Subjective Reality

　　A conversation between Martina Ziesse and Feng Lianghong

　　主观现实

　　玛蒂娜·齐艾斯对话冯良鸿

　　Martina Ziesse： Lianghong， we had many interesting conversations about your work and your art. This interview shall be a continuation and a summary of our talks and shall give an insight into your artistic reality. Your paintings have a meditative quality. Please explain your special work process when you create a piece of art.

　　玛蒂娜：良鸿，我们围绕你的作品和艺术进行过多次有趣的交谈。此次采访将成为我们谈话的一个延续和总结，将深入洞察你的艺术现实。你的作品具有发人深省的特质。你可以谈谈你别具特色的创作过程么？

　　Feng Lianghong： When I start painting， I try to empty my mind. I want to forget about myself and allow my mind to connect to a universal reality. I follow the principles of Chán mediation to clear my mind and to open a gateway to a special insight， a world of my own that derives from emptiness. The result is a visual experience that has to do with my body language. I allow my body to paint the painting， the brush and the color becoming extensions of myself to create some kind of space on the canvas.

　　冯良鸿：当我开始作画时，我尝试清空我的思维，忘却我自己，以便让个体能更好地与普遍性的现实相连，也就是说对我而言，最好的绘画状态是心、手、感觉与画笔、油彩和画布之间的单纯关系。我很欣赏古人“坐禅”的某种状态，从“静观”与“空虚”之中，打开自己冥想的大门。那可能是一个真实而自然的个体，画笔和油彩成为我个体的延伸。

　　在这过程中，我有时会放弃对作品的整体控制，让作品有自然的流动效果。使干和湿的油彩具有它自身的质感。有时我会翻转画布让颜料向不同的方向泼洒。或稀释油彩，像水一样的液体状态，在画布上产生不同的细节。这些细节之间的关系，成为我绘画主要的内容。

　　Martina Ziesse： When I look at your paintings I see landscapes in my mind. The 16th century Italian painter， writer and architect wrote that a painting should be like a window in the wall to reveal the view to the outside. I also feel like I am looking through a window when I look at your paintings. However， these show a strange， unknown landscape that might exist in a different universe.

　　玛蒂娜：当我欣赏你的作品时，脑海中浮现出各种风景。16世纪的意大利画家、作家、建筑师写道，一幅画应该如同墙上的窗户一样，展现外面的风景。当我欣赏你的作品时，我也觉得仿佛是透过窗户观看外面的世界。但是，你的作品展现了一种奇特未知的景观，可能只存在于另一个宇宙中。

　　Feng Lianghong： I want to give my paintings their own space， so there is a spatial concept to them that provides them with depth and pulls the viewer towards them. I achieve this by multiple layers of paint， and a clarity and illuminative illusion that creates space.

　　冯良鸿：我想对一幅绘画作品空间的理解是多方面的，有现实中的三维空间也有心理的多维层次，一幅好的作品应该具备这两方面的涵意。一幅绘画如同窗外“风景”，这个比喻很有意思，但这“风景”可能是外部世界，也可能是内在的真实。由每个观众自己来判断。

　　Martina Ziesse： The Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo once said that in each block of stone there is a statue inside of it that is to be released by the sculptor.

　　玛蒂娜：意大利文艺复兴时期的艺术家米开朗基罗曾经说过，每块石头里面都蕴藏着一件雕塑，等待着雕塑家将其解放。

　　Feng Lianghong： This is beautiful. It is as if the painting or the work of art already exists and is just waiting to be created. I think it is a very individual sentiment by Michelangelo， and probably does not apply to every artist. When I am in the process of painting， I give up control to a certain point and allow the painting to take control. However， I do control the details. My paintings consist of many layers. I paint one layer， let it dry， paint it over. Then I throw liquid paint on it， letting it drip down the canvas. If I decide it is too much， I will paint it over again. Or I will turn the canvas so the paint drips in a different direction. I will look at the painting every day and change details， like scratching into the paint， or scraping the paint. When I get to the details， I want to apply layers over layers of paint， several times. I do this because the texture and the details need to make sense. Paint has a special physical quality. It reacts differently when it is dry， half dry or dripping wet. These details are important， each one makes sense and is essential to give the painting life.

