游心于物之初：王璜生的“游·象”系列
“游·象”系列作品是王璜生最新的创作。面对作品中那一团团情丝不绝、无从理清的线条，作为观者仿佛有好多话要说，又无从说起的感觉。进而想起老子所言：“道之为物，惟恍惟惚”，可见恍惚之间的物象是“道”形象化的体现。对应这一系列的作品，感到王璜生此刻忽而跨过了太多的羁绊，直陈对于“道”的理解。
中国的艺术一直在简化物象，意化物象中求变，一直不愿跳出形象概念的藩篱，就如同齐白石所说的以至被有些庸俗化的那句“似与不似之间”。他甚至可以将鱼简约到只有三笔，两个黑点为眼睛，一道淡墨为身体，但由于是画在荷叶之侧，我们仍能辨识他画的是水中之鱼。哪怕中国画与书法再讲究线条的变化之美，也需附着于物象或字义，而未能走入纯形式的概念里。
作为线条的演进，则从顾恺之的高古游丝描，到吴道子的“莼菜条”，逐渐将中国画艺术形式至少50％的关注点引入到对于线条之美的追求中。毛笔在纸上的按下、提起，中锋所建构的平面上隐含的厚度，以及侧锋的率真都成为中国画画家一生不断锤炼的功课。尤其到了近代，吴昌硕的线条有如金鼎，齐白石晚年的线条有如神仙，李可染更以“积点成线”成朴拙之态，无不是对线进行登峰造极追寻的痕迹。这些前辈的创造，给后人以启示，也同样给后人设置了难以逾越的高墙。
如果将对“线”乃至“中国画”的创造依然凝聚在宣纸、毛笔、水墨之中，还有新的可能吗？还有可能将古人的笔墨经验，不是作为负累而视为资源为我所用吗？恐怕是每一个从事此道的艺术家都要思考的问题。当然也可如吴冠中一样将其适度抛开，把源于西方的形式与构成设定为自我追求的目标，也不得不说是另开了一条新路。但是“为所欲为”是容易的，“合乎道”是难的。今天正由于“为所欲为”者多，鱼目混珠者多，因此无法判定者多。尤其是某些探索跃入了以“纯形式”为表达方式的抽象世界之后，因为缺少了形象概念的约束，更易常常令人失语。也因为抽象的空间过大而摊平了其可以深入研读的厚度，常常不能持久。这些问题，也使许多艺术家的作品很像万花筒，初看起来千变万化，但再看下去，万变不离其宗，很快就令人厌倦了。
王璜生的“游·象”系列作品是他跨过半百，走过“知天命”，走入“为所欲为而不逾矩”状态所进行的一场可控的激情实验。王璜生作为画家、美术史学者、批评家、艺术管理者，借由他的学养与丰厚的经验，他自然深知艺术史，深知创造的风险、难点与关键点。他早已不是初出茅庐的年轻人，改良之于他不过是锤炼后的渐变，而变革之于他恐怕就要有些决绝之心了。“游·象”系列作品中对传统、对造型如此的澄清可谓是“决绝”后的成果。然而，这种“决绝”在画面上的表现更令人惊异。线条的粗细、深浅的起伏不大，他放弃了起承转合带来的较易达到的韵律之美；一组线条与另一组线条之间的明暗变化都不明显，他放弃了色度对比的效果；他将作品锁定在黑白之间，放弃了色相的绚烂。王璜生放弃了这么多，他要什么？这样的作品甚至会产生对自由之后的恐惧，对有任何可能而产生无可能的疑虑。
王璜生自有他的概念与策略。首先是造化，“游·象”的物象最早源于他眼前的一团真实世界中的电线，而引发出的图式则是造化的变体。其次是传统，那绵延不绝、百转千回的游丝线条是对传统的致敬。因此，“游·象”系列作品是从东方而来，而王璜生更希望借由此创造出一种国际化的语汇。在视觉上，他希望和简单的传统进行个“斩断”，并且回到“原点”本身就是一个将其国际化的过程，就如同“妈妈”的“Ma”，这个发声在全世界都是无须解释的。这也是他所思考的“如何使中国水墨产生一种更加国际化的语言，而不是老在中国的语境里面往前推进或者吸取西方的语言，而是直接就在一个更加国际的语言或语序里去思考问题”[1]。
在交流中，王璜生指出他在坚守他由儿时带来的笔墨功夫，将笔的韵味通过笔尖注入到了宣纸之中，这是基因，有传承的趣味。他开玩笑说：“画这种画手腕很累，要保持一种状态”。其实，单纯的、不变化的线条是最难画的。黄宾虹的“五笔”中第一项即为“平”，用软软的毛笔画“平”是第一难事。因此，要达到在微小变化中求味的“游丝”之状，不仅要有多年锤炼的功夫，更必须分外的专注，“用志不分，乃凝于神”，方可完成。但这种专注并非僵化，在中国画艺术中还有一点就是强调了可控与不可控之间的快感与味道。那些线条的浓淡、粗细与游走路线也是在即时的随意与趋向上的控制之间游走的。王璜生还谈到，他完成再大的作品都是平放在桌上或地上完成的。平着画还是立着画，或许可视为个人的习惯，但同时也传递出画者的来路。这些细节说明着他作为中国画家的渊源。
这一系列作品除缠绵的线条之外，其构图形式基本上是四周暗，中心亮，呈放射状，有如光明从远方而来，抑或吸着观者的目光向远方而去。背景中常常晕开的彗星般的托尾，恐怕是对光芒的聚拢以及对未知的探寻。《游·象系列5》将这一感受呈现得尤为充分。叠加的线与背景交织为一体，不禁想起屈原的《天问》开头的几句。“曰遂古之初，谁传道之？上下未形，何由考之？冥瞢昭暗，谁能极之，冯翼惟象，何以识之？明明暗暗，惟时何为？”因此，王璜生的这一系列作品当然有如《游·象系列25》那样“游心于物之初”的潇洒，但我以为更多的是通过“无形”之“大象”，对很多终极问题的理性追问。这种追问，实质上是对“道”的关注与崇敬的抒发，如苏东坡所谓的“道可致不可求”，进而理解为求索之中的又一层境界。
面对这批以线为主体的作品，有一个无法回避的质疑，这些线与波洛克的那些线，与吴冠中的那些线到底有何区别呢？波洛克的所谓抽象表现主义的线条更多地强调了行动中的偶发性，作品的整体在于对构成概念的把握。而吴冠中先生的线正是由此而来，嫁接入东方的藤蔓，建构了他由西而东的语汇。王璜生的出发点如前所说是由东方而来，他强调了作品中线条与生俱来的源于传统，如基因般附于他身体的“童子功”，他自知“我手头的功夫以及对笔墨的感觉也算不错，这些东西是斩不断的，但是思维的惯性，表达的惯性如果能够被斩断，这可能是我想做的。”[2]无论“传”还是“变”皆是“因”，作品是“果”，而此时的“果”不过是下一个“因”，“游·象”系列对于王璜生不过是又一次的开始。
吴洪亮 北京画院美术馆馆长
2012年
注释：
[1]、[2]《自在之途——王璜生访谈录》，载于《中华儿女书画名家》，2012年第1期，第14页。
