2012年春天，連環(huán)畫大師賀友直迎來(lái)91歲高齡，而一場(chǎng)“率真賀友直·經(jīng)典老上?！碑嬚乖谏虾Ｊ信c廣大觀眾見(jiàn)面。人們看到的這個(gè)畫展有些另類，陳列的線索不是畫，而是人，一個(gè)滿肚子故事的老人賀友直。

走進(jìn)展廳，映入人們眼簾的是一尊賀老木雕像，那光亮的額頭、夸張的鼻頭、變形的老花眼鏡，一下子使人聯(lián)想起他說(shuō)話、作畫的神情。木雕的一側(cè)，陳列著賀老24幅“自說(shuō)自畫”圖，演繹出他所走過(guò)的繪畫歷程。

創(chuàng)作了中國(guó)連環(huán)畫史上里程碑式的杰作

賀友直，1922年11月出生，浙江寧波人，祖籍寧波北侖新碶西街，為我國(guó)著名連環(huán)畫家、線描大師、上海人民美術(shù)出版社編審。

他是與新中國(guó)一起成長(zhǎng)的畫家。新中國(guó)成立那年，他28歲，買了趙樹(shù)理的小說(shuō)《福貴》，自編自繪了200多幅，竟然讓一個(gè)畫商印了出來(lái)，處女作就這樣問(wèn)世了。

1952年出版的《火車上的戰(zhàn)斗》曾在全國(guó)青年美術(shù)作品展覽中獲一等獎(jiǎng)。

20世紀(jì)60年代初，他經(jīng)過(guò)刻苦鉆研中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)線描技法，創(chuàng)作出融思想性、藝術(shù)性于一爐的代表作《山鄉(xiāng)巨變》，被稱為是中國(guó)連環(huán)畫史上里程碑式的杰作，并于1963年在文化部與中國(guó)美術(shù)家協(xié)會(huì)舉辦的全國(guó)第一屆連環(huán)畫評(píng)獎(jiǎng)會(huì)上獲一等獎(jiǎng)，從而形成了自己獨(dú)特的藝術(shù)風(fēng)格，獲得了美術(shù)界的高度評(píng)價(jià)。

浙江省連環(huán)畫專業(yè)委員會(huì)副主任、常山縣八屆政協(xié)委員曾令兵，把做生意賺來(lái)的500多萬(wàn)元錢全部投入到了“小人書”收藏，并辦起了“民間連環(huán)畫博物館”。在收藏的3萬(wàn)冊(cè)連環(huán)畫中，曾令兵最為得意且悉心珍藏的就是賀友直創(chuàng)作的那套《山鄉(xiāng)巨變》連環(huán)畫。

著名連環(huán)畫家賀友直的代表作還有《白光》《朝陽(yáng)溝》《連升三級(jí)》《十五貫》《小二黑結(jié)婚》《申江風(fēng)情錄》等?！栋坠狻帆@第二屆全國(guó)連環(huán)畫繪畫一等獎(jiǎng)；《十五貫》《朝陽(yáng)溝》《皮九辣子》等均獲全國(guó)獎(jiǎng)。他出版專著《賀友直談連環(huán)畫創(chuàng)作》后，《賀友直短篇連環(huán)畫選集》《賀友直畫自己》《中國(guó)連環(huán)畫名家經(jīng)典—賀友直畫作》相繼在京滬等地出版。

賀友直連環(huán)畫作品享譽(yù)海內(nèi)外，一些代表作曾到英、法等國(guó)展覽。畫家還應(yīng)邀在新加坡南洋藝術(shù)學(xué)院、法國(guó)昂古萊姆圖像學(xué)院授課，并獲法國(guó)昂古萊姆市榮譽(yù)市民證書。他的形象和代表作品中的人物，被制成地磚鋪在法國(guó)昂古萊姆市法國(guó)國(guó)家連環(huán)畫和圖像中心的廣場(chǎng)上。在我國(guó)眾多有成就的畫家中，他是唯一獲得此項(xiàng)榮譽(yù)的。1980年中央美術(shù)學(xué)院成立連環(huán)畫年畫系時(shí)，特聘賀友直兼任教授。

他曾在法國(guó)、德國(guó)、新加坡舉辦個(gè)人畫展，作品還在英國(guó)、挪威、瑞士、韓國(guó)等地展出。

“中國(guó)美術(shù)獎(jiǎng)”是中宣部批準(zhǔn)設(shè)立，文化部、中國(guó)文聯(lián)、中國(guó)美協(xié)主辦，并由中國(guó)美協(xié)承辦的國(guó)家級(jí)美術(shù)最高獎(jiǎng)。賀友直獲首屆“中國(guó)美術(shù)獎(jiǎng)·終身成就獎(jiǎng)”，作品被中國(guó)美術(shù)館、上海美術(shù)館、廣州美術(shù)館收藏。

