五代时期的山水画大家和理论家荆浩在其著作《笔法记》中认为，中国画有“六要”，谓之“气”、“韵”、“思”、“景”、“笔”、

　　“墨”。在此基础上，他提出了“度物象而取其真”的美学命题，并进一步指出：“似者得其形，遗其气。真者气质俱盛，凡气传于华，遗于象，象之，呆也。”荆浩的“六要”把艺术家的创造精神与技巧组成了一个严密的系统。

　　荆浩强调了绘画总是要以一定的对象为依据，但又不能机械于扣住对象的形而进行。如果仅追求“象”，所画者便是下品。所以，一个优秀的艺术家，在他进行绘画创作时，其策略一定是“度物象而取其真”。这里的“真”，不仅有“象”，更是情、理、趣的综合体现，包含了丰富的精神意蕴。

　　十月中旬，我和左正尧去西安参加“国家首届陶艺教育年会”，在西安机场等候会务组来车接我们的时候，他给我看了他的一些近作。当时，我就想起了荆浩的这些话，认为他的这些作品可为荆浩的美学理论作一脚注。

　　一件优秀的艺术作品必定气韵贯通，合于理、表于情。左正尧的这批新作之所以优秀，气韵贯通自然是其前提。我对左正尧的这批新作的总体感受是：以笔求气、以墨求韵、以奇求趣、以思取妙。所谓“以笔求气”，是指他作画时注重笔势挥运中的连续性，笔与笔的承接自然生发，毫无板滞、鄙俗之笔。古人求气韵的一个重要谋略是运笔时讲究笔迹的枯、湿、浓、淡，笔势的疾、缓、轻、重。左正尧喜用“异势”，总想在古人不着意处玩一玩。他的这些作品全用湿笔，湿笔可避板滞但在生宣纸上不易立骨，难于收形，物象的轮廓就模糊，不易见出精神;行笔水分多，也不易形成笔与笔之间的积叠，两次叠加就可能糊为一团，物象不能厚实而墨气易于浑浊。左正尧解决这些问题的方法并不复杂，因为他根本没把笔墨的重点放在“真似”于对象上，他不在于画面物象的真实而追求画境的合理、合情，重视行笔中身体的物理运动与心理运动的感受关系，重视用笔的直觉感悟。他将笔墨自身的抽象因素进一步提升，强化了湿笔在运行中的抽象性和趣味感。因而，他的行笔虽快但不轻滑，毫端含水量较多，但不压骨气和精气。

　　所谓“以墨求韵”是指他布墨讲究“景”与“情”的关系，而这两者又紧扣“味”这一中心环节。在景的方面，他注重“景入情势”。绘画一向以言意表情为旨归，左正尧深谙此道，他的这些作品往往在中心位置开一窗口，置入一幅与周边图像毫无关系的画面，画的多是一些布质的小型公仔之类的物象，总之，就是他那位宝贝女儿的日常玩物。他在这些小画的四周，营造了一个浪漫的，极具儿童视觉趣味的笔墨情境。这些笔墨是父爱在下意识中的自然流露，它紧扣着中心的小画面展开，富有一种梦幻的心理意味与浓郁的亲情感。左正尧用墨讲究趣味，他充分地利用了生宣纸的特性，通过生宣纸笔与笔之间、墨与墨之间易留有间隔肌理这一特性，使其行笔布墨既透气又富有情趣。他很讲究每一笔着于纸上的时间顺序，因而虽多次着墨积染，肌理与物象间的层次仍清晰透气。

　　左正尧的“以笔求气”、“以墨求韵”，使他的作品自然具有了“以奇求趣、以思取妙”的审美意味。他这些作品的“奇”，奇在“无用心而成像”，画面所有物象的组合均在不合理之间合于常理、合于画理，物象虽然看似互不关联各说各的话，但情境的合一性却使它们丝丝入扣地联结在一起。这些作品的“妙”，妙在画幅中的那些小画面中图像可以紧扣时代的发展不断更新，每一时代的时尚元素都可套入进去。如此，他的画面总是具有时代的前沿性。

　　左正尧是个富有才情的艺术家，其思维属于那种能跳出常理看世界的类型，因而作品能时不时地出现一些反常态的意味。这是他的优点，也是他的特点。为人如此，为画也是如此。

　　《左正尧彩墨》，贝思出版有限公司 2006年1月。

　　Unconventional Conventions—On the New Paintings of Zuo Zhengyao

　　Luo Yiping

　　Jing Hao, a famous landscape painter and art critic of the Five-dynasty Period, held in his book, On Brushing Techniques, that there were six rules in the Chinese painting, i.e. spirit, rhythm, thinking, landscape, brushing and ink. Based upon the rules, he put forward an aesthetical topic, i.e. “creating the true images of objects in paintings” and further pointed out that “a painter will get the form, but lose the spirit if what he paints is simply similar to the object. A true artwork should be a perfect integration of form and spirit. ” Jing Hao’s “Six Rules” became a compact system combining the creative spirit with the painting techniques of an artist.

　　Jing Hao emphasized that the painting must be based upon certain images, but not be a mechanical imitation of the objects. If simply seeking to imitate the their appearances in painting, then, their brushworks are of low quality. Therefore, an outstanding painter must be able to “creating the true images of objects in paintings” when he undertakes his artistic practices. The “true images” in the aesthetical topic is not only related with the images, but also with the harmonious combination of emotions, conceptions and aesthetical pleasures, which contains high spiritual values.

