陈文令的雕塑表现了消费社会在中国形成后的精神群像。他的雕塑使用了一种寓言化的形象，揭示了九十年代的物质主义对一代人的精神渗透，以及九十年代以来中国人的自我状况和后意识形态的日常精神形式。
他的雕塑主要表现两个方面的主题，一是对人性极端状况的表现，二是对消费社会中精神群像的表现。对于自我极度状况的表现开始于“红孩子”系列，这个系列既非现实主义，也非前卫雕塑，它主要是陈文令个人对生命临界状态的自我表达，比如恐惧、喜悦、游戏和幻想等基本的主题动机，“红孩子”系列表达的是一种个人自传性体验的自我形式。
九十年代的雕塑潮流主要是对观念艺术和前卫艺术的吸收，这使当代雕塑表现为现实主义和前卫雕塑两条主线，陈文令的雕塑实际上很难归属到这两条线中的任何一条。这个系列表现的是一种单一的自我状况，它采用的是一种将普遍人性的经验转化为一种寓言化的自我形式，“红孩子”在形式上使用了风格化的颜色和极度夸张的形体动作，表现人性的具体主题状态，没有复杂的形式和主题叙事。这种单一性的自我形式尽管没有前卫雕塑的观念性和现实主义的真实状况，却具有一种临界状态的极度性表现产生的直指人心的视觉魅力。
“红孩子”系列标志着陈文令雕塑的语言方式的形成，一是雕塑形式的寓言化，其次是人性的极端状况的表达。他的雕塑表现了一种世俗精神的极度状况的价值观，并对人的处境的各种存在状态作了主题性的形体概括，比如极乐，以及孤独、受困等。这种对于快乐和痛苦状况的形象表现并不是一种写实主义视觉，而是一种理想性和终极状态的表现，它强调了人达到某种状态后绝对的自我成立的意义状态。
出于对精神极度性的偏好，陈文令事实上已经将这种状况提升到一种准宗教色彩的自我观看，为了这一层次的自我状况的透彻呈现，观念和叙事成分都减到最低限度，使灵魂进入更为直接的自白状态。“红孩子”系列是一种自我和普遍人性的表达，雕塑语言主要是限于一种自我的形体状况，借此体现自我主题、自我状况和自我表现。
“幸福生活”系列标志着陈文令雕塑的一次重要转变，即从自我表达的范畴转向一种社会和群体状况的表达。这个系列转向了消费社会背景下对一种群体存在状况的实质揭示，在雕塑语言上也开始脱离“红孩子”的朴素和自我模仿的形式，吸收了民间雕塑、叙事性和反讽风格等元素。
在“幸福生活”中，陈文令选取了肥硕可爱的猪和处于极度快乐的人这两个形象，进行一种日常生活状况的虚构。比如夫妻之间的拥抱和亲昵；一群大猪小猪像杂技演员那样做倒立；一个绅士或者主妇抱着一头大猪，一群小猪围在四周；或者一对夫妻骑在猪身上，其中的丈夫挥着砍刀像骑着战马一样处于极度癫狂的临战状态；或者一个史前大汉抱着巨猪的头呆在半空中与猪搏斗；或者一个青年猎人骑在猪身上拿着古代长筒望远镜在眺望。猪和人在陈文令的雕塑中都处于一种极端的自我状况，极度充满幸福感的自我快乐或者极度怪异的自我癫狂。
猪在不仅在动作上，而且在自我状态上都被高度的拟人化；而人尽管保持人的形体和动作，但在自我和精神状况上也几乎跟猪没有什么分别。在体态和精神特征上，这个系列中人和猪的区别事实上并不大，猪接近人的状况，人接近于猪的状态。这实际上建立了猪对人的一种比喻关系，以及人处于猪的一种寓言状态。在这一点上，陈文令找到了一个形象象征表达的视觉形式。
可爱化和绝对的快乐主义是这个系列主要表现的两个形象特征，这实际上也是九十年代消费社会进入中国后时代精神状况的一个总的自我特征和价值取向。“幸福生活”尽管延续了“红孩子”对自我极度状况的表现方式，但已经越出了自我状况和普遍的人性表现，而转向一种自我的社会化状况和人性的时代征候的表现。
在这个系列中，对于“幸福生活”主题的阐释实际上被表现为一种没有任何痛苦的极度的快乐主义，以及一种可爱化的人格特征。每一个猪和人都似乎生活在没有过去和未来的快乐状况，他们似乎努力使自己的日常性可爱和无痛苦化。
“幸福生活”系列由于侧重于社会集体状况的题材，在形式上要比“红孩子”更具有内含的多重性和深刻性，在主题上实际上倾向于一种社会批评。猪人浑同，比如猪像人一样穿衣服、做各种动作，人则被塑造成猪一样的物质化状况和体态，这揭示了一种深刻的社会生存状态，而在其背后，还具有一种消费社会的日常意识形态批判，比如消费社会中人格的小市民化和拜物教意识。
对于消费社会在中国形成后的当代雕塑的表现，从九十年代中期开始成为一个主要的表现领域，像徐一辉对麦当劳、盒饭等商品的表现，刘力国、刘建华对于身体欲望和花哨外表的表现，李占洋对娱乐场所和暴发户阶层生活场景的表现等。消费社会文化从九十年代中期就一直被作为一种反讽主题的文化批判对象，从它的文化表象到欲望和文化衰败的内在经验。但这种揭示主要还是在一个自我存在和社会意识形态状况的层次，在揭示消费社会的人的异化和人格的萎缩这一点上，陈文令的“幸福生活”要表现得更为深入，并且真正揭示了这个时代的一种群体精神状况的本质。
“幸福生活”系列不仅在主题上表现了这个时代的群体的自我本质，在雕塑语言上也具有很多观念和形式上的实践，比如寓言化和叙事雕塑的形式、形象的反讽性，以及在雕塑中引入群像和现场叙事的语言形式。在雕塑语言上，由于陈文令工艺美术学院的教育背景，他的雕塑比较强调对民俗雕塑风格的学院派的形式改造，注重当代雕塑对民间造型特征的吸收。陈文令吸收了一种喜剧性的民俗人物的形象特征，比如胖女人、呆痴的表情和噘起的嘴，这些形象原来在民俗艺术的年画和雕塑中表现为一种喜庆和乐观主义的开朗状态，这种喜庆特征被用来作为对可爱和无痛苦化的征候的表现，但在民俗艺术中实质上是一种底层社会的理想性表达，而在陈文令的表现主题中被用作一种反讽性的群体精神状况的特征。
在陈文令的近作中，他的语言上更倾向于一种超现实主义的神话语言的形式，比如人骑在类似史前大像或者史前怪物那样的猪身上，或者像英雄与恐龙搏斗那样在与猪争战。这个近作系列社会指向性和象征性模糊一些，而更倾向于一种形象的自我荒诞状况的揭示。形式实验一直是陈文令雕塑实践的一个重要部分，他的近作更接近于一种雕塑语言的艺术实验，这个系列剥离掉了“幸福生活”中雕塑形象的社会性和后意识形态的直接的批判性，似乎在转了一圈之后又回到了对人类自我迷狂的呈现。但与“红孩子”系列对于普遍人性和极端状况的表现相比，这一次陈文令表现的不是一种理想性和对于人性向完善状态的想象性，而是一种悲观性和荒诞感，他试图在艺术的这种神话意境中增加一种强有力的自我成分，使得这个视觉格局看上去还处在搏斗之中。
陈文令的雕塑主要表现人处于某种激情或者极端的人性超常状态，这是他早期雕塑语言最初的自我形式，这种自我主题后来被引入到一种社会性的语境，成为一种对消费社会人向可爱和快乐主义动物状况的反讽。而在他的近作中，陈文令似乎并不准备只是讽刺和批判，而是在试图在悲剧性层次进行一次与自我的博斗和拯救的想象。
