文 /周 澍

無(wú)論何時(shí)，常青是那個(gè)走到哪里都能被一眼認(rèn)出的人，即使他忘記他作為油畫(huà)家的形象早已深入人心，即使他以與過(guò)往似乎無(wú)關(guān)的方式走進(jìn)水墨的世界。

他的作品和他自身一樣充滿(mǎn)了不由分說(shuō)的辨識(shí)度。無(wú)論他出于游戲精神還是苦心孤詣，他以水墨的線(xiàn)條、結(jié)構(gòu)和意趣為我們呈現(xiàn)了一種強(qiáng)烈而頗具冒險(xiǎn)精神的框架，并因其獨(dú)特、當(dāng)下而陌生的普適性，成為傳統(tǒng)水墨世界的一名“闖入”者和“入侵”者。

特殊年份的一疊宣紙

油畫(huà)家常青的水墨轉(zhuǎn)向是在2003年。那年的空氣充滿(mǎn)著憂(yōu)傷和茫然的氛圍，常青在他運(yùn)河邊的工作室里，無(wú)意識(shí)地捻滅依然閃爍著紅光的煙頭，又同樣無(wú)意識(shí)地把那雙剛剛拿過(guò)油畫(huà)筆的手，放置到水流不止的龍頭下。

在“非典”時(shí)期的緊張感越來(lái)越占據(jù)人們心頭的時(shí)候，公共媒體一遍遍地教育人們?nèi)绾斡谜_的方法洗手。常青看著在流水中發(fā)呆、揉搓和翻轉(zhuǎn)的手，不知道自己在想些什么。他的手指上還沾著少許菊花黃和橄欖綠的油畫(huà)顏料，那是他在新聞里聽(tīng)到又一個(gè)醫(yī)生離去時(shí)不小心留下的。

他意識(shí)到這將會(huì)是一個(gè)寒冷的年份，這個(gè)寒冷的年份呼喚他來(lái)做一些改變，或許可以使得冬天真正來(lái)臨時(shí)不那么無(wú)助和沉重。而能夠達(dá)成他這個(gè)心愿的，正是那水流中依然揉搓和翻轉(zhuǎn)著的敏感之手。

當(dāng)漫長(zhǎng)的冬天終于離去，又一個(gè)冬天來(lái)臨的時(shí)候，常青發(fā)現(xiàn)他那雙敏感的手已經(jīng)觸摸過(guò)不同的繪畫(huà)介質(zhì)，其中包括色粉、丙烯和水彩。此后的幾年，他穿梭行走在不同的材料和成品之間，沒(méi)有預(yù)設(shè)也沒(méi)有目的。那段給自己松綁的日子，一些東西被刻意回避和忽略，另一些東西則從來(lái)不需要想起，那時(shí)的常青充分享受一種特別自由的畫(huà)畫(huà)狀態(tài)。

作為一種實(shí)驗(yàn)材料，隔壁國(guó)畫(huà)系的師友們給常青送來(lái)了宣紙。宣紙的芬芳讓他想起手拿毛筆的父親以及父親以毛筆作畫(huà)的人生。童年時(shí)對(duì)父親的崇拜和依然縈繞心頭的氤氳墨香，讓常青在美院附中畢業(yè)的那一年，幾乎是不假思索地填報(bào)了中國(guó)美術(shù)學(xué)院國(guó)畫(huà)系的志愿。而他以父親為榜樣的選擇，卻被父親審時(shí)度勢(shì)地進(jìn)行了更改。父親覺(jué)得兒子的造型能力和色彩感覺(jué)，若只是用來(lái)畫(huà)國(guó)畫(huà)恐怕是有點(diǎn)多了，于是父親和任何一個(gè)有主見(jiàn)的家長(zhǎng)一樣，替常青作出了另一個(gè)更為高瞻遠(yuǎn)矚的決定。

