在近半个世纪的艺术创作生涯中，艺术家田世信以桀骜的个性和骨子里的坚韧持续着他的人物雕塑。不论是近40年翻天覆地的社会变迁，还是风云变幻的艺术潮流，都始终没有动摇他在雕塑这门古老的手工技艺中建立起来的尊严，更没有改变他对世人命运，特别是乡土人间的悲悯和关注。难以想象在他经久多年，如此巨大而丰富的创作中，竟然没有一件非人物，非具象的创作。他所有的作品都是围绕着人物或者头像展开，这让他的艺术成为中国雕塑界一个具有开创而又独特的个案。

　　一个显而易见的事实是，田世信的在这40多年的创作轨迹中，他既没有滑入到一种单纯的抽象语言或者材料的实践，也没有转向一种观念性的创作。然而这并不意味着他的创作就缺乏观念，或者缺少材料以及语言创新。相反，田世信最不缺乏的就是对于材料的实验，几乎所有能够用于创作雕塑的材料都被他尝试过。特别是近年来，他更是与民间工匠合作，全身心投入到大漆材料的反复琢磨之中。而在雕塑语言上，我们看到在不同的阶段他都能建立起独特而自足的语言体系，从最早夸张、稚拙、民间，这种自由而充满激情的刀劈斧砍式的创作语言到后来探究、复古、执拗，崇尚传统审美奇人异相的造型语言。

　　对处于不同生存环境和历史背景中的人物，他能巧妙而不失贴切的把握到表达他们个性、精神和音容面貌的语言形式。然而对于田世信来说，不论是对材料的不断尝试，还是对雕刻语言的反复推敲，其最终的目地却是为他最朴素的观念——人文关怀——来服务。因此上，他的创作路径始终没有陷入到对纯粹艺术的追求之中，这也决定了他的作品在表面上与形形色色的当下创作显得格格不入。这应该是老派——在历尽劫难的社会运动中成长起来的——艺术家，一致选取真实、鲜活、自由的人物范式来持续的回应和批判伪饰的虚假社会现实主义成为他们持久的共性。所以，反观田世信的整个创作历程，无不发现他的创作与我们生存的这个时代之间紧张而寓有深意的关联，这是老派艺术家坚守的可贵品质。

　　每一个艺术家注定无法逃离特定时代的局限，但并不是每一个艺术家都能对时代的症结做出独特的反应。作为新潮时期崛起的艺术家，田世信和那个时期的艺术家一样，也深深的镌刻着时代的烙印。他崭露头角，第一次亮相就惊艳观众的作品是贵州边陲的少数民族系列。批评家孙振华说“他早期的作品《侗女》、《苗女》、《欢乐柱》为中国当代雕塑开启了另一个新的方向，即表现在贫困和艰难中挣扎的少数民族，表现他们寄寓于平凡而又普通的坚韧顽强的精神世界，以及在艰辛中透露出来的崇高感。”①这些被笼统的称为乡土艺术的雕塑有着时代的共性，中国现代艺术的变革从蛮荒边缘的原始之地找到了一个松动的缺口，为中国雕塑开创出一个全新的局面。

　　应该看到，在同一时期震惊一代人的绘画作品中，陈丹青的《西藏组画》，罗中立的《父亲》等都是边远、朴实的少数民族人物。转型时期的艺术家不无意识的抓住少数民族题材，这是艺术长期被政治化和功能化后的本能反弹，本质上是一种意识形态的表现，反意识形态也是另外一种意识形态。对于田世信来说，选择少数民族意味着主动远离政治，不被政治利用，也不利用政治来做文章。一旦艺术不再唯政治规定的命，艺术家就可以在广阔的天地里自由发挥，这是艺术创作最本质的要求，也是艺术家时刻所追求的理想状态。所以，选择少数民族题材，首先是艺术家开始争取自由化的结果，这个当时整个时代所弥漫出来的鼓动人心的气息，敏锐的艺术家迅速的抓住了时代涌动的脉搏。回到具体的艺术创作中，选择少数民族还包含着艺术另外一个重要的品质——真实。无疑少数民族朴实、粗旷、憨厚，乃至原始的生活感动了艺术家，反过来也正是这种原汁原味的劳苦人民成为艺术家反对以往样式化、僵硬化的伪饰现实主义最为直接和有力的内容。当然，这里面还暗含着艺术家的一种情感，即对底层人民的同情和怜悯，对他们在艰难困苦的环境中所表现出来的生活勇气和精神命运的惊叹与思考。

