Traditional standards and innovative thinking in calligraphy and painting. For thousands of years, Chinese calligraphers and painters of all dynasties have all followed the rules and ancestral systems. This even includes many other fields such as music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and often uses some kind of norms as a starting point. Wizard. There are also many calligraphy and painting artists whose life-long goal is to explore the hidden sect of law. Moreover, in the art of calligraphy and painting that emphasizes styles and schools, as long as you can establish your own sect and gain widespread recognition, you can take advantage of it to reach the second level of calligraphy and painting. The top (there are nine grades of calligraphy and painting published by the China International Calligraphy Center: the first grade belongs to a generation of masters; the second grade belongs to the heads of major painting schools; the third grade belongs to provincial top figures; the fourth grade belongs to municipal local famous figures; the fifth grade belongs to Talented calligraphers and painters; sixth grade is teacher-level calligraphers and painters; seventh grade is a minor artistic achiever; eighth grade is an artistic tourist; ninth grade is a practicing painter.) The rules of transmission are almost insurmountable.
Why can’t generations of artists break the rules and regulations and bow before the laws like moths to a flame? What is the charm of calligraphy and painting standards?
At this time, we need to go back and figure out what standards are.
Any aesthetic activity, including the art of calligraphy and painting, is based on comparing the sensory stimulation received from vision and hearing with the existing feeling pattern in the mind to see whether it can be incorporated into the original feeling pattern and contrasted with it. Causing screams and excitement. An introduction to traditional calligraphy and painting is to gradually improve and establish your own initial aesthetic standards and calligraphy and painting standards by copying a large number of first-class masterpieces in the history of art.
What is tradition? Tradition is actually a relative concept. There are Chinese traditions and foreign traditions, classical traditions and modern traditions. No art style can be created out of thin air. Any art school, style, etc. is inseparable from its tradition, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, no exception. All art is inseparable from its unique nationality, systematicness, uniqueness and tradition.
Norms are systems, rules and models, such as Yongzi Bafa, Jiugong imaging, etc. The norms in calligraphy and painting are formed through gradual evolution and elimination over a long period of time. To a certain extent, they are a self-sufficient internally evolved structural system and behavioral model. They cannot be generated and formed by themselves.
The law is a method and a scale, which is extracted from the existing formal composition and method skills. It is actually a comprehensive skill at the technical level; that is to say, as long as you follow certain norms If you follow the rules, you can express the spiritual connotation with certain standards. For example, if you can see the center with your pen, and use it in accordance with the established rules and regulations, as long as anyone trains hard and copies, The lines of the work can be rounded and thick, and accordingly it will have a certain degree of expression that complies with the law, and will be widely recognized by those who follow the law. However, no one knows that what is actually expressed is the product of laws and norms, and is something of national character, rather than truly coming from the spiritual realm deep in the author's heart. Wang Xizhi, Liu Gongquan, Wen Zheng Ming wait. Another point that is undeniable is that his works are actively grasped through laws and norms to create formal compositions, and they also have a certain expressive power. However, this expressive power actually has little connection with the author's soul, especially in the current art society. Laws and regulations guide you into the embrace of celebrities, ancients, and masters, but they also block the close connection between the author's soul and the composition of form. His works are by no means truly shocking cries from the depths of his soul, and the author is only willing to consider himself a small person. It's just an individual tool. This is one of the reasons why few stunning masterpieces have been published in the past hundred years.
What needs to be emphasized is that all laws and norms are lagging behind the art trends of the times, the exploration of artists and the changes in the spirit of the times, because norms and laws cannot grow on their own, but will evolve over time. It is formed through continuous evolution and accumulation in the years of movement. In fact, the formation of a normative law only starts with a few individuals and has influence, and is gradually selected and extracted, thus forming a historical accumulation and being recognized by the majority as laws and norms.
So the adjustment of scales and norms completely depends on the accumulation and choices of the spiritual life of the times. However, it blocks the close connection between spiritual life and the composition of the soul, and seriously violates the original meaning of calligraphy and painting. The original intention is that this is also the crisis and root cause that has been plaguing the development of Chinese calligraphy and painting art. It has directly caused the Chinese calligraphy world to follow the old path for hundreds of years and passively appreciate it and seriously lags behind the times. It is also an important reason why it cannot enter the international stage. factor.
However, although Bada Shanren, Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics, etc. have realized the lag and narrowness of the traditional norms and laws at that time, and tried hard to break and awaken, however, they are only as an artistic individual, corresponding to thousands of Despite its centuries-old accumulation and huge following, it seems so weak and powerless, and some people paid a heavy price for this.
Today, with the development of high technology and high information, especially in modern society, people’s new discoveries and new understandings of the macro world and micro world have led to people inevitably proposing new ideas in many fields, including art. Understand, think and re-examine those unchanging traditional stereotypes. Of course, this is also related to the understanding and understanding of the times. Due to various reasons, the ancients limited their knowledge, communication and understanding of the world.