　　In the middle of October, Zuo Zhengyao and I went to Xi’an for the “First China National Ceramic Art and Education Conference”. When we were waiting for the logistical group of the conference at Xi’an Airport, he showed me some of his recent works. When I was enjoying his paintings, the above-mentioned Jing Hao’s statement came into my mind and I believed that those of his works were none other than good footnotes of Jing Hao’s aesthetical theory.

　　An outstanding artwork is surely a perfect combination of artistic conception and spirit and it is reasonable and exciting. The reason that recent group of paintings by Zuo Zhengyao are regarded as extraordinary pieces is that, first of all, a combination of conception and spirit is its prerequisite. On the whole, my opinion on Zuo’s recent works is that he has tried to demonstrate the spirit with his brushstrokes, to create the rhythm with ink, to seek pleasures with unique images and to create an original effect with his ingenious conceptions. By “demonstrating the spirit with brushstrokes”, it means that he emphasizes the continuity of the brushstrokes when painting and the continuity of one stroke after another looks quite natural and fluent with no inflexibility and dullness. For the ancient Chinese painters, one of the most important ways to seek the harmony of the conception and spirit is to create different shades of ink and various applications brushstrokes. Zuo Zhengyao prefers to an “alien” way to often create an unexpected effect in the easily neglected places. In all of his paintings, his paintings are painted all with wet brushstrokes as the wet brushstrokes are free from dullness. Generally, it is not easy to highlight the major lines of the form on the Xuan paper. Consequently, the outlines of the images appear to be quite indistinct and it is quite difficult to demonstrate the spirit in the painting. If it is too wet, it is easy for one brushstroke to cover another so that the two brushstrokes may result in a blurred image. Zuo Zhengyao’s method to solve such a problem is quite complicated because he does never emphasize the true appearance of the objects, but the conceptions, feelings and spiritual mood in the paintings. He emphasizes the relationship between the physical movements and psychological reflections in application of brushstrokes and also the intuitive perception when using the brushes. He has advanced the abstract elements contained in the ink and brushstrokes themselves and strengthened the sense of abstractness and tastefulness in application of the wet brushstrokes. As a result, his brushing is quick, but not slippery. There is much ink at the head of the brush, but it has no negative effect on the demonstration of the spirit in the paintings.

　　As to “creating the rhythm with ink”, it refers to that he stresses the relationship between the “landscape” and the “emotions” in his composition. However, the two aspects are closely related to the central link of the “interest”. In regard of the “landscape”, he emphasizes the principle of “landscape being a reflection of the emotions”. As we know, the aim of painting is to expound our views and express our emotions. Zuo Zhengyao has a full understanding of it. He usually leaves a small window in the centre of his paintings in which is inserted a picture which has nothing to do with its surrounding images. Most of them are small cloth figurines. On the whole, they are the toys that his lovely daughter plays with every day. Around the small window is often a painting full of children visual pleasure in a romantic style and such brushstrokes are a natural reflection of his fatherly love for his daughter. It is a psychological dreamland full of affections. Zuo Zhengyao lays great stress on the application of the ink. By taking full advantage of the Xuan paper and the special characteristics of the unique textures left between the Xuan paper and the brushes and different shades of the ink, he gives much delight to the brushstrokes and the compositions. He pays much attention to the order of every brushstrokes on the paper so that the textures and images have a clear sequence although he applies layers of the ink in various shades.

　　As Zuo Zhengyao follows the principles of “to demonstrate the spirit with his brushstrokes, to create the rhythm with ink”, his painting is naturally a reflection of a particular aesthetical meaning. In all of these paintings, the most marvelous is that all the elements in the paintings are combined in an unconventional way, but conform to the conventions and the conventional theory of painting. Though the images concerned are seemingly unrelated to each other, the perfect combination with the environment has merged them into an organic whole. On the other hand, the most ingenious point is that the small paintings inserted in his paintings are closely related to the development of our time and have been ceaselessly changed. All the fashionable elements of each age may be able to be inserted into them. In such a way, his paintings are always at the forefront of the age.

　　Zuo Zhengyao is an artist with great talent and insight and his way of thinking is to look at the world beyond the conventions so that his works present an unconventional feeling from time to time. It is both his virtue and special characteristics. That is the character of the painter and of his painting.

　　Zuo Zhengyao “seeks vitality by pens” and “seeks tone by ink”. This provided his work with the aesthetic meaning of “pursuing interest through singularity, attaining wonderful by ideas”. The singularity about his work is that the “images are formed at will”. All of the objects in the pictures are accord with common sense while seem to be illogical. Although they look like have no relationship with each other and only speaking for themselves, the union of environment make them tie together with meticulous care. The wonder about his work is in the images among the little pictures of the painting. They can everlastingly renew along with the development of times, enabling the insertion of every period’s fashion elements. Thus, his pictures always possess the foreseeing nature of times.

　　Luo Yiping, “Common Sense among Non-Common Sense”, Zuo Zhengyao’s Ink and Wash Painting, Published by Beisi Publishing Co.Ltd., January, 2006.

作者：罗一平