多年來(lái)常青在父親選擇的路上奮力向前，一直畫(huà)油畫(huà)的他盡己所能地把他所理解的油畫(huà)畫(huà)到了極致。

2017年的初夏時(shí)節(jié)，在上海，在那個(gè)叫“常識(shí)”的水墨個(gè)展研討會(huì)上，常青說(shuō)，始于2003年的探索是一次重啟，這個(gè)重新建立和建構(gòu)的過(guò)程，需要時(shí)間。因此除了國(guó)家重大題材定件，他很少再畫(huà)其他的油畫(huà)作品。他選擇水墨的過(guò)程，就像他回到最初夢(mèng)想和態(tài)度的過(guò)程。那是宿命，更像是天意！

不安的創(chuàng)作及其觀看

作家余華曾經(jīng)用簡(jiǎn)譜給《狂人日記》譜曲，音節(jié)之間的巨大落差和不加過(guò)渡讓他有理由相信，如果那樂(lè)譜有機(jī)會(huì)被演奏出來(lái)，那一定是世上最不安的聲音。

作者與常青。The author and Chang Qing.

常青作品《開(kāi)會(huì)》（局部）。Meeting (partial), an ink painting work by Chang Qing.

常青的水墨從他最初呈現(xiàn)的時(shí)候，已讓人感覺(jué)到某種類(lèi)似的不安，愈到后來(lái)，這不安相互交織，竟是再接再厲般地愈演愈烈了。

于是不安的常青拿著他的作品向國(guó)畫(huà)系的老師請(qǐng)教，那曾是送給他宣紙的師友們。他們說(shuō)，你不能教，你若是教了，要教壞的， 你就那樣畫(huà)下去好了。常青說(shuō)，老師和朋友們不教他，他們就任由著他自顧自“野長(zhǎng)”。他們雖不肯教，常青依然視他們?yōu)椤巴乐腥恕?，他覺(jué)得自己與他們志趣相仿目標(biāo)相同，于是他畫(huà)下了他的《道友》系列作品，畫(huà)下了他們開(kāi)完會(huì)在門(mén)口等人又一起去聚會(huì)和參加活動(dòng)的諸多情景。

也許不安的除了常青，恰恰還有他的“道友”們。因?yàn)槌Ｇ啵?這個(gè)來(lái)自油畫(huà)系的后來(lái)人，就這樣沒(méi)有任何先見(jiàn)地，沒(méi)心沒(méi)肺地， 無(wú)所顧忌地畫(huà)了他自以為是水墨的水墨，他的畫(huà)和他們的如此不同， 帶著他完全不自覺(jué)的顛覆性的挑戰(zhàn)，大有要攪亂一潭清水的味道。

對(duì)于這一切，常青是木知木覺(jué)的，也從未有人跟他說(shuō)起。他就像一個(gè)初嘗創(chuàng)造快樂(lè)的小孩，繼續(xù)他的水墨意興和潑墨揮毫。

身為人父，常青多關(guān)注父子間的關(guān)系；又由于身為人子，他也同樣多地關(guān)注母子的相處—在無(wú)數(shù)個(gè)父母子女的形象中，常青提煉出父子及母女間那目光相對(duì)的呼應(yīng)，那向左或向右看齊的呆頭呆腦，那手拉著手的大責(zé)任和小溫情，以及各自閑坐沙發(fā)上的平和與滿(mǎn)足。這些形象并不回避缺陷和怪誕，有時(shí)甚至還丑陋和奇異，但他們卻是真實(shí)的生活和人倫，一如鄰家的熟人或某個(gè)街頭的古老記憶。

當(dāng)常青繼續(xù)他無(wú)人管教的“野長(zhǎng)”，他還畫(huà)了同一個(gè)背景前的系列肖像。如果他們是坐在那里的，他們有可能是某個(gè)漁民或海島老人；若她們是站立著的，則可能是某個(gè)叫丹丹或張蕾又或者是小郭、小王的女孩。

常青作品《父與子》。Father and Son, an ink painting work by Chang Qing.

常青作品《道友》系列之一。One of the pieces from Kindred Spirits ink painting series by Chang Qing.

常青作品《推拿》。Massage, an ink painting work by Chang Qing.