連環(huán)畫這一畫種具有特別大的包容量，其功能則是通過(guò)連延不斷的畫面來(lái)“講故事”。賀友直在創(chuàng)作中自覺(jué)地探索規(guī)律。他摸索到：作為畫故事的畫家，必須學(xué)會(huì)“做戲”。所謂做戲，就是胸懷故事全局，挖掘人物內(nèi)在的性格沖突，選取和捕捉生活中富有表現(xiàn)力的可視形象。

在《李雙雙》中，丈夫喜旺和雙雙鬧矛盾，離家一個(gè)多月才回來(lái)，以劈柴表示內(nèi)疚想求得老婆原諒。雙雙回家看到，知道他是以此道歉，就說(shuō)：“家不會(huì)開(kāi)除你?！比绾螌⑦@句文學(xué)語(yǔ)言轉(zhuǎn)化為繪畫語(yǔ)言，顯然不容易。這句話怎么畫？賀老想到了一串鑰匙，讓李雙雙將鑰匙交給小孩，叫小孩遞給爹，說(shuō)明“你可以進(jìn)家門了”。鑰匙作為一種家的象征，一種繪畫符號(hào)，很自然就形成了畫面，入情入理。這就是“通過(guò)看得見(jiàn)的，表現(xiàn)看不見(jiàn)的”。

賀友直的創(chuàng)作表明，他的“做戲”，既富有情趣，又真實(shí)可信。打開(kāi)長(zhǎng)達(dá)396幅的《山鄉(xiāng)巨變》，那些生活在富有濃郁地方特色的湖南山鄉(xiāng)的人們，在農(nóng)業(yè)合作化運(yùn)動(dòng)中的一言一行、一舉一動(dòng)，被描繪得妙趣橫生，真切自然。這一切說(shuō)明，畫家從生活出發(fā)來(lái)“做戲”的創(chuàng)作方法是正確而高明的。

對(duì)于藝術(shù)與生活和畫技的關(guān)系，賀友直常說(shuō)：“畫連環(huán)畫絕不是技術(shù)性不強(qiáng)、藝術(shù)性不高的事情，它的畫幅雖小，但天地很大，是要下功夫研究的?！辟R友直的藝術(shù)成就在于用他那活靈活現(xiàn)、富有生命力的白描形式把現(xiàn)實(shí)生活與古老的中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)畫神話般地結(jié)合得盡善盡美，同時(shí)將通俗的連環(huán)畫開(kāi)拓出新的天地。他的新作《小街世相》圖，還是用精當(dāng)圓熟的白描手法創(chuàng)作。欣賞此圖，仿佛引領(lǐng)著我們穿越時(shí)空的隧道，返至半個(gè)多世紀(jì)以前的上海灘。當(dāng)年申城那種感覺(jué)、那種氣息撲面而來(lái)，準(zhǔn)確而生動(dòng)，堪稱可與《清明上河圖》前后映照的新畫卷。

鄉(xiāng)情綿綿無(wú)盡期

賀友直非常思念家鄉(xiāng)的鄉(xiāng)親與兒時(shí)的生活。賀友直自幼喪母，由鄉(xiāng)下姑媽撫養(yǎng)，在寧波大碶王隘一個(gè)小學(xué)入學(xué)，后轉(zhuǎn)至新碶小學(xué)續(xù)學(xué)。當(dāng)時(shí)的新碶小學(xué)設(shè)在一個(gè)關(guān)帝廟里，廟里有個(gè)斑駁脫落的戲臺(tái)，戲臺(tái)四周隱隱約約地顯現(xiàn)出《三國(guó)演義》的繪畫。他被那傳神的繪畫迷住了，一次次細(xì)心地描摹、比照、思索、修改，憑著這些無(wú)師自通的繪圖實(shí)踐，他的美術(shù)課成績(jī)居然在小學(xué)生中遙遙領(lǐng)先。

賀友直常說(shuō)，家鄉(xiāng)的山水養(yǎng)育了我，家鄉(xiāng)的童年生活是我取之不盡的創(chuàng)作源泉。在滬上闖蕩了60多年后，老人思念養(yǎng)育他的故鄉(xiāng)。他在家鄉(xiāng)的原祖基旁新置了一處住房，經(jīng)常從上海返回家鄉(xiāng)走走看看，與家鄉(xiāng)的父老鄉(xiāng)親相見(jiàn)、敘舊。2003年底，賀友直根據(jù)兒時(shí)記憶，為家鄉(xiāng)創(chuàng)作了《新碶老街風(fēng)情錄》組畫，并將原作捐贈(zèng)給寧波北侖博物館?！缎麓\老街風(fēng)情錄》所表現(xiàn)的家鄉(xiāng)景物全憑賀友直對(duì)少年時(shí)代生活的回憶，老人對(duì)家鄉(xiāng)的感情和清晰的記憶，讓許多人驚嘆不已！

