Song Ya Feng That's Art 颂雅风

September 30 2017 二零一七年九月三十日

September 30 2017, Song Ya Feng That's Art

A Way Out for Chinese Contemporary Ink | An Interview with Zhu Wei

Edited by Ran Huaying

Written by Zhao Yuxing

Editor's Note: Artist Zhu Wei's Solo Exhibition "Virtual Focus - Zhu Wei 1987-2017" has been held successively at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Singapore, the Today Art Museum in Beijing, and the Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Art. Now it came to the National Gallery of Indonesia. When we had the chance to interview Mr. Zhu Wei, we talked about the authoritative voice of contemporary Chinese ink art and so on. The dialogue as well as some excerpts from famous art critics' articles are excerpted here for all the art lovers.

Profile

Born in 1966, Zhu Wei is a contemporary artist and an explorer of Chinese contemporary ink art. His ink paintings began to show up in large international exhibitions from early 90s, and have since been featured in over 200 exhibitions world-wide. More than thirty different albums of his paintings and retrospectives of his artworks have been published. 43 domestic and foreign museums have added his more than 70 artworks to their collections.

Excerpted from the interview:

Q: What is the status of contemporary Chinese ink painting in the contemporary art world?

A: We like to mention contemporary art all the time, as if contemporary art is a life-saving straw or a panacea that can cure every illness. But it's not really the case. What is contemporary art? Frankly speaking, the situation of contemporary art is like Olympic Games. The Olympic Games was founded by a Westerner named Coubertin, the projects are well-known to all adults and children in the Western world, and the rules are also made in accordance with Westerner’s physical conditions. The Westerners play the games so well and so influential, that people in the rest of the world want to participate in to have fun. Joining in the fun is fine, but you must follow the rules which have been laid down, otherwise they won't let you in. They don’t even mind whether you are there or not, because they themselves have already created enough fun. The Western contemporary art is like the European Football League in Europe or the National Basketball Association in the United States, both represent the highest level in their respective fields.

About the status of contemporary ink painting, objectively speaking, it never has a place in the contemporary art world.

Chinese ink painting has never been taken seriously by the Western contemporary art. What the Western philosophers, theorists, thinkers, and art practitioners care is their own artistic process. They don't have time to concern African sculpture, Iranian Persian painting, or Chinese ink and wash. And they should not. Otherwise it can be said, as it were, to put one's finger into another's pie. Or in the big picture it might be described as great-power chauvinism. Whether ink and wash can be contemporarized is completely our own business. Why do we keep bringing a domestic issue to somebody else's home to let them verify and judge? Is it diffident, or self-righteous?

Q: Can Chinese ink painting have its own authoritative voice and have a place in the contemporary art world in the future?

A: When Li Xiao-shan presented his opinion "Chinese painting has already reached a dead end", no Western critic or historian stood out to question it, which proves that the authoritative voice is in our own hands. Only we can explain and predict its future.

Ink painting carries values of slave system and feudal society as well as trace of social development for thousands of years. The function of ink artworks is more to describe or record, to show artist's skill, or to just complain, than to introspect, which limits ink painting's depth, breadth, and even its highest level as an art form. There is a vast difference between the values of ink painting and contemporary art, and we need to work hard to fill the gap. It requires time and improvement and enhancement of the whole society. Whereas our ancestors have left us enough artistic mood and techniques that we cannot even go beyond, these should no longer be our main problem today. What we can do it to have the contemporary consciousness. Contemporary ink art is not ink painting painted by contemporary people, instead, it is an art created by artists who have contemporary consciousness as well as independent thinking.

If through the improvement of values, our contemporary ink art eventually has the contemporary consciousness, if it eventually becomes uniquely original, interesting and influential, by that time it will certainly occupy a seat in the contemporary art world; or moreover, upsurge a trend around the world like the Western contemporary art.

Q: Is it easier for ink painting to make its own Chinese contemporary way, comparing to oil painting, sculpture, print, installation, or other art forms?

