Perception / Conception / Expression

According to studies in the history of art using real objects as evidence, human beings consciously make use of tangible materials as media for expression tracable back at least to 25,000 B.C.  Many books on the history of art take the limestone sculpture of a female figure from Willendorf in Austria as the beginning of hand crafted object made by human beings.[1] It is generally believed that the extravagantly plump body and the depiction of the physiological characteristics of the female body refer to a primitive cult of fertility.  This embodies the perception of a body in the process of breeding another body.  The body as a subject matter of expression is also the motive for expression.  The deliberate intention to express the animal instinct of life continuity in a man made object shows that the human mind transcends common animal instinct and is thus an important milestone in the process of human evolution.

Human being’s perception of his/her own body and expression through the body are both important in the development of the human history and also in the growth of individuals.

There is a Chinese folk idiom that goes ‘

Bend at three months, sit at six months and stand with help at nine months’.  It means when a baby is three months old, it will bend its body and try to get up; when it is six months old, it can sit up; and when it is nine months old, it can stand up with help or by leaning against something.  From lying to standing implies elevation and expansion of the visual field.  It also means the perception of one’s body has entered a new stage as a result of further development of the ability to move.  All these are the foundation for establishment of a spatial relationship between the self and the outer world.

Jacques Lacan’s (1901-1981) theory of “Mirror Stage”[2] points out that, an infant aged between six and eighteen months begins to become a subject by identifying with a bodily image other than itself.  An infant shows an awareness of its own image in a mirror gesturing at itself. This reaction is a result of visual observation of an image.  Through an image the infant forms a perception of a whole body.  But for Lacan this is an identification with the Imaginary – the self is formed by looking at an image which is not (and can never be) Real.  He emphasized the relationship between this kind of identification and visual sense. 

Lacan further pointed out that the infant’s perception of “Self” must eventually pass from “The Imaginary” to language - Lacan called it “The Symbolic” before it reached completion[3].  However, with regard to artistic creation, “The Imaginary” is the border area in which the individual can trace back to a more primitive state in order to experience oneself when he/she has grown up.  Perhaps this can explain why imagination that is full of childlike innocence and can breakthrough the logic of language is often the ideal creative state that artists eagerly desire.

Perception of the body is the beginning of perceiving a self and the world.  It is also the prerequisite for human beings’ expression.  Between perception and expression, the individual body and the external world (including other people and other objects) form a variety of interactive relationships that are very complicated and subtle.  Meanings and beliefs are thus created.

From the moment a person leaves his/her mother’s womb, his/her Body keeps experiencing the ‘Time’ and ‘Space’, keeps giving responses and thus undergoing transformation.  In time, the present – ‘Now’ is the reference point, the ‘Past’ and the ‘Future’ keep extending relatively.  The past reflects memory while the future implies hope.  In space, the location of the body is the standpoint.  ‘Here’ and ‘There’ change according to the activities of the body.

‘Now’ and ‘Here’ provide the basis of human existence and also as the condition for human Perception.  Human beings receive messages by means of the five ‘Senses’ - vision, sound, smell, taste and touch.  Through the ‘Projection of Memory’ and ‘Association’ with experience, conscious perception is formed.  Buddhist philosophy in the East calls these “sadindriya” - “six sense organs”, that is eye, ear, nose, tongue, body (bodily touch) and mind.  They are the basic requirements for identification of various phenomena in the world and for the existence of the body.  Buddhist philosophy believes that this is also the original of “dukkha”, that is all kinds of worry and trouble.  Perception becomes consciousness and all kinds of meaning are formed which embodies the function of human ‘Mind’.  The mind including rational ‘Thinking’, ‘Intuition’ and ‘Belief’ which together form our Conception.  In artistic creation, this is the process of incubation and emergence of ideas.

Conception helps us to produce order from chaotic and ever-changing time and space so that we will not be at a loss, can suggest ‘Value Judgement’ and ‘Decision Making’ for our own behaviour which then becomes the Expression of self.  Expression has to rely on all kinds of ‘Structure of Behaviour’, including ‘Gesture’, ‘Language’ and ‘Imagery’.  Under a particular cultural and social circumstance and in a particular community, ‘Information’ can be communicated and perceived by others, people’s ‘Emotion’ will also be evoked which will become the Perception of others.  Artistic Expression is also processed in the same way.  In my works, bodily gesture and body imagery are essential constituents.

