IART 艺术汇

July/August 2016 二零一六年七/八月

IART, July/August 2016

Zhu Wei: An Independent Individual, Who Thinks As Free As Possible

By Wang Wei

Introduction:

It was not long ago that Zhu Wei's solo exhibition was held in Asia Art Center in Taipei. In this exhibition the nine ink paintings and four silkscreen prints which were also derived from his ink paintings presented the artist's recent style, as well as the conceptual expression that has been increasingly emphasized in the artist's works. Zhu Wei's contemporary art is brushstroke-and-ink-centred, and has always taken the Chinese social reality as its starting point. He creates painting patterns with the characteristics of the times by inheriting the traditional expression modes of meticulous brushwork, and through in-depth observation and analysis of the individual's internal state, he conveys his thinking of sociality which is closely related to the reality he is in from a historical perspective. These creations are undoubtedly successful. So far there are forty-two museums around the world have collected Zhu Wei's sixty-one artworks.

The Text:

As one of the most important explorers and representatives of Chinese contemporary ink and wash, during the years that the "ink fever" is just unfolding, Zhu Wei, on the contrary, slows his creation, especially comparing to his early years' prolificacy. Faced with a temporary noisy environment of ink painting creation, this artist who started his art practice and entered into the international vision from 1990s is like a cool spectator, holding an independent and prudent attitude in response to the market oriented trend.

After finishing his creation in last year in the super low speed of one piece of a year, Zhu Wei simply used the cheap and ubiquitous newspaper as the media for ink painting. The two small alum paintings shown in the ninth International Ink Art Biennale of Shenzhen a little while ago are his newest works created in this way. "I found there is a trend in meticulous brushwork that we began to paint on silk in a more and more refined style. In the past the whole point of mass produced art is refined, and the selling point is the lot of effort spent on it. However, there was no content inside."

Under the influence of the market, the shiny and elegant works as a result of polishing highlight their commercial characteristics, and to a certain extent, inevitably lose the value and dignity of art itself. Obviously Zhu Wei does the exact opposite. Compared to the delicate and expensive silk, the simple and cheap newspaper is to provide a visual experience contrast, and at the same time, it also presents a meaning of anti commercial. The public awareness represented in the easily obtained media eliminates the elitist aesthetic taste in the "advanced" materials.

In the meantime, that Zhu Wei specially chose the newspaper, a mass media window, as his creating material is also quite interesting. Especially when we associate with his past works that based on Chinese social and political environment, the potential connection between media and pattern this time thus has effectively pointed to a preset and non-accidental expression. A conclusion of this intention is that his taking newspaper as media is not purely a form exploration, but also an inner concept practicing.
If we review Zhu Wei's overall creation in a timeline, we can figure out a gradually transforming process from narrative to conceptual. However, even in his early works with distinctive narrative features, such as "Beijing Story", "Sweet Life", "Comrade Captain", "Descended from the Red Flag" and so on, which is also quite different from the other documentary grand narrative works, an individual perspective and expression has already been implied. Or we can understand is in this way: the conceptuality has always existed in Zhu Wei's creation, but in his early works, the conceptuality was covered by the narrative patterns in a hidden way.

As his creation evolved, step by step, the narrative factors once dominated in his paintings gave place to the increasingly strong conceptuality. For example, in his "Utopia" series which was created during 2001 to 2005, the characters that obviously have a political identity and the flowers full of metaphorical meanings, have been totally disappeared in his later "Curtain" series, leaving the big red curtain which used to be the background in his previous series alone in the whole picture. That is, the symbol as background becomes the main subject now. The change of pattern seemingly proclaims that the conceptuality once behind the scene has been pushed to the front completely.

No matter how the human figures changed in front of it, the soundless yet eternal big red curtain seems to suggest a never changed environment. After removing the narrative characters, the conceptual expression has been strengthened. Zhu Wei adopts a method of "telling you everything without a word" to express his consistent historical social thoughts in a silent painting.

