在寻找形式或符号的路径上独自前行

——邱胜贤绘画作品印象
严歌平

   邱胜贤以其雕塑作品《心》，荣获第八届全国美展优秀奖之后，令当代画坛对他不得不刮目相看。
凭着对人体的每一根线条，每一处表情，每一块肌肉，每一节骨骼独具慧眼地生动驾驭，邱胜贤在造型能力方面展示的天赋，早于他青年时代便得到了同行们的一致公认。加之文革后恢复高考，他上景德镇陶瓷美术学院所学的又是雕塑专业，如此，他的造型能力从先天至后天，几乎达到了炉火纯青与形神兼备的地步。总的来说，在邱胜贤40岁之前，也就是他美术生涯的整个年轻时代，事业最初的峰巅或许命中注定是要建立在雕塑艺术上。
   但令人奇怪的是，《心》的荣誉没有使他过多沉溺，40岁之后，邱胜贤除接受政府指令性的雕塑工程以外，却将他这一拿手强项束之高搁，重新以新的艺术表现形式来继续他起点颇高的美术生涯了。
    从上世纪末至本世纪初，邱胜贤在绘画方面所做的探索归咎于两个系列，一是纸本重彩《心影》，二是雕塑般造型布上西画《山僧》。这两个系列都体现了邱胜贤绘画的一贯风格，即具有强烈的形式感。按照美国著名艺术批评家苏珊·朗格的说法：“在艺术评论中广泛应用的一种暗喻，便是将艺术品比作‘生命的形式’。每一个艺术家都
    能在一件优秀的艺术品中看到‘生命’、‘活力’或‘生机’。当他们
   谈到一幅绘画的精神时，他们并不是指那种促使自己进行艺术创造的
   精神，而是指作品的性质。他们感到，作为一个画家，他的首要任务便是赋予他们的绘画以‘生命’，一件‘死’的作品肯定是一件不成功的作品。”因而，邱胜贤这一时期的两组系列作品，至多只能被称作“生命的形式”，是有生命，有活力，有生机的作品。但从“生命的形式”到“有意味的形式”，这期间确实还有很大一段距离，不少画家付出终生努力都难以穷尽这段距离。
好在邱胜贤很快消灭了这一段距离。
    我们大家都知道，艺术品是将人类情感呈现出来供大众观赏的，是情感转化成可见的或可听的形式。它是运用符号的方式把情感转化成诉诸人知觉的东西。而艺术形式也是一种比起我们迄今所看到的
    其他符号形式——如语言是体现思想或推理的符号——更为复杂的形式。一位艺术家只有掌握了操纵这种符号的本领，才能使自己作品里表现出来的感觉和情绪直接融合在形式之中。因此，作品情感和形式在结构上的一致性，决定了一位优秀的艺术家必须为自己的作品寻找到“有意味的形式”。
    从2003年开始，邱胜贤便苦心孤诣地在这条寻找形式与符号的路径上独自前行。有着那样深厚扎实的造型能力，有着过了不惑之年后胸襟里阅尽的人间沧桑，他是应该在自己情感和表现形式之间达成某一种出色的平衡。
   近年来，他陆续创作的《胜贤弥勒》、《中国福》、《云》、《中国风》、以及《情调》等系列组画，便昭示着他在创作上已跃到了一个更具高度的新台阶。
   在《胜贤弥勒》和《中国福 》中其实载负着邱胜贤叹嘘良多的历史感。面对中华民族灾难深重的历史，面对两千多年封建文明里百姓苍生经受的血与火
的屠戮，邱胜贤的情感与情绪却化作了一个个笑口常开，画面各有特色的弥勒，这其中的寓意确实是非常耐人寻味的。
   而《云》与《中国风》、《情调》则正如邱胜贤在他自己艺术简历中声称的那样：“冲破了时间与区域，古典与时尚，精神与物质等概念制定
    的界限”，为我们的观赏提供了完全崭新的审美经验。虽然，这两组系列作品中着古装的仕女头像或图像，都在一个平面上呈现，但他们和中国画里的人物因缺少＊＊而必须平面化则不能同日而语。《云》与《中国风》、《情调》是邱胜贤从他的个人情感中抽象出的一个“平面”，也是一个符号，从这个符号里，我们不难领略到邱胜贤创作时心胸间升腾起的复杂情感。不知从何年开始，各家服装店里的古装又成了紧俏商品。经历过改革开放，穿惯了西装马甲的不少中国人，纷纷争先恐后地仿古复古，忙得不亦乐乎。这难道是他们爱国意识的又一次觉醒？恐怕并非如此简单。因为当年他们将西装作为自己时髦的服饰时，也并非意识到：现代化的冲击对1840年之前尚处于闭关锁国的中华民族而言，从根本上说究竟是意味着什么？！
