It is in great art that the artist is insignificant compared to the work. For the production of the work, he is like a channel for self-death in creation. ——Heidegger "The Origin of the Work of Art"
If we regard Zima as a real artist, then his truly artistic creation should start from the appearance of blue abstract graphics in his paintings. The original work of "Zima Lan" talks about the mechanical enhancement of various sense organs and the extreme optimization of physical performance, which enables him to shuttle back and forth in the universe, drawing a huge and stunning cosmic scene. But Zima was not satisfied with these paintings. On the contrary, he has been constantly pursuing the truth until one day when a blue color that he accidentally called out made him feel an inexplicable familiarity among the electric light and flint—this blue color is connected with his past and makes him Instinctively feel that it is an important part of your past. As a result, blue geometric shapes appeared in the center of his work. While creating, he kept investigating his origins, and finally traced his past back to what used to be a small swimming pool cleaning robot with only enough intelligence to judge the cleaning mode, and the blue is the color of the tiles in the swimming pool. , Is also the first thing he saw in the world. Before he found out everything, or after he made an illegal body transformation as a robot, he didn't know what his past was.
It is difficult for us to regard a huge painting that is exquisite and similar to a high-resolution image as a real work of art. It can be called a spectacle at best, and it is not essentially different from Disneyland and the World Expo. The exquisite technology and the vastness of the painting objects do not show the artistry of the work, on the contrary, it is more like an endless void. The spectacle itself is nothingness. It has nothing to do with individual or collective history and can only be counted as a commodity at best. Before Zima discovered his blue, his works brought money, fame, and status, but they did not bring personal satisfaction. On the contrary, when the blue square appears, the meaning of Zima's work has undergone an essential change. Although it seems illogical, as if it has no connection with the universe landscape, it is the appearance of the blue square that makes these works personal. It symbolizes the inner projection of the painter, and it is this element that makes the real Art is produced.
The meaning of the so-called "inner projection" to Zima stems from the fact that Zima as a robot is constantly being improved according to the "human" model. The consciousness he possesses is close to that of human beings. Therefore, the truth he pursues is also similar to that of human beings. Even in the body, he got rid of many limitations as a human being-such as memory, perception, endurance, and the strengthened body allowed him to perceive and meditate on the universe between the stars without sleep, but with a richer experience And broader exploration did not bring a deeper understanding of the world—on the contrary, before the discovery of Qi Malan, his works were just a straightforward representation of the universe.
Because of this, "Zimalan" makes me feel that it is more about individual people rather than collective people. The strengthening of the body by technology seems to give us the illusion that if we can remember more, go farther, and experience more things, then we will gain more meaning. But in fact, we are only burdened with more knowledge-knowledge is infinite, but it does not bring real satisfaction. Although the acquisition of humanity by robots and the gradual replacement of human bodies by machines seem to be two very different processes. But here, the search for the two forms of life is similar, or it is precisely because Zima's consciousness is based on human consciousness. In this sense, Zima remembered the moment when "Zimalan", which is the moment when he began to have a personal history. The thinking ability and the way of thinking similar to the human brain make him also have the search for the origin of the individual, and it is in this process that his works have individuality, or humanity.
Since Zima first uncovered the works with blue squares, his paintings have become art. The blue square pattern is abstract, two-dimensional, and lacks a coordinate system. Compared with the surrounding canvas with obvious spatial depth, rich colors and realism, it looks out of place and even annoying. With Zima's continuous exploration of his identity, this color block has also become larger in his paintings, as if a stain on the lens that cannot be erased, although it is not part of the landscape, it inexplicably becomes a part of the whole picture. The focus-until it completely occupies the entire field of vision; or, it can be seen as a piece of blue floating between galaxies, with the continuous unveiling of Zima's paintings, it gradually moves closer to the painter and viewer in space, from far to near , Keep getting bigger, until it obscures all the scenes in reality.
After the blue completely occupied the canvas, Zima even began to use this blue to fight the universe. It is mentioned in the novel that Zima breaks asteroids into powder to make paint and draws huge blue paintings between the stars. The universe, which was originally the object of painting—or the object of his thinking about truth, has now become a tool for him to convey the truth. "Zimalan" itself, rather than any magnificent natural scene, became the protagonist. This also symbolizes Zima's self-reconciliation and redemption in the so-called "truth" exploration.
For others, the interpretation of Zimalan is another kind of logic. People involuntarily think about whether it is closer to the sky or closer to the sea, "measure its spectral bandwidth and intensity", or regard it as a typical "signature" in contemporary art, a kind of recognizable The elements that make works of art easier to be known and sold. Zimalan is the commercialized part of the painting. It is precisely because of the painter's own failure to explain it that it has been interpreted by critics in an endless stream of meanings, and at the same time it has brought more sponsorship to the painter. The image of the painter is composed of meaning and value. No one really knows his history, and no one knows the true meaning of Zimalan, but in the chasing lights, stands and dramatic appearances, Zima and his works are the "meaning" of being consumed. In fact, Zimalan is not a way for the painter to communicate with the crowd. It is a highly personal element, an almost secret privacy.
Contemporary art is a game of capitalism. Just as Jameson contrasted Van Gogh’s “Peasant Women’s Shoes” with Andy Warhol’s high heels in “The Cultural Logic of Postmodernism or Late Capitalism”, postmodern art no longer cares about human nature or personal history. No longer caring about the connection between things and people, everything is flat, spectacular, and de-differentiated. People only need to consume a quick superficial meaning-a media event, a visual feast, the focus of a news report, a selling point-these are not related to art.
Interestingly, what "Zima Lan" presents is the overlap of "peasant woman's shoes" and Andy Warhol's high heels. Zima completed the ultimate tracing of his own history with an extreme capital logic method that conforms to the "hyperreality". This kind of tracing is irreversible, and it also reflects the difference between Zima as a robot and human beings-he can completely shut down his advanced brain and radically return to a completely original state. Zima has completely changed from a highly anticipated painter to a low-level robot that always comes back and forth in the swimming pool, focusing only on wiping blue tiles. In contrast, even if people continue to give meaning to their lives and pursue the truth and realize and liberate themselves, it does not mean that they completely erase the past. Zima’s self-destruction symbolizes a form of civilization that obtains inner satisfaction from focusing on the simplest work. This form of civilization can only be reflected by humans, but it cannot return like Zima.
But from another perspective, Zima's self-destruction does not mean that he has completely returned to his original state. As a sensational interstellar performance art, Zima formed the thinking of other people in the world through shocking self-dismemberment. Even if he continues to wipe the tiles in the swimming pool on this small island forever, the reconstructed swimming pool is no longer the swimming pool of the amateur robot maker. It is a reproduction, a stage, and an art. Zima itself has become the greatest work of art in his mechanical life-stripping away all the meanings given by the world, revealing the eternal and human truth in the naked individual history.
"I am going home."
Really great art, even without explanation, can be empathetic. As the author said at the end of the original:
They have all read the article I wrote, and most of them have read it, so they know what that slowly swimming body means... but they still don't come in groups. So even in excellent weather, the stands are always a bit empty and desolate. But I have never seen these stands completely empty, I think this is some kind of sacred pledge. Some people are willing to accept this pledge, but most will never accept it.
This is art.
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