In the courtyard of department of art at UC Irvine, a nine-meter spiral staircase was installed. The stairs did not have steps, just the tin framework. The project consisted of an artist walking up and down the stairs for an hour with nothing on but a pair of rubber boots. Wood-made triangle boards which bore the shape of the steps to the stairs were adhered to the rubber boots. The artist walked around up and down repeatedly the stairs for an hour, holding a stick with a red dot which covered his genital area and trying to fit the wooden board into the frame of the stair case each step of the way. The performance ended when the artist climbed down the stairs and threw the red dot to the audience.
This piece actually responds to Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase. Usually, women are the ones often objectified in art and often the object of appreciation. Therefore, I thought, it was about time that men took over the hard work. This piece was a kind of self-mockery since it was a male who was positioned in an awkward and rather embarrassing situation. Step by step, the male performer climbed up the stairs wearing ridiculous boots, placing himself in the frame of the staircase each step of the way. However, he still needed to descend in the end. The black spiraling staircase resembled the control of social system has over humans and how humans fit into the frameworks and the norms of life step by step. What is ridiculous is that even though humans ascend the staircase or become assimilated, their destiny is still to come down the steps and return to point zero in the end. This shows that no matter how far one goes, one will never reach the destinations. Efforts would merely be made in vain by trying to conceal one’s nudity, vulnerability, and awkwardness. There seems to be no exceptions to this rule. This is simply a metaphor to all our lives.
在美國加州大學爾灣分校藝術創作研究所的中庭草坪上安置一個高近9公尺的螺旋形鐵梯，樓梯沒有踏板，只有鐵框的結構。行為者全身赤裸，足踏膠靴一雙，靴子底下附著著一對樓梯踏板形狀的三角形木板，一手執持紅色小圓點的遮棒試著遮住私處，上下重複地走著樓梯，每一步又都試著將鞋板踏塞在梯面的鐵框內。如此方法形式，上下樓梯一個小時。最後走離樓梯，將小圓點丟向觀眾，完成此行為。
此作是一件跟杜象〈下樓梯的女人〉對話的作品。女人在藝術中，多數被物化為被描繪與被觀賞的對象。我想，這次該換個男人走走了吧？這有點自我調侃的意味，把男人或自己放在一個不堪的處境中。你一步一步踏著可笑的鞋板往上爬，每一步都嵌入樓梯的框架中，然而到後來還是要下來。黑色螺旋鐵梯象徵社會體系制約人們的行為，使人一步一步地踏入制度的框架與慣例中。荒謬與虛無的是，同化與步步高升的同時，也註定了自高峰或高位下來的宿命。走了半天哪兒也到不了，徒然遮掩著自己的裸露、脆弱、不堪，一幕終究徒勞無功，苦澀可笑的人生情境。無一例外的，這幾乎就是我們人生處境的隱喻。
This piece actually responds to Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase. Usually, women are the ones often objectified in art and often the object of appreciation. Therefore, I thought, it was about time that men took over the hard work. This piece was a kind of self-mockery since it was a male who was positioned in an awkward and rather embarrassing situation. Step by step, the male performer climbed up the stairs wearing ridiculous boots, placing himself in the frame of the staircase each step of the way. However, he still needed to descend in the end. The black spiraling staircase resembled the control of social system has over humans and how humans fit into the frameworks and the norms of life step by step. What is ridiculous is that even though humans ascend the staircase or become assimilated, their destiny is still to come down the steps and return to point zero in the end. This shows that no matter how far one goes, one will never reach the destinations. Efforts would merely be made in vain by trying to conceal one’s nudity, vulnerability, and awkwardness. There seems to be no exceptions to this rule. This is simply a metaphor to all our lives.
在美國加州大學爾灣分校藝術創作研究所的中庭草坪上安置一個高近9公尺的螺旋形鐵梯，樓梯沒有踏板，只有鐵框的結構。行為者全身赤裸，足踏膠靴一雙，靴子底下附著著一對樓梯踏板形狀的三角形木板，一手執持紅色小圓點的遮棒試著遮住私處，上下重複地走著樓梯，每一步又都試著將鞋板踏塞在梯面的鐵框內。如此方法形式，上下樓梯一個小時。最後走離樓梯，將小圓點丟向觀眾，完成此行為。
此作是一件跟杜象〈下樓梯的女人〉對話的作品。女人在藝術中，多數被物化為被描繪與被觀賞的對象。我想，這次該換個男人走走了吧？這有點自我調侃的意味，把男人或自己放在一個不堪的處境中。你一步一步踏著可笑的鞋板往上爬，每一步都嵌入樓梯的框架中，然而到後來還是要下來。黑色螺旋鐵梯象徵社會體系制約人們的行為，使人一步一步地踏入制度的框架與慣例中。荒謬與虛無的是，同化與步步高升的同時，也註定了自高峰或高位下來的宿命。走了半天哪兒也到不了，徒然遮掩著自己的裸露、脆弱、不堪，一幕終究徒勞無功，苦澀可笑的人生情境。無一例外的，這幾乎就是我們人生處境的隱喻。
