The University Town Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts has grown up with the University Town campus of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. From nothing, it is slowly shaping into a comprehensive museum focusing on exhibitions, collections, art exchanges, and academic research. The Gallery magazine interviewed Zuo Zhengyao, director of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts University Town Art Museum, and led readers to understand the development history of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts University Town Art Museum in the past 12 years, as well as Zuo Zhengyao, a well-known contemporary ceramic artist in China, in the past 30 years Outstanding contribution to the promotion of contemporary ceramic art.
广州美术学院大学城美术馆伴随广州美术学院大学城校区一起成长，从无到有，慢慢塑造成一个以展览、收藏、艺术交流、学术研究为重点的综合性美术馆。《画廊》专访广州美术学院大学城美术馆馆长左正尧，带领读者了解广州美术学院大学城美术馆这12年的发展历程，以及作为国内知名当代陶艺艺术家的左正尧在近30年里对推动当代陶艺所做出的卓越贡献。
Q = Gallery
A = Zuo Zhengyao
Q = 《画廊》
A = 左正尧
Q: The University Town Art Museum of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Museum of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts belong to the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and are located in different geographical locations. How do they distinguish in terms of development purpose, academic positioning, exhibition direction, and collection of works?
A: The University Town Art Museum is part of the construction of the Guangzhou University Town. 10 colleges and universities entered the University Town. In order to cooperate with the development of the Academy of Fine Arts and the University Town, the University Town Art Museum was established. The first academic exhibition was planned in 2005. The positioning and working framework of the museum include three aspects. First, it is an exhibition based on international art education information and the state of the work; it focuses on the development of contemporary art at home and abroad; and the other is the research and display of Guangmei's own academic achievements. Over the years, the academic research, exhibition planning, and text combing of the University City Art Museum have been developed based on the above three aspects. Our museum, together with the Lingnan Painting School Memorial Museum and the Guangmei Changgang Road Campus Art Museum, work together for the overall scientific research and teaching ideas of the college. Specific to the University Town Art Museum, it is positioned according to its own hardware, software, and academic ability, so as to better provide students with the most timely information at the moment, and provide teachers with a broader perspective of teaching
Q：广州美术学院大学城美术馆与广州美术学院美术馆同属于广州美术学院，所处地理位置不同，那么两者在发展宗旨、学术定位、展览方向、收藏作品等方面是如何区分的？
A：大学城美术馆是广州大学城兴建的一部分，10所高校进入大学城，为了配合美院及大学城的发展，建立了大学城美术馆，于2005年开始策划了第一次学术展览。
美术馆的定位与工作框架包括三方面。首先立足于国际范围内美术教育资讯和作品状态的展览；关注国内外当代艺术发展；另外是广美自身学术成果的研究展示。历年来大学城美术馆的学术研究、展览策划、文本梳理等基于以上三方面展开。
我馆与岭南画派纪念馆、广美昌岗路校区美术馆一道，共同为学院的整体科研和教学思路工作。具体到大学城美术馆，根据自身硬件、软件、学术能力进行定位，更好地给学生提供当下最及时的资讯，给老师提供更广阔的教学视野。
Q: As an academy of art museums, how is it different from other art museums? What are the advantages or disadvantages of university art museums compared with social art museums?
A: University art museums are not the same as social independent art museums. The former conducts work and business in line with the university’s own teaching philosophy. The extended academic inquiry is more connotative and charming because of its profound academic background. It cannot be completely consistent with the operation of independent art museums. University art museums focus more on academic functions, educational dynamics, and the cultivation of professional talents.
Q：作为院校的一个美术馆，它跟其他美术馆有什么区别？高校美术馆与社会的美术馆相比其优势或者劣势在哪里？
A：高校美术馆跟社会独立美术馆不太一样，前者以与高校自身教学理念相一致的思路下开展工作和业务。由此所延伸的学术探究因其深厚的学术背景显得更有内涵和魅力。它不可能完全跟独立美术馆的运作方式相一致，高校美术馆更侧重于学术功能、教育动态和专业人才的培养。
Q: The University Town Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts holds several exhibitions of teachers of our school every year. What kind of opportunities are there for cooperating with different teachers?
A: The wider the focus of the art museum, the more coordinated the background orientation provided for teaching. The focus is on the overall thinking of art education. In more cases, we will invite artists to participate in the exhibition from the perspective of national art education development, and pay attention to the overall national education development trend.
Q：广州美术学院大学城美术馆每年都会举办数场本校的教师展，与不同的教师合作是基于怎样的机缘？
A：美术馆的关注视野越开阔为教学提供的背景指向就越有坐标性意义，关注点在美术教育的整体思路。更多情况下我们会以全国的艺术教育发展角度来邀请艺术家参加展览，关注国家整体教育发展趋势。
Q: Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts University Town Art Museum has been in operation for 12 years. Can you briefly introduce the exhibition status during these years?
