夏：您是什么时候开始画画的?能不能谈一下您的绘画经历?

　　Xia: When did start to paint? Can you share your painting experiences with us?

　　我的绘画时间应该是比较长的。我现在的绘画样式不是一蹴而就的，也是一步一步来的。不是说突然我想用新闻题材的形式来表达我的画面。其实每个创作的环节都是很重要的。在中央美院时候我个人对这种即兴的表现形式就比较感兴趣，后来在东南地区作了一些抽象的材料绘画，后来到了欧洲又重新看了很多大师的作品，从德国回来后有一年的时间没有怎么创作，这期间参与了一些收藏。再然后自己冷静了一下，才有了这批绘画。

　　I’ve spent many years on painting. Rome wasn’t built in a day and I didn’t take a whim for painting news events. Every link of the process matters. When I was in the Central Academy of Fine Arts, I grew strong interest in improvised painting. Prior to my peregrination in Europe in which I reached again for a good many time-tested masterpieces, I painted some abstract subjects in Southeast China. After I came back from Germany, I had a cold treatment on myself before I veered to painting news events.

　　夏：在这些画之前画的都是什么题材的?

　　Xia: What subjects were you used to painting?

　　我主要是以抽象题材为主，到德国之后开始转变。到德国受到地域的影响，到了那里闲下来的时候要看很多新闻，同时由于语言不通，就开始看一些中文的报纸了解国内的情况，那时候就开始对新闻题材感兴趣。在德国，养成了看报纸的习惯，那时候对着报纸也勾了一些小草图，但是那时就是随手去勾一些草图，以灾难性的题材居多。后来回国后，就开始用这种方式来表现我需要的现场画面，然后用我用新表现的技法结合起来去表达。

　　I had been painting abstract subjects until I visited Germany. When I was in Germany, I fell into the habit of reading newspapers, as I had some leisure. Linguistic difficulties prohibited me from reading newspapers in other languages than Chinese. I started to make sketches of the topics on newspaper, most of which were reports on calamities. After I came back to China, I combined the techniques of Neo expressionism into my painting of such subjects.

　　夏：后来到国内的收藏是怎么回事?

　　Xia: Then why did you begin artwork collection when you came back?

　　跟朋友合作，主要收藏我感兴趣的艺术家。

　　I work with my friends and I mainly collect works of artists I am interested in.

　　夏：做收藏的时候绘画一直在持续么?

　　Xia: Did you continue painting while you were engaged in artwork collection?

　　对，一直在持续，没有断过。做收藏的时候我脱离出来更能清楚我以前做什么。对市场学术都更冷静一点，好像一个局外人一样来看其中的事情。原来不懂，作收藏后感觉有点顿悟，很多事情有点明白了。

　　Yes, I never halted, but while I was doing the collection, I saw clearer as an outsider about what I’d been doing and became more imperturbable towards both the academy and the market. I was brought to light after the experience.

　　夏：那您对市场了解后，应该知道什么样的画会卖的很好。

　　Xia: With better understanding of the market, now do you know what paintings sell well?

　　对，我知道，市场的好坏还不是一时半会儿的。因为我觉得那些现在市场好的艺术家，他们有今天，也是需要经过很长时间的积累。现在卖的好的艺术家，我们可以看到市场不是很好的时候很多艺术类的刊物都有他们的作品，所以他们有这种市场，我觉得都是正常的。可是我不愿意去迎合某些制作出来的图式痕迹，我是很热血的人，我想我的情绪在我的画面形式和内容的衔接中找到最佳位置，所以我也坚持我的“现场绘画”。

　　Yes, I know. Favorable market for excellent paintings is a matter of time. Those artists who are welcomed by the market at the moment have dedicated themselves to a long-term struggle and hard work before they reached the crown. They didn’t quit while the market was in the downturn. So they deserve what they’ve attained. However, I have the least willingness to cater to some affected styles. I am a man of passion and indignation. I am seeking the best way to bridge the style and content by emotion. So I stick to my “on-site painting”.

　　夏：了解这些后，您的创作有没有受到影响?

