Where is the "God" of Wu Weishan's freehand sculpture?

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Where did I first see Mr. Wu Weishan's sculpture? Strangely, not in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Suzhou, but in the far north, Datong, Shanxi. But it seems that this is a grand arrangement.

There are world-famous Yungang Grottoes in Datong. The five most important caves were dug by a monk named Yao Tan, and they have always been called "Five Tanyao Caves". Yao Tan brought Yungang the greatest sculpture group of all time. Today Yungang really wants to build a sculpture for himself, and it is reasonable to praise the sculpture with sculpture. Unfortunately, however, all historical documents left no trace of his image, except that he was a monk from western Kashmir. Western monks? It's harder to imagine what he looks like. If you want to give him an image, you can only do it in a freehand way, and you must also do it in a freehand way. Therefore, Yungang is called Wu Weishan.

Yao Tan, carved by Wu Weishan, can be seen from his forehead, eyebrow arch and nose bridge as a westerner, but he is obviously a completely Chinese monk. His drooping eyelids show his modesty and firmness, which reminds people of his determination not to abandon his vestments and hide in the people during the period when Mao destroyed the Buddha. However, Buddhism gave him a perfect and detached manner, which was also shown by Wu Weishan.

From the statue of Yao Tan, I immediately understood a major feature of freehand brushwork sculpture, that is, speculation. Or more specifically, it is: guessing greatness.

Guess may rely on some data, but that's not important. What matters is the person who started the sculpture. Any material is not the work itself, and those materials also contain legendary elements. Only when the creator's hand moves, things officially begin. So I attach great importance to the first word "writing" of "freehand sculpture". This word pulls the creator out of himself. He is "writing" and writing his own conjecture like a poet writing poetry. "Freehand sculpture" is often called "new image sculpture", but I don't quite agree with it, because it lacks the word "write" which can best reflect the subjectivity of personal creation.

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Wu Weishan went to Yungang to create "freehand brushwork sculpture", which was really appropriate. Because Yungang is the holy land of China sculpture, but it is more than that.

As I said, China and hundred schools of thought were all good, but they couldn't create a world-class Datang according to their ideas. There are many reasons, one of which is that no one knows that there are other civilizations besides Chinese civilization in the world. This major defect was made up in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and one of the main classrooms was Yungang. Look at the huge sculptures in Tan Yao caves and other grottoes, which spread Buddhism outside China culture. According to Mr. Liang Qichao, the introduction of Buddhism changed China from "China of China" to "China of Asia".

What Mr Liang Qichao didn't know, however, was that "China in Asia" also included Europe. This matter needs to be discussed a little more.

China's Buddhist sculptures are mainly from Gandhara, and now they are located in Pakistan. Before Gandhara, there were few figure sculptures in Indian Buddhism. Or Alexander's Crusade, a student of Aristotle, a great ancient Greek philosopher, brought Greek sculpture art to the East. His mighty army is mixed with some "cultural soldiers", that is, Greek sculptors. As a result, Gandhara became a place where Greek sculpture and Buddhist classics merged.

At this point, I ask you to pause for a moment and think about a big problem together. How difficult it was for Greek philosophy to spread to the East, so Alexander made the sculpture clear; How difficult it was for Indian Buddhism to spread to China, so monks in the western regions made way for sculptures. Sculpture, sculpture, it is really a touching philosophy, a silent soul, a silent master and a pioneering civilization. Looking back at Yungang, people find that the caves there have the grand facade of the Greek colonnade, and the Buddha statues there have the exotic characteristics of high nose and deep eye sockets. Look carefully again, other civilizations along the way of the Greek civilization's eastward expedition have also been brought over. For example, there are objects and patterns of Babylonian civilization and Persian civilization in the grottoes. In other words, just the sculptures in Yungang Grottoes gathered the essence of the world's major civilizations at that time. As a result, the boundaries of Chinese civilization have been broken and the limitations of a hundred schools of thought have been surpassed. So I want to say that it is not only a sculpture shrine, but also a spiritual shrine.

I wrote an inscription on the hillside southwest of Tan Yaodong: "China marched into the Tang Dynasty". This stone tablet is well carved and represents my infinite reverence day and night.

I have read many art papers, and I am extremely dissatisfied with the low status of China sculpture in history. I always laugh when I read. I wonder what happened to the eyes of these critics. Apart from bronzes, Sanxingdui, Terracotta Warriors and Horses, and Huo Qubing's Tomb, sculpture was once the most grand and intuitive entity for Chinese civilization to accept other civilizations on a large scale, and it was also the most eloquent and hard witness. I think all sculptors should go to worship Yungang, where your most sacred coordinates are. At the same time, we should also look at Wu Weishan's sculpture Yao Tan, where there is a cultural cable that runs through thousands of years, winding between hillsides.

