Learning from the Literati 3

“The core deficiency of the secret of life at this day and age is that it cannot be tweeted.”

With this statement regarding his latest video work, Shanghai-based Italian artist Girolamo Marri presents an interesting critical angle on the “Learning from the Literati” concept — positing the idea that the modern world has little time for poetry, art, or complex philosophical concepts, those key elements which provided sustenance for China’s ancient literati scholar-painters.

In the frenetic rhythm of everyday life, we use this annually recurring exhibition as an opportunity to pause and examine the beliefs of the literati, their roles in the community, and their engagement with the classics of Buddhism and Taoism. Each year we ask artists to take an expedition into the past to unearth relevant concepts and ideas, dust them off and create something new.

This year features a range of mediums from video to sculpture to paper-cutting, with works examining issues such as our contemporary lack of introspection, the class structure of ancient China and issues of moral and cultural leadership. Artists also explore how the requirements of human survival have forced an erosion of classical virtues such as etiquette and wisdom, and confront the contradictions between the literati’s respect for nature and our current disregard for the natural environment.

当下，生命的意义无法被发送在仅限只言片语的微薄上。

借由对他最新作品的引述，现居于上海的意大利籍艺术家 Girolamo Marri 很好地总结了《向文人学习》的核心要点——当今世界人们对诗歌，艺术和复杂的哲学理论费时无几，而它们曾为中国古代文人学者画家提供了精神食粮。

在日常生活狂乱的撞击下，我们将这个一年一度的展览作为一个契机，驻足并审视文人的生活方式以及信仰——他们在社会中的角色及其对于佛教和道教经典著作的兴趣——挖掘相关的概念和想法，尘封并创新。

今年的展览从录像、雕塑直至剪纸，作品审视的问题诸如当下自省的缺失；古代中国的阶层结构以及道德与文化的主导权问题；人们生存的要求是如何助长着对传统美德（如礼貌和智慧）的侵蚀以及文人对自然的尊崇和我们当下对自然环境的轻视之间的矛盾。