如果常青在這組創(chuàng)意和筆法都碰巧與晚年霍克尼相類(lèi)的畫(huà)作上畫(huà)出了癮頭，那么他會(huì)不會(huì)像霍克尼前輩那樣，懷著對(duì)相對(duì)基礎(chǔ)、簡(jiǎn)單甚至稚拙畫(huà)法的深深偏好，最終繪制出1000幅這樣的親友肖像呢？

現(xiàn)在輪到評(píng)論家開(kāi)始他們不安的發(fā)問(wèn)了—杭州或者說(shuō)浙派的水墨系統(tǒng)接受常青的水墨嗎？常青和他的水墨會(huì)不會(huì)遭遇尷尬的身份認(rèn)同呢？

我和你都是他作品中的某一個(gè)人

有人說(shuō)，常青的水墨是《詩(shī)經(jīng)》中的“國(guó)風(fēng)”。

有人說(shuō)，水墨藝術(shù)與現(xiàn)實(shí)主義之間存有很大的矛盾，常青把這種矛盾變小了，他對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)主義進(jìn)行了接續(xù)。

更為意味深長(zhǎng)的是，在英、法等國(guó)的巡展中，常青的水墨直接被域外的專(zhuān)家和藝術(shù)機(jī)構(gòu)解讀成了“一個(gè)當(dāng)今的社會(huì)現(xiàn)實(shí)主義”。

《推拿》作為常青水墨的代表，是尤其令人印象深刻的一組。這組和畢飛宇的茅盾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)獲獎(jiǎng)小說(shuō)同名的畫(huà)作，同樣地把最深切的關(guān)懷賦予了極易被忽視和忽略的社會(huì)群體，傳遞了素不相識(shí)的藝術(shù)家之間的默契。

常青水墨形象的豐富和多義遠(yuǎn)不止于此，除了油畫(huà)家、設(shè)計(jì)師、老總與官員，服務(wù)員、鐘點(diǎn)工、修鞋匠、耍猴人、瓜農(nóng)與拾荒者—更多普通人的生存和生活樣態(tài)進(jìn)入了他的創(chuàng)作視域，激發(fā)著他的靈感、悲憫與熱愛(ài)。

常青用生動(dòng)和幽默感，逼真地記錄了這些普通人掏心窩訴衷腸拉家常吹牛皮的形象，再現(xiàn)了他們跳廣場(chǎng)舞時(shí)的炫酷和唱國(guó)歌時(shí)的豪邁。那拖著拉桿箱追逐邊境風(fēng)情的行者，那出入公共浴場(chǎng)卻不忘談?wù)撎煜麓笫碌哪腥耍窍裼白雍惋L(fēng)一樣穿行在都市夜色里的女郎—那我們仿佛觀察和歷經(jīng)過(guò)的一切，共同記錄著我們和他者的相互打量，演繹著變革社會(huì)中的光怪陸離、風(fēng)俗萬(wàn)象和勃勃生機(jī)。

當(dāng)我們意識(shí)到你和我都可能是他作品中的某個(gè)人時(shí)，祖先亦幻化成鳥(niǎo)的形象飛進(jìn)了常青的作品。類(lèi)人猿將上肢高舉頭頂，是準(zhǔn)備起跳、升騰和飛翔的姿態(tài)，他占據(jù)著畫(huà)面的中心，也許只是因?yàn)樗x人類(lèi)最近。

常青的鸚鵡是瑰麗和妖嬈的，一對(duì)色系相同又交叉分布的巨鳥(niǎo)，相向定格在類(lèi)人猿左右，若是將她們美麗的形象重疊，那綺麗濃郁的色彩或?qū)拇讼鼈兊倪吔纭Ｔ偻鈧?cè)，鳥(niǎo)的形象是不對(duì)稱(chēng)的兩種，似乎要以此打破過(guò)于嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)钠胶饨Y(jié)構(gòu)。常青以五聯(lián)畫(huà)或者說(shuō)五條屏的形式，呈現(xiàn)了他心目中完美飛翔的祖先。

2017年初夏的那個(gè)下午，在人頭攢動(dòng)的展廳，低調(diào)的常青反復(fù)被狂熱的粉絲一次次逮住攝影留念，他們?cè)凇白嫦取泵利惖挠鹨肀幼o(hù)下，一次次擺出當(dāng)下的造型，又一次次露出古代的笑臉。

常青作品《鳥(niǎo)——祖先》（局部）。Birds — Ancestors (partial), an ink painting work by Chang Qing.

