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www.artron.net August 18 2013
An Investigation on Contemporary Ink Painting: Development and Change of Ink Painting, and Identity Anxiety in China
Pei Gang
In the seminar "Contemporary Cultural Consciousness and Art Trends in Ink Painting" held during the 2013 Chengdu Biennial, German sinologist Ackermann pointed out that on one hand, he appreciates Chinese contemporary ink painters very much, on the other hand, there are still three problems existing in the development of Chinese contemporary ink painting. The first problem is realism. In fact the so-called realism in China has nothing to do with the Western realism, but the Salon painting of the 19th century in the West, which is accepted as "realism" in China. Traditionally, this kind of “realism” is an absolute opposite to the literati painting. As early as in the Song Dynasty, the literati painting had already been a negation of realism, while realism was not regarded as an expression of art. The adoption of realism later is because of the political pressure, and it's a devastating blow to the Chinese ink painting. This is the first problem.
Secondly, when the avant-garde emerged in China, there was a great advantage: Chinese artists can make use of everything invented in the Western modern art in 20th century. And they did make use of everything relentlessly. It's impossible for ink painting to do so, because the ink painting is fundamentally different from the Western contemporary art. That's why in the 1980s, Chinese ink painting had to create its own avant-garde.
Thirdly, a new trend at present is traditionalism. People start to go back to the Song Dynasty to escape from the reality, as if the "Chineseness" were something only existing in an ideal and imaginary past. The three problems actually are one problem, which is taking ink painting as a kind of material and technique. I don't think the essence of ink painting is material or technique. I think the essence of ink painting is spiritual expression.
This kind of spiritual expression is a way to express inner experience directly, and it's an accumulation of experience of self, nature, society and reality. It's a hard process to accumulate such experience. In Chinese traditional art it is called cultivation, without which you cannot express your spirit successfully. That's why you cannot casually adopt some Western popular way to create your own work, because it definitely won't match the essence of ink painting, and it won't work. We must keep a clear cognition of this.
In the conversation between Ackermann and artists, he also mentioned the issues such as cultural consciousness, cultural identity, cultural anxiety and identity anxiety, among which the identity anxiety is a problem unique to China, or we may say that only China has such problem. In the West, there is no identity anxiety problem.
Development and Change: the Transforming Contemporary Art Market
Problems always exist. The contemporary ink painting market is developing and changing with anxiety as well. The Chinese contemporary ink painting which emerged at the end of 1970s has been more and more popular these years, and this phenomenon is not only due to the decline of contemporary oil painting as well as ancient calligraphy and painting. During the transforming from a planned economy to a market economy in China, being driven by financial capital, Chinese contemporary art has ascended the international stage. When talking about the change of contemporary art market, the contemporary ink artist Zhu Wei said, "A normal and balanced market should take millions of ordinary collectors as the core. The Western art market has achieved this, which is why their culture and art are full of life, and having strong driving force to continue the explorations. None of the outstanding art masters that we can remember is raised by the state or speculations. Even though they might be pushed by the capital, it's still the millions of ordinary collectors that will pay the bill at last. This is to say, there must be hundreds and even thousands of art appreciators and supporters behind an outstanding artist, who will provide the artist time to focus on his creation, and reward his art lovers and supporters accordingly. The emergence of many art collectors in a country is linked with the economic strength of the country. I've never heard that people who are starving must collect a piece of art on their way of fleeing from famine. "
“For thousands of years, China had been an economic society of agriculture and people led a quite good life. Almost every ordinary family had the tradition of collecting art. James Cahill, the famous American scholar of ancient Chinese paintings, told a story in his book The Painter’s Practice: a collector in a village wanted to obtain a work from an artist, therefore everyday windy or rainy, he went to the hill or climbed on a tree near the village, to observe whether there was smoke coming out of chimney of the artist’s house. If there was no smoke, the artist must be in shortage of grain. Then the collector would visit him with food as well as nice paper and ink in order to get his works. In the Song Dynasty, China’s GDP accounted for 80% of the world’s total with per capita income of US$ 2,280, in the Yuan Dynasty, 35%; in the Ming Dynasty, 45%, and in the Qing Dynasty, 40% to 45%. In the early Qing Dynasty, China’s GDP still led the world until the signing of Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 when the United States overtook China. In 2010, China again became the second largest economy in the world, but its per capita income ranked 127. In 2006, China’s per capita income was US$ 2,016, one twentieth of American’s US$ 44,000.”
A Hot Topic of “Ink Painting”
When ink painting becomes popular in the context of globalization, ink painting is no longer just an issue of ink painting, and the contemporary ink painting is no longer an issue of contemporary painting as well. When the tank of great power competition rolls to the world, in order to confirm the independence of local cultural identity, every nation and country must face with the problem of how to identify their own cultural identity, and find out whether there is possibility to export their culture to other countries. In the meantime, the concept of Chinese painting has been changed to ink painting or even contemporary ink painting, which is also a pursuit for such legitimacy. In the context of globalization, when Chinese society transformed from agricultural society to industrial society, ink painting becomes a natural choice of the industrial-civilization-centered capital.
The contemporary ink artist Zhu Wei said, "At the beginning of the last century, because of the arrival of the Western oil painting, we were eager to conceptualize the ink painting. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasty, some missionaries had already brought the oil painting into China, but it did not draw much attention. Although the Italian painter Giuseppe Castiglione, Joseph Panzi, and French painter Jean Denis Attiret had worked for many years in the court of the Qing dynasty, not only did they have no influence on other Chinese artists, but they often were so despised to such a degree that after decades, they had been deeply affected by Chinese painting and turned what they did into meticulous Chinese oil painting."
"During the May 4th Movement in the late Qing dynasty and early republic of China, a large number of oil painting artists who returned from study abroad started running schools, setting up oil painting associations, establishing oil painting bases, advocating western aesthetics, promoting solid grounding in sketch and precise techniques of modeling, having life classes, and bringing the debate between Xu Beihong and Xu Zhimo on the evaluation of modern western painters, and so on. It is impossible for foreign missionaries such as Matteo Ricci and western painters such as Giuseppe Castiglione and Jean Denis Attiret to do so, and they would feel shy to do so. The culture war is different from the military war for there is no real outside force, and therefore, the victory depends entirely on domestic acceptance and self-disintegration. In order to build up an equivalent to the foreign painting, the name of Chinese painting was generated, which also became a beginning of the later ink painting, ink and wash, and so on. ”
Development and Change: The Concept of Chinese Painting from Scratch
From its early concept of geographical, cultural and political, to the concept of nation and country in modern times, the word “China” has a history of 3,000 years. Though the Chinese painting has been existing for even over 3,000 years, the concept of “Chinese painting” has a history of only a hundred years. This concept was born after the Western painting was introduced to China in the modern times. It came from "the painting of China", which was first mentioned in a book on painting in the late Qing dynasty. When people talked about Western painting, “Chinese painting” was occasionally used.
