Regain the freehand spirit of the painting academy
Zhou Zhimin
At the end of the 1950s, China prepared to build the first batch of painting academies, mainly to solve the problem of the life and work of a group of old painters, and the model of supporting professional painters by the state finance was formed. This precedent has been imitated by all over the world, which has undoubtedly greatly promoted the development of Chinese painting.
Statue of Mr. Qi Baishi
At that time, the cultural background of these painters was roughly the same, they were all Confucians of traditional Chinese culture, and the old learning foundation was solid. The code of morality and etiquette was the main inheriting force for the prosperity and change of literati painting after the Yuan Dynasty. Since the end of the year, a number of outstanding people who have inherited the traditional Chinese ink painting have emerged, such as Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, Wu Hufan, and Huang Binhong. During the Republic of China period, there were also a number of painters who returned from overseas, such as Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Yan Wenliang, Liu Haisu and so on. Due to the influence of different educational backgrounds and artistic trends, these two forces are roughly divided into academic schools and painting schools.
The college, which is good at using rational and scientific methods to teach, solve puzzles, and preach for the later students, summarizes the original perceptual abstract art into a teachable and learnable, regular technique, and formulates technical standards in passing. The aesthetic orientation of the academic school is based on the artistic proposition of the tutor, and the higher and lower ones are different. Since the Republic of China, the academic school has been divided into Xu Beihong's realism and Lin Fengmian's fusion of Chinese and Western painting schools, the collision of two different concepts, through the means of modern art higher education, has achieved their own representative figures: Xu department representatives include Wu Zuoren, Xiao Shufang, Jiang Zhaohe, and Lin department has Zao Wou-ki, Wu Guanzhong, Zhu Dequn.
The painting academy is relatively traditional. Painting academies in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong were the earliest to be established. The Beijing Academy of Painting produced Qi Baishi, Ye Gongqiu, Yu Feimin, Wu Jingting, Wang Xuetao, and Chen Banding. The Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy includes Feng Zikai, Wu Hufan, Cheng Shifa, Zhu Qizhan, Lu Yushao, and Tang Yun. Jiangsu Zhongyuan Painting Academy includes Fu Baoshi, Qian Songyan, Song Wenzhi, Yaming, and Wei Zixi. Guangdong Academy of Painting Guan Shanyue, Li Xiongcai and other talents have emerged. In terms of traditional Chinese painting creation, the power of the painting academy is superior.
Portrait of Mr. Yu Youren
The cultural proposition of the academy is inheritance and innovation. They regarded the literati painting style of "poetry, painting and printing" after the Yuan Dynasty as the basic framework of Chinese painting, and pushed ink freehand painting into the mainstream, as the highest aesthetic standard to pursue. Although different painters have differences in innovation and creation, the spirit of "multiplying things to swim in the heart" and paying attention to the cultural connotation of pen and ink has always been consistent. The painting school is trained to learn after training, mainly relying on the inheritance of master and apprentice. The so-called "famous teacher out of high disciple" refers to the achievements of the teacher himself and the effectiveness of the private secret teaching method. Qi Baishi said: Those who learn from me are born, and those who are like me die, pointing out the pros and cons between the inheritances, and also avoiding the rigidity of the dogma of the door school painting style in the inheritance.
The traditional Chinese painting teaching emphasizes sensibility more than reason, and the fragmentary experience of the brick edge is sorted into a painting essay in symbolic language, such as the "folding strands", "iron ploughing", "dragon tendons", "house leak marks" of the pen, "black as ink paint", "light as tulle", "ink from water", "ink thirsty", "ink stagnation", "eighteen strokes" such as "iron wire drawing", "hairspring", "orchid leaf drawing" and so on the use of lines, and "Phi Ma Chuan", "Lotus Leaf Wrinkle", "Scraping Iron Wrinkle", "Folding Belt Wrinkle", "Douban Wrinkle" and so on. These words use the image language to discuss the morphological and linear quality of pen and ink, and the landscape, flowers and birds, figures, animals, feathers, and tangible symbols are compiled into a painting spectrum, especially the "Mustard Garden Painting Spectrum" is the most typical, and it is generally popular with the public.
