LUO ZHONGLI
Property from the Ma-An Collection of the Chinese School of New Realism
LUO ZHONGLI

細節
馬安「中國新寫實主義」收藏

羅中立
途中
油彩 畫布
1981年作
簽名︰luo zhong li 羅中立 Luo Zhongli
鈐印︰馬安;馬安

展覽
2000年「中國寫實—當代作品展」橘郡海岸學院 加州 美國
2001年「中國寫實」布瑞亞市畫廊 加州 美國


要透徹了解羅中立的藝術對中國現代美術史的重要性,我們必須回顧50-70年代中國繪畫在特殊的社會政治形勢下,一步一步與政治掛鉤,甚至成了政治的選擇的一段歷史。當時的社會出現只允許歌功頌德的作品,上井崗山也好,到安源也好,農民都被塑造、描繪成大英雄,「高、大、全」及「紅、光、亮」頓然成了把農民入畫的標準表現方式。

出生於四川省重慶市的羅中立為什麼與鄉土主題結下不解之緣?文革時期下鄉至大巴山區當鍋爐工人的經歷對羅氏的創作影響深遠。羅中立回憶其創作來源曾表示,老實的農民總是吃虧,他要為這些被忽視的農民吶喊。就是這些深刻的個人體驗,以及對人性的關懷,賦予其作品豐富的情感。此外,羅氏從弗朗索瓦.米勒(Jean-François Millet)作品中汲取了西方鄉土寫實繪畫,把主題畫得很精緻、周到。正正是這種一絲不苟的手法,羅氏成功地把苦澀凝重的農民生活深刻地表現,羅中立成名作《父親》就是這樣表現了人的沉重感。羅中立目前的創作大致可分為三個階段,第一個階段就是從《父親》開始,藝術家用高超的照像寫實主義技法,將農民的疾苦表現出來。《西藏人物》(Lot 1398)及《西藏人物》(Lot 1397) 是這時期的代表,與《父親》一樣顛覆了自1949年共產黨影響下的中國寫實繪畫。兩幅農民肖像畫毫無保留地表現了粗糙、黝黑、乾燥的皮膚,臉上一道一道交錯的皺紋。這些歲月和勞動的痕跡與炯炯有神的雙目成強烈對比。羅氏筆下的農民雖是樸實、粗獷,卻散發出永不放棄的堅毅精神。歲月雖改變了外在的身軀,卻磨滅不了心靈的力量。從農民身穿整齊的民族服飾,可見藝術家對這份毅力的尊重。

反思真相無疑是80年代鄉土寫實以至整個「傷痕藝術」的起點。可是,羅中立想要表現的主題,並非只停留於揭露農民物質生活的刻苦和貧窮。羅氏想要把觀眾帶到農民生活中,讓人們重新認識鄉土生活中的智慧、溫情、野趣。羅中立從四川美院畢業前後的作品開始出現變形、隨意,主題上對鄉村生活的描寫也更趨於輕鬆、真情流露。在這個創作階段,羅中立的畫作離開了肖像畫,走向「生活流」,主題傾向司空見慣的生活行為,來表達對農家生活,以至對人與人交往的價值的尊重和愛惜。《途中》(Lot 1374)、《火把》(Lot 1376)、《磨石》(Lot 1375)及《親情》(Lot 1396)描繪的都是一幕一幕平凡的生活片段 — 戀愛、避雨、勞動、挑燈、抹汗,每每洋溢著淡淡的溫情和趣味,假如沒有用心領會,這些生活細節便會隨時間而流失。

《途中》以一對男女躲在山洞避雨為題。滂沱大雨下,男子脫下淋濕了的上衣,露出結實的肩膀,捲起褲腳,放下行囊,坐下休息。站著的女子同樣捲起淋濕的褲腳,玩弄沾濕了的長髮,顯現了女子豐乳肥臀的曲線。羅中立常把水帶入畫中 — 滂沱大雨、絲絲細雨、池塘、河流都曾描繪過。水既是生命之源,能滋潤大地,灌溉農作物。農民終日與大自然緊密共處,明白雨水的珍貴,也明白氣候變幻莫測,因此能悠然自得地一邊把玩手指,一邊梳理頭髮,等待雨停的一刻。羅氏以粗獷、厚重、縱橫、交錯的筆觸,描繪佈滿青苔的石洞。相比第一階段的深沉色彩,羅氏選用明亮的藍綠色,再加上小紅袋子、橘黃色的衣服,為畫面添上輕鬆的節奏。人物造型圓渾、樸實,顯得自然含蓄。羅中立捕捉了平凡卻充滿詩意的避雨時光,表現出心靈的寧靜與忍耐。