The cycling of Perception, Conception and Expression is not unidirectional.  Bodily Perception is the prerequisite for formation of perceptive message for expression.  In Buddhist philosophy, in correspondence with “sadindriya”, that is eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind, is what is called “pratyaksapramana”, that is sight (visual message), sound (audio message), smell (nasal message), taste (message of taste), touch (message of touch) and dharma (knowledge).  In the course of producing these perceptual messages, one must rely on body ‘Senses’ to perform ‘Coordination of Media and Materials’ for Expression. The formation of media and material also affects the ‘Structure of Behaviour’ at the same time.

In the expression of visual art, visual elements such as the use of lines, shapes, proportions and texture are reliant on the control of materials and media.  All these depend on the response and coordination of bodily perception such as seeing, touching and hearing.  Perception varies among individuals.  The way material and media are constructed and their structure are also different.  Thus, all kinds of styles in artistic expression are presented.

Besides turning outward as the communication of message, expression is also the ‘Self-Reflection’ of the person who performs it.  In artistic creation, self-reflection always appears as ‘Sublimation’ of the ‘Mind’.  ‘Thinking’, ‘Intuition’ and ‘Belief’ will also deepen or change accordingly and set in motion the renewal of Conception.  Very often, it will in turn affect the formation of Perception.  ‘Perceptual Attention’ is often selective according to ‘Consciousness’.  Deliberate detachment from consciousness to allow the emergence of sub-consciousness is often a form of artistic self-reflection.

The two-way circuit of the cycling of Perception, Conception and Expression taking the perceiver’s Body as the core, keeps expanding in ‘Time’ and ‘Space’.  There is transformation of ‘Matter’ and also circulation of ‘Energy’.  ‘Time’, ‘Space’, ‘Matter’ and ‘Energy’ form an organic structure that is outward expanding, flowing and indivisible.  This structure holds the perceptual activities of every independent individual.  Every independent individual takes his/her own body and those of others as ‘Self’ and ‘Others’ respectively.  In the ever-changing overlapping of the identities of the ‘Self’ and the ‘Others’, the organic structure of the cycling of ‘Perception’, ‘Conception’ and ‘Expression’ realizes a boundless ‘Phenomenological Field’.  All phenomena in the world take place here.  The interflow among people also arises from it.  I try to take this as a framework to understand acts of art and thus restore acts of art to perceptual behaviour.

 

 

 

知覺 / 概念 / 表達

 人類有意識地利用可觸及的材質作為表現媒介，據具實物佐證的美術史考究，應該不會遲於公元前25,000年，而大部份美術史著作，都以澳地利Willendorf 地區出土的石灰石女性雕像作為人類工藝美術史的開端。雕像誇張豐盈的身體及對女性生理特徵的刻劃，普遍認為是一種對生殖的原始崇拜，體現了一個身體孕育出另一個身體的覺識perception，身體作為表達的題材同時亦是表達的動機。有意圖地對延續生命的動物本能表達期盼，正是人類心智超越一般動物本能的表現，亦成為人類進化過程中的一個重要里程。

人類對於自己身體的知覺perception及籍著身體作為表達expression(不論是作為表達的題材或是作為表達的動機)，從整體人類歷史的發展以致每個獨立個體的成長，同樣具有極其重要的意義。

中國民間俗語有所謂「三曲六坐九扶離」，指三個月大的嬰孩大多會在躺臥時屈曲身體嘗試爬起；六個月可以坐直身子；九個月能夠半扶半離地依傍身邊的東西勉強站立。由躺臥到站立，意味著視野的提昇與擴展，對於自己身體的知覺perception，亦由於活動能力的進一步發展而踏入另一階段，這都是確立自我與外在世界關係的基礎。

拉康Jacques Lacan(1901-1981)的「鏡像階段」理論指出，六至十八個月大的幼兒會透過認同一個外於自己的身體形象去肯定自己。幼兒表現出對自己鏡中映像的自覺awareness(在鏡前觀察自己的鏡像會顯得非常興奮)，或是誤認另一幼兒為自己(看到另一幼兒跌倒，會以為是自己跌倒而哭起來)，都是透過視覺觀察，就一個外於自己的身體形象而獲得對一個整全身體的掌握(在此之前，嬰兒長時間躺臥床上，基於視野的限制，對身體的認知，只能是手腳伸展時近距離地見到一些零碎不全的肢體部份body-in-pieces)，這是對於自我的初步認同identification，拉康稱之為一種想像界The Imaginary的認同，特別強調此種認同與視覺的關係。雖然拉康進一步指出，最後對於自我的認知，必需由想像界進入語言的環境(拉康稱之為象徵界The Symbolic)才真正完成，但就藝術創作的範疇而言，想像界正是個體成長以後，能夠回朔到較原始狀態去體驗自我的界域。這或許可以說明，為何充滿童真、突破語言邏輯的想像力，是很多藝術家渴求的理想創作狀態。