    在邱胜贤近年来创作的多组系列作品中，令我最喜爱的那组系列还属《中国风-追忆》和《情调-追忆》。与前面提及的几组系列一样，在具有共同符号的基础上，《中国风-追忆》和《情调-追忆》的情感内涵和思想内涵要显得更为宏大与深刻。它使我们真实地感触到：一个逝去了的时代的氛围、思潮、舆论正劈头盖脸地朝我们汹涌而来。由此，我们会情不自禁地联想：究竟是历史悠久的封建文明造就了现代迷信，还是我们现代文明的形态里本身就包含着对封建＊＊革命的不彻底性？
     如果说，在西方的现代艺术中，毕加索的立体方块 、马蒂斯的野兽派色彩、修拉的点彩以及梵高火焰般的笔触，均以个人鲜明的艺术符号吸引了全世界人民的眼球，颠覆了以往人们惯有的传统审美方式，拓展了人类美学的认知和视野；那么，邱胜贤所创造的绘画人体母子元素符号，却以东方人的精神、美学和价值观，将生命、情感、博爱直入了观者的心灵。与西方大师们一样，他同样是一种形式感明显而又语意丰富的艺术符号，同样给我们带来了持续和强力的视觉冲击力。虽然邱胜贤的作品目前还远未像这些世界大师们那么影响深远，但我相信，身居上海莫干山路M50的他，以雄健起步的当代艺术探索之路一定会延伸得很远，一定会延伸得风景更加迷人。
   近些年，他的作品反复被世界各国的著名企业、艺术机构、金融机构所收藏。其中包括美国白宫，比利时艺术中心，法兰西艺术学院，德意志银行，德国西门子公司，荷兰飞利浦公司，美国IBM公司，刘海粟美术馆，意大利FIY当代艺术画廊，还有美国总统奥巴马等名人政要。这便说明，邱胜贤因为成功地寻找到了自己情感表现的形式和符号，从而使他的作品顺利地领取了通向外部世界的通行证。出于交流人类情感的需要，他作品的形式或符号已成为清晰畅晓的艺术语汇，正被更广泛的不同肤色的人群所接受。
     在写作本篇拙文之前，我与胜贤兄曾有过两次网上的交流。他在给我的电子邮件里有几句话是这么说的：“我不喜欢过于确定的东西，也不喜欢大主题大思想，因为绘画只是绘画，有情有意有趣即可”。
        读罢，我以为这或许只是胜贤兄的谦虚之辞。其实，按我前面文字的论述，胜贤兄的作品已经蕴涵了“大主题大思想”。因为他既然承认了“有情有意有趣即可”，那么，大的情感和大的意旨往往就是产生“大主题大思想”的气候与土壤。只不过，这一切都应该在“有意味的形式”统领之下。而胜贤兄恰恰寻找到了属于他自己的艺术表现形式，所以，他根本不必担心自己作品里的观念会大于情感的艺术表现。
     最后，我衷心祝愿好友邱胜贤的绘画作品，能在一个时代的高度上沟通更多人的心灵和情感。并祝愿他在“寻找之路”上获得更大的成就。
   （注；严歌平——中国著名作家、评论家。 ）

Walk alone on the path to look for a form or symbol

——QIU SHENG XIAN’s paintings impression
YAN GE PING

     After having won the the 8th National Art Exhibition Award of Excellence, Qiu heng Xian with his sculpture ‘HEART’ has obtained a strong admiration in the contemporary art field.
