为什么选择书法?这个问题她似乎无法回答。当日常生活被艺术所占领，她甚至认为这是来自前世的宿命。书法，令一个在现代都市的繁华部分生活的丽人有了特别的内容和气质。

　　一边是千年的传统，一边是无法追问的假设。生活和艺术在瞬间变得有些凝重。

　　事实上，即使是再多的发明和进步，也无法支撑这个假设的成立：电脑和无纸化的实现，永远不可能取代汉字的书写艺术。可以存疑的是，一个可以以美女的身份在都市的物质风景中脱颖而出的人，她为何要把自己交给传统?

　　她是徐洁。用行草覆盖自己的状态，以书写的形式塑造本身的人。

　　徐洁不能给出她陷入艺术的动因———也许，这正是她的答案。

　　在华侨城的生态公园，在第四届深圳当代雕塑艺术展的《被移植的现场》，徐洁和来自法国的艺术家安娜、巴拉克•普瓦赫有一个大型的合作——一个题为《风景中的风景》的雕塑。那是一个很大的框子，还有一组岩石，由不同的元素组成。框子将如此构成的风景框住。在这个装置中，一枚仿佛从天而降的箭射入坚硬的岩石。来自法国的艺术家说，这是一种危险和脆弱的指示。在这些岩石中，中国的书法“遗忘”“历史”“未来”“记忆”呈现于表层，并给人以具体而艺术的信息。两位法国艺术家的得意之作因为来自中国女书法家徐洁的书写而更加得意。

　　这一次中西艺术的携手，使这位在艺术和生活之中不停寻找目标的人有了更多的觉悟。在她看来，所有的物质都是易碎品，所有的时间也都是易碎品。石头在时间中出生，终将在时间中死亡。同时死亡的还有时间本身。如果有一种东西足以令脆弱的生活变得深远而温馨，并化解石头般沉重的日子，她相信这是她苦苦追寻的艺术。当然，书法只是里面的一个部分。

　　那天在华侨城生态公园，徐洁和几位书法家朋友去看雕塑，他们在冬天的阳光下讨论，在充满青草气息的空气中展开对一些作品的批评。他们试图解释这些作品。但是他们无法用共同的答案来说服对方。他们还用自己的方式来修改这些作品。他们谈及了内心。在一场简单的午餐之后，他们又把自己送入艺术之中——几个小时，他们居然不累。

　　是那个时候，徐洁让我看到了她的宽容和平静。我不知道她的这种态度是生活领域之内的一种结果，还是她浸淫于书法的一份收获。

　　与城市的生活无法分离。但是这位来自江浙一带的才女，说她小时候修的是武术。她在省的武术队练了十年的拳脚。这种经历可能使她有足够的技巧和力量来使自己变得传奇。但事实上，她说艺术除了汗水、付出和不断的体悟，没有任何传奇的东西可以令她更加荣耀和生动。

　　现在要说说她的渊源。一个小小年纪的女孩，在武术队以动态的身姿留下了一段生活的印记之后，回到传统的书法可能是个合理的结局。这个判断实际上建立在她的家庭背景之上。

　　有意识地把写字当成艺术是受到祖父、父亲的影响。他们都是江浙一带有名的书画家。所以，她顺理成章地学习柳公权、文征明，后来又攻习米芾、王铎，博涉各家。她的行草灵动洒脱，是平静内心下的一种大写，也是她发乎真性情的一种流程和结局。书家郑竹三评论她的作品是“生命的原动，真善的出入，更是生命张力的表演”，这个结论体现了徐洁被真正的阅读和理解。

　　在书法上她似有不少可让自己的简历变得丰富和荣光的事件和成果，包括各种奖项，包括入选各种全国性的书法展览。但在艺术层面上，徐洁总在回避她的过往。她提及的是从深圳出发，然后游历西藏，然后回到深圳的经历。在都市的物质环境中，她渴望支取的是超越都市意义的一种大度和平淡。这种大度和平淡是她获得灵感的又一个途径。

　　现在徐洁把自己的一些精力用于培养少儿。这个事实和过程，让她又发现了自己作为艺术传播者的意义。书写，从来没有像现在这样面临挑战。这是和潮流对抗吗?徐洁说这是和时代共进。

　　在这个冬天，我为一次意外的采访而高兴。但我说不清高兴还是遗憾的是，我在电脑上的书写，与徐洁从事的艺术背道而驰。

 
                   A Fashionable Beauty Given Over to Tradition
           Guo Hongyi

Why to choose calligraphy? She seems unable to answer this question. When everyday life is occupied by art, she even thinks that is the predestination coming from a previous life. Calligraphy has made a beauty – partly living in the hustle and bustle of a modern city – possess special temperament and contents.