Before the era of war started in 1840, the literati painting which was based on the aesthetic taste of literati and scholars of the Ming and Qing Dynasties had a clear development context, while its booming and busting periods are as clear as the veins on a leaf. Before Ming and Qing Dynasties and in pre-Qin period, Qin and Han dynasties, Wei, Jin, South and North Dynasties, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Chinese painting was flourishing. If being classified by painters’ identity, there were folk painting, religious painting, court painting, literati painting and ethnic painting; being classified by material, there were fresco, painting on silk, scroll painting and painting on paper (the material also changed with the times); being classified by subjects, there were landscape, flowers and birds, four gentlemen (the four gentlemen in painting are plum blossoms, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, which were the subjects of most literati paintings), figure painting, court lady painting, horse and saddle painting, ghost painting, Buddha painting, animal painting, insect and fish painting, house boats and carts painting, vegetables and herbs painting, and scenery painting; being classified by technique, there were Gong-bi painting, heavy-color painting, boneless painting, margin painting, line-drawing painting, ink and wash freehand painting (slight freehand style and great freehand style), and ink and color painting…
The ancient literati will hold a folding fan, burn incenses, play the zither, and feed crane before they write poems and paint paintings. After finishing painting, they will enjoy it with several companies. This kind of life no longer exists in the modern industrialized society. It is so remote and ancient as if it is an old dream.
In the collision of political, economical and cultural civilization between East and West, and in the collision of agricultural and industrial civilizations, the literati painting, as a main part of national cultural ideology, has collapsed. On May 14, 1918, the 23-year-old Xu Beihong delivered a speech on "The Ways to Improve Chinese Paintings" in a painting seminar in Peking University. The speech was published as series in Peking University Daily and reprinted in the first issue of Painting Magazine in June, 1920. (At that time Xu had gone to France to study in Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris.) In the article titled as "the Chinese Painting Improvement Theory", Xu wrote, "The Chinese painting has degenerated to an extreme now. There is no reason for a civilization to degenerate, but Chinese painting do. It is 50 paces behind 20 years ago, 500 paces behind 300 years ago, 400 paces behind 500 years ago, 1000 paces behind 700 years ago, and 100 paces behind 1000 years ago. That's how backward our nation is! Why is our painting so ruined? Because we are conservative, we lost our academic independence. Maybe painting is only a skill, but for other sciences, it's the same. Our oriental painting didn't make much progress in 20th century; moreover, it's not even as good as our ancestors' 1000 years ago. It is a shame for us. I cannot help to come to this conclusion today." Xu called for reform of Chinese paintings by adopting the concept of Western realism.
Li Xiaoshan, the curator of Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, mentioned the development and change in art history, “When Chinese officials in the Qing Dynasty started to communicate with the Western countries in 1840, the concept of Chinese painting emerged. The Qing officials called our national painting Chinese painting, and called oil painting the Western painting. Gradually the concept of Chinese painting was formed. And in the last century, the name of Chinese painting was made permanent. There was no concept of Chinese painting before that, while we only had landscape painting, flower and bird painting, figure painting, margin painting, Gong-bi painting, freehand painting and so on. We did not need other titles, and it was easy to understand what the painting is. Why? Because the entire painting system was Chinese painting system at that time. But things changed later. Chinese painting became a parallel of other systems, such as Western painting system."
"The Western painting turned the Chinese painting from an overwhelming system to a small system. The Western painting includes ancient Western painting, modern Western painting, contemporary Western painting and sculpture. The contemporary art is even more diversified and complex. As a big oriental country with a long history, how can China's culture be independent from the Western culture and make our voice heard? No matter our painting is called ink painting or Chinese painting, it shows the possibility that our native and original culture can survive in the contemporary era. If we open any book on modern art history of China, the content of ink paintings is always not much, especially in the books written after the reform and opening up. Some well-known names dominate those books. This is understandable, because as for contemporary culture, we are students and followers. It not only happens in China. All the artists out of the Western system share the same problem."
Development and Change: From Single Standard to Diversified Explorations
From the Cultural Revolution to the reform and opening up in 1979, there are two clues in the modernization of ink paintings. Per critic Lu Hong, one is to seek innovation within the realism ink paintings framework which was initiated by Xu Beihong. It mainly happened in the official system such as Fine Arts Associations and painting academies, and it already made great achievements. This is the “mainstream ink painting”. The other clue is the “new ink” exploration led by young artists outside the system. They went well beyond the traditional painting as well as Xu Beihong’s framework, and they usually used ideas of the Western modernism for reference.
The vice-president of China National Academy of Painting Zhang Jiangzhou said: “I have gone through both the Cultural Revolution and the reform and opening up. From the angle of Chinese fine art history, there is an important watershed between these two periods. In the Cultural Revolution, everything we knew was almost the same. Everything was centralized, and we had only one standard. From value standard to formalized language, all subject to one judgment. We could have only one value standard, and we could have only one formalized language. After the Cultural Revolution, we began to accept diversified things from the West. So our knowledge background was conflict and complicated. Still. A lot of memories are stored in our hearts.”
After the May Fourth movement, the concept of Chinese painting has been changed to ink painting, contemporary ink painting and so on, but the identity anxiety of Chinese culture next left. Zhu Wei said, “Changing the name to ink painting in 1985 was to be in line with international practice, to rush out of Asia and to go to the world. Since oil painting was named after its material, we narrowly followed the rule. The name is less obnoxious and friendlier. Imagine if the oil painting were called Italian painting, or Dutch painting, or Netherland's painting, are people still so enthusiastic to paint it? Now we are not treating oil painting like outsider. Every year there are thousands of students and their parents are proud of getting enrolled in oil painting department."