     Relying on very line of human body, every expression, every muscle, each section of bone, Qiu Sheng Xian’s talents in terms of modeling ability has been acknowledged by his colleagues in his early age.
Moreover, after restoration of the college entrance examination after the Cultural Revolution, his major was sculpture while he was in the Jing De Zhen Ceramic Institute of Fine Arts. His ability to shape from innate to acquired almost reached a pinnacle with Vivid point.
   Generally speaking, before his 40 years old, namely his entire youth of his art career, his initial hilltop career is perhaps destined to the sculpture art.　　
    However, surprisingly, the honor of ‘HEART’ did not make him too much indulged. After his 40 years old, except the acceptation of the Government prescriptive sculpture project, he has put his good strength aside and continued his starting point for the high proportion of fine arts career in a new forms of artistic expressions. 
        From the end of the last century to the beginning of this century, in the field of painting, Qiu Sheng Xian has tried to explore some new forms, which can be categorized into two series, one is the paper re-color ‘HEAERT SHADOW’, the other is the sculptural shape cloth on Western painting ‘SHAN SENG’
        The two series reflect Qiu Sheng Xian’s painting style, namely, a strong sense of formality. According to the well-known American art critic Susan Langer: widely used in art criticism as metaphor is the work of art than as a 'form of life' Each artist can see 'life', 'vitality' or 'vigor' from a good artwork.
    When they talked about the spirit of a painting, they do not mean the kind of motivation that the artists intend to create, but rather than refer to the nature of the work.
     They felt that, as a painter, his first priority is to give their paintings to 'life', a 'dead' work certainly is a successful work. "Thus, two sets of series of works of Qiu Sheng Xian in this period, at best, can only be called a form of life, there is a life, vigor, and vitality of the work.
     However, in the form of life "to" significant form ", this period is indeed still a great distance, it is very difficult for many artists to pay a life-long efforts to exhaust the distance.
    Fortunately, Qiu Sheng Xian quickly eliminated this distance.We all know that art is a human emotion presented for public viewing and it is emotion converted into visible or audible form.
    It uses symbols to translate the emotional things into human perception.The art form is also a symbolic form than we have seen so far - such as language embodies symbols - the more complex forms of thinking or reasoning.
    An artist, who masters the ability to manipulate symbols, feelings and emotions can make their works shown a direct integration.Thus, the consistency of works’ emotions and forms in the structure determines that a good artist needs to find a meaningful form in their works.
    Since the beginning of 2003, Qiu Sheng Xian is devoted to find a good combination of forms and symbols by himself. With his deep and solid modeling capabilities, over the fourth decade, after the mind read the best of human vicissitudes, he is able to have an excellent balance between his own feelings and forms of presentations.
     In recent years, he continuously created some good works such as ‘ SHENG XIAN MAITREYA’, ‘CLOUDY’, ‘CHINESE WIND’, ‘MOOD-REMEMBERANCE’ and a series of paintings, which beckons that he has reached a highly new level creativeness.‘Sheng Xian Maitreya’ In fact, carries the sense of history that Qiu Sheng Xian sigh hush a lot.
     Facing the disaster-ridden Chinese nation's history, the blood, fire and killing of two thousand years of feudal civilization experienced by the common people, Qiu Sheng Xian has turned his feeling s and         emotions into smiling with their own characteristics of Maitreya and the meaning is indeed very intriguing.
However, ‘Cloud’ and ‘Chinese Wind’, As Qiu Shengxian claimed in his own art resume: Break the concept of time and region, classical and fashion, the boundaries of spiritual and material, etc. in order to provide a completely new aesthetic experience for our viewing.
