Today's art seems to have to depend on both concepts and excessive theoretical interpretations. Sometimes, it would be enough just to "hear" the project proposal, without its realization in materials and space. Today's art is too keen on its interactions with politics, philosophy and sociology, to manifest its modernity and its dynamic and disciplinary potential, and at the same time, it seems somehow less confident and lost in identity. Today's art requires its audience to be fully equipped with a variety of cultural backgrounds and academic narratives, so that it becomes "stranger" then ever, compared to how it was perceived in history.
We would discuss here tow aspects. First, "aesthetics from the third party" point of view. Going back to the dynastic periods, in both art or music, Chinese aesthetics was always derived from the intellectual class, or the literati, who studied hard to become government officials leaving behind ordinary people, and who then in many cases, failed to satisfy the imperial authority because of different political propositions. The literati travelled around the country to appreciate the landscape and keep them away from serving the ruler on the one hand, and on the other hand, they didn't see themselves as the common people any longer. They were the "third party", who created aesthetics. The intellectual class could only talk about spirit, not any rules which might lead them to be engaged with either side of the politics. It is only the objective observer, a "true intellectual", who can possibly criticize and negotiate without any real involvement and it is through this third party that the aesthetic dimension is created.
The second aspect is "visual aesthetics". In contemporary art, sometimes, we neglect the visual aspect, which is vital to the practice. One needs talent to be able to develop artwork visually. Today, however, there seem to be plenty of ways of developing art, which could be conceptual without visual realization. But I believe that true art has to have a presentation through its "visual interface", which is more important than all the ideas behind it. Some works can create and impact through the "visual interface”, and at the same time, invite the audience to the spiritual world of the artists. The "visual interface" is inimitable, and will be remembered for many years, even when the story it tells is forgotten.