清華美院副院長 中國的藝術市場極不穩定

China’s once-booming art market has slowed significantly in recent years, held back by a sluggish economy and a nationwide crackdown on corruption. But that has not dampened the hopes of aspiring gallery owners, antiques traders and artists across China. Next month, Tsinghua University in Beijing, in collaboration with Sotheby’s, will welcome 60 students for a two-year master’s degree program in the business of art, the first of its kind in inaugural class includes students from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, many of them employees of museums, galleries and art magazines. Tsinghua and Sotheby’s have promised “privileged access to some of the world’s finest collections and works of art.” Classes will be held in Beijing, London and New York. In an interview, Zhang Gan, vice dean of Tsinghua’s Academy of Arts and Design and a leader of the Tsinghua-Sotheby’s initiative, discussed the new program and the ups and downs of China’s art market.

近些年來，經濟的放緩和全國範圍的反腐行動導致中國一度繁榮的藝術市場發展大幅減速。但這沒有降低中國各地懷有抱負的畫廊老闆、古董交易商和藝術家的希望。下個月，北京的清華大學將與蘇富比拍賣行(Sotheby's)合作，歡迎60名學生加入爲期兩年的藝術管理碩士專業學位課程，這是中國首個相關課程。首批入學的包括來自中國內地、香港和臺灣的學生，其中很多人是博物館、畫廊和藝術雜誌的工作人員。清華和蘇富比承諾學員“有機會接觸世界上最好的收藏和藝術品。”課程將在北京、倫敦和紐約開展。”清華大學美術學院副院長、清華-蘇富比項目負責人張敢談論了該新項目，以及中國藝術市場的起起伏伏。

Q. Universities in China have not traditionally offered courses in the business of art. Why is there a need for this program?

問：中國大學沒有提供藝術管理課程的傳統。爲什麼會有開設這種課程的需求呢？

A. The fact that China’s art market is so volatile, so prone to bubbles and so full of chaos is very much related to the lack of talent in arts management. As someone who loves art and loves collecting art, I hope China’s market can benefit from professional managers who can help it develop in a healthier, more sustainable way.

答：事實上，中國的藝術市場極不穩定，容易出現泡沫，非常混亂，這與藝術管理人才的缺乏有着非常大的關係。作爲一個熱愛藝術和藝術品收藏的人，我希望中國市場能夠受益於專業的管理人員，他們能幫助藝術市場更加健康、持續的發展。

Q. What impact has the slowing economy had on the art market? Art sales in China have fallen 30 percent since 2011 by some estimates, and the United States has regained the title of the world’s largest art market.

問：經濟放緩對藝術市場有什麼影響？根據一些人的估計，中國的藝術品銷售自2011年以來下降了30%，美國奪回了世界最大藝術市場的稱號。

A. It just means there will be fewer people looking for opportunistic investments. I think this will make the art market healthier and the prices more reasonable again. The bubble has burst, but the water is still there.

答：這僅僅意味着尋找投機機會的人變少了。我覺得這會再次讓藝術市場變得更加健康，價格更合理。泡沫破滅了，但水還在那裏。

Q. The Chinese art trade is plagued by problems such as fraud, corruption and lax regulation. How will you address this in your program?

問：中國的藝術品交易受到欺詐、腐敗、監管鬆懈等問題的困擾。你們的課程如何應對這個問題呢？

A. Such topics can’t be avoided because they exist in China’s art market. That’s the reason China needs professional art managers. I think higher education is a good opportunity to inject a dose of idealism in students. The course will teach them that a healthy and sustainable art market benefits everyone and an opportunistic market is harmful for everyone involved.

答：這樣的話題無法避免，因爲中國藝術市場存在這些問題。因此中國需要專業的藝術管理人員。我覺得，高等教育是一個很好地向學生灌輸理想主義的機會。相關課程會教他們瞭解，健康、可持續的藝術市場對每個人都有利，而投機市場對每個人都有害。

Q. What are the most common misperceptions of the Chinese art market?

問：對中國藝術市場最常見的誤解是什麼？

A. People in China believe that it is an easy way of making money and that it is easy to buy and immediately sell a piece of art for double or triple the price. That does a lot of harm to the market. I believe that each piece has a relatively stable value and the price shouldn’t be too much more or less than that.

答：中國人認爲這是一個非常容易的賺錢方式。買入一件藝術品後，立即以兩三倍的價格賣出是件很容易的事情。這對市場非常不利。我認爲，每件藝術品應該有相對穩定的價值，價格不應該過高或過低。

Q. What can Chinese students learn from institutions like Sotheby’s about the art market in the West?

問：中國學生能通過蘇富比等機構對西方藝術市場有什麼瞭解呢？

A. Over the past few hundred years, the art market in the West has matured and become less volatile. The economy goes through booms and busts, but the prices for art stay stable and rational. The price of artwork makes sense in the West. The middle class can often afford it.

答：在過去幾百年中，西方藝術市場不斷成熟，不穩定性降低。經濟經歷了繁榮與蕭條，但藝術品價格保持穩定、合理。在西方，藝術品的價格是有道理的。往往中產階級也能夠買得起。

Q. You’ve said Western contemporary art and Chinese contemporary art are becoming more closely related. How so?

問：你曾說過西方當代藝術與中國當代藝術的關係日益密切。爲什麼這麼說？

A. China’s contemporary art scene only started in the 1980s, when China began opening up. Chinese artists saw Western art, which released a great deal of creative energy in the mainland. Contemporary artists in China started learning and imitating contemporary artists in the West. But I believe China’s contemporary art is now developing its own unique character.

答：中國的當代藝術市場從20世紀80年代才起步，那時候中國開始開放。中國藝術家看到了西方藝術，西方藝術在內地釋放了大量的創造力。中國的當代藝術家開始學習、模仿西方的當代藝術家。但我認爲中國的當代藝術現在已經形成了自己的特點。

Q. What do you expect your students will do after graduating? Are there jobs for them in China, or is the market still developing?

問：你覺得你的學生們在畢業後會做什麼工作？中國有適合他們的工作嗎，或中國的藝術市場仍在發展嗎？

A. I think most of our students want to start their own gallery or business after graduating. They are people of financial means. Whether there will be enough jobs in China’s art market is a good question. Our program will graduate 60 students a year, or 600 students in a decade. If each graduate opens a gallery and represents 10 artists, that totals 6,000 artists. Does China have 6,000 good artists? We’ll see. They can’t all be running galleries.

答：我覺得大部分學生希望在畢業後會開辦自己的畫廊或創業。他們都有獲取資金的方法。中國藝術市場是否有足夠多的就業機會是個好問題。我們的項目每年會有60名畢業生，或者說10年會有600名畢業生。如果每個畢業生開辦一家畫廊，代理10名藝術家，那總共會有6000名藝術家。中國有6000名優秀的藝術家嗎？我們拭目以待吧。他們不會全都開畫廊。