　　正是各种合力的交织和解冻时期的一股春风中，艺术家在少数民族的生活中将艺术重新回复到独立、自由、真实的个性化表达当中。但不同的是，陈丹青用欧洲油画的方式取代苏联画法还是罗中立超写实，所运用的绘画方式依然是学院化的，且就当时他们所处的环境和少数民族之间，或多或少有隔着一层薄纱。但田世信却有着完全不一样的体验，他在贵州扎根多年（他在贵州生活长达25年，直至调任中央美术学院），少数民族的生活和处境对他来说则是日常生活经验本身而不是一个神秘，充满异域风情的陌生情景。所以，田世信的少数民族创作是自然而然，遵从内心真诚，一个更接近民间原始的产物；而并非如其他画家一样是一个艺术史的衍生，一个由上往下观看的学院派产物。因此上，相比于陈丹青潇洒，崇高的西藏人物和罗中立超写实，残酷的大巴山农民，田世信的贵州苗族人物满怀着更多的亲切感和人情味。

　　当然，身处遥远边陲只是一个方面，另一个更为关键性的因素是他非科班的出身。尽管他早期在北京也受过一些油画和雕塑教育，但那仅仅是艺术最入门的练习。所以当他真正独立面对创作的时候，他全部的不成体系的技艺和自由喜悦的冲动成为他作品最大的特点和支撑。反过来看，非科班出身反而成了他创作的独特优势，少了学院化和其它教条的限制，他完全凭着极大的热情按照自己主观化的理解来创作。然而这并不是说田世信等同于一个民间匠人，没有章法，全靠激情来创作，而是他有张有弛，在实践之中不断拿捏，正是这两点让他的作品与当时的雕塑界显得格外不同。

　　这就是他最早的《欢乐柱》、《老巴斗》、《侗女》、《节日》等作品，特别是《苗女》这件曾经引起巨大争议的作品集中代表了田世信雕塑的艺术特征，夸张的造型，方硬的刀法，凸起的前额，厚实的嘴唇，凝重的神情。透过这些作品具体的视觉呈现，我们更进一步的看到他对雕塑语言的理解和把握，不拘泥于细节，大胆归纳，高度凝练。这样的语言方式一方面与他表现的少数民族对象之间达成高度匹配，展现出一幅不加修饰、粗旷、淳朴、憨厚，乐天知命的乡土中国。另一方面，如果说高度概括是中国传统雕塑的意象，那么他不仅吸收了传统雕塑和民间雕刻的特色，更为重要的他将中国画中以线造型的方法也运用到了他的雕塑创作中，比如《苗女》的头发走势，《欢乐柱》中的衣服垂纹，《侗女》脖劲纹迹。再到后来的《王阳明》、《李清照》、《汉女》造像的处理中，流畅的线条几乎取代了雕塑本来的体块造型，让厚重的雕塑变的轻盈起来，这和中国文人画中所追求的“飘逸”的审美精神同处一脉。

　　其实，在“贵州人系列”——特别是那件当时引起巨大风波的《苗女》——之后，田世信有意识的走上了一条重塑古典审美法则的道路。如果说在《苗女》中他以夸张的手法和冲动的激情来刻画少数民族人物的特点，那么在他后来的“与古人对话”系列中，这种夸张不再是一种情绪的支配，而是更倾向于对中国传统审美的经验的重塑。比如《屈原像》、《老子像》、《谭嗣同像》、《司马迁像》、《秋瑾像》等，无不都是额头突出，鼻子崎崛，嘴唇肥厚。从今天的审美来看，这样的面相难免让人不适乃至感到丑陋。但是在古人的文化理念中这不是丑化而是出于“奇人必有异相”的尊崇。传统释道人物绘画，或者石窟、寺庙里的神佛造性，无不面容诡谲，五官奇异。明代著名人物画家陈洪绶的绘画《水浒叶子》最能佐证这种古典文化现象和审美法则。

