仇德树是1980年后中国现代水墨的代表性画家之一。在中国大陆，他不仅因七十年代末就开始现代水墨的实验，并因强调自我意识、人格独立及书法中的抽象意趣发起了新时期最早的美术社团——“草草社”，而且在此后现代水墨的探索中，他是最富有挑战性、创造性和独特性的水墨画家。相对于1980年代现代水墨运动的其他画家，他最早形成了自己的图式个性和语言个性。富有意味的是，他的艺术成就首先被认同的，是西方的艺术评论家和西方的艺术市场，当他于1986年完成美国塔夫茨大学创作讲学之旅后，他成为中国大陆最早的职业艺术家。时至今日，他仍然保持着户口薄上“无业居民”的低等身份，无工作单位、无社会职务、无艺术类高级职称、无国务院颁发的特殊津贴等政府或社会的职业、地位与荣誉，只有一个艺术家的真诚、朴素和执著。他一直以“裂变”作为自己的创作主题，这与其说是艺术的主题，勿宁说是他的人生经历，是他生活的每时每刻都在遭受的一种精神处境——一方面是得到西方艺术评论界的喝彩，海外著名博物馆、收藏家的青睐，以及一些大陆学者同仁真诚的赞赏，另一方面则是游离于中国体制之外的那种落寞、那种与他的艺术成就构成极大落差的社会地位与社会声誉。精神分裂，对于个人而言，往往造成行为失常；对于社会而言，则是深刻的人格扭曲。

　　因此，“裂变”的主题，绝不止于仇德树个人的人生体验，它在当代中国社会极具普遍性。

　　不论从哪个角度，仇德树都为当代艺术的发展提供了可资研究的个案，特别是从本体语言的角度。比如，现代水墨对于中国画的背离，都无一例外抛弃了具象的表述性，抽象几乎成为现代水墨画家的一种集体无意识行为；与此相应，则是稀释书法用笔这一中国画语言的精髓，凸现水墨媒材的物理性。但不论怎样，这些现代水墨画的实验与探索，都没有离开水、墨（色）、纸、笔这水墨画的四大元素。而仇德树的挑战性，则是既无“水”溶剂，也没有水性媒介的“墨”或“色”，更不用笔，只保留了“宣纸”这一水墨材料。显然，仇德树的现代水墨在语言构成上，把自己放到了极为狭窄的险境，他的创造性就在于将本作为形象载体的宣纸转换为形象表述的语言，宣纸即笔墨，这是他进行语言转换最为根本的思想源泉和动力，他所进行的水墨实验与探索，都是从宣纸的表述性出发的。

宣纸即笔墨，更露骨地体现了当代艺术的媒材属性

　　毫无疑问，仇德树的现代水墨比其他水墨画家更露骨地体现了当代艺术的媒材属性。问题是，水墨艺术何以会把凸现媒材属性作为“当代性”的重要特征？

　　从对传统中国画的解构中衍生而出的现代水墨，当然不止是风格的突跳或语言的新变，而是1980年代开始对艺术社会学的反叛和向艺术本体论回归的一种艺术观念的变化，即由1950年代开始形成的那种对外在形象社会关系的表述，转向内在精神及绘画本体语言的诉求。这种变化，既是艺术观念的更新，更是艺术价值判断的转换。因为，只有在价值判断上对绘画自身艺术规律的遵循，才能真正张扬艺术语言的审美特征。现代水墨在水性、墨性、纸性等方面的实验，都试图在媒介特征的探索上，弥补“笔墨”语言的单一性。在中国画语系里，“笔墨”既是表述形象的“语言”，又是表述的“内容”。故而，从“笔墨”角度，中国画在形象的表现上，只能是介于具象与抽象之间。但在现代水墨领域，当水性、墨性、纸性等媒材特征凸现为画面主体时，被表述的对象，甚至是否表述，都已无关紧要。因此，现代水墨在形象处理上，从抽象深入到了艺术主体的内在精神，这恰恰显示了艺术思想的变化对于绘画价值观念的影响。而作为1980年代大陆现代水墨的先行者之一，仇德树也是从表达内心世界的真实性而走向了现代水墨的探索，“裂变”无论作为精神还是形象，都富有抽象的内涵，这正是仇德树媒材属性与表意抽象性在现代水墨高度统一的典范。

　　如果说，上述把现代水墨的兴起、把现代水墨凸现媒材属性的原因探讨，归于艺术思想的更替和新的价值观念的形成，那么，还应该把现代水墨凸现媒材属性的特征，纳入1990年代后的全球化语境进行考量。毕竟，现代水墨只是后现代文化语境中，媒材革命的一个分支。

