泄云无定姿---致画家魏传义

        来信谈到《人间词话》中的境界与格调的关系，我对王国维这些论点也感兴趣。境界的隔与不隔，或格调的高与不高，和艺术家的生活实践密切相关。“入乎其内”与“出乎其外”的对立统一，也就是有无相生的互相依赖。境界的大小、深浅与趣味的高低，都要看艺术家在生活实际中有没有真情实感。当艺术面临商业化的考验，王国维所强调的“赤子之心”更觉重要。

　　你的油画与中国画现有成就，教学与研究工作中突出贡献，和你那生活实践的深度与广度有密切的关系吧？是的，不能认为只有“下去”才算是接近生活，没“下去”的生活实际也是在培养着人们辨别美丑的审美能力。但是对表现什么与如何表现的深度与广度来说，扩大生活视野对艺术创作与艺术教育都有重要作用。

　　油画《晨星》曾在报刊上见过；不消说，它是你教学主张的具体体现。中国画《新荷》，我觉得比《晚风》更能适应我的偏爱；《新荷》显得很有中国气派。《新荷》的美是八大山人、齐白石、潘天寿诸大家已经应用过的素材，但你这画面上的一朵新花和一片嫩叶，使我如面对生命力旺盛而且天真的幼儿。你在客观对象中发现了前人没有发现过的美，可喜。

　　我爱你那幅《蜀中景》的原因，正如你的题词所表达过的情感“少时踪影似依稀可见”，是由山水形象的特征而引起的同感。笔墨奔放不拘，构图活泼，发挥了中国画长处的《归牧图》，我觉得更耐看一些。这是为什么？也许因为你在借鉴别人的成就时，排除了前人趣味的影响吧。前人的趣味必须一分为二，在接受前人的影响时，区别它的积极性与消极性，难度不小。但为了避免和防止它们冲淡自己的新格调，在借鉴中千万要慎之又慎。

　　我很赞成你那些关于教学的正确主张，例如：“讲、看、练”的“三结合”。“看”有多重含义，包括对别人作品得失的品评。基于这样的理解，我虽不认为你那幅中国画《静夜》是失败之作，我觉得它的形式风格还不及《归牧图》显得成熟。我知道你还长于写诗，猜想你对杜甫有关夜或月的诗句例如“月涌大江流”，“孤月当楼满”，“落月动沙虚”，“孤月浪中翻”，“星月动秋山”，“落月去清波”，“万里瞿塘月”，以至没有提到月的“瞿塘夜水黑”也感兴趣吧？诗人在巴江所感受的月的形象的多样性，都是以他对多山的蜀中之月的变化为条件的。这些有形无形月的形象带有主观的清苦性格，不如你的《静夜》显得愉快。但这些月的意象的产生，也是他的审美感受的能动性的体现。如果说这些杜诗也是诗中有画的语言艺术，语言中的画意多么富有审美的个性（特殊性）！你虽在《静夜》一画中以月为题材，但诗意的表现与造型方式颇有矛盾。

　　我这样说，并非要否定《静夜》的构思。也许因为你不满足于夜中之月的静态，而企图赋予它一种动态感吧。但我觉得对动态感的表现方式，不如诗句“月下飞天镜”显得那么“少、短、精”。你的《归牧图》，连标题也是“前有古人”的，但却没有落入古人窠臼。即使是和同时代画家李可染题材有类似性的作品相比较也有你的独特成就。在我看来，《归牧图》正确体现了继承与创造的关系。正如你在教学工作中不只坚持了正确方向，而且提出了符合文化建设的切实观点那样应用自如。你提倡中国画教学“摹写、写生与意写”的“三结合”，很对。“意写”与“写意”有本质的差别，我欣赏这“意写”之意。《归牧图》可以说是你那“基础训练、生活实践与创作实践”的“三结合”主张的形象化。

　　我看了你在画中着意画出的嫩荷所引起的如见幼童的联想，看到你那风中林木如见活泼的书法狂草的联想，也是由你画面的视觉形象所引起的意境、意趣或意味。你的标题，也是画家对自己的命意的一种暗示。我接受了你的暗示，促使我对画面所反映的美的发现；在我的意识中创造了有我之境。

　　杜甫诗句“去水绝还波，泄云无定姿”，你看，这“无定姿”三字，对“语不惊人死不休”的艺术家，岂不是最宜着眼的艺术特性。

　　1995年福建美术出版社出版《魏传义艺术·序》

　　原载《人民日报》1992年12月16日第8版

　　原中国美术家协会副主席 王朝闻

　　Moving Clouds Have No Fixed Figure---To Painter Wei Chuanyi

　　The letter mentioned relationship between realm and taste in Poem and Word of Human World, which I am also interested in Wang Guowei’s these propositions. Separation of realm and level of taste are closely related to artist’s life. Conflict and unity of “entering inside” and “going outside” generate and rely on each other. The size and degree of realm and level of taste depend on whether the artist has real feeling in practice of life or not. When art is facing test of commercialization, “pure heart” insisted by Wang Guowei is even more important.

