常青：水墨世界的“入侵”者

文 /周 澍

無論何時，常青是那個走到哪里都能被一眼認出的人，即使他忘記他作為油畫家的形象早已深入人心，即使他以與過往似乎無關的方式走進水墨的世界。

他的作品和他自身一樣充滿了不由分說的辨識度。無論他出于游戲精神還是苦心孤詣，他以水墨的線條、結構和意趣為我們呈現了一種強烈而頗具冒險精神的框架，并因其獨特、當下而陌生的普適性，成為傳統水墨世界的一名“闖入”者和“入侵”者。

特殊年份的一疊宣紙

油畫家常青的水墨轉向是在2003年。那年的空氣充滿著憂傷和茫然的氛圍，常青在他運河邊的工作室里，無意識地捻滅依然閃爍著紅光的煙頭，又同樣無意識地把那雙剛剛拿過油畫筆的手，放置到水流不止的龍頭下。

在“非典”時期的緊張感越來越占據人們心頭的時候，公共媒體一遍遍地教育人們如何用正確的方法洗手。常青看著在流水中發(fā)呆、揉搓和翻轉的手，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顏料，那是他在新聞里聽到又一個醫(yī)生離去時不小心留下的。

他意識到這將會是一個寒冷的年份，這個寒冷的年份呼喚他來做一些改變，或許可以使得冬天真正來臨時不那么無助和沉重。而能夠達成他這個心愿的，正是那水流中依然揉搓和翻轉著的敏感之手。

當漫長的冬天終于離去，又一個冬天來臨的時候，常青發(fā)現他那雙敏感的手已經觸摸過不同的繪畫介質，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，沒有預設也沒有目的。那段給自己松綁的日子，一些東西被刻意回避和忽略，另一些東西則從來不需要想起，那時的常青充分享受一種特別自由的畫畫狀態(tài)。

作為一種實驗材料，隔壁國畫系的師友們給常青送來了宣紙。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的人生。童年時對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了中國美術學院國畫系的志愿。而他以父親為榜樣的選擇，卻被父親審時度勢地進行了更改。父親覺得兒子的造型能力和色彩感覺，若只是用來畫國畫恐怕是有點多了，于是父親和任何一個有主見的家長一樣，替常青作出了另一個更為高瞻遠矚的決定。

多年來常青在父親選擇的路上奮力向前，一直畫油畫的他盡己所能地把他所理解的油畫畫到了極致。

2017年的初夏時節(jié)，在上海，在那個叫“常識”的水墨個展研討會上，常青說，始于2003年的探索是一次重啟，這個重新建立和建構的過程，需要時間。因此除了國家重大題材定件，他很少再畫其他的油畫作品。他選擇水墨的過程，就像他回到最初夢想和態(tài)度的過程。那是宿命，更像是天意！

不安的創(chuàng)作及其觀看

作家余華曾經用簡譜給《狂人日記》譜曲，音節(jié)之間的巨大落差和不加過渡讓他有理由相信，如果那樂譜有機會被演奏出來，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《開會》（局部）。Meeting (partial), an ink painting work by Chang Qing.

常青的水墨從他最初呈現的時候，已讓人感覺到某種類似的不安，愈到后來，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畫系的老師請教，那曾是送給他宣紙的師友們。他們說，你不能教，你若是教了，要教壞的， 你就那樣畫下去好了。常青說，老師和朋友們不教他，他們就任由著他自顧自“野長”。他們雖不肯教，常青依然視他們?yōu)椤巴乐腥恕保X得自己與他們志趣相仿目標相同，于是他畫下了他的《道友》系列作品，畫下了他們開完會在門口等人又一起去聚會和參加活動的諸多情景。

也許不安的除了常青，恰恰還有他的“道友”們。因為常青， 這個來自油畫系的后來人，就這樣沒有任何先見地，沒心沒肺地， 無所顧忌地畫了他自以為是水墨的水墨，他的畫和他們的如此不同， 帶著他完全不自覺的顛覆性的挑戰(zhàn)，大有要攪亂一潭清水的味道。

對于這一切，常青是木知木覺的，也從未有人跟他說起。他就像一個初嘗創(chuàng)造快樂的小孩，繼續(xù)他的水墨意興和潑墨揮毫。

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

當常青繼續(xù)他無人管教的“野長”，他還畫了同一個背景前的系列肖像。如果他們是坐在那里的，他們有可能是某個漁民或海島老人；若她們是站立著的，則可能是某個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的畫作上畫出了癮頭，那么他會不會像霍克尼前輩那樣，懷著對相對基礎、簡單甚至稚拙畫法的深深偏好，最終繪制出1000幅這樣的親友肖像呢？