　　现代水墨只有到了1990年代，才能真正形成与中国画抗衡的态势。这主要源于当代中国的两个文化现实：一是大规模的城市建设促进了中国社会从生产型向消费型的社会转换，文化消费与文化营销以前所未有的方式成为都市文化的主角，从而形成了都市文化大众化的本质特征。大众文化促进了媒介的变革，当媒介从绘画的物理载体转换为本体语言时，也就意味着媒材承载艺术理念的空间扩大，装置、行为、观念以及新媒体艺术在中国的兴起，正可谓媒材成为本体语言引诱的对艺术本体的一种解构。现代水墨也是这样，“笔墨”本属于表述形象的语言，但在大众文化时代被转换为“水”、“纸”、“墨”的媒材，现代水墨就是在这个媒材意义上对“笔墨”的解构。二是1990年代随着中国市场经济的成熟而逐渐纳入全球经济一体化的轨道，由此而引发的文化全球化现象日益显著，而整个国际文化发生了从西方中心主义向多元主义的调整，中国艺术因此也成为国际文化舞台的重要一员。这意味着，在国际艺术的平台上，文化根源、文化身份与文化属性成为全球化语境中艺术表现的重要内容。因此，现代水墨在审美意趣上，从来都不以表述形象及营造田园牧歌式的诗境为归旨，而凸现的是全球化文化语境中的汉语文化身份。也可以说，现代水墨在1990年代的发展，正是中国画进入全球化文化语境的一种案例。全球化语境中的文化“大众化”，表现在中国画上显然是要消解中国画的至上性和纯粹度，它把中国画那种需要修炼终生的“笔墨”，稀释为制作性的水墨游戏，从而使中国画“文言文”式的语言转变为“白话文”式的语言，使更多的人通过水墨“白话”体验文化情境。

　　可见，媒材属性的凸现、媒材意义的转换、媒材的扩展与廉价化，是当代艺术的一个重要特征。仇德树把“宣纸”作为“笔墨”，正是在媒材意义上对“传统笔墨”与“现代水墨”的语言转换。在这里，“宣纸”不仅是媒材的物理属性，而且是文化属性，这使他的语言转换被赋予了浓厚的东方文化色彩。但仇德树在将自己的水墨探索逼迫到“宣纸即笔墨”的险境之后，他还对水墨媒材进行了扩充。如把“宣纸的表述语言”附着在布质画面上，在布质画面与宣纸的裂痕之间，敷设纯净、变幻而绚丽的丙烯色彩等。这些扩充，无疑使他的现代水墨走向了综合材料，从而更加彻底地体现了当代艺术的媒材开放性。的确，和其他当代艺术的领军人物一样，他的挑战性在于人们很难用既有的概念和模式去套住他的艺术表达方式，很难用已有的审美意趣与艺术技巧对他进行类比和价值判断。他的独创性，倒使现成的理论话语捉襟见肘。

裂变的个性化媒材语言与图式

　　不过，人们还是把他的“裂变”归属于水墨画语系。这不仅因为仇德树1980年代的艺术探索启始于水墨画，而且，“宣纸作为笔墨”的文化语言只有在这个语系中，才能显示出其独特的价值，而综合材料正是他把传统中国画推向现代的一个通道。没有中国画传统，也就无所谓仇德树宣纸语言的现代；没有文人画笔墨，也就无所谓仇德树宣纸语言的文化属性，这种关系是血缘性的子嗣关系。因此，无论批评还是鉴赏，都可以从中国画的审美视角去解读。

　　在现代水墨探索中，仇德树较好地解决了色彩语言问题，而这种色彩语言取决于他的特殊制作方式：在布面基底上，托裱的夹层宣纸被敷设着纯净而浓重的色彩，它构成了作品的基调，也赋予作品绚丽而迷幻的风采。仇德树作品中那种奇幻、丰富的色彩变化，主要解决在这一夹层的宣纸上。而“宣纸即笔墨”的表述方式，则是在这一色层的界面里，通过本色宣纸的厚薄所透出的色泽以及断裂的痕线所裸露出的色块来实现。他的精湛的技艺和勃发的激情，主要体现在本色宣纸各种肌理与厚薄渐变的打磨上，那种肌理就是他的“运笔”，就是他的“皴法”，就是他激情的留痕与心灵的轨迹。

