Cao Zuimeng: Form and Meaning of Art (4)

Author: Cao Zuimeng 

Chinese scholars attach great importance to the relationship between themselves and God, and they must act under the protection of God and under the framework of ethics and morals in everything, and dare not make mistakes; The Taoist practice culture's theory of the interaction of yin and yang to produce life has opened a door to the world and given people more ways to explore the world.

Chinese painting is an art form based on a strong Chinese culture. It is a national art that looks at the world. It is often that the painter expresses the infinite "meaning" with the help of the limited "images" (mountains, water, plants, etc.) of the picture. I can't help my heart. Especially freehand painting, simple objects, seemingly children's use of brushes and colors, simple and concise, but there is a long-standing energy behind the picture, like running water under high pressure, turn on the faucet, and the water will be under pressure " Burst out, this kind of power is completely different from the water flowing down. The energy stored in the area behind the Chinese painting is psychological, which can make people have pleasant, cheerful, and beautiful associations. At this time, the psychology is "Xinxinran".

        Of course, everything has an opposite force. Nowadays, there are many Chinese paintings that make people decadent and cause adverse psychological reactions. In addition to the superficial bad visual effects, there are a lot of bad information such as bloody, extreme, ugly, depressed, decadent, falsified history, advocating violence, instigating crimes, etc. The social role of this art leader has attracted the attention of sociologists. When the author conducted theoretical research on ugliness in mainland China, I saw it in painting exhibitions, galleries, and art newspapers all over the country, and some even extended to industrial products, which means that ugliness works have penetrated into people's real life.

        In 1994, my large freehand painting "Lotus" was exhibited in an exhibition. The organizer told me that an old man came to this painting for at least two days, sat on a Maza (small folding stool), savored it carefully, and did not leave for a long time. The old man may not have the money to buy paintings, but he must be someone who knows how to paint. Since the development of Chinese painting, the aesthetic awareness of composition, brushwork, and ink technique has been extremely mature. Chinese scholars can understand some of the meaning of Chinese painting consciously or unconsciously, which is also an element that constitutes national character.

        At present, when evaluating the quality of Chinese paintings, we all know that the painting concept other than the brushwork and ink technique has become an important issue that cannot be avoided. Therefore, practitioners in this field are working hard on the painting concept behind the painting. This is a difficult task. There are few successful people, and most of them are still groping in the brushwork and ink technique in the end. The author advocates that practitioners should create on the basis of Chinese painting brush and ink, and if they avoid the unique skills of Chinese painting, they will not be able to enter the threshold of Chinese painting. But people's energy and artistic life are limited, and the artistic life of 30 to 50 years seems too short for Chinese paintings, so the Chinese paintings that you see are far more shallow than deep.

        As long as the works are brush and rice paper paintings, they are regarded as Chinese paintings, which is actually a misunderstanding. A few minutes of Mo Daoer under the flashlight at pen fairs and art exhibitions will bring people to the superficial level of fast-food culture, and most of them have a negative effect on the spread of Chinese paintings. As everyone knows, Chinese painting is an old soup that can survive the scorching heat and cold without changing its taste, and a little bit of it will be blended into a long-lasting feast of delicacies.

        The history of Chinese art in the past 100 years shows that there are very few masters like Wu Changshuo, Huang Binhong, and Huang Qiuyuan. It is understandable but unforgivable, and painters who cannot bear the temptation or have insufficient concentration pursue the vortex of politics, and finally ruin the basic painting skills they have built for many years, and become a short-lived stone that is used by political hooligans. Sober and conscientious painters know that in addition to brush and ink skills, positive energy and elegant painting are the requirements for Chinese painting.