| 畫外之音
——莫言
“畫中有話”策展人李穎讓我就這次展覽説幾句話，因為多年的友誼和對她為中外文化交流做出的貢獻的敬意，未加思索就應承下來。寫小説可以一日萬言的我，面對著這十五位藝術家的作品，雖然思緒紛紜，但卻理屈詞窮。説什麼，怎麼説，對於一個繪畫與造型藝術的門外漢，確實是一個問題。其實，許多東西，是只可意會，不可言傳的。但不言傳又無法交流，即便抽象如音樂，也不得不借助語言的闡釋，這是藝術創作與接受領域的一個普遍的困境。因此，請允許我從一個外行的角度，説一些粗淺的感受。
我想，當這十五位藝術家，拿起他們的畫筆——不僅僅是畫筆——把他們的構思付諸畫布或其他載體時，這作品在他的心中，已經栩栩如生了。當然不排除在創作過程中突發的靈感和神來之筆，但為什麼要創作這件作品的意圖，大概不會有什麼大的變化吧。
專業的藝術欣賞者，面對著一件作品，也許會首先從技術或者技巧的角度來分析，但我或者像我一樣的門外漢，面對著一件藝術作品時，大都會試圖去追尋創作者的想法——他想表達什麼？他要告訴我們什麼？然後我們便感受，便思索，便得出一個明晰或者模糊的結論，我們自以為這便是創作者的主觀意圖。其實，我們的結論是建立在自身經驗的基礎上的，我們由這件作品所生發的聯想，與我們自己的生活經驗息息相關。我們的結論與創作者的意圖也許一致，也許南轅北轍。其實，藝術作品的創作者，並不一定能將自己的意圖條分縷析地訴諸語言，而欣賞者也不必過多地考慮作者的意圖，自己的感受，才是最重要的。
如果觀賞者從作品中讀出的話，與創作者想表達的話是一致的，這會讓創作者感受到幸遇知音的欣喜；但這並不應該是創作者期盼的境界。如果觀賞者從作品中讀出了創作者並沒有想到的話，而且這些話也能説服創作者，那這就是真正的佳境。
我想，一件好的美術作品，如同一部好的文學作品，必有豐富的內涵，為不同的讀者和觀眾，提供廣闊的闡釋空間。如同讀《紅樓夢》，“經學家看見《易》，道學家看見淫，才子看見纏綿，革命家看見排滿，流言家看見宮闈秘事……”面對著同一件藝術品，不同的觀眾會得到甚至完全不同的感受。即便是同一個觀眾，在不同的時期來看同一件作品，也會有感受上的差別。
如何創作出這樣的具有豐富闡釋性、可以超越時代的作品，是各種藝術行當的藝術家面臨著的共同問題。我覺得，入選這次展覽的十五位創作者，都是有這種自覺追求的藝術家。他們都試圖將自身經驗與社會生活結合起來；都試圖使自己的作品具有更豐富的象徵意義，具有更多的畫中之話與畫外之音；他們都試圖表達對這個時代的看法和感受：困惑、憂慮、迷茫、痛苦、孤獨、冷漠、同情、憐憫、當然更重要的還有愛……他們將種種感覺，用夢幻的方式或者變形的方式，用誇張的手法或者怪誕的手法，用拼貼的手段或者雜交的手段，總之是用技術的藝術或藝術的技術表現出來，成就了一件件可以讓人佇足之前、浮想聯翩而又感慨萬端的作品。
豐富的個性展示構成了一個時代的藝術的多樣性，而這些豐富的個性展示中，又包涵著一個時代的共同語碼，這大約也是藝術品走向大眾的哲學基礎。我沒有資格也沒有能力對這次入展的作品逐一地評頭論足，但我可以説，這十五位藝術家是個性鮮明的，他們的作品為我們提供了不同的思維向度和空間，他們在發現社會生活中的荒誕和病態時，同時發現了人的價值；他們對這個社會進行冷嘲和熱諷時，同時表達了他們對人的尊重和對自由的熱愛。在他們這裡，對自我的批評就是對社會的批評，而對社會的批判裏，也包含著對自身的毫不留情的剖析。他們的工作的意義，會在歷史的長河中，慢慢彰顯出來。
Art adding Voice
When Ms. Amy Ying Li, the curator of « Telltale Paintings », asked me to write a few sentences for this show, I, without thinking twice, accepted, for the sake of our long friendship and for the sake of her contribution to cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world. As one who can easily write pages a day when composing a novel – now facing the works of these fifteen artists – I am not at a loss for thoughts but rather at a loss for words. For one not well versed in the figurative or plastic arts, finding what to say and how to say it is quite difficult. What the senses convey to us cannot always be expressed with words. Yet without words there is no exchange of ideas, so even things as abstract as music we attempt to explain and illuminate with language – though difficult limitations exist between the realms of artistic creation and the realms of perception. So kindly bear with me as I roughly impart a few impressions of mine, from the layman’s point of view.
