专访 | Shoshan Brosh-Levitt：艺术让世界看到女性的力量

《本色出演/成为本尊》

二十四位当代女性艺术家的影像作品

Impersonating Myself / Becoming Myself

Photographs and Videos by 24 Contemporary Women Artists

参展艺术家：

郭桢 GUO Zhen、胡海博 HU Haibo、胡佳艺 HU Jiayi、刘茜懿 LIU Qianyi、刘沁敏 LIU Qinmin、刘思麟 LIU Silin、钱儒雅 QIAN Ruya、文慧 WEN Hui、吴丹丹 WU Dandan、邢丹文 XING Danwen、许静宇 XU Jingyu、张森 ZHANG Sen

Raida ADON, Sharon GLAZBERG,

Dalia GOTLIEB-KEDEM,

Keren GUELLER, Michal HEIMAN,

Alex KURBATOV, Vered NISIM,

Hadas SATT, Tal SHOCHAT,

Noa YAFE, Noa YEKUTIELI,

Maya ZACK

策展人： 苏珊.布罗施-列维特 张芳

Curators: Shoshan Brosh-Levitt

ZHANG Fang

展览统筹： 刘珍 董玉琪

Exhibition coordinator: LIU Zhen, DONG Yuqi

展览执行： 韩子昕 高梁津 郑可辰

Exhibition executor: HAN Zixin, GAO Liangjin, ZHENG Kechen

主办： 青岛西海岸新区黄盒子美术馆

Host: YellowBox Art Museum

协办： 上海喜玛拉雅美术馆

Co-host: Shanghai Himalayas Museum

展期： 2024.09.25-11.24

Exhibition time: September 25th, 2024 to November 24th, 2024

《本色出演/成为本尊》二十四位当代女性艺术家影像作品展于9月25日在青岛黄盒子美术馆与观众见面。展览聚焦女性感兴趣的问题，参展的24位女性艺术家来自世界各地，她们在摄影和视频艺术的创新前沿工作，共同呈现了48件摄影作品和15件录像作品。

展览一经推出，便受到众多观众朋友们的关注与青睐，借此机会，我们对话展览策展人 Shoshan Brosh-Levitt ，通过她的讲述，带领大家一起，了解更多关于展览背后更深层次的思考与探索。

The exhibition of “ Impersonating Myself / Becoming Myself—— Photographs and Videos by 24 Contemporary Women Artists” was held on September 25th at the Yellow Box Art Museum in Qingdao. The exhibition focuses on issues of female interest, with 24 female artists from around the world working at the forefront of innovation in photography and video art, presenting a total of 48 photographic works and 15 video works.

As soon as the exhibition was launched, it attracted the attention and favor of many audience friends. Taking this opportunity, we would like to talk to exhibition curator Shoshan Brosh Levitt, and through her narration, lead everyone to learn more about the deeper thinking and exploration behind the exhibition.

专访 | Interview

Q: 本 次展览为何选择以“本色出演/成为本尊”作为主题？

A： 我想这是我的人生故事，我一直在努力成为我自己，但我是谁？我真的不知道。所以这是我的挣扎、我的问题。我是整个女性群体、女性社区、女性艺术家群体的一部分。我的意思是，也许整个人类也正在努力问自己，梦想是什么以及如何实现梦想。我们生活在不够清晰的时代, 很多东西都是假的，我们都对此感到困惑，但艺术家接受了这种困惑和虚假，这不是最好的生活方式，但他们接受了它，并将其转变为积极的思维方式，就像“成为”一样积极的去做，或者像迈克尔曾经说的那样，假装直到你成功。

Q：Why do you choose “becoming myself" as the topic of this exhibition?

A： I think it's my life story，I’m always trying to become myself，but who am I? I really don't know. So it's my struggle，my questions, and I'm part of the whole community: women，women community, women artists. I mean maybe people are struggling, asking themselves: what to dream about and how to fulfill their dreams. We live in days which are not clear enough. Many things are fake and we are confused of it, but the artist takes this confusion and the fake, which is not the best thing to live with, but they take it and change it to a positive way of thinking, and like “becoming” - doing it active[ly], as if you can do everything or this kind of fake; Like Michael use to say “Fake it until you make it!”.