現在輪到評論家開始他們不安的發(fā)問了—杭州或者說浙派的水墨系統接受常青的水墨嗎？常青和他的水墨會不會遭遇尷尬的身份認同呢？

我和你都是他作品中的某一個人

有人說，常青的水墨是《詩經》中的“國風”。

有人說，水墨藝術與現實主義之間存有很大的矛盾，常青把這種矛盾變小了，他對現實主義進行了接續(xù)。

更為意味深長的是，在英、法等國的巡展中，常青的水墨直接被域外的專家和藝術機構解讀成了“一個當今的社會現實主義”。

《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獎獲獎小說同名的畫作，同樣地把最深切的關懷賦予了極易被忽視和忽略的社會群體，傳遞了素不相識的藝術家之間的默契。

常青水墨形象的豐富和多義遠不止于此，除了油畫家、設計師、老總與官員，服務員、鐘點工、修鞋匠、耍猴人、瓜農與拾荒者—更多普通人的生存和生活樣態(tài)進入了他的創(chuàng)作視域，激發(fā)著他的靈感、悲憫與熱愛。

常青用生動和幽默感，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，再現了他們跳廣場舞時的炫酷和唱國歌時的豪邁。那拖著拉桿箱追逐邊境風情的行者，那出入公共浴場卻不忘談論天下大事的男人，那像影子和風一樣穿行在都市夜色里的女郎—那我們仿佛觀察和歷經過的一切，共同記錄著我們和他者的相互打量，演繹著變革社會中的光怪陸離、風俗萬象和勃勃生機。

當我們意識到你和我都可能是他作品中的某個人時，祖先亦幻化成鳥的形象飛進了常青的作品。類人猿將上肢高舉頭頂，是準備起跳、升騰和飛翔的姿態(tài)，他占據著畫面的中心，也許只是因為他離人類最近。

常青的鸚鵡是瑰麗和妖嬈的，一對色系相同又交叉分布的巨鳥，相向定格在類人猿左右，若是將她們美麗的形象重疊，那綺麗濃郁的色彩或將從此消失它們的邊界。再往外側，鳥的形象是不對稱的兩種，似乎要以此打破過于嚴謹的平衡結構。常青以五聯畫或者說五條屏的形式，呈現了他心目中完美飛翔的祖先。

2017年初夏的那個下午，在人頭攢動的展廳，低調的常青反復被狂熱的粉絲一次次逮住攝影留念，他們在“祖先”美麗的羽翼庇護下，一次次擺出當下的造型，又一次次露出古代的笑臉。

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

《使徒》與“羅克威爾情結”

常青水墨中將筆觸伸得最遠的，應該算那件叫作《使徒》的大作?！妒雇健分?，一在于它的尺幅，二在于它時空上的渺遠，三在于它所傳達的抱負。《使徒》呈現了一群國美西畫專業(yè)包括油畫和雕塑系的老師們，在歐洲中世紀的一座古老教堂中觀摩休息的場景。這是一群常青無比熟悉的朋友和同事，除了特別眷顧畫面中唯一的女性形象，那領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。在那個疲倦得有點登峰造極的好友崔小冬的身邊，常青給自己留了一個空位，表明他應該是使徒中理所當然的一員。

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

《使徒》對常青來說，毋寧是一種使命。游學西方，西學東漸，這如果不是華山一條路，至少也是深厚和業(yè)已習慣的傳統。但是從油畫到油畫的以往，現在還要再生發(fā)出從油畫到水墨的新旅。

在常青真實的“使徒”形象里，還有一個叫凱茜 · 蒂麗的美國女性，但她同樣不是神的使徒。2013年夏日的某個午后，自帶香檳和雪茄的凱茜 · 蒂麗優(yōu)雅而沒有任何預兆地叩開了常青工作室的大門。在短暫的寒暄過后，這個羅克威爾博物館及基金會創(chuàng)辦人的女兒，羅克威爾曾經的模特和長時期擔任博物館董事會核心成員的女人，迅速贏得了常青的友誼與敬重。

常青知道，他那些現實主義題材的水墨作品，有著對羅克威爾在表達時代特征、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式的單純和樂觀，他的樂觀背后更多了一些中國式的憂患和危機意識。在繪畫手法上羅克威爾更接近繪畫寫實，他無疑更注重變形與表現。相對于羅克威爾更公眾化和社會性的題材選擇，他更偏愛以個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，他表現著中國。但對他來說，如何用手中的畫筆記錄和描繪自己的祖國和人民，卻是一個遠未完成的目標和使命。

吾生有涯，唯光陰最為寶貴。水墨克制講述，有時僅三言兩語， 它重形意，不戀“戰(zhàn)”。水墨“多快好省”的屬性和感覺符合常青對速度的預期和追求。水墨并不妨礙常青對油畫的深深熱愛和無限眷戀，那不斷反復和深入帶來的豐富與完滿。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功底，他作為專業(yè)畫家的優(yōu)秀品格，以及天賦異稟的聰慧和敏捷”，吳山明老師在見到常青的新水墨時，臉上是開懷的笑容。

于是，在氤氳的墨香和仙氣里，我們看到一個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常青新水墨的態(tài)度。常青這個曾經野蠻生長的水墨世界的“入侵”者，此刻也終于放下他的不安而獲得了新的寧靜。

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》。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.