曾健勇評論《童言無忌》

童言無忌

文/趙力

曾健勇

曾健勇，一個廣東出生、福建成長的青年畫者，執著於自己的水墨創作並試圖持續地給予觀者驚喜。廣東和福建，都是美術史上的特殊地點：譬如古代有所謂的「閩習」之說，指的就是流行於福建並且影響到浙江、廣東、江西等鄰近地區的獨特的審美習慣和創作方式；在當代，廣東、福建出現了像蔡國強、黃永砯、徐坦、鄭國谷、陳紹雄等具有影響力的藝術家，他們各自以天馬行空的想象力和匪夷所思的創造力，呈現了代表「南」的藝術創造力。我知道曾健勇的名字很早，2003年在一個同樣來自福建的學生那裡看到了他的作品。初步的感受至今仍然清晰，因為曾健勇在當時以一種非常清新活潑的風格而引人入勝。的確，2000年左右的國內畫壇可謂是流派雜糅、各自表述，尤其是在水墨畫的創作領域，更是缺乏共識、喪失目標。曾健勇的水墨創作，雖出自閩粵，但是他更關注的是當代觀念和當代方式，並非糾結於水墨語言的表現甚至是筆墨的藩籬，這同樣與閩粵地域文化中不落時流的秉性暗自契合，亦與廣東、福建自80年代以來當代創作的勃興密切相關。曾健勇很快就將自己的創作落實為「大隊長」的系列（2007-2008）。這個系列很容易引起大陸觀眾的共鳴，因為畫家將自己的畫題聚焦於「童年」，並以「大隊長」的突出造型作為畫面主角。「童年」，是每一個人生都必經的時光階段，也是值得不斷回憶的一段天真歲月，因此美術史上關於「童年」的描繪何其多矣！但歸根到底，不外乎有像穿過「時光隧道」般地將美好童年「情景再現」的，亦有藉助依稀記憶而為時光一去不復唏噓不已的。在觀眾眼中，曾健勇的「大隊長」系列，或許就是美術史上有關「童年」各種描述的「複雜統一體」：畫家既提供了言之鑿鑿的人物造型--一個或者一群帶著領巾的「少先隊員」的形象，又具有了不可觸摸的距離情境--對應於記憶的依稀而以水墨渲染模糊了觀眾的視線。曾健勇不是要在這裡首鼠兩端或者故弄玄虛，因為無論是「情景再現」抑或「藉助記憶」都不是畫家所要的最終結果和方式方法。就如同畫面中的那個主角--「大隊長」那樣，曾健勇塑造了它的形象又將其符號化--整齊劃一的人物臉龐和人物姿態，描繪了它的身份細節又將其刻意消減--有意識地把「紅」領巾、「紅」臂章褪色為「黑」或者「灰色」，事實上曾健勇想要講述的別有深意，卻是指向了當代人針對「真實」的複雜矛盾--嚮往真實又拒絕真相，推崇真實又沉溺幻想--而就「在走與留之間，日子搖曳」（奧克塔維奧·帕斯）。