　　由此可见，他对现代水墨的独特贡献，在于他对水墨“当代性”创作的独特理解上，他不是用诸种水墨或其他媒介留痕在一张宣纸上，而是将这一张宣纸分解为若干层面，让不同的纸面承载不同的留痕，然后叠加一体。这就是他“宣纸即笔墨”的构成方式和语言诉说方式。相对于人们熟知的中国画或水墨画，仇德树的作品因彻底地放弃了毛笔的使用，而使他的作品减弱或消失“笔墨”的书写性及写意的倾泻性，但宣纸的分层——色彩层面与肌理层面的分割，又使他的作品获得了单界面宣纸很难达到的平面化波纹和丰富而匀整的渐变效果，韵律和节奏赋予他的作品以特有的音乐美感，正是这种音乐般的和声，使他的作品在抒情的色调里夹杂着些许的哲理意味。显然，这种审美体验来自于他创造这种语言的独特性。

现代水墨的价值标准

　　“宣纸即笔墨”，让我们看到了仇德树在中国画与现代水墨的语言转换中所建立的审美意蕴上的异质同构关系。的确，在肌理层面的宣纸语言中，那些粗细、纹理、轻重肌理的打磨，和传统的斧劈、牛毛、荷叶、点苔等皴法有着异曲同工之妙，但这并不意味着仇德树去刻意模仿中国画的笔法。所谓“宣纸即笔墨”，也并非将宣纸处理为“笔墨”的样式，而是把宣纸作为语言自身。实际上，仇德树的现代水墨在更深刻的意义上，是以叛逆“笔墨”的姿态出现的。抛弃“笔墨”，解构“笔墨”，是他的立足点。

　　问题是，现代水墨在丢弃“笔墨”之后，它的价值视点归于何处？

　　或者说，人们怎样衡量现代水墨的好与坏？它有价值标准吗？

　　实际上，笔者在上述对于现代水墨“当代性”特征的钩沉中，已暗示了这个价值标准的变更。这就是现代水墨在回归艺术本体论的价值体系时，解构了中国画“笔墨”表述形象的负载功能，为适应文化大众化时代的“泛媒体”观念，将“笔墨”语言转换为“媒材”语言。显然，能否将“笔墨”语言转换为个性化的“媒材”语言，以及由这种个性化的“媒材”语言构成图式个性，也就成了现代水墨最重要的价值判断。而仇德树对于“笔墨”的挑战性，恰恰体现在：他在彻底抛弃用笔的同时，个性化地用宣纸这个“媒材”作为表述语言并由此形成“裂变”的图式个性。

裂变意蕴的丰富性及个性化“媒材”语言确立的当代艺术价值观念

　　没有“裂变”的图式个性，仇德树个性化的媒材语言不会这么丰满。不论任何时候，语言终归是语言，没有艺术社会学观念下的“内容”，没有艺术本体论观念中的“精神”，没有艺术文化学观念里的“文化”，语言都是苍白的。仇德树的“裂变”，既是文化符号，也是精神象征，当然也是我们肉眼看到的具象山水、花草和人物。因此，裂变的主题无论从艺术社会学、还是艺术本体论、抑或艺术文化学，都可以从不同视角进行解读和阐释，这是仇德树不断进行艺术创造并不断给人提供新的审美体验的原因。

　　其实，仇德树观照自然、人生与社会的方式，本是平和、亲近的。这决定了他表述形象的具象方式，无论《东方壮士》、《世纪伤痕》，还是《大自然的秩序》、《实体的本质》，那些山水、人物和花草都不以怪异和奇崛而令人触目惊心，但他生存方式上的社会变异，赋予了这些具象的主题以裂变的形式，从而将这些具象山水、人物和花草碎裂成片，走向了抽象。那些具象的漂染着抒情而绚丽色彩的山水、人物、花草，却因裂变的缝隙引延到深邃、飘渺的境界，泛出幽幽的哲思与神秘。在仇德树的作品里，裂变是引领人们从具象走向抽象、从现实走向神灵的通道，一切快乐和悲痛，喜悦与忧患、抒情和哲理，都从这通道的缝隙中渗裂而出。

　　艺术的伟大，实是心灵的真诚与纯朴。依据仇德树那颗透明的心性，他无论如何都难以适应体制内的那种勾心斗角，尔虞我诈，欺上瞒下，虚伪腐败，于是他逃避了现实的体制，做了无社会身份的自由职业艺术家。裂变，首先是他的真诚与纯朴在险恶的社会现实中的碎裂与幻灭；其次，则隐喻现实社会芸芸众生的人格扭曲、精神分裂。而他通过宣纸——这个富有文化属性和意味的媒材去直呈“裂变”的主题，怎么能不被赋予人生的哲理与文化的隐喻？