《使徒》與“羅克威爾情結(jié)”

常青水墨中將筆觸伸得最遠(yuǎn)的，應(yīng)該算那件叫作《使徒》的大作?！妒雇健分?，一在于它的尺幅，二在于它時(shí)空上的渺遠(yuǎn)，三在于它所傳達(dá)的抱負(fù)?！妒雇健烦尸F(xiàn)了一群國(guó)美西畫(huà)專(zhuān)業(yè)包括油畫(huà)和雕塑系的老師們，在歐洲中世紀(jì)的一座古老教堂中觀摩休息的場(chǎng)景。這是一群常青無(wú)比熟悉的朋友和同事，除了特別眷顧畫(huà)面中唯一的女性形象，那領(lǐng)受了神示般的眼光和娟秀的面容，常青賦予其他的面容一律的疲倦與艱難，盡管那艱難本身互不相同、各有表現(xiàn)。在那個(gè)疲倦得有點(diǎn)登峰造極的好友崔小冬的身邊，常青給自己留了一個(gè)空位，表明他應(yīng)該是使徒中理所當(dāng)然的一員。

饒有興味的是，常青的使徒不是12個(gè)，即使加上那個(gè)屬于他的空位也只有10個(gè)。畫(huà)面兩側(cè)的邊界部分，局部呈現(xiàn)的座位展示了它們無(wú)窮延伸的可能。因此常青的《使徒》一方面貌似跟神有關(guān)，另一方面又同時(shí)詼諧地解構(gòu)了神性。

《使徒》對(duì)常青來(lái)說(shuō)，毋寧是一種使命。游學(xué)西方，西學(xué)東漸，這如果不是華山一條路，至少也是深厚和業(yè)已習(xí)慣的傳統(tǒng)。但是從油畫(huà)到油畫(huà)的以往，現(xiàn)在還要再生發(fā)出從油畫(huà)到水墨的新旅。

在常青真實(shí)的“使徒”形象里，還有一個(gè)叫凱茜 · 蒂麗的美國(guó)女性，但她同樣不是神的使徒。2013年夏日的某個(gè)午后，自帶香檳和雪茄的凱茜 · 蒂麗優(yōu)雅而沒(méi)有任何預(yù)兆地叩開(kāi)了常青工作室的大門(mén)。在短暫的寒暄過(guò)后，這個(gè)羅克威爾博物館及基金會(huì)創(chuàng)辦人的女兒，羅克威爾曾經(jīng)的模特和長(zhǎng)時(shí)期擔(dān)任博物館董事會(huì)核心成員的女人，迅速贏得了常青的友誼與敬重。

常青知道，他那些現(xiàn)實(shí)主義題材的水墨作品，有著對(duì)羅克威爾在表達(dá)時(shí)代特征、描繪普通人生活和幽默感等方面或多或少的體悟與追隨。但有別于羅克威爾美國(guó)式的單純和樂(lè)觀，他的樂(lè)觀背后更多了一些中國(guó)式的憂(yōu)患和危機(jī)意識(shí)。在繪畫(huà)手法上羅克威爾更接近繪畫(huà)寫(xiě)實(shí)，他無(wú)疑更注重變形與表現(xiàn)。相對(duì)于羅克威爾更公眾化和社會(huì)性的題材選擇，他更偏愛(ài)以個(gè)人的方式直面具體的人物在具體環(huán)境和遭遇中的具體反映和情緒。羅克威爾圖解了美國(guó)，他表現(xiàn)著中國(guó)。但對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)，如何用手中的畫(huà)筆記錄和描繪自己的祖國(guó)和人民，卻是一個(gè)遠(yuǎn)未完成的目標(biāo)和使命。

