Ink meteorology and poetic lyricism
——Read Zhao Chufan's new ink paintings
Zhao Jinwu
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese ink painting has experienced a development process from focusing on the object of painting to paying attention to the subject of painting, and the awakening of the consciousness of the subject has made painting gradually move towards expression and poetry, and the focus is on expressing interest, expressing the heart, and advocating taste. The subjective consciousness, that is, the creator's thoughts, feelings, sex, and excitement, are highlighted and integrated into the paintings, and the intention is to convey the painter's thoughts, emotions and life interests. The way of expression lies in the intriguing taste of the pen in the concise and intentional, and emphasizes the understanding and grasp of the corresponding pen and ink methods. Contemporary realist ink painting, after receiving the concept and method of Drawing on Western painting, has been integrated to construct a new way of expression. In the depiction of form and atmosphere, the effect presented by pen and ink reflects the intellectual potential of oriental culture and the aesthetic mood and poetic mood contained in the aesthetics of abstract thinking at multiple levels, so that the picture is closer to reality and has the atmosphere of the times, thus gradually forming a new ink language form.
Over the years, Zhao Chufan has been committed to the creation and research of modern ink painting, on the one hand to explore the millennium accumulation of ink culture, on the other hand to close to life, close to the pulse of the times, smelting tradition, reality in one furnace, taking the essence of the macro, far and near, I am self-righteous, unremitting, and finally a series of new ink paintings have come out, the revolution is new, the great difference is in the foreground, and the style has changed dramatically.
First, he is practicing how to make the ink language of Chinese painting naturally integrate with his own psychology, personality, education and other endogenous factors. The depiction of the object, in the final analysis, expresses the inner nature of the subject, so his ink painting is to paint people and things that he is familiar with, and people and things in his own heart. Of course, the people and things in his heart are not empty, but his feelings for people and reality, the result of his understanding of the relationship between nature and man, society and man in thought and philosophy, the cognitive resonance, physical and mental resonance formed on the basis of his understanding of the external world, and also an expression and response to the objective reality after his subjective touching, and the externalization of the image of the inner world.
The second is that he grasps the aesthetic needs of today's ink art in public space. This is another conundrum, and in this respect, many artists have absorbed the abstract language of Western modernity, trying to integrate ink into the modern aesthetic space. Zhao Chufan also did the same in this regard, the difference is that he strengthened his unique understanding of ink painting and the homeopathy on this basis.
Zhao Chufan's understanding and evolution of pen and ink stemmed from his extensive study of tradition and more than ten years of professional calligraphy practice in his youth. The thousands of weathers derived from paper, ink, pen and water made him intoxicated and obsessed, and he knew the inconsistible accidental interest and the beauty of natural nature. The beauty of ink changes is presented while controlling the shape, which is evident in his work. Undoubtedly, this is also his understanding and pursuit of the aesthetic form of Chinese painting. He is well versed in the soul status of lines in Chinese painting, the changeable brushwork and ink rhymes, the taking of the writing posture, all of which use the line as the basic language factor to generate and transform, and give play to the subjectivity of the line, outline the structure while dragging out some loose brushes, the ink line runs through the smooth and sluggish, thick and smooth, straight curve echo, line surface mutual support, emphasizing the difference with traditional line drawing, and obviously has a sense of shaping. Bringing the constituent factors into the changing combination of line ink, highlighting the personality and modern atmosphere, showing his new pursuit of ink form language. The use of thick and light ink and dry brush flanks has its own positive and negative yin and yang, and the ink is uneven in the five colors of the pen, reflecting and blending; the wet painting of the ink is dripping and transparent, enriching the texture of the line; the twists and turns of the line in the painting, the pen walks the dragon and snake, runs through the left and right, becoming the support of the picture; the line pen emphasizes the writing and stroke sense, so that the picture image shaping presents a strong painting quality. The image is not only a feeling, but also a symbol and a carrier. Pen and ink determine the shape, the image shows the pen and ink, and the pen and ink reflect the temperament. This is a very important feature of Zhao Chufan's art. The beauty of his imagery, realm and pen and ink constitute his own unique artistic personality.