"Experimental ink painting is a new genre in the history of Chinese ink painting for thousands of years. As for form, it is close to behavior art; as for content, it is close to conceptual art. It is deeply influenced by Western philosophy and contemporary art theories. I like explorative and innovative things, and I think experimental ink painting might be a good way to go global."
"Today, in order to be a parallel of the Western contemporary oil painting, we hastily came up with the name 'contemporary ink painting'. We are so comfortable with it that even no one cares to question it, not to mention to object to it. It proves that after the May Fourth Movement, Cultural Revolution and reform and opening up in the last 100 years, how broad-minded, how eager to criticize ourselves, and how powerful in self-denial and self-collapse that we have become. This is the living environment left behind by our ancestors after thousands of years."
Development and Change: Identity Anxiety during the Modernization
Li Sa, a young artist and teacher in the Beijing Apparel College has his own idea on the environment and status of contemporary ink painting. In an interview with artron.net he said, “After the 19th century, as the Western culture had more and more influence on China, the problem of China's culture identity emerged. That is why the concept of Chinese painting came up. Identity anxiety is a very critical problem. When the First Opium War broke out in 1840, China came face to face with the West for the first time. After that China just did one thing. No matter how many dynasties and revolutions we experienced, including Hundred Days’ Reform, collapse of Qing Dynasty, establishment of the Republic of China, warlords’ fights, conflicts between Kuomintang and CPC, establishment of People’s Republic of China, Cultural Revolution and Reform and Opening up, and no matter how many historical figures played their roles, China did only one thing at the macro level - to transform China from an more-than-two-thousand-year-old agricultural society to a modern industrial, commercial and financial society. However, until now, the modernization of China is still not accomplished yet.”
Samuel P. Huntington thinks that the non-Western country can be modernized by Westernization. However, it doesn't mean Westernization is the only way. Actually Westernization is a purpose that cannot be eventually achieved. For example, country like China cannot turn herself into a completely Western country, and all non-Western countries face this dilemma - their modernization always comes with inner conflicts, rejections, and things they try to absorb. It is a bewildering process. Like Ackermann said, China has experienced a strong culture anxiety after 1840. Chinese ink painters are not an exception.
Artist Liu Qinghe once mentioned to me that a lot of people around him had such anxiety. In his exhibition "Watch a Fire from the Other Side of the River", fires are burning on the grassland and people in the painting look anxious. What Liu wants to express is not merely his personal anxiety, but the cultural anxiety of the times. "It is the process when the East meets the West, full of conflict, entanglement, and compromise. Artists like Lin Fengmian, Xu Beihong and Liu Haisu brought Western cultural concept back to China, and reformed Chinese culture with Western concepts. Xu Beihong urged the reform of Chinese painting by studying from oil painting, and Lin Fengmian called for the integrity of oriental and occidental cultures. However, at first what they learned was oil painting, but eventually they all turned to Chinese painting subconsciously. I think it is inevitable. From then on, this process of conflict, entanglement, and compromise is ongoing."
"Why does the anxiety of cultural identity become particularly obvious at this point? Because China has developed and the world has changed. With the rise of emerging economies, there have been already eight emerging economies in the World’s top 20. In last December, the new "Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds" predicted that in 20 years, the GDP of all Asian countries will surpass the total of Europe and USA. It is a tremendous change. The center of global economy is moving to the East, which is the biggest change in 500 years. It is an undoubted fact that nobody can deny."
Development and Change: An Example of Contemporary Ink Painting
When Li Sa creates ink painting there is a clear clue in the relation between his works and tradition, as well as in creating method and personal experience. When talking about creating method and thoughts, he said: “I accidentally used the symbol of ‘bike saddle’, and later I found it carries the trace of industrialization and cultural industry. On the other hand, I found it also has strong physiological implication. I brought this symbol into the composition of Chinese painting, which is between the Western painting and modern painting. The composition of Western painting is usually fully. If there is a blank in the middle, it makes the image incomplete. In the contrast, there is a lot of blank in Chinese painting. Taking Bada Shanren as an example, on a large paper he painted a simple fish, while the rest is blank. But when you see this painting you will be moved, because you will feel the fish is spiritually free, and the blank is water, or something else that makes the fish free. In Chinese culture, blank is even more important than entity. This kind of composition is based on Chinese philosophy and cultural logic. The traditional masters like Qi Baishi also liked to paint blank. When 90% of the image is blank and only two small chickens are painted under the blank, you will feel that the chickens are naive, natural and free. It is a natural state from the bottom of your heart. I borrowed the composition of Chinese painting, and try to add some Western or modern cultural symbols into it."
"The Westerners really have a strong sense of modernism and a strong art education. Jan Leaming is the owner of the gallery One Moon, which is the first gallery I cooperate with. She has good judgment. When she saw my painting, she pointed out straightforwardly that the form of my painting is modern and Western, and the language was something like abstract modern symbol, but full of entanglements and contradictions. However, the inner composition is from Chinese culture, which is quiet. Therefore she said that I am a post-modernistic painter, because such cultural combination is post-modern."
"I did it consciously. I think language must be modern. I am exploring on some big installations, and I hope to use modern language forms such as installation to discuss some cultural issues. I titled the work which has just been displayed in the Chengdu Biennial "Who Tore Up Tradition?". Here I raised a question by asking a question."
"I raised a question about what happened to the tradition in the past over one hundred years after 1840. It's not about what the West destroyed. I want to impress others with a form of contemporary art, of installation, and a strong visual effect. If they are impressed, they will go further to think about the cultural issue behind the work. This work is quite successful. In the Chengdu Biennial, many of my friends - collector friends and artist friends - were shocked by the work, which is in a form of contemporary ink. Li Jie, a participating artist and an undergraduate of Feng Bin, told me at the site that he had goose bumps. He was shocked psychologically. So I can achieve something, including creating strong stimulation on sensory organs. The composition is mainly from Chinese culture. I painted many symbols on the installation, and these symbols are with a lot of Chinese features such as flower and bird. I want to inherit the symbols of traditional Chinese painting, as well as the cultural value, structure and logic behind them, but I will use modern language to express it. Like what James had said, the continuity of cultural structures can be found in the works."