A: Our museum mainly provides first-hand contemporary art information for art education, education information for domestic and foreign universities, and teaching information for various majors in our school. A series of exhibitions specially set up for each major of our school. Established good cooperative relations with off-campus art galleries and university art galleries, organized or participated in the external exchange exhibitions of the Ministry of Culture and the Provincial Department of Culture, exhibited the works of more active domestic artists, and constructed the development of domestic and foreign art through the exhibitions of the art museums Ecological platform. Because of its excellent work, our museum was praised by the Ministry of Culture. At the same time, I was affirmed for my participation in the exchange and exhibition work of the Ministry of Culture.
Q：广州美术学院大学城美术馆开馆12年，能简单介绍一下这些年的展览状况吗？
A：我馆主要为美术教育提供第一手的当代艺术资讯、国内外高校教育资讯、本校各专业间教学资讯。针对本校各专业专门设立的系列展览。与校外美术馆、高校美术馆建立良好的合作关系，组织或参与了国家文化部、省文化厅对外的交流展览，展出国内较活跃艺术家作品，通过美术馆的展览起到了建构国内外美术发展生态的平台。因为工作出色，我馆受到文化部发专文表扬。同时，对我参与文化部交流展览工作给予了肯定。
Q: Can you tell us about the current collection of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts University Town Art Museum?
A: Since the opening of the museum, the academic collection has been carried out. There are currently nearly a thousand collections. You can view the pictures and information of the collection on the official website of the Ministry of Culture and our museum. The current collection is mainly based on the outstanding graduation works of the college, but also pays attention to the works of contemporary artists.
Q：能介绍一下目前广州美术学院大学城美术馆的收藏情况吗？
A：从美术馆开馆开始进行学术收藏，目前已有近千件藏品，在文化部及我馆官网上可以查看到藏品的图片与资讯。目前馆藏主要是以学院优秀毕业作品为主线展开，同时也关注当代艺术家的作品。
Q: What is the current department setting of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts University Town Art Museum? How can we efficiently achieve continuous exhibitions throughout the year in art museums?
A: The exhibition area of the University Town Art Museum, there are 10 standard exhibition halls of 500 square meters, plus an exhibition hall of more than 1,000 square meters on the ground floor, a total of nearly 7,000 square meters of exhibition area. It is necessary to ensure that the museum is comprehensive To operate and maintain the saturation of the exhibition volume has been a challenge from the early stage of the establishment of the museum. Maintaining the overall operation of the museum requires a lot of manpower and workload, and the number of personnel in the museum is very small. In this case, it is not easy to guarantee the quantity and quality of the exhibition. On average, each stage of our museum has 3 to 4 exhibitions at the same time, which is inseparable from the excellent work of the art museum colleagues.
Q：广州美术学院大学城美术馆目前的部门设置是怎样的？如何能够高效做到美术馆全年展览不断呢？
A：大学城美术馆展览面积，有10个500平方米的标准展厅，再加上1000多平方米的负一层展厅，共计近7000平方米的展览面积，既要保证美术馆的全面运作，又要保持展览量的饱和，从建馆初期就是一个挑战。维持美术馆整体运作，需要较大的人力和工作量，而美术馆人员编制数量极少，这种情况下展览能保证数量和质量的一至很不容易。我馆平均每阶段都有3至4个展览同时进行，这与美术馆同事们的出色工作是分不开的。
Q: The annual undergraduate graduation exhibition is a major event for the University Town Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. In recent years, the graduation exhibition has received more and more attention, attracting a large number of visitors to the art gallery, and the quality of viewing the exhibition is also improving year by year. The graduation exhibition seems to have become the most prominent public education activity at the same time. What do you think of this phenomenon? At the same time, what are your thoughts on the development of public education activities in the museum?
A: The undergraduate graduation exhibition is a brand exhibition formed by our pavilion after years of building. On the one hand, due to the influence of Guangmei itself, on the other hand, the area of the art gallery is large enough to accommodate the works of graduates. The school and art gallery attach great importance to the service follow-up of graduation exhibitions, presenting all aspects and the efforts of various departments, and many factors have formed it. The overall brand effect is building academic influence and recognition step by step. The audience looks forward to the annual Guangmei graduation exhibition. Our library needs more manpower to maintain and strengthen brand awareness. Building a brand requires recognition, word-of-mouth, and time precipitation. From unfamiliar to familiar, every step is very laborious and arduous. The audience's confidence in aesthetics needs to be professionally cultivated. Education is not an easy task. The cognition of education needs to be baptized by the culture, social environment, and world outlook of many generations before it can play the role of artistic education and improve people's spiritual height.