Zhao Chufan's ink figure painting is developed on the basis of classical realistic figure painting, he not only continues the traditional pen and ink weather, but also has the realistic care of realistic ink figure painting, and at the same time favors the exploration spirit of today's experimental ink in concepts and forms. He does not have the transcendent avoidance of traditional ink figure painting, but faces reality and reveals the details of life around him. He pays attention to the transformation from object to mental image and the independent aesthetic interest of the pen and ink itself, portrays the straightforward and refreshing, pays attention to the sense of state and emotion of the image, and his personalized perspective and expression are obviously different from the idealization, sublime theory and sense of mission of realistic and realistic ink figure painting. It can be said that Zhao Chufan's ink figure painting uses a new concept and a new form to construct a schema that is different from the traditional and old aesthetic standards of the past. It has created a new, individual, close to contemporary social life, with the characteristics of the times and can record the development of the times, which completely belongs to the aesthetic style and language style of ink figure painting in this era.
First of all, from the perspective of realistic humanistic care, Zhao Chufan's ink paintings are subtle and complex in the face of the characters that need to be represented. He must not only reflect the care for reality, but also pay attention to the expression of interest, taste and temperament, so compared with realistic ink figure painting, it is more witty, romantic and relaxed, and even mixed with a little inexplicable absurdity when necessary. This comes from his relatively free mentality in dealing with the relationship between pen and ink and object. Let the picture language distance from the real characters, so that the painter and the audience and the person in the painting to maintain space. Compared with realistic figure painting, he will "reproduce" reality and turn it into "present" reality, emphasizing the infiltration of the artist's concept and the creation of subjective consciousness, so that the audience can abandon the "real realm" of realistic ink figure painting as much as possible, so as to obtain a personalized unique aesthetic experience.
Secondly, compared with the realistic spirit pursued by realistic ink figure painting, Zhao Chufan's ink figure painting pays more attention to the typological induction of the character image, which is reflected in the character image itself, which comes from the painter's personalized understanding of them. Pay attention to the shaping of the character's mentality, highlight the vividness and sense of state of the character. At the same time, he weakens the "material" characteristics of the anatomy of the character, focusing more on the secondary construction of the image by the ink language, giving the image a personalized context, or having symbolism. In the refinement and generalization of the physical image in life, he does not use realistic techniques, but the authenticity and typicality of the image he pursues; but the generalization and typology of the image. He did not explicitly show the conclusive view to the audience, but through the language's tendentious generalization of the shape and the artificial combination of disagreement, he ignited the idea, revealed the conflict, induced the association, and thus revealed its essential characteristics. When expressing the ideological content of the work, it pays attention to inclusiveness and implicitness, recognizes personalized interpretation, and regards the different understandings of different audiences as the enrichment and extension of the theme of the work, emphasizing parasitism, inspiration and lyricism.
Chinese painting pays special attention to the expression of artistic conception, rather than showing the level of skill. Shen Hao said in "Painting the Crane" about using pen and ink, "A thousand inks, a little dust." It is the manifestation of the mind, what the Buddha said." Zhao Chufan's modern ink paintings show some extremely ordinary and simple people and things in real life. It is intended to embody the spirit of "forgetting things and forgetting" and the harmony between man and nature. While focusing on the catharsis of physical and mental experiences and inner emotions, he includes genuine attention to social reality and rational thinking as the potential goals of his works. Through rhythmic lines and brush ink rhymes, he deliberately enlarges the inner relationship and rhythm of the objects in the painting, so that the people and things he writes are not only a vivid expression of nature, but also a symbol of the spiritual realm, and a mirror that reflects life. The interweaving of various mentalities and ideas about nature, society, life and so on triggered by this aesthetic is in line with the aesthetic tastes of contemporary urban people. This naturally also contains Zhao Chufan's perception of life and the resulting moral grasp of facing life, not to mention his sympathy and understanding of human nature.