吾生有涯，唯光陰最為寶貴。水墨克制講述，有時(shí)僅三言?xún)烧Z(yǔ)， 它重形意，不戀“戰(zhàn)”。水墨“多快好省”的屬性和感覺(jué)符合常青對(duì)速度的預(yù)期和追求。水墨并不妨礙常青對(duì)油畫(huà)的深深熱愛(ài)和無(wú)限眷戀，那不斷反復(fù)和深入帶來(lái)的豐富與完滿(mǎn)。水墨給常青另一種酣暢淋漓。

“常青的酣暢源自他深厚的西畫(huà)功底，他作為專(zhuān)業(yè)畫(huà)家的優(yōu)秀品格，以及天賦異稟的聰慧和敏捷”，吳山明老師在見(jiàn)到常青的新水墨時(shí)，臉上是開(kāi)懷的笑容。

于是，在氤氳的墨香和仙氣里，我們看到一個(gè)老者和中年男子的擁抱，這是鶴發(fā)童顏的老一輩杰出浙派代表對(duì)常青新水墨的態(tài)度。常青這個(gè)曾經(jīng)野蠻生長(zhǎng)的水墨世界的“入侵”者，此刻也終于放下他的不安而獲得了新的寧?kù)o。

常青作品《使徒》系列。The Apostles, a series of ink painting works by Chang Qing.

An “Interloper” in the World of Ink and Wash

By Zhou Shu

Whenever and wherever he goes, Chang Qing is the one to be recognized at first glance. As a well-established oil painter, he entered the world of ink-and-wash painting in a way seemingly irrelevant to his past.

His works are as immediately recognizable as his own self is.Whether in a playful spirit or in a painstaking effort, he presents ink paintings featuring intense and adventurous frameworks.His unique, contemporary and alien universality makes him an“interloper” and “invader” in the traditional ink-and-wash world.

Chang Qing’s shift of focus from oil painting to ink painting goes back to 2003, a year underlined by sadness and bewilderment.When working in his canal-side studio, habitually, he put out a cigarette, put down his brush and placed his hands under a running tap. It was a time when SARS was drawing attention and public media repeated tips for proper handwashing. Staring at his hands as they rubbed and scrubbed in the running water, Chang zoned out. Daisy-yellow and olive-green oil paints stained his fingers when he heard about another departed doctor in the news.

He realized that it was going to be a cold year, which called for a change, so that when winter finally came, he would feel less helpless and leaden. This depended on his nimble hands.When the long winter faded away and another winter arrived,Chang got acquainted with several painting mediums, including pastels, acrylics and watercolors. In the following years, he wandered around different materials and finished works without preconception or purpose. It was a period when he untied himself and enjoyed complete freedom in painting.

Teachers and friends from the Department of Traditional Chinese Painting sent over some Xuan paper as an experimental material, the scent of which reminded him of his father painting with a brush. Out of admiration for his father, he automatically applied for the Department of Traditional Chinese Painting at China Academy of Art upon graduation from the high school affiliated to Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. However, his choice to follow his father’s example was altered by his father, who believed that Chang’s modeling ability and sense of color would have been wasted if he chose to just study traditional Chinese painting. Thus,his father made a more far-sighted decision for his son, as any opinionated parent would. Over the years, Chang forged ahead on the path chosen by his father, going all out in oil painting. His choice of ink painting is like returning to the original aspiration. It is fate, more like predestined!

常青作品《存手機(jī)》。Depositing Cellphones, an ink painting work by Chang Qing.

Chang’s ink paintings present a feeling of unease from the very beginning, and going forward, such intertwined unease gets intensified. Feeling anxious, he sought advice from teachers of traditional Chinese painting, the friends who gave him Xuan paper. But they refused to tutor him and said that it would go wrong if they intervened. Chang was encouraged to “grow wild”and keep painting as it is. Nevertheless, he regarded them as fellow artists with shared interest and aspirations, and produced a series of works entitled, depicting them joining events or waiting at the door to catch up after a meeting.