何謂「真實」？如果喪失「真實」，藝術將會怎樣？這些本質性的問題對於曾健勇來說開始變得重要起來了。接下來的《夥伴》系列（2009），是曾健勇沿著針對「真實性」拷問而發展成為有關社會關係的別樣討論。「夥伴」，既是群體的整體概念，也是個體之間的關係命名。為此，曾健勇改變了「大隊長」系列中以單個人物為主的描述，大多是以兩個一組的方式來建構起畫面中的「夥伴」闡釋。引人注目的仍然是畫家的「破題」方式--將成組的兩個分別置於空間的前後位置，而從天而降的一塊塊帷幕更成為了分割彼此的客觀依據--喻指的仍然是當代社會中人與人之間的那種「真實」關係：看似緊密其實疏遠，看似親密其實冷漠。《少年時代》系列（2010），無疑是在「大隊長」系列和「夥伴」系列基礎上的某種發展，曾健勇以「少年時代」為名，一方面推出了多人組合的「群像」，一方面也持續了單個形象的創作。《高危人群NO．2》、《排隊》、《扎堆NO．1》是「少年時代」系列「群像」的代表，但是從作品構圖布局上呈現了「縱向排列」、「橫向排列」和「擠成一團」等三種方式，雖然在「大隊長」系列也出現了各種的「群像」，但是此刻的曾健勇已經通過「群像」而進行了「時代」性的命名。事實是不管這些「群像」是由多少個人數構成，不管這些「群像」是「縱向」、「橫向」還是「擠成一團」，個體性的寂寥表情已經衍化為群體性的孤寂情緒，看似牢不可破的時代神話也就此崩塌為不可名狀的不安與憂傷。或許曾健勇認為「少年時代」是童年時代的「成長版」，而成長必然會經歷那些的「少年維特之煩惱」，於是「失眠」也就成為了某種煩憂的代指，進而引申為日常生活中「肉體」與「精神」雙重摧殘的某種體驗。《失眠NO．7》、《失眠NO．8》，描繪的是個體性的「失眠」，圓睜的「大眼睛」已將這種狀態強調到了極致，焦慮而不安的情緒躍然紙上；《失眠NO．1》雖然拋離開了具體的「失眠」場景，但是它以空曠的背景將孤獨的情境加以突出；《失眠NO．3》以四個單張拼接而成，形成了「失眠」的「群像」效果，回應的仍然是「少年時代」特徵的整體概括。「夜遊」系列（2009-2010），是時間跨度較長的一個作品系列，呈現的是曾健勇從「大隊長」系列的身份反思→「夥伴」系列的關係研究→「少年時代」的狀態闡釋的共時性線索。「夜遊」系列，大致可以分為「設色」的和「墨色」的兩個部份，暗示的或許是「白天」和「夜晚」的兩個情境，然而它們的共性是開始呈現出了與「真實性」截然不同的另一面--「虛構」，即如「白日夢」或者「夢遊」似的狀態。虛構，無疑是另外一種敘述的方式，看似荒誕不經其實未嘗不是一種剝離開實物外表之後的「真實」存在。實際上，當曾健勇沿著對真實性的不斷拷問而從生活的外表走向生活的內核之時，他已然認識到所謂的「真實」只存在於有限的範圍之內，而現實生活中的「虛假」來自於我們內心的虛假，現實生活中的「真實」亦來自於真情實感的投射。因此，藝術對於真實性的深究並不意味著必須一味以藝術為工具而對外界世界之真相的鍥而不捨，或許轉而返觀內心般的刨根問底才是出路。

在「夜遊」系列中，曾健勇尚未完全轉向虛構，只是藉助於真實和虛擬的互滲穿插以形成夢幻般的言說，對應於情緒化的狀態而展現出似是而非的莫名情境。但是到了2011年之後，曾健勇的創作似乎不再糾纏於真實與現實之間的是是非非，更傾向於從自己內心出發去建構一個屬於自我的真實世界。曾健勇認為這樣的建構方式才是具有現實意義的藝術方法論，它代表了藝術家針對當代社會中種種荒謬和破壞的本質否定，代表了藝術家針對現實世界中高高在上的道德、理想和文化的價值懷疑。顯而易見的是，曾健勇採取了某種「童話」式的敘述方式，並以此有意識地與現實生活保持距離。或許有人會將曾健勇的創作與超現實主義的方式聯繫在一起，然而超現實主義的特徵是致力於探索人類經驗的先驗層面，力求突破合乎現實的邏輯和真實的現實觀，嘗試將現實觀念與本能、潛意識與夢的經驗的結合雜糅，以展現一種絕對的或者超然的真實情景。即便曾健勇也強調超離現實的建構目的，但是畫家並未讚賞「純精神的自動反應」，或者推崇無意識和潛意識的「彼岸」世界，而是聽從善良純真的人類天性，以幻想色彩的虛構敘事並藉助豐富的想象、誇張的手法和象徵的寓意來折射生活。於是，曾健勇的作品出現了奇特的藝術效果，充滿了出人意料的形象比喻，在這些具有「童話」色彩的畫面中，沒有晦澀難懂的哲理，沒有高深莫測的邏輯，只有通俗生動的娓娓道來以及平鋪直敘的坦誠告白。曾健勇讓來自「大隊長」系列、「夥伴」系列、「少年時代」系列和「夜遊」系列的「小夥伴」們一起參與進來，「扮演」起了各種各樣的角色。事實是「扮演」是畫家非常有意思的人物處理方式，它既有人為預設的明顯企圖，同時也增加了虛構描述的故事性；「扮演」也讓人物造型更為經典化，「那個男孩」和「那個女孩」成為了敘事中的「主角」，「他」和「她」不斷參與到各個場景之中，構成了表面不同但情緒貫穿的「劇情」主線。雖然「主角」已定，然而「配角」總是豐富而變化的。在曾健勇的一些畫面中，曾經的「配角」卻出人意表地提升為了主角，就像「還上枝頭」系列（2012）中的描繪，這裡沒有了「他」和「她」的出場，卻有了「它」和「它們」的敘事。在曾健勇最近的作品中，「童話」的世界仍在繼續，「童話」的敘事仍在展開，除了因「風景」的層出不窮所產生的插曲不斷之外，變化的是畫面里愈加瀰漫著的暖暖溫情。或許隨著年齡的增長，畫家對於「美好的童話更接近真相」也愈加信奉。的確，曾健勇試圖以某種自我言說的「童話」方式，讓我們信服那些純真而美好的人間真相。亦如所謂的「童言無忌」，畫家由此也打破了有關藝術的固有約束，讓自己的創作天馬行空、無拘無束，最終成為了自我尋真的獨特方式。

