Tell me how you understand art?

Liu Mo, 1966, born in Shenyang, holds a master's degree in art history of China, a doctor of literature and art, and a postdoctoral fellow in history. At present, he is a researcher at Peking University Institute of Historical and Cultural Resources and a visiting professor at China Academy of Art Graduate School. In July, 201kloc-0 was hired as the chairman of the art steering committee of "20 12 (London) Olympic Fine Arts Conference". His main works are: China's Art Aesthetics, Life Ideal, Primitive Confucianism and China's Personality, Chinese Painting Clinic, Calligraphy and Other Arts, Zen and Artistic Conception, Chinese Painting Theory and China Aesthetics, Shi Tao, Gong Xian, Badashanren, Continuation and Evolution of Tradition, Ten Theories of Gan's Academics, and Twenty. In addition, he has edited more than 40 books and published more than 400 papers. He has held exhibitions in Beijing, Shenyang, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Zibo, Taiyuan, Chengdu, Harbin and Changsha.

How do we understand art? This is my lecture notes from the Graduate School of China Academy of Fine Arts more than ten years ago. Turn out the old text and make a memo for yourself.

The concept of "art" we are talking about today was originally translated from Western European civilization after the Renaissance. Western European civilization has nine fields: religion, politics, industry, economy, science, philosophy, education, military and art. From this perspective, western art has been independent from the beginning.

In contrast, there are only five types of civilization systems in China: Confucian classics, military affairs, folk industry, religion and art. Through comparison, we can see that there is no category called "art" in western culture, so it will be attached to something.

The Concept of "Art" in Classical Literature

From the perspective of China's classical literature, something similar to art probably belongs to the concepts of "art", "work", "ability" or "cleverness". Xie Chengshu was quoted in the Biography of Zhao Dian in the Later Han Dynasty: "The learning of Confucius' Seven Classics, River Map and Luoshu, the art of China and foreign countries, are not integrated, and more than 100 people have received it." This is probably the first person who called it "art" in the literature. However, this kind of "art" is very different from the concept of "art" in the western modern sense, both in scope and connotation.

The "art" of art is contained in the inner seed of the mind. The "species" is "_" and the "species" is "_", and the difference between them is very obvious. In China, inner morality was first cultivated through art. When this meaning was completed, "art" including divination, waiting, archery, making, throwing pots and controlling was excluded. Especially after the rise of literati art in 1 1 century, the concept of "morality goes up and art goes down" is more pure. People only regard the piano, books and paintings as orthodox art, while others, such as sculpture, architecture, drama and craft, are regarded as craftsman skills and excluded from the field of fine arts.

This process is advanced step by step according to experience, technology, knowledge and wisdom.

Although in modern times, people have constantly freed art from morality, ethics, philosophy and history as a symbol of artistic consciousness, China's traditional art and aesthetics have never left the profound humanistic tradition and cultural tradition. Therefore, the greatness of China's art is equal to the greatness of life realm; The profoundness of China's art equals the profoundness of philosophy.

Art is at least a combination of three main "values":

(A) the value of form. Subjectively, it is called "the value of beauty".

(2) the value of the portrait. Objectively speaking, it is "true value", subjectively speaking, it is "life value" (the enrichment and expansion of life interest).

(3) the value of enlightenment. The deepest meaning and realm of stimulating the meaning of life in the universe is "the value of the soul" in terms of subjective feelings, and the deep touch of the soul is different from the stimulation of life.

The biggest difference between craftsmen and artists lies in the infiltration of personality. For example, craftsmen dare not leave any traces of themselves on porcelain, but artists dare. He insisted on putting his own mark on porcelain.

I once wrote: "From the perspective of traditional art, a painting is not just a painting, it is a symbol, a hint, just like a half-open door and a clean mirror, which can help us restore our original beautiful and pure nature, and even restore our natural nature of being close to mountains and rivers in our hearts." It is also a way to show our silent and most colorful mood in cold winter snow, dusk swallows and long nights, whether happy or depressed or lonely.

Zong Bing said that painting landscapes should be "tasteful" or "tasteful", and Fan Kuan also said that teachers are not as good as teachers, and teachers are not as good as teachers. Originally, "heart" is the foundation of creation. What kind of mentality should it be? It should be Zhuangzi's "pure white heart"! Only with this pure white heart can we see the great beauty of heaven and earth, but this pure white heart is the most difficult to protect. Ma Yifu, a great scholar in modern times, judged people by their appearances. Every time he calls a person "full of sinister intentions", he measures his artistic character from the perspective of "heart".

Art, like poetry, tells stories by language. Poetry explores the spiritual realm that everyday language can't reach. Art has gone a step further. It can't speak, but only understand. It provides a sense of mystery, obscurity and illusion to vision.

Ouyang Xiu said: "If you have fun, you don't know what you are tired of" ("Learning the true cursive script"); Su Dongpo said: "The trace of pen and ink depends on the tangible, which has both advantages and disadvantages. It' s not nothing, just happy for a while and talk about it? " Its purpose is to point to people's feelings or spirits.

Because the book Trace not only shows one's own existence, but also shows one's existence.