2006年3月6日写于望京
Fable of Chen Wenling---the Fighting and Imagination in Consumption Society
The cluster of immaterial images when China comes to a consumption society is represented in Chen Wenling's sculptures. His sculptures adopt an allegorized visualize, which reveals the mental infiltration of the materialism in the 90s to a generation and the Chinese self-condition from that time, and also the common consciousness of post-ideology.
The two main themes of Chen Wenling's sculptures are the manifestations of extreme humanity and immaterial images in a consumption society. His self extreme condition begins from the series of "Red Boy". It is neither realism nor vanguard sculpture, but the self expression of Chen Wenling himself to the critical state of life. For example, dread, gladness, game and fancy are the basic main motivations of his sculpture. This series of the "Red Boy" conveys his experience in an autobiographic form.
The sculpture trends in the 90s are mainly the absorption in the Concept Art and the Vanguard Art, which makes the contemporary sculpture to two main lines of realism and vanguard sculpture. But in fact, it's hard to classify Chen Wenling's sculptures to either of them. This series of "Red boy" shows a singular self-condition, and transfer the universal humanistic experience to a kind of allegorized self-form. It has no complicated format and narrative theme, but using a styling color and exceedingly exaggerated body action to display the specific topic estate of humanity. Although the singularity in this form of self-representation doesn't conclude the concept of vanguard sculpture and the reality of realism, it has a stroking visual glamour which arising from the extremity of the critical state.
The series of "Red boy" symbolized the formation of Chen Wenling's expressing method. One is the allegorical sculpture forms and the other is the manifestations of extreme humanity. His sculptures show earthly values in extremity, and physically generalized various existence of human like extraordinary joy, isolation, hardship and so on. This expression of happy and pain is not a realistic perspective, but an ideal and ultimate manifestation. It emphasized the absolute self condition when he came to some point.
Because of the partiality for extreme spirit, Chen Wenling actually has elevated this condition to a self view which had standard religion color, in order to present his self-condition thoroughly and decrease the elements of conception and narration to its minimum, which employ the soul to amore direct confession. The series of "Red Boy" expresses a kind of oneself and the common humanity; the language of his sculpture is mainly his own physique status, which is to show the self-theme, self-condition and self-expression.
