人“痴”画“趣”说二刚

人“痴”画“趣”说二刚

朱琦

　　　认识二刚的时间虽然不长，但读他的画却有十数年的历史了。记得第一次在新加坡宣华画廊看到他的作品时，恍如走进了一个世外桃源，蕴藉简约的笔墨、舒如自由的描写、古雅别致的意趣、诙谐浪漫的情调，这种种悠悠然、陶陶然的感觉，深深地留在了我的记忆中。从那以后，我将收集来的二刚画册分放在案头和床边，以便于随手翻阅，涤除日间的烦劳。

　　　喜欢二刚画的人很多，评论也多，我读他的画，感受最深的是画内画外所流露出来的“痴”和“趣”。

　　　古人云，人无痴不可与交，以其无深情也。画家若无“痴”，则其画也必枯索无味，难以引人入胜。画之“痴”者，心无旁骛、一往情深，就像有“通灵宝玉”在身，不太理会世俗间的得失。二刚淡泊名利，与人平易和善，对于山水名胜则更感到亲近。他喜游历、好访古、爱读书，每次游山玩水归来，便躲在“午梦斋”里写不停、画不停，画到得意时，也不忘沏壶好茶，喜滋滋地自我犒劳一番。他画中常见的那个大鼻子、长下巴的赤面老头，或独自乘云而行，或与老友醉卧山亭，或与童子松下对弈，终日忘情于山水名胜间，过着神仙般的生活，这正是画家本人精神世界的自然写照。这份浓如陈酿的“痴”情和美意既醉己又醉人，令读者观后意兴阑珊，兴发起思古之幽情。

　　　二刚画中的“趣”，既来自于独特的笔墨造型，又源于浓郁的文学性。他长期研习汉魏碑铭，笔墨架构自有一种古拙之趣，同时，又对汉画像石中的人物造型和平面叙事方式深感兴趣，在画面的故事情节处理上自由组合，丝毫不受时空、比例、透视等的约束。比如一幅《世外桃源》，人可大于屋，树可高于山，这种稚拙的表现手法，只在古代壁画或画像石中出现，唐以后的山水画很少如此。画中的男女老幼，钓鱼的钓鱼、耕田的耕田、吃茶的吃茶、嬉戏的嬉戏，各行其是、各得其乐，许多生活情节林林总总都摆在一起，就像一个儿童乐园，一派和睦融洽、风调雨顺的景象。又如《五老峰》、《一览众山小》等，画中的老头个个既憨又顽、优哉游哉，无论是黄山天都峰还是天台石梁，天南地北随想随到。他们甚至有穿越时空的本领，昨天还沐浴在六朝古寺的晨钟暮鼓中，今天却又现身在莫愁湖畔的晨练人群里。

　　　文学性是文人画的基本特质，文人画家借笔墨来怡情明志，因而有得之于像外一说。南北朝时期的姚最称作画的目的“不学为人，自娱而已”，可以说为文人画定了基调；北宋米芾称自己所作为“云山墨戏”，更进一步说明了这一点。到了近现代，齐白石等采用了大量民间题材入画，文人画的表现空间大为拓展，形成了雅俗共赏的局面。二刚作为新文人画的代表画家之一，继承和发扬了这一传统，为此注入了新的活力。他对齐白石的绘画意趣，包括老人大巧若拙的画风以及风趣幽默的题款方式倾心不已，同时又从丰子恺、丁衍庸、方召麐、韩羽等人率真、诙谐的艺术中得到启发，找到了一条适合于自己的绘画道路。他的画从内容上看

大多是登高放怀、听雨观瀑、老友闲话、吃茶赏月等“入人意中”的文人常用题材，但难得的是，他能常画常新，画出了“出人意外”的审美效果。他的画落墨不多，画中的危岩小瀑、片云孤鹤，往往都是寥寥数笔，顷刻而成。这些鳞鳞爪爪的山水，与流连期间的老人孩童相互呼应、浑如一体，既流露出传统文人画典型的自然观、美学观，又抒发了现代知识分子的生活哲学和人文关怀。画到意犹未尽时，二刚还会添上一两句幽默逗趣的大白话或打油诗，例如“伸手莫打笑脸人”、“惹不起还躲不起”、“老夫情愿喝茶，不喝假酒”、“醉过方知酒浓，爱过方知情重”、“相见亦无事，不来常忆君”等等，这些题款都给他的作品增添了哲理和文学趣味，使他的画有别于传统文人画的沉郁苍凉，令人读后感到兴味无穷，且常常伴有会心一笑。

　　　二刚曾为自己书写了“情、趣、简、真”四字箴言，认为：“情者，即物漫想也；趣者，幽默出奇也；简者，以少胜多也；真者，稚拙直扑也。”若用这四个字来概括他本人的绘画风格，也是最贴切不过了。他不争名，不逐利，不追求锦衣玉食，不摆艺术家的架子，对于生活知足常乐、随遇而安，对于绘画则几十年来“痴”情不改，与现今画坛上盛行的江湖气、学阀气形成了鲜明的对比。他坚守着文人画之美，在这个理想之上建立起悦己又愉人的独特画风，并以此为生计、责任和精神家园，将“艺术的人生”与“人生的艺术”有机地调合在一起，真可谓画坛福人。

