杰里米戴勒和艾倫凱恩的《民間檔案》

Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane

Folk Archive

2005

Mixed media

Dimensions variable

杰里米.戴勒和艾倫.凱恩

民間檔案，2005

可變尺寸

杰里米?戴勒和艾倫?凱恩知道自己創(chuàng)作的《民間檔案》跨越了一條微妙的邊界。他們對(duì)二十世紀(jì)末和二十一世紀(jì)初英國(guó)當(dāng)代流行藝術(shù)作品的收藏和分類處于藝術(shù)和人類學(xué)之間的寬闊邊界地帶，而且這兩位藝術(shù)家知道他們冒著偏離主題的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。正如他們從一開始就承認(rèn)的：“對(duì)于那些喜歡人類學(xué)方法的人們，我們必須道歉，因?yàn)槲覀冎馈畽n案’這個(gè)詞使用在這兒未免有失偏頗，同時(shí)我們對(duì)細(xì)節(jié)的處理也充滿著藝術(shù)的隨意。對(duì)于從事民間或地方文化研究的人們，我們也要道歉，因?yàn)槲覀兊摹耖g’內(nèi)容十分粗淺，對(duì)這些領(lǐng)域的粗略縱覽也缺乏可靠的依據(jù)。”①但是，正是由于這兩方面細(xì)微的背離之處，我們才能看到戴勒和凱恩希望借助《民間檔案》傳達(dá)的主題：在神圣藝術(shù)世界的雷達(dá)下跳動(dòng)著噴發(fā)創(chuàng)造性的廣大的公眾之心。

這個(gè)檔案包括從古至今英國(guó)各地的節(jié)日慶典的紀(jì)念品、往往被人忽視的咖啡館主、漢堡包售賣車車主和小店店主的行動(dòng)、以及更具有政治意義的抗議者和監(jiān)獄犯人的活動(dòng)。每件作品都是人們?yōu)榱藗鬟f信息情感而發(fā)，無(wú)論是愛、悲傷、憤怒或一杯好茶。例如，坎伯蘭和威斯特摩蘭郡精美的男性摔跤服，有著手工刺繡的雅致卷曲花葉圖案，經(jīng)常被評(píng)論家挑選出來(lái)作為民俗文化的特別代表。在坎布里亞納的埃格蒙特克拉布嘉年華活動(dòng)中，男人們穿著這種裝飾精美的服裝參加摔跤比賽，這個(gè)節(jié)日從1387年開始，包括一系列令人眼花繚亂的盛裝游行和比賽活動(dòng)。湯姆?莫頓描述道：“這種包裹著華麗雄蕊和花瓣圖案類似勞倫斯重構(gòu)的男性形象也許不能在全國(guó)范圍內(nèi)流行（電視上的硬漢不會(huì)穿著玫瑰圖案的短褲死去），但是對(duì)這個(gè)小地方的摔跤愛好者來(lái)說(shuō)，這卻似乎完全說(shuō)得通。”②

同時(shí)，在這個(gè)檔案中，除了長(zhǎng)期的（而且往往是鄉(xiāng)村的）傳統(tǒng)之外，也有主流的流行藝術(shù)。例如，其中收入了戴安娜王妃的紀(jì)念作品，還有一幅在謝菲爾德墻上的“辛普森一家”的畫，即使它與我們熟悉的卡通人物并不相像。觀者還會(huì)看到做成圣約翰救護(hù)車形狀的針墊、無(wú)上裝酒吧女郎倒啤酒的水彩鉛筆畫、插花、定制的摩托頭盔和生日信息等。

然而，觀者會(huì)不止一次地在這些作品之間發(fā)現(xiàn)：其中隱含著收藏和展出它們的藝術(shù)家的嘲諷或竊笑。《民間檔案》一個(gè)值得爭(zhēng)辯的基礎(chǔ)是一種理解，認(rèn)為“現(xiàn)在，這個(gè)無(wú)心世界的心臟是流行文化，而不是宗教。”③ 在這里，愛的行為從盛大輝煌到平凡瑣屑，無(wú)所不在，無(wú)法用當(dāng)代藝術(shù)的冷眼去旁觀。正如戴勒所說(shuō)：“沃霍爾說(shuō)流行藝術(shù)就是關(guān)于喜歡事物，而對(duì)于我來(lái)說(shuō)，民間藝術(shù)則是熱愛事物。”④ 雖然《民間檔案》中也收入了政治旗幟和藝術(shù)作品，但是其中最具政治意義的可能是它揭示的一種對(duì)普通大眾的基本而制度化的不信任，以及進(jìn)一步揭示了這種不信任的缺乏根據(jù)。在這個(gè)檔案中，觀者很容易看出，普通大眾并不是被動(dòng)地盲目前行的一群過(guò)客，而是積極主動(dòng)有個(gè)性的個(gè)人，他們是在不斷創(chuàng)造、制造、改變和組織的人們。戴勒和凱恩雖然公開地背離了主題，但實(shí)際上卻展示了一種內(nèi)在深刻、長(zhǎng)期存在的革命性力量。