　　冯良鸿：这句话很美。就好像一块白白的画布，对画家而言它有无穷的可能性，它可能成为一幅好的绘画作品，等待着被呈现出来。我想，这就是禅学中“空”的概念。

　　Martina Ziesse： There are elements of action painting in your works. The paintings show traces of your body language， energetic thrusts， dripping， moving the canvas around to achieve various different effects. Jackson Pollock removed the canvas from the easel and put it on the floor， where he dripped paint on it. He involved his body and his body language in the process of painting.

　　玛蒂娜：在你的作品中有行为绘画的元素。画作中体现出你的肢体语言的痕迹，比如有力的推进、滴落、移动画布，来实现各种不同的效果。杰克逊·波洛克将画布从画架上拿下来放在地板上，让颜料滴落在画布上。他在绘画过程中融入了他的肢体运动与肢体语言。

　　Feng Lianghong： What Jackson Pollock did in the United States was completely new in Western art history at that time. Not only did he release the canvas to put it on the floor， he opened the structure of the painting allowing it to go on infinitely. It was revolutionary for Western art. But all this was already known in Chinese painting. It is important to acknowledge that oriental and occidental art and philosophy are connected， also ancient and contemporary art are connected. Unlike in Western time conception， time in the East is not linear， it is circular. As an artist I have access to many artistic options， I have the opportunity to combine and create .

　　冯良鸿：波洛克在美国早期抽象绘画所做的尝试，在当时的西方艺术史上是一次彻底的创新，他不仅改变了西方架上绘画的传统，而且为以后的西方绘画提供了更多的可能性，他在西方绘画史上的确是一位开拓者，但是，在中国的水墨画创作中这种方法屡见不鲜。我们有必要承认，东方与西方，古代与现代，是彼此相通的。至于我，不想严守什么“主义”，只想了解更多不同的艺术，自由选择。

　　Martina Ziesse： We should not put art into one of the many drawers of art history？

　　玛蒂娜：我们不应该把艺术作品归入艺术史中众多的类别之中么？

　　Feng Lianghong： We can chose from so much. You know， emptiness may be a lot， it may be rich， it is full of options and opportunities. Emptiness can make sense sense， it can be anything. Imagine an empty stage： One night there might be a performance of “Romeo and Juliette”， another night there might be “Swanlake”， then again there might be a performance of the Chinese Opera， all on the same otherwise empty stage.

　　冯良鸿：当然应该。我想艺术史与艺术家，就像鸟与鸟类学的关系。他们对待事物的角度和目标是不一样的。

　　Martina Ziesse： What does abstract art mean to you？

　　玛蒂娜：抽象艺术对于你来说意味着什么？

　　Feng Lianghong： Abstract painting is the product of the western art movement， a rebellion to centuries-long western figurative painting. Cezanne‘s analysis of the painting， Kandinsky and Malevich’s inner spirit embodied in their color and brush mark and the accurate description of their painting have become one of the symbols of western modern painting. Abstract painting has become part of art history.

　　冯良鸿：抽象绘画是西方艺术运动的产物，是对几个世纪的西方具象绘画的反叛。从塞尚对绘画的分析，到康定斯基和马列维奇对每一块颜色和线条所赋予的内在精神，他们为艺术而艺术的理想，把形式主义推向了极致。

　　People feel the urge to look for a shape， a form in a painting. It is a deep and powerful urge to find something the eye can relate to. When the artist‘s brush touches the canvas， an image will appear， which can be a piece of stone， a speck of dust. The image is both concrete and abstract， depending on the viewer’s conception. Anyhow， there is an image in the canvas which stays the viewer‘s mind.

