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Southern Weekly 《南方周末》

May 4 2006 二零零六年五月四日刊



 

Southern Weekly       May 4, 2006

Pictures:

Up left: <Sketch No.1>

Down left: <Utopia No.57>

Pop? Oil Painting? New Ink and Color

By Li Hongyu 

On April 8, Zhu Wei’s first solo exhibition in China opened in Beijing’s Red Gate Gallery. The Ink and color painter is obviously better known in overseas than in the Mainland. Ever since he signed the exclusive contract with the Plum Blossom Gallery in Hong Kong in 1994, his works are scarcely seen in Mainland China, despite the fact that the price of his works has already rocketed to USD40,000 per square meter. 

The overseas art critics and media are happy to refer Zhu Wei as a system rebel, and the fact that he used to serve in the army is frequently mentioned. And they define his works as political pop. 

The word “pop” does pop out of the head when viewing Zhe Wei’s paintings: not to mention the leaders’ images in his early works, the red flags in the background of conference hall, the colorful flowers in the foreground, the high risen arms, as well as the puppetry faces in his latest series “Utopia”, would suddenly break open a warm absurd feeling, and evoke the audience’s memories of a particular political atmosphere. 

This is sure an ingenious attraction to the western art market. But for the creator himself, however, this is more of a forcedness that he can do nothing about. When being asked by critics what the motivation, train of thought, and the rational thinking behind the metaphor are, Zhu Wei often feels awkward for not knowing what to response. Once he was so embarrassed being silent that he was soaked in sweat. 

Political pop today has been a label that the Chinese contemporary art circles try to avoid without hesitation, because it’s said that it’s reaching the dead end. 

In fact, put aside the political pop of the former Soviet Union, the Chinese contemporary artists are yet to exceed the imitation pattern of playing with or putting together symbols. Their subjects are limited, palates flimsy, and instruments indigent. They are far from pushing the possibilities of political subject and way of expression to the limit. 

The Chinese contemporary artists, in terms of pursuing possibilities, it looks like, largely use the western market standard as their guiding star, and are not driven with their own heart, concern and creativity. Because in China, new realistic political subjects are constantly emerging everyday, while the western visual understanding towards China’s reality (people’s, that everybody knows) is probably still limited to the “Cultural Revolution” symbols and leaders’ images; if using the “Shenzhou No.6” astronauts or the Olympic “fortune babies” as their themes, at the time they’re probably not “pop” enough yet, big effort with small return. 

Put down the controversy over political pop, we will have a better look of Zhu Wei’s Ink and colors. There are many artists experimenting innovation of the traditional painting school, but scarcely see one who does Meticulous. 

Zhu Wei makes rice papers with lattice, to inflate with the ancient charm. While the vermeil seals he uses, from scales to contents, are vivacious and carefree as children larking. In drawing figures, Zhu Wei has broken away from the traditional meticulous figure painting rules that figures have to be in full length but not part, and no close-up. The direct result of the experiment is that the intuitionistic view of his paintings is pretty similar to the “contemporary paintings” referred mostly to oil painting. For instance the expression of the nameless man’s eyes in his <Sketch No.1>, you can’t associate it with the traditional ink and color meticulous whatsoever, besides, it is much more appealing than the symbolic elements. 

The thinkings and experiments Zhu Wei has put in the new techniques are much more than subjects and concepts that the critics are concerned, as he knows that there are still many problems unsolved. For an example, the frontal face of a figure - he can never use ink and color to paint a work like Zhang Xiaogang’s <Big Family>. “The basic of oil painting is sketch, while ink and color is directly painting; so the figures all have to be profile, the frontal flat face is simply can’t be done.” As a holdout of ink and color melioration, he keeps sighing on the “weakness” of expressive force of ink and color: “Painting a figure, with ink and color you have to paint a figure at the full length, with oil painting it doesn’t have to. To paint a kit-kat portrait was originally impossible, then it became possible with nobody knows why, but it has to be someone everybody knows, such as leaders. After that unknown figures could be done too, but still very week. Because ink and color stresses on lines, color is only auxiliary - but where are the lines on a human body?” For the same reason, it is even more difficult to realize his ideal of draw human mentality. 

“The Japanese Painting, stopped development after inherited from China; Iranian Miniature, was within an inch of distinction in the 18th century; the Chinese traditional paintings are facing the same problem. Ink and color is on the down hill, but you can reform it.” 

Whether if Zhu Wei’s new ink and color can revitalize the traditional techniques of Chinese Painting is yet to be proved. But there one thing Zhu Wei is aware of: “Do Chinese ink and color, don’t even think about success before 50.” 

