张素琪 中国美术学院美术馆
2010年岁末，由文化部全国美术馆专业委员会评选出的首届“全国美术馆发展扶持计划项目优秀成果名单”揭晓，14个优秀公共推广项目、6个优秀学术研究成果入选。中央美术学院美术馆的《中央美术学院素描60年学术研究与展览》、中国美术学院美术馆《林风眠师生作品展》占据“优秀学术研究成果”前两席。
作为中国顶尖的美术学院，中央美术学院和中国美术学院的美术馆无疑拥有各自最具特色的学院展览资源。此次获奖的两个项目，更是这一特点的鲜明体现。《中央美术学院素描60年学术研究与展览》共展出中央美术学院历年师生素描作品千余幅，浓缩了该院60年素描的教学历程，同时一并展现了美院独特的教学沿革路径、师承关系、演变的逻辑以及所取得的阶段性成就。《林风眠师生作品展》的全部展品包括中国美术学院创始人林风眠及其学生吴冠中、朱德群、赵无极、苏天赐、席德进的作品150件，这些艺术家在20世纪的中国、乃至全球范围内都产生影响，然而他们共同的身份是中国美术学院校友、前辈，他们的艺术追求共同体现了这所学院的艺术精神。所以说，这两个展览，是无可复制和替代的，是学院美术集中而完美的展现。
事实上，20世纪中国美术发展的重要特征之一，就是以学校培养为特点的新式美术教育模式的出现、发展及其与传统教育方式的论争。经过百年的发展，美术学院集中聚集了最多的专业美术工作者，成为当代中国美术的重要的策源地，无论从人才的培养、作品的创作还是观念的引导，都成为绝对的主导力量。因此，研究20世纪中国美术史继而关照到其对21世纪中国美术的影响，此期间美术学院的发展与演进史，是极为值得关注的视角。而学院美术馆的存在，为这种研究提供了可资参照的藏品，相应的展览也成为其成果绝佳的展示平台，无论是中央美术学院的“60年素描展”还是中国美术学院的“林风眠师生作品展”，都是如此。
依托于学院强大的学术背景举办展览，固然是学院美术馆的优势，是社会普通美术馆缺乏的资源，但是很多时候，学院的背景过于强大，或者说是学院美术馆一直以来依赖学院的惰性，也是学院美术馆的软肋。有学院内的学者曾说到，学院美术馆很长时间以来基本就是展出教师的范画、优秀学生习作，或是哪位老师觉得需要办个展了，就来展览一下。“辅助学校教学为主”的定位当然不错，但是这也使得学院美术馆常年围绕应接不暇的师生展，例如各校的毕业展都是各自美术馆的重要大展，更多的时候是“美术陈列馆”，美术馆应有的保存艺术品的功能、开放教育的功能得不到体现，这制约了学院美术馆在更广阔的天地有所作为。
1974年6月，国际博物馆协会在哥本哈根召开的第11届会议上，对博物馆的功能做了如下的说明:“它把收集、保存、研究有关人类及其环境见证物当作自己的基本职责，以便展出，公诸于众，提供学习、教育、欣赏的机会”（ 王宏钧:《中国博物馆学基础》第26页）作为博物馆中专门以造型艺术为相关工作对象的美术馆，其职能为“展览、典藏、研究及公共教育和服务功能”（参见文化部颁发《全国重点美术馆评估标准（暂行）》，2009年1月）是明确的。学院美术馆的囿于各方条件，在典藏、研究、公共教育和服务功能方面，还有很大的发展空间。鉴于拥有资源的独特性，学院美术馆可以在将学术研究与公共教育相结合方面，做出一些新鲜的探索，尤其是有意识的将公共教育功能融入学术展览全程，将会取得不凡的效果。
首先，从展览的主办与受众的心理角度来看。如果是安排于学院美术馆内的有相当学术含量的大型展览，那么展览通常是由学院出面、全院配合通力完成的，因为学院美术馆本身系统并不完善，比如外联、外宣、保卫、后勤等方方面面，都需要相关部门的配合。以学院之力举办的展览，无论从财力还是人力都动用了广泛的资源，通常赋予其相当的意义，借此也扩大学院的影响力，所以希望能够得到广泛的关注，不管是来自美术界、教育界内部的，还是来自普通社会群众的，所谓的“专家点头、群众拍手”。对于业内的人士（如美术学院的师生）来说，宣传和鼓动不是很重要，因为他们已经具备基础知识，能够认识到这种展览的意义和看点所在，何况看展览已经成为他们生活的一部分。学者巫鸿根据由美国国家艺术基金会在1991年出版的《美国艺术博物馆的观众》一书中所做的详细统计材料，得出一个悖论：“一方面，所有的现代大型美术馆都强调自己的教育职能，另一方面，美术馆所‘教育’的人大都已具有良好的教育水准”，“一般都学过美术史课程”。（《美术史与美术馆》，载《中国美术馆》，2007年第1期）所以在中国，重要的宣传对象，是更为广大的没有美术史基础的普通市民观众，也就是在进行公共教育功能的具体实践了。
