Self-absorbed
The term “self-absorbed” was first used to describe Taiwan’s contemporary art scene by WANG Chia-Chi in his article, titled “The State of Contemporary Art in Taiwan’s Art Academies” published on Artist in 2003. In the article, the author traced the development of contemporary art in Taiwan from the 1990s to 2003. He then pointed out that the withering of the art market in the 90s had forced many artists to choose to become teachers and enter the system of art academies. Moreover, contemporary art had not yet become the mainstream in museums and the art market at the time. Due to the incomplete public subsidization mechanism for art projects, most artists could only rely on themselves to present exhibitions in alternative spaces. Therefore, young artists studying in art academies generally felt a sense of helplessness towards reality. WANG stated that this generation of young artists discussed in his article mostly grew up between the late 1980s to the 1990s and had experienced the self-deconstruction, value reconstruction and an aphasic state towards history after the lifting of martial law in Taiwanese society—“on the whole, the generation of young artists only talk about themselves, their own feelings, and their self. Paradoxically, this self often falls into a certain ‘self-absorbed’ state in the end due to its inability to have a dialogue with society and the world.”
The cause of this “self-absorbed” state was partly due to the sense of helplessness towards reality. However, it could also be resulted from a resistance or refusal of the enlightenment from contemporary society or a proactive strategy to fight against society. This argument was later developed further in HUANG Chien-Hung’s article, titled “The Micro-sensible: A General Introduction to the Sociality of New Sensibility,” in which HUANG used the phrase “micro-sensible” to illustrate the cause of the self-absorbed state in contemporary art. He asserted that the micro-sensible was “a ‘subjective’ dynamic to amplify subtle sensibility. The micro-sensible seems to have an informal principle, which is to ‘escape the linguistic framework.’ Furthermore, because it is more subtle than writing, being silent and self-absorbed seems to be its usual gesture.” In artworks, the frustration or the sense of helplessness towards reality originated from “the total incompetence of politics” and “the ineffectiveness of the pluralistic democratic society.” Also starting from his observation of the social environment and history, LIN Hong-John believed that the self-absorbed symptom was due to a delayed development of the avant-garde art, which trapped the subjectivity of art in the groove of tradition and modernity. At the same time, it was also related to the absence of political (or politicized) art. He borrowed the concept of Sigmund FREUD (1856-1939) and used “the Art of Frustration” to discuss the heterogeneous homogeneity of the “self-absorbed” state and the contemporary art in the globalized context to re-consider the positive meaning of local culture.
As the social environment changed and the mechanism of large exhibitions gradually became complete, the symptom of being self-absorbed had changed accordingly. In the “Jury’s Comments” of the 2005 Taipei Arts Awards penned by WANG Chia-Chi, he mentioned that “the young generation of artists seem to have moved on from the self-indulgent and self-absorbedness commonly found in art academies over the past several years; or they have stepped out of the groove of only caring about the fragile, pale self and slowly used the contemporary world as a subject of comparison to establish a connection between themselves and the world.” (Text/ Li Kuei-Pi/ 2021)
Reference
The cause of this “self-absorbed” state was partly due to the sense of helplessness towards reality. However, it could also be resulted from a resistance or refusal of the enlightenment from contemporary society or a proactive strategy to fight against society. This argument was later developed further in HUANG Chien-Hung’s article, titled “The Micro-sensible: A General Introduction to the Sociality of New Sensibility,” in which HUANG used the phrase “micro-sensible” to illustrate the cause of the self-absorbed state in contemporary art. He asserted that the micro-sensible was “a ‘subjective’ dynamic to amplify subtle sensibility. The micro-sensible seems to have an informal principle, which is to ‘escape the linguistic framework.’ Furthermore, because it is more subtle than writing, being silent and self-absorbed seems to be its usual gesture.” In artworks, the frustration or the sense of helplessness towards reality originated from “the total incompetence of politics” and “the ineffectiveness of the pluralistic democratic society.” Also starting from his observation of the social environment and history, LIN Hong-John believed that the self-absorbed symptom was due to a delayed development of the avant-garde art, which trapped the subjectivity of art in the groove of tradition and modernity. At the same time, it was also related to the absence of political (or politicized) art. He borrowed the concept of Sigmund FREUD (1856-1939) and used “the Art of Frustration” to discuss the heterogeneous homogeneity of the “self-absorbed” state and the contemporary art in the globalized context to re-consider the positive meaning of local culture.
As the social environment changed and the mechanism of large exhibitions gradually became complete, the symptom of being self-absorbed had changed accordingly. In the “Jury’s Comments” of the 2005 Taipei Arts Awards penned by WANG Chia-Chi, he mentioned that “the young generation of artists seem to have moved on from the self-indulgent and self-absorbedness commonly found in art academies over the past several years; or they have stepped out of the groove of only caring about the fragile, pale self and slowly used the contemporary world as a subject of comparison to establish a connection between themselves and the world.” (Text/ Li Kuei-Pi/ 2021)
Reference
- WANG, Chia-Chi. “Jury’s Comments.” Ed. Chen Shu-Ling. Taipei Arts Award: A Retrospective 2001/09. Taipei Fine Arts Museum, 2010.
- HUANG, Chien-Hung. “The Micro-sensible: A General Introduction to the Sociality of New Sensibility.” Artco, no. 177, June 2007, pp. 124-126.
- WANG, Chia-Chi. “The State of Contemporary Art in Taiwan’s Art Academies.” Artist, no. 337, June 2003, pp. 290-93.