Conclusion: Chinese painting changes with China’s socio-political development, and with our anxiety on cultural identity. It also carries the mission of the Chinese intellectuals to build our cultural ideal and spirit. Like Ackermann said, when we face with these problems we should have a sober mind. It is crucial during the development of ink painting. Meanwhile, we have outstanding artists as well. Contemporary ink painting is still developing, so everything is possible.
www.artron.net August, 19, 2013
An Exclusive Interview with Zhu Wei: Market Should Take Millions of Ordinary Collectors as the Core
Interviewer: Pei Gang
[Editor’s Comment] When ink painting becomes popular in the context of globalization, ink painting is no longer just an issue of ink painting, and the contemporary ink painting is no longer an issue of contemporary painting as well. When the tank of great power competition rolls to the world, in order to confirm the independence of local cultural identity, every nation and country must face with the problem of how to identify their own cultural identity, and find out whether there is possibility to export their culture to other countries. In the meantime, the concept of Chinese painting has been changed to ink painting or even contemporary ink painting, which is also a pursuit for such legitimacy. In the context of globalization, when Chinese society transformed from agricultural society to industrial society, ink painting becomes a natural choice of the industrial-civilization-centered capital.
artron.net: Artists' art forms are different in different historical stages. How did the concept of Chinese art come up? And ink painting? Contemporary ink painting? What is their state now? What is the state of the artists who worked with these concepts back then? For example, in the Republic of China, the state of Xu Bei Hong or Liu Haisu. After the 85 Modern Art Movement, what is the relation between experimental ink painting, abstract ink painting, new literati painting, your own creation and the times? The power competition in the globalization context has promoted the contemporary ink painting. Based on this background, what is the pursuit of China's culture identity?
Zhu Wei: At the beginning of the last century, because of the arrival of the Western oil painting, we were eager to conceptualize the ink painting. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasty, some missionaries had already brought the oil painting into China, but it did not draw much attention. Although the Italian painter Giuseppe Castiglione, Joseph Panzi, and French painter Jean Denis Attiret had worked for many years in the court of the Qing dynasty, not only did they have no influence on other Chinese artists, but they often were so despised to such a degree that after decades, they had been deeply affected by Chinese painting and turned what they did into meticulous Chinese oil painting. During the May 4th Movement in the late Qing dynasty and early republic of China, a large number of oil painting artists who returned from study abroad started running schools, setting up oil painting associations, establishing oil painting bases, advocating western aesthetics, promoting solid grounding in sketch and precise techniques of modeling, having life classes, and bringing the debate between Xu Beihong and Xu Zhimo on the evaluation of modern western painters, and so on. It is impossible for foreign missionaries such as Matteo Ricci and western painters such as Giuseppe Castiglione and Jean Denis Attiret to do so, and they would feel shy to do so. The culture war is different from the military war for there is no real outside force, and therefore, the victory depends entirely on domestic acceptance and self-disintegration. In order to build up an equivalent to the foreign painting, the name of Chinese painting was generated, which also became a beginning of the later ink painting, ink and wash, and so on.
Changing the name to ink painting in 1985 was to be in line with international practice, to rush out of Asia and to go to the world. Since oil painting was named after its material, we narrowly followed the rule. The name is less obnoxious and friendlier. Imagine if the oil painting were called Italian painting, or Dutch painting, or Netherland's painting, are people still so enthusiastic to paint it? Now we are not treating oil painting like outsider. Every year there are thousands of students and their parents are proud of getting enrolled in oil painting department.
Experimental ink painting is a new genre in the history of Chinese ink painting for thousands of years. As for form, it is close to behavior art; as for content, it is close to conceptual art. It is deeply influenced by Western philosophy and contemporary art theories. I like explorative and innovative things, and I think experimental ink painting might be a good way to go global.
Today, in order to be a parallel of the Western contemporary oil painting, we hastily came up with the name "contemporary ink painting". We are so comfortable with it that even no one cares to question it, not to mention to object to it. It proves that after the May Fourth Movement, Cultural Revolution and reform and opening up in the last 100 years, how broad-minded, how eager to criticize ourselves, and how powerful in self-denial and self-collapse that we have become. This is the living environment left behind by our ancestors after thousands of years.
artron.net: China is transforming from an agricultural civilization to an industrial and commercial civilization. In this context, contemporary ink painting will inevitably be pushed by the capital market. How does the market evolve in your opinion?
Zhu Wei: A normal and balanced market should take millions of ordinary collectors as the core. The Western art market has achieved this, which is why their culture and art are full of life, and having strong driving force to continue the explorations. None of the outstanding art masters that we can remember is raised by the state or speculations. Even though they might be pushed by the capital, it's still the millions of ordinary collectors that will pay the bill at last. This is to say, there must be hundreds and even thousands of art appreciators and supporters behind an outstanding artist, who will provide the artist time to focus on his creation, and reward his art lovers and supporters accordingly. The emergence of many art collectors in a country is linked with the economic strength of the country. I've never heard that people who are starving must collect a piece of art on their way of fleeing from famine.
For thousands of years, China had been an economic society of agriculture and people led a quite good life. Almost every ordinary family had the tradition of collecting art. James Cahill, the famous American scholar of ancient Chinese paintings, told a story in his book The Painter’s Practice: a collector in a village wanted to obtain a work from an artist, therefore everyday windy or rainy, he went to the hill or climbed on a tree near the village, to observe whether there was smoke coming out of chimney of the artist’s house. If there was no smoke, the artist must be in shortage of grain. Then the collector would visit him with food as well as nice paper and ink in order to get his works. In the Song Dynasty, China’s GDP accounted for 80% of the world’s total with per capita income of US$ 2,280, in the Yuan Dynasty, 35%; in the Ming Dynasty, 45%, and in the Qing Dynasty, 40% to 45%. In the early Qing Dynasty, China’s GDP still led the world until the signing of Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 when the United States overtook China. In 2010, China again became the second largest economy in the world, but its per capita income ranked 127. In 2006, China’s per capita income was US$ 2,016, one twentieth of American’s US$ 44,000.