　　Xia: Does market have any influence upon your creation of paintings?

　　有的，我自己有些调整。在德国之前我是比较抽象的表现的这类多一点。也作过一些综合材料的绘画作品。现在这些报纸的形式跟我以前还是吻合的。我觉得自己是个悲情主义者。我原来那些抽象的东西也不是欢快的。看来也让观者比较沉重的。

　　Surely it does. I will adjust myself to changes. Before I visited Germany, I've done a large number of abstract drawings, plus some combine paintings. Now I switch to paint newspapers. I feel that I am a man of pathos, which could be traced out through all my previous and present works. They are heavy instead of bright.

　　夏：那您现在画新闻题材的初衷是什么?我看到您的画中有一个画的是帕瓦罗蒂，在他去世的第二天您就画了。

　　Xia: What was the original intention when you started to paint news events. I noticed that you drew Pavarotti on the second day after his death.

　　我还是倾向某种比较“悲”的场面，还有在我的绘画过程中，我有一个属于自己情绪化的行为过程，我注重这种自己精神上的“现场感”和“新闻性”，所以我一般情况下我也是很及时地表现我想表现的某种灾难性的场景。我原来住在音乐学院边上，每天都一直在听那些健全不健全的男高音，我自己会有一些情绪性的感觉。帕瓦罗蒂死掉，我个人在骨子里觉得我失去了一些什么，所以那天在画这幅的时候我的情绪也有点失控，对于我自己的失控，我喝了很多酒，并且用我不纯正的高音和我的情绪绘画，来悼念我的“帕瓦罗蒂”，所以，我今天画他，应该说不是今天才画。

　　I am prone to depict pathos of misfortune or disasters. Besides, I have private way and gestation to unleash latent emotions and powers. I rely much on such spiritual “presence” and “news awareness” and usually I won’t let the tragic scenes slip away within the days after it happens. I used to live beside the conservatory, from which I often heard tenors, good and bad, and sometimes I grew weird sense. The death of Pavarotti broke my heart. I felt hollow inside, so I drank, sang , painted him in an outburst. That was my mourning. Therefore, I didn’t start to paint my Pavarotti on the day I painted him.

　　夏：现在当代艺术形式纷繁，艳俗的依然畅行，大胸大乳，肥硕的臀，依然在当代绘画中红旗飘飘不倒，您对当代艺术这些现象怎么看?还有您是如何处理您的作品和市场之间的关系的?

　　Xia: There prevails a raffish cult in contemporary art, in which sex and tawdry decorations are found everywhere. What’s your comment on such phenomenon? How do you balance your works and the market?

　　我觉得这些艳俗的东西有些过多了。每次到798，总是看到很多这些东西。艳俗的属于某一部分的人画的，现在的年轻人再去跟风就不对了。我觉得艺术应该有感而发，当时那些画艳俗的人，可能他们那个时代的文化氛围需要有这种方式去表达。而现在画艳俗的是跟风和走捷径。

　　There are too much of them. Every time when I visited 798 Art District, I always saw these things. Art is the exploration of emotions and feelings. Raffish paintings meet the need of certain period time but they are out of tune nowadays. So I am not behind those young fellows who follow suit for quick fortune.

　　夏：在绘画中，您更关注什么?

　　Xia: Then what is your focus in your paintings?

　　我希望大家有进入某种“现场”的感觉。对于我自己，我还在意这样的“新闻性”的某种及时。比如大家看个报纸，再大的事情也会把报纸随手一扔，我想用我的方式，来给出我想给出的现场情绪和内容。

　　I wish people could enter the “scene” depicted in my painting. They will throw away the newspaper when they finish reading, no matter what headlines are in the top line. But I intend to keep the event and my emotions in the painting.

　　夏：中国年轻的艺术家更多的都是以都市文化为主，而您更多的是记录一些社会事件。还有在创作中，我知道您要喝酒。是不是对灵感有着某种情结?

　　Xia: Most of the young Chinese artists paint metropolitan culture, instead, you squint towards recording social events. And I know you drink while you are painting. Does it have sort of connection with inspiration?