Passing on, helping, and leading this way of passing on the master-apprentice inheritance has a strong sect color. In the emotional maintenance of "one day as a teacher, lifelong as a father", the painting style is gradually inherited, and if this inheritance method appears in clusters in the same place, it will form a painting school. The Wumen School, the Songjiang School, the Hai School, the Zhejiang School, etc., are all masters of the Kaizong School with apprentices, which naturally form a creation with regional cultural characteristics, and these old gentlemen with private school colors are gathered in the painting academy, which lays the cultural value standard for the inheritance and innovation of the painting academy.
Portrait of Mr. Wu Changshuo
Whether it is a college or a painting school, different cultural values cultivate different talents and produce different works, which is a normal phenomenon of artistic pluralism and prosperity. At least until the 1990s, the development of the academy and the academy was balanced - the academy invited the teachers of the academy to give lectures, and the academy invited the painters of the academy to tutor. Some colleges have professional discipline leaders in Chinese painting who are themselves famous Chinese painting artists such as Wu Zuoren, Li Keyan, Lu Yushao, and so on. They have the characteristics of both the academy and the academy, and can combine the teaching strengths of the academy and the academy to teach. It has cultivated a large number of backbones of the Chinese painting world. At that time, the education model was not conservative, and under the premise of maintaining their respective characteristics, they interacted and exchanged to learn from each other's strong points.
However, with the passage of time, the predecessors of the academy and the academy gradually withdrew from the stage of history. The academic quality they advocate has not been well inherited, and this two-way balance has slowly been broken. The boundaries between art academies and academies are gradually blurred, and the art academy model has a tendency to be replaced by the academy model. The reason for this is the inability to reconcile social development and cultural realities.
Portrait of Mr. Zhang Daqian
The first contradiction is the personnel system. Most of the mainland painting institutes belong to public institutions within the system that rely on financial appropriations, and the recruitment of personnel is uniformly included in the management of the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. According to the recruitment rules of public institutions, the recruitment of talents must implement the principles of openness, fairness and justice, and there are rigid thresholds for entry, such as age, education, professional titles, and professional skills. As a research and development unit, the academy of painting has a higher threshold, and the movement requires "graduate degree, deputy senior title or above, and member of the China Artists Association". This kind of recruitment path is actually set up for academic talents. However, the recruitment conditions often emphasize that the age limit is in the range of young and middle-aged people, if according to this regulation, the promotion from the college to the deputy high is not a step, at least it has survived to middle age. As for the students cultivated by the academy itself, they are often not recognized by the system because they have no academic qualifications. Therefore, with the retirement of the old painters of the academy and the entry of new people in the academy, the inheritance mode of the academy also declined and disappeared. The academy is the academy, and the academy is the academy. In the traditional sense, the painting academy actually no longer exists.
The second point of contradiction is in the professional evaluation system. The evaluation of fine arts majors is mainly based on the level, number of times and awards of participation in the national exhibition. The works selected for the national exhibition are mainly based on the academic evaluation mode of novel form, solid shape, excellent production, and fashionable themes. In this way, ink painting in the traditional sense is gradually marginalized by the entire evaluation system.
Because cultural policies did not take into account the differences in art forms, the talent structure began to be unbalanced, and the vitality of the academic school and the painting school disappeared for a long time. It can be said that today's academic school has gradually replaced the traditional perception of the painting academy.
Portrait of Mr. Pan Tianshou
Chinese painting divides the division of two categories: stroke and freehand painting. Gongbi painting has a history of more than 1700 years from Gu Kaizhi's "Female History Zhen Tu Scroll" of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and to the peak of the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty gradually declined. After the Yuan Dynasty, ink freehand painting with books gradually prevailed, and by the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China had become the mainstream form of Chinese painting, and the painting academy school established in the early days of New China was also dominated by freehand painting. At present, the top ten of the official or unofficial selection of the great painters of the twentieth century are all freehand painters, so the spirit of the painting academy we are talking about now is the spirit of freehand.
Although theoretically, freehand and brushwork are only the differences between different forms of expression of Chinese painting, we cannot favor one over the other. However, throughout the history of painting, the development of the two major forms has gone up and down, forming two parabolas, with strong brush strokes from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to Yuan Gong and ming and qing to modern freehand painting leading the way. Now that the style of brush strokes (including neatly made paintings) has returned and prevailed, is it due to aesthetic changes? Or is it due to utilitarian tendencies? Is it inevitable or accidental? It is worth reflecting.