Today, in the face of the bizarre modern society, how to use novel forms to overlap with one's own soul, and to find new modeling methods and expression techniques, has aroused the exploration of prophetic contemporary Chinese artists. Interest, this is also the general trend. If you just inherit without thinking about innovation, there will definitely be no way out. The only way is to think calmly and integrate, while respecting the excellent national traditions and boldly absorbing useful modern and Western artistic elements, integrating into the trend of the times, and respecting painting theory and nature. Use your talents to achieve the artistic realm of the times. After entering the Qing Dynasty, the Four Kings' style of imitating ancient paintings has enveloped the painting world for hundreds of years. Their painting skills must be deep. However, sticking to the past and sticking to the past has dragged Chinese landscape painting to a dead end. It is really lucky that Shi Tao and others can struggle out of the Four Kings' style and give them new ideas. If you dare not take a step beyond the ancients, dare not explore and study, and do not understand that the theory of painting lies in learning from nature and understanding, you are bound to repeat the mistakes of the Four Kings.
Breaking old norms and establishing new models, the good news is that contemporary artists are not like Zheng Banqiao and the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou who were defeated by the huge invisible traditional laws but bravely reached the forefront of the times and the pinnacle of art, because they have the courage to Carrying the responsibility of art and the burden of the times, art and the times have given them the aura of success, such as Zao Wou-ki, who ranks first in the contemporary world, and Wu Guanzhong, who ranks second.
In addition, respected teachers such as Ren Bainian, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Zhang Daqian, Pan Tianshou, and Li Keran not only inherited the tradition of Chinese calligraphy and painting, but also developed and updated it in different aspects. Tradition, not just inheritance.
Of course, I know that there will be more different opinions and objections above, because they (including myself) or more people have followed the law from that peaceful and stable era of spiritual life. , and more of them have achieved certain results by relying on norms and laws, or it can be said that the artistic expression passively obtained has been continued from generation to generation. It is powerful to a certain extent, and their works will naturally reflect this art. The historical precipitation and more essence in it all seem so reasonable, harmonious and natural. Once North Korea was eaten all over the world, batches of the same calligraphers, painters and calligraphy and painting works were naturally applied, so traditions and norms became habits and nature.
However, when we look back at Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, Wang Duo, Bada Shanren, etc. who are worshiped in all kinds of laws, many of their works and laws were not fully recognized at the time. It took many years of precipitation to emerge. and has benefited many artists. History has repeatedly told us that breaking up tradition is a tree without roots, while sticking to tradition is a dead branch. Inheritance, innovation and development are eternal themes.
So what needs to be emphasized is that innovation and development in any direction must have a traditional foundation and one end must be firmly rooted in the heart of a nation or the human soul. Otherwise, it will not succeed no matter where it goes. There will be results. This is just like the traditional norms and laws are like the bridle of a horse, and you can't get out of the established range no matter what. However, as long as you follow the rules, follow the guidance of traditional classic works, and do not deviate too far from the constraints of traditional norms, then you will not make mistakes or lose your way. This is also an established fact that has been personally verified by countless generations of artists. At the same time, this is actually chewing the essence of the ancients again and again. To put it bluntly, it is treating the glory of the ancients as one's own achievement.
This is why for thousands of years, especially in the calligraphy world, people have been proud of imitation and ashamed of innovation, proud of being defenders and ashamed of rebellion, and they have promoted themselves as literati, calligraphers and painters. The direct consequences of this are the demise of the feudal dynasty for hundreds of people. Years have passed, the May 4th Movement has been a hundred years, and the vigorous reform and opening up has been carried out for thirty years. Only today's Chinese calligraphy world still occupies a vast territory by imitating, plagiarizing, and imitating the ancients, and is still peacefully intoxicated in the cradle of the ancients. Moreover, they abandon the self-emotional feelings of calligraphers and painters and live for traditional laws, celebrities, ancients and masters. As a result, the Chinese calligraphy world is still spinning in circles. The official and local directors of the calligraphy and painting circles are also busy with personal entertainment and income. Promotions squeeze out gang fights and other official-oriented styles. How long can this continue?
There is no doubt that China’s politics, economy, and culture are all comprehensively promoting the process of modernization and internationalization. China is also in a period of great national rejuvenation and transformation, and the second world Renaissance is also Coming soon. How can responsible artists in contemporary China break the deadlock and lead the trend of Chinese art, or play a role in revitalizing Chinese culture? Now facing a new round of redevelopment, where should the laws and norms of Chinese culture go?
The good news is that a considerable number of calligraphy and painting artists have awakened and actively explored and taken action, and the current diverse atmosphere of calligraphy and painting has also become active. Modern works are springing up like mushrooms after a spring rain. They have rapidly spread because they have no reference to old norms and laws and have broken away from traditional constraints to a greater or lesser extent. In particular, they have broken away from the traditional balance and quickly entered another chaotic world without limits. They have also changed in thinking and techniques. , a large amount of information convection and boundless creative space, you can immediately achieve a variety of works, quickly break the recurrence, recurrence rate and mechanical nature caused by recurrence of traditional art, and transform the traditional creation relative to artistic creation. The author expresses his thoughts directly from a very small situation based on his personal emotions. His works also provide a broader space and a more distant perspective for the viewers' imagination and association in artistic aesthetic activities due to unclear traceability and bold layout. Reverie.
