T01. Cross

2 Jul

Written By Kosa

The cross has been a very important part of western culture and art for thousands of years. Nowadays we can see artists and designers all over the world using it, in architecture, painting, sculpture, installation, photography… Though I don’t have any religious background, I still can’t deny the solemn spirit it has, and the aesthetic with simplicity.

十字架的形象，从西方世界的宗教圣物发展成如今设计师与艺术家都在用的视觉元素。即使没有宗教背景的我，也无法不为其庄严而简洁的美而侧目。

Librairie Avant-Garde (Mount Wutai Branch), the most representative bookshop in Nanjing, China.南京五台山先锋书店 — Librairie Avant-Garde (Mount Wutai Branch), the most representative bookshop in Nanjing, China.
南京五台山先锋书店

One of the most impressive I have seen has to be the huge concrete columns in Jewish Museum Berlin. The cross only shows up when you stand in the middle of the monument and look up to the sky. Plants growing on the top of those giants, stretching the life into this scene. I stood there in the cold air of December for a very long time thinking of the past and history. That’s an extremely aesthetic moment for me.

最令我印象深刻的十字，便是柏林犹太人博物馆那些巨大的混凝土纪念碑。只有站在它们脚下仰望天空，十字才会呈现在眼前。巨像的顶端，蔓生的植物仿佛伸出生命的臂膀。对我来说，这便是美。

Jewish Museum Berlin柏林犹太人博物馆 — Jewish Museum Berlin
柏林犹太人博物馆

From Malevich’s Suprematism to Fontana’s Spatialism, the cross has been presented differently but has never lost its way to resonate.

从马列维奇的至上主义到冯塔纳的空间主义，十字变换着它的形象，却从未遗失它的美。

Black Cross - Kazimir Malevich. 1915 (Centre Pompidou, Paris)卡基米尔·马列维奇（巴黎蓬皮杜艺术中心） — Black Cross - Kazimir Malevich. 1915 (Centre Pompidou, Paris)
卡基米尔·马列维奇（巴黎蓬皮杜艺术中心）

Vier weisser Felder - Max Bill. 1969 (Kunstmuseum Bern)马克思·比尔（伯尔尼艺术博物馆） — Vier weisser Felder - Max Bill. 1969 (Kunstmuseum Bern)
马克思·比尔（伯尔尼艺术博物馆）

Cross - Lucio Fontana. 1950s' (Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow)卢齐欧·冯塔纳（莫斯科多媒体艺术博物馆） — Cross - Lucio Fontana. 1950s' (Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow)
卢齐欧·冯塔纳（莫斯科多媒体艺术博物馆）

Sometimes the cross also becomes background, usually with Christ in front of it. As a visual that hard to ignore, the cross almost always drags one’s eyes from any corner of the room.

有时，十字也会充当背景，前面往往是耶稣。作为难以忽视的视觉元素，十字总是能在偌大的空间中引人注目。

Christ You Know It Ain’t Easy - Sarah Lucas. 2003 (New Museum, New York)莎拉·卢卡斯（纽约新美术馆） — Christ You Know It Ain’t Easy - Sarah Lucas. 2003 (New Museum, New York)
莎拉·卢卡斯（纽约新美术馆）

If we turn the “+” 45 degrees, we will have “x”, which has distinct meanings in different cultures. In Chinese culture, it would mostly mean wrong and error, while in Germany people would use it to select an option.

旋转45度之后，+就变成了x，在不同的文化背景中也有着不同的含义。在中国，它大多意味着错误或故障；而在德国，它则被用来标记所选项。

British indie-pop-rock-band The xx is famous of always using an x on their single and album covers, which has been a very successful visual identity for the band.英国乐团The xx在所有单曲及专辑封面上都有x视觉元素，成为了乐队特有的品牌。 — British indie-pop-rock-band *The xx* is famous of always using an x on their single and album covers, which has been a very successful visual identity for the band.
英国乐团*The xx*在所有单曲及专辑封面上都有x视觉元素，成为了乐队特有的品牌。

Cross also reminds me of balance. A standing cross has to be the same weighted on both arms, which is unstable and fragile. It has a tension that everyone would hesitate and fear to break. Sometimes, designers and artists would use that characteristic to create a disproportion intentionally to enhance that sensation.

十字同时也意味着一种脆弱的平衡，使观者在些许的紧张和不安中对作品留下深刻的印象。有的时候，设计师和艺术家也会特意打破十字的平衡，来进一步增强感官体验。