落腳燕郊 中國青年藝術家的理想與現實(上)

YANJIAO, China — Artists in need of cheap, affordable studio space are often drawn to out-of-the-way or hardscrabble neighborhoods.

中國燕郊——需要便宜、租得起的工作室的藝術家們通常會被吸引到偏僻或貧窮的地方。

The visual artists who flocked to SoHo in Manhattan decades ago helped resurrect what had been a deteriorating factory and warehouse district.

幾十年前蜂擁來到曼哈頓SoHo區的視覺藝術家們幫助復興了這個曾經日益衰落的工廠和倉庫區。

Young artists also helped revive parts of Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Bushwick,

年輕藝術家也幫助復興了布魯克林(Brooklyn)的部分地區，比如威廉斯堡(Williamsburg)和布什威克(Bushwick)。

and a similar pattern has occurred in many other major cities, including Berlin, Paris and Detroit.

類似的模式也出現在其他很多大城市，比如，柏林、巴黎和底特律。

In China, a small and decidedly nondescript city called Yanjiao, about an hour’s drive from Beijing, has been experiencing a similar influx of artists, though it is highly unlikely that they will initiate the kind of renaissance that has tourists flocking to Williamsburg and SoHo.

在中國，距北京1小時車程的毫不起眼的小城市燕郊也在經歷類似的藝術家蜂擁而入的過程，雖然他們不大可能實現上述的那種復興，吸引遊客像蜂擁前往威廉斯堡和SoHo那樣來到這裏。

That’s because the artists’ inexpensive studios in Yanjiao lack exposed brick walls or distressed wood beams.

那是因爲，藝術家們在燕郊租住的廉價工作室沒有暴露的磚牆和古舊木樑。

Instead, they tend to feature concrete walls and cheap metal fittings, and they are generally in large, uninspired apartment blocks.

相反，它們大多由混凝土牆和廉價的金屬固件構成，通常位於龐大的、平淡無奇的住宅區。

Yanjiao, with a population of about 300,000, was once known mostly as a sleeper city, whose residents commuted to jobs in Beijing.

燕郊大約有30萬人，曾以睡城聞名，那裏的居民通勤去北京上班。

During the day, its wide, dusty streets are nearly empty, flanked by apartment buildings waiting for tenants to return from work.

白天，塵土飛揚的寬闊街道上幾乎空無一人，兩側的公寓樓等着住戶們下班回家。

The idealistic but impoverished artists here, many of them young graduates from Beijing’s elite art schools, work and live in these apartment blocks.

貧窮的理想主義藝術家——很多是北京頂尖藝術學校的年輕畢業生——在這些住宅區工作和生活。

Driven by high rents and the constant threat of demolition in Beijing, many artists who might previously have hunkered down in the city, China’s unofficial cultural capital, are flocking to Yanjiao as a low-cost spot from which to chase their dreams.

很多藝術家可能曾經蝸居在中國的非官方文化之都北京，但那裏高昂的房租和持續不斷的拆遷威脅迫使他們蜂擁來到燕郊這個生活成本低廉的地方，繼續追逐自己的夢想。

The only reason for artists living in Yanjiao is that it’s cheap, one of them, Zhang Yongji, 27, said with a laugh.

只是因爲便宜，我們才住在燕郊，27歲的張永基笑着說。

Like many young artists, Mr Zhang dreamed of making it big in Beijing.

和很多年輕藝術家一樣，張也曾夢想在北京大展宏圖。

But after graduating from the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts there in 2012, he looked into renting a studio in the city and found he could not afford one.

但是，2012年，他從著名的中央美術學院畢業後，想在北京租一間工作室，卻發現自己租不起。

A friend of his was living in Yanjiao, and after visiting, he decided to move here.

當時他的一個朋友住在燕郊，他去看望那位朋友後決定搬來這裏。

Eventually, he settled into an apartment complex called the South Side of Hawaii, one of the city’s many sprawling,

最後，他在一個名叫夏威夷南岸的小區住下來。

colorfully named residential complexes designed in a faux European style. (Others include the North Side of Hawaii, Hawaii Valley and Sweet Seoul City.)

它是這座城市很多名字起得很炫的龐大仿歐式住宅區之一（其他的還有夏威夷北岸、夏威夷溪谷和首爾甜城等）。

In 2013, he and a group of friends founded On Space, an apartment turned experimental art gallery.

2013年，他和一羣朋友成立了On Space工作室——一個用公寓改造而成的實驗藝術畫廊。

In the last decade, urbanization and gentrification have accelerated in Beijing.

在過去十年裏，北京的城市化和中產階層化進程加快。

These forces are pushing artists to think of alternative models for running art spaces, including, yes, spaces in Yanjiao, said Kira Simon-Kennedy, a co-founder and the director of China Residencies, a nonprofit arts organization.

這些壓力正推動藝術家們思考開設藝術空間的其他模式，是的，包括在燕郊設立工作室，非贏利藝術組織中國藝術交流(China Residencies)的聯合創始人兼總監孟金蘭(Kira Simon-Kennedy)說。

Many of China’s most famous contemporary artists emerged from so-called artist villages on the urban fringes of Beijing, where rent was low and distractions from making art were few.

中國很多最著名的當代藝術家都是從北京郊區所謂的藝術家村走出來的，那裏租金便宜，而且幾乎沒有分散藝術創作注意力的東西。

One of the best known of these enclaves is Caochangdi Village, which became an artists’ hub after Ai Weiwei built his studio there in 1999.

其中最出名的一個地方叫草場地，1999年艾未未在那裏開設自己的工作室後，它成爲一個藝術家聚集地。

However, as Beijing’s city limits have expanded, many smaller artist villages have been torn down to make way for new development.

但是，隨着北京的城區範圍不斷擴大，很多小型藝術家村被拆除，讓位於新的地產開發項目。

Art is always pushed to the edge, said He Miao, a curator of contemporary art in Beijing.

藝術總被推到邊邊角角的地方，北京的當代藝術策展人禾苗說，

In China, contemporary art cannot be made in cities.

中國的當代藝術不可能誕生於城市，

Where the urban meets the rural, that’s where art happens.

而是誕生於城鄉結合部。

Yanjiao initially attracted attention from the artistic community in 2006,

2006年，中央美院在離夏威夷南岸不遠的地方建了一個校區。

when the Central Academy of Fine Arts established a satellite campus not far from the South Side of Hawaii.

自此，燕郊開始引起藝術家羣體的注意。

Art supply, printing and framing shops quickly popped up to serve the students, teachers and artists who would be living and working nearby.

很快，附近涌現出很多藝術創作用品店、印刷店和裝裱店，爲在這裏生活和工作的學生、老師和藝術家服務。

The first artists found it lonely.

搬來這裏的第一批藝術家當時覺得很孤單。

When I first got here, my building was completely empty, and there were no lights at night, said Pange Yang, 26,

我剛到燕郊的時候，我的樓完全是空的，晚上的時候一片黑，26歲的潘戈陽說。

who arrived in 2012.

他2012年搬來這裏。

I was the only person in the building.

樓裏面只有我一個人。

But as word of mouth about Yanjiao spread, more artists began coming.

但是，隨着燕郊的口碑散播開來，越來越多的藝術家來到這裏。