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Hi Art, February 12, 2014, special feature
Zhu Wei On Zhu Xinjian: I Never Think What He Paints Are Women
By Wang Danyi
Before the interview, I had no idea that Zhu Wei had never met Zhu Xinjian. But as an old friend of Hi Art, and as the topic is about Zhu Xinjian, whom Zhu Wei always pays attention to, Zhu Wei told us his idea frankly and immediately by email.
Hi=Hi Art Zhu=Zhu Wei
Hi: Could you tell us what you think of him?
Zhu: I don't know what happened recently, that a lot of artists passed away this year, and you don't even have time to cry. If we fly the flag at half mast for artists, the flag probably will stay at half mast for quite a long while.
I don't know Zhu Xinjian, nor have I met him. I have seen his paintings in the Art Newspaper of China in 1980s. Then I read some articles about him written by art critics like Li Xiaoshan, Li Xianting, and so on. He was a pioneer in the exploration and practice of contemporary ink and wash, and he was so successful that even in the current so-called New Ink Fever which is very commercial in history we can find his shadow. Looking at his paintings, you can feel this is a guy who is free in his painting, who has ability to create new things and give consideration to tradition in the meantime. From this point of view he has the qualities that a good artist must have. He and I were peers. Both of us paint ink and wash. It's easy to cheat outsiders, but for peers who are doing the same work in the same context, it's basically impossible to fool them. People are stricter with their peers than with others, which is so-called peers tent to scorn each other. Zhu Xinjian is one of the few artists I admire.
Hi: How do you think of his self-mockery and self-pleasing life?
Zhu: This is his standpoint and attitude toward life, but even he said so, it's very difficult for people who have experienced the Cultural Revolution to own their real life.
Hi: When you looked at the "defected" and "loose" women in his paintings, what was your first impression?
Zhu: I never think what he paints are women.
Hi: How do you understand his taste of creation?
Zhu: I agree to what Lu Hong said in his article: "Some critics argued that the value orientation of his works was enjoying flowers and moon, which was associated with both Bohemianism and Zen, but if you look at his works carefully, you will find that he was, in fact, satirizing and teasing the popular life attitudes and values in the mass consumption society." This is his taste, or his creating attitude, or you can say, his angle to start creating. Not every artist is able to have a hand in life. Some artists just stare at the big world and cannot include any of them into their painting. Zhu Xinjian, so to speak, is the first contemporary ink and wash artist who successfully integrated the real life into his image, while the other artists who paint in the same way later basically didn't make any breakthrough.
Hi: What in his artworks does appeal to you?
Zhu: Not soft, not artificial. His calligraphy went so far as to influence the creation of many calligraphers.
Hi: Do you think the world understands him now?
Zhu: The world understands him so well. What people do not understand are those artworks which are empty or look unnecessarily mysterious. What is contemporary art? Contemporary art is to remove the aesthetic and decorative characteristics, to reflect reality and criticize reality, to interact with the current real life. Contemporary ink painting, as part of the contemporary art, shares the same standard with contemporary oil painting, performance art, installation art, and multimedia art.
Hi艺术二零一四年二月十二日专题
朱伟谈朱新建 从没觉得他画的是女的
作者 / 王丹艺
采访之前，我不曾设想朱伟竟然从来没有和朱新建碰过面。但作为《Hi艺术》的老朋友，更是因为话题是谈论朱伟一直都有关注的朱新建老师，朱伟以邮件的方式很快返回了他的坦率想法。
Hi=Hi艺术 朱=朱伟
Hi：能跟我们谈谈你眼中的他吗？
朱：不知最近是怎么回事，年前年后死了不少艺术家，都来不及哭，要是也给艺术家降半旗待遇的话，估计一时半会都升不回去。
我不认识朱新建，也从没和他见过面。上世纪八十年代我开始看到他的画，在中国美术报上，画得好。后来还看到了李小山，栗宪庭等批评家写他的文章。在当代水墨的探索和实践上他是一个先行者，而且得到了成功，乃至当下历史上少有的商业味很浓的所谓新水墨热中也能看到学他的影子。看他的画能感觉这哥们儿是个由着性子画画有能力玩新的同时又能照顾好传统的这么个主，从这一点上说它具备了一个优秀艺术家所应具备的必须。他和我是同行，都是画水墨的，对同行往往会比其他人要求的更多一些，也就是人们常说的同行相轻，因为大家手里的活儿都一样，参照物也相同，蒙外行可以，胡弄同行基本不可能，朱新建是我敬佩的为数不多的艺术家之一。
Hi：您是如何看待他自我嘲弄，自个儿快活的生活？
朱：这是他生活的立场和态度，但是说归说，经过文革过来的人都很难再有自己真正的生活。
Hi：观看他作品中的“歪歪斜斜”，“松松夸夸”的女性，你的第一感觉是什么？
朱：没觉得他画的是女的。
Hi：你是如何理解他的创作趣味的？
朱：我同意鲁虹在一篇文章中所说：“一些批评家认为他的作品是在体现拈花弄月，玩世入禅的价值取向，但仔细观看他的作品则发现他其实是对消费社会盛行的生活态度与价值观进行讽刺与揶揄”。这是他的趣味或者说创作态度，也可以说是他下手创作的角度，作为艺术家干预生活不是人人认可为之的，有些艺术家瞪眼看着眼前的大千世界就是无法纳入自己的画面之中。朱新建可以说是在当代水墨的范畴中最早将现实生活成功的融入到画面当中的一个，后来和他画法相同的基本没有突破。
Hi：他作品的哪方面吸引了你？
朱：不阴柔，不做作，他的字甚至影响到一批书法家的创作。
Hi：你觉得现在的世界懂他吗？
朱：太懂了，倒是一些假大空或者故弄玄虚的作品让人们看不懂。当代艺术是什么？当代艺术是去掉唯美性和装饰性，反映现实批判现实，和当下现实生活发生互动。当代水墨和当代油画、行为艺术、装置艺术、多媒体艺术一样是当代艺术的一部分，标准是一样的。 |
