1 On an autumn day in the mid-1980s, it occasionally rained heavily in Beijing. After the rain, a section of the road was flooded, but it was muddy because there were sand and stones in the water.
Know the depth. Sometimes a middle-aged man riding a bicycle passes by, and when he sees a puddle, he jumps out of the car and pushes it slowly along the border. Another old man came over. Seeing this situation, he carefully bypassed the puddle and chose a longer but drier winding road to bypass. Later, when I saw a young passer-by, I began to pick up a few bricks and put them on the edge of the puddle, stepping, shaking and jumping, and it passed ... At this time, a group of primary school students came home from school, chasing and laughing, unscrupulously "rushing" through the mud, shouting "Go! Go! " People behind the children also waded through. In the meantime, a nosy person waded through the puddle and shouted, "These troublemakers, if my children are like this, they must be beaten up when they go home!" "
A teenage boy stood at a roadside station and witnessed the whole process. It is not surprising that passers-by passing through puddles is just a common thing that we often encounter in our lives. What I didn't expect, however, was that this past gave a teenager a key to the wisdom of life. The boy's name is Lu Han, and he is almost 40 years old.
Lu Han talked about his experience of "passers-by wading in the depression" when he was a teenager, which is still fascinating.
2 1969, Lu Han was born in Beijing. I live near the present North Third Ring Road Tayuan, which was an agricultural community 30 years ago, and the jurisdiction is called Dongsheng Commune Tayuan Brigade. When I was about 8 years old, my parents were assigned to a bungalow, and my parents bought some Korean paper to paste the roof and walls. Lu Han scribbled on these papers and pasted them on the roof and walls at will, but a colleague of my father, Mr. Zhou Zhenmin, saw it and was surprised to find a painting seedling. He immediately entered the room and learned freehand brushwork flowers and birds from Mr. Zhou Zhenmin for ten years. Later, recommended by Mr. Zhou, he asked Qi Baishi for advice. Since then, I have studied freehand brushwork in flowers and birds with two teachers, Zhou and Fu.
Lu Han 15 years old was admitted to Beijing Arts and Crafts Vocational High School, which was later renamed Beijing Practical Art School. He spent a very happy adolescence in this school. Recalling this period, he often mentioned a name "Wang Qiuju", who was Lu Han's western painting teacher. Her inculcation laid a solid modeling foundation for Lu Han's later painting development.
Lu Han's advantages are obvious, and his own conditions and learning conditions are admirable. But it is also easy to produce "greenhouse effect", and everything has a dichotomy. Where is Lu Han's adversity? Where is the puddle? Where are the failures and lessons? How to realize spiritual cultivation and personality tempering? Without this process, can the flower of art flourish?
At that time, he was in school for three years, and his views on art and life were in the forming stage.
During the Eighth Five-Year Plan period, his thoughts were very active and his ideas were very avant-garde. Sketch, color, master of western art, western aesthetic thought, etc. , has almost become the whole of painting research. Until I entered the university, I was faced with a professional choice and a life choice. Before you can go back and re-examine, are you painting oil paintings or Chinese paintings? Or simply engage in art design, practical art has great prospects. His oil painting level was also excellent at school at that time, and teachers in this field encouraged him to paint oil paintings and apply for the western painting major. In Chinese painting, Mr. Zhou and Mr. Fu naturally hope that he will develop in Chinese painting. Once in an art knowledge class, the teacher told an ancient Greek myth that there was a Hercules named Antai. Although his strength is infinite, he must step on the ground with his feet. Once he left the earth, he was at a loss. As a painter in China, where is the earth under his feet?
Later, Lu Han made his first choice in life, temporarily giving up his dominant project "Western painting", revisiting the traditional project "Chinese painting", and giving up the idea of applying for the practical art design major in the College of Arts and Crafts, which was later unanimously optimistic. After two months of Chinese painting training, I went south alone and applied for the Chinese painting department of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in the south. There was only one, so I had no choice. Lu Han's action was not expected by many people at that time, and many people advised him to return to his original heart and seek stability. It is not easy for more than 300 candidates from all over the country to compete for four enrollment places! Before taking the professional examination 15, the admission ticket for the college entrance examination culture course will be issued. After some fighting, Lu Han became a minor celebrity among them, but in the end, he lost the chance to rank because his performance in the cultural class was not on the line, which fell short. What is even more unacceptable is that the reported majors start enrolling students every other year, which means that if you want to make a comeback, you have to wait at least two years. Doubt, speculation, ridicule and loss have become the whole of his life. In that era when thousands of troops crossed the wooden bridge, how to get out of the misunderstanding was a great life challenge for young Lu Han.