2010年春天，中國(guó)美院舉辦的“漫畫創(chuàng)作EMBA班—2010國(guó)家原創(chuàng)動(dòng)漫高級(jí)研修班”上，作為浙籍名人、連環(huán)畫大師，88歲的賀老受邀前來(lái)講學(xué)。他懷著濃濃的鄉(xiāng)情，為來(lái)自國(guó)內(nèi)高校動(dòng)畫專業(yè)的教師、動(dòng)畫企業(yè)創(chuàng)作精英講述自己的繪畫經(jīng)驗(yàn)與創(chuàng)作感悟。他說(shuō)：“畫家一生要解決兩個(gè)問(wèn)題：畫什么？怎么畫？”“搞藝術(shù)的人，一定要有悟性，不然就開(kāi)不了竅。人的素質(zhì)最基本的東西就是認(rèn)真，做事認(rèn)真，終歸會(huì)成功?！?/p>

他說(shuō)到《清明上河圖》：“中國(guó)人有自己的藝術(shù)欣賞習(xí)慣，喜歡看故事情節(jié)?！肚迕魃虾訄D》就是這樣，有看頭。一條街，一個(gè)攤，一個(gè)門，門里頭還有東西；一個(gè)窗，窗里頭還有玩意……這些應(yīng)該得到尊重和繼承，它和技法是一致的東西?！?/p>

2010年10月28日，賀老將他的工作室搬回故鄉(xiāng)?！百R友直工作室”在寧波北侖區(qū)新碶街道西街3號(hào)成立。這個(gè)工作室的設(shè)立，正是老畫家對(duì)家鄉(xiāng)文化工作的支持與反哺。工作室重點(diǎn)是對(duì)少年兒童進(jìn)行繪畫培訓(xùn)。

一手持筆，一手把酒，笑對(duì)人生

生活中的賀老，達(dá)觀開(kāi)朗，率性詼諧。他極富睿智的話語(yǔ)，常使人回味良久后忍俊不禁，撫掌稱絕。每天晚餐是他最放松的愜意時(shí)光，品著老夫人烹飪的美味菜肴，喝著紹興的加飯酒，眼睛有一搭沒(méi)一搭地瞅著電視，其實(shí)腦子已經(jīng)進(jìn)入他自己的思維天地，許多絕妙的創(chuàng)意，往往就是在這看似消受實(shí)則琢磨的悠閑中悟得。

一輩子的曲折經(jīng)歷使老人擁有一份睿智和大度，足以令他笑對(duì)人生的風(fēng)云變幻。他常對(duì)人自嘲道：“連環(huán)畫是‘小兒科’?！彼Q自己“充其量是個(gè)連環(huán)畫家而已”。他有一幅自畫像，給自己畫了個(gè)很夸張的伸長(zhǎng)著的耳朵，一對(duì)銳利、率真的眼睛，從眼鏡上方審視般地注視著紛紛雜雜的人世萬(wàn)象，那潛臺(tái)詞仿佛是：“哈，什么都逃不過(guò)我的眼睛！”這位畫壇老人，眼睛仍然是那么清澈、銳利、純真！

今年的展覽特別還原了許多頗具生活氣息的場(chǎng)景，形象而立體地再現(xiàn)賀老的率真。有一個(gè)展區(qū)擺滿了365個(gè)黃酒瓶。瓶貼全是賀友直的畫，瓶蓋上印的小字竟是“爸爸的生命口服液”，這是賀老的女兒寫的。據(jù)了解，除了畫畫，賀老就剩喝酒這點(diǎn)愛(ài)好，尤其喜歡喝黃酒，一天一瓶，倘若不受限制，一餐一瓶都不是問(wèn)題。女兒笑言，酒簡(jiǎn)直是“爸爸的生命口服液”。因?yàn)槿绻奶焖麑?duì)酒興致不那么高了，那就說(shuō)明他的身體狀況可能出了點(diǎn)小問(wèn)題。

賀老位于上海巨鹿路上的家也被1:l地“搬”來(lái)展廳。從1956年至今，他一直住在這幢新式里弄公寓中?！按箝T口”掛著藍(lán)印花布的簾子，只見(jiàn)“賀老”正隨手掀開(kāi)簾子探出頭來(lái)。家中物什都是有些年歲的，老桌子、老板凳、老門、老窗、老酒、老筆墨……

連環(huán)畫本就是俗到底子里的，只有滲入生活的方方面面，才更有底氣。人們不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，老人對(duì)生活的要求真的不高，心思全花在創(chuàng)作上了。這一切都構(gòu)成了一個(gè)活生生的他所獨(dú)有的世界，真實(shí)地彌漫著賀老家的溫馨，以及他那透著濃濃市井氣息的畫風(fēng)。而今，鶴發(fā)童顏的賀老，依舊每日里一手持筆，一手端酒。人生就這樣尋常地過(guò)來(lái)了，事業(yè)也就這樣做出來(lái)了！

Exhibition Celebrates 91-Year-Old Picture Book Master

By Hu Shanghua

Based in Shanghai， 91-year-old He Youzhi is a legendary master of picture books in China. Both his career and achievement are unique.

