Contend for Hegemony

Gu Zhenqing

It is obvious that Sun Yuan & Peng Yu change the rules of the game for their project Contend for Hegemony. The usual confrontation of two boxers is rewritten into a fight between three boxers. Free combat mainly focuses on fighting and wrestling with hands and it derives from one of the confrontations of traditional Chinese combat. In recent years, with the establishment of a series of rules, free combat has come to be listed as a competitive
national sport. After Sun Yuan & Peng Yu changed the competition rules, the confrontation of two becomes that of
three, with a win or defeat according to points accrued. The new situation makes the original confrontation of the boxers invalid;they have to adjust to the new rules for their attack and defense; a complicated situation occurs suddenly, at the beginning of their confrontation, and tangled warfare is inevitable. In practice, the real contradictions and conflicts among countries or individuals have always been complicated and variable. The pure confrontation of two poles is superficial and exists only within the controlled background of the game. Sun Yuan & Peng Yu use the law of jungle in social competitions to change game rules, and thus present the reality of the complicated contradictions in our life.However, the artists pay no attention to the comparison of such
realities and their interest lies in revising the rules of participation.They also feel excited to be participating in something with which they are unfamiliar. Because the athletes that Sun Yuan & Peng
Yu invited for this artwork are professionals, the coaches who helped the artists redraft the rules of the sport were concerned about possible restrictions imposed by the National Sports Committee due to such revisions. Conversely, however, Sun Yuan suggests that, if possible, he would like to see the emergence of a new system of  boxing due to his contribution.

争霸

顾振清

孙原&彭禹在作品争霸中的规则改变是显而易见的。散打二人对抗被改为三人对抗。散打以徒手搏击格斗为主，是源自中国传统武术的一项对抗性运动，近年来通过一系列规则的确立，被列入全国性的现代竞技体育运动项目。孙原&彭禹改变竞赛规则后，原来的敌我对立变成三方鼎立，而以点数决胜负，又使三人对抗成为可能。新局势使拳手们原有的对抗经验完全实效。他们只得边摸索新规则边防守、出击，合纵连横的各种情势几乎都在三个拳手对抗之初的瞬间产生，混战再所难免。国家与国家、个人与
个人之间的现实矛盾、冲突向来是复杂多变的。纯粹的两极对立是形而上的，只存在于游戏精神的理论背景。孙原&彭禹用社会竞争中的丛林法则来修改游戏规则，然而呈现出对抗性矛盾在现实生活中错综复杂的真实性。但是艺术家并不在意这种现实的对照，他们所感兴趣的是参与到修改规则中去，甚至为一种艺术家不熟悉的工作因他们的参与而改变感到兴奋。他们邀请的运动员全部是专业的国家级选手，那些同他们一起修改规则的教练员曾经担心，因为这样的修改会改变国家体委对搏击类项目的限制。而孙原的态度则是如果真的可能，他一定致力于这个因他而改变的拳击工作。他们把现实生活中的一些即有规则，修改为建构语言的形式和方法，从而把诸多规则变更的现实因素和关联性反应纳入当代艺术范畴，从而导致当代艺术形式、方法的不断增容和拓展。改变规则，也许可以让人产生新的思维模式、行为方式和审美趣味，从而让一切悄然改变。但另一种可能性只是改变艺术自身的呈现和观看方式。然而他们却愿意接受实验的各种结果，哪怕失败。事实上，他们一直致力于用前探姿态表达对陈旧艺术语境的突破，强调真正的艺术实验对社会性的审美惯性和思维定势的冲击。藉此，他们的艺术超越了日常艺术无害的装饰性，磨砺出强烈、犀利的批判性和文化反省精神。