Therefore, although calligraphy is a trajectory composed of lines, it is not a "line" in the geometric sense, or even a symbol, but actually shows the existence of people. Lines have become the evidence of people's hearts: there is soul, life and flesh and blood.

But this soul, this life, this flesh and blood is based on human soul, life and flesh and blood. When we stroll in the calligrapher's room, when we whisper or ponder over the words written by the calligrapher, such as "looking for a book to burn a candle short, frying tea to draw a long cup", "learning to prolong fanatics, relaxing shrines, drinking Zen", "flowing water breaks the bridge and grass roads, lotus clouds and light rain raise flowers and days" or "short paper is inclined to make grass, and the window is clear and the milk is fine." Or life? "Picking up the salary to make tea in the stream and watching the clouds go or stay with a stick" is both a Zen realm and an artistic realm.

The philosopher Heidegger said that the artist is just a "channel": a channel between the artistic origin and the artistic works. The ultimate goal of the artist is to let the "truth" enter the works and make the works a representation of the truth that has not been uncovered.

This has something in common with Zen. The so-called epiphany, clarity, uncovering and stripping in oriental thought are nothing more than getting rid of all obstacles and blinding things, so as to reach the realm of freedom where everything is clear. This is also what I often say that artists become artists because of their pursuit of "essence".

Picturesque scenery can be found in classical poetry.

Facing all things in nature, China people always integrate themselves into nature, seeing that landscapes, plants and flowers and birds are in harmony with their own temperament, and the intimate relationship fully embodies their true love for the world. This artistic conception is a miracle and a dream today, but in the past, it was just plum blossom news in ordinary years, and birds in front of and behind the eaves of ordinary people called insects. So the kite flew, the fish jumped, and all the life was wandering.

Expressionism "

It may not be a problem to regard China literati art as a kind of "expressionism". W. Kandinsky (1866- 1944) said that the root of modern expressionist art comes from a person's "inner needs"-the so-called inner needs refer to silent insight, indescribable intuition, basic feelings and everything that constitutes spiritual life. When art mainly considers the expression of people's inner needs, people first consider not only a visual image, but a person's mental state, which is determined by a person's inner spiritual life.

Art is to mediate contradictions to transcend harmony. So art can purify people's emotional impulses. Thinkers in China are fully aware of the utility of art in purifying personality in life.

Zong Bing said in Preface to Painting Landscape that the key to artistic creation lies in "knowing taste" or "knowing". Therefore, although Zong Bing also emphasized "writing by form and seeing by color", he paid more attention to people's spirit and state of mind-rather than seeking external objective knowledge, and he explored the truth of inner life. In his view, artists should first keep a bright mind in their own hearts, which is bright and clear, and then guide this mind to turn things into things, so that artistic creation can be carried out by human spirit.

Why does China's art particularly emphasize "morality" in art?

The more an artist improves his spiritual life, the more he will find some obstacles in his heart. Philosophers in China call it "insincerity"-such as selfish desires, habitual materialistic tendencies, opinionated opinions, bad temper, etc. -and to get rid of these bad habits, we must avoid doing something for the sake of uniform, adjustment or transformation, so that our spiritual life tends to be purified.

"Dongpo Inscription" Volume 5 "Postscript and Kemozhu": I didn't learn the Tao, but I didn't want to reach the Tao, so I started to get sick. I'm fine now, but what can I do?

The strong desire for expression in art is not allowed by religious scholars in the strict sense, because it is also a part of the desire self, which contradicts the will to transcend the desire self. People must find ways to solve this contradiction, otherwise they will feel strongly "uncomfortable", which is a kind of "illness" and "dismissal" is purification.

"Tao" and "art" are related.

Under the "Tao-art" mode, the value of art always points to the highest reality of Tao, thus finding that the will of art exists in larger and more realistic will and emotion. As "aesthetic people", they return to the essence of existence, if the word "existence" refers to everything in the life situation-it prompts, summons and transcends; And more importantly, it will be painful, happy, confused, enlightened, lost and ecstatic; It can see the details of everything and has a thorough taste; Seeing life or death, humanity or spirituality from their art is their art.

In Preface to Yellow Painting, Pan Tianshou expressed his understanding of China's art:

The steps for Mr. Wang to learn painting are as follows: first, follow the method, second, follow the artistic conception, and third, follow the verve. Learning rules; We should enter strict places, complicated places, secret places and practical places, follow the past, exercise hard, enter and leave, and then seek liberation. Seeking artistic conception: We should enter from a height, a big place, a deep place and a thick place, and have a glimpse of the deep heart of the ancients, so that the will and Buddhism can be integrated into one, and the scenery can be born with the feelings, so as to get a harmonious and wonderful truth. Seek charm; We should learn from thousands of books and Wan Li Road to cultivate my lofty spirit. In the mixed vitality, pure mystery, mysterious heart, natural expression and charm came to the bottom of the wrist.

Art should enter from the "big place", "deep place", "high place", "complex place" and "hidden place", and people who have a very deep understanding of China's traditional painting will not write it. Looking back at ourselves, are we rigorous/complex/dense/practical/tall/rough? If not. Change it quickly! (Author: Liu Mo)