Q：您为何会选择在当下的艺术环境中，策划女性艺术家的群展？您是如何看待女性艺术家在艺术行业发展过程中的重要性？

A： 你知道，女性不在中心。在我们所知道的历史中，女性被排除在外。我认为在过去的10年里，也许15年，甚至更长的时间里，女性艺术家可以像男性艺术家一样参与其中并处于中心地位，是一个非常短的时间，这非常重要。我知道他们从来没有想过表演，也没有想过只和女性一起展示他们的作品。我认识的一些艺术家拒绝参加这种展览，因为这是一个女性或只有女性的展览，她们没有考虑过被隔离或不属于社会。但我认为现在正是时候。相较于几年前，现在只为女性或与女性有关的人举办展览并不是什么新鲜事。例如，上一次的威尼斯双年展——90%的艺术家是女性。不过我们开始的更早。所以这就是为什么我们必须要在不平衡的情况下，稍微做出一些改变来进行平衡。这是解决问题、治愈不公平和不公正的一种方法。艺术史上你几乎看不到任何女性艺术家或女性艺术。只有少数人幸运地被展出。但在过去的30年、50年、60年、70年里，我们看到越来越多非常重要的女性，她们可以促进和改变文化。这就是我所说的“CI”文化——文化智慧。女性至少有50%的文化智慧，所以我们应该展示他们的思维方式、思想、问题、团结，他们必须面对的紧张局势。这只是真实的生活。

Q：Why did you choose to create a group exhibition of female artists in the current art context, and what do you think about the importance of female artist in the development of art history?

A： Females are not in the center, you know. During the history that we know, female women were excluded and I think in the last 10 years, maybe 15 years, maybe a little bit more, it's a very short time, the women artists take part and are in the center like the men artists, and it's it is very important. I know they never thought about perform or to show their works only with women. Some of the artist that I know refused to participate in this kind of exhibition, because it's a female or only women and they didn't think about being, you know, segregated or not part of the society. But I thought that this is the right time. It was a few years ago, not now , it's not so new thing to make exhibitions only for women or about or with women. For example, Venice Biennale last time - ninety percent of the artists were women, but we started before... So this is the reason, we have to change a little bit the balance between the unbalanced situation，and this is one way to fix things and to cure what was unfair and injustice. [Looking at] art history, it's hard to say, but you couldn't see any women artist or women art. Only a few were lucky to be shown. But in the last 30-50-60 years... 70 years, we see more and more women which are very important, and they can move and change the culture. This is what I call "CI", Culture Intelligence, and women have at least fifty percent of it. So, we should show their way of thinking, their mind, their problems, their solidarity, their tensions. They have to deal with. It's just true life.

Q ：您可以为我们说一下本次展览的策展思路以及展出作品在选择上的考量吗？

A：我选择与我们（主题）相关的好作品。他们必须表达一些与展览主题相关的东西，我们的主题是“本色出演/成为本尊”，所有这些作品都是这种思维方式的一部分。在很多方面，它就像人类的想象力，这很难说，因为每一件作品和每一位艺术家都有自己的方式，而且（每位艺术家）都有自己独特的方式来表达她如何实现自己的梦想和愿望，成为没有这门艺术就无法成为的人。 例如， Raida Adon ，她在她的艺术中找到了归宿，她是一个没有家的女人。 这是她的视频艺术作品的名字，但她在她的艺术中找到了自己的家。 或者你在我们身后看到的， [Dalia Gotlieb Kedem] ，她从做母亲的焦虑中找到了解脱。 同样在这里，她的艺术为她解决了一个持续存在的问题： 如何做一个好母亲。 我是个称职的母亲吗？ 养育子女的过程从未结束。 她一生都在努力成为一个好母亲，唯一能让她感觉良好的方法就是当她创作的时候……而且这个作品非常强大。 我觉得我是同样的人，作为母亲和女儿。 我敢肯定我对母亲要求太多了，而我母亲尽了最大的努力，就像那边视频中 Vered Nisim 的母亲一样。 她做了她能做的一切，这就像献出了他们生命。 每一个作品都如此伟大。 例如，这个作品（许静宇）探讨了宇宙问题，我们的气候问题、价格问题，通过艺术，你会发现一种平静，感觉我能做的最好的事情就是表现得像个天使，感觉自己像个拯救世界的天使。 行星，植物，坐在那里，也许我们会嘲笑它，但我们唯一能给出的答案，它们知道如何以我们无法想象的方式做到这一点，它们的想法总是让我感到惊讶。 看看这个视频作品（ 刘倩懿） ，太神奇了，这是一部背后有中国历史的哲学性的、辉煌的作品， 只有天才才能做到，而这些艺术家都是天才。

Q：Could you please share the concept of the exhibition you created and how you are choosing works？