Perhaps his fellow artists felt uneasy as well. Without precondition, deliberation or scruples, this latecomer from the Department of Oil Painting produced what he considered as ink painting, which is distinctive and brings unconscious but subversive challenges. Unaware of such a situation, nor told by anyone, Chang Qing, like a child who had the first taste of joy,continues his journey of ink and wash with great verve.

As a father and a son, he pays attention to parent-child relationships. Among countless images, he highlighted the fatherson and mother-daughter eye contacts, depicted them both looking to the left or right in a kind of frozen way, described the responsibility and love with their hands holding together, or peace and contentment of sitting idly on the sofa. These figures do not shy away from flaws and weirdness, and sometimes are even grotesque and bizarre, but they are true to life and ethics, like acquaintances in the neighborhood or memories of some street.Now it is the critics’ turn to worry: does the ink painting circle of Hangzhou or the Zhe (Zhejiang) School of Painting recognize Chang Qing’s style? Would there be an identity issue?

Some say that there is a great contradiction between ink art and realism. Chang Qing has mitigated such contradiction and built on realism. More significantly, during his travelling exhibitions in England, France, and other countries, his ink paintings were interpreted by foreign experts and art institutions as “a social realism of today”., as an impressive set of his representative ink paintings, shows his utmost solicitude for social groups that are easily overlooked and neglected.

He has touched upon multifarious and polysemous images other than oil painters, designers, CEOs and officials in ink painting. A variety of common people entered his vision of creation in the way they lived and survived, e.g., waiters, cleaners,shoemakers, monkey jugglers, melon farmers and scavengers,stimulating his inspiration, compassion and love.

His paintings are true to life. With a sense of humor, he recorded the conditions of common people chitchatting, bragging,singing and dancing. The traveler pulling his suitcases on a border trip, the man talking about global events in a public bath and the lady walking in urban night scenes like a shadow — all that we seem to have observed and experienced is an interpretation of the bizarreness, customs and vitality in the changing society.

His most far-reaching ink painting should be,which is grand in size and ambition, with temporal and spatial remoteness. It depicts a group of teachers from China Academy of Art observing a medieval church in Europe. They are close friends and colleagues to Chang Qing. Except for the only graceful female figure with a divine look, Chang applied fatigue and hardship to other faces in various ways. Next to his friend Cui Xiaodong, who looked over-wrought, Chang left a vacancy for himself, indicating himself as a fit member of the apostles. It is interesting to note that there aren’t 12 apostles, but 10 even with taking into account the vacancy for himself. The partially rendered seats on the border of both sides indicate the potential of in finite extension.

For Chang Qing,is rather a mission. It is an accustomed practice to introduce the Western culture to the East.In addition to the conventional approach of learning oil painting from oil painting, he embarked on a new journey meandering from oil painting to ink painting. Catharine Deely, former trustee of Norman Rockwell Museum, showed up in Chang’s life as an apostle, but not an apostle of God. During her unexpected visit on a summer afternoon in 2013, she made friends with and won respect from Chang.

Chang Qing’s ink paintings of realistic themes more or less draw inspiration from Rockwell in expressing the characteristics of the times, depicting ordinary people’s lives and conveying a sense of humor. Ink painting is narratively restrained and emphasizes the form and its implication, sometimes with just a few lines.The sense of going quick and easy fits Chang Qing’s expectations.But his pursuit of ink painting does not hold back his passion for oil painting, the built-up depth of which brings richness and completeness. Ink painting conveys another type of ease and delight, which, for Chang Qing, “originates from his solid Western painting skills, fine quality as a professional painter, and gifted intelligence and agility”, remarked Wu Shanming, a distinguished representative of the older generation of the Zhe School of Painting.

With lingering scent of ink, we see a cheerful senior hugging a middle-aged man and his novel style of ink painting. Now, this once wild “interloper” in the ink world has finally got relieved and regained peace.