More than ever before, contemporary artists are fraught with the anxiety of having no space for peaceful quietude. The end of the 20th century has witnessed the position of artists being wholly determined by rising middle class tastes and consumerism. Liu Renjie uses a strategy of reclusion to explore an undisturbed space of independence for the practice of art. The enveloping silence in his works arises out of the noise and chaos associated with the pressures of globalization and a commercialized art market. In this situation, many artists can’t help but follow the dictum, “when the Way does not prevail, take to the sea in a raft.” (Confucius) This is enacted by searching for a space of refuge within the very uproar of the marketplace. Liu Renjie’s strategy of pictorial silencing achieves a counter effect on the sensory overload of the materialistic world. In a recently completed set of works, he has positioned his art as a carrier of society’s burdens. His works repeatedly evoke the desire for departure and seclusion from the discordant noise of the contemporary world. His desire is neither for eremitism nor escapism, but for a Confucianist ideal of appropriate retreat when circumstances are hostile: “When I can make difference to the world, move forward; when not, take retreat.” (Confucius)
This strategy is a serious attempt to embody the Confucian philosophy of “Engaging the world when the Way (morality) prevails and seeking reclusion when it does not.” It is contrasted by the somewhat passive Daoist idea of “self preservation” (wei-wo). “Self-preservation” is a principle that prioritizes causing no harm to living beings as a means to protect each individual’s power to “follow one’s basic nature” within the social realm. Therefore, it must not be simply confused with egoism. Through taking the outer appearance of reclusion and of having neither function nor use, and through (zhong-shen) and (gui-shen) as a way of taking cover from the immoral demands of the world, one achieves self-preservation. The lonely and solitary figures in Liu Renjie’s paintings are confined in a constructed space of imposed silence. This is the space for self-expression and self-realization. At times, this space may be expanded to that which lies outside the canvas, such as the hardwood floor of the exhibition space or an empty room, with nothing but the spread of a monochrome carpet. The hardwood floor and carpets create additional, visible frames around the painted figures, as though protecting or shielding them from the outer world. The final effect is that of a space for introspection. From this perspective, Liu Renjie’s works such as Island (2003) and Breathing Series (2004) simultaneously evoke the concepts of reclusion and engagement as found in the philosophical schools of Daoism and Confucianism. To do so, he uses the rational and removed methods of realistic depiction to communicate traditional Chinese notions of eremitic philosophy.
By Hsingyuan Tsao |