　　我的体会是，在当今抽象绘画艺术中，已不像半个多世纪前抽象艺术家那样追求个人的符号标志。抽象绘画已不再是“前卫”或“主义”的产物，它只是艺术家的表达“方便”而已。

　　当画笔一落实到画布上，就会有一个形象出现；那可能是一块石头，也可能是一粒灰尘，又具体又抽象；它的语言可以既单一又包罗万象，留在了观众的视觉之中。而每一个图像的产生，只是过程中留下的一个标记。

　　One should be careful not to classify abstract art as an art historical “ism”. Otherwise the abstract painting will get into the lair of formalism. I view abstract expression as a road for me to take， a series of traces left during a long journey of exploration through a mystery， a series of marks left during the process. I would like to use the term “Loose Abstraction” to define the character of abstract activity. After post-modern art movement， the abstract painting doesn’t need to pursue the individual symbol any more as the abstract artists did fifty years ago. It does not need to show signs， symbols， lines or dots， or just express a particular texture with aparticular method. The language of the abstract painting can be both pure and comprehensive. It can represent not only objectivity but the idea of contemplation as well. “To see a world in a grain of sand”，the oriental thinking， will regenerate the “abstract painting” originated in western society. The new development may appear as the mixture of the objective real world and the inner subjective world of the artist.

　　我想用“散漫的抽象”来形容我对抽象绘画的理解。

　　“一花一世界”的东方式想像模式，可能会给抽象艺术带来新的发展。放弃对符号图式的执着，追随心里的自由冥想，是我在绘画中的一个探索方向。

　　Martina Ziesse： In the book of Tao it reads “The Tao， to be Tao， is not the permanent Tao. The form， to be form， is not the permanent form.” I see your work and I feel you are experimenting with form and its relation to space.

　　玛蒂娜：《道德经》一书中写道：“道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。”我看到你的作品后，觉得你是在用形式及其与空间的关系来做试验。

　　Feng Lianghong： For me， this Taoist saying means that there are many different ways to express form， there is not only one true way. The word “form” is the English translation of the Chinese word “si” （insert Chinese character）， but this is an incomplete translation that does not grasp the entire meaning. This word encompasses much more， it is not just the form， it can be the air around the form， the way the “form” interacts with the space around it， the energy that comes from it and its surroundings.

　　“All reality is a phantom， and all phantoms are real. The form is nonexistence， and nonexistence is the form.” For me this means that there might be an unusual way to find the truth. Like my art. There must be other ways to express myself than by conventional painting， I take an unusual path.

　　冯良鸿：中国的传统思想的确给予我许多启示。比如，对“空”的理解，影响了我的绘画创作。在中国传统思想中，一切有形、无形的客观存在的事物，中国人用“色”这个概念来表述，它相对应于英文中“Form”的意思，也就是我们常说的形式，这是每个艺术家都思考的一个问题。然而，“色即是空”，这个观念给了我很大的启发，使我摆脱了几乎每一个艺术家都会碰到的形式问题。我对形式的思考与传统中“空”的概念联系在了一起。“空”可能非常有意思，它是可变的，不确定的，是丰富而充满机遇的，它可以是任何选择，任何内容，就像一个空旷的舞台，昨天上演《罗蜜欧与朱丽叶》，今天又上演《梁山伯与祝英台》……

　　Martina Ziesse： What does that mean for your paintings？ Your work is abstract. Do abstract paintings depict the reality？

　　玛蒂娜：这对于你的作品意味着什么？你的作品是抽象的。抽象绘画是否描绘现实？

　　Feng Lianghong： Reality as in our life consists of two parts. The first part is the realistic world around us， our everyday life and the things that fill the day. The second part is the psychological aspect. This encompasses our mind and our dreams and is connected to the spiritual world. But both parts belong together， they are part of the same concept. Like Ying and Yang， day and night they contradict and supplement each other - they complete each other. A painting is an image， a depiction of something seen - be it realistic or abstract. For me the abstract is one aspect of reality， abstraction becomes reality.