Wandering One's Mind at the Very Beginning of Things: Wang Huangsheng's "Moving Visions" Moving Visions series is his latest works. The viewers may feel lost where to begin telling though with thousands of words in mind, when facing those messy lines with unbroken ties of love. It reminds us of what Lao Zi (philosopher in the Spring and Autumn Period, founder of Taoism) had said, "Who can the nature tell about Tao? Our sight it flies, our touch as well" in this sense, nature in our sight and touch is the visualized embodiment of "Tao". Corresponding to this series' works, we can feel that at this moment, Wang Huangsheng have shaken off so many fetters that he can directly state his understanding of "Tao".
The Chinese art has been simplifying objects, to seek change in the meaning of objects, reluctant to jump the fence of image concept. It's like what Qi Baishi described as "between similarity and non-similarity". He can even draw a fish with three strokes, with two black points as eyes and one light ink as body, but with the lotus leaves as context, we can still figure out that's fish in the water. Though Chinese painting and calligraphy put great emphasis on the changing beauty of lines, they still require the attachment of objects and words, and therefore not pure concept of form.
As the gradual progress of lines, from the Ancient silk line of Gu Kaizhi to "Orchid leave line" of Wu Daozi, at least 50% attention to Chinese art form have been devoted to the pursuit of the beauty of lines. The pressing down and lifting up of the writing brush on paper, the hidden depth on the surface constructed by central brush, and the forthrightness of side brush, all became the exercise the Chinese painters keep practicing their whole life. In the modern times, the lines from Wu Changshuo are like golden pot, in Qi Baishi's late years, the lines are like immortals, and Li Keran's plain and clumsy forms with "linking dots to from lines", they all left the traces of pursuing the perfected use of lines. The predecessors' creations left us inspirations as well as insurmountable high walls.
If the creations of "line" and even "Chinese painting" are still confined to Chinese art paper, writing brush and ink, will there be new possibilities? Can we benefit from our ancestors' brush and ink experience as resources instead of burdens? I'm afraid those are the questions that every engaged artist should consider about. Surely, we can properly desert them like Wu Guanzhong, and set forms and constructions originated from the west as our pursuing goals, which is actually a road. It's easy to "do as one pleases", but it's hard to "conform to standards". Currently, as a result of so many people who do whatever they want and mix the genuine with the fictitious, there are so many works that are hard to judge. In particular, some explorations entered the abstract world adopting "pure form" as the only expression method, without constrain of image concept, you would find them disappointing. The way too large abstract space hindered the depth they can reach and often unendurable. All these problems made many artists' works like a phantoscope, ever-changing at first, but you would find the central theme remains the same and get bored easily.