从主要的展览受众即这部分市民观众的心理角度来看，通常一所美术学院在当地都是老牌院校，而且由于专业性质比较特殊，这类高校常常给普通群众以神秘、不可亲近之感。而学院美术馆举办展览，使得这种心理的排遣有了一个有效的渠道。但是如果没有抓人眼球的卖点，仅仅依靠群众自发的前往美术馆参观展览，人数一定是相当有限的。名家大师的个展和优秀学生毕业展还好一些，如果是中等名气的教授作品展，除了开幕式的一时热闹，参观的人数用“门可罗雀”来形容也不为过。学院出面举办的大型学术展览，会动用广泛的资源进行对外宣传，相关媒体在报道时会用一些“噱头”，现在最常见的就是鼓吹展品的价值高达多少。这样就有一个问题，群众也许会被这样的噱头吸引进入美术馆，但是展览内容的接受程度、展览意义的理解程度，就不是媒体能够引导的了。这时候需要美术馆充分站在观众的角度，发挥公共教育功能，引导观众看懂展览，对展览真正产生属于各人的兴趣点。观众很希望能够读懂展览，这从分发的导览小册子供不应求可见一斑。有些优秀展览的文献展板总是吸引着大批的观众阅读，如果这些文献内容没有付印分发，还常常会得到观众的抱怨。配备了有声导览的美术馆，导览器也总是很受欢迎。在中国美术学院美术馆举办的《林风眠师生作品展》上，林风眠的五十幅作品，被逐一配上从名家大师点评林风眠作品的文论中摘取的相关片段，有效辅助了普通观众的欣赏过程。一位观众告诉美术馆的工作人员，非常感谢这些点评片段，它们带领自己从完全的外行到能够些许的理解画中的奧妙，有恍然大悟之感。
另外，从当代学院美术馆举办高档次学术展览本身采用的主要展览手段来看，上述的观众这种被引导看展览的需要，也是不谋而合的。在21世纪的今天，人们可以通过多种媒体迅速、准确的获得资讯和各种图像，特别是互联网的强大功能，毫无保留的将汇聚其上的古今中外的美术杰作供人浏览、欣赏，这也催逼现实中的美术馆的展览一定要上档次、够分量，才能高出虚拟世界的美术展览一筹，吸引更多的观众。而学院美术馆由于具有得天独厚的学术背景和专业人员的优势，在举办此种类型的展览方面，更是有着义不容辞的责任。既然是学术展览，就不会是单纯的作品堆砌和罗列，而是带有研究性质的，是一个课题的梳理和探讨过程。这个过程，除了作品本身，还要通过翔实的文献来体现。图文并茂的文献展板及相关的视频演播，现在已经成为学院美术馆学术展览的必不可少的组成部分。这些文献展板一方面向观众展示了本展览的意义和价值所在，一方面也是对观众参观实际作品的引导和参照，是学术研究和公共教育职能双赢的一种表现形式。中央美术学院美术馆的“素描60年”展，也是这种学术性很强的文献展，同时吸引了大批普通观众，是非常好的典型。
著名的英国艺术评论家拉斯金认为，“艺术教育和道德教育是一致的，一个有艺术修养的人，也是一个有道德修养的人，艺术的发展程度是该民族道德水准的反映。”（参见《拉斯金读书随笔》，拉斯金（著），王青松等（译），郑克鲁主编，上海三联书店，1999年版，第2页。）20世纪中国现代教育的奠基人蔡元培同样高度重视美育对于提高国民素质的重要作用，而在他看来，美术馆的设立对于实现美育是除在学校开设有关美育的各种课程以外有效的途径：“普及社会的，有公开的美术馆或博物馆，中间陈列品，或由私人捐赠，或用公款购置，都是非常珍贵的。”（参见《美育实施的方法》《文化运动不要忘记了美育》，载《 蔡元培全集(第3 卷)》，高平叔编，中华书局，1984年版）虽然当前随着经济的快速发展，全国美术馆发展方兴未艾，但是距离将参观美术馆变成普通群众日常文化生活的一部分的状态，还相去甚远。学院美术馆身处俗话所称的“象牙塔”，多年来习惯服务于校内师生，开放性和主动进行公共教育的姿态，与普通美术馆相比，相去甚远。比如受制于学院整体管理（如空调的统一开放），一些学院美术馆在寒暑假内是闭馆的，不能满足人民群众日益增长的文化需求。因此，如何结合学院的长处，充分发挥学院的专业优势，同时站在普通观众渴望走近艺术的视角，策划、组织具有一定学术水准、图文和实物作品相结合的美术展览，是学院美术馆可以扬长避短的所在，也是走出象牙塔、尽可能发挥美术馆的公共教育功能的有效途径，值得拓展。
