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www.ArtsBJ.com, December 23 2014
To Zhu Wei: Two Dreams And An Artist's Christmas Eve Gift
Zheng Wen (Academic Director of Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts)
Art critics seem to have never hesitated to give affirmations and compliments to such painters, whose works not only satisfied the logic requirements of the development of this painting genre, but also satisfied the contemporary aesthetic requirements of creative concepts. The probability of both beautiful situations in one is so small that once it falls on an artist's head, it will be a pleasant surprise as rare as hitting the jackpot. It is naturally the individual artist's luck, but it's also the sorrow of the times. To be exact, the lucky painting artist's name is Zhu Wei. In the nineties of last century, Zhu Wei depicted China's current political life and social life through his brilliant techniques of meticulous painting, which also made him a perfect example of the concept "ink with the times" and renowned overseas. But in the new century, it seems that he is still described as "make up for an area that has often been overlooked in contemporary Chinese art ". In this way, I really do not know whether it is Zhu Wei's luck, or it is the misfortune of the times. When Zhu Wei talked about the clamor of the "ink fever", he said: "The current so-called 'new ink' and 'contemporary ink' are more like decorative paintings, since they seldom touch the social conflict or social reality. I don't know whether it is the artist's intention to avoid the reality, or they are lack of the ability to intervene in reality.
In the loud noises, the way Zhu Wei talks about art is very direct. Compared with the vague theoretical system proposed by theorists, his straightforward manner is as powerful as thunders, which is from the distant - after all, "ink and wash", or more specifically, "meticulous painting" seems not so important in the "mainstream" contemporary art discourse since 1990s. However, the most real voice from an artist always comes from his works rather than words. Even if the art world intentionally or unintentionally chooses to avoid or ignore Zhu Wei's sharp "nonsense", it is always difficult to ignore his works. The difficulty comes from the "weight" and "quality" of his art: the "quality" depends on its highly refined ink painting style, and the "weight" depends on its accurate transformation to contemporary and rich expression of concept.
Zhu Wei's art has a strong "sense of the times", but it does not fully explain the situation. In fact, the "sense of the times" of his works is not the same as the "sense of the times" and "reality" talked by people of different generation. Pessimistically speaking, each person can only live in his own times. But optimistically speaking, this does not mean that he can only be confined in a specific time and space. The power of spirit can either spill or penetrate no matter to the future or back to the past. The source of this power, I am afraid, is the thing what we often call "human nature". Yasujiro Ozu said in his speech about acting: "Running and jumping for joy, crying and shouting for sadness, both are things that monkeys of Ueno Zoo do. Smiling on the face, whilst crying in the heart, saying the words opposite to your thoughts, making a face opposite to your feelings, these are human being, which cannot be seen through." Just like a clever actor, Zhu Wei never uses cry to elaborate sadness or uses roar to express anger in his creation. He uses a comedy way to deal with the tragedy, and a brisk song as soundtrack for a painful story. The cynical contrast not only enhances the power of his works, but also makes his art more focused on human nature rather than political criticism. Balthus warned the artists not to be eager to express their so-called personality, and not to forget that the common sense is more important. As some art critics have already associated Zhu Wei with Chen Hongshou and Bada Shanren, we can also find Zhu's painting and sculpture in the New York Stock Exchange or IBM headquarter in the other side of the Atlantic. It indicates that his art is the same as all the best art, which shows commonality that transcends the time and space.