The Moving Visions series was created in his 50s, when he "knows the will of heaven" and "does as he pleases without going beyond the law" and it's a controllable passion experiment. As a painter, scholar in art history, critics and art manager, with his learning, cultivation and rich experience, he knows well about art history and the risks, difficult points and key points in creation. He is no longer a green hand youth, for him, reform is just the gradual change after refinement, but revolution, requires the resolution. The clarification of tradition and modeling in the Moving Visions series are the results of being "resolute". However, this kind of "resolution" is more surprising when shown in pictures. With little difference in width and shade of lines, he gave up the rhythmic beauty that can relatively easy get with opening, developing, changing and concluding (the four steps of Chinese regulated classic writing); with little change in the light and shade of different groups of lines, he gave up the effects of chrominance comparison; using only black and white, he gave up the splendid colors. What is he seeking after giving up so much? Such works may even generate dread after being liberalized, and plenty doubts about the any possible possibility.
Wang Huangsheng has his own concepts and tactics. First of all, it's nature. The objects in the Moving Visions series first originated in a lump of electric wires in the real world before his eyes and the schema brought about are the variant of nature. Secondly, it's tradition. The extending and winding lines are tribute paid to tradition. Therefore, Moving Visions series has its roots in the orient, and Wang Huangsheng hopes to create an internationalized vocabulary through it. In the visual aspect, he hopes to have a "chop off" with simple tradition, and return to the "original point", which itself is an internationalization process. For instance, the pronunciation "Ma" of "mother, requires no explanation within the whole world. This is what he is thinking about, "how to make Chinese ink generate a more internationalized language, and directly to think questions in a more internationalized language or word order instead of just pushing forward or absorbing western language in the Chinese context." [1]
During our conversation, Wang Huangsheng pointed out that he has been sticking to the ink and brush skill acquired since his childhood, injecting the lingering charm of brush to the rice paper through brush tip, which is a genetic and inheritable interest. He said jokingly: "It is easy to get tired when drawing those kinds of paintings, for you have to keep a certain state." In fact, the pure and unchanging lines are the hardest to draw. The first item in the "five strokes" put forward by Huang Binhong is "flat", drawing "flat" lines being the most difficult thing to do with soft Chinese writing brush. Therefore, to achieve the state of "silk line", not only years of hard practice are required, but also particular concentration. It can only be completed with "absolute concentration". However, the concentration mentioned doesn't mean rigidity. The pleasure and taste between something controllable and uncontrollable is stressed in Chinese painting art. The shade and width of the lines and how the lines go are also decided between immediate casualty and the control of trend. He also said that he completes works with them set level on the desk or earth no matter how large the dimension is. Drawing on level set paper or hanging paper maybe can be regarded as personal habits, but also revealed the drawer's origin. The details told the origin of him as a Chinese painter.
Besides moving lines, in this series, the construction pattern is basically dark around the four sides with light center, as if the light comes from afar, or attracting the viewers to view the distant place. The comet-like smudged tailing in the background are probably the gathering of light and search of the unknown. The Moving Visions series No. 5 more fully presented this feeling, overlying lines mingled together with background, you cannot help but think of the opening sentences of Inquiry of Heaven written by Qu Yuan. "To talk about the very beginning of the world, who passed on the Tao? Without any shape in heaven and earth, from who could we get things approved? In the dense darkness, who could gone to the end of it, as emptiness was the only thing in the universe, how could we know it? the day is bright and the night is dark, what's the reason?" therefore, this series of works surely have the natural and unrestrained state of "wandering one's mind at the very beginning of things" like the Moving Visions series No. 25, in my perspective, however, they are more about the rational inquiry of many ultimate questions through "greatest image" of "no shape", which in essence, is expression of the attention paid to and respect of "Dao". It's like "Dao can be achieved but not pursued" proposed by Su Dongpo, and can be further understood as another state of the inquiry.
There is an unavoidable doubt when confronting these works featuring lines as the main body. What's the difference between these lines and those of the Pollock's and Wu Guanzhong's? The so called abstract expressionism lines of Pollock put more stress on the sporadic feature in actions, and the entirety of works lie in the grasp of construction concepts. For Mr. Wu Guanzhong, that's exactly where his lines come from, grafted upon the oriental branches, and formed the vocabulary linking the west to east. Like what we have pointed out, the starting point for Wang Huangsheng is from the east. He emphasized the tradition born with the lines, "the skill attained as a kid" attached to him like genes. He knows well that "I have fairly good skills and have pretty good sense about brush and ink, and these things cannot be chopped off, but if the inertia of mentality and expression can be chopped off, that's what I'd like to do." [2] Whether "inherit" or "change", they are all "causes", the works are "results", and the "result" can turn out to be another "cause". Moving Visions series is just a new beginning for Wang Huangsheng.
Wu Hongliang Director of Art Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy
2012
Notes: [1] [2] The Road of Freedom--the interview of Wang Huangsheng, published in China People' Famous Calligraphers and Painters, 2012,1 p.14.