A: The authoritative voice, material and technique of ink painting are entirely controlled by us. It has lived for nearly four times longer than the 700-year-old oil painting, and is very matured today. However, the contemporary process for ink painting is never easy. From the ink painting revolution in late Qing dynasty, to another ink painting revolution in the New China, from the 85 New Wave Movement, to the Post-89 Movement, this art form has been more or less improved. But the improvements are only confined to method, technique, or material. Some change is nearly senseless, like peasant revolt or a pure accident. Unlike our Western counterparts, who have theoretical support from many philosophers and thinkers, we are somewhat powerless to resolve new problems with old values on the road toward contemporaization.

The contemporarization of ink painting needs our own Three Masters of the Renaissance, our own Kant, Descartes, Socrates, Nietzsche, Hegel, Sartre, and Russell. Contemporary art requires a strong theoretical framework. To be contemporarized, there is no other way but to build artistic practice on that framework. Otherwise the only thing left will be cadaverous imitation and helpless artists, like what we can often see in Today’s contemporary Chinese art.

About the development of Chinese contemporary ink, here are some relevant interpretations from well-known critics. The following is excerpted from Mr. He Guiyan's article "Context and Logic: The Art Career of Zhu Wei":

"Zhu Wei's dialogue with the tradition, his knowledge of the tradition, and his quest of contemporary transformation of art language can be found in his works created after 2000. In his opinion, Chinese contemporary ink painting and Gongbi should develop in two ways: first, artists should get rid of the influence of Western art and create new and original art language and rhetoric on the basis of tradition and art history; second, artists should concern themselves with reality, culture and aesthetics, and keep up with social changes.

"Briefly, since the reform and opening-up of China, the development of contemporary ink isn't just an artistic issue, but also a social, cultural and even ideological one. Especially in the early 1980s, under the influence of the reflection of Cultural Revolution, modernized revolution, and Western modern and postmodern culture, contemporary ink painting bore an important cultural mission— to reverse and alienate socialist realism, to reject and deconstruct traditional ink painting, and to accept and absorb Western modern art and post-modern art language. These artistic and cultural demands are not separated but interwoven."

Mr. He Guiyan puts forward the question in this article:

"What's the characteristics of rhetoric and expression of Chinese contemporary art compared to Western modern and contemporary art? Whether Chinese contemporary art have its own idiom, language and pedigree?"

Zhu Wei said in an interview, "I've been working on ink painting for years and I think I should make some breakthrough. But at last I haven't done anything so meaningful. Then I think there must be some problems with contemporary art—I'm not the only artist who is not creative. Chinese contemporary art is only in the exploration stage. Our main task is to stay active."

"In Zhu Wei's view, the return to the tradition and learning from the tradition means that the artist should really mine the connotation and spirit behind the traditional schema, language, and style, and build new idiom and rhetoric under the guidance of new ideas and methods.

"Since 2013, 'new ink painting' and 'new Gongbi' have been the integral part of Chinese contemporary art movement. But there is no clear definition of 'new'. However, there must be a frame of reference. It is traditional ink painting and traditional Gongbi. Actually, on mentioning traditional ink painting and traditional Gongbi, we not only refer to art form, art language, but also artistic and cultural system which is already complete after hundreds years' development. From this perspective, "new" things should be considered in the context of art history. How to create "new" art? Whether through language, rhetoric and methodology of art creation or through media, aesthetics and theme? Zhu Wei doesn't care whether his works are 'new Gongbi' or 'new ink painting'. He keeps current art trend at a distance. As for the inner logic of art language, he is seeking for a way to stick with tradition without being fettered by tradition.

"But for Zhu Wei, this image narrative is not important. What is important is that through his paintings people can feel the cultural and aesthetic experience of contemporary Chinese people."