As is known to all, there was a trend in the creation of Chinese contemporary art in the 1990s, which is criticism and reflection on the special political and social environment in China. This creating perspective that once occupied a dominant position has been changing quietly along with the commercialization process in China's society in the past ten years. Critics use "depoliticalize", "de-Chinese-symbolize" and other concepts to describe the overall characteristics of Chinese contemporary art creation after 2000. Apparently, through his consistent social political perspective and constantly subtly changed painting patterns and moods, Zhu Wei reveals a strong perception that no matter how many changes Chinese society has experienced in these years, there has never been a fundamental change, and the political factors have never left too far away from our life.

In Zhu Wei's view, "any artworks which cut themselves from the current reality will have no historical significance. We have been so accustomed to the plenty of political factors in life that we can turn a blind eye to them. However, if you want to keep a social perspective in your creation, you will find these so-called symbols are still everywhere today. They are the reality that we cannot avoid."

In a way, it is impossible to thoroughly cut oneself from the real society. An individual's living state has to be coerced by the time he lives in, and be controlled by the environment to various degrees. And any discussion about social problems will lose its value and meaning without the basis of humanistic care. In fact, in Zhu's series of works based on the consideration of social political reality, he takes the observation and expression of people as a starting point throughout, and furthermore, through the in-depth analysis of the inner state of the people, he reflects a present China society that exists in the real feeling of the individual.

The human figures appeared again in Zhu Wei's painting in his recent "Ink and Wash Research Lectures series". The dress of the characters shows a special era and identity, while the tired and helpless expression on their faces delivers a new meaning which is totally different from his previous series. It is a true and general psychological reflection of today's Chinese as well. "Nowadays people are coerced by the ongoing large-scale economic movement, by the commercial Great Leap Forward, and by the inflated exaggerations in commerce, while every family has mortgage loans and inexpensive car, pop music and jazz, computer, cell phone and internet, however, the foundation of the society has never been slightly changed but has been strengthened. This is the present condition of Chinese society which makes people feel helpless." Zhu Wei said.

Art critic Lu Hong remarked, "In the new era emphasizing artistic invention and personality expression, Zhu Wei keeps 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, what's important is not only to inherit the traditional expression, but also to figure out a way to innovate and enrich it. Against the background that contemporary art is going on a globalized homogenous development, this pursuit of differentiation expression is particularly important."

It is should be noted that in Zhu Wei's new "Ink and Wash Research Lectures series", no matter the composition of the half body, or the delicate depiction of the facial expression, or even the close-up depiction of the hand or foot, all show a focus on a part, which is clearly a sharp contrast to the panoramic composition way in the Chinese ancient tradition. On the surface, this amplification in Zhu Wei's works reflects a kind of visual experience transforming. With the development of science and technology, our daily live has been full of all types of video players, and they are becoming more and more compact and portable. As the mainstream form of viewing, cinema has long been given its way to TV, desktop computers, tablet PCs, mobile phones and other electronic devices. While the relatively limited screen size of the latter also inadvertently reacts in the selection of shooting perspective. Therefore, watching habits have been changed quietly. Zhu Wei's focusing on a part is to take this kind of visual experience implanted in his paintings.

And this kind of visual characterization reveals a general development in literary and artistic works, which is from macro narrative to micro analysis, from collective consciousness to individual expression. What it points to is the concern of the individual who is living in the society. In this way, we may be able to take the focusing on part in Zhu Wei's painting as focusing on individual and individual's inner state. The consistent gazing in Zhu Wei's works has been experiencing profound changes, from the outside to the inside, and from the surface to the centre, and in a familiar and succinct language, the rich and in-depth inside thoughts behind the painting has been accomplished here.