　　之所以在中国文化中形成这样一整套“异化”人物造型法则，归根结底是对于历史上特殊人物的想象，在普通人的想象当中他们肯定异于常人，这样才符合他们所作出的那些超乎常人的举动和所为，所以古典的奇人异相不是丑化而是神话他们。但在田世信的观念中，这种奇人异相却包含着一种求真的态度。对于这些早已被塑造成伟大的历史人物，田世信所做的不再是如何美化他们，将他们塑造成一个完美无瑕的标致美人和圣贤（美人这里特指男人），而是将他们恢复到一个个常态化的人，是一个符合人生百态的人，所以我们看到的老子耷拉出舌头，司马迁裸露着半身，苏武成为佝偻老人，竹林七贤不是放歌山林，而是裹着破毡蜷缩在地。其中还包括被他反复雕刻的屈原和谭嗣同，两位楚地之人造型特别符合今天湖南人前额突出的长相特征。

　　奇人异相：古人将历史人物神话为不同与常人的人，田世信却将历史人物异化为不同于平常的他们的他们。通过抓住他们平常之中的偶然状态和神情，来刻画他们的性格，彰显灵魂特质。因此上，田世信重返古典造型法则，并不是仅仅追求一种古典审美样式，而是形成一种对人生的认识。“现在你们认为艺术是表达一种观念和想法，我感觉艺术是表达一种情绪，是一种对人生的认识。”②田世信这样来阐述他的创作。

　　那么，人生是究竟意味着什么？2004年他创作了一件名为“花桥－人生本是一场热闹戏”的作品。他说“我觉得人这一生，悲伤的时间总是多于快乐的时间……这种悲情大戏剧家卓别林演绎、表现过，他所有的喜剧都带有很浓厚的悲剧情结，大笑背后隐喻着大悲。”③这也解释了他的作品人物总是表情凝重，神情悲怆，不论是早期的贵州乡土人物，还是后来的各种历史人物，看不到一个面带喜悦者。更何况他选择的历史人物都是悲惨遭遇者，仿佛神的光芒从未眷顾过他们。从古至今，人世凉薄，让他难以割舍的始终是对这片苍莽乡土的悲悯，这样一种朴素而厚重的信念使得他的作品正好也与那些玩世和嬉戏的大脸绘画形成鲜明对照。

　　田世信说他不排斥创新，但他更愿意用自己熟悉的方式来表达自己。这不是说他固步自封，而是他也坚信变革的价值，只不过他是以退为进，总是从传统之中寻求变革的因子。这就是当其他艺术家从雕塑转向装置的时候他依然坚持雕塑，当其他艺术家运用西方语言创作的时候他却找到传统造型手法，当其他艺术家试验新的材料时他却倾注极大热情进行大漆这种传统材料的试验，他的《王者之尊》应该是这个方面的代表，以及如何将绘画与雕塑再次结合起来尝试。在他看来，传统中还有很多很好且值得挖掘的东西，一味的抛弃并不见的就是创新，而可能是一种盲目和不自信的表现。

　　作为曾今影响了一代雕塑创作的人物，田世信并没有止步于过去的成功模式。对于艺术创作这种充满未知和不确定性的工作，他有着特别朴实和清醒的认识：“雕塑在创作制作的过程中，有一种引逗的力量，这是我总是精力充沛地完成他。我非常喜爱这个事业，以往常乘火车路经中原，去时一片汪洋，归时耕地干裂的像中国碎瓷的图纹。但是那里的农民没有去理睬这样‘法定的’灾荒。每年照常执着的将种子播下去，我欣赏他们的执着。”农民不会因无法预知的结果而放弃播种，真正的艺术家也应如此。在半个世纪的辗转腾挪之后，他依然我行我素，刀耕不辍，这是他对艺术的执着，也是对这片苍天厚土的深沉眷恋。

2017年12月10日写于北京定居

　　注释：

　　① 孙振华：《转型的年代——1980年代的中国当代雕塑》，《艺术当代》杂志，2012年第2期，第40页。

　　② 李梦虞、谭莉：《雕塑三人谈：田世信、隋建国、展望》，《折腾一得：田世信艺传》，贵州人民出版社，2014年9月版，第118页。

　　③ 李梦虞、谭莉：《心念50年》，《折腾一得：田世信艺传》，贵州人民出版社，2014年9月版，第31－32页。

Vast Lands and Sorrowful Antiquity: On Tian Shixin's Sculptures

Text/ Kang Xueru

　　With his stubborn personality and bone-deep tenacity, Tian Shixin has continued his figural sculpture over an artistic career that has spanned nearly half a century. The immense social changes that have taken place in the last forty years and ever-evolving artistic trends have not shaken the dignity he has built on the ancient craft of sculpture, and they certainly have not changed his care and concern for the fates of ordinary people, especially rural people. It might be almost unbelievable, but there are no non-figural, non-representational pieces in his many years of prolific, rich work. All of his sculptures have been developed around figures or portraits, which makes his art a pioneering and unique case study in Chinese sculpture.