(July 2017)

Mr. Li Xiaoshan elaborates his opinion of Chinese contemporary ink art in his article "Zhu Wei":

"These critics (including art curators) outside China inevitably hold a common stand in their interpretation of contemporary Chinese art - they try their very best to crack the ‘secret political code’ hidden in the work of Chinese artists; with thoughts turned to a political linkage even in seemingly ordinary scenes or depictions. I think the political interest in the Chinese artists has obviously been exaggerated - even demonised - by some Westerners. Yet, from an ideological and psychological perspective, this phenomenon is enhanced by a relationship of mutual dependence.

"I have written an article titled From Chinese Painting to Ink in which I state the change in concept is actually a change in standpoint. The endless debates on ‘Chinese Painting’ are due to the ambiguity in concept, while ‘Ink’ is a medium. Hence it is highly flexible, in terms of the scope and form of its expression. Zhu Wei doesn’t care much for the kind of expressive (xie yi) ink paintings which are casually composed, and rejects others which are shabbily painted on the spur of the moment. An American researcher of Chinese art history has asserted that the rise of the expressive (xie yi) painting halted the development of Chinese art history. Putting aside the issue of whether this is bigotry, his judgment was formed on account of the phenomenon he observed. Chinese painters are fond of saying 'One should follow the spirit of the ancients and not their way.' This rather reverses the correct order of things. From the works of many contemporary artists one can see that much of the way of the ancients has been used with the 'spirit' thrown to the wind."

(December 25, 2004)

About the 'way' and 'spirit' of the ancients, let's see Mr. Lu Hong's understanding of both Chinese traditional Gongbi painting and contemporary art:

"I realized from the study of traditional Gongbi that the skeleton of Gongbi, namely what is defined as a line, is purely a product of mind as it is extracted by an artist from objective subject; aesthetically, it is more suitable for it to be performed on a flat surface with ornamentation and exaggeration; besides, as auxiliary means for lines, coloring and rendering must be in harmony with lines while paining Gongbi, as the overemphasis of "three sides and five shades" and changes in warm and cold colors will certainly weaken the expressive force of lines, making Gongbi akin to the 80s pen drawing prevalent during festive seasons, reducing the aesthetic merits of the technique to nothing."

(May 2017)

Excerpted from Mr. Lu Hong's "Preface for 'Virtual Focus: Zhu Wei 1987-2017'
 
"In fact, artistic forms, including composition, modeling, brush work and coloring, are comparatively independent systems which have both their origin and history. It’s forming up and development depend more upon their internal structure and self-improving rules. If an artist skips to create new approaches or rules before he could enter the existing ones, then it’s impossible for him to be written into the history. Therefore, in the history of art, even those most creative artists cannot but choose patterns and conventions in tradition to be their starting point of certain stages, then change and re-construct them according to needs. There is no other way out.

"I believe that audiences from home and abroad can sense from Zhu Wei's art of both traditional style and contemporary meaning; and world-oriented with Chinese characteristics. This reminds me of the following words of Ooka Makoto, an artistic critic of Japan:

“’All products of human civilization hide in the past time and space, which is unknown world to every one of us. What we need to do, is to start exploring it from now on and take it as something of our own, namely to acquire ‘future’ again. Based on such a consideration, what I try to discover is new Du Fu, new Mozart, new Baudelaire, and new Matsuo Basho. For me, they are never peoples of the ‘past’, but on the contrary, they are peoples of ‘our future’. When we enter their worlds, we enter the future rather than withdraw back to the past. In this sense, I think, one of the greatest powers of culture and art is that they can turn the past into the future.’

“In the new era emphasizing artistic invention and personality expression, Zhu Wei kept good tension between ‘creation’ and “reservation” which well worth learning from for other painters. The inspiration he gives us is: when seeking for the expression of contemporary life, it’s important to inherit and develop the traditional expression and make something new and better. Against the background that contemporary art is going on a globalized homogenous development, isn’t this pursuit of differentiation expression even more important?”

