Good afternoon, thank you all for coming. I am extremely honored to be here, and I appreciate your interest in my works.
First of all, I want to express my profound gratitude to Professor Alexis Kuhr, Mr. Howard Oransky, Professor Lynn Lukkas, and my good friend Meng Tang, who made my visit to the University of Minnesota possible.
I also want to thank Mark, Will, Rachel, Karen, Sarita, Ju and everybody else at the Art Department who helped installation of the works and preparation of the show in one way or another, your hard works are essential to the success of this exhibition.
Last but definitely not the least, I want to thank and also introduce two of my closest friends who traveled all the way from China for the opening of my show, Mr. Peiyang Zhou, and Ms. Yuexin Sun, both are accomplished curators in China and Japan. Thank you both, for your support, that means a lot to me
2) My background:
A few words about my background: I completed my education at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 1996. Now I am a professor at the Academy and lead the digital new media division at the academy, I also work closely with the print making and painting departments.
Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, located in one of the four major metropolitans in China, ranked #3 in China as a fine arts school.
In my studio practice I specialize in digital video imaging (3D animation) and Chinese ink painting. My works have been exhibited in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea, and the United States and are included in many private and museum collections.
This is my first trip to Minnesota and I really look forward to working with the University of Minnesota Art Department closely in the coming days.
3) “Hidden Show”
The topic of my artist talk today, and the title of this show, is “Hidden”.
Why Hidden, why hiding? Because hidden in my works, hiding is my plan, my strategy, and my way to deal with today’s world.
First I want to say a few words about creativity. No word can adequately describe creativity. Creativity basically starts from impulse, I am not talking about intent or motive, or logic to analyze, or theory of concept formation to guide the practice of art, because once you have a theory, once you begin to reason, to logic, that will be way too late for art. I am talking about the impulse to express, to articulate, in most cases, that comes from the early years of memories with present individual situation. All the works with such an impulse captures the anxiety of surviving individual, observing social variation from a particular point of view, thinking individually at the same time with an understanding as a social animal. Artists, retaining their own states for a long time, then find a way to deal with the world. Artists, hiding in our own shadows, like the ancient mummies, silent, naked, exposed to the world. But there are messages they want to convey to the outside, to the world, unfortunately, very few listeners. This is the way it always been, and continues to be.
In China's history, maverick is a word reserved for un-orthodox and heretics. The Wei-Jin dynasties, the third to the fourth centuries, would be the only time Chinese elite intellectuals would be embarrassed by meritocracy. All other times, people, even intellectuals, seem do not mind to be mediocre. To modern China, the situation has not changed, even for a long period of time, once only the sense of community was the centralization permission growth in that particular political soil, any affirmation of the individual consciousness, and personal integrity, often have to pay with their lives or the price of liberty. Most cries and whispers for freedom did not leave any trace in history, it is completely submerged in a huge wave of the ideology slogan produced by propaganda machines.
Therefore, in my practice, I chose to hide. To hide in order to observe the world, to hide in order to be clear, to hide in order to be precise, and to hide in order to be free. I hide my best way of expression, means reasonable and accurate way, in my new media works, in my paintings, and in my installations. I prefer ink painting, which is popularly accepted by Chinese, because ink painting gives me a strong sense of comfort, makes me feel peaceful, and something I can really reply on. Some of the curators even label my video works as ink painting too, I do not mind. For example
I found my position by expend my horizon, from traditional paintings, poetry, to video, and new media. I do not need to pursue practicability and tangible benefits, instead, I value representation, articulation, celebration, and criticism. My works discard the limitation set by objectivity, and try to reach internal images hidden in the inner mind. The heart is deeper than the mind, because the heart, or the soul, has its own inner world. I dive into a world full of desire, desire, doubt, confusion, suspect, denial, and then come back to the contemporary, so, hidden beneath this seemingly traditional ink painting, is the way contemporary Chinese deal with the world – inaction, replace presence with hidden.
Identified as a contemporary Chinese artist, I have to re-submit my own views and interpretation, by patiently stick to our own way of life in which we do further differentiation and separation, respect to the world, push ourselves to the limit, drifting from multi-layered existence, to reach subtle, or profound, or different perspective, to explore the world. Giving tree, snow, and tree branches supreme sociological meaning, is to give most day-to-day natural objects the seclusion of their own free-thinking spirit. Through the simple, innocent of these natural objects, all impetuous quiet, such as a huge barrier to hold the peace of mind.
Hidden, after careful consideration, is the word to describe my position, also my strategy, in today’s world.
Thank you all very much.
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