At present, the purity of culture is gradually eroded by the habits of the jianghu, and it has become a common phenomenon to do self-interest in the name of culture. When fine art enters the market, power and profit marry. Position determines status, status determines price. Political behavior is more deceptive than professional behavior, and it has become a normal phenomenon that artistic height is not as high as high.
There is a threshold for entering the temple from the rivers and lakes, and this threshold is to enter the system. In addition to the rigid requirements of age and education, the achievements of the national exhibition are the key. It is also a fact that the absolute advantage of brush strokes in the national exhibition is also true. Because most of the participating authors have the experience of studying at the Academy. The strength of the college is the heavy modeling, heavy form, heavy skills that are most in line with the display requirements.
Statue of Mr. Shi Lu
Can push the brush painting to another peak in history, college education undoubtedly played a great role. Like He Jiaying and Gao Yun, they were all cultivated by the academy, but the teachers and friends they inherited were all old predecessors in the Republic of China period, and the first milk they drank was innocent. Coupled with their own understanding and efforts, they can perfectly integrate the traditional spirit and contemporary consciousness, and their works inherit the past and the present, orthodox, clean, and full of Chia Tai atmosphere, and have also become the leading figures in the contemporary Gongbi painting world. But as they retire, the effect of drumming has faded. Between the quality and quantity of the work, a distinct blank space is left. There are fewer and fewer works with true feelings and warmth. Of course, there are also some talented, advanced and skilled young painters whose works have gained a good reputation, but the number is too small to lead the way. More people are still eager to make quick gains, hoping to take a shortcut.
The creation of these people relies on whimsy and craftsmanship, coupled with the rapid development of high-tech means, it is more convenient to paint patterns. Form for form's sake, know that any form with laws to follow can be imitated at a glance. This method of using non-painting means was regarded as a "secret" and soon became a common practice. As a result, various advanced research classes and national exhibition classes have sprung up like mushrooms. The works are like commodities and can be mass-produced. Professional zero foundation can still enter the national exhibition. I have an example of a retired old man who wants to learn to paint to relieve boredom, because there is no local painter willing to accept her because of zero foundation. She gambled and went to Beijing to participate in the advanced research class, relying on photos and production, and her works entered the national exhibition nine times in two years, scoring one point each time, and also joined the National American Association. But now, she still can't paint with her bare hands. If there is a loophole in the institutional design to exploit, the result is embarrassing. (But I have not heard of the national exhibition class teaching freehand painting, after all, no one will do a loss-making business.) ）
"Gongbi painting relies on hard work", under the misleading concept, many people believe that brute force can succeed. However, "freehand painting relies on cultivation" is the general consensus of the painter community. Freehand painting emphasizes "writing God in shape", just like "cooking medicine" requires patience and is not in a hurry. It is a collection of literature, calligraphy, pen and ink, technique, and learning, and the creative process is full of uncertainty. After raw rice paper is inked, the water stains will change unpredictably as the pen and ink move. Good use of the pen, linear and linear are rigid and flexible, full of toughness, alluding to "material interest" to "heavenly fun". Without the advanced learning and improvisational agility gained from long-term cultivation, it is difficult to achieve results.
Portrait of Mr. Huang Binhong
If we calculate labor costs from the utilitarian perspective of cultural short-sightedness, hard work is better than cultivation. Invest the same amount of time and energy, and the brush stroke will definitely produce better results than freehand drawing. Therefore, the prosperity of brush strokes and the decline of freehand paintings are an inevitable trend in the era of pursuing efficiency.
"Today's painting world has a plateau and no peak", which has become a correct empty phrase, because the peak is a concept and there is no specific standard. What is the height to be considered a peak? China has a conclusive theory of a coffin. Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong, Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Pan Tianshou, Li Keyan, Fu Baoshi, Huang Yin, and others are now recognized as the peak, but they dare not think so when they are alive. Huang Binhong's paintings were not given away at the time, and he left one last bit of confidence on his deathbed: My paintings will be recognized in fifty years. Lin Fengmian was even more hiding in the attic, immersed in the self-Danqing world, which had the luxury of a giant master.