No matter in Fukuyama's theory of The End of History or Danto's theory of The End of Art, when a linear narrative has been unable to continue, people always choose to look back and recollect the good old days. What they recollect is nothing more than a collective imagination of the "classic style" - such as the ancient Greek democracy or the Italian Renaissance. However, from time to time, I still doubt that the enthusiasm on classics is actually a lack of psychological security. People always refuse and fear for a vague future, and are used to immerse in the established facts and clearly discernible ideas. Zhu Wei's art no doubt has some kind of "classic" characteristics in the realm of both ink art and contemporary art, but I do not want him to become a solid, rigid classic for people to revere - of course, Zhu Wei's continuing thinking and exploration won't let himself become such a role. Although he modestly named his recent works "Ink and Wash Research Lectures series", I do not believe that he will unreservedly "regard the ancient as disciples". He chose the "ancient" to alienate from the hustle and bustle times, to filter out mediocre thoughts, so that he can go further. Neither the "classics" nor the "golden age" is what we can get back to, for they are just a good spiritual sustenance. The only way to associate with the past is not reverence or nostalgia, but walking on firmly and confidently and making ourselves "classics" and "golden age".
At last, I remember two stories about dream in Zhang Dai's The Preface to Dream Recollection of Tao-an. One is about a porter who transported wines for people. One day he accidentally fell and broke a jar of wine, and because he was too poor to pay for the loss, he kept sitting there for a long time and thought blankly: if only it were a dream. The other story is about an impoverished young scholar who passed the imperial examinations at the provincial level. In the celebration banquet, he couldn't believe what had happened was true, so he bit his arm and said: Am I dreaming now? Whenever we talk about the development of Chinese contemporary art, we cannot help but invoke a feeling of dream. For the Chinese ink and wash which had been denied and criticized since May Fourth Movement at the end of Qing dynasty and beginning of the republic, while recently became the market darling, it is even more like a dream. For many artists who are bound by external substances rather than loyal to the heart, their circumstances and minds are like the two people in the story - sometimes they fear