3. The overlord is ashamed of Jiangdong,
Don't whisper about heroes.
The general will not abandon his sword when he falls,
A willing son does not have enough talent to join the army.
Lu Han's "On Painting Poetry" was written after he graduated from teaching, reflecting a state of mind in the process of studying that year, so as to encourage himself. As a cultural person, he has always been
I love Chinese studies and admire people like Ji Xianlin. Love philosophy, love literature, love history, love poetry, love Huashan Jyukai. Ji Lao once said: "Everything he does should be considered from a philosophical perspective, just like" Wild Fox Zen ". Mr Pan Tianshou said: "The foundation of oriental painting lies in philosophy. China has profound philosophical thoughts since ancient times. Chinese painting is based on philosophy, and art must rely on cultural philosophy. "Pen and ink are precious in creating an environment. On the other hand, philosophy has built a sea-a sea of speculation and wisdom, which gives you a key to the Prajna. What is poetry? Is a cluster of spray, youth frolicking in the spray. Lu Han said: "A literate person's heart should be like the sea, which can contain hundreds of rivers, be consistent with heaven and earth, ebb and flow, and be poised. "
After falling out from Sun Shan, I didn't want to play or stay at home for more than a year. Worked as a temporary worker in a carpet factory, made some money and resigned to prepare for the exam. After I lost my job, I got up almost every morning and went out to sketch, with two steamed buns, a picture clip and a kettle in my pocket. I went out all day, rain or shine, and went alone. Xiangshan, Nankou, Ming Tombs and Yuanmingyuan have been to countless gardens and valleys. A staff member of the zoo aviary saw him so infatuated and gave him a lot of special care as time went on. Spring flowers are few, and autumn mountains are silent. Many places in the suburbs of Beijing let him run around and draw more than 300 sketches a year. This was a great wealth for his later study and progress, although he didn't realize it at that time.
He seldom talks, and spends all day reading and painting. Knowing his difficulties, his family often advised him: "If it really doesn't work, forget it. It is also good to join the army and take the military school, and the treatment will be good in the future. " At that time, one of his favorite books was Professor Wang Li's Poetic Metre, which was packed in a satchel with sketches all day. When I was free to sketch, I read books. I was lonely in the wilderness and learned to think independently. Insist on reading The Theory of Ancient Paintings every day. At the age of 65,438+08, he wrote the original thesis "How to Understand Six Methods of Chinese Painting".
He is immersed in the embrace of nature, and he gets inspiration from reading biographies of famous people at home and abroad. He was fascinated by the painting art of Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi and Pan Tianshou, and was attracted by their great charm. He took his own road more and more firmly and devoted himself to the art of Chinese painting. From then on, he burned his bridges and said to himself, "If you enter such a painting, you will draw it if you don't." As a learning process, it is essential to learn western painting before, and accumulated experience in modeling, color and light application, which naturally turned into nutrition at this time, making the foundation of flower-and-bird painting deep and solid.
Unexpected setbacks bring unexpected gains. The mountains and rivers in Beijing endowed him with great temperament, proved his tenacious will and generous personality, and strengthened his passion for art and life. Without the specific environment, people can't talk about Excellence. Metasequoias have mushroomed along the west lake, and it is difficult to grow into big trees on the barren hills in the suburbs of Beijing. There are mountains, roads and water in our life-Chinese is homophonic with Han, and Lu is homophonic with Lu. What is "cold dew" without water? He first traveled all over Beijing, then went south to Hangzhou to guard the West Lake, integrated the merits of nature, immersed himself in the profound context of traditional culture, enjoyed the world and realized it carefully. Why can't its superior conditions and ability to seize opportunities be amazing?
After nearly two years of suffering and patient preparation, he finally got his wish when he went south again. It was not until he enrolled in the school that he learned that this year's country only recruited two students, and he was fortunate to be one of them. This is also the smallest undergraduate class since the establishment of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts. Lu Han doesn't pay much attention to this, because Lu Han has a normal heart and a good mentality at this time. I remember the morning I left Beijing, my father planted Hosta flowers. He habitually opened the sketch book and drew a pencil sketch of Hosta, which was his last painting in Beijing. Later, he drew a picture of Hosta flowers and sent it to his mother. On the second day of coming to Hangzhou, he went to the college flower room on the left side of the college reception room alone. After the uncle who managed the greenhouse learned of his purpose, he didn't shut him out. There, he drew the first sketch "Poinsettia" that came to Jiangnan. From then on, Lu Han really began his long and arduous painting art course.