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Out of trust in Wu Weishan sculpture Yao Tan, Datong also introduced Confucius and Laozi.

These two teachers are the leaders of a hundred schools of thought I mentioned earlier, and they don't know about other civilizations in the world. Although they don't understand other civilizations, they have excavated the highest significance of Chinese civilization. Wu Weishan's sculptures of Confucius and Laozi are very famous, even more famous than his sculptures of Yao Tan. Yao Tan joined them in Yungang, but they came to Yungang by themselves, because they are really masters after all.

Wu Weishan regards the sculptures of Confucius and Laozi as his primary cultural mission in this life. His sculpture of Confucius and Laozi accords with my generalization of "freehand sculpture": guessing greatness.

History has left some accounts of the appearance of Confucius, but they are all simple and abstract. I think only one thing is more credible, that is, he is tall and in good health. For Lao Tzu, it's all imagination.

In fact, later generations' impressions of Confucius and Laozi are all spiritual, but occasionally some "reasonable attitudes" are derived, but they do not pursue too specific images. For spiritual greatness, a truly concrete image will be a pity, because the five senses and various shortcomings that are no different from ordinary people will become the constraints and obstacles for people to accept the great spirit.

In this respect, even the statues of ancient Greek philosophers, including later sculptures of historical figures by Michelangelo and Rodin, seem realistic, but they are actually based on speculation. However, they led this speculation to modeling, making the sculpture object a model for philosophers and artists, and continuous hair, beard, muscles and clothes were all classified into a series of models. The Buddha sculpture has taken a similar path, that is, let speculation go to patterning. Such sculptures are very limited in spiritual expression.

In this regard, western modernism has made a bold breakthrough. Modernist sculpture does not care about realism, let alone mode, but tries to pursue the structural force in abstract modeling. In this way, the realistic appearance can't frame the size of the mind, while the structural strength of abstract modeling will promote the generate of spiritual torrent.

However, Wu Weishan stood on the ideological line of Confucius and Laozi, and did not advocate "losing everything". He pinned the unrestrained power of modernism on the modeling ability of approximate realism, so we saw smiling Confucius and Laozi. However, from the free and easy lines to the strong presentation of materials, we are reminded that this is a great attitude, great style and great spirit that temporarily rests on people.

Here comes another feature of freehand brushwork sculpture: the bigger the idea, the more abstract the image, and the closer it is to "God's will". As a result, "guessing greatness" has risen to "imitating providence."

Wu Weishan's sculpture of Confucius and Laozi is "learning from God's will". In this way, the word "freehand brushwork" is no longer just talking about a style, but approaching the extreme state of artistic creation, that is, the realm of "harmony between man and nature". The "man" in the middle is both the object of sculpture and the sculptor himself.

Out of the realm of "harmony between man and nature", both Confucius and Laozi involve a lot of natural elements in their modeling. For example, from face to body to clothes, there are rocks everywhere, such as waterfalls, such as vines, such as streams. The irregularity, immaturity, straightness and clumsiness of natural elements, etc., will break into the modeling for a while, making the modeling closer to nature, more integrated with nature, rough and rough, and natural. In this way, Confucius and Laozi have become a part of the vast nature, which is also in line with their own ultimate thinking.

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Yes, Wu Weishan is a man who "explores God's will". However, this aspect is not complete. He also has an important side, which is called "popularity". Add "seeking God's will" and "embracing popularity" together, and you will find Wu Weishan.

Wu Weishan's family background and poetic accomplishment make him often think about the sky and the earth alone, but he is not a hermit or a ranger. When his melancholy eyes withdraw from the sky and turn around, he can face the busy market and colorful world with a smile. He is a man deeply integrated with modern life. He can feel the emotions, gestures and gestures of relatives, friends and strangers.

Therefore, his sculpture also developed another kind of scenery.

His sculpture, wrapped in popularity, makes bronze mud and stone infiltrate the strongest popularity. Therefore, the concrete image of real people has become his basic material. However, unlike all sentient beings in the vast world, the concrete images of these real people have an unusual appearance once they reach his hands. This is his "alternative freehand brushwork" and still belongs to the category of "freehand brushwork sculpture".

What does "alternative freehand brushwork" mean? That is to focus on depicting the unusual spirit, will, concept, intention, interest and attitude of the sculpture object. In short, it's all in the meaning.