- CHEN, Hsi. “The Duck Syndrome of Contemporary Art: The Predicament and Agency of Young Artists.” ARTouch, July 2019.
喃喃自語（self-absorbed）
「喃喃自語」一詞源自於王嘉驥2003年在《藝術家》雜誌所發表的文章〈台灣學院裡的當代藝術狀態〉。文章回溯了1990年代至2003年間的當代藝術發展樣態，指出由於90年代藝術市場的萎縮，使得藝術家選擇轉進藝術學院體制擔任教職；另一方面，當代藝術尚未為博物館與藝術市場的主流，在藝文補助機制尚未完備的狀況下，藝術家多只能憑藉有限的個人之力在替代空間中展出，以至於學院中的年輕創作者普遍對現實有著無力感。王嘉驥指出文章內所提及的年輕世代，多半成長於1980年代末至1990年代間，經歷了臺灣後解嚴社會在自我解構、價值重建與對於歷史失語的狀態「[……]年輕世代的創作者大多只談自身，只談自己的感覺，只談自我。弔詭的是，這個自我因為無力與外面的社會與世界對話，最後往往淪為某種「喃喃自語」的狀態，[……]」。
「喃喃自語」的成因，除了對於現實的無力感之外，也有可能是抗拒或拒絕當代社會的啟蒙，或是一種積極的、與社會對抗的謀略，此一論點在黃建宏的文章〈微型感性-概述新感性的社會性〉中持續發展。黃建宏以「微型感性」（micro-sensible）一詞來闡述喃喃自語出現在當代藝術創作中的成因，認為微型感性「是一種將細微感性加以放大的「主體化」動態，這種感性的微型化似乎以『逃逸語言框架的捕捉』作為一種不成文準則。甚至，由於比文字更細微，所以，沉默與喃喃自語似乎變成了它經常的姿態。」而表現在作品中，對於現實的挫敗或無力感，則源自於「政治的全面性無能」以及「多元民主社會的失效」。同樣出發自對於社會環境與歷史的觀察，林宏璋認為喃喃自語的表徵是因為前衛藝術的遲滯，使得藝術的主體性落入傳統及現代性的窠臼中，也與政治藝術的缺席相關，他借用佛洛伊德（Sigmund Freud，1856-1939）的概念，以「頓挫藝術（Art of Frustration）」討論「喃喃自語」與全球化底下當代藝術所呈現的異質的同質性面貌，在重新思考在地文化的積極性意義。
隨著社會環境的變化與大型展演機制的逐漸完備，喃喃自語的徵候也隨之改變，在2005年台北美術獎由王嘉驥所執筆的〈評審團感言〉中，提及「[……]台灣年青世代藝術家似乎開始走出數年來學院中常見的自我耽溺般的喃喃自語，或是只關懷蒼白貧弱自身的窠臼，而逐漸以當代世界作為觀照的對象，試圖建立自身與世界的關連。」而在近年來的藝評中，開始談論年輕藝術家在掌握及與獎補助機制共生的特殊關係。
參考文獻
「喃喃自語」的成因，除了對於現實的無力感之外，也有可能是抗拒或拒絕當代社會的啟蒙，或是一種積極的、與社會對抗的謀略，此一論點在黃建宏的文章〈微型感性-概述新感性的社會性〉中持續發展。黃建宏以「微型感性」（micro-sensible）一詞來闡述喃喃自語出現在當代藝術創作中的成因，認為微型感性「是一種將細微感性加以放大的「主體化」動態，這種感性的微型化似乎以『逃逸語言框架的捕捉』作為一種不成文準則。甚至，由於比文字更細微，所以，沉默與喃喃自語似乎變成了它經常的姿態。」而表現在作品中，對於現實的挫敗或無力感，則源自於「政治的全面性無能」以及「多元民主社會的失效」。同樣出發自對於社會環境與歷史的觀察，林宏璋認為喃喃自語的表徵是因為前衛藝術的遲滯，使得藝術的主體性落入傳統及現代性的窠臼中，也與政治藝術的缺席相關，他借用佛洛伊德（Sigmund Freud，1856-1939）的概念，以「頓挫藝術（Art of Frustration）」討論「喃喃自語」與全球化底下當代藝術所呈現的異質的同質性面貌，在重新思考在地文化的積極性意義。
隨著社會環境的變化與大型展演機制的逐漸完備，喃喃自語的徵候也隨之改變，在2005年台北美術獎由王嘉驥所執筆的〈評審團感言〉中，提及「[……]台灣年青世代藝術家似乎開始走出數年來學院中常見的自我耽溺般的喃喃自語，或是只關懷蒼白貧弱自身的窠臼，而逐漸以當代世界作為觀照的對象，試圖建立自身與世界的關連。」而在近年來的藝評中，開始談論年輕藝術家在掌握及與獎補助機制共生的特殊關係。
參考文獻
- 王嘉驥，〈評審團感言〉，陳淑鈴主編，《臺北美術獎回顧2001-2009》，臺北市立美術館，2010。
- 黃建宏，〈微型感性（micro-sensible）-概述新感性的社會性〉，典藏今藝術，177期，頁124-126，2007.6。
- 王嘉驥，〈台灣學院裡的當代藝術狀態〉，藝術家，337期，頁290-293，2003.6。
- 陳晞，〈當代藝術狂鴨症：年輕藝術家的困境與能動性〉，Art Touch，2019.7