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| 新工作 /New Job（2010） | Date ：2011-09-04 | From ：limu.cn |
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在接到Double Infinity 展览邀请前的几个月，我在思考一个问题：一份工作是否也可以是一件作品？那时，我经济很拮据，正计划着要找一份工作以解决生活和计划学习英语的费用。就在这时候，我收到Vanabbe美术馆的展览邀请，于是，很自然地，我就把这个想法作为一个艺术方案提交。
签好合同后，我成为Vanabbe美术馆的工人，开始为Double Infinity展览工作，直到展览结束。
For the collaboration between the Van Abbemuseum and Arthub Asia on the
occasion of the World Expo 2010, Shanghai, entitled, Double Infinity, Li Mu signed a
contract with the Van Abbemuseum in which he bound the museum to his terms
and conditions as a worker. The contract entitles the artist (Party B) to a salary
commensurate with European standards – providing an uncompromising
commentary on economic crisis and how this impacts the employment status and
income of artists in China.
关于“新工作”的采访 An Interview about “New Job”
Davide Quadrio/李牧Li Mu
Davide Quadrio： 第一次和你见面，你给我很深的印象。 好久没有遇到一个中国的艺术家那么谦虚和low profile。但是你给我介绍你的作品时我马上感觉到很感动。你说的话很直接而且很强烈。今天我想给你交流你在doubleinfinity上作品的概念和你的特别的经验。在这个展览当中你成为一个普通的博物馆劳动工人，但是你的选择是变成荷兰Vanabbe美术馆的劳动工人。 为什么你有这样的想法？为什么你那么努力的想成为荷兰的工人？
李牧：能实现这次在Vanabbe 美术馆做工人的想法，算是一次机缘。在接到Double Infinity 展览邀请前的几个月，我在思考一个问题：一份工作是否也可以是一件作品？那时，我经济很拮据，正计划着要找一份工作以解决生活和计划学习英语的费用。就在这时候，我得到Vanabbe美术馆的展览邀请，于是，很自然地，我就把这个想法作为一个艺术方案提交。至于成为哪个国家的工人，我并不介意。
Davide Quadrio： 文化交流，这个词很容易说，但是很难得到成功的效果。 你作为这个展览的普通职员正好处在在文化交流当中。我觉得你的经验肯定比其他的参加这个展览的艺术家更重要。我想听听你在这样的经验中得到了怎么样的影响？什么好，什么不好？你觉得这个展览改变你对文化交流的态度了吗？你觉得这个展览是否改变了你的艺术态度？
李牧：把欧洲一个美术馆的藏品拿过来展示，观众是中国的老百姓，如果说这是交流的话，那一定是非常表层的交流。真正的交流应该是对话型的，平等的，彼此都能产生影响的交流。我每天都在展厅里向观众讲解作品，和他们交换对艺术的看法。这种交流方式使我非常愉快，谈话成为一个相互了解的窗口。艺术只不过是一种媒介而已，这种媒介促成艺术家和观众之间相互的心灵沟通，并相互产生影响。这使我意识到我今后的工作应该更多的从工作室走出来，让作品渗透到生活空间中去。
Davide Quadrio：在展览中你变成荷兰Vanabbe美术馆的职员，你放弃了你的艺术家身份。而且你要调整你的生活（ 比如折尺了你的工作）。 时间过了，你怎么看你当时的决定？
李牧：那么，艺术家什么时候才是艺术家？散步时算不算？读书时算不算？身份标签只是从社会的角度用以区别彼此，生活……它的有趣之处就在于不确定，比如这回，既完成了一件作品，又拿到了欧标工资。其实从这个作品中我得到的还更多，上帝总是恩宠我，给于我的远比我想要的要多的多。
Davide Quadrio：下面我邀请你把你在展览工作的时候的日记给我看看。我的意思是， 在日记当中我要你选择10个你以为重要的句子，绘画，等等。每一个句子我需要你给我介绍为什么你觉得其句子／画／等等是重要的。如果是图片／照片麻烦你给我扫描一下。
李牧：这是一次个人体验性很强的行为，这种体验很难说出来和人分享。尽管其间我也有零星的日记和照片记录，但我都觉得这不能表达我的切身体验。我还是试着找一些句子来呈现吧！
记住，不要让欲望在自己心里滋长！平和地面对眼前的一切，不要判断，不要好恶。在这个展览上，我能做的，要做的就是做好一份工作，做好一个工人。之外的，都不应该贪婪的获得，哪怕是念头，也不应该有。（April 25，2010 Sunday fine）
“前几天，他们对我的友好，我只是觉得那是一种形式的礼貌。今天，因为劳动，是我觉得和他们没有隔阂了。大家都在加班，我当然也要加班。那一面墙上的画都挂上去后，已经近凌晨两点钟了。其他人先走，我还要留守，直到小高的工作结束。大家都和我相拥分别，good night;have a good dream……这一刻，我感觉大家的心是相通的，彼此是相惜的。
带着一颗喜悦的心来看周围的世界！”（April 28,2010）