A Brief Analysis of the Integration of Art University Museum’s Academic Research and Public Education
———Take Museum of Contemporary Art of CAA and China Academy of Art as an Example
Zhang Suqi Museum of Contemporary Art of China Academy of Art
At the end of 2010, the “National Art Museum Development Support Project List of Outstanding Achievements” evaluated by Committee of Art Museums In China was released. It included 14 outstanding public promotion projects and 6 outstanding academic research achievement project. “CAA 60th Anniversary of Sketch Academic Research and Exhibition” and “Art Exhibition of Lin Fengmian and his Students” held by MCACAA ranked first and second separately.
As a top art academy in China, it is no doubt that CAA and MCACAA have the most special exhibition resources. The two projects that won the prize fully reflect this characteristic. “CAA 60th Anniversary of Sketch Academic Research and Exhibition” displayed thousands of sketches created by faculties and students in CAA in the past. It concentrates CAA’s 60-year sketch teaching history and showed the unique teaching methods, mentoring relationship, evolving logic and gradual achievements in art universities. “Art Exhibition of Lin Fengmian and his Students” includes over 150 art works created by Lin Fengmian, the founder of China’s art universities, and his students Wu Guanzhong, Zhu Dequn, Zhao Wuji, Su Tianci and Xi Dejin. These artists influenced China and the world as a whole in the 20th century. However, they are all the aluminus or ancestors of CAA and their art pursuits reflect CAA’s art spirit. Therefore, both of the two exhibitions cannot be copied or replaced. They are the perfect epitome of fine arts in academies.