(December 16, 2012)

Excerpted from Mr. Lu Hong’s article “The Successful Integration between the Tradition and the Contemporary – An Interpretation of Zhu Wei’s Artistic Pursuit”
           

《颂雅风》二零一七年九月三十日

中国当代水墨发展之出路 | 朱伟采访

编辑｜冉华莹 赵宇新

人物简介

朱伟，生于1966年，当代艺术家，中国当代水墨的探索者。自90年代初开始以水墨画在国际大型展览亮相，在世界各地举办超过200次大型展览，先后出版30部不同文字的绘画专集、回顾专集。国内外有43家美术馆、博物馆收藏了其超过70件作品。

以下为采访节选：

Q: 中国当代水墨在世界当代艺术中的地位如何？

A：我们现在一天到晚的当代艺术，当代艺术的叫着，仿佛当代艺术是颗救命的稻草，是解决一切病症起死回生的灵丹妙药，其实不是那么回事。什么是当代艺术？说白了，当代艺术这个格局有点像奥运会，奥运会是西方人顾拜旦创立的，项目也是西方人家喻户晓，村里大人小孩都会玩的，游戏规则也是按照人家自身体能制定的。玩到有模有样儿，玩到了一定规模，有了影响，世界其它地方的人看着好玩，也都想参与进来。进来玩可以，但必须按照人家画的道儿，不然不带你玩，人自家玩得已经很嗨了，不缺个把人。欧洲的足球比赛，美国的篮球俱乐部赛都是球迷心目中的世界最高水平。西方当代艺术道理一样。

当代水墨在世界当代艺术中的地位，客观的说就没地位。

西方的当代艺术压根就没把中国的水墨画考虑进去，西方的哲学家理论家思想家，艺术实践者或者说艺术家，他们关心的是自己的艺术进程，他们也没空儿或者说也不应该考虑到非洲的雕刻，伊朗古波斯地区的细密画以及中国的水墨画，不然往小了说狗揽八泡屎多管闲事儿，往大了说有大国沙文主义意思。水墨当不当代完全是我们自己的事，自己家的事儿老拿到别人家去比，楞让他人给主持个公道，什么意思，是不太自信还是自以为好的不行?

Q: 中国的水墨画在未来能否在当代艺术中拥有自己的话语权，并在世界当代艺术中占有一席之地？

A:李小山提出的中国画穷途末路说，西方艺术家批评家历史学者没有一个站出来质疑的，这就证明了它的话语权在我们手里，只有我们可以发声解释以及预测它的未来。

水墨画承载着几千年的奴隶和封建社会的价值观和社会发展的痕迹，作品更多的是描写记录，展示艺术家手上的技法和功力，最多只是抱怨，几乎没有反思的意思，这就定位了水墨画作为一种艺术形式它的深度广度乃至最高水平，它和当代艺术的价值观有着天壤之别。这个差别，需要我们去弥补，需要一个过程，需要整个社会的进步和提升。当代的水墨画家首要的不是解决情趣和技法问题，这些祖宗留给我们的已经完全够用，甚至我们都无法超越，我们能做的是如何具有当代意识。当代水墨不是当下活着的人画的水墨，而是具有当代意识的水墨画家通过自己的思考创作出的水墨作品。

我们的当代水墨如果通过价值观的提升，拥有当代的思维意识，具有自己有别与他人的独创，变得好玩，形成气候，那么它一定会在世界当代艺术中占有一席地位，分一杯羹，弄不好会在全世界形成象西方当代艺术一样的热潮。

Q:水墨画相对于油画、雕塑、版画、装置等门类，是不是更容易走出中国自己的当代艺术之路？

A:水墨画的话语权它的材料技法完全是我们自己的，它经过了将近五倍于油画的历史长度，应该说和七百多年历史的油画相比相当成熟了。水墨画的当代进程也跟头把式走了一段，自清末民初包括后来四九年之后的水墨革命，八五美术运动后八九美术运动，多多少少的进行了改良，但它只是艺术家们在绘画方式技法材料上的摸索，有的近似于折腾，近乎于农民起义，误打误撞，用陈旧的价值观解决现代化路上遇到的新问题，有点力不从心，不象西方当代艺术家们有大量哲学家思想家们在理论上的支持引导和辅佐。