A： I choose good works that deal with our (theme). They have to say something connected to the theme of the exhibition, and our theme is "Impersonating Myself so we can Become Ourselves", and all that works are at least part of this kind of way of thinking. In many ways it's like the human imagination. It's hard to say because each work and each artist has its own way, and [each artist] has her way to say how she takes her dreams, her wishes, to become someone or some person that she couldn't be without doing this art. For example, Raida Adon, she finds a home in her art, she's a woman without home. This is the name of her video artwork... but she finds her home in her art... or what you see behind us, [Dalia Gotlieb-Kedem], she finds relief in feeling so much anxiety about being a mother. Also here, her art give her a solution to a constant problem: how to be a good mother. Am I [a] good enough mother? It's never ended parenting. All her life she is struggling to be a good mother, and the only one way to feel good is when she does this work... and it's so strong. It is... I feel like the same person as mother and as her daughter. I'm sure I wanted too much from my mother and my mother did the best she could, like the mother of Vered Nisim in the video artwork over there. She did everything she could, It's like giving their life. Every work is so strong. For example, this work [by Xu Jingyu] deals with the problem of the universe, of our climate problems, prices, and within art, with art you, find kind of peace, feeling the best I can do is to behave like an angel and feel like an angel [Xu Jingyu] who saved the world. The planets, the plants, sitting there, maybe we laugh about it, but this is the answer, the only one answer we can give, and they know how to do it in a way that we cannot imagine. It always surprise me how they think. Look at this video work [by Liu Qianyi] it's amazing, it's so philosophical and such a brilliant work with all the Chinese history behind this work. Only genius people can do it, and these artists are [a] kind of genius people.

Q ：就本次展览，您感觉中国艺术家与国外艺术家们在创作风格上有何不同？

A： 我真的找不到区别，艺术家之间没有区别。当然，中国哲学不是犹太哲学，也不是以色列哲学，更不是西方哲学。这些哲学或神话传说之间存在差异，比如本次展览开始时的维纳斯（Alex Kurbatov），如果你不看细节，这是一样的。它有着同样的关怀、爱、养育和存在的概念。真正关心人和世界的人，这就像一个传统的女性概念，关心人、养育人、关心生活、憎恨一切战争，反对，拒绝人们在我们的世界上能做的事情。我们想法都一样，没有区别。

Q：Regarding this exhibition, what do you think is the difference between Chinese artists and Israeli artists?

A： I can't find differences, really, [no] differences between the artists. Of course, the Chinese philosophy is not the Jewish philosophy, or Israeli philosophy, or the Western philosophy. There are differences between these philosophies or mythological legends, like Venus in the beginning of this exhibition [Alex Kurbatov], but still, it's the same if you don't look at the details. It has the same concept of caring, of loving, of nurturing, of being, really someone who cares about people and the world, and this is like a traditional women concept: to care about people, to nurture people, to care about life, to hate all wars, to be against, to refuse to what people can do in our world. We all think the same, no differences.

Q：您认为影像艺术和其他艺术形态之间有什么关联？以及您认为影像艺术未来的发展怎么样？

A： 这是个好问题，我需要考虑一下，但首先我想说，我觉得摄影和视频艺术是我们这个时代最相关的艺术或艺术媒介。我知道很多人不会接受我的想法，但这就是我每次看到一张照片时的感受，不仅是中国的，但尤其是中国的照片，我觉得它在跟我说话，我觉得我比任何画都能理解得多。它是如此强大，那些优秀的艺术和摄影，它有绘画文化和文化层次。我不是说我们用手机拍的照片。我的意思是艺术家们所作的，他们花了一年甚至几个月的时间制作每张照片。你知道，你需要用如此多的想象力和勇气才能创作出这样的作品。因此，我觉得摄影和视频艺术非常相关，非常强大，非常勇敢，我觉得自己是其中的一部分，我被联系在一起。当我看到最美丽的传统绘画时，我没有同样的感觉，是的，我可以说哇，我有一些感觉，但它离我很远，每幅画都离我很远。不仅是中国传统绘画，即使在西方当我看到照片时，我觉得这是我的语言，它在我的时代用我的语言说话。我真的不知道视频作品的未来，我可以说人工智能现在只是占据了我们大脑的一部分。我认为艺术家会处理它，他们不会让它占据我们的思想、占据我们的想象力、占据我们所有的感情，他们会以自己的方式处理它。我不知道。如果我知道，我可能成为一名艺术家，但我不知道。也许我丈夫可以回答这个关于未来的难题。

Q：This exhibition is about photography and videos. What do you think is the relationship or the difference between video art and other art forms, and what do you think about the future of the development of video or photography?

A： Good question, I need to think about it, but first I would like to say that I feel that photography and video art are the most relevant art or medium of art in our time. I know many people will not accept my idea, but this is what I feel every time I see a photograph, not only Chinese but especially a Chinese photograph, I feel like it talks to me, I feel like I can understand much more than any painting, and it is so strong, it has the culture of painting and the layers of culture. This is good art and good photography. I don't mean the photo that we take by our phones. I mean what artists do. They work a year, months, on each photograph. You know, you need so much imagination and brave[ry] to make this kind of works. Therefore I feel that photography and video art are very relevant and very strong, very strong, and very brave, and I feel part of it, I'm connected, I feel connected. I don't have the same feeling when I see the most beautiful traditional painting... yes, I can say wow, I have some feelings, but it's far from me, every painting is far from me. Even in the West, not only the Chinese traditionally painting, when I see photograph I feel this is my language, it talks in my language in my time... and I don't know the future of the video works, really, I can say [that] AI is just occupying part of our mind right now, and I think that artists will deal with it, they won't let it take our mind, take our imagination, take all our feelings, they will deal with it in their way. I don't know. If I knew it I could be an artist, but I don't. Maybe my husband can answer this difficult question about the future.