The series of "Happy Life" is an important transformation of Chen Wenling's sculpture career. He changed his self-expression to manifestation of the society and the masses. This change delineates a colony of people's existence in this consumption society, and the sculpture language is no longer the naive and self-imitational form, but absorbing the elements of folk sculpture, narration and irony style.
In "Happy Life", Chen Wenling chooses lovely chubby pig and extremely happy person for his two images to make a fictitious daily life. For example, a couple embraced intimately; a flock of pigs doing handstands like acrobats; a gentleman or a housewife holding a plump pig, with a group of little pigs around; a couple riding on the pig, and the husband, holding a chopper and deeply believing that he was on a horse back facing a war; an extraordinary strong fellow grasping a gigantic pig's head and fighting with it in mind air and a young hunter riding on the pig back viewing with an archaic long tube telescope are all Chen Wenling's outstanding works. The people and pigs in Chen Wenling's sculptures are in a terrific self-condition that they feel an excessive happiness or extremely baroque madness of themselves.
In his works, the pigs not only in their actions but also in their self-conditions are highly personated. On the contrary, the persons keep human forms and actions, but their self- condition and mental world are in real pigs' state. The people and pigs in this series have few differences of each other in posture and inner world. Pigs are close to human and men also to pigs. Actually, this method established a parable relation to the pigs and human beings and the allegory that human are like pigs. On this point, Chen Wenling initiated a symbolized way to express visual form.
Loveliness and absolute happiness are the main characters of this series, which are also a chief feature and value orientation of contemporary spiritual states in the 90s when China comes to a consumption society. Although"Happy Life"continued the expression method of personal extreme state like the "Red Boy", it exceeded the self-condition and general humanity, transferring to the manifestation of personal socialized status and human nature of the time.
In this series, the interpretation of "Happy Life" is in reality expressed as an extreme but entirely painless optimism. Each pig and person seems to live in a joyful state which has no past or future tone. They tried to make their daily life cute and non-suffering.
In form, the series of "Happy Life" has more meaning and seemed more profound than "Red boy", and it inclined to a social criticism in the theme, because it emphasized on the study of a group. Man and pig joint together. For example, pigs wear clothes like people, and their actions are also reminiscent of people, but people's bodies are presented with pigs in physicality and materiality. This skill reveals a profound social living condition, behind which he criticizes the ideology in consumer society, like the parochial thought and fetishism in personality.
From the middle of the 90s, contemporary sculptures are mainly focus on the characters in the consumption society. For example, Xu Yihui's works about McDonald's, box lunch and other commodities, Liu Liguo and Liu Jianhua's exhibition of body appetite and flowery appearance; Li Zhanyang's reflection of recreational ground and arrivistes' life site and so on. The consumption social culture from its culture idea to its inner experience of downfall was regarded as the critical object of irony theme. But such disclosure is mainly limited to a level of the self's existence and social ideology. On the point of revealing man's dissimilation and shrink of personality, Chen Wenling's "Happy Life" is more deepgoing, and truly posts the essence of a group's spiritual states in this time.
"Happy Life" not only exposed the personal essence of a group in this time, but in the language of sculpture also involved many practice both in concept and form. The various formats conclude allegory, narrative sculpture, visual irony, group images and on-location narration. Because he graduated from the Academy of Art and Design, in terms of artistic language, he insists on reforming the folk sculpture to academism, especially learn from the popular postures. Chen Wenling absorbs the comical features of folk figures: for example, fat women, idiotic facial expressions, and puckered lips, which are shown a state of joyous and optimistic in folk Spring Festival pictures and sculptures formerly. This joyous estate was used to show loveliness and painlessness, and in folk custom art, it was essentially an ideality of the bottom people, but in Chen Wenling's subject, it displayed to an irony of a group's emotional states.
In terms of artistic language, Chen Wenling's recent artworks are closer to a type of surrealistic legendary language structure, for instance, people are riding on pigs as if they were riding the pre-historic elephant or pre-historic mammals, they seems to be fighting against pigs just like the heroes struggling against dinosaurs. The recent series blurs the directness of the social metaphor, but is inclined to revealing the preposterous being of the self. Form experience is always a crucial part in Chen Wenling's sculpture practice, so his recent works are more like an art experiment in artistic language. These series departure the sociality of sculpture and the direct criticism of post-ideology in "Happy Life". It seems that this brings Chen Wenling back to presenting the human realm of self –indulgence in a circuit. Compared to the universal humanity and the extremeness in "Red Boy", this time, what Chen Wenling wants to show is not an ideality or imagination which directs the humanity to perfect, but a pessimism and preposterous sense. That is, he attempts to insert a strong element of the self, causing this visual layout to appear still in the midst of a struggle.
Chen Wenling's sculptures focus on showcasing people in some state of enthusiasm or extreme extraordinary humanness. This became his early form of self-representative language in sculpture, and this self-representative theme was later brought into the context of social issues, where it became a satire directed toward people came to overlade loveliness and animal hedonism in the consumption society. However, irony and criticism seem not Chen Wenling's single technique, he more wants to have an image of self-struggle and redemption in the level of pessimism.
Zhu Qi
Written in Wangjing
March 6th 2006