雅昌艺术网二零一三年八月十八日专稿
当代水墨调查之一：流变，水墨与中国身份焦虑
作者：裴刚
在2013年成都双年展“水墨当代文化自觉与艺术潮流” 的研讨会上，德国汉学家阿克曼一方面指出他非常欣赏的中国当代水墨艺术家，一方面指出20世纪的中国当代水墨的发展存在三个问题：一个是现实主义。中国所谓的现实主义实际上跟西方现实主义没有多大的关系，实际上是西方十九世纪的沙龙艺术，这是中国接受的所谓的“现实主义”。这个“现实主义”跟“文人画”应该是有一种绝对的对立的传统。文人画反对现实主义，很早就是在宋朝的时候，已经彻底说现实主义不能作为一种艺术表达方式。以后政治强迫中国艺术走现实主义的路是绝对把中国的水墨画破坏掉了，这是第一个方面。
第二个思路，从那儿之后中国先锋艺术开始出来的时候有一个非常大的要点可以用所有西方现代艺术、二十世纪发明的东西都可以用，他们也是毫无忌惮地用，什么都试过，什么都用过。水墨画没有这个能力，不可能，同西方当代艺术有一种基本的不同，所以中国水墨画八十年代开始创造先锋艺术，作为一种自己的先锋艺术。
第三个思路，现在比较流行的传统主义开始回到宋朝，一种避免现实，好像“中国性”是回到一个理想的想象出来的过去。这三个方向的问题实际上是一个问题，都把水墨画看做一种材料和技术。我觉得水墨画的本质不是材料，也不是技术，我觉得水墨画的本质是写意。
这种写意是一种内在经验表达方式，直接地表达出来，是一种积累的，对自我、对自然、对社会、对现实的一种经验的积累。积累这种经验在这个知识之中是非常艰苦的过程，中国传统艺术当中叫修养，你没有这种修养没法把这个“意”写下来，这是为什么你不能随便拿一个西方流行的方式做一个自己的作品，这个跟水墨的本质是绝对不符合的，不能用这种方式来表达。这就是把他的这种意表达出来的结果，我们都要清醒。
阿克曼在与艺术家的对话讨论中同时提及：文化自觉、文化身份、文化焦虑、身份焦虑等问题，是中国独有的，或者说是中国才有的问题，西方没有身份焦虑的问题。
流变之转型期的当代艺术市场
问题一直存在，当代水墨市场同时也在焦虑中流变。从70年代末就开始的中国当代水墨，却在近两年才开始愈来愈热，不仅是当代油画和古代书画下滑带来的。中国由计划经济向市场经济转型的过程中，在金融资本的推力下中国当代艺术登上国际化的舞台。当代水墨艺术家朱伟在谈到当代艺术市场的变化是讲到：“一个和谐正常不扭曲的市场是以千百万普通收藏家为核心的市场，这些在西方早已做到，所以他们的文化艺术具有很强的生命力和不断探索的动力，我们能叫得出名来的优秀艺术家大师都不是靠国家或炒家养活而生存的。即使是资本推动最后也是要千百万普通藏家买单，一个优秀的艺术家身后一定会有成百上千甚至上万的欣赏者供养者，这样艺术家才能腾出空儿来专心投入创作，回报给热爱艺术的衣食父母们。一个国家艺术品收藏家的大量出现一定和这个国家老百姓的经济实力有关，没听说过谁在逃荒路上饿的跟孙子似的还非要收一件作品。
中国几千年来虽然是农业文明社会但日子一直过得不错，一般家庭都有收藏的习惯，而且都到了一定份儿上。美国著名研究中国古代绘画的学者高居翰在他的《画家生涯》一书里讲了这么个故事：一个村里的藏家为了收藏到一有气节的画家作品，无论刮风下雨，每天都到村口对面山坡上或爬到树上观看画家房子上的烟囱是否冒烟，如果不冒烟了说明画家这两天一定断粮了，他便带着粮食和好纸好墨前去，以求得到画家的作品。宋代的时候GDP占全世界的百分之八十，人均收入2280美元。元代百分之三十五，明代百分之四十五，清代百分之四十至百分之四十五，清初GDP还是世界第一,直到一八九五年《马关条约》才被美国取代位列第二。二零一零年我们的再次排到世界第二，但人均收入排世界第一百二十七。二零零六年人均收入2016美元，美国44000，是美国的二十分之一。”
喧嚣尘上的“水墨”话题
在全球化的背景下，当“水墨”喧嚣尘上时，水墨已经不是水墨的问题，当代水墨也不是当代水墨的问题。在大国竞争的坦克碾向全球的时候，每个民族、国家在全球政治、经济的竞争中必然要面对本民族文化身份的确认，以及是否有向他国输出文化的可能，以此来确认本民族文化身份的独立性。同时，由中国画的概念向水墨，乃至向当代水墨概念的流变与转化，也是中国画在当代社会合法性的诉求。在全球化语境下，中国社会由农业社会向工商社会转型时，以工业技术文明为主体的资本推力下“水墨”自然成为了这种社会力量的选择。
当代水墨艺术家朱伟讲到：“上世纪初我们急于给画了几千年的水墨画定位起名，是因为西方油画的进入。虽然明末清初已有传教士将油画带入中国，但并未引起国人的关注，意大利人郎世宁、潘庭章、法国人王致诚虽然在清朝的体制内画了多年，不但没影响了其他中国画家，还经常被人看不起，十几年下来反而受到中国绘画的影响，把手里的活儿变成了工笔油画。
直到清末民初五四运动，大批留洋回来学油画的艺术家办班办学，组织油画研究会，建立油画基地，油画考前班、补习班什么的，倡导西方美学，提倡扎实的素描基础严谨的造型技巧，人体写生，以及徐悲鸿和徐志摩关于西方现代画家评价的争论等等。这些是像利玛窦这样的外国传教士；郎世宁、王致诚这样的西方画家在中国跟本不可能也不好意思做到的。文化战争和军事战争不同，没里应外合这一说法，完全得靠内部自我接受最后自我瓦解取得胜利。为了和洋画相对应国画这词儿出现了，也为以后改叫彩墨画、中国画、水墨画什么的起了个头。”
流变之从无到有的中国画概念