　　In his forty-year career, Tian Shixin never slid into the practice of pure abstract language or materials, or shifted toward conceptual work. This does not imply that his works lack concept, or that he has failed to experiment with materials and languages. In fact, the one thing that Tian Shixin does not lack is experimentation with materials; he has attempted to use nearly every material that can be used for making sculpture. Especially in recent years, he has worked with folk artisans and thrown himself into carving and polishing lacquer. In his sculptural language, we see that he has established distinctive and self-sufficient systems at different stages. His early creative language was exaggerated, rough, and folk-inflected, made by a free and passionate artisan, while his later modeling language was investigative, nostalgic, and stubborn, made by an eccentric who esteemed traditional aesthetic ideas.

　　Though his figures have different lived circumstances and historical backgrounds, Tian has ingeniously, yet appropriately, found languages and methods that present their personalities, spirits, voices, and appearances. In his constant experiments with materials and in his repeated deliberations on the language of sculpture, his goal has always been to serve the simple idea of concern for the human element. Therefore, he never lost his creative path in the exploration of pure art, which also meant that, at least on the surface, his work doesn't fit with the seemingly varied modes of current artistic creation. These "old guard" artists, who grew up having a thorough experience of calamitous social movements, invariably share one thing: they use true, natural and free figural forms to respond to and criticize embellished and false socialist realism. Looking back on Tian Shixin's entire creative process, we will certainly discover that his work has a tense and deeply meaningful connection to the era in which we live—this is a valuable quality that this old guard has retained.

　　Artists cannot escape the limitations of their era, but not all artists have a distinctive reaction to the ills of their times. Like many artists emerging in this new era, Tian Shixin was deeply impacted by his times. He burst into the limelight the first time he presented his ethnic minority figures inspired by the Guizhou frontier to surprised audiences. Critic Sun Zhenhua wrote, "His early works, Dong Woman, Miao Woman, and Pillar of Happiness, launched a new direction in Chinese contemporary sculpture, in that they depicted ethnic minority people struggling amidst poverty and hardship, showing that they resided in an ordinary yet tenacious spiritual world. A sense of the sublime was revealed in this hardship."  This kind of sculpture, generally called Native Soil Art, had some of the traits common to that era. Chinese modern art found a flexible opening in the primitive places of the wild borderlands, initiating a new phase in Chinese sculpture.

　　Contemporaneous paintings that shocked a generation, such as Chen Danqing's Tibet Series and Luo Zhongli's Father, also depict remote, simple ethnic minority figures. Artists during this transitional period consciously latched on to ethnic minority subjects, an instinctual reaction to art's long-standing politicization and utilitarianism. Essentially, it was an expression of an ideology, because being opposed to ideology is another kind of ideology. For Tian Shixin, the choice of ethnic minority subjects implied an active distance from politics, so that he would not be used by politics, nor could he make an issue of politics. Once art no longer had politics deciding its fate, artists could make full use of their talents in the wider world, which was essential for artistic creation, and the ideal state pursued by artists at that moment. First and foremost, ethnic minority subjects were the result of artists beginning to strive for freedom. This mood suffused the entire era, and sensitive artists rapidly captured its pulse. Returning to specific artworks, the choice of ethnic minority subjects also encompassed another important quality of art: truth. Undoubtedly, it was the simple, rough, honest, and even primitive lives of these ethnic minority peoples that moved the artists, but these working people were also direct and powerful content in opposing the formal, rigid, and false realist work of the past. Of course, these subjects also show Tian's feelings of sympathy and compassion for people on the lower rungs of society, as well as his admiration for and reflection on their lives, spirits, and fates in a difficult environment.

