百余年来,中国在遭遇现代性后一直面临着现代性的尴尬处境。毫无疑问,现代性是起源于西方的东西。何谓现代性?现代性有那些主要内容和主要特征？
如果以科学技术论, 16世纪前的中国,技术水平远远超过西方,何以现代性却未能够起源于中国?由此可见,科学技术只是现代性的条件之一,而工具理性,个人权利,市场经济和普世价值的全球化才是现代性的应有之义。
很显然,迄今为止,当代中国只是在技术层面表现出全球化的倾向,任何实质性的价值都并未与国际接轨。现代性在中国仍有妾身未名之虞。
就此,我非常赞赏青年艺术家潘舒的努力,作为波普化和卡通化的延伸,她通过网络屏幕电子色点构成的QQ人物肖像,通过特定时代网络符号的扁平化,一体化,以及种种虚拟化的狂欢,呈现了由网络所带来的游戏感,消费感和恶作剧感;呈现了隐身之后的对真实的凸显与对真实的更深的遮蔽;呈现了人与人之间更深的隔阂,疏离,漠然和渴望。但由于现代性的阙如,最终呈现的是个体精神,自由和理想日渐趋向于孤寂的命运.相对于公共抗争,如何处理个体的孤寂,已经成为缺乏实质现代性的中国现代人的更重要的人生任务。
我是,我是吗?
俞心樵于2011年7月24日夜
Foreword
In more than one century, China has been in an embarrassing situation of modernity from the moment of coming across the modernity. There’s no doubt that modernity is a thing from the West.
What is modernity? What main context and feature does the modernity hold? On the term of technology, China had a advanced technology beyond the West before 16th Century. However, the modernity didn’t emerge from China, Why? Thus we can see that science and technology is only one element of modernity, but instrumental rationality, individual rights, capital economy and the globalization of the world of universal value are the necessary elements of modernity. Obviously, so far, today China’s with the tendency of globalization at the level of technology but not with any international standard. Modernity in China is still with a unnamed risk of undefined status. By this account, I appreciate the efforts of young artist Pan Shu, her works’ of extension of Pop and cartoon, through QQ portraits of electronic colour points on screen in the network, through the network symbols of flat and integration of a certain times, as well as all kind of virtual carnival, her works present a feeling of game sense, consumer sense and mischievous sense; the true life is out and the real fact is of a deeper mask after the hiden; a deeper gap, alienation, indifference and desire between persons. But because of lacking of modernity, the final presentation is increasingly tending to a lonely fate of individual spirit, freedom and ideal. As opposed to public protest, that how to deal with the individual loneliness has become a more important task of life to chinese modern people lacking of real modernity.
I’m, am I?