趙力

Children speak the truth

Zeng Jianyong，a young artist who was born in Guangdong and grew up in Fujian，is obsessed with ink and watercolor paintings and is always keen to surprise his viewers. The provinces of Guangdong and Fujian are special places in the history of Chinese art. In ancient times, the term "mingxi", or "Fujian style", specifically referred to the artistic style and creative features that were popular in Fujian and had influence in neighboring areas such as Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangxi. Today, Fujian and Guangdong are home to a group of influential artists, such as Cai Guoqiang, Huang Yongping, Xu Tan, Zheng Guogu and Chen Shaoxiong, whose rich imagination and creativity represent the dynamic art of southern China. I got to know Zeng Jianyong fairly early when in 2003 a student who was also from Fujian introduced me to some of his works. My original impression of the works remains clear to this day, as the paintings were fresh and lively, each fascinating in its own way. In fact, Chinese art in the early 2000s was very diverse and expressive. This was especially true for ink and watercolor paintings, where there was an absence of consensus and common goals. Before long, Zeng Jianyong put his efforts into the "Header" series (2007 - 2008). At the time it was a series that could easily strike a chord with the Chinese audience, as the artist focused his subject matter on "childhood" and used the image of a "Header" as the protagonist. Since "childhood" is an unavoidable yet innocent and memorable period in one's life, there are countless representations of "childhood" in the history of art. But in a general, these works either represent beautiful childhood scenes seemingly brought back by reverse time travel, or vague memories that have survived the irreversible flow of time. To viewers, the "Header" series seem to carry the complexity of all kinds of representations of "childhood" in the history of art. On the one hand, the artist presents a solid figure, the image of a single or a group of "Young Pioneers" in scarves; on the other hand, he creates a distance - corresponding to the vagueness of the memory - by using ink and watercolors to blur the viewer's vision. Here, Zeng Jianyong is not in two minds or trying deliberately to be mystifying, because depicting "a childhood scene" or "a vague memory" is not the artist's goal. Just like the protagonists in the "Header" series, Zeng Jianyong gives the image a symbolic meaning by using featureless faces and postures. He depicts the details of the protagonists' identities, but deliberately changes the red color of the scarf and armband to black or grey. It is true that what Zeng Jianyong wants to express has deeper meaning. He is referring to society's contradictory attitude toward "truth" - people yearn for it but refuse to accept it, worship it but are addicted to fantasy. As Octavio Paz puts it, "Between going and staying, the day wavers."