The first batch of specimens were a group of famous painters, scholars, writers and social activists in the modern history of China. They became Wu Weishan's models, which is really lucky, because they have been revived in bronze mud and stone, or they are young again, and they will live like this all the time.

These modern celebrities have different cultural levels, and many of them may not meet the ancient standard of "making an image go down in history". Originally, with the help of modern photography technology and public media, these people's images and expressions have been widely known, but once they are in Wu Weishan's hands, they are all lifelike, and people will understand what is the "freehand brushwork" magic in sculpture.

I found that Wu Weishan's magic lies in trying to capture the "facial expressions" of these characters, and boasting them as the key to modeling with appeal and impact, while shielding and preserving other unimportant modeling materials. As a result, only the "important appearance" can force the audience, and there is nowhere to escape.

The audience responded enthusiastically to such sculptures. I have read some of their conversation record, and I think the physicist Mr. Yang Zhenning said it best. After seeing Fei Xiaotong's sculpture in Wu Weishan, Mr. Yang felt more like Fei Xiaotong himself. This statement is very interesting, but it was asserted by a great scientist that freehand brushwork is more powerful and true than realism. I believe this will make many freehand brushwork artists excited. Besides, Mr. Yang Zhenning also said that in Wu Weishan's sculptures, vagueness is often the most touching. Fuzzy, because there is a state of mind, and the expression is fluctuating. As long as there are too many real details outside this ambiguity, it will become an obstacle.

Wu Weishan's "freehand brushwork" magic is close to realism, so it can also be regarded as a "close challenge", but Wu Weishan didn't fight realism, he just played a "close joke" at most. I think this is a gentle reminder to the huge realistic sculpture team. Reality is not that important at all. Being a man lies in that tone and spirit. Just click the acupoint and everything will live. Therefore, the freehand brushwork, that is, the finishing touch pen and the omitted pen, is also the pen to save lives.

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Among the popular sculptures in Wu Weishan, there is another way, that is, vague expression, focusing on the human body.

This is obviously deeply influenced by western modernism, that is, to achieve the best physical strength through structural design. And this kind of physical strength echoes the depth of the audience's inner psychological structure, which has an unexpected touch.

Wu Weishan's sculptures have two series with opposite contents, but their psychological effects are equally amazing, that is, the series of "human warmth" and the series of "war tyranny". For these two series, please allow me not to make a specific analysis. I just want to say that sculpture modeling may bring the ultimate impact of great goodness and great evil to mankind, and its strength has almost reached the realm of religion.

Silent, silent, laughing, crying, shouting, appealing, inspiring, just the shape of the characters, including vague expressions and strong figures, but showing the real hell and real heaven.

In short, the dialogue from Yungang is endless. From the sky to the eyebrows, it is condensed between copper, iron, mud and stone, which has become a textbook of anthropology. Among the ancient sites unearthed today, you can already see the most primitive sculptures made by our ancestors, most of which are "freehand sculptures". Since then, sculpture is almost inseparable from the fate of mankind, and every major joint has not been missed.

I envy Mr. Wu Weishan, who can talk quietly with the souls of heaven and earth day and night with sculptures, and keep his life and the lives of all beings so magnificent. After many years, the heavy classics and words are gone, only those sculptures are still there. Moreover, no matter how much human language has changed, they are still speaking silently, so that all discoverers can understand it immediately. It is not empty talk that human beings are connected through sculpture.

(Yu, cultural scholar, theorist, essayist, dean of China Academy of Fine Arts ..)

Author: Pan

In 2006, the relevant leaders of Xihu District suggested that the tombs of painters Pan Tianshou and Huang be moved to Chaoshan. I am in favor of this plan, and hope to put Pan Tianshou's sculpture in front of his grave. Pan Tianshou's statue was also made several times in 1980s and 1990s, but this time it was planned to be rebuilt because of its inappropriate size.

I hope to make the statue of Pan Tianshou more vivid and reflect the mental outlook of the elderly. However, this requirement is easier said than done. Because the western sculpture art was introduced to China for a short time, especially the western classical and realistic sculptures. For China sculpture, it is still difficult to reach the level of western classic realistic sculpture. I hesitated for a long time about this question.

In the exhibition of China Art Museum, I came across several famous Wu Weishan sculptures. After seeing their solo exhibition, I was deeply impressed by Shan Ge's works. His sculpture style is just what I want. His sculpture style is a kind of freehand brushwork language, very ethereal, especially vivid in shape and posture, and he is very keen on depicting the spiritual characteristics and cultural character of the object. Therefore, I became interested in Wu Weishan's sculptures and paid attention to his picture books and more works.