《艺术汇》二零一六年七/八月刊

朱伟 独立的身份，尽量自由的思想

采访／撰文：王薇

引文：
不久前，朱伟的个展于台北亚洲艺术中心举办，九件水墨作品和四件由水墨作品印制的丝网版画，呈现了艺术家近一个时期以来的整体创作面貌，并展现出蕴含于其作品中愈发强烈的观念性表达。朱伟以笔墨为中心的当代艺术创作始终以当下中国社会现实为出发点，依托传统工笔画的表现技法绘制具有时代特征的图式内容，并通过对个体内在状态的深入观察与剖析，从历史的角度出发，发表与其所处现实紧密相关的社会性思考，这些创作无疑是成功的，迄今为止世界各地已经有四十二家博物馆美术馆收藏了朱伟的六十一件作品。

正文：
相较于早年间的多产，在行业内“水墨热”方兴未艾的几年中，作为中国当代水墨最为重要的探索者及代表人物之一的朱伟反而放缓了创作的步伐。面对一时间热闹喧嚣的水墨创作大环境，这位从90年代便开始艺术实践并进入国际视野的艺术家如同一个冷静的旁观者，以一种独立而审慎的姿态回应着这股以市场为导向的潮流趋势。

在以一年一幅作品的超低产频率结束了去年的创作之后，朱伟索性以价格低廉且随处可见的报纸为媒介进行水墨创作。不久前，在第九届深圳水墨双年展上亮相的绘制于《南方周末》报纸上的四张小册页即是朱伟以这一方式创作的最新作品。“我发现工笔水墨呈现出一个趋势，大家开始往绢上画，越画越精细。当年的行画讲求的就是精细，卖点就是花了很多功夫，但里面却没有任何内容。”

在市场影响下被打磨得愈发光洁雅致的作品彰显了其所具有的商业属性，也在某种程度上无可避免地失掉了艺术的价值与尊严。显然，朱伟采取的是一种反其道而行之的做法。相比于精致而昂贵的绢帛，简单而廉价的报纸在提供一个视觉经验反差的同时，亦呈现出一种反商业化的意味。唾手可得的媒介所传达出的大众意识，亦轻而易举地消解了那些由“高级”材料所折射出的精英审美趣味。

与此同时，朱伟特别选择以报纸这一大众媒体窗口为创作材料的做法亦颇具玩味。尤其是联想至其一直以来以中国社会及政治环境为出发点的作品内容，这种媒介与图式所具有的潜在关联便有效地指向了一种带有预设的、非偶然性的表达。在窥见上述意图之后，便可确凿地得出结论，朱伟以报纸为媒介的水墨创作尝试并非单纯意义上的形式探索，而是通过媒介转换的方式完成了一种对内在观念的传达。

如果站在今天的这个时间节点上回顾朱伟的创作，便会发觉其作品在整体上经历了一个由叙事性向观念性逐渐过度的过程。然而，即便是其早期带有鲜明叙事性特征的作品，如“北京故事”、“甜蜜的生活”、“上尉同志”、“红旗下的蛋”等系列的创作亦是从个体视角出发，并隐含着来自个体的表达，从而有别于那种纯粹纪录性质的宏大叙事作品。或许可以这样理解，观念性始终存在于朱伟的创作中，只不过在其早期作品中，观念性被带有叙事意味的图式所掩盖，从而以一种隐性的方式藏匿于画面的背后。

随着创作的推进，占据画面视觉主导的叙事性因素逐渐让位于愈发强烈的观念性表达。譬如，创作于2001年至2005年间的“乌托邦”系列中那些有着明确政治身份指向的人物形象及充满着隐喻意味的花卉形象在随后的“帷幕”系列中被全然隐去，整个画面只剩下在前一个系列中作为背景出现的大红帷幕。意即，作为背景的符号成为了画面的表现主体。这一图式上的转变仿佛昭告了曾经隐于幕后的观念性被彻底推向了台前。
无论身处其中的人们如何改变，无声无息却也无时无刻不存在的大红帷幕仿佛提示着一个从未改变的环境。在剔除了带有叙事意味的人物形象后，观念表达未减反增。朱伟以一种“不著一字，尽得风流”的方式通过静默的画面语境举重若轻地传达了其一贯的历史性社会性思考。