　　　近年来，二刚经常往返于南京与北京间，一边是故旧知交的惦念，一边是外孙女儿的召唤，而让他乐于这种候鸟般生活的，更还有供他作梦发呆、笔耕墨耘的午梦斋。他在这分处南北两地、自然与人文环境迥异的一亩三分地里，种瓜得瓜、种豆得豆，不郁闷也不虚妄，体现出难能可贵的传统文化品格。冬去春来，风光明媚，不知午梦斋主此时闲情所寄何处，生花妙笔下是否沾满了梅香与柳色？

　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　2011年初春于北京朝阳园大可居

Talking about Ergang and his paintings

                                         By Zhu Qi

Although I don’t know Ergang for a long time, I read his paintings for decades. I remember the first time I got view of his works in Xuanhua Gallery in Singapore, in which the carefree and leisurely feeling impressed me like walking into the land of idyllic beauty, with temperate and simple ink, free and relax depiction, quaintly and unique charm, humorous and romantic sentiment. Since then, I put his painting collections on my desk and bedside in order to read casually and eliminate tiredness. 

Fondness for Ergang’s painting is much as well as critics. The most I feel when I read his paintings is the infatuation and interest in and outside his paintings.  

An ancient proverb says people without infatuate cannot be friend, for he has no deep feeling. Artists without infatuation can not draw interesting paintings. The infatuate painter devotes himself wholeheartedly and exclusively just like a “psychic gem” in the body, and cares not about gains and losses in the world. Being indifferent to fame and wealth, he is easygoing and close to landscape. He likes travelling, visiting historical sites and reading, every time he comes back from traveling, he keeps writing and painting in “noon dream studio”, and he made tea for himself and enjoyed it. The old man with big nose and long chin, walking on the cloud or lying in the pavilion after drunk with old friends, playing chess with children under pine tree, lead an immortal life in the landscape, which is the true portrait of the spiritual life of the painter. The infatuation and pleasure drunken people like aged wine, and intrigue their nostalgic feeling. 

The interest in his painting derives from the unique ink structure and full-bodied literariness. He studied inscription of Han and Wei dynasty for long term, therefore he has quaintly ink structure, and is interested in the figure structure and plane narrative method in Han stone relief, he has free combination in story plot of the picture and free from the restraint of time and space, scale and perspective. For instance, Land of Idyllic Beauty, childish expression technique of people can be higher than house and trees can be higher than mountain appeared only in ancient fresco and stone relief, hardly in landscape painting after Tang dynasty. People in the paintings are having fun for fishing, plowing, drinking tea and playing games, just like a children’s park. In Five Old Peaks and All Mountains in a Single Glance, the old men are carefree and leisurely, free to everywhere. They even have ability of traveling through time, for they were in the six dynasties yesterday for morning bell and evening drum but doing morning exercise today beside Mochou Lake. 

Literariness is the fundamental essence of literati painting. Literati painters have fun and indicate inclination from painting, thus inspired beyond picture. Yao Zui in south and north dynasties said “painting is not for others but for my own pleasure”, which made the foundation tune of literati painting and Mi Fu in North Song dynasty demonstrated it as he viewed his painting as “ink play in foggy mountain”. In the modern times, Qi Baishi paint many folk themes, expanded the sphere of literati painting, and suited both refined and popular tastes. As a representative painter of literati painting, Ergang inherited and developed the tradition, and added new vitality. He is fond of Qi Baishi’s painting for its interest and charm, painting style with great wisdom appeared stupid, and title with amusing humor. In the meantime, he got inspiration from the frankness and humorous art of Feng Zikai, Ding Yanyong, Fang Zhaolin, Han Yu, etc and find his own painting road. In content, his painting use the common themes of climbing mountains and enjoying enormous, listening rain and viewing waterfall, chatting with old friends, drinking tea and appreciating moon. What precious is that he can always draw new things and get surprised aesthetic impression. He use less ink to paint the rock, waterfall, cloud and crane, which are correspondence with the senior and children in the painting. It is not only revealed his nature view and aesthetic view of traditional literati painter, but also expressed the philosophy and humanity of modern intellectuals. To his enjoyment, he will add one or two humorous sentences or limerick, for example, “do not slap the smiling face”, “hide better than bother”, “I would rather drink tea than fake alcohol”, “realize after drunk or love”, “nothing but miss”, all these titles applied philosophy and literature interest to his painting, made his painting different with traditional literati painting which is depressed and desolate, and amuse people after reading.  

Ergang once wrote himself four words “feeling, interest, simple, genuine”, he said “feeling is thinking above objects, interest is surprised humorous, simple is less is more, genuine is naive and simple.” This four words would be most appropriate to generalize his painting style. He is not eager for reputation and wealth, and is happy about his life, his infatuation about painting for decades formed distinct contrast with the quackery and scholar-tyrant in art field. He insists on the beauty of literati painting and builds unique style amusing people, and lives on it as his responsibility and spiritual life. He combined the art and life coordinately and is happy to be a painter. 

In recent years, he traveled between Nanjing and Beijing like an immigrant bird where his old friends and his granddaughter live, as well as his “noon dream studio” for dreaming and painting. He reaps what he saws in both south and north, without depressed and emptiness, valuable traditional cultural character is embodied. Spring comes after winter, where does he paint and whether blossom and willow flow in his painting?  

Write in Dakeju, Chaoyang Garden, Beijing in early spring of 2011