Wu Weishan has a special sensitivity in shaping the cultural character and spiritual characteristics of characters, and he is very relaxed and skilled in making this kind of sculpture. So I went to Wu Weishan and specially entrusted him to make a statue for Mr. Pan Tianshou in Chaoshan, Hangzhou.

Of course, this is also very difficult for Wu Weishan, because Pan Tianshou's photos are very limited, some are clear in front, and few are side or semi-side. Although the information was limited, he began to conceive and create without saying anything.

Soon, Wu Weishan told me that he had already started to do it, and asked me to have a look. When I went to the studio, I saw that he had piled up his big body with mud and was working on the details. He moves quickly in the spacious studio, maintaining a great relationship between distance and distance. His technique is bold, his grasp of body and posture, including tiny dynamics, is decisive, quick and very keen.

I have been there twice, and it only took a few days, and he basically finalized it. This speed surprised me. I think Shan Ge's basic skills are really great. Because this kind of vivid sculpture with freehand brushwork language is actually quite difficult. This kind of sculpture is represented by several great western sculptors from 19 th century to 20 th century, among which Rodin is the most important. This kind of freehand sculpture is sensitive and accurate in modeling, and it needs long-term training to achieve the consistency of eyes, hands and heart. At the same time, the sculptor needs to have a deep understanding of the cultural characteristics and personality characteristics of the object and a unique expression style. Without long-term practical experience, a comprehensive grasp of body, space and emotion, and the use of exaggerated artistic language, it is impossible to achieve such outstanding artistic effects.

Soon, the bronze statue copied by Wu Weishan was transported to Hangzhou, because we made the pedestal in advance. After the bronze statue was erected, it greatly added color to this cemetery. Everyone who saw it at that time said yes, and everyone thought that Mr. Pan Lao's mental state was fully expressed. The main feature is that his works are vivid and have no sense of rigid dogma. Personally, I think this is a successful masterpiece of Shan Ge.

Wu Weishan, as a kind of freehand brushwork, exaggeration and poetic sculpture language, is rare in China sculpture field at present. Moreover, this language is especially suitable for concrete people who express reality, that is, concrete people with names and surnames. I think this kind of exploration is not only necessary, but also has great room for development. Personally, I feel that abstract sculptures in China have developed rapidly and achieved remarkable results in recent years. However, there are not many realistic sculptures in China that are realistic, freehand and poetic, and can accurately express the specific mental state of specific characters. I even think that in the current sculpture teaching in China, this figurative and realistic method needs to be strengthened, because there is social demand.

Wu Weishan is an outstanding representative of China's freehand brushwork and poetic portrait sculpture. From the perspective of inheritance, I think he must be deeply influenced by Rodin, plus his love and understanding of China tradition. The combination of the two makes his works have both Rodin's fierceness and vividness and China literati's boldness and unrestrained, which has formed its own distinctive features and is unique in the sculpture field in China, which is why I asked him to be a statue of Pan Tianshou.

Interestingly, the short story above has the second half.

As early as the early 1980s, my mother was still alive. Once Mr. Liu Kaiqu came to Hangzhou to visit her at my home, because the two families are old colleagues and friends. From the perspective of the curator of the Art Museum, Mr. Qu Kai said that there are many works by Mr. Pan Lao in the collection, but most of them are medium-sized and vertical. It is better to have a big banner. I hope my mother can donate a big painting to the art gallery. My mother immediately agreed to donate her masterpiece "Writing Flowers in Yandang Mountain" to China Art Museum. Mr. Liu said happily, "Great! Well, I'll go back and make a bronze statue of Pan Lao and put it in the courtyard of the art museum as a thank you. " Mr Liu is also very generous.

However, after Mr. Qu Kai returned to Beijing, he may be very busy, so he didn't do it for a while, or he forgot it after a long time. In short, making a bronze statue is gone. Even after my mother died. This time, the Ministry of Culture commemorated the 20th anniversary of Pan Tianshou's birthday/kloc-0, and I suddenly remembered another thing. By the way, I asked Wu Weishan, the curator, "As a later curator, can you make another replica of your Pan Tianshou and put it in the courtyard of the art museum to fulfill the wish of the former curator more than 30 years ago?" Hearing this, he said, "Ah? There is this thing! That promise should of course be fulfilled! " So now, on the lawn in the southeast corner of China Art Museum, there is a sitting statue of Pan Tianshou.

Every day when the sun goes down, the sun shines on the bronze statue through the leaves. Many sculptures in the yard are dotted in the China Art Museum among the green trees, which looks so quiet and brilliant.