A couple of years ago, Zhu Wei was already famous overseas. Once a big piece of work of his was damaged in portage, it was given to the hands of a mounting master from the Palace Museum. “I went to pick it up on the day we agreed, but the old master didn’t have a sense of time, and told me to come back on the next day. And on my way out he preached me - young kid, you’ve got to work hard! Which means, you’re still unskilled.”

 

波普?油画?花样水墨

本报记者 李宏宇 

图片说明:

左上图:《草图1号》

左下图:《乌托邦系列57号》

4月8日,朱伟的小型个人展在北京红门画廊揭幕。这位以中国水墨为主业的画家在海外的知名度显然高于国内,1994年他与香港万玉堂画廊一签12年独家代理合同,他的画作便鲜见于内地,尽管两年前,他的画零售价(每平米)已标至4万美元。

海外的艺术媒体与评论者乐于把朱伟塑造成体制反叛者形象,他的前军人身份被他们津津乐道,画作的政治波普意味也被大加渲染。

看朱伟的画作,的确能很轻易地从脑子里蹦出"波普"二字:较早作品中的领袖形象自不用说,最新"乌托邦"系列中会场背后的红旗、前景的鲜花、高举的手臂、木讷的神情,蓦地现出一股温暖的荒谬感,直截了当地勾动观者对某种政治氛围的旧感触。

这固然对西方市场有莫大的妙处,但在作者本人,却常常是万般无奈。当被艺术评论家问起动机、思路、隐喻背后的理性思考时,朱伟有常常因为不知如何应对而浑身不自在,一次甚至因为无语而窘迫,瞬间汗透全身。

政治波普眼下已经成了中国当代艺术圈中避犹不及的标签,因为据说它已经接近末路。

事实上,且不说较之前苏联的政治波普,中国的当代艺术家并没有超出把玩、拼贴符号的模仿层次,他们题材的局限、意趣的单薄、手段的稀少,还远远没有穷尽政治主题和表现方式二者的可能性。

中国当代艺术家们在可能性这件事上的追求,至少看起来,还多是以西方市场标准为依据,并没有把自己的心性、关注和创造性作为驱动。因为在中国,新的现实政治题材每一天都在不断浮现,而西方世界对中国现实的(大众的、人尽皆知的)视觉认知,恐怕还停留在"文革"符号、领袖形象上;如果以"神六"太空人或奥运会"福娃"做主角,眼下只怕还波普不起来,吃力不讨好。

如果放下政治波普的是与非,或许倒可以更好地看朱伟的水墨画。在传统水墨的创新尝试里,进行抽象试验的画家很多,而以工笔画为载体的却难得一见。

朱伟在宣纸上制造出方格底纹,夸张地托出古意,而朱红钤印从尺度到印文又如孩童嬉玩般活泼无忌。对于人物的描摹,朱伟则摆脱了传统水墨工笔人物皆是全身而不可局部、不可特写的旧规条。这种尝试的直接效果,就是使作品在直观上与以油画为主的"当代绘画"颇为相似。比如《草图1号》上无名持烟男人的眼神,无论如何不能让人联想到传统的水墨工笔,而它又比某些符号元素更具感染力。

朱伟在新技法上所做的思考和尝试,比评论家关心的主题或概念上要多,但他知道仍然有许多问题无法解决,比如表现人物的正面——他无法以水墨去画张晓刚的《大家庭》那样的作品。"油画的基础是素描,水墨拿起来就招呼;人物都得是侧脸,要是正面大平脸,没法画。"作为水墨改良的坚持者,他不停地感叹水墨表现力的"弱":"画人,水墨必须画一个完整的人,油画不用。用水墨画一个半身的人,一开始根本不可能,也不知道怎么就可以了,但必须画大家都知道的,比如领袖。然后画无名的,也出来了,但还是弱。因为水墨讲线条,色彩是辅助的——人身上哪有线条?"也因此,他最想描摹的人物心理,就更难实现了。

"日本画,从中国传过去以后,就停在那儿不发展了;伊朗的细密画,18世纪差点消亡;中国画也存在同样的问题。水墨确实不行了,但你可以改良啊。"

朱伟的水墨新花样能否使中国画传统技法产生新的活力,尚难断言。但有一点朱伟很明白:"画传统水墨,50岁之前根本出不来。"

前两年,朱伟已有名动海外的迹象。一次,他的一幅大画在搬运中破损,送到故宫的一位裱画高手处修补。"到日子去拿画,老人家根本没有时间观念,说明天再来吧。临走时还教育我一顿——小伙子,你还得好好弄!意思说,你还嫩啊。"