众所周知，90年代中国当代艺术的创作在整体上进入到一种针对中国特殊政治及社会环境所展开的批判与反思的潮流当中。这一占据主导地位的创作视角在近十余年中随着中国社会的商业化进程而悄然发生着变化。而评论界也普遍以“去政治化”、“去中国符号”等概念来形容2000年以后中国当代艺术创作所呈现出的整体特征。显然，朱伟以其作品中不变的社会政治视角以及不断发生着微妙变化的画面情绪透露出一个坚定的认知，即无论中国社会在这些年中经历了怎样的变化，其并没有发生本质上的转变，而政治性因素也从未远离过人们的生活。

在朱伟看来，“和当下切割的作品是不具有历史意义的。我们对生活中大量的的政治因素早已习以为常，已经能做到视而不见，熟视无睹，但如果想要在创作中保持社会视角，那么你就会发现这些所谓的符号在今天依旧是无处不在的，它是我们无法躲避的现实。”

从某种角度而言，生活于现实社会中的个体不可能实现与社会的完全切割。个体的生存状态无不在不同程度上被其所处的时代所裹挟，并被环境所左右。而关于社会问题的讨论一旦脱离了以人文关怀作为基础的出发点，也就失去了其所具有的价值及意义。事实上，在朱伟一系列基于对社会政治现实思考而产生的作品中，始终是以对人物的观察与表现作为切入点，并进而通过对人物内在精神状态的深入剖析，折射出一个存在于个体真切感受中的当下中国社会。

在近年来创作的“水墨研究课徒”系列中，人物形象又再次出现在朱伟的画面中。画中人物的衣着依旧显示出一种特殊的时代身份指向，而人物表情所流露的疲惫与无奈却传达出与以往系列全然不同的意味，也正是当下国人真实而普遍的心理写照。“现如今人们被正在进行大规模的经济运动，商业大跃进，各行各业施放出的价格卫星所裹挟，每个家庭多了贷款按揭和简陋的汽车，流行音乐爵士乐，多了电脑手机和网络，而财富如同权利一样永远不会掌握在大多数人手中，但人们却坚信自己能得到更多。我们的教育从幼儿园起，小学中学大学乃至成年人的人性和公德教育指引几乎为零，从高官显贵到普通百姓，去掉利益关系，人和人之间竟然相互仇视。文革十年搞政治运动，经济几乎崩溃；改革开放搞经济运动，人们的文明程度几乎跌破底线，道德败坏程度超过文革十年，这就是中国当代社会现状，让人束手无策。”朱伟说。

值得注意的是，在朱伟的最新“水墨研究课徒”系列中，无论是对人物半身的框取及对人物面部表情的细微刻画，甚或是对人物手部、足部的特写，均显示出一种对局部的聚焦与表现。这显然与以往中国古代绘画全景式的构图方式形成了一个鲜明的对照。从表面来看，朱伟作品中这种对局部的放大反映出的是一种视觉经验的转换。随着科技的进步，视频播放设备以其多样性的存在充斥着人们的日常生活，并愈发朝着小巧、便携的方向发展。以电影为主流的观看途径早已让位于电视、台式电脑、平板电脑、手机等电子设备。而后者相对局限的屏幕尺寸也在不经意中反作用于拍摄视角的选取。于是，人们的观看习惯也随之发生了悄然的转变。而朱伟画面中对局部的框取正是将这种时下的视觉经验向其绘画作品的一次植入。

批评家鲁虹指出：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，其探索之路很值得同道借鉴。他给我们的启示是：在寻求对于当代生活的表达时，重要的是不仅要努力沿续传统的表达方式，还要想办法有所创造、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显得特别重要。