In fact, the most important features of China’s art in the 20th century are the emergence and development of new art educational pattern -- art universities -- and the debate between new and traditional educational patterns. After a century’s development, art universities have become the hotbed of China’s contemporary art with most of professional artists in them and have absolutely become the leading power no matter from talents training perspective, works creation perspective or conception guidance perspective. Studying China’s art history in the 20th century may help us discover the future of art in the 21st century. Therefore, the development and evolution of art universities in this period do deserve our attention. Museums of art universities provide us enough collections for references in the study and exhibitions held by them are perfect platforms to display our achievements. Both “CAA 60th Anniversary of Sketch Academic Research and Exhibition” and “Art Exhibition of Lin Fengmian and his Students” are so.
We cannot deny that having a strong academic background to rely on is the merit of art university museums and this is what other social art museums don’t possess. However, a lot of times, having a too strong academic background or depending too much on art universities is also the weakness of art university museums. A scholar in CAA once said that for a long time, the mission of art university museums is to exhibit art works by their faculties and students or to hold some exhibitions only if a teacher feels it is the time to hold. Although the position of “assisting teaching” is pretty good, art university museums often have so many exhibitions for teachers and students to deal with, like graduation exhibitions in those art universities, that they are just like “halls to display works”. Preserving collections, public education and many other functions of museums cannot be embodied, which limits art university museums on their further developments.
In the 11th conference held by International Council of Museums in Copenhagen in June, 1974, functions of museums was stipulated as follows: “It regards the collection, preservation and research of witnesses of human beings and their living environment as basic responsibility and displays these witnesses to the public for learning, education and appreciation.” (Wang Hongjun: “The Basis of Chinese Museology”, p26) Taking design and art as working objects, art museums have the following responsibility: “Exhibition, collection, research, public education and public service” (Referring to “National Key Art Museum Evaluation Criteria”(Provisional) by the Ministry of Culture, January, 2009), which is a clear-cut one. Because of different kinds of limitations on art museums, there is still a big room to improve in terms of collection, research, public education and public service. In consideration of the uniqueness of resources, art university museums may explore something new and fresh to combine academic research and public education. Especially, it must be a great success if they integrate public education into academic exhibitions consciously.
Firstly, from the perspective of host of exhibition and psychology of visitors. If it is a large-scale academic exhibition arranged within the museum, it is completed by all the faculties and students in the academy because the museum may not have a perfect system itself and it requires cooperation from relating departments in terms of external communication, external publicity, security and logistics. With the efforts of the entire academy, the exhibition will receive extensive financial and man-powered resources so the meaning of it will be broadened. The academy, with the expectation to enlarge its social influence, wants to gain wide attentions from art circles, educational circles or from the general public. That is the so-called “Experts agree and public clap”. For insiders (like faculties and students in art universities), it is no use to promote or encourage them because they already have some basic knowledge and they can clearly realize the importance and focus of such exhibitions. What’s more, exhibitions have also already become a part of their lives. In line with the detailed statistics in “Visitors in American Art Museum”, a book published in 1991 by National Endowment for the Arts (America), scholar Wu Hong draws a paradox: “One the one hand, all large contemporary art museums highlight their educational functions and on the other hand, people “educated” by these museums have already received a good education before”, “most of them have learned the history of art before”. (“History of Art and Art Museums”, published on “National Art Museum of China Journal”, No.1, 2007) Therefore, in China, the main promotion target is those ordinary citizens with no knowledge of history of art. The process of promotion can also be seen as the process of public education.