     Although ladies in traditional costume or picture in these two sets of series of works rendered in a plane, but they are not the same flat as lack of perspective in Chinese paintings
    Cloud’ and ‘Chinese Wind’ are abstracted from Qiu Sheng Xian’s personal feelings, which can be considered as a ‘flat’, or a symbol and this symbol is not difficult for us to appreciate the complex emotions to Qiu Sheng Xian when creation of these works.
    Nobody knows from when in various clothing stores, costume became a hot commodity.
   After having experience of reform and opening up, many Chinese people are accustomed to wearing a suit and vest, have rushed to antique retro. Is it their patriotic consciousness once again awakening? I am afraid that it is not so simple.
    Because although at those time, they regarded suit as fashionable clothing, they are not aware of: the impact of modernization before 1840 is still in closed-door policy of the Chinese nation, what does it mean fundamentally? !
   Among lots of series of art works Qiu Shengxian has been created recent years, the series of my favorite is "Sentiment - Remembrance"
   The same as the previously mentioned two series, on the basis of same symbols, “ Sentiment – Remembrance “ has been more ambitious and profound of the emotional connotation and ideological content.
    It makes us feel that the atmosphere, thoughts and opinions of the past era is coming towards us. Therefore, we can not stop thinking:  Did the long lasting history of feudal civilization create the modern superstitious, or the system of our morden civilization did not against revolute the feudal autocratic revolution thoroughly.
    If, in modern Western art, the three-dimensional box of Picasso, Matisse's Fauvist colors, pointillist Seurat and Van Gogh-like flame of stroke are distinct personal artistic symbols to attract the attention of people around the world, subvert the traditional aesthetic way that people used to adopt, expand the awareness and the vision of human aesthetics; the symbols Qiu Shengxian creates by painting the human element touched viewer’s heart on the basis of  oriental aesthetics” spirit and values​​. The same as western masters, his artistic symbols are clear and rich, and bring us a sustained and strong visual impact. Qiu Shengxian” s work so far is not as 
    good as the art works from these world masters, but I believe,residing in M50, Moganshan Road, Shanghai,  as a contemporary artist, he will explore his career path further and further and it will certainly be extended to a more charming scenery
     In recent years, his work has constantly been collected by the world leading companies, art         organizations, financial institutions, which Includes the White House, the Belgian Art Center, the Art Institute of France, Deutsche Bank, Germany's Siemens, Philips, the Netherlands, IBM, Liu Hai Su Art Museum, Italian FIY Contemporary Art Gallery, as well as U.S. President Barack Obama and other famous political figures. This shows that, Qiu Shengxian successfully find the forms and symbols of his own emotional expression, so that his works successfully gain the pass to the outside world. The need for exchange of human emotions, the forms or symbols of his work has become clear and popular artistic vocabulary, and being accepted by a wider range of different skin color groups.
   Before writing this article, brother Sheng Yin and I had two online exchanges. In the emails he wrote: "I do not like things to be too sure, and do not like big ideas, and major themes.Painting is just painting, only need affections and interests.
   After reading these, I thought this may just be Brother Sheng Yin’s humble resignation.
  In fact, according to the exposition of the text above, brother Sheng Yin’s work has already implied big ideas and big themes
   Since he admitted the enthusiastic, the Intention and the interests are enough, the big emotion and intention often generates the climate and soil of the "big themes and big thinking".But, all this should be leaded by "significant form" .Brother Sheng Yin has just found his own form of artistic expression, so he does not have to worry about the concept of their own works of artistic expression will be greater than the emotional.
   At last, I sincerely hope that the paintings of my good friend Qiu Sheng Xian, can communicate more people’s emotions in the height of an era. Moreover, I wish him make great achievements in searching of the road.
    Note; Yan Ge Ping - the famous Chinese writer, and critic. The elder brother of the Chinese-American writer Yan Ge Ling)