　　贡布里希曾经说：“艺术史基本上是一连串表现技巧不断改进的历史。所谓艺术的表现形态的改变是由于艺术家个人技巧的发展变化造成的。”当仇德树抛弃“笔墨”、把宣纸作为语言自身的时候，他不仅从中国画、乃至现代水墨画中创造出一种新的表现语言，而且更加充分地体现了当代艺术的价值观念，因此，裂变所创造的个性化“媒材”语言与个性图式，无疑也成为当代艺术史不可或缺的一个环链。

2004年6月15日于上海美术馆

尚辉 艺术史学博士、中国美协理论委员会副主任、国家当代艺术研究中心专家委员会委员，“美术”杂志执行主编

　　In the process of exploring Contemporary ink wash painting after 1980s, Qiu Deshu is an entrepreneurial, creative and unique ink wash painter. With "fissuring" as the theme, he began to develop his own graphic and language individuality.

Rice paper as brush and ink- the source and impetus for his language conversion

　　From whatever perspective, contemporary ink wash painting has deviated from Chinese traditional painting and abandoned concrete expression. Abstraction has almost become Chinese traditional painters' collective and unconscious behavior. Similarly, some people reduce the use of ink brush, essence of Chinese traditional painting, and highlight the physical property of ink wash media. In the experimentation and exploration of contemporary ink wash painting, we will hardly abandon four elements of ink wash painting-that is water, ink, paper and brush. One of the uniqueness of Qiu Deshu's painting is that he only retained rice paper as his expression media, while departing from three other media-water, ink and brush. In terms of the language composition for his contemporary ink wash, he put himself into a tight corner. His creativity derives from transforming rice paper from the expression media into expression language itself. Rice paper as brush and ink, this is the source of his creation ideas and impetus for the language conversion. All of his experimentation and exploration of ink wash comes from the expression of rice paper itself.

Rice paper as brush and ink-deeply reflecting contemporary art's media property

　　Contemporary ink wash's experimentation in water property, ink property and paper property all falls into the exploration of media characteristics/property, with an aim to making up for the monotony of "brush and ink" language. So from the perspective of "brush and ink", Chinese traditional painting falls between concreteness and abstraction regarding image expression. But in contemporary ink wash sphere, where media property-such as water, ink and paper has become the subject, there is no need to care about the expression object. Image processing of contemporary ink wash now has touched upon inner spirits of artistic subject, representing the influence that artistic concept change has on the painting value. As one of the forerunners in Chinese mainland's contemporary ink wash campaign in 1980s, Qiu Deshu moved towards contemporary ink wash exploration by expressing his true inner world feelings on his works. Whatever as the spirit or the image, "fissuring" is abundant in abstract connotation, which fully represents Qiu Deshu's integration of media property and media abstraction.

　　One of the important characteristics for contemporary art is the highlight of media property, conversion of media denotation, lower costs and expansion of media. Contemporary ink wash's development in 1990s is the sample case that Chinese traditional painting has merged into the global culture context. In the global culture context, culture tends to be popular. In the case of Chinese traditional painting, it means digesting its supremacy and purity, diluting "brush and ink" techniques into the ink wash game. This way, the difficult language in Chinese traditional painting has changed into the one that can be understood by ordinary people, thus more people can taste the culture context of ink wash painting. Qiu Deshu's use of rice paper as ink and brush just showcases the language conversion from traditional ink and brush to contemporary ink and brush. Here, rice paper not only has the media physical property, but also the culture property. This makes his langconversion imbued with strong oriental culture background. After Qiu Deshu put himself into a tight corner in  the pursuit of ink wash exploration, he began to enrich the ink wash media. He attached the rice paper onto the canvas, producing the pure, changeable and splendid acrylic painting between the fissures of rice paper and canvas. His contemporary ink wash painting began to use synthetic materials, thoroughly reflecting the media openness of contemporary art. As with other artists who lead the time, his uniqueness represents that people will find it hard to use the existing concept and framework to interpret his way of artistic expression, and will also find it difficult to use the unitary esthetic sentiment and artistic technique to make comparisons and make judgment on his works value.

　　However, people still categorize his "fissuring work" into ink wash painting, not only because his pursuit of artistic exploration in the 1980s derives from ink wash painting, but also because his culture language-rice paper as ink and brush can only showcases its unique value in ink wash painting family. And the use of synthetic material just pushes Chinese traditional painting into the contemporary family. Without Chinese traditional painting, there will not be contemporary rice paper language; Without Literati painting, there will not be culture property for rice paper language. This is the relationship by blood, which can never be cut off.

