生活是人類為生存發展而進行的各種活動及其經驗，其狹義的概念是指人類為了維生和繁衍所必需從事的不可或缺的生計活動，其廣義的概念則是指人類的各種活動及其經驗，包括職業生活、個人生活、家庭生活和社會生活。對於生活而言針對於它的任何概念都是毫無意義的，因為生活從來就是個人的、具體的、細微的，也正是這些個人的、具體的、細微的才形成了如此龐大、豐富、多樣的生活本身。

有人說生活的意義在於深刻的體驗，從生活的細微處出發，在有質感、有品味的日常生活中進行體會；有人說生活的價值在於不斷的創造，立足於對生活的深刻經驗，追求樂觀和有意義的生活方式。即便是眾說紛紛，莫衷一是，但是一切的藝術創作當然與生活有著緊密的關聯，甚至藝術家的生活本身即是作品的構成部分。

藝術和生活的關係，纏繞而糾結，歷史的、美學的、文化的各種評說本身即構成了形形色色的敍事和敍事背後的敍事。然而藝術家的責任從來就不是對這些所謂的敍事或者敍事的敍事的復述，藝術創作的目的即是打破這樣的盤根錯節或者欲蓋彌彰，意圖建立起創作與生活的嶄新關係和別樣敍述。

面對當代生活的劇變和巨變，相信沒有人能夠駕輕就熟並應付裕如。其難度在於，一方面生活的這種變化具有相當大的規模，出乎任何人的想像；一方面生活的這種變化又深化為相當小的微層，令人防不勝防；而變化所帶來的不確定性，更讓人們無從洞察未來的趨勢而顯得手足無措。事實上生活的樂趣也在於此，因為人類的生活從來就沒有什麼“預定的圖式”，而藝術的創作亦以追尋變化作為自己的原則。

面對當代生活的劇變和巨變，宏大敍事對於藝術家而言絕非是一種好的方法論，細微的切片或許是解構迷像並瞭解真相的有效孔徑。微生活，是因當代社會的變遷而生成的新文化概念，指的是基於開放的社會環境下，以網路等交集平臺而展開的一種全新的生活方式，強調的是自我經驗的認識和自我價值的分享。微生活對於藝術創作的意義，既反映於藝術對當代文化生活新趨向的積極參與，同時又將藝術家的日常經驗有效放大而為群體性的積極分享。而這也是本次展覽以“微生活”為題並加以策劃的構思所在。

針對於“微生活”的展覽主題和索卡藝術中心的特定展示空間，這幾位元藝術家的參展作品都立足於從自我的觀點而反映出個人創作的最新結論，進而討論藝術和生活之間多層面的關聯及其意義，積極回應“微生活”的立場語境和提供新的構成方法。

展覽沒有預設性的結論，也不強求統一性的表達，亦如當代生活所給予我們的啟示。同樣，展覽的開放性，也體現在參展藝術家對於作品媒介選擇上的自由度，以及對參觀者積極參與的某種期待。

Micro-life
By Zhao Li
Life includes all activities and experiences needed for people’s survival and development. In a narrow sense, it refers to all necessary means of livelihood by which human keeps life and family. In a general sense, it means human’s activities and experiences including career life, personal life, family life and social life. But as for life itself, any concept is meaningless, since life is always individual, specific and detailed, which makes life itself complex and varied.

Someone says that the significance of life lies on profound experience accumulated from details of life and quality of routine life. Others say that the value of life is realized by continuous creation and pursuit for optimistic and meaningful life style based on deep experience. No matter how different people think about it, the truth is that all art makings are closely related with life, and even artist’s life is involved in the art.

Art is combined and intertwined with life itself. The comments from historic, aesthetic and cultural views have become colorful narratives and the narratives of narrative. However, what artists want to do is never the repeat of these narratives or the narratives of narrative. The goal of art is to break through such complicated relations and concealed intention for creating a new relation between art-making and life in a special narrative way.

Facing gigantic changes in modern life, it is believed that no one can handle with ease. The hard thing, on the one side, is the astonishing changes of life beyond imagination; and on the other side, the unexpected details of deepened changes. What’s more, the uncertainty of changes makes people lost in the future prediction. This is what makes life fun, because people’s life has never a “planned schema”. Pursuit of change is just the principle of art-making.

As for the great changes of modern life, grand narrative can’t be a good approach for artist. The tiny slice could probably unveil the mystery for a clear fact. Micro-life, a new cultural concept born with changes of modern life, is an innovative life style on the platform of web constructed in the open social environment. It focuses on awareness of self-experience and share of self-value. Micro-life has a significant effect on art-making, resulting in active involvement in new trend of modern cultural life as well as sharing with the public about artist’s daily experience. This is the original idea to make this exhibition titled “Micro-life”.

With the exhibition theme of “Micro-life” and special exhibition space of Soka Art, their works concentrate on display of personal view and latest art works concerning the relationship and meaning of art and life, as well as the response to the context of “Micro-life” with new constructive approaches.

The exhibition has neither predetermined result, nor unified expressive pattern just like the inspiration of modern life. Meanwhile, the openness of exhibition is witnessed on the free choice of media of art works and the expectation to visitor’s active participation.