Q：每年一度的本科毕业展是广州美术学院大学城美术馆的大事，近几年毕业展受到的关注越来越多，吸引了大量观众走进美术馆，观展素质也在逐年提升，毕业展似乎也同时成为了最为突出的公教活动，你怎么看待这一现象？同时你对于美术馆公教活动的开展有怎样的想法？
A：本科毕业展是我们馆经过多年打造所形成的一个品牌展览。一方面由于广美本身的影响力，另一方面美术馆的面积足够容纳毕业生的作品，学校与美术馆重视毕业展的服务跟进，全方位呈现与各部门的努力，众多的因素形成了整体品牌效应，正一步步打造学术影响力和认可度。观众期待每年的广美毕业展。我馆需要更多的人力精力去维护和强化品牌意识。打造一个品牌需要认可、口碑、时间的沉淀，从陌生到熟悉，每一步都十分吃力与艰辛。观众对审美的信心是需要专业培养的。教育并非易事，对教育的认知需要经过多代人的文化、社会环境、世界观的洗礼，才能起到艺术教化、提高人精神高度的作用。
Q: Returning to the question of your personal creation. In October 2017, "Re-Practicing Clay-Guangdong's First Contemporary Ceramic Art Research Class Exhibition" was launched at the University City Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, marking Guangdong’s ceramic art culture. Go up one floor. Since you came to Guangzhou, ceramic art education and ceramic art exhibitions have developed from scratch to a relatively complete ceramic art system. In these decades, how have you gradually promoted ceramic art in an orderly manner?
A: In the ceramic art sector, he has accumulated nearly 30 years of practical experience in creation. I started to dabble in pottery art in 1985 and held personal pottery art exhibitions. In the 1980s, the back cover of "Fine Arts" magazine, and professional media such as "Art News" and "Jiangsu Pictorial" introduced my pottery works. Later, while working at the Guangdong Museum of Art, he planned a series of ceramic art exhibitions such as "beyond mud", "deduction of mud", "feeling of mud", and "simple space". Under the premise that domestic ceramic art exhibitions were still very scarce at that time, step by step Introduce pottery elites. Later, the ceramic masters in colleges and universities, such as Lu Pinchang, Bai Ming, Liu Zheng, Bai Lei, etc., have participated in our exhibitions many times. It took too much time for ceramic art exhibition and promotion based on a kind of sentiment and ideal. Always try to blend ceramic art and contemporary art. Invite a number of critics to participate in the research of contemporary ceramic art, and promote ceramic art through various commentary articles. I also spent several years writing a 20-year history of ceramic art development "Beyond Clay-The State of Contemporary Ceramic Art in China", and returned to Guangzhou Fine Arts After the work of the college, it will continue to promote the "Guangdong Ceramic Art Exhibition", which will be the third in 2018. Looking for opportunities to bring pottery works to international exhibition platforms, they held national pottery works exhibitions in Geneva, Singapore, etc., and participated in UNESCO’s pottery exchanges. Although the work was hard, there was joy.
Q：回归到您个人创作的问题， 2017年10月，“再术泥性——广东首届当代陶艺研究班作品展”在广州美术学院大学城美术馆开展，标志着广东的陶艺文化又上了一层楼。自你来广州以后，陶艺教育与陶艺各项大展从零开始发展到现在比较完善的陶艺体系，在这几十年间你是怎样一步步地对陶艺艺术进行有序推广？
A：陶艺板块，已经累积了近30年的创作实践经验。从1985年开始涉足陶艺，举办个人陶艺作品展，80年代《美术》杂志封底，《美术报》《江苏画刊》等专业媒体介绍过我的陶艺作品。后来，在广东美术馆工作期间，策划了“超越泥性”“演绎泥性”“感受泥性”“单纯空间”等一系列陶艺展览，在当时国内陶艺展还非常匮乏的前提下，一步步推出陶艺精英。后来高校里的陶艺掌门人，像吕品昌、白明、刘正、白磊等，都曾多次参加过我们策划的展览。基于一种情怀和理想为陶艺展览及推动花掉了太多时间。一直尝试将陶艺和当代艺术进行融合。邀请多位批评家参与当代陶艺的研究，通过各种评论文章来宣传陶艺，自己也花几年时间写了20年的陶艺发展历史《超越泥性——中国当代陶艺发展状态》，回广州美术学院工作后，继续推动“广东陶艺大展”，到2018年是第三届。找机会将陶艺作品带到国际展览平台，到日内瓦、新加坡等举办了全国性陶艺作品展览，参与联合国教科文组织的陶艺交流之中，工作虽然辛苦，但也有快乐。
Q: The women in your works always have indistinguishable features. Why did you choose such a masking woman as your iconic artistic symbol?
A: This is a creative line that has been slowly formed over the past 30 years. Beginning in 1984, consciously strengthened the study of traditional Chinese culture, especially the cultural context of the ancient times. Including "Shen Nong's Herbal Medicine", "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" and the thoughts on the relationship between man and nature in the philosophy of Lao, Zhuang and the philosophers of the philosophers, Taoist Nature, and Yushushu, plus the twentieth century philosophy translation series, "Horrible "The Symmetry", "The Secret of Creation" and so on. At that time, I wrote "The Elliptical Universe" and began to look for the symbol that life is an ellipsoid.
Q：你的作品中女性总是有着面目不可辨别的特征，为何会选择这种具有遮蔽性的女性作为你的标志性艺术符号？
A：这是三十多年来慢慢形成的创作线路。1984年开始，自觉强化对传统中国文化，特别是上古时期文化脉络的学习。包括《神农本草》《黄帝内经》及老、庄哲学和诸子百家体系中关于人与自然关系的思想，道法自然，和于数术，加上二十世纪哲学译丛系列，《可怕的对称》《创造的秘密》等，当时我写了《椭圆的宇宙》，开始寻找生命是一个椭圆体这一符号。