Exhibition Preface: “Atlanta, the Second Technological Revolution, and an Eastern Translator”
By He Beili
When Tan Tian described his artworks inspired by his passion for the American TV show Atlanta, my initial thought wasn’t of race itself, but of Wu Zelin—that anthropological trailblazer who deeply investigated this topic and authored seminal works. It made me realize: what truly matters is not the issue per se, but who engages with it.
Today, a tacit consensus seems to have taken hold: Africa’s social issues demand African artists; Asia’s problems are the domain of Asian scholars; similarly, America’s racial complexities are America’s to confront; and men seemingly have no place in feminist dialogue.
Amidst the clamor of recent years—decolonization, degendering, deglobalization (and various other “de-” movements)—the legitimacy of, and empathy for cross-cultural engagement and mutual understanding have eroded. What parades as respect for the “Other” often becomes its thorough objectification, insulating them from our lived worlds, leading inexorably to mutual withdrawal—each individual stranded on their own island.
The irony? This stance serves its proponents poorly. The demise of the “Other” brings with it the diminishment and loss of the “Self.” When you cease to engage with experiences beyond your own, you forfeit the subjectivity to think meaningfully about the world. When you stop striving to understand the “Other” you encounter, you forfeit the subjectivity essential for genuine dialogue…
Back to the topic: Tan Tian’s commitment to being a contemporary artist compels a response to our present reality. Hence the question: where should this exhibition take root?
Perhaps abroad? Tan Tian once pondered: Who in China would be interested in seeing a solo exhibition centered on Western themes?
No. I countered Tan: On the contrary, precisely within domestic art institutions does the potential lie to fully realize this exhibition’s proposition—to be explicit, it’s to reconsider the subjectivity of Chinese contemporary art (and artists) by taking the West as the Other.
“亚特兰大、二次技术革命与一个东方翻译”展览前言
何贝莉
当谭天向我描述他出于对美国喜剧《亚特兰大》（Atlanta）的热衷而创作的相关作品时；我首先想到的，不是种族问题本身，而是曾经探讨过这一命题并为之著书立说的人类学前辈吴泽霖——我想说：在此意义上，重要的不是问题本身，而是讨论这一问题的“主体”是谁。
如今，我们大抵会形成这样一种默契：非洲的社会问题，应由非裔艺术家来表达；亚洲的社会问题，是亚洲学者的专属领域；与之相仿，美国的种族问题自然由美国人来面对；而男人在女性主义者面前，似乎已毫无置喙之所。
于是，在近些年铺天盖地的去殖民化、去性别化、去全球化（各种“去……化”）的浪潮中，不同的区域文明与社会形态渐渐丧失了彼此关照、互动的合法性和同理心。这看似是对他者的尊重，实则是将之彻底的对象化，以便隔离在自己的生活世界之外，终是老死不相往来，人人活成孤岛。
而吊诡的是，如此行事，对于行事者而言，也并未讨到多少好处。与“他者”的消逝如影随形的，是“主体”的萎缩与沦丧——当你不再关照自身经验之外的世界时，你便丧失了思考这个世界的主体性；当你不再试图理解你遭遇的他者时，你便丧失了与之对话的主体性……
说回原题，既然谭天选择以当代艺术为志业，便意味着他势必要对当下现状作以回应。那么，随之而来的问题是：此展若能落地，应在何处落地。
似乎应该在境外？谭天曾疑虑：谁会想在国内看一场讨论西方议题的当代艺术个展？
不。我告诉谭天：恰恰相反，只有境内艺术机构才担得起此次展览的命题——说得明确些，是以西方作为他者再思中国当代艺术（家）的主体性问题。