水墨的当代化需要出现我们自己的文艺复兴思想上的三杰，出现我们自己的康德、笛卡尔、苏格拉底、尼采、黑格尔、萨特、罗素。当代艺术需要强大的理论支撑，这些理论基础伴随着艺术家艺术上的实践是水墨画走出自己当代路子的唯一途径，别无他法，眼下大家看到的这些西方当代艺术中国的苍白复制品和艺术家们战战兢兢手足无措的现状就是最好的反面例子。

针对中国当代水墨发展的话题，在此收录了著名评论家的相关解读。以下为何桂彦先生的文章《情景与逻辑：朱伟的绘画历程》节选：

"2000年以来，朱伟始终坚持与传统对话，以传统为师，在传统中寻求语言的当代转换。在他看来，中国当代水墨与工笔画的出路，一方面，在于尊重传统，重视既有的艺术史上下文，摆脱西方艺术话语带来的影响，建立新的、具有原创性的艺术语汇与修辞方式；另一方面，仍然要重视与现实的关联，要反映和体现当代社会的变迁，及其内在的文化与审美诉求。

"简要地看，改革开放以来，当代水墨的发展从一开始就不单纯是一个艺术形态问题，而是一个涉及社会学、文化学，甚至是意识形态的问题。……当代水墨的起步与发展便承担着重要的文化使命——对社会主义现实主义的反拨与疏离，对传统水墨的拒绝与解构，对西方现代艺术和后现代艺术语言的接纳与吸收，而且，这些不同的艺术与文化诉求并不是泾渭分明，反而是始终交织在一起的。"

何桂彦先生在此文中提出了问题：

"中国当代艺术是否有自己的语汇和语言，和西方现当代艺术比较起来，它的修辞和表述又有什么特点？它有自己的发展谱系吗？"

而朱伟先生也曾经在采访中谈到："这些年画画一直在想的一个问题是水墨画一定得照顾中国两年多年来的传统，只是一个劲儿的往前走就不是水墨了。"在他看来，"我一直觉得水墨画是一个课题，这个课题对我来说是这样的：既然画了水墨，就应该有所突破。但是老觉得画了半天没有太令人激动的贡献。所以我经常老是质疑当代艺术，不是我一个人没有新意，中国当代艺术还是应该以探索为主……保持生命力。"

"在朱伟看来，回归传统，从传统中汲取养料，艺术家应该真正去挖掘传统的图式、语言、风格背后积淀的内涵与精神，在新的观念与方法的指导下，构建新的语汇与修辞。

"2013年以来，中国艺术界曾掀起一波'新水墨''新工笔'的浪潮。但是，究竟怎么体现这个'新'，艺术界并没有给予明确的界定。不过，既然谈'新水墨''新工笔'，话语逻辑的背后，必然存在着一个参照系，即传统水墨、传统工笔。事实上，传统水墨，或传统的工笔，不仅仅包括形式与语言，而且涉及整个艺术生态和文化系统。这个系统经过一千多年的发展，已经十分完备。所以，从这个角度讲，所谓的'新'一定要有艺术史的上下文关系，但'新'到底又以何种方式体现出来呢？是语言、修辞方式之新？创作方法论、媒介观念之新？观看方式、审美趣味之新？或者作品的现实指向与文化内涵之新？朱伟对自己的作品是否是'新工笔'或'新水墨'一点也不在意。对于当下的艺术潮流，他也始终保持一定的距离。不过，就语言的内在逻辑方面，他仍然坚持从传统中去寻找，但又不能落入传统的窠臼。