“中国”一词的使用已经有3000年的历史，由最初的地理、文化、政治概念到近代的民族、国家概念。而“中国画”的概念形成在华夏民族3000年以上的绘画历史长河中仅仅百年历史。“中国画”概念的产生是相对于近代“西洋画”概念的出现之后。由晚清画学著作中“中国之画”转来，相对于“西洋绘画”时，偶尔使用到“中国画”。
建立在明清文人士大夫趣味的文人画，在1840年那段充满硝烟的山河岁月到来之前，发展脉络清晰的如每片树叶上的筋络，何处雄伟何处落寞尽收眼底。在明清之前有先秦、秦汉、魏晋南北朝、隋唐五代、宋元的民族绘画，更是枝繁叶茂，按画家性质分，有民间画、宗教画、宫廷画、文人画、少数民族绘画;按材料类型分，又有壁画、缣帛画、卷轴画、纸本画(且材料本身如前所述又有时代演进的不同);按题材分，有山水、花鸟、四君子(文人画主要在这几类)、人物、仕女、鞍马、仙佛鬼神、畜兽虫鱼、屋木舟车、蔬果药草、小景杂画;按技法分，有工笔画、重彩画、没骨画、界画、白描、水墨写意画(小写意、大写意)、彩墨画……
古时的文人，手执折扇，焚一炉香，抚琴、喂鹤后朗诵诗文，研墨作画，画毕，三五同道仕宦打开卷轴细细品味的场景在当代工业社会的背景下，宛如昔年旧梦，只存在于遥远的历史遗韵中了。
在东西方政治、经济、文化的剧烈碰撞下，也是农业文明与工商文明的剧烈碰撞，使以文人画作为国家重要的文化意识形态的知识体系逐渐瓦解。1918年5月14日，年仅23岁的徐悲鸿在北京大学画法研究会演讲《中国画改良之方法》，此文在当月23日—25日《北京大学日刊》上连载，1920年6月《绘学杂志》第一期转载，改名为《中国画改良论》(此时，他已在法国国立高等美术学校图画科学习)。徐悲鸿在《中国画改良论》中写到“中国画学之颓败，至今日已极矣。凡世界文明理无退化，独中国之画在今日，比二十年前退五十步，三百年前退五百步，五百年前退四百步，七百年前千步，千年前百步。民族之不振可慨也夫!夫何故而使画学如此其颓坏耶?曰惟守旧，曰惟失其学术独立之地位。画固艺也，而及于学。今吾东方画，无论其在二十世纪内，应有若何成绩，要之以视千年前先民不逮者，实为深耻大辱。然则吾之草此论，岂得已哉。”倡导以西方的写实主义概念对中国画进行改造。
南京艺术学院美术馆馆长李小山讲了这样一段历史的流变：“1840年与西方诸国交往时，最早出现中国画这个概念是清朝官员与西方交往时，称本民族绘画叫吾国画。西方油画叫西洋画，慢慢的这个概念是一个逐步形成的概念——中国画。一直到上世纪才固定下来，就叫中国画。以前没有中国画的概念，就是山水画、花鸟画、人物画、界画、工笔画、写意画等等。因为他不需要有别的名称，这种绘画本身就可以让人家非常清晰地来理解这个画种。为什么呢?当时整个系统就叫中国画系统。后来不一样了，中国画变成与另一个系统的并列，比如西洋画。
有了西洋画，中国画这个大系统就开始变成了一个小系统，西洋画也包含了古代的西洋画、近代的西洋画、当代的西洋画，还有雕塑，当代更是多元而繁杂。中国作为一个东方大国，文化如此渊源流长，如何相对西方文化而独立，获得一定的话语权?中国画在当今不管叫水墨画还是叫中国画，都是我们赖以证明土生土长、原生态的本民族文化在当代的可能性。翻开任何一部我们当下人写的中国现代艺术史，水墨部分相当小。特别是改革开放，占主要位置的都是耳熟能详的名字，这个是情有可原的。因为我们是学生，对于当代文化来讲，我们是跟着人家跑的，这不是中国的情况，一切非西方系统艺术家都存在这个问题。”
流变之由单一的标准向多元的实验
从文革到1979年改革开放以后，水墨的现代化过程存在两条线索。批评家鲁虹认为：一条是以徐悲鸿写实水墨的框架向内寻求创新，它更多出现在美协、画院等体制内的系统中，并取得了很大的成就，这就是“主流水墨”;还有一条线索是体制外的年轻艺术家则在进行“新兴水墨”的探索，因为他们完全超越了传统绘画和徐悲鸿写实水墨的框架，更多是借鉴西方现代主义的一些观念。
经历文革和改革开放两个时期的中国国家画院副院长张江舟说起这个时期时讲到：“我经历的历史时期是文革和改革开放的两个时期，从文革到1979年的改革开放，在中国美术史的角度讲是一个重要的分水岭。因为在文革期间，我们接触的全是那种东西，全是一元化，只有一个标准，从价值标准到形式语言完全是一元化，价值标准只能有一个，形式语言只能有一样，文革之后继续接受文革之后西方的东西，改革开放之后非常多样化的状态，所以我们的前期储备是非常矛盾的，是非常庞杂的，始终有很多记忆在内心存留。”
自“五四“新文化运动以来，中国画的概念向水墨、当代水墨等等的流变，伴随着中国文化的身份焦虑。朱伟说：“水墨画是85以后为了更好地和国际接轨冲出亚洲走向世界，不至于招人烦还得具有亲和力，硬着头皮学习油画以材料定名改叫的水墨画。试想如果油画叫意大利画、或荷兰画、或尼德兰画、大家画起来还有现在这么起劲吗?我们现在完全是没把把油画当外人，每年成千上万的考生包括家长都以能考上油画系为荣。
实验水墨是几千年来中国水墨画历史上从未有过的新品种，形式上接近行为艺术和装置，内容接近观念艺术，受西方哲学和当代艺术理论影响很深。我对具有探索创新意识的东西本能的就会有好感，实验水墨很可能是一条国际化的路子。
今天水墨画为了和洋人的当代油画相对应又急忙改叫当代水墨，居然达成了默契。没任何人站出来反对哪怕是发出一声小小的疑问，可见这一百年来经过了五四运动，文化大革命运动，改革开放运动等等，几次运动下来我们变得多么豁得出去，批评和自我批评多么深入人心，自我否定自我瓦解的能力有多强。这也就是我们老祖宗几千年传承下来的绘画现今的生存环境和状态。”
流变之现代化转型中的身份焦虑