《石磨》描繪一名皮膚黝黑,身型魁梧的男子,站在屋前的石磨旁邊,細心檢查彎彎的鐮刀。鐮刀是用作收割田間產物,石磨是農民打磨農作物的工具。羅中立刻意在畫面加上農民飼養的家畜 — 走地的雞隻、正在吃飼料的小豬。畫面的一切表現了農民自給自足的生活,既有穀物、蔬果,也有家禽野味。藝術家以從下而上的角度描繪,突出了男子壯健的身體,體力勞動的生活,換來了旺盛的生命力。

《火把》描繪寒冬的一個晚上,穿上厚棉襖的男女,一手拿著書本,一手拿起火把,傳遞火種。明亮而漸變的黃色成功營造整個畫面從中心發出的光,散播四周。這種互助的精神,不但燃點照明用的火光,更是燃點起人性內心的溫暖。

《親情》(Lot 1396)描繪滿頭白髮的奶奶,放下柺杖,細心地為孫兒抹汗的溫馨情景。畫作表現了農村親密的家庭關係。家是農村的基本單位。以家為本更是中國人傳統的思維。從這思想衍生出長幼有序,長輩教養孩童的核心價值。畫中躲在一角的小狗像小孩子一樣等待別人的照顧,為畫作添上幾分玩味。

《途中》、《火把》、《磨石》及《親情》中簡單的幾幕卻充滿濃厚生活氣息和人文的本質,更觸及到農村文化及價值觀。殷雙喜曾評論:「羅中立的作品實際上為我們提供了一個生存的參照,一個永恆的人與人交往的價值模式。這樣,大巴山區的農民生活,就超越了地區性的自然風情,成為一種現代化進程中對民族精神和價值模式觀念的反思。」羅中立一直扎根鄉土題材,不斷發掘鄉村生活諧趣可人的一面,牽動人心,怡情溫暖。


展覽
California, USA, Orange Coast College, Chinese Realism-Contemporary Paintings from China, 2000.
California, USA, Brea City Gallery, Chinese Realism, 2001.

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拍品專文

One could not have a thorough understanding of the significance of Luo Zhongli in modern Chinese art history without a fundamental knowledge of how Chinese paintings had developed from the 1950s to the 1970s. It was within that particular context that art had been developed into a tool of politics. At that time, artists were only allowed to sing the praises of heroes with propagandizing subject matters, ranging from struggles in guerilla warfare, to Mao organizing labour movements with oppressed peasants and miners, which led to the big strike in Anyuan that shook China in 1921. Peasants have been shaped in accordance with political correctness and uniformly portrayed as great heroes, who are not only "high, big, whole" beings but also radiators of the "bright", "Red", and "light".

It was not until the end of the 1970s when China was undergoing economic and social reforms that the society began to reflect on what the "truth" of art could be. Luo Zhongli and his contemporary artists were among those who managed to break free from political indoctrination. "Scar Art", which emerged after the Cultural Revolution, was an art form which aimed to reflect the reality of Chinese society by critically revealing the dark side of the revolution and the real peasants' lives. Luo's "social realist" works on peasants' lives bear the trademark of the times, marking how the Chinese people in the 1980s, awakening from their passive roles and the absence of social awareness, to becoming self-conscious of their social responsibilities, to explore further in depth social truths, and to even expose the "Red Lie" inculcated in them for a decade.

Luo's childhood was spent in the prosperous Chongqing Municipality of Sichuan Province, making his lifelong entanglement with the theme of peasantry all the more striking. During the Cultural Revolution, like so many city youths, Luo was sent to the countryside to learn from hard labor hydro-electric factory in the Daba Mountain area, giving him the rural experience that would influence him throughout his career on his art. He felt that the peasants were constantly under exploitation and felt compelled to speak for them, to make their burdens heard and understood. It was such a profound personal experience that his genuine concern for humanity lends an emotional sweep to his art. Impressed by the works of Jean-Francois Millet, Luo learned to portray his rural subject matters with more sophisticated skills and techniques in the style of Western Realist rural paintings. His detailed Realism enables him to thoroughly capture the bitter and impoverished lives of the peasants in rural China, and the sense of heaviness is noticeable in Luo's iconic Father which led him to fame in the 80's. The artistic career of Luo can be roughly divided into three stages. The first stage commenced at the birth of Father. Since then, the plight of peasants has been recorded by his skillful hand and his superb photo-realistic painting techniques. Tibetan Chief (Lot 1398) and the Tibetan Series (Lot 1397) are works from this period. In much the same way as Father, these two paintings have a subversive undertone against the trend of romanticized Chinese rural "realist" paintings of the previous era. The dark tone of their skin, its rough and dry texture, as well as the intricate wrinkles on their faces are acutely portrayed by his delicate, almost invisible brushstrokes. The bodies bear the traces of ages and hardship, are often in stark contrast with eyes that sparkle like stars in the night sky. The peasants in Luo's portrayal, despite their crudeness and simplicity, exude impressive gumption and perseverance. Their neat adornment was a tribute to the upright and honest peasants who are held in the artist's high regard.