"对于朱伟来说，重要的不是这种图像叙事的方法，而是，通过这一系列作品，能让人感受到属于当代中国人的文化与审美经验。" （2017年7月）

李小山在文章《朱伟》中对中国当代水墨艺术阐述道：

"国外批评家（包括策展人）对中国当代艺术的解读，都有一个相同的立场：他们竭尽一切可能去破译中国艺术家作品中的'政治密码'，即使看似寻常的场景或故事，也不无牵强地联系到政治的根子上。我以为，中国艺术家对政治的兴趣明显被某些西方人士夸大了，甚至到了妖魔化的程度，而从意识形态和心理接受的层面上，双方之间的依赖关系又大大强化了这样的印象。

"我曾撰写过一篇《从中国画到水墨》的文章，谈到概念的转变其实是思考立场的转变，'中国画'所带来无休止争论在于概念的模糊性。水墨则是媒材，因此，就它的表现范围和表现形式而言，都显得更具弹性。朱伟不看重那种随意性很强的写意画，甚至对那种乱涂乱抹的写意画颇为排斥。美国一位研究中国美术史的学者断言：写意画的兴起终止了中国美术史的发展，姑且不论他是否偏执，毕竟他是依据现象判断的。中国画家经常喜欢说：师古人之心，不师古人之迹。这正好把顺序做了不合理的颠倒。从当代许多艺术家的实践看，'古人之迹'是被常常利用的，'古人之心'却抛到九霄云外。" （2004年12月25日）

谈到"古人之迹""古人之心"，再来看看鲁虹先生对中国传统工笔画与当代艺术的解读：

"从对传统工笔画的研究中，我体会到：工笔画的骨架，即所谓线条纯为主观产物，它是艺术家从客观对象上提练出来的。从美学的角度讲，它更适合在平面上展开，同时进行装饰性、夸张性的处理；再者，作为线条的辅助性手段，在工笔画创作中，着色和渲染必须与线条的处理相谐调，如果过分强调三面五调与冷暖色彩的变化，必然会削弱线条的表现力，以至使工笔画成为擦笔年画，这样，工笔画的独立审美价值也就不复存在了。" （2017年5月）

选自鲁虹先生《虚拟的焦点——朱伟1987-2017》（序）

"事实上，艺术的形式——包括构图、造型、用笔或用色是相对独立的系统，既有自己的源头，也有自己的历史。它的组成与发展，更多依赖于自身的内部结构和自我完善的规则。一个艺术家要是不能进入到这些规则之中，进而去创造新的方法或规则，决不可能青史留名。因此，在艺术史上，即使最有创意的艺术家，也不得不从传统中选择若干样式与惯例作为自己在某个阶段的出发点。然后再按照需要予以偏离、重构。除此之外，别无它法。

"相信中外观众都会感到朱伟的作品既是传统的，又是当代的；既是中国的，又是世界的。这不禁使我想起了日本文艺评论家大冈信说过的一段话：

'人类文明的产物，一切都隐藏在过去的这个时空中，而这一切对于我们每一个个体来说，都是未知的世界。而我们需要的则是从现在开始发掘它，把它作为我们自己的东西，即重新获取"未来"。正因为基于这样的考虑，我所试图发现的是新杜甫、新莫扎特、新波特莱尔、新松尾芭蕉们。他们对于我，绝不是"过去"的人，相反，他们是"我们未来"的人们。当我们进入他们世界之时，就进入了未来之中，而绝不是退到了过去。在这个定义上，我认为文化艺术最伟大的力量之一，就在于它可以把过去变成未来。’

"在一个强调艺术创新与个性表达的新时代，朱伟在'创'与'守'之间保持了很好的张力，这很值得同道借鉴。他的启示是：在寻求对于当代生活的表达时，重要的是要努力沿续传统的表达方式，并有所创造、有所丰富。而在当代艺术有着全球同质化发展的情况下，这种保持异质化表达的追求不是显得特别重要吗？" （2012年12月16日）

选自鲁虹先生《传统与当代的成功对接——解读朱伟的艺术追求》