天籁的声音

　　——昆仑子走进迈阿密

　　Heavenly Voice

　　------Kunlunzi (Song of Kunlun Mountain) in Miami

　　04/16/2013

　　昆仑子，生于中国西部，长于中国西部。大碗喝酒、大块吃肉的成长环境造就了其豪爽不羁的为人性格;西北游牧民族策马高歌，居无定所的地域属性，赋予了昆仑子骨子里更亲近于自然的血液使然。正是长年在西部的生活经历，才有了其独创的西部山水艺术风格。

　　Kunlunzi was born in 1953 in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, which is in western China. Kunlunzi’s original name was Chen Xiaodi. Because he grew up in western China, a place where people drink wine from big bowls and eat large slabs of meat, the environment instilled in the artist his forthright and uninhibited personality. Some of the characteristics of their itinerant existence are that northwestern nomads enjoy singing loudly and traveling by horseback. As one of them, Kunlunzi is close to nature. It is precisely this experience of living for so long in western China that has helped the artist to form his own style of western Chinese Shanshui landscape painting.

　　雄伟壮美的西部自然景观反复冲击着昆仑子的心魄，这种类似于乡情的渴求是其创作的基点，生于斯，长于斯而累积的丰富情感表现在昆仑子的艺术作品之中，形成了一种雄浑磅礴的独特美感。较之以往西部艺术家追求西部山水地域特点的准确表现，昆仑子舍弃了笔墨的“应物象形”，其笔下的意象山水是以艺术之名贯通天地的生命载体，外显于画面，便在自然状态中形成了“气韵生动”的情感表达。

　　The majestic splendor of the western landscape has had a profound impact on Kunlunzi’s soul, and his longing for his hometown serves as the starting point for his creative practice. Kunlunzi was born and raised in the town of “Si.” His life experiences there and the abundant feelings he has about them are conveyed through his work, creating a magnificent and unique aesthetic. Unlike other artists’ realistic portrayals of the western landscape, Kunlunzi eschewed “reactant pictographic” brushwork, and those landscapes painted by the artist speak directly to his body and mind, carriers of life in heaven and on earth. The emotionality of a “vivid artistic conception” is created within a naturalistic state, and its portrayal transcends the tableau of the painting.

　　昆仑子笔下的草原、山川、雪域、天空都呈现出一种远离尘世喧嚣的崇高，在苍茫壮阔中隐有神秘的精神指引，纵横捭阖之间笔墨的挥洒更像意识流的肆意抒写，时有偶发的色彩交融和墨渍飞白都脱离了技术层面的刻意控制成为无所束缚的自然流淌。这种仿若梦境般的超现实意象，摒弃了现实世界熙攘的纷扰，是艺术家闭上肉眼而睁开心灵之眼后的返皈自我，在心灵的静观之中达到的妙手偶得与生命的大自在。

　　The plains, mountains and rivers, snowy lands, and sky, through Kunlunzi’s use of the brush, present a certain sublimity, removed from the noisy, mortal world, characterized by boundlessness and vastness, and guided by a mysterious sprit. The artist’s use of ink in a free writing style is like a stream of consciousness, and his occasional injection of color into black and white conveys an intentionality, but also relays a flowing freedom. Such dreamlike, surreal imagery arises from his confusion about the everyday world and the state of comfort he has discovered by chance when he closes his eyes, opens his soul, and allows contemplation of the mind and soul.

　　力的构建，在看似随意的笔触背后，是艺术家对于面画节奏的敏感把握，情之所至，笔之所至，意之所至，或激越或平缓或一泻千里。这种由视觉观感在笔触的律动下，渐而被转换为一种诗性的乐感。观其作品似乎能听到草的生长，风的呼吸，水的流响，万籁聚鸣汇成一首壮阔雄浑的交响乐。

　　While the artist is building strength, he loosens his control of the brush, and beneath the strokes, one finds the artist has a perceptive understanding of rhythm and how it can reflect his feelings through his brushwork, either in its rapidity or in its slowness. Visualization of his movement of the brush shows that the painting takes on a rhythmic and lyrical quality. When looking at the artist’s work, viewers can hear the sound of the grass, the breath of the wind, the flowing of water – the sounds of nature come together in a magnificent and powerful symphony.

　　人生来便具有两种能力：歌唱与绘画，正是因其与生俱来的特性，所以超越种族和地域，这是根植于全人类的共通感官。诚如我们不懂鸟儿在唱什么，却能读懂它的欢快或悲伤一样，昆仑子艺术的最大魅力便在于此：没有学院派的陈陈相因，没有迎合市场的炫技谄媚，仅仅单纯地遵循本心的引领，写心中所写，画心中所画，不怀抱任何功利幻想，只要还能提笔便会感觉幸福。而恰恰是基于昆仑子的纯粹性，他的作品更接近本初的真实，也更能唤醒他者的通感。

　　We are born with two abilities: singing and painting. These intrinsic abilities surpass ethnic and regional boundaries and can be found in all of us. Though we don’t know about what the birds are singing, we can detect their happiness and sadness.  Part of the charm of Kunlunzi’s art lies in this factor. Though he has not studied at an art academy nor has he created works that cater to the market, he follows his heart, letting it guide his painting. He dwells in creative purity, without any ambitions for success, fame, or wealth. As long as he paints, he is happy. His art is pure, close to the essence of truth, and it also awakens others who view it.

　　从这一点上，昆仑子的艺术已经跨越了“西部”这一地域性的局限，以其作品特有的视觉体验和听觉共鸣形成了一种类似于母乳的“大爱之美”，似命运舛幸的震撼轮回，似英雄史诗般的悲怆壮美，以一种人类最原始、最本真的情感直抵我们内心最深处，以至于每一位站在其作品前的观者感动之余，久久不能忘怀。

　　At this point, Kunlunzi’s art has transcended “western” regional localization. With unique visual experiences and emotional resonance, his work reminds us of a mother’s caring love, a shocking retelling of one’s life, a heroic epic poem full of beauty and sadness. His work touches us deeply. We are moved when we view the work, and its emotional impact remains with us for a long time.

　　Translated by Sarah McNaughton(翻译：Sarah McNaughton)