It is not difficult to see Zhao Chufan's acceptance and grasp of western painting art theory in the works, and when talking with him, he has repeatedly talked about the influence of sketching learning on his modeling. The admiration and admiration for oriental aesthetics and Chinese culture is the spiritual origin and soul destination of his artistic pursuit. Kong Meng's benevolent heart, righteousness and grandeur, Lao Zhuang's Taoist method of nature, to the void and quiet, nourishing his inspiration and sentiments, and penetrating into his philosophical concepts and learning creation, fully reflecting his attachment to and bearing the mother culture. As the essence of Chinese culture, Confucianism and Taoism are carried out under the basic ideological framework of "the unity of heaven and man", that is, it is believed that the world's people can cultivate their minds and cultivate their personality, and finally achieve the state of unity with the Heavenly Dao. Advocating conformity and widowhood under the Heavenly Dao, he believes that only by letting go of obstacles and extravagant expectations, and maintaining mutual respect with the real world, can the spiritual inspiration of transcendent sublimation be realized. The evoke and creation of art, such as the fountain of the heart overflowing from the depths of the soul, is not bound by things, and is free from the dust, in this sense, the way of art is always the way of loneliness, the way of purifying the soul, and the way to the realm of contemplation and expression.
Zhao Chufan was born in Weixian County, known as Little Suzhou in Qilu, and grew up sucking the milk of the ancient city's history and culture. In the bones and blood, there is the surging boldness of Shandong people, and the romantic poetic feelings like kites in the clouds. After joining the army, he personally experienced the baptism of fire in the self-defense and counterattack war against Vietnam, which enabled him to have a deeper experience and understanding of the ups and downs of life. The changes in work, the experience of study, and the cultivation of the city have made his heart more and more calm and calm. Between the pitches, there must be a submerged surge of ups and downs and evacuations, which are confirmed in works such as "The Smoke Disperses the Vicissitudes", "The Millennium GangeHua Jade", "The Quiet on the Weishan Lake", "The Blue Leading to Poetry", "The Bottom", "The Long March ---- Red Memory", "The Goal Series" and other works. This series of theme creations has left a mental footprint of a veteran's military career, and also recorded Zhao Chufan's artistic trek since he joined the military art, from which we can appreciate the fortitude of a soldier, the sincerity of a believer, the belief of a watchman, and the passion and contemplation of a seeker. From a macro point of view, this part of the work in the early stage shows more of the social thinking of his military identity. In recent years, his new work "Urban Modern Ink Painting Series" reflects more of his inner self-care as an urban person. If his thematic creation expresses his appearance in time and space, then his "Urban Modern Ink Painting Series" originates from his inner vision of the mind. Through the images of the city in different states in the painting, as well as cars, street lamps, clocks, bags, pets, toys, landscapes, wood and stones, etc. overlapping with the characters, the message conveyed is: surging desire, chasing drive, time passing, emotional delusion, trekking bearer, and the desire for nature and sincerity. He tends to point out perspectives and ask questions, while avoiding explanations and conclusions, which is an extension of life, a percussion of the mind. Experiencing his paintings makes people easy to touch and more sensitive, such as the breeze blowing, awakening the viewer's rich reverie and colorful feelings behind the image and beyond the picture.
Exploring the poetic feelings of Chinese ink painting, narrating the cold cognition of natural life, adhering to the persistence and independence of questioning and thinking, and the awe and tolerance of the spiritual homeland, constitute the spiritual source of Zhao Chufan's artistic experience. Undoubtedly, this requires breaking through narrowness, escaping from convention, saying goodbye to narcissism, dismantling the classic courage and self-confidence, and relying more on a mind without distractions, calm loneliness, and simple and sincere state of mind. When the spiritual illusion from nature reappears in the beautiful ink world, the eternal delusion, the real moment and the comfort of the state of mind blend freely, the ancient spirit is still dialysis and the touch of life, people may sigh this black and white Bohong, so as to understand the power of cultural accumulation.
In Zhao Chufan's works, what we read is the self-consciousness of the subject, the self-confidence of culture, the self-reliance of language, and the self-exile of the soul. And the persistence and honesty revealed in it showed the arrogance and innocence in Zhao Chufan's personality temperament.
In the late summer of 2009, he was in Fengtai Studio, Beijing
Introduction to art
Zhao Chufan
Born in 1964 in Weifang City, Shandong Province, he graduated from the Art Department of the People's Liberation Army Academy of Arts, majoring in Chinese Painting, and his works have been selected for the 8th, 9th and 10th National Art Exhibitions; the 9th and 10th All-Army Art Exhibitions and won awards; and the Golden Color Award for Chinese Art and the Art Stars Award of the Ministry of Culture. He is a member of the China Artists Association and is currently an academic member of the Academy of Fine Arts creation of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army.