that it is not a dream, and sometimes they fear that it is a dream. However, after all, "a dream is a dream. Whether fearing it is or it is not, both are fools." And Zhu Wei is destined not to be one of them. On the Christmas Eve, Zhu Wei will bring a few new freehand works "The Silent Night". The meaning of these works is hidden deeply. He still chooses a marvelous way to express himself, and presents them in the form of gift to a country and its people in a dream.
2014.12.20
(Editor: Yang Jing)
北京文艺网二零一四年十二月二十三日
《致朱伟：两个梦和一个艺术家的平安夜礼物》
郑闻（南京艺术学院美术馆学术部主任）
艺术评论者们似乎从不吝于将肯定与褒奖送给这样的画家：作品既具备其绘画种类自身发展的逻辑要求，又符合当代审美对创作观念的审视。两者集于一身的美好境遇从概率上来讲非常之小，落在了哪个艺术家头上，不啻中了头彩般叫人惊喜。这自然是个体艺术家的幸运，却往往又是一个时代的悲哀。确切说，这是一个叫做朱伟的以水墨为业的画家的幸运。上世纪九十年代，他以绝佳的工笔技艺表现当下中国的政治生活与社会生活，成为“笔墨当随时代”这一理念的完美例证并蜚声海外。可是在新世纪，他似乎还在被用来“弥补中国当代艺术缺乏本土绘画参与”。如此一来，真不知道是朱伟的幸运还是时代的不幸。朱伟谈到甚嚣尘上的“水墨热”时说道：“当下所谓的‘新水墨’和‘当代水墨，装饰画较多，和社会发生冲突的，或者说描写社会现状的基本上没有。我不知道艺术家是有意躲避现实呢，还是没有能力介入现实。”
在众声喧哗中，朱伟谈论艺术的方式非常直接。与理论家云雾缭绕的理论体系相比，他的直白像雷声轰鸣般低沉有力，但却是来自远方的雷声——毕竟，“水墨”，或者更加具体一点来说是“工笔”，在90年代以来的“主流”当代艺术的话语体系中仿佛并没那么重要。但是，艺术家最真实的声音，总是出自作品而非文字。即使艺术界可以有意无意地选择回避或无视朱伟一针见血的“胡说八道”，却始终难以忽视他的作品。这难以忽视源自朱伟作品的“份量”与“品质”：“品质”取决于其高度完善的水墨绘画体例，“份量”则取决于其敏锐的当代转化方式与丰富的观念呈现方式。
朱伟艺术具有强烈的“时代感”，可是这并不能完全说明问题。其实他作品的“时代感”与他所谈论的“现实”与不同年代人谈论的“时代感”与“现实”根本不一样。悲观地说，每一个人只能活在他自己的时代里。但乐观地说，这也并不意味着他就只能囿于特定的时空。精神的力量既可以溢出也可以渗透，无论是去往未来还是回到过去。这力量的来源，恐怕也是我们时常称之为“人性”的东西。小津安二郎在谈论表演时说：“高兴就又跑又跳，悲伤就又哭又喊，那是上野动物园猴子干的事。笑在脸上，哭在心里，说出心里相反的言语，做出心里相反的脸色，这就是人，看不透。”正像一个高明的演员，朱伟在创作中从不采用大哭来阐述悲伤，或者是用咆哮来表达愤懑。他擅用一种喜剧的方式去处理悲剧，用一支轻快的歌曲为一个痛苦的故事配乐。这种戏谑的反差不仅增强了作品的力量，也使其艺术更加聚焦于人性本身而非政治批判。巴尔蒂斯告诫艺术家们不要仅仅急于表现他们的所谓个性，却忘记了共性才更重要。正像有评论者将朱伟与陈洪绶、八大联系起来，我们也可以发现朱伟的绘画与雕塑还出现在大洋彼岸纽约证券交易所和IBM总部这样的所在，这说明他的艺术与一切优秀的艺术一样，有着某些超越时空和地域的共性。
无论是福山的政治历史终结论，还是丹托的艺术终结论，当一种线性叙事已经无法继续的时候，人们又总是选择回溯或怀念。其对象无非集体想象中的“经典样式”莫属——比如古希腊的民主制度还是意大利的文艺复兴。但是，我仍不时怀疑人们对经典的热情不过出于一种心理安全感的缺失。人们总是拒绝和恐惧于模糊难辨的未来，而习惯沉浸于既成的事实与清晰可辨的思想。朱伟的艺术之于水墨艺术和当代艺术，无疑都具有某种“经典”的特性，但我并不希望他成为一个固态的、僵硬的、供人凭吊的“经典”——当然，朱伟持续的思考与探索也注定了他不会让自己成为那样一个角色。尽管他将近期一部份作品谦虚地命名为《水墨研究课徒系列》，但是我根本不相信他会毫无保留的“以古为徒”，他所选择的这种“以古为徒”不过是为了疏远喧嚣的时代、过滤平庸的思想，从而使自己走得更远。“经典”也好、“黄金时代”也罢，其实都是回不去的，或者说只不过是一种美好的精神寄托罢了。唯一能够与之发生关联的方式，既不是凭吊也不是怀古，而更加坚决更加旁若无人地走下去，并在这走的过程中让自己成为“经典”，或者“黄金时代”。
最后，想起了张岱在《陶庵梦忆序》 中写的两个关于“梦”的故事。一个是为人挑酒的脚夫，不慎跌了一跤把酒坛子打破了。因为无法赔偿，便久久呆坐着想：这要是做梦就好了。又有一个贫穷的书生考取了举人，在宴会上还不敢信以为真，咬着自己手臂说：“这不是做梦吧？”每当我们谈起中国当代艺术的发展，亦不免让人生出一种恍然若梦的感觉。对于自清末民初五四运动被否定批判，近来又深受市场追捧的中国水墨画而言，这种恍惚更加明显。对于很多被外物束缚而非忠于内心的艺术家而言，他们的境遇和心理恰似这故事中的两个人——有时害怕那不是梦，有时又害怕那是梦。然而，终究“一梦耳，惟恐其非梦，又惟恐其是梦，其为痴人则一也。”而朱伟，注定不是他们中的一个。平安夜这天，朱伟将展出几幅新的写意作品《平安夜》。作品的寓意隐藏得很深，他仍然选择了一种奇妙的方式去表达自我，并假以礼物的形式献给一个梦中的国度和梦中的人们。
2014.12.20
（编辑：杨晶） |