　　In the exploration of contemporary ink wash painting, Qiu Deshu did a good job in solving the color language issue. The color language depends on the unique production method: on the base of the canvas, there lies the mounted rice paper imbued with pure and thick color. This sets the keynote for the whole work and makes it splendid and enchanting. The fantastic and rich color change in this work mainly relies on how the rice paper is overlaid and stacked. The expression method of "rice paper as the ink and brush" achieves the enchanted feeling through the hue created by the original color of rice paper and the color lump created by the traces of fissure. His skillful technique and bursting passion is fully reflected in the rubbing and stacking of rice paper. Various texture of rice paper is like the use of "brush", which can fully manifest his traces of passion and spirits.

　　Qiu Deshu's contribution to contemporary ink wash painting comes from his unique understanding of CONTEMPORARY ink wash painting. He doesn't use various ink and other media on the rice paper. On the contrary, he tears up rice paper into various layers and overlaps them later on, each layer with unique fringe texture. This is the composition of "rice paper as ink and brush" and his way of language expression. Compared with Chinese traditional painting or ink wash painting, his works contains less freehand brush-writing and literati work because he abandons the use of brush. But various layers of rice paper-the division of color and texture, bring to his work planar ripple effect as well as rich and neat gradient effect. Rhythm and tempo provides his work with unique musical sense of beauty.

Value standard for contemporary ink wash painting

　　"Rice paper as ink and brush" let us see the esthetical is ostructural relationship that Qiu Deshu has established between Chinese traditional painting and contemporary ink wash language conversion. In rice paper language, those thick and thin lines as well as the strong and light rubbing of the paper serve the same purpose like traditional drawing techniques such as Fupi, Niu Mao, He Ye and Dian Tai. But this doesn't necessarily mean that Qiu Deshu deliberately imitate Chinese traditional calligraphic style. The so called "Rice paper as ink and brush" doesn't mean to treat rice paper as "ink and brush", but rather consider it as the language itself. As a matter of fact, Qiu Deshu's contemporary ink wash painting appears as the one which rebels against traditional ink wash painting. It is his standpoint to abandon ink and brush, to interpret ink and brush.

　　As contemporary ink wash painting returns to the value system of art ontology, it deconstructs the media function of ink and brush in Chinese traditional painting. In order to adapt to the concept of pan-media, it transforms ink and brush language into media language. Obviously, the important value judgment for contemporary ink wash painting is that whether ink and brush language can be transformed into the individualistic media language, and how this media language develops the graphic characteristics. And Qiu's challenge with ink and brush represents that he completely abandons the use of brush, use rice paper as the unique expression language and develops his own graphic characteristics "Fissuring".

　　Richness of Fissuring implication and contemporary artistic value established by individualistic media language

　　Qiu's fissuring is both a cultural code and symbol of spirits. Of course it is also what we see, such as mountainsrivers, flowers, grass and people. As a result, we can interpret and explain his theme of fissuring from different perspectives, whatever from the view of artistic sociology, art ontology or art and culture studies. And this is the reason why Qiu Deshu can continuously make art creation and provides people with new esthetic sentiments.

　　Whatever Oriental warriors, century scars, Order of the nature or Essence of Entity, the mountains, rivers, flowers and grass are not startling and shocking due to their weird and rough appearance. Qiu provides these concrete themes with the form of fissuring and abstract these mountains, rivers, flowers and grass into segmented pieces. The concrete and lyric landscape, because of the fissuring, revealed the looming philosophy and mystique. In Qiu Deshu's works, fissuring is the channel which can take people from concreteness to abstraction, and from reality to deities. All the happiness and sorrow, joy and worry, sentiments and philosophy permeate from the channel of fissuring.

　　Gombrich once said, art history is the history of continuous improvement for a sequence of expression techniques. And the so called art expression changes result from the individual artists' competency improvement.

　　When Qiu Deshu abandons ink and brush, and treats rice paper as the language itself, he creates one neexpression language, abstracted from Chinese traditional painting and contemporary ink wash painting. This more thoroughly showcases contemporary art's value concept. Thus, the individual media language and individual graphics created by fissuring will definitely be the indispensable part in contemporary art history.

By Shanghui

Chinese Art Today（excerpt）

Shanghui Vice researcher of

Shanghai Art Museum

Art majordomo of BaoZhen Original Art Centre