Marriage has always been one of the most important topics among Chinese of various age groups. Numerous fairytales, sayings, and metaphors related to marriage and women exist. Some examples are “It is better for a woman to have a good marriage than a good job” and “filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else.” “Three forms of unfilial conduct exist, of which no posterity is the greatest.” All of the sayings that are learnt by heart since Chinese people were children become heavily infused into their bodies and become a part of their consciousness, which is even more true for elder generations.

This body of work comes out of an on-going research project I began in 2017 around the marriage market in China. I have been examining closely the different social phenomenon and industries associated with marriage. Examples include commercial matchmaking agents and companies, blind date TV shows, online dating apps and matchmaking corners in both metropolitan and secondary cities, where unmarried adults’ parents are gathered together to trade their children’s information. During this examination I attempted to study the social cause behind this collective anxiety around marriage, and how it existed across generations in China.

Aside from the study of this contemporary issue in society, I’m also looking through a rational lens by using a mathematic algorithm to calculate the possibility of getting married. Even though there is a huge gender imbalance in China, the male is still the ‘hot product’ in the marriage market. I’m comparing the male to the art object, and the marriage market to the art market, in asking what makes the art, or males, valuable and desirable.

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【侨报记者尹英姿10月6日纽约报道】艺术家戴馥任的纽约首个个展《婚姻学院》(The Institute of Marriage)日前在曼哈顿下城456艺廊拉开帷幕，展览通过手稿、图像、影视声音等组合而成的装置艺术空间，表达对中国婚姻观的思考，以及展现对中国传统孝道与性别观念在现代资本主义下对婚姻冲击。

　　房产、户口、身高、学历、家庭背景等已成为中国相亲市场的最常见的“怪异现象”。戴馥任表示，结合自身经历萌发创作契机之后，她在2017年对中国婚姻市场展开了一个研究项目，通过连续数月对中国的婚配公司、相亲真人秀、约会手机软件，以及北京等多地的相亲市场的调查，她发现在相亲当中，女性的年龄、长相甚至属相都成为了婚姻物质化的因素之一，而大多相亲的男性却成为了“抢手货”，婚姻观念对两种性别的差异化“对待”不言而喻。

　　戴馥任认为，中国传统俗语常说“女人找个好工作不如嫁个好老公”、“百行孝为先”、“不孝有三，无后为大”，这些传统观念将婚姻比作了一个女性最终的出口。但在美国社会文化中，相对社会文化的强加，婚姻更像是一种个人的选择。

　　以《如何处理珍贵的男性》(How to Handle Precocious Men)这幅作品为例，戴馥任在作品中将男性比作“一件珍贵的艺术品”，不但用图注标明男性的长宽高等物理数据，也借用“该面朝上”(This Side Up)、“易碎品”(Fragile)、“保持干燥”(Keep Dry)、“轻拿轻放”(Handle With Care)等包装运输常用的标识对男性进行标注，用艺术表现形式表达自己对相亲市场中的这件“男性艺术品”的理解。

　　《婚姻学院》由美华艺术协会和456艺廊举办，展览展出日期：即日起至10月26日，地点：456艺廊(曼哈顿下城百老汇456号3楼)，详情请致电：212-431-9740。

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今天下午，一场名为“婚姻学院”的艺术个展在曼哈顿下城456画廊拉开帷幕，此次为年轻艺术家戴馥任的第一场纽约个展，她用戏谑幽默的方式，呈现了对中国国内婚姻观念和相亲市场的思考和调侃。

走进“婚姻学院”展览，可以看到一连串手稿、图像、影视声音等多种媒介展示的艺术作品，全部表达了当代中国父母对年轻人在婚恋问题上的焦灼心态。艺术家本人虽然旅美七年，仍然感受到来自家庭和亲朋的催婚压力，因此萌生了这场主题展的想法。戴馥任花了几个月的时间回国跑遍全北京所有的相亲公园。在作品中，随处可见相亲市场的关键字，比如身高，学历，家庭背景，户口等等，艺术家表示用英语表达是刻意把这个颇为怪异的社会现象放到更大的语境下来观察。她还观察到，在相亲这场博弈中，绝大多数是女方父母为子女寻找配偶，而使得男性似乎成了市场中的“奢侈品”。戴馥任表示，她希望通过她的讽刺的作品风格让受众看到当代中国社会性别的不平等，性别标签和婚姻极度物质化等问题。本场展出将持续至10月26日。（美国中文电视 实习记者 顾希翎 陈飞菲）

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