Contemporary abstract art, in particular, expresses a high degree of refinement and generalization of objective objects between its "similarity and dissimilarity". This is also the breakthrough of Chinese contemporary artists in the context of the ever-changing world cultural trends. The traditional model is an inevitable product of pursuing innovation and change and going global. This will not damage China's long artistic tradition. On the contrary, it will only enable contemporary artists to create more diverse works of art and art forms to meet people's various aesthetic needs. Therefore, innovative artistic abstract works are also indispensable art types in contemporary times.
Of course, it is precisely because of the dilution of ink, the prominence of colors and the boldness of ideas that break the traditional styles, laws and norms, resulting in disharmony with traditional art, but this kind of Disharmony with national characteristics is precisely the norm sought by innovative art - the combination of tradition and modernity.
In the process of artistic development, tradition and modernity are contradictory and antagonistic, and they are also interdependent and inseparable. However, for the entire history of art, all modernity must return to tradition, no matter you It is avant-garde, modern and innovative, but in a specific time and space, its contrast with tradition has become a bright pearl embedded in the chain of tradition. Although its styles and styles are different, its pursuit of emotion, kindness, beauty, and Taoism is the essence of the Chinese art tradition. This traditional aesthetic method, which is characterized by paying attention to the psychological effects of form, has its relative independence and Eternal. Just like contemporary Zao Wou-Ki and Wu Guanzhong, although their works are influenced by advanced Western ideological trends, the depth of modern concepts they express still contains the foundation of Eastern culture, and they have not completely cut off tradition, but only inherited and combined it from another aspect. The old tradition was developed and a new tradition was formed. After many years, although many exploratory and innovative works try to break the old framework, they are still the soul and purpose of the oriental national cultural tradition, whether they are colorful or harmonious with nature. .
However, how far can innovative works without standards and regulations go? Undoubtedly, in addition to expressing independent emotions and personal perception information, modern works also strongly exude self-worth information and strong rebellion, cynical psychology and depression, and vaguely display creativity, loneliness, variation, resistance and secret psychology. The work is also far away from most viewers and also far away from peers.
There is another point that must be made with caution and that many people are unwilling to mention; modern innovative exploration works undoubtedly skillfully combine aesthetic consciousness and perceptual representation with plastic arts, and use concise and simple lines and color blocks to build a strong spirit. world. However, many modern works are unconsciously superficial because the authors overemphasize and express the profound philosophical world and the heterogeneity of the works, focusing on sensory stimulation and angry rendering in order to give the audience a deep first impression. , Correspondingly, excessive color accumulation and ostentation will make the work obscure and exaggerated, and will greatly increase the composition of the production. The power of pen and ink will also lack penetration. If you are not careful, the work will be ridiculed and criticized. .
The other thing is the appreciation standards and the decoding of appreciation. Because no matter how good a work is, it becomes social once it leaves the author himself. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why contemporary exploratory works are rapidly gaining popularity and sometimes hot or cold. Therefore, if many contemporary exploratory works can be broad and majestic and clear about their origins, Paying attention to and trying to overcome factors such as artificiality, accumulation, dullness and superficiality may lead to greater responses.
There is also a big misunderstanding that many explorers are prone to commit, that is, exploring innovative works should be completely different from tradition or incompatible with tradition. Any discussion of innovation or abandonment of tradition should Starting a new tradition is no doubt as boring as arguing about which came first, the chicken and the egg, or the egg and then the chicken. The Chinese nation is one of several important ancient civilizations in the world. Its splendid culture has a long and profound history. Contemporary exploration, innovation, reality and change do not mean breaking away from tradition, but a matter of inheritance and development. To give an example that no one likes to hear, this is Japanese Xuanzong ink and acrylic paint developed based on traditional Chinese ink. The Japanese can do it, why can't we? The development of Chinese calligraphy and painting art is to absorb the essence of all human civilizations (including those of the world) in a magnanimous, bold and vigorous way like Xuanzong's ink painting, and it is never just to use one tendency to cover up another tendency, but to The sea is open to all rivers, and the best is the most beautiful. Because the essence of Chinese culture is modesty, softness, rhyme, tranquility, ease, moistness, wonderfulness, harmony, dependence, and integration. The innovative development of Chinese contemporary art is inseparable from the essence of Chinese culture, otherwise it will be short-lived and self-destructive.
In addition, the inheritance and development of Chinese calligraphy and painting art are made up of links from countless eras. The styles of calligraphy and painting in different periods are striving to create a more contemporary and gorgeous link, and then connect it to the eternal. The long history of rest. Whether today's artistic styles are traditional, innovative or deviant, they are all artistic symbols of an era and the colorful artistic halo of an era in the long history. History and time will give them a The most justifiable definition and confirm it, and then continue to extend it. . . . . . . .
It is the unremitting efforts and pursuit of these countless inheritors, innovators and explorers that enable the long-term development of Chinese art to be connected, last forever, and shine through the ages.
Shang Qing wrote in the Second Secretariat of Beijing in the autumn of 2010