在20世纪中国市民的眼中，水墨画和京剧一样，既是国萃，又是打发市民生活的俗物，在老北京的四合院中，在上海的石库门中，几乎家家厅堂都有卷轴的国画悬挂，尽管有的画已被漏雨或烟熏得斑斑驳驳，但国画或水墨画正同老建筑一样，散发着一种宿命的历史气氛，很多市民已经作古，很多市民还活着，中国画的这种沉重是历史给加进去的，其实中国人是最务实的一个民族，现实的市景情况是：国画已绝不是什么高档消费，在中国各大城市的国画店中，字画价格几十元一张，几百元一张，还可以讨价还价，有的非常好的片子，没有经过装表的字画，只卖十几元一张，同样还是在中国的这些大城市的电脑城中，电脑光盘也只卖几元钱或十几元钱一张，高科技和传统文化的代表都以同样的低价格进入中国的千家万户，中国人一边上网聊天，一边身穿中式服装，在古玩市场寻览着字画，这种消费上的反差，并没有给中国人带来任何不适，中国人反而感觉这种消费很前卫，这是中国后现代主义泛滥的温床。追踪本源，一切似乎都跟“五四运动”有关，很多封建文化在留洋归国的西方进步学子眼中都是垃圾，水墨或传统文人画在“扬洲八怪”日进斗金的时代已一去不返。“五四运动”以后已经没有了旧文人，文人画也就消亡了，并成了人人喊打的对象，文人画也因此改成中国画，并进入民间，于是很多农民出身的画师，进而一跃而成为大师。

　　张羽的近作《每日新报》系列，突出实效性，这正是实验水墨所缺乏的，张羽走了另外一条中国水墨当代性之路，这就是“社会学水墨”之路。这几乎是一个禁区，即精英艺术和平民艺术的一个结合点，在十几年张羽的当代水墨实验中，他先是将西方的现代艺术引入水墨，创造了一种颇带禅宗意味的“简约主义”水墨，因而，张羽一直是这十几年来实验水墨的重要艺术家。张羽并没有只停留在精英艺术层面上，在近作《每日新报》中，将代表通俗文化和市民文化的象征物的报纸的局部(撕碎)直接镶嵌在所创作的画面中，进而成为自己实验水墨的一部分。在人们的旧有观念中水墨画和报纸中的新闻，特别是每天的实事报道，完全是两码事，一个是艺术，一个是中国市民的读物、市民生活的消遣，这有质的不同，张羽拼贴的意义，也就在于它不是简单的临摹报纸中的内容而是直接将报纸以现成品的方式和水墨并置在一起，张羽将现成品直接引入水墨作品，这具有后现代主义色彩。张羽在画面中故意制造了一种精英艺术与平民艺术的冲突，报纸报到的内容是当今世界发生的社会重要事件的文字与真实情境的图片，与水墨实验的简约主义风格的对比，其视觉上的冲击力是前所未有的。这涉及了两个语境的对接，形而上学的语境和形而下学的语境，这种形式上的破坏是双向的，首先报纸对张羽的水墨画是一个入侵者，反之张羽的水墨画对报纸也是一个入侵者，这很像中国传统戏剧中塑造的人物的矛盾冲突，由于有了这种冲突，这种对比，画面的纯粹性反而得到了加强，另外从命名上看，张羽也将观众的注意力引向在画面中只占很少一块空间的报纸局部，这具有一种象征意义，90年代以来，很多实验水墨艺术家，他们只在象牙塔中经营自己的绘画，而与中国的时代变迁脱离了关系，张羽将此岸世界再次引入水墨并运用了社会学的方法。张羽在水墨画中引用的文字，与文学、诗歌中的文字有本质的不同，张羽不是强调文字的故事性，也不是强调文字的抒情性，新闻报道的时间、地点、事件，再配以现场的图片这是典型的社会学方法，张羽利用这些文字报道和现代水墨的对比开启了一个社会学的水墨时代。

　　Zhang Yu has taken another way to the contemporary character of ink and wash in his recent work Morning Post, that is, the way of “sociological ink and wash”. This, the joining point of the art of the elite and the art of common people, is almost a forbidden zone. In more than ten years’ experiment in contemporary ink and wash, Zhang Yu introduced the modern Western art into the art of ink and wash at first, and created a kind of “minimalist” ink and wash with some flavor of the Zen. Therefore Zhang Yu has been one of the representative artists of Chinese experimental ink and wash in these years. But Zhang Yu refuses to remain at the level of the art of the elite. In his recent work Morning Post, he has inlaid directly parts of the torn newspaper as the symbol of popular culture and city residents’ culture into the painting and makes them part of his experimental ink and wash. The significance of Zhang Yu’s collage lies in the direct juxtaposition of newspapers as ready-made objects with ink and wash rather than simple imitation of the content of the newspapers, and this has the color of postmodernism. He has deliberately created the conflict between the art of the elite and the art of the common people. The contrast between the content of the newspapers, including texts and photos about important events in the present world, and the minimalist style of his experimental ink and wash leads to an unprecedented visual impact. This involves the connection of two contexts, the metaphysical context and the physical context. The formal damage is reciprocal. Newspaper is an intruder into his painting and vice versa. Because of this conflict and contrast the purity of the painting is enhanced. In addition, as far as the title is concerned, Zhang Yu draws the attention of the views to the part of newspaper which only occupies a small part of the painting, and this has a symbolic significance. Since the 1990s, most experimental ink and wash artists have engaged in painting only in the ivory tower, and have divorced themselves from the changes taking place in China. Zhang Yu has reintroduced this world into the art of ink and wash and has used the sociological method. His citation of reported events and news photos in his works of ink and wash belongs typically to the sociological method. Zhang Yu’s use of the contrast between these literary reports and modern ink and wash has initiated a era of sociological ink and wash. (Huang Yan)

作者：黄岩