Crossways against the war

SEO个展

展期：2010年6月2日—6月14 日

地点：今日美术馆 1号馆3层

SEO 创作了一系列战争题材的作品。如果美学的上层建筑需要一个主题作为支撑的话，这些作品的主题就是——恐怖，它超越个人，涉及社会本身。但请注意，SEO 的图像并非恐怖的图像战争的图像怎么可能不是恐怖、伤残和肉搏的图像呢？在艺术中，这当然是可能的。她的战争图像捕捉的是好战行为背后的情感和心理。她恰恰对战争中人性的一面感兴趣，并将之转变为艺术的信息。

看到SEO 画中的坦克向你嘎嘎地开过来，会令你感到这种武器传达的某种恐怖。帮助我们“消化”这种在其他情况下定然令人难以接受的视觉食物的，是轻盈、和谐的色彩，是特意营造的那种非戏剧化的环境，还有画家熟练的技法和精美的画面品质。对艺术来说，美学经验才是重要的，

反过来，美学经验也不能完全和主题分离。只要是艺术，表现任何主题都是可以的，正如兵不厌诈（All is fair in war，意即战争中的手段不以道德论）一样，艺也不厌兵——何况是像SEO 样用伟大的人道主义方式解读战争。即使现在就将这个系列列入21 世纪初最重要的图像也不为过。

Without Words 2009

Solo Exhibition of SEO

Duration: June 2nd – June 14th

Venue: 3rd floor exhibition hall of building 1

SEO has created a series of paintings on the subject of war. If there is any subject in need of an aesthetic superstructure,it’s just that – more than other motifs of horror, like murder, as it transcends the individual, involving society itself. But, mind you, SEO’s images are not images of horror. Images of war which aren’t images of horror, mayhem and gore? How is that possible? By art, of course. Her images of war are images pursuing the emotions and the psychology of bellicose acts. It is definitely the very human side of it all which interests her most and transforms it into an artistic message.

Seeing SEO’s tank rattling towards youmakes you sense some of the horror this weapon communicates. Psychologists of war have always agreed on that the fear it spreads is a highly important function of the tank. It is the lightness, the harmonies of colour, the deliberately non-dramatic setting that provides, together with the painterly

mastership and exquisite quality, a way of “digesting” this otherwise less agreeable

visual food. Even more than that – the art of painting makes this a gratifying experience. It is the aesthetic experience that counts, which, in turn, cannot be completely separated from the subject. If it is art, it is fair, and be it on the subject of war – especially in the great humanistic way SEO interprets it. It is not too early to count this series among the most important images of the early 21st Century.