First， a few words about picture book. Picture book is largely a 20th century phenomenon in China. Some historians say that the first picture book came out in 1898 in Shanghai. The genre matured and flourished from the 1950s to the 1990s. It went out of fashion toward the end of the 20th century. Picture books in the 20th-century China resemble manga books and comics of Japan and America， but there is a big difference: comic books are usually original creations in text and painting whereas picture books in China are primarily pictorial adaptations of novels， history， legends， myths， fables， folktales， films， and theater plays. Artists did not create stories. Usually an artist wrote a very brief script， one short paragraph of text for one picture. A picture book looks like a collection of a large number of illustrations. Unlike large-format picture books for children with large pictures and a few words or no words at all， the picture books are small， usually in the standard sixty-fourmo format. These picture books targeted both children and adults.

He Youzhi is an outstanding career picture book artist. Many fellow picture book masters were prominent artists. They were largely known for their fine art accomplishment. For these masters， picture book paintings were more or less like side products. Unlike most of his peers， He Youzhi started and ended his career as a picture book artist. He was the first picture-book master offered professorship at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in the 1980s when the academy set up a department for training talents for picture book and Spring Festival painting. The department was abolished when picture book as a literary phenomenon went out of fashion.

He Youzhi did not have formal art training whatsoever. He was brought up by his aunt in the rural area of Ningbo after his mother died when he was very young. The primary school where he studied was housed in a temple of Lord Guan. A theater stage inside the temple compound was decorated with illustrations of the Romance of Three Kingdoms， a classical novel created during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Fascinated by these illustrations， the boy studied them and copied them repeatedly until he got all the pictures right.

The year 1937 marked a turning point in his life. That year， he graduated from primary school， the war broke out and his father became unemployed. The boy worked in a small blacksmith and then a printing house in rural Ningbo. He even worked as a teacher in a rural primary school. Disappointed in the future that the rural area could possibly offer， He Youzhi came to Shanghai. As he was able to draw， he looked for a job that had something to do with painting. After an audition， he was employed to draw trademarks. His relatives saw the young man was promising and recommended him to a few artists who did picture books for a living. He learned fast. That was how He Youzhi stepped into the field.

His first picture book was an adaptation of a short story by Zhao Shuli (1906-1970)， a leading storywriter specialized in depicting rural life who launching an influential literary movement in the 20th Chinese writing. He Youzhi visualized the story in his mind and wrote his own script. Then he spent days drawing. He did more than 200 drawings for the story. A publisher printed the picture book and it sold well. It was 1949 and He Youzhi was 28 years old.

The success of his first picture book started his career as a picture book artist. Over his 50-plus year career， He Youzhi produced more than 100 picture books. His “Huge Changes in Mountainous Town” in the early 1960s is considered as a landmark success in the history of picture books of China. In 1963， it won a first prize at the 1st National Picture Book Award Conference jointly sponsored by Ministry of Culture and China Artists Associations. It was the first major career award he garnered. In the following decades， he received numerous honors for his picture books.

His representative picture books are in the collection of China Art Museum， Shanghai Art Museum and Guangzhou Art Museum. He has held solo exhibitions in France， Germany and Singapore. His artworks have been exhibited in Britain， Norway， Swiss and Korea. He is honored with Lifelong Achievement Award jointly issued by Ministry of Culture， China Federation of Literature and Art Circles and China Artists Association.

With his accomplishment in picture books， picture book is considered an honorable art genre and He Youzhi ranks side by side with artists highly accomplished in other fields， representing a short-lived art renaissance spanning the 1950s and the early 1960s.

Now 91， He Youzhi still creates paintings and teaches. In the spring of 2010， he was invited to lecture at China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. In October 2010， he set up his studio in his hometown Ningbo.

In the spring of 2012， an exhibition was held in Shanghai in honor of the 91-year-old artist. The exhibition was a little bit unusual: it did not focus upon his works. Instead， it focused on the artist himself. In one segment of the exhibition hall were 365 wine bottles on display. He still drinks， consuming a bottle of rice wine a day.