Secondly, from the perspective of the psychology of visitors. Generally speaking, an art university is a local old university with special subjects so it often makes people a sense of alienation and mystery. Exhibitions held by art university museums offer an effective way for people to dispel such kind of feelings. However, if the exhibition itself does not have any eye-catching selling points and only depends on people who visit it spontaneously, the number of visitors must be limited. Even if the condition may be a little better in a master’s individual exhibition or a graduation exhibition for excellent students, when it comes to exhibitions for some professors not very famous, except on the opening ceremonies, it is even possible to catch sparrows on the doorstep. When an academy wants to host a large academic exhibition, it often uses extensive resources to promote it. Thus, there may be some stunts in media’s reports and the exaggeration of the value of collections is the most common way. But this may elicit a problem: Visitors will be attracted by these stunts to pay a visit but media cannot guide their acceptability of the exhibition contents and their understanding of the exhibition meanings. This is the time for art museums to bring into play their public educational functions from the view of visitors and guide visitors to understand and be really interested in the exhibition. Visitors’ desire to understand the exhibition can be concluded from the short supply of guiding pamphlets. Document panels for some outstanding exhibitions often attract a great number of visitors to read and sometimes visitors may complain if the documents are not printed and handed out. In some art museums that provide audio guiding service, the guiding devices are often welcomed. In “Art Exhibition of Lin Fengmian and his Students” , MCACAA provides several excerpts from articles written by masters to comment on Lin Fengmian’s works for 50 art works of Lin Fengmian, which helps visitors have better appreciations during visiting. One of the visitors told a staff in MCACAA that he really appreciated those excerpts because they led him from an entire outsider into an insider and helped him learn the secrets behind those works, which really enlightens him.
Thirdly, from the perspective of the main method that contemporary art university museums use to host high-level academic exhibitions. This kind of main method happens to cater to visitors’ demand to be guided. In the 21st century, through media, people can receive information and images accurately and swiftly. Especially, on the internet, we may browse and appreciate art works at all times and in all over the world, which makes exhibitions in reality must be high-level and high-quality to attract more visitors than virtual world. Being blessed with advantages in academic background and professionals, art university museums have the obligatory to hold such exhibitions. Now that they are academic exhibitions, they cannot simply pile up works. The exhibitions should be academic and a process to comb and discuss questions. This process can be fulfilled not only by art works themselves but by full and accurate documents. Documents panels with images and texts and relating videos have become indispensable parts in academic exhibitions held by art university museums. For one thing, these panels show visitors the meaning and value of the exhibition. For another, they are guidance and references for visitors when they are appreciating real works, which is a sort of manifestation of the win-win combination of academic study and public education. “CAA 60th Anniversary of Sketch Academic Research and Exhibition” hosted by MCACAA is also a typical case because it is a strong academic one but attracts a lot of common visitors.
Famous British art critic Ruskin holds the view that “Art education is always consistent with moral education. If one is artistically accomplished, he is also morally accomplished. The development of art reflects on the national moral standard.” (Refer to Ruskin: “Ruskin’s Reading Essays”, translated by Wang Qingsong, edited by Zheng Kelu, Shanghai Joint Publishing Company, Ltd., 1999, p2) Cai Yuanpei, the founder of China’s modern education in the 20th century, also thinks highly of the important function of art education to improve national quality. In his view, the set of art museums is an effective way for art universities to realize art education besides offering art courses: “Collections in public art galleries or museums, either donated by individuals or purchased with public money, are priceless.” (Refer to “Ways to Implement Art Education” “Do Not Forget Art Education in Cultural Movements”, published on “The Complete Works of Cai Yuanpei (Volume Three)”, edited by Gao Pingshu, Zhong Hua Book Company, 1984) Although with the pace of economy, art museums in China art in the ascendant, it is still far away from the situation in which visiting art museums has become a part of people’s daily cultural life. Art university museums are in the so-called “ivory towers” so they are accustomed to serving students and teachers and their openness and initiative of public education cannot be paralleled with other common art museums. For instance, they may be restricted by the overall management of the university (unified opening of air conditioners) and have to be closed during winter and summer holidays, which cannot meet people’s ever-growing cultural demands. Therefore, the way for art university museums to adopt good points and avoid shortcomings is to consider how to integrate art universities’ advantages, how to give enough weight to professional advantages and, at the same time, how to plan and organize a strong academic exhibition combining images and documents with material works from the perspective of common citizens who desire to learn about art. This is also an effective approach for them to walk out of ivory towers and make use of public educational functions as much as possible. All of these deserve our further explorations.