　　这个是我个人的习惯，我平常不善于表达。比如我跟生人打交道，我需要预热很久我才可以进入状态。我绘画也是，让我更快的进入状态，需要一点酒精的麻醉。我其实不怎么能喝酒，一点酒就可以让我很有激情的创作。

　　It is my personal habit. I am not keen on expressing myself. I need to warm up before I get acquainted with a stranger, just like I need some alcohol to warm myself up in painting. I don’t drink much actually. Several drops will turn me on.

　　夏：一个好的艺术家在创作前要经过深刻的思考。我想问一下，思考在您的生活中是一个什么样的位置?

　　Xia: An excellent artist needs profound thinking before they leap to the process of painting. So do you think much?

　　我在创作之前很冷静，然后喝酒完开始画画，第二天醒来第一件事情就是来到画室看自己的画。有时候我会坐在自己的画面前半天。

　　I am very clam before painting. I start to paint after a little drink. The first thing I do when I wake up on the next day is to have a look at my painting in the studio. Sometimes I immerse myself into deep meditation in front of my works.

　　夏：但是您有没有想过您这样画的话，会可能被人误认为画的比较糙?

　　Xia: Do people possibly consider your works to be rough wrought if they know you paint in this way.

　　我觉得画面的形式跟情绪和内容有关，我认为这样才可以表达我想要的那种情绪和对事件的直接触觉，而不是去精致地设计和长时间的涂抹。

　　In my mind, the form of the painting is closely associated with emotions and content. It is my personal style to deliver my immediate impressions and feelings about events, rather than deliberate designing and longtime polishing.

　　夏：那您的画很大，这么大的画几个小时完成，在技法上您已经忽略了很多细节的东西。

　　Xia: Since you completed a large-size painting in hours, you must have missed a lot of details in terms of painting techniques.

　　我需要的是那种“现场”和“新闻性”，而对于绘画速度来说，我以为看起来过程很短，但是积累要很长的时间，我不喜欢很没有情绪地去“制作”一幅画面。因为我需要的，已经达到。

　　What I need is the feeling of “presence” on the spot of the “news event”. It seems that I finish a painting in a very short time, but you should count in long-term accumulation and gestation. I have the least liking to “produce” a painting without personal feelings and emotions. I’ve got there where I need to go.

　　夏：我理解您的这种状态，我有时候写稿子的时候也是这样，写之前需要几个小时的酝酿，然后很快的时间一气呵成就把文章写完了。

　　Xia: I understand such circumstance, on which I myself need hours of gestation before I start to write an article and finish the draft at a dash.

　　我也是一气呵成的。明天再来的话就没有那种现场的感觉。我觉得我的画是“爆炒”不是“炖”出来的。我把一个平面很小的东西转到一个画面上，某种“现场感”和“新闻性”是比较强的。如果状态断掉的话，就很难找回来。这个报纸拿过来后，我就一直想着如何来表现。

　　So do I. I would fail to recapture the feelings when I come at the second time. My paintings, as the result of outburst rather than brewing, transfer news photos to large pictures. They must be accompanied by a strong sense of involvement on the spot. If I lost the inspiration, it will hardly come back again. So when I had the newspaper, I’ve already started thinking how to turn it into paintings.

　　夏：问一个比较苛刻的问题，如果您的画不被市场认可的话，您会不会很失落?

　　Xia: It may sound harsh, but if your paintings fail the market, will you be feeling lost?

　　我觉得市场能不能接受我不是很重要的。关键是我要做到我所表达的，就可以了。

　　It is not what the market matters, but the way I manage to express myself.

　　夏：您如何看待中国当代艺术呢?

　　Xia: How do you comment Chinese contemporary arts?

　　有点混乱。现在中国的展览形式有点像国外了。现在当代艺术很火，跟国外是有很大关系的，国外的当代艺术市场也一直在推动着国内的当代艺术发展。

　　It is sort of chaotic. We are learning from foreign art exhibitions. Foreign markets of contemporary art have been pushing forward the development of Chinese contemporary art exhibitions.

　　夏：现在当代艺术家不是在画画，其实在画钞票。

　　Xia: Nowadays artists are not making painting but making money.