     On one side is a tradition of thousands of years and on the other is a hypothesis which couldn’t be questioned closely. Life and art become somewhat imposing in an instant.  

     In fact, inventions and advances, no matter how many they may be, can never support the establishment of the hypothesis: the reality of computer and paperless-ness can never substitute the writing art of Chinese characters. What is questionable here is: why does a beauty – who could have stood out on the material stage of a city in the role of a beauty – give herself over to tradition?

    She is Xu Jie, a personality who covers her own state with the running-cursive script, and shapes herself by forms of handwriting.  

    Ms. Xu Jie can’t give out the motive for her involvement in art – maybe this is just her answer.

    In the eco-park of the Overseas Chinese Town, at The Transplanted Scene in the 4th Shenzhen Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, Xu Jie had a large-scale cooperation with French artists Anna and Barack Puroho, – a sculpture titled The Scene in Scenery. That was a very big frame with a group of rocks in addition, consisting of different elements. The frame enclosed the scene so constructed. In this device, an arrow seeming to have fallen from the sky was shot into the rocks. The artists from France said that was an indication of danger and weakness. In these rocks, the Chinese calligraphy of “Oblivion” “History” “Future” “Memory” appeared on the surface level, and gave specific and artistic information to people. The two French artists’ proud work appeared prouder thanks to the handwriting from the female Chinese calligrapher Xu Jie.

      This hand-in-hand event between Chinese and Western arts has caused this person, who has been looking for objectives unceasingly in art and life, to have more comprehensions. In her view, all matter is fragile and all time is so as well. Stone is born in time, and will die in time at last. What dies at the same also includes time itself. If there is one thing enough to enable fragile life to become profound and cozy, and neutralize the heavy rock-like days, and she believes this is the art she has been painstakingly pursuing. Of course, calligraphy is only a part inside.

    On the day in the eco-park of the Overseas Chinese Town, Xue Jie and her several calligrapher friends went to see the sculptures; they had discussion in winter sunshine, and held criticism on some works. They attempted to interpret these works. Yet they could not persuade each other with common answers. They also modify these works by their own means. They talked about the inmost being. After a simple lunch, they sent themselves into art again – and didn’t tire even for several hours. 

It is that time when Xu Jie let me see her tolerance and calm. I don’t know whether this attitude of hers is a result in the sphere of life or a harvest from her immersion in calligraphy.

    She can’t sever herself from city life. But this talented female from the region of Jiangsu and Zhejiang said she used to practice martial arts in her childhood. She practiced Chinese boxing for 10 years in the provincial wushu team. This experience may have made her have enough skill and strength to enable herself to become legendary. Yet in fact, she said that, as far as she is concerned, art means nothing of any legendary things which might make her more glorious and lively, except sweat, hard work and continuous perception.

    Now I would like to talk some of her origin. For a young girl, after having left behind a track of life in the provincial wushu team, the return to traditional Chinese calligraphy might be a reasonable outcome. This judgment is actually based on her family background. 
   
    Influenced by her grandfather and father, she takes handwriting as an art consciously. Both her grandfather and father were famous calligraphers in the region of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Therefore, quite reasonably, she learned from master calligraphers Liu Gongquan, Wen Zhengming, and later again from Mi Fu, Wang Duo, and Bo She. Her running-cursive script, nimble and unrestrained, is an upper case under her calm heart as well as a flow and outcome from her true disposition. Calligrapher Zheng Zhusan has the comment that her works are “the prime impetus of life, the egress and ingress of true goodness, and more the performance of life tensity”, this conclusion embodies the true reading and interpretation of Xu Jie.

    Calligraphically she seems to have quite a few events and achievements which can make her curriculum vitae become rich and glorious, including various awards as well as elections to various national calligraphic exhibitions. Yet on the art level, Xu Jie always shuns her past. What she mentioned was the experience of starting off from Shenzhen, then touring Tibet, and further returning to Shenzhen. In the material environment of a city, what she thirst to draw is a magnanimity and quietness beyond the meaning of city. Such magnanimity and quietness is another path for her to acquire inspirations.

     Now Xu Jie applies some of her energy to training of children. This fact and process let her discover the meaning of herself as an art disseminator again. Writing has never encountered such challenges as it does now. Is this a resistance to trends? Xue Jie said this is the co-progress with the times.

   In this winter, I am delighted to have had an unexpected interview. However, I am not sure if I should delight in or regret my writing on a computer, which goes against the art Xu Jie pursues.     
 

作者：郭洪义