“我一直觉得，一个作品应该把人们往好的方向引导，而不是加剧人们的邪恶和贪婪。 转而我改变了我的看法，艺术是多元化的，我喜欢的那种艺术只是艺术中的一种方向而已。SURUASI的作品也许在展场呈现了人们的贪婪，可那些贪婪原本就在那儿。作品让我们看到，我们才有反思的可能。当然，这个作品也给那些持平常心态的人们带来意外的惊喜和快乐。”(May 8,2010 Saturday, cloudy)
“一个残疾老人再次出现在展厅里，他带着一个参观团----他的妻子和邻居。这次，他充当了艺术解说员的角色，有声有色的讲述着每一件作品。显然，老太太听的似懂非懂，不停的说，“艺术太抽象了”。 Surasi的作品前，一个衣着阔绰的老太太拉着我说，“这都是很好的马海毛啊。这得能织多少件毛衣啊！这比黄金项链还值钱啊！”终于，她贴着我的耳朵说：展览结束的时候你能送我点毛线吗？我要给我的小毛头织条围巾。”(May 10,2010 Monday fine)
“从早到晚，一刻也没有闲下来。下午连着对记者讲述展览上的作品，口干舌燥。对于面向公众讲解艺术这个工作，看来确实很有必要性。这种交流对彼此都有益处。观众对艺术的看法也许会影响我对艺术的思考，最起码，给我提供了另一个观看艺术的角度。”(May14,2010 Friday rain)
“老吴憎恨的是他们的贪婪，此刻，老吴的心思是复杂的，还有什么？我不知道。人们的贪婪，错不在他们，而在于这个大的社会环境。这样想，也就心安了。”(May 20,2010,fine)
“我喜欢的艺术，应该是一直处在边界上的艺术探索。”(May 25,2010,fine)
Davide Quadrio：最后的问题。荷兰博物馆会邀请你去荷兰待几个月工作。你面对这样的机会，你有什么样的想法，你想怎么利用这次机会？
李牧：这是我的下一个艺术项目---和Vanabb 美术馆合作，在我家乡的村子里做一个艺术展览，我父母的家将成为展览的主要场地。我打算先回到我的老家，在我的村子里做一个观察和调查。尽管我已经对那里非常熟悉了，可我觉得这次我需要重新观察和思考。之后我再去荷兰Vanabb 美术馆做一次文化和艺术的考察。我要在两者之间寻找一种交流的可能，而不仅仅是组织一次不合常规的展览。我相信，艺术是可以和生活结合在一起的。
2010.8 Shanghai
Davide Quadrio：The first time we met, You left a deep impression on me ，since
I had not met such a modest and low-profile Chinese artist like you for a long time,
and yet I was also moved by your direct and strong words when you introduced your
works. Today I’d like to talk with you about the concept of your work and your
special experience in Double Infinity.In this exhibition, you chose to become an
ordinary worker in a museum, acutally a worker in the Van Abbemuseum, in the
Netherlands. What made you think of that? Why did you work so hard to become a
Dutch worker?
Li Mu: It was actually a chance for me to achieve the idea of being a worker in the
Van Abbemuseum. Before receiving the invitation for the Double Infinity exhibition, I
had been thinking of a question for several months: could a job also be an art work?
I could hardly make the ends meet at that time and was planning to find a job to
make a living and be able to afford studying English. So natually, I handed in this
idea as an artistic project when the invitation from Van Abbemuseum came. I didn’t
care which country’s worker I would be.
Davide Quadrio: Cultural communication is easy to say but hard to achieve. As an
ordinary worker in this exhibtion, you were in the middle of this cultural
communication. I believe your experience must have been more important than that
of other artists participating in this exhibition. I’d like to know what influence this
experience had on you. What is good? What is bad? Do you think this exhibition
changed your attitude towards cultural communication? Do you think this exhibition
changed your attitude towards art in general?