Through unremitting efforts, Lu Han changed his destiny.
4. During the Cultural Revolution, flower-and-bird painting, like other paintings, suffered unprecedented destruction and test. For various reasons, the prospect of flower-and-bird painting is not optimistic. Will Lu Han and his peers continue to write a new chapter?
He studied in Zhejiang and the United States, and studied under professors Zhang, Xu Jiachang and Ma Qikuan. These old professors retired after taking Lu Han's students, which Lu Han called "painting life". Because of this fate, Lu Han is not only freehand brushwork, but also good at meticulous painting. Later, the topic of his master's thesis was-the development and aesthetic interaction of flower-and-bird painting. The complementarity between work and writing, the complementarity between China and the West, the complementarity between the North and the South, and mutual learning in teaching, learning from nature in Chinese civilization, and absorbing nutrition from large systems, etc. All these have created Lu Han's painting skills.
Lay the foundation in the first year. Although he didn't begin to study the copying course systematically until he was admitted to the university, his exercise "Picture of pod dragonfly" won the first prize in one fell swoop. Director Feng Yuan specially explained that it was the first time since the establishment of the hospital that students won the prize for copying works. 100 yuan bonus is quite a lot for ordinary students. At that time, a meal was only eighty cents The greater gain is to inspire self-confidence and gain a belief that I will succeed! Throughout the ages, many masters have gone the same way and succeeded. I'm on the right track and I can do it.
When the first school year ended, Lu Han won the prize again. This painting is a sketch, which is his strong point. The holiday assignment required 20 sketches, and he drew nearly 100 sketches, which made him very happy and devoted. Only after going through hardships did he realize how satisfied the labor process was.
According to Lu Han's experience, learning painting is such a process: the first step is to learn to express and reproduce; The second step is to learn to think and organize, and move from sensibility to rationality; The third step is to express the result of thinking, that is, image expression, from objective to subjective, to realize the established aesthetic ideal and convey rich and colorful ideological connotation.
Everything is always orderly and maximized through its staged development. Lu Han said that painting is used to express reverence for beauty. Later, it developed to feel beauty with heart, unique beauty with artist's eyes, and ordinary beauty with normal heart. The whole job of an artist is: your artistic language transforms your feelings about life into a great beauty in your own way, which will be recognized by more people and edify and enlighten you. Draw and extract the beauty of real life with a brush, and then return to real life as an artistic achievement.
Through rational thinking and entering the realm of enlightenment, Lu Han paid attention to grasping the essence of Chinese painting from the source and system.
In the interview, he talked about it in detail, and so did Kan Kan. Talk about philosophy; Second, talk about Zen; Third, talk about painting; Fourth, the artist's sense of social mission and philosophy of life. Art comes from life, and it is outspoken and merciless when dissecting the lessons and setbacks in the process of painting. He won't be without superiority, but he is trying to push himself and stay awake. Times have changed and the environment has changed. Lu Han's generation doesn't need to make a living by pulling rickshaws like Li Kuchan. How can they engage in artistic creation in the spirit of pulling rickshaws? Creative motives are varied, and pen and ink games will be varied.
Lu Han's sobriety lies in her strong self-motivation consciousness, which supports her lofty aesthetic pursuit and rationally cultivates the flower of art.
Senior two took a detour. When I was in the third grade, I felt confused and confused in the face of the intersection of the word "rice". I don't know where to go. I am anxious and miserable. I worked hard night after night, and in the morning I tore them off one by one. Nature saved him again. He went to the grassland. Going to the northwest and facing the Gobi Desert, he saw desolation everywhere and yellow sand rolling, which was strongly shocked and triggered a profound reflection on the meaning of life. In contrast, people are so small. A kind of grass called "camel thorn" can actually survive in a sandstorm. If people want to throw it in the desert, is it possible to survive after the sandstorm?
At that time, he couldn't sleep at night, and his mind was full of Desert Fantasia. As far as his painting materials are concerned, the yellow sand is rolling, which may not be in the painting. He tried and finally gave up, which was incompatible with ink painting and far from the flower-and-bird painting style he pursued. As a form of picture expression, we can give up, but what we can't give up is the spiritual core, which is a broad and high-spirited life appeal.