Q：从您的资料了解到，您早在1991年就来到中国，您是如何看待中国当代艺术这些年的发展。

A： 这就像重生一样，我现在看到的中国与我多年前看到的中国几乎没有任何关系。那时候我没去过青岛，但我去过很多地方。当我第一次回到这些地方时，我认不出那些地方，也看不到艺术品。在1991年几乎看不到任何（当代）艺术，只有中国传统艺术。我知道在八九十年代的北京和上海，开始了一些精彩的现代艺术，也许是后现代艺术，但我看不到这些，只有少数人能真正享受它。但后来，在2007年，当我在这工作五年后，我在北大呆了五年，我每周去798两次，而不是一次，我觉得这是我的家，我过去常常对没有去那里的学生说，我希望我能住在那里 。这么多艺术，这么多有创造力的人，太棒了。 当中国艺术和艺术家来到欧洲时，人们常常说： 哇，中国人来了，他们都跑得很快，去看他们的作品，去购买他们的作品。 （现在）情况不一样，我们现在不在那里，但我希望我们能再次回到那里。

Q：I know that the first time you come to China is 1991, so how do you see and what do you think of the development of Chinese art over the decades?

A： It's like a rebirth. China that I see now has almost nothing to do with China that I have seen many-many years ago. I haven't been in Qingdao in those days but I have been in many places. When I first came back to these places I couldn't recognize the places and not the art... I almost couldn't see any [contemporary] art in 1991, only traditional Chinese art. I know there was some. They started a wonderful modern, maybe it is postmodern art, in Beijing, in Shanghai during 80s and 90s, but I couldn't see this. Only few people could really enjoy it, but later, in 2007, when I came back for five years, and stayed here, in Beida, for five years, I went to 798 twice a week, not once, and I felt like it's my home. I used to say even to my student, that didn't go there, that I wish I could live there. So much art, so much creative people, amazing... and when Chinese art and artists came to Europe, people used to say: "Wow!! The Chinese are coming!” and all of them ran fast to see their works and to buy their works. [Now] It's not the same, we are not there right now but I hope we will be there again.

Q：我们也了解到这是您第三次来青岛，您认为青岛相较于您去过的其他城市，有哪些是让您印象深刻的？

A： 长长的海岸，一望无际，住在大海和山脉之间，尤其是在这个地区。你知道我不喜欢啤酒，所以它对我来说并不特别，也许每个男人都会比我更喜欢它，并会提到它。我想我是15年前第一次来这里，（和15年前相比）我觉得青岛已经翻了一番，这座城市现在太大了，比以前大得多，太时尚了，太漂亮了。至少在从我们酒店到这个地方的整个地区，这次我没有去市中心，但感觉很繁华。 也许我错了，但这就是我所看到的 .

Q：We know that this is your third time to be in Qingdao. Compared to other cities in China what do you think, is there something special about Qingdao?

A： A long seashore, very long, and the way you live between the sea and the mountains, especially here in this region. You know, I don't like beer, so it's not special for me, maybe every man will like it more than me, and will mention it... First time I’ve been here, was 15 years ago. I feel like Qingdao has doubled herself. The city is so big right now, much bigger than before, and so fancy, so-so fancy, so nice.. at least in all this area from our hotel to this place. I haven't been this time in downtown city, but it feels like flourishing. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe, but this is what I see.

此次展览将持续至11月24日，欢迎观众朋友们来黄盒子美术馆观展。

苏珊·布罗施-莱维特 ， 出生于以色列，目前生活和工作于特拉维夫、斯坦福和上海。她拥有教育学博士学位，曾在多所学术机构任教，包括特拉维夫大学（1977-2003）、北京外国语大学（2011）和北京大学（2007、2009-2013）。布罗施-莱维特出版过15本著作，发表了大量学术文章。苏珊·布罗施-莱维特策划过多个国际性个展和大型艺术展。

Shoshan Brosh-Levitt, born in Israel, currently lives and works in Tel Aviv, Stanford, and Shanghai. With a PhD in Education, she has worked at multiple academic institutions, including Tel Aviv University (1977-2003), Beijing Foreign Studies University (2011), and Peking University (2007, 2009-2013). Brosh-Levitt published 15 books and numerous academic articles. Shoshan Brosh-Levitt has curated multiple solo and large-scale international art exhibitions.