What is truth? What will happen to art when it stops telling the truth? In Zeng Jianyong's works, such fundamental questions become increasingly important. The "Friends" series (2009) is a discussion of social relationships developed from Zeng Jianyong's enquiry of "the truth". "Friends" is both a collective concept and a term for a type of relationship between individuals. For this reason, instead of depicting one single character, as in the "Header" series, Zeng Jianyong employs a group of two people to illustrate "friends" in the new series. What is noteworthy in the way the artist presents this theme is that he places one of the two people in the forefront and the other in the background with a curtain separating them. It is a metaphor for "the truth" of human relationships in modern society: People look like they are close, but in fact they are far away from each other; they seem intimate, but in fact they are indifferent. The "Childhood Days" series (2010) is no doubt a continuation of the themes found in the "Header" and "Friends" series. Under the series title "Childhood Days", Zeng Jianyong presents group portraits of several characters while at the same time also depicting single characters in his works. "Endangered Group No 2", "Queuing", and "Crowds No 1" are representative of the group images in the "Childhood Days" series. They display three different ways of composition: vertical formation, horizontal formation, and cramming into a crowd. There are various group images in the "Header" series, but this time, Zeng Jianyong leaves a mark of the times on his group images. In fact, no matter how many individuals are in these group images and no matter whether they are arranged vertically, horizontally or just crammed together, the lonely expression on each individual's face forms a collective loneliness. Consequently, a seemingly unbreakable modern myth is shattered by sorrow. Perhaps Zeng Jianyong believes the "Childhood Days" is the "grown-up version" of the earlier period and it is inevitable for one to suffer "the sorrows of young Werther" when one grows up. Therefore, "insomnia" becomes the signifier of some sort of sorrow, with further reference to the physical and mental suffering of daily life. "Insomnia No 7" and "Insomnia No 8" display the insomnia suffered by an individual, whose big, wide-open eyes dramatize this mental status, full of obvious anxiety and unease. Although "Insomnia No 1" does not depict insomnia with a specific image, it emphasizes the feeling of loneliness with a wide and open background. "Insomnia No 3" consists of four single images that together constitute a group image of insomnia. It is a summary of the general characteristics of the "Childhood Days" series. The "Night Tour" series (2009 - 2010) covers a long period of time. It represents Zeng Jianyong's multiple explorations starting from his reflections on identity in the "Header" series, to the study of relationships in the "Friends" series, on to the elaboration of these themes in the "Childhood Days" series. The "Night Tour" series can be divided into two parts: those with watercolors, and those with water and ink, perhaps indicating day and night respectively. However, both represent fiction, the opposite to "truth", as a situation similar to daydreaming or sleepwalking. No doubt, fiction is an alternative narrative. It looks absurd, but in fact could be a kind of "truthful" reality when stripped of its superficial outfit. In fact, as Zeng Jianyong's enquiry of the truth leads him from the surface to the core of life, he realizes that the so-called "truth" only exists in limited parameters, and the "phoniness" in our lives has roots in the phoniness of our heart, just as "the truth" in real life reflects the true feelings of our heart. In this sense, an artistic enquiry of the truth does not necessarily mean to use art as a means to relentlessly search for the truth in the outside world. Perhaps the right way is to just turn around to review and reflect on our inner world.

Zeng Jianyong has not yet shifted to fiction completely in the "Night Tour" series. He shifts back and forth between fiction and reality and only uses tales from dreamlike scenarios created during these shifts to suggest the uneasiness caused by emotional sways. After 2011, however, Zeng Jianyong stops taking sides on either reality or fiction. He focuses more on constructing an authentic, self-sufficient inner world in his own heart. He also believes that it is this kind of construction that has realistic significance in the artistic methodology. This represents the artist's denial of the absurdity and damage prevalent in modern society, as well as his doubts toward the value of seemingly superior morality, idealism and culture in the real world.

Obviously, Zeng Jianyong adopts the narrative of the fairytale style and consciously keeps a distance to the real world. One might compare Zeng Jianyong's work to surrealism, but surrealism features the exploration of the unconscious, seeking to break down the logic and true reality and attempting to juxtapose realistic concepts with human instincts, unconsciousness and dreamscapes in order to present an absolute or superior reality. Even though Zeng Jianyong emphasizes the reconstruction of reality, he is not in favor of "pure psychic automatism". Nor is he a big fan of the unconscious or subconscious world. He focuses on the kind and innocent human nature, hoping to reflect real life by using fictional narratives with imagination, dramatization and metaphors. That is why Zeng Jianyong's work has amazing artistic effect and is full of surprising metaphors. There is no obscure morality or enigmatic logic in his fairytale-like pictures, only lively, accessible narratives and honest confessions. He invites the children from the "Header" series, the "Childhood Days" series and the "Night Tour" series to play various roles. In fact, role-playing is an interesting character treatment by the artist. It has an obvious purpose and helps strengthen the fictional storytelling. Meanwhile, role-playing makes the characters look more classic. When "the boy" and "the girl" play the "lead roles" in the stories depicted in the paintings, and when "he" and "she" appear frequently in different settings with only superficial differences but the same feelings and emotions, they become the storyline. The "supporting roles" are always rich and changeable once the "lead roles" are set. In some of Zeng Jianyong's paintings, the former "supporting role" is surprisingly promoted to take on the "lead role". As in the "Back onto the Branches" series (2012), instead of a story about "him" or "her", it is about "it" and "them".

The fairytale world still exists and the fairytale is still unfolding in Zeng Jianyong's latest works. What is different, besides the changing interludes that keep pace with the emerging landscapes, is the growing warmth in his pictures. Maybe as he becomes older, the artist believes that "beautiful fairytales are closer to the truth". Indeed, Zeng Jianyong is attempting to use his self-expressive fairytales to convince us of the beautiful, innocent truth of society. And just like the saying "children speak the truth", the artist has broken down the conventional constraints of art, liberated his unlimited creativity and found a unique way of seeking the truth.

By Zhao Li