Then he went to Dunhuang. Until I was penniless, I lost my ID card, student ID card, wallet and other things, so I had to borrow money to pay it back. I only ate two boxes of box lunch for more than 50 hours on the road, thinking all the way, re-examining and defining the direction of future efforts.
5. Lu Han's body reflects the learning characteristics and mental journey of this generation, and also typically reflects the changes of the world and the worries of the painting world. The better the conditions, the less optimistic the chances of producing a great painter. In fact, Lu Han's pursuit is the re-development of Li Keran's hard-working spirit and Pan Tianshou's careful experience of "intelligence and diligence". At present, there are a group of scholar painters as young as him. May the results of their joint efforts bring new hope to the painting world.
Lu Han's works are full of speculative color and rational spirit. He wrote: "The aesthetic concept of China culture reveals an empty aesthetic thought, which is in the same strain as the golden mean philosophy gradually formed by the Chinese nation for thousands of years. The highest aesthetic advocated by the humanistic thought of not being afraid of the strong, not bullying the weak, involuntarily and keeping integrity is' neutralization'. Therefore, for the development of China's painting art, Confucius directly put forward the highest aesthetic standard of beauty, that is, the philosophical thought of' the beauty of neutralization'; In Laozi's Tao Te Ching, I indirectly explained how to achieve this aesthetic height, that is, the philosophical thought of "harmony between man and nature". The introduction, emergence and integration of Zen thought provide a thinking space for literati painters to achieve this highest aesthetic standard in external performance. The formation and development of literati painting is, in the final analysis, the deposition of staged cultural thoughts formed in the process of cultural integration and transformation in a specific historical period. As far as China's painting style aesthetics is concerned, Laozi's Taoist aesthetic thought explains where and how the artistic beauty comes from. Confucius' Confucian aesthetic thought explains where and how artistic beauty goes; Zen aesthetics explains two mutually causal ways to reach the other side of the highest aesthetics: penance and epiphany. "Lu Han's painting practice continues Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and tends to be simple, simple and ethereal. The picture is elegant and ethereal, with a thoughtful image. Long-tailed birds with big eyes are obviously anthropomorphic, either walking in streams or perching on branches, enjoying themselves under the protection of nature. Harmony with the world is a rare realm of life, and it should also be the ideal state of the future society. Artists have the obligation to paint harmonious notes with brushes, show harmonious landscapes, convey spiritual wisdom, and strive to infect and impress people.
Regardless of life or art, Lu Han always expresses the sacred beauty endowed by God in his works. He believes that engaging in artistic creation requires piety and asks for nothing in return. He wrote: "Life is often composed of many question marks. These question marks let us gradually mature, but also let us gradually move away from sensibility and lose innocence. When our minds are filled with countless laws and regulations, the wings of imagination are ruthlessly broken. At this time, let us re-understand ourselves, re-understand God's blessings, capture creative inspiration in indulgent thinking, restore our sensibility and impulse to beauty, open the sacred childlike innocence that has been suppressed for a long time, and treat our art devoutly. Life will become beautiful in our field of vision. " He wrote: "What is the essence of a spiritual teacher? In the dark, it seems to be interpreted in the integration of heaven and earth. The purpose of China's painting is to create environment. Material environment, material image, mental state and spiritual image exist in two life worlds, namely, material world and spiritual world. In a sense, the unity of man and nature is the interaction and communication between these two worlds, and their carriers are the "material environment" based on objects and the "state of mind" based on mental images. Everything is a paradise given to us by God, and all moods are wisdom given to us by God. All the cultural symbols handed down in the history of China are the wisdom symbols of the blending of social subjects and gods in past dynasties. These symbols are diverse and quiet, and contain rich and pure inner beauty in the field of humanistic spirit. The inner beauty of Chinese painting is also included, which requires us to understand, comprehend and discover with piety. "
How will Lu Han face life and engage in creation? His works, especially his latest works, are full of pen and ink and full of pen power. Using his elegant and tactful pen to create a peaceful, quiet and comfortable artistic conception is a true portrayal of his heart. He painted several lotus flowers and a pool of autumn water, which is a high praise for the indifferent people. He painted peach blossoms in March and magpies crowing branches, which made him feel extremely Shu Lang. His painting style is swaying and graceful, and his stone stands like a orchid, which is a sincere compliment to a modest gentleman. He also painted wild flowers in mountains, grasses and streams, and felt the beauty of harmony in his wonderful understanding of nature. He is full of emotion, and there are poems in his paintings, feelings in his paintings, poems in his paintings and poetic feelings. "The evening color is not pity, and the garden is empty." ("Morning Glory Axis") The artistic conception is good; "Fold the pen and paper two or three times and give it to friends and family to add a smile." ("osmanthus scroll") is the wind of literati; "The teacher of the heart has done various things, which means that Guge is doing two things today." ("Meme Map") It is obviously a man's weather, and I have a plan in my mind.