對身體的知覺，是認知自我與認知世界的開始，亦是人能夠具意識地表達的先決條件，然而，知覺需要憑籍身體的感知官能sensation才得以成全，在知覺perception與表達expression之間，個人的身體與外在世界(包括他人與他物)遂構成形形式式複雜而微妙的互動關係，世間諸般意義，亦由之而生。

由離開母體的一刻起，人的身體就不斷經歷時間與空間的流轉，並不斷作出反應而變化(亦即在世生命的成長)。在時間上，以「現在」“Now”作為參照點，「過去」“Past”與「未來」“Future”不斷延伸，過去造就記憶，未來蘊含希望。在空間上，以身之所在作為定位，「此處」“Here”與「他方」“There”，隨著身體活動而易境，人的一切行為亦因而得以附托。

「現在」與「此處」為每個獨立個體提供立足點，是人存在的依據，亦是人所知覺的對象。人以身體感官senses（視覺、聽覺、嗅覺、味覺、觸覺）接收訊息，並藉著記憶的投射Projection of Memory與經驗聯結Association，成為具意識的知覺Perception，東方佛教哲學稱之為六內根，即眼、耳、鼻、舌、身(身體觸覺)、意(意識)，是辨識世間諸般現象，讓肉身得以存活的基本條件(佛教哲學認為這亦是種種煩惱苦業之源)。知覺而為意識，成就種種意義，體現了人的心智mind，其中包括理性的思維Thinking，當下的直覺Intuition以及不囿於客觀環境的信念Belief，心智活動就形構人對萬事萬物的概念Conception。在藝術創作上，這是一個蘊釀和產生意念idea的過程。

概念有助於從紛擾無常的時空經驗中歸納出秩序，使人能有所適從，能作出價值判斷Value Judgement並就自己的行為下決定Decision Making，再而表達自己Expression。表達要憑籍形形式式的行為結構Structure of Behavior才能達成，身體的姿態Gesture、語言Language、圖像Imagery，在特定的文化與社會環境下；在特定的群體間(例如同種族、同時代、同輩等…..)，就產生具有意義、可以互通、並能被其他人的感官所知覺的訊息Information，當中亦自然會牽動人的情感Emotion。藝術的表達亦以同樣的方式進行，而在我的作品中，身體的姿態Gesture與圖像Imagery，是重要的構成部份。

知覺循環並不是單向的，感知官能是構成知覺訊息以進行表達的先決條件，佛教哲學中與眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意六內根相對應的，就有所謂六外緣，即色(視覺訊息)、聲(聽覺訊息)、香(嗅覺訊息)、味(味覺訊息)、觸(觸覺訊息)、法(知識)，在生產這些知覺訊息的過程中，必需藉身體感官以協調種種表達物料及媒介Coordination of Materials and Media，物料與媒介的構成，同時影響行為結構。

在視覺藝術表達方面，視覺元素如線條、形狀、比例、質感的運用，就得托附於表達物料與媒介(如繪畫的顏料、雕塑的材質以致數碼藝術的各式軟硬件)的掌握，這都有賴感知官能如視覺、觸覺、聽覺的反應與協調。感知因人而異，媒介物料的組織方式與結構自然亦不相同，形形式式的表現風格，就得以呈現。

表達除了向外作為一種訊息傅遞外，向內同時是表達者的自我觀照Self Reflection，在藝術創作上，自我觀照很多時表現為一種精神的昇華，思維、直覺、信念都會隨之而深化或改變，並會帶動概念的更新。概念體現為意識Consciousness，很多時又會反過來影響知覺的形成，知覺的關注Perceptual Attention往往是隨意識而有選擇性的。故意抽離於意識，讓潛意識浮現，就常作為達致自我觀照的一種藝術表達方式

知覺循環的雙向迴路Two Ways Circuit以知覺者Perceiver的身體為中心不斷在時間與空間之中擴展，當中有物質的聚散亦有能量的流轉，時間Time、空間Space、物質Matter、能量Energy遂形成一個向外膨脹、流動而不可分割的有機結構，承載每一獨立個體的知覺活動。每一獨立個體都以自己的身體為自我Self，以別人的身體為他者Other，知覺循環的有機結構就在自我與他者身份不斷易轉中交互重疊，成就一個無邊無際的現象場域，世間諸般現象在此發生，人與人的互動交流，亦由此而起。我嘗試以此作為了解藝術行為的框架，使藝術行為還原為知覺行為，身體的感官知覺，自然亦可以作為一種藝術表達。