　　Your present achievements in oil painting and traditional Chinese painting and outstanding contributions on teaching and researching work must be closely related to depth and breadth of your life, mustn’t they? Yes, we shouldn’t regard “entering” is to be close to life. In fact “non-entering” is also training people’s aesthetic ability to distinguish beauty and ugliness. However, for depth and breadth on what to be reflected and how to reflected, enlarging vision of life plays an important role on both artistic creation and art education.

　　The oil painting Star in Morning has been published in magazine, undoubtedly, it’s a concrete manifestation of your idea on teaching. I prefer the traditional Chinese painting New Lotus rather than Evening Wind, because New Lotus shows Chinese style. The beauty in New Lotus has been applied as theme by Zhu Da, Qi Baishi, Pan Tianshou and other masters, but it seems that I am facing to a vigorous and innocent child as soon as I see the new flower and leave in your painting. It’s gratifying you found beauty in objective thing that nobody found before.

　　The reason I like Scenery of Sichuan is “lightly visible track of young age” expressed in your inscription, which is the same impression caused by features of landscape’s image. Your brushwork is free and painting is lively. I think the painting Returning after Herding that displayed advantages of traditional Chinese painting is more interesting. Why? Perhaps it’s because that you exclude impact of predecessors’ taste when you learn from others’ achievements. Predecessors’ taste should be divided into two parts. When you accept impact of predecessors, you must distinguish its positive and negative factors, which is quite difficult. However, in order to avoid and prevent it diluting your own new style, you must be more and more cautious when borrowing.

　　I really agree with your correct ideas on teaching, such as “three combination” of “speaking, watching and practicing”. “Watching” has multiple meanings including comment on others’ works. Basing on this understanding, though I don’t think your traditional Chinese painting Quiet Night is a failure, I feel that its form and style are less mature than Returning after Herding. I know you are also good at writing poems, so I guess you must be interesting in sentences about night and moon in Du Fu’s poems. Diversity of moon’s image that the poet felt in Bajiang is conditioned on change of moon in mountainous Sichuan. These tangible and intangible moon’s images contain subjective cold and desolate character, while your Quiet Night is more delightful. The generation of these moon’s images reflected his initiative of aesthetic feeling. If it is said that Du Fu’s poem is art of language with painting in poem, how rich aesthetic individuality (particularity) of painting in the language! You used moon as theme in painting Quiet Night, but reflection and form of poetry are rather contradictory.

　　What I said is not to negate concept of Quiet Night. Perhaps you are not satisfied with static state of moon in evening and attempt to give it a dynamic sense, but I think the performance of dynamic sense is not as “small, short and concise” as verse “Moon is like a mirror from sky”. The title of Returning after Herding is same as ancient works, but it did not fall into ancient patterns. Even contrasted with contemporary painter Li Keran’s similar works, you made unique achievement. In my opinion, Returning after Herding correctly reflects relationship between inheritance and creation, no less than you not only persist in right direction in teaching but also put forward realistic viewpoint applicable to cultural construction. That you advocate “three combination” of “copying, sketching and creating” is quite right. “Creating” is different with “freehand brushwork” in essence. I appreciate meaning of “creating”. It can be said that Returning after Herding is reification of “three combination” of “basic training, life practice and creation practice” that you propose.

　　The association to child when I saw new lotus deliberately painted by you and association to vivid calligraphy of wild cursive script when I saw woods in wind painted by you are mood, charm or significance caused by visual image in your painting. The title is also painter’s implication on his own fate. I received the implication that promoted me to discover beauty displayed in your painting and created scene with me in my consciousness.

　　The verse “flowing water surge in waves, moving clouds have no fixed figure” was written by Du Fu. You see, “no fixed figure” is most desirable characteristic of art for artists who “want to astonish people at best”, isn’t it?

　　Art of Wei Chuanyi • Preface was published by Fujian Fine Arts Publishing House in 1995 Originally published on the 8th sheet of People’s Daily dated of December 16, 1992

　　Former Vice President of China Artists Association, Wang Zhaowen