　　冯良鸿：这种理解，使我不会执着于某一种“样式”，而更愿意关注这“样式”之后的不同层面的关联，这正是我对抽象艺术的兴趣所在，至于它是否描绘现实，这无关紧要。

　　Martina Ziesse： This oriental philosophy regarding different aspects of reality seems to be a universal truth， shared by many artists. The German novelist Hermann Hesse， who was deeply connected to Buddhism， said “There is no reality except the one contained within us.” And Picasso stated “Everything you can imagine is real”.

　　玛蒂娜：这种关于现实具有不同层面的东方哲学似乎是一条许多艺术家公认的普遍真理。德国作家赫尔曼·黑塞深谙佛教，他说：“除了我们内心的现实，没有其他现实”。毕加索说：“一切你能想象到的都是真实的”。

　　Feng Lianghong： Being and living in this world means experiencing this world and the surroundings. The more you experience the more you see the facets of reality. I want to make my reality visible. I am very excited when people come to my studio to see my paintings. I feel that sometimes they understand at a very basic wordless level and this makes me happy. It is a general experience shared by me as the artist and the audience， and painting is the universal language. I reveal my very personal feelings in my art， and it becomes more genuine. Take for example the drop. In my paintings I let the paint drip and allow it to form its own patterns by flowing down the canvas， creating drops when it dries. It is like a dynamic from the universe， a law of nature that everybody knows and understands. But in my paintings this is a very special way of communicating and it has a very special and distinctive meaning. Life is rich！

　　冯良鸿：在这个世界上存在和生活意味着体验这个世界及其周围的环境。你体验得越多，就能看到越多的现实层面。我想让观众产生共同的视觉经验，这使我感到很愉快，因为绘画是一种通用语言，虽然我的绘画非常个人化。但生活是丰富多彩的！

　　Ma rtina Ziesse： How long does it take for you to complete a painting？

　　玛蒂娜：你多长时间能够完成一幅作品？

　　Feng Lianghong： It is different for each work. I work， I regard and observe the painting， I work again， and so on， changing details， changing the way the paint and the color works on the canvas.

　　冯良鸿：这很难说，有时候快，有时候长达几个月，有一幅作品题目是《未完成之一》，我从2007年9月断断续续一直画到2008年5月才停下来。但是我希望不管完成作品的时间长短，它给人们的感觉都好像是瞬息间完成的。

　　Martina Ziesse： How do you know when the painting is finished？

　　玛蒂娜：那你是如何知道什么时候画作完成的？

　　Feng Lianghong： When I see that there is no more way for me to go， I stop. Actually， the finishing point is the artist‘s secret. It is a very personal and intimate decision， and it is hard to describe.

　　I have one painting that I regard as unfinished. I painted it from September 2007 until May 2008. The top part is full of energy， but the bottom seems imperfect to me. As in life， there is also regret in art. As an artist I would like to be perfect， but I cannot always control it. Just like in life in art you have to make decisions， and sometimes you regret. I see this painting every day， I look at it， contemplate it， it means a lot to me. However， I know there is nothing left for me to do with it. So I let it go.

　　冯良鸿：当我发现自己没有更多的办法继续同一幅作品时，或者我发现需要去掉所有的细节才能继续，我会停下来。其实，一幅作品的完成是艺术家的秘密，这是个非常隐私的决定，很难形容。

　　Martina Ziesse： For me it is perfect. But maybe this imperfection you conceive makes the painting special to you？

　　玛蒂娜：对我来说这幅画已经很完美了。但是，你所认为的这种缺陷也许会使这幅作品对你来说具有特别的意味？

　　Feng Lianghong： I just follow nature， I have the urge to paint. There is a very intimate relationship between me， the paint and the canvas. The fascination of art is irresistible. This is the reason why I chose art for my life.

　　冯良鸿：我只是顺其自然，一幅作品的完整和缺憾是自然的，它可以不尽完美，就像我们的生活一样。当我和油彩、画布产生一种亲密而微妙的关系的时候，我感受到绘画不可抗拒的魅力。这也正是我之所以选择绘画的原因。