6. 1999, Lu Han's "A Hundred Birds Wash Dew" won the Excellent Works Award of the 9th National Art Exhibition. I immediately thought of this work and paid attention to its author. Previously, he created "Four Seasons and Eight Scenes" and was selected for the 8th National Art Exhibition. "September Wine" won the Excellence Award of the National Contemporary Fine Painting Exhibition. There is also "red pepper", which is taken from the west.
His works in this period often take dead trees and old trees as the theme, and large chunks of thick ink and strong colors create a boundless chaos. When the mood is not open, the pen and ink are blocked. There is too much to say, but it doesn't matter. They must be stacked one layer at a time. It is his present living condition, bamboo shoots before breaking ground, and the coming flood. He has a nervous feeling and is eager to release it.
Then, after reading and thinking, after many twists and turns, I realized that "I experienced several snows before I knew myself clearly" (Snow Through Xun Mei), the realm was opened, my mentality changed and my painting style changed. "The shape moves with the pen, and the ecstasy is sent to the world" ("Petunia Album") has changed from vigorous to vigorous. Only the three colors of ink freehand brushwork are the most convincing, and the five colors of black, white, red, India, flying white and ink are enough.
Painting is just a form of learning. The greater the learning, the more nourishing the painting. Qi Baishi put poetry first, seal cutting second, calligraphy third and painting fourth. With all kinds of bedding, the painting is awesome. The transcendence of painting style must be based on character and knowledge. Lu Han's new work is ethereal and elegant, which is obviously the result of caring for himself. He recited quatrains, wrote long postscript, and handled the picture in a complicated and quaint way. At his age, there are few such skills.
There was a time when he painted and studied in such an environment, including The Wash of Birds, and he had to paint alone. A small room is separated from people, and the space he has is only 4 square meters. Except for a table, the rest of the space can barely turn around and squeeze people into bean sprouts. In any case, it is difficult to squeeze another bed, so I have to make the floor myself, stand up and draw, bow my head and sleep, and laugh at myself as the "owner of the half-bean house". He reads and writes in this space and enjoys painting and painting. The smaller the space, the bigger the imagination space. Suddenly I thought of the Gobi desert. It suddenly occurred to me that when I was sketching in Shaoxing, I saw my grandmother. After drinking her big bowl of tea, Lu Han and the old man had a conversation:
"Aunt, you put so much tea, and it is new tea, good tea. A cup is only ten cents. Isn't this obviously a loss? "
"It doesn't matter, young man, as long as passers-by are satisfied. I don't want to earn much money, I just want to accumulate virtue and do good. I'm dead, leaving my virtue is enough! Just earn! "
He also often recalls the depression he encountered in Beijing as a teenager. Like a philosophical proposition, it is quite similar to the current cultural situation. In the traditional fractured and closed context, people will inevitably face diversified choices, and it is difficult to say who is right or wrong. The bravery of the dolls is commendable, but there must be a reason why the old people take detours carefully and the young people cross the river on stones. Road to the sky, each goes his own way. It is important to be clear-headed and self-sufficient, and each has its own blessings.
Regarding painting, Lu Han has repeatedly stressed that he is still on the road and climbing. He read four classical novels again. I prefer studying philosophy to painting. I can't classify it as a biography book ... all these show that he is building roads, maintaining a healthy atmosphere and moving towards a higher level. He once wrote: "Painting needs aura and painting style needs freshness. Painting is aura in essence and Ming Che's in poetry and calligraphy. When the two spirits are combined, it begins to see that God can create wonderfully, and it ends in peace. Only when there is silence in the painting can we say one product. " Regarding the painter's achievements, Lu Han thinks: "The painter is smart when he is ignorant and wise when he has knowledge. The great achievement of painting is to be ordinary. "
Have a poem to express one's ambition:
Clear your breath, let the aura escape,
Poetry is the ultimate personality god.
Create the realm of immortals with pen and ink,
Art is empty, and Zen is an armchair strategist.
-Yi You Qing Qiu "Bai Ju Tu"