北京服装学院教师，青年艺术家李飒对当代水墨所处的环境和现实状态有着自己的看法，在接受雅昌艺术网访问时讲道：“自19世纪以来，随着西方文化对中国的影响力越来越大，有西方做对照以后中国的文化身份问题就显现出来了，所以才开始有了针对于西方绘画的中国画这个概念。身份焦虑是特别重要的问题，1840年以来，中国第一次鸦片战争，中国和西方第一次的正面相遇，从这次相遇以后，从1840年以来中国就做了一件事，不管中间有多少朝代更迭，戊戌变法、清朝覆没、民国建立、军阀混战、国共相争、新中国，包括之后文革、改革开放，一百多年来不管不同的历史人物怎么在其中发挥作用，大家都是在做一件事，宏观的，推开来看，都是在把中国从一个延续了两千多年来的农业国家向现代工商、金融国家的转变，所有的人做的所有的事情都是在推动中国发生这样一个转变，直到现在中国现代化转型没有完全形成或者是没有实现。
不仅是亨廷顿认为非西方国家的现代化国家，并不意味着他的西方化，西方化最终是无法实现的。就像中国这样一个国家不可能完全最后转变为一个一模一样的西方国家，所有的非西方国家都是这么一个状况，最后他既要现代化，同时内在的矛盾、排斥，以及又要融合的东西，其实是一个很纠结的过程。像中国人而言身份焦虑1840年以来这种身份焦虑始终很强烈，像阿克曼说的中国的文化焦虑非常强烈。中国水墨画家也是非常明显的这种文化焦虑。
曾经有一次跟刘庆和老师聊天，他的里边有很多人的焦虑的状态，他曾有个展览叫“隔岸观火”，画面中的草地上有火苗在燃烧，画面中的人内心是很焦虑的状态。有一次和刘庆和老师交流，他更多的表达不是个人的焦虑，是整个时代群体的文化焦虑。是中西两种文化的相遇，包括冲突、纠结，也要相互，最终还要相互融合的一个过程，从林风眠、徐悲鸿、刘海粟那一代艺术家开始，他们把西方的文化观念带回到国内，又用西方的观念来改造中国文化的状况，他们一开始都是学油画的，最后不自觉地都要回到国画的方式上去，其实我觉得这个里边是有必然性的，徐悲鸿是主张用油画来改造中国画，林风眠主张中西文化融合论，这种中西文化的相遇、碰撞、冲突甚至是最后还要去融合这种状况一直从他们那个时代的艺术家到现在，这种过程一直在延续。
现在尤其到现在为什么文化身份的焦虑又变得特别明显?因为这个时候中国经济发展了，世界格局转变了，随着新兴国家经济的崛起，世界经济前二十强已经有八个新兴国家了，去年12月份刚出的报告《2030不一样的世界》，美国对于二十年后世界格局的预测，2030年亚洲国民经济生产总值将超过欧洲和美国的总和，二十年后的世界格局，这个变化是巨大的，因为世界经济中心东移是五百年来最大的变化，这一点已经是毫无疑问的事实，没有人能还去否定的一个问题。”
流变之当代水墨个案
李飒的水墨作品在创作的过程中，对作品与传统的关系，创作方法跟我自身的经验，有清晰的线索。他在讲述自己的作品创作方法和思考时讲到：“我偶然把‘自行车座’这个符号借用了一下，后来我发现这个符号带有工业性、文化工业的痕迹，另外一方面我发现它具有很强的心理暗示的作用。我把这个符号带到了中国画的构图里，西方绘画，现代绘画之间。西方绘画都是满构图的，要是中间有一块空白会像画面被剪掉了一块，不完整感很强烈，中国文化是大量的空白，八大山人一张画很大的一张纸，中间很简单地画了一条鱼，周围全是空白，鱼也很简单，但是看到这幅画会很感动，是因为你觉得鱼在精神上非常自由，周围的空白全是水，或者让鱼感到很自由自在的状态，所以在中国文化里边空、虚甚至是留白，而留白甚至是比实体更重要，在这种大量留白的构图形式里边也有中国文化的一个哲学上或者是一个文化逻辑上的支撑的一个东西。包括齐白石等传统大家经常有竖长条的构图形式，90%都是空白，下面画了两只小鸡，但是你觉得鸡的状态是非常天真、自然、无拘无束，非常天真的，发自内心的一种天真稚拙的状态，你在中国画里边的构图，这种留白的构图形式不仅仅是当成白或者空白来用的，实际上是一种文化内在逻辑甚至是文化价值支撑的一个东西，我是把中国画的构图借鉴过来，用西方或者现代文化符号带进去。
西方人的这种现代意识，艺术教育确实很强，当时我的第一个合作画廊，一月当代画廊的老板美国人简黎明，她的判断很清晰，认为我的画面形式是很现代的，是用符号的形式来阐释的。她看的时候很直接说我的画面整体上感觉，是画面形式上是很现代的西方，现代的构成形式，画面语言形式是一种抽象的现代符号的因素，甚至充满纠结、冲突的语言形式，但是里边看又有中国文化这种内在的构图，很安静的、很静谧的一种文化结构在里边，所以他当时认为说我是非常后现代的，因为这种文化方式的结合是很后现代的方式。
但是从我自己来说，是有意识的。我觉得语言一定要现代，包括我现在做的一些尝试，一些大的装置，我也希望用装置的形式，用很现代的语言形式讨论一些文化问题，包括我曾经有一个作品的名字，在成都双年展刚展完的作品名字就是《谁撕裂了传统?》，我用一种质疑的方式提一个问题。
1840年以来一百多年的时间里边传统遭遇了什么样的变化，并不是说西方破坏了什么，我用质疑的方式来提问。我希望用一个当代艺术的形式、装置的形式、一种强烈的视觉效果先去打动别人，如果别人被打动之后会进而进一步思考这种作品的结构提出的文化问题的方式，作品还是挺有效的。因为当时我在成都双年展展出的时候有很多朋友，包括收藏界的朋友，也有艺术家的朋友，那个作品在里边，因为我也是以当代水墨的形态出现的，那个作品对他们冲击还是挺大的，包括成都双年展的参展艺术家李杰，也是冯斌老师的研究生，他当时站在我边上说当时就有生理反应，身上就起鸡皮疙瘩。这件作品对他在心里上有很强的冲击效果，我还是能实现一些东西，从作品形式上这种强烈的冲击力，包括对人的感官的刺激，包括这种冲击和影响，从内在的文化结构上，因为从构图上我觉得还是有很多中国文化的构图形式的，包括符号还是有中国画的感觉，我在装置上也画了很多符号，那个符号上还是有很多中国的东西，因为我觉得那个形象有中国画的花和鸟的形态在里边的，所以我也是希望把中国画的符号形态，把它所代表传统文化价值、文化结构、文化逻辑、传统延续下来，但是用现代的语言形式来讨论我们今天面对的文化问题，所以我也是希望有对当代的文化切入点，对当代文化的关注点，同时就像詹姆斯说的，能在作品里看到文化结构的延续性。”