Li Mu: If by communication, you mean showing the colletion of a European art
museum to ordinary people in Shanghai, it would have been quite superficial. The
true communication should be an equal dialogue with mutual influence. I explained
the works to the actual audience and exchanged views on art in the exhibition hall
every day that the Double Infinity show ran. Such a way of communicating made me
very happy, since conversation became the window for mutual understanding. Art is
no more than a medium which facilitates the spritual communication between
artists and the audience and the mutual impact on each other. This makes me realize
that in my future work, I should come out of the studio and permeate my works into
everyday life.
Davide Quadrio: In the exhibiton, you gave up your artistic identity and became an
employee in Van Abbemuseum and you also had to adjust your life (for example,
folding your work). How did you consider your decision at that time?
Li Mu: Well, when does an artist count as an artist? When walking? Or when reading?
Identity just differentiates each person and their life from the social point of view,
whose interests lie in uncertainty. Take this experience as an example, I not only
finished a work, but also earned a wage under European standards. Actually I got
more from this work. God always blesses me, giving me much more than I want.
Davide Quadrio: Could you show me your working diary which you made during the
exhibition? I’d like you to choose ten important sentences, drawing and so on in the
diary, and explain to me why you think they are important.
Li Mu: This is a rather personal experience, quite hard to share with other people.
Although I had few diaries and pictures, I don’t think they can represent my personal
experience. So I just tried to find some sentences to express it:
Remember: don’t get jealous! Face everything you see peacefully. Don’t judge or
feel. In this exhibiton, what I can and need to do is to work hard and be a good
worker. Other things are not mine - don’t be greedy. Don’t even think about them.
（April 25，2010 Sunday）
“I thought their kindness to me was just a kind of politeness several days ago. But
today, due to working, I don’t feel any barrier between us. Everyone is working
overtime, including me. It was nearly two o’clock after we hung all the pictures on
that wall. Others can go first, but I have to stay until Xiao Gao finishes his work.
Everyone hugged me and said ‘good night’, ‘have a good dreams’……At this
moment, I feel we are connected and appreciate each other.”
Look at the surrounding world with a happy heart! （April 28,2010）
“ I always believed that a work should guide people to be better, not more evil or
greedy. But I changed my mind. Art should be diversified. What I like is just one
direction of art. Surasi’s work probably reflects people’s greed just in the exhibition
hall, but the greed is always there. Only when an artwork makes us realise the fact,
is there a possibility for us to reflect. Of course, this work also brings surprise and
happiness to people who have gentle mind. (May 8,2010 Saturday, cloudy)
“ A disadvantaged old man showed up again in the exhibition hall, bringing a visiting
group – his wife and neighbours. He became an artistic commentator this time,
explaining every piece of work vividly. His wife obviously didn’t quite get what he
said, keeping saying: ‘Art is so abstract.’ In front of Surasi’s work, a well-dressed old
lay said to me: ‘This is very good mohair. How many sweaters could be made! It is
more expensive than golden necklace.’ Finally she whispered to me: ‘could you give
me some mohair at the end of the exhibition? I’d like to knit a scarf for my
grandchild.’ (May 10,2010 Monday fine)
There was no rest time from morning till evening. I kept explaining the works to
journalists in the afternoon, and my mouth was parched. It is really necessary to
commentate the artworks to the public. Such communication is beneficial to both of
us. The view of the audience to art may influence my thinking of art, or at least,
provide me with another angle to see art. (May14,2010 Friday rain)
What Lao Wu hates is their greed. At this moment, Lao Wu’s thought is complicated. I
don’t know what else there is. It is not people’s fault to be greedy, but the overall
social environment. Such idea will make you feel relieved. (May 20,2010,fine)
The art I like should be the art keeping exploring on the edge. (May 25,2010,fine)
Davide Quadrio：The last question is what do you think of the opportunity that a
Dutch museum would invite you to work there for several months? How will you use
this opportunity?
Li Mu: This is my next artistic project – cooperating with the Van Abbemuseum.I’d
like to make an artistic exhibition in the village of my hometown, and my
parents’house will be the main location of this exhibition. I plan to go back to my
hometown and make an observation and survey. I think I need to re-observe and
rethink of that place, although I have already rather familiar. And then I will go to
Van Abbemuseum in Holland to make an investigation of culture and art. I’ll try to
find a possibility to communicate between the two of them, not just to organize an
unusual exhibition. I believe that art can be connected with life.
2010.8 Shanghai
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