"Peak" is just a summary of the past tense of the history of painting. This group of peak painters who are recognized by Mi are all freehand painters who practice the spirit of freehand painting. The freehand spirit they left behind, consciously or unconsciously, is conventionally used as a standard of value to measure the peak.
Mr. Lin Fengmian statue
At a time when freehand painting is shrinking, "Gao Feng" encounters the confusion of re-establishing standards. With freehand painting standards, there is no peak today. With the standard of brush strokes, there are peaks everywhere. This peak and the other peak PK have encountered logical embarrassment. In terms of evaluation system, the national exhibition every five years is the most authoritative, and the gold medal is the peak (but the gold medal work is not necessarily an ideal work, and there may be the helplessness of the tallest of the short). In reality, the next time the championship is won, the primary election may not be able to pass. This instability is like riding a roller coaster, with high and low rotations. And the real peak, like Qi Baishi's works, according to the current standards can not be on the national exhibition is also ironclad. Nowadays, the phenomenon of "good works without good painters" subverts the traditional cognition that "good works come from good painters", which is the consequence of short-sightedness in cultural development.
The college pays attention to form, pays attention to modeling, pays attention to skills, and the creative behavior is often experimental, jumping in thinking, and the form is changeable, which is an advantage. However, if literary and artistic creation relies solely on skill and ignores comprehensive cultivation, does not emphasize the inner needs of individuals, and relies on temporary inspiration and agility, the work must not be able to impress people. This kind of inspiration appears at first, as if relying on the sky to eat, with accidentality. Do you have any good ideas? Success or failure in a single thought, occasionally a good work like a flash in the pan, may never return. Industriousness and impervious thinking will inevitably tend to dogma.
Portrait of Mr. Jiang Zhaohe
The academy pays attention to inheriting the past and opening up the present, and the creative vein is clear and stable. Their achievements do not rely on the agility of inspiration, but rely on the precipitation of comprehensive cultivation, and the pen and ink skills are also accumulated by long-term practice, just like climbing stairs step by step, and it is clear at a glance which level the level is. The same person's works can be divided into fine and sloppy works, but they rarely rely on small cleverness and jump to a new level overnight. Freehand painters have no rank at all levels, and people who reach a high level often lose their "age advantage" and do not adapt to today's judging requirements. Huang Binhong only changed the law in his later years, and Qi Baishi did not have representative works, but they were still recognized as the peak.
To regain the freehand spirit of the painting school, it is necessary to protect ink painting as an intangible cultural heritage project. Now some people play experimental ink painting, under the pretext of Shi Tao's "pen and ink when the times" to find excuses for the so-called "new ink", in fact, Shi Tao originally meant that "pen and ink should be contemporary, the atmosphere of Judea poetry is turned". To put it bluntly: if the pen and ink go with the trend of the times, it is the same as poetry, a generation is not as good as a generation, Tang poetry has been passed down through the ages, but in the back it is like boiling boiled water without taste. Huang Binhong said it well: "Painting has a national nature, but there is no era", and people with a real innovative spirit will inherit the spirit of brush and ink of the ancients, because that is the source. When this source is facing depletion, it is necessary to let the living old painters cultivate new people through transmission, help and belt as soon as possible (of course, including those who have entered the academy from the academy) to stimulate new vitality in inheritance and exchange. In this way, the traditional spirit of ink painting is possible to pass on. Otherwise, the phenomenon of indiscriminate homogenization of painting academies and academies will become more and more serious. The damage to cultural development caused by monolithicization is irreversible. Just as Liang Sicheng called for the protection of Beijing's old city, if culture is ignored and the status quo disappears, the legacy left to future generations can only be cultural memory. The sigh of the millennium culture leaves behind endless regrets and helplessness.
The article was reprinted in the January 2022 issue of the national core journal "Chinese Painters"
Painter Profile
Zhou Zhimin is a member of the China Artists Association, a national first-class artist, the vice president of the Jiangsu Provincial Chinese Painting Society, a senior artistic title judge of Jiangsu Province, a representative of the 10th and 11th People's Congresses of Jiangsu Province, a member of the Standing Committee of the 11th CPPCC Of Suzhou, a master tutor of the Art College of Soochow University, an honorary chairman of the Suzhou Artists Association, an honorary president of the Suzhou Chinese Painting Academy, and a special government allowance of the State Council.