　　这种情况偏多。

　　It is very common.

　　夏：福建艺术家群体在当代艺术发展上的占有一定的地位。您能不能谈一下。

　　Xia: Fujian-based artists are playing important roles in the development of contemporary art. Can you share with us your understanding?

　　其实福建的当代艺术一直在发展。我高中的时候，他们一些当代艺术的在进行的时侯我一直在看。当时蔡国强比较活跃的。还有厦门的黄永砯，但是他们到了国外，当时的各种机会比较多一点。很多福建艺术家取得成就都是在海外开始的，不是在福建本土，但是福建的土壤很重要。

　　Contemporary art has been in good shape in Fujian. When I was in high school, I had interests in contemporary art activities by Fujian-based artists. At that time, Cai Guoqiang and Huang Yongping, who comes from Xiamen, were active figures. However, they left China for foreign lands, where there existed ampler opportunities. So they made fruitful achievements overseas, based on their development in Fujian.

　　夏：您现在的这种现场绘画，应该是您自己一个特色。

　　Xia: Your paintings are unique at present.

　　是的，我关注国内外的新闻，那时候我没有把它当回事，就是觉得好玩。在德国那时候画的尺幅很小，后来觉得不能表达自己的想法了。

　　Yes, it is true. I was like ordinary people and took everything for granted. When I was in Germany, I drew small-sized paintings, which then I felt not large enough for bigger ideas.

　　夏：您从中国到德国再回北京，您有什么感受呢?

　　Xia: Do you have any impression about China and Germany, as you

　　近年来中国比较热闹，不论学术还是市场，欧洲的情况是比较稳定的。欧洲的年轻艺术家和中国水平差不多的作品价格比较便宜。德国那里一流和二流作品价格差距很大。德国新画是最便宜的，而中国新画有时候是最贵的。我觉得中国的艺术市场会慢慢稳定并规范，会变得好起来。一二流会分开的。

　　Recent years saw both flourishing academic world and market in China. European market doesn’t fluctuate much. Works of young artists in Europe will be sold at a relatively low price. It is the same case for their Chinese counterparts. But in Germany the prices for the first and second classes of paintings are vastly different as between heaven and earth. In Germany new paintings are the least expensive, while in China, sometimes the most expensive ones are the rising ones. I think the Chinese art market will be mature gradually. And top class and second class painting will find their respective presence in the market.

　　夏：再问个问题，11月8号是宋庄艺术节，您如何看呢?

　　Xia: What do you think about Song Village Art Festival, which is to be held on November 8.

　　其实我偶尔会关注一些国内的博览会，艺术节。欧洲有一些博览会我参加过，国外的博览会的状态我们很难进入。中国的博览会更多的是个卖场。艺术北京我去看了，发现重复的作品形式太多。如果不看名字还以为是一个人的。艺术节要有好的策展人机制，以学术为主方向，最好是跟当下有关系的当代话题的作品思考呈现，而不是90年代“圆明园”时期的“理想”痕迹，宋庄是有他们的理想的。

　　Sometimes I set eyes on domestic exhibitions and art festivals. I also attended some art expos in Europe, and found them quite different. Exhibitions in China are more like an auction fair. When I participated in Art Beijing, I saw too many similar works, on which without any signatures people would consider them to be made by the same artist. Art festivals require sound system of planners. They should be academic oriented and should reflect thinking on contemporary issues, without the influence of the ideal during the Yuan Ming-Yuan period in the 1990s. Song Village Art Festival has its own ideals.

　　夏：您对您未来有没有个概念?

　　Xia: Do you have any ideas about your own future?

　　我的创作带有赛跑性，其实我每次创作都要有个很长积累。未来可能还会以这种新闻的媒材来创作。我想社会在变化，我的画也会在变化。

　　I am running against time. Any piece of my creation is a result of long-term accumulation. I will continue to paint news event in the future, of course. However, the society is changing, so is my painting style.

　　注：夏彦国，《美术焦点》杂志 副主编

　　Note: Xia Yanguo, Associate Editor-in-chief of Arts Focus