①杰里米?戴勒和艾倫?凱恩，《民間檔案：英國(guó)當(dāng)代流行藝術(shù)》，（倫敦，Book Works，2005）

②湯姆?莫頓，“民間檔案”，F(xiàn)rieze雜志，93（2005年9月），134

③大衛(wèi)?比奇，“一堆好屎：關(guān)于流行文化的倫理關(guān)系”，選自杰里米?戴勒《生活是責(zé)備一切：1992-99作品項(xiàng)目集》，（倫敦：Salon 3，2001），94

④戴勒被塔妮婭?布蘭尼根在“概述”中引用《衛(wèi)報(bào)》（2004年11月3日），13

Alan Kane and Jeremy Deller

Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane know that they tread a delicate line with the Folk Archive. Their collection and documentation of contemporary popular art in the UK at the turn of the century is situated in the rich seam between art and anthropology – and the artists knew they ran the risk of exploiting their subjects. As they conceded from the start, ‘For those interested in an anthropological approach, we must apologise for the rather too knowing misuse of the phrase “archive” and an artistic casualness with details. For all involved in the folk or vernacular cultural scenes we must similarly apologise for the cheap “folk” shot and a fly-by-night plundering of whole worlds.’ It is only through these two small betrayals, however, that we are able to see what Deller and Kane are getting at with Folk Archive, and that is: a large public heart beating out creativity under the radar of a sanctified art world.

The archive contains relics from festivals and celebrations across Britain, ancient and modern, as well as the ignored efforts of owners of cafes, burger vans and shops, and the somewhat more politicised efforts from protesters and prison inmates. Each work is made by people who have, quite simply, created things to convey their message, be it love, sadness, rage, or a nice cup of tea. The beautifully hand-embroidered male wrestling costumes of Cumberland and Westmoreland, for example, with their curling images of dainty flowers and leaves, are often picked out by commentators as vernacular and culturally specific. The decorative costumes are worn by men taking part in wrestling matches as part of the Egremont Crab Fair in Cumbria, a festival established in 1387 and encompassing a bewildering array of parades and contests. As Tom Morton describes, ‘This D.H. Lawrence-like reframing of masculinity as something intertwined with the fecund stuff of stamens and petals wouldn’t play on a national stage (no TV hard man would be seen dead in rose-patterned briefs), but in this small community of wrestling enthusiasts it seems to make sense.’

As well as long-held (and often rural) traditions, however, proper pop is present too. Memorials to Princess Diana are included, as is a painting of ‘The Simpsons’ on a Sheffield wall, albeit bearing little resemblance to the familiar cartoon characters. Viewers might also stumble across a pincushion made in the shape of a St John’s Ambulance vehicle, a watercolour pencil drawing of a topless Page 3 stunner pulling a pint, flower arrangements, customised motorcycling helmets and birthday messages.

Not once, however, will you find an underhand sneer or snigger from the artists who collected and presented this work. Arguably, what underpins Folk Archive is an understanding that ‘it is popular culture now, not religion, that is the heart of a heartless world’. The acts of love here range from the grand to the quotidian, impossible to view with the cool eye of contemporary art. As Deller comments, ‘Warhol said that pop art was about liking things, whereas for me folk art is about loving things.’ Though there are political banners and artworks here, perhaps the most politicised thing about Folk Archive is that it reveals a basic, institutionalised mistrust of the general public, which is, in turn, revealed to be unfounded. It is possible to discern here a general public that is not a passive, shuffling and pedestrian herd, but a mobilised set of individuals who create, make, change and organise. Deller and Kane, whilst openly betraying their subjects, reveal a potentially revolutionary, yet heartfelt, force that was there all along.

L.M.F.