　　This was a spring breeze that joined and separated different forces. Through artists living with ethnic minorities, art once again became an independent, free, and authentic personal expression. However, even though Chen Danqing and Luo Zhongli replaced Soviet painting methods with European ones, they both came from the academic school. The painting methods they used are academic, and there is a single layer of canvas between the artists' environment and ethnic minorities. However, Tian Shixin had an entirely different experience; he put down roots in Guizhou, living there for 25 years until he was transferred to the Central Academy of Fine Arts. For him, the lives and circumstances of ethnic minority peoples were not a mystery, part of the strange vistas of exotic lands; they were part of the experiences of his everyday life. Tian Shixin's ethnic minority works are natural. He followed his inner sincerity to create something that was closer to the people; unlike other artists, he did not make art historical derivatives or academic products from an ivory tower. Therefore, Tian Shixin's Miao figures from Guizhou are imbued with more human interest than Chen Danqing's lofty, natural Tibetan figures or Luo Zhongli's brutal hyper-realist Daba Mountain farmers.

　　Tian's life on a distant border is one aspect, but a more crucial element is his lack of professional training. He received some early education in oil painting and sculpture in Beijing, but this was simply training in the fundamentals of art. When he truly and independently engaged with art, his entirely unsystematic skills, and free, joyous impulses became the greatest characteristic of and support for his work. This non-traditional background actually became a unique advantage for his creative methods. Without the restrictions of the academy or other doctrine, he completely relied on his immense passion to make art according to his subjective understanding. However, this is not to say that Tian Shixin is a folk artisan without structure, who relies entirely on emotion; there are sources of tension and relaxation in his work that he has negotiated in his practice, which made his work different from the rest of sculpture at that time.

　　His early works, such as Pillar of Happiness, Old Basket, Dong Woman, and Festival, and especially the immensely controversial Miao Woman, reflect the artistic traits of Tian Shixin's sculptures: exaggerated modeling, angular knifework, protruding foreheads, thick lips, and dignified expressions. Through the specific visions of these works, we further see his understanding and mastery of the language of sculpture. He was not limited by detail, using bold summaries and immense concision. This linguistic method was highly suited to his ethnic minority subjects, presenting an unpolished, rough, honest, simple, and content rural China. On the other hand, if high generalization was a concept in Chinese traditional sculpture, then Tian drew on the traits of traditional sculpture and folk carving. More importantly, he applied the linear modeling methods of Chinese painting to his sculptural work, such as the hair in Miao Woman, the drapery in Pillar of Happiness, and the neck lines in Dong Woman. In the treatment of his later Wang Yangming, Li Qingzhao, and Han Woman, flowing lines seem to replace the blocky modeling of his early sculptures, which lightened those heavy pieces. This is part of the aesthetic lineage that pursued elegance in Chinese literati painting.

　　After the People of Guizhou Series, and especially the contentious Miao Woman, Tian Shixin consciously set out to reshape classic aesthetic rules. If he depicted the traits of ethnic minority figures with exaggerated methods and impulsive passions in Miao Woman, then in his later Conversing with the Ancients series, this exaggeration was no longer controlled by emotion, and it tended to be a reshaping of the experience of Chinese traditional aesthetics. Qu Yuan, Lao Tzu, Tan Sitong, Sima Qian, and Qiu Jin all have a prominent forehead, a high nose, and thick lips. People might find the aesthetic of these faces uncomfortable or ugly today, but by ancient cultural standards, the strangeness of these faces does not reflect poorly on the figures; this comes from the idea that legendary people must have distinctive features. The figures in traditional Buddhist and Daoist painting or religious sculptures in grottoes and temples all have strange faces and features. The Water Margin Playing Cards (Shuihu Yezi) by noted Ming-dynasty figure painter Chen Hongshou best exemplifies this classic cultural phenomenon and aesthetic principle.