I think that when these fifteen artists took up their brushes - well, not only brushes - to instill their ideas on paper, canvas and other mediums, the work was already living in their soul. Not to minimize the inspiration that may blossom during the process of creation, but the intention of the work was already there and was not greatly affected by such.
Those who admire these works with a professional eye may first analyze them through the lens of technique or skill, but I like any other layman will try to understand their meaning. What is the artist trying to say? What is he trying to tell me? So at first we sense, and then we reflect, and then come to our own conclusion, clear or muddled, as to the subjective intention of the artist. But in fact, such conclusion is based upon personal experience, on the close relationships between the thoughts that the works inspire in us and our own life experience. We may conclude exactly as the artist intended, or we may conclude to the contrary. Indeed, the creators of the works themselves may not be able to verbalize the meaning of their work - yet the spectators need not concern themselves too much with this, their own feelings being the most important.
Should the spectator deduce from the work the mind of the artist, then the artist will feel joy - as if having met a close friend - but this is not the extent of the artist’s expectation. If to the contrary the spectator “reads” something that the artist had not intended, and if the artist can be persuaded that it makes sense and is meaningful, then real beauty has been born from the work.
A good work of art, like a good work of literature, will embody rich content - intended for a broad spectrum of “readers” - yet leave space for interpretation. In interpreting “the dream in the red pavilion”, scholars of the classical philosophy may perceive a link to the Yi Jing “Book of Changes”, Taoists may associate lewdness, learned men may observe tactful emotions, while revolutionaries may see the rejection of the Manchu dynasty and the gossipers the palace secrets. Confronted with a work of art, different persons are bound to have wholly different perceptions - even the same person will likely gain differing perceptions of the same work of art seen at a different time or from a different angle.
Creating a work of art open to broad interpretation that will transcend the generations is the common challenge of every artist in every discipline. My feeling is that the fifteen artists on display here are all very conscious of this challenge. They are intent on reconciling their own experience with the experience of society, on insuring richness in the symbolism of their work, and implanting their own voice in the sounds the “telltale paintings” make. They each express their views and feelings about our present times - doubt, worry, confusion, pain, loneliness, indifference, sympathy, compassion, and of course, most importantly, love. They each have created, through illusion or metamorphosis, through exaggeration or mystery, through collage or hybridism, and ultimately through the technique of their art and the art of their technique, works upon which one can contemplate, muse and meditate endlessly.
This exhibition of “rich characters”, rooted in the philosophical basis of the popularization of art, is representative of the artistic diversity of the present times. I am not qualified nor do I have the capacity to render personal opinion regarding the works on display in this exhibition. But I can say that these fifteen artists possess a freshness of character and that their works provide us with the opportunity for new angles in point of view and new directions in thought. And while they attempt reveal to us the absurdity and pathology of modern society, they also reveal the value and significance of being human, elevating humanity and praising freedom. Their criticism of society is self criticism - an introspection of themselves that does not make concessions. The significance of their work will slowly emerge and transcend the generations.
Mo Yan
November 28, 2008
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