结语：中国画的流变伴随着对中国政治经济发展的脉搏，对本民族文化身份的焦虑，也承载着中国知识阶层对文化理想和精神铸造的使命。诚如阿克曼所说在面对自身的问题时应该具备清醒的判断，是当代水墨发展中必然要具备的，同时，也不乏优秀的艺术家。中国当代水墨还在发展变化中，一切皆有可能。
雅昌艺术网二零一三年八月十九日专稿
朱伟专访：市场应以千百万普通收藏家为核心
采访：裴刚
【编者按】在全球化的背景下，当“水墨”喧嚣尘上时，水墨已经不是水墨的问题，当代水墨也不是当代水墨的问题。在大国竞争的坦克碾向全球的时候，每个民族、国家在全球政治、经济的竞争中必然要面对本民族文化身份的确认，以及是否有向他国输出文化的可能，以此来确认本民族文化身份的独立性。同时，由中国画的概念向水墨，乃至向当代水墨概念的流变与转化，也是中国画在当代社会合法性的诉求。在全球化语境下，中国社会由农业社会向工商社会转型时，以工业技术文明为主体的资本推力下“水墨”自然成为了这种社会力量的选择。
雅昌艺术网：每个历史阶段的艺术家个体的艺术形态不同，如何出现中国画，又如何出现水墨概念，之后的当代水墨又是怎样的一个概念，现状是怎样的?每个概念下的艺术家个体在当时是怎样的状态?比如民国时的徐悲鸿、刘海粟，85以后的实验水墨、抽象水墨、新文人画、包括您个人的创作道路的演变与时代之间的关联等等。推动当代水墨的是全球化背景下大国竞争，中国文化身份的诉求?
朱伟：上世纪初我们急于给画了几千年的水墨画定位起名，是因为西方油画的进入。虽然明末清初已有传教士将油画带入中国，但并未引起国人的关注，意大利人郎世宁、潘庭章、法国人王致诚虽然在清朝的体制内画了多年，不但没影响了其他中国画家，还经常被人看不起，十几年下来反而受到中国绘画的影响，把手里的活儿变成了工笔油画。直到清末民初五四运动，大批留洋回来学油画的艺术家办班办学，组织油画研究会，建立油画基地，油画考前班补习班什么的，倡导西方美学，提倡扎实的素描基础严谨的造型技巧，人体写生，以及徐悲鸿和徐志摩关于西方现代画家评价的争论等等，这些是像利玛窦这样的外国传教士，郎世宁王致诚这样的西方画家在中国更本不可能也不好意思做到的。文化战争和军事战争不同，没里应外合这一说法，完全得靠内部自我接受最后自我瓦解取得胜利。为了和洋画相对应国画这词儿出现了，也为以后改叫彩墨画中国画水墨画什么的起了个头。
水墨画是85以后为了更好地和国际接轨冲出亚洲走向世界，不至于招人烦还得具有亲和力，硬着头皮学习油画以材料定名改叫的水墨画。试想如果油画叫意大利画或荷兰画或尼德兰画大家画起来还有现在这么起劲吗?我们现在完全是没把把油画当外人，每年成千上万的考生包括家长都以能考上油画系为荣。
实验水墨是几千年来中国水墨画历史上从未有过的新品种，形式上接近行为艺术和装置，内容接近观念艺术，受西方哲学和当代艺术理论影响很深。我对具有探索创新意识的东西本能的就会有好感，实验水墨很可能是一条国际化的路子。
今天水墨画为了和洋人的当代油画相对应又急忙改叫当代水墨，居然达成了默契。没任何人站出来反对哪怕是发出一声小小的疑问，可见这一百年来经过了五四运动，文化大革命运动，改革开放运动等等，几次运动下来我们变得多么豁得出去，批评和自我批评多么深入人心，自我否定自我瓦解的能力有多强。这也就是我们老祖宗几千年传承下来的绘画现今的生存环境和状态。
雅昌艺术网：当代水墨在中国社会由农业文明向工商文明转化的背景下，必然在资本市场的推力下发展，在您看来这个市场是怎样演变的?
朱伟：一个和谐正常不扭曲的市场是以千百万普通收藏家为核心的市场，这些在西方早已做到，所以他们的文化艺术具有很强的生命力和不断探索的动力，我们能叫得出名来的优秀艺术家大师都不是靠国家或炒家养活而生存的。即使是资本推动最后也是要千百万普通藏家买单，一个优秀的艺术家身后一定会有成百上千甚至上万的欣赏者供养者，这样艺术家才能腾出空儿来专心投入创作，回报给热爱艺术的衣食父母们。一个国家艺术品收藏家的大量出现一定和这个国家老百姓的经济实力有关，没听说过谁在逃荒路上饿的跟孙子似的还非要收一件作品。
中国几千年来虽然是农业文明社会但日子一直过得不错，一般家庭都有收藏的习惯，而且都到了一定份儿上。美国著名研究中国古代绘画的学者高居翰在他的《画家生涯》一书里讲了这么个故事：一个村里的藏家为了收藏到一有气节的画家作品，无论刮风下雨，每天都到村口对面山坡上或爬到树上观看画家房子上的烟囱是否冒烟，如果不冒烟了说明画家这两天一定断粮了，他便带着粮食和好纸好墨前去，以求得到画家的作品。宋代的时候GDP占全世界的百分之八十，人均收入2280美元。元代百分之三十五，明代百分之四十五，清代百分之四十至百分之四十五，清初GDP还是世界第一,直到一八九五年《马关条约》才被美国取代位列第二。二零一零年我们的再次排到世界第二，但人均收入排世界第一百二十七。二零零六年人均收入2016美元，美国44000，是美国的二十分之一。 |