　　Chinese culture has formed a set of modeling rules for "strange" figures. In the final analysis, these are visualizations of special figures in history, and in these visualizations, they are certainly different from ordinary people, and as such, their movements and behaviors are different from those of ordinary people. Classic depictions of strange features mythologize them, rather than defaming them. However, in Tian Shixin's mind, these eccentricities also reflect a desire to pursue the truth. When modeling great historical figures, Tian Shixin did not want to beautify them, depicting them as perfect, flawless beauties and sages; he restores them to "normal," representing the myriad types of people in life, so we see Lao Tzu sticking out his tongue, Sima Qian nude, and Su Wu as a stooped old man. The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove are not singing in the forests; they are curled up on the ground in tattered blankets. He has also depicted Qu Yuan and Tan Sitong multiple times; Tian's modeling of these two figures particularly fits with the prominent forehead and other facial characteristics of modern Hunanese people.

　　Legendary people have distinctive faces. The ancients mythologized great figures as people who were different from the rest of us, but Tian Shixin has depicted these figures in ways that are different from the way they are usually depicted. By capturing chance states and expressions, he presents their personalities and bares their souls. Thus, Tian Shixin's return to classical modeling rules is not simply the pursuit of a classical aesthetic form; it actually constitutes his understanding of life. Tian explained, "Now you think that art expresses an idea or a concept, and I think that art expresses an emotion; it's an understanding of life."

　　What is the meaning of life? In 2004, he created a work called Covered Bridge: Life is a Lively Play. He said, "I think that, in this life, the sad times will always outnumber the happy times… Charlie Chaplin interpreted and expressed this sorrow. All of his comedies carry a deeply tragic sensibility; there is great sadness hiding behind the smiles."  This also explains why the figures in Tian's work always had dignified gestures and mournful expressions. In his early Guizhou sculptures and his later historical figures, there are no smiling faces. Furthermore, he chose historical figures who had faced tragedy, who were never warmed by the light of the gods. The human world has always been cold and fragile, so Tian could never give up his feelings for that vast land. As a result of this simple, dignified conviction, his work contrasts markedly with those satirical, playful paintings with the large faces.

　　Tian Shixin says that he does not reject innovation, but he wants to use familiar methods to express himself. This is not to say that he is complacent and conservative; he believes firmly in transformation. He only retreats in order to advance, always seeking the revolutionary elements in tradition. When other artists shifted from sculpture to installation, he continued with sculpture. When other artists used Western styles in their work, he continued to discover traditional modeling methods. When other artists experimented with new materials, he still focused his immense passion on experimenting with the traditional material of lacquer. The Dignity of the King represents these impulses. It reflects an experiment in re-combining painting and sculpture. In his view, there are still so many very good things that are worth extracting from tradition. The blind abandonment of tradition should not be seen as innovation; this could simply be blind, faltering expression.

　　As someone who influenced a generation of sculpture, Tian Shixin does not stop at past models of success. He understands art, a task full of uncertainty and knowns, very clearly and simply. "In the creative process, sculpture has the power to entrance, which always gives me energy. I very much like this. I often took trains across the Central Plains. When I set out, I saw a vast expanse, and when I returned, the fields were dry, with a pattern like Chinese crackleware. However, the farmers there did not pay attention to this ‘technical' drought. Every year, they planted their seeds as usual, and I admire their perseverance." Farmers won't stop planting because they cannot foresee the outcomes, and true artists are like this as well. After the shifts of half a century, Tian Shixin sticks to his old ways with his chisel in hand. He has persevered in his art, and he has a deep love for this piece of heaven and earth.

Beijing, December 10, 2017

　　References

　　Li, Mengyu and Li Tan. "Diaosu sanrentan: Tian Shixin, Sui Jianguo, Zhan Wang" ("A conversation between three sculptors: Tian Shixin, Sui Jianguo, and Zhan Wang"). In Zheteng Yide: Tian Shixin Yizhuan (After Tossing and Turning, A Good Idea Comes: The Artistic Journey of Tian Shixin). Guiyang: Guizhou People's Publishing House, 2014, 118.

　　Li, Mengyu and Li Tan. "Xinnian 50 nian" ("Fifty years of ideas"). In Zheteng Yide: Tian Shixin Yizhuan (After Tossing and Turning, A Good Idea Comes: The Artistic Journey of Tian Shixin). Guiyang: Guizhou People's Publishing House, 2014, 31-32.

　　Sun, Zhenhua. "Zhuanxing de niandai—1980 niandai de Zhongguo dangdai diaosu" ("Decade of transition: Chinese contemporary sculpture in the 1980s"). Yishu Dangdai (ArtChina) No. 2 (2012): 40.

作者：康学儒