Reflection of new truths is undoubtedly the starting point of rural realism in the 80's and "Scar Art" in the Chinese context. However, Luo did not wish to confine his themes to revealing the hardship and poverty of the peasants' physical life, but he also hoped to engage the audience in their spiritual life as well, where they were not deprived of warmth, wisdom, and rustic charm. After graduating from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Luo's works began to take a more casual, light-hearted form, with moderate variation in his dominant themes. The depiction of village life is infused with genuine feelings but without the heaviness of his earlier works. At this creative stage, Luo's vision shifted from individuals and their particular circumstances to a more philosophical look at human life and nature. His portraits were replaced with commonplace scenarios, showing his love for country life and the irreplaceable value of simple human interaction. The scenes in Spring Shower (Lot 1374), Passing the Torch (Lot 1375), The Grindstone (Lot 1376) and Grandma's Love (Lot 1396) are sourced from nothing but ordinary life - family and romantic love, enjoying a break during a rainstorm, labour, lighting a flame at night, or a gentle touch. These scenes, brimming with warmth, humanity, and good humor, go straight to the audience's heart, and are meant to prevent some precious details of life from fading away over time.

Spring Shower captures a couple taking shelter in a cavern to stay away from the rain. Through a thick veil of rain, the man rolls up his trousers and removes his damp shirt to drain, exposing his strong, bare shoulders. He lays down the couple's luggage, taking a seat and rest. The woman, highlighted by her feminine curves, also has her trousers rolled up, is combing her long wet hair leisurely with her fingers. Luo displays a penchant for water in his paintings - whatever form it takes, from heavy rain or light showers to ponds and rivers. Water is the source of life that nourishes all things on earth. Peasants need water to irrigate their crops, and through water they stay in connection with the nature. The precious rainwater always reminds them of the unpredictable weather, so they can calmly wait for the rain to stop, as depicted by the painting where staggering heavy and dense brushstrokes fill up a moss-covered cavern. Compared with the stark colours prevalent in his first stage of career, Luo later opted for brighter colours. The combination of the bluish green background, the eye-catching red bag and the dash of orange on the man's shirt, add a delightful rhythm to the composition. The simple portraiture of the characters nonetheless conveys a natural feel of subtle sentimentality. Luo's affection for the apparent simplicity of peasant life then captures these scenes of the poetic tranquility of "moments in between moments".

The Grindstone illustrates a sturdy man with dark complexion standing next to the millstone, carefully examining the bending sickle. The sickle is a tool for harvesting crops while the millstone is used by peasants for the grinding. Luo deliberately included flocks of livestock in this painting. Free-range hens or pigs being fed, poultry and game, grains and vegetables, all become symbolic of the self-sufficient lives of the peasants. Luo's perspective is from a lowered vantage, allowing the man's robust physique to radiate the exuberant vitality of a life in labour.

Passing the Torch takes viewers to a wintry night, when a man and a woman clad in thick padded jackets, with a book in one hand and a torch in the other, are helping each other to light a fire, pulling together the ends of their torches. The bright glow of yellow in the middle becomes the focal point of the composition as the delicate tonal gradient creates the effect of firelight radiating outwards. The flame not only lights the whole scene but also warms the heart as a symbol of humanity.

Grandma's Love portrays a grandmother, with hair white and temples gray, having laid down her cane, sits down on a bench to help adjust her grandson's garments, possibly alleviating some discomfort. This painting depicts the intimate bond among family members in rural families. Family is the basic unit of a village. Traditionally, the family is the anchor of society, the essential social institution from which the hierarchy of human relationships stems. The societal value of the old taking care of the young is crystallized in the affectionate hand of the grandmother tending to her grandson. The dog coiled in the corner adds a playful twist to the painting.

The simple composition, the touch of life and the very essence of humanity encapsulated in Spring Shower, Passing the Torch, The Grindstone and Grandma's Love, have touched upon the culture and core values of rural life. Shuang-Xi Yin once commented, "Luo Zhongli's works in fact provide us with a reference to survival and the eternal value of interaction among humans. In this way, the life of the peasants living in Daba Mountain area, has gone beyond the borders of regional landscape to form a reflection of national spirit and social values, norms and concepts when modernization is underway." Luo Zhongli has always grounded his works in rural subject matters. The fun and pleasant side of rural life highlighted in his art has never failed to touch a heartstring with its delightful warmth.

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