What does this picture mean?

Dunzhe Ling

There is no strict logic in artistic expression, so according to Wittgenstein's view, it is actually unspeakable. But for us, for the whole human history, when it comes to art, we can always have many memories and even make people respect.

I can never draw realistic oil paintings like Leng Jun's, because I have no sketching foundation and no systematic study. I can't say that I was born to paint like Picasso and Zhao Wuji. But I seem to know how to express my inner thoughts. I am not even as good as a child who has studied painting, but I am not satisfied with anyone's creativity.

Sunrise in Monet

I'm never short of material. I will always carry it with me when I write. And I'm fearless. I dare to paint anything and try anything. Just like my writing, I don't set limits for myself. Because I deeply know that all art forms are aimed at breaking through the body, emancipating the mind and realizing the infinite freedom of the spirit. From the history of literature to the history of painting to the history of music, you must have this view.

Painting can only be a child-like mural at first, then realistic, and then transition to impressionism. No longer pay attention to detail description, lines and borders are no longer so rigid, only pay attention to the overall feeling. From the transition to the development of abstract art, people are expanding their art in different forms in order to gain a more thorough free experience.

But why is my topic called "Let Art Return to Art"? It is extremely difficult to answer this question. As I said at the beginning, art is not a logical thing. But art is flesh and blood and profound, so we must answer this profound.

Zhao Wuji's works.

The profundity of art comes from the profundity of people, who are flesh and blood. I don't think everyone will refute this. In Marx's view, artistry is also a manifestation of sociality. But for art creators, art belongs to individuals first, not groups. Only the artist himself is a member of the group. That's easy. Art is only the form and medium of expressing ideas. Remember this sentence, although it is official and unemotional, I must say it. Art is to express ideas, not ideas and concepts. There are pros and cons of thoughts, right and wrong, but there are no pros and cons of thoughts. Moreover, all kinds of ideas have been changing with the changes of the times, but the impulse of people to express their ideas has never stopped. An idea must be an idea, but not all ideas can be called ideas. This is the difference between them.

Zhao Wuji's works

Therefore, all lines that express ideas can be art, but art that loses its uniqueness and uniqueness will be filtered by people and forgotten by history. Just like the adhesive tape, nylon rope and plastic cups used by every household ... can you say that these handicrafts are not beautiful? Beauty is beautiful and practical, but we don't think it is art.

Besides, a roll of tape can arouse thoughts and bring visual freedom association, which is really not enough for memory. Then the problem is coming. Painters who graduated through systematic study under the same environment and rules will have this "assembly line" visual impact on their paintings. I never want a painter to pursue the perfection of cold style. I don't deny the difficulty and height of cold art, I appreciate and admire it.

When everyone is pursuing "a style", it is an artistic sorrow. Let art return to art, that is, let art express infinitely, be bold, and don't leave yourself a backward path.

Dunzhe Ling's oil painting Cloud

You can identify a painter's painting style or literary style from his paintings or a writer's literary works, which shows that the creative ability and practical ability of this painter or writer are becoming more and more mature and must have reached a high level. This realm can be described as "ingenuity", and it is definitely a style that takes time to polish.

But this is not the highest realm, and the highest realm is "ingenuity." So for me, don't form a fixed "style" but become a lifelong pursuit. You should constantly break your own style from the inside and make endless exploratory innovations. As Picasso said, "I 14 can draw as well as Raphael, but it took me a lifetime to draw like a child." Picasso not only broke his own style in painting, but also tried many other art forms. For example, printmaking, ceramics, dance beauty, sculpture ... Leonardo da Vinci is also a great artist and versatile. Art is the expression of ideas, and we should not stick to the expression of ideas. If we can express it more thoroughly, it will inevitably cause great condemnation. Art even interacts with science, which is only a form of scientific expression of ideas and pursues the integrity and objectivity of logic. In this way, "science" is an artistic expression. Einstein likes music very much. He said, "Imagination is greater than knowledge."

Dunzhe Ling's oil painting "The Perspective of God"

A sensitive person, you should think about the meaning of this sentence. What is knowledge? It must be a pile of concepts and logic, but imagination is not. Concept and logic are actually a rule and direction. 1 plus 1 equals 2, which is the result of this conceptual orientation. You and I have both been trained in this system. But a small number of people, after receiving this necessary training, can still break the orientation and find more interesting things. This is why Einstein is so awesome that ordinary people don't think about "chasing light". Light travels so fast, aren't people who "chase light" stupid?

As mentioned above, if you can express art more thoroughly, it will definitely cause a great sensation. But at this time, many readers will ask: "What do many abstract paintings understand at all?" If you don't understand, how can it cause a * * * sound? For example, many people will be confused when they see Zhao Wuji's paintings.

Let me tell you something. The artist's appreciation of the artist comes from "I can't draw what he painted." It must be like this. For example, if you put a plaster statue in front of you and let the students who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts paint it, everyone's level is actually equal, and there can be no difference. So who will admire who? Because everyone is half a catty. At this moment, Leng Jun jumped out. Can you draw me like this? Many painters saw it, yeah! It's awesome. I can't draw. I admire it.

Some people's paintings are beyond your imitation, such as some abstract paintings by Zhao Wuji and Picasso. Even they can't draw the same picture themselves. I made it myself. I drew a picture of Genting some time ago, and I began to know what I was going to draw. But how I use colors and arrange them is arbitrary. When you start painting, look at the picture and arrange the structure.

Dunzhe Ling's oil painting "Self-portrait"

At first, there was no draft, so I drew it directly, drawing a large area ... after I finished painting, I didn't even remember the steps. For example, there are some fluid paintings. How do you copy them? I think this is also the reason why Picasso and Zhao Wuji's paintings are collected. He is unique and difficult to copy. This is the so-called "rarity of artistic value".

But don't overemphasize the uniqueness of this art, which is good in most cases. But not absolutely. Because some abstract paintings you don't understand what they express, the author himself may express unconsciousness. When this "unconscious" picture is not "beautiful", I don't think it is art either.

This explanation is not vivid. If I say so, you may understand better. It is naturally good to treat every painting as a "good meal" and know what it is. For example, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, pork head and Sichuan style pork. What about people you don't know? This kind of stew is called "cauldron stew", mainly because of the smell. In art, you can understand "taste" as "feeling". If you think he is "beautiful", then don't pursue what he painted specifically. It doesn't matter exactly what he drew. In short, it may be the beauty of color, space and lines. ...

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa

Many painting friends left messages asking me how you conceived it. In fact, the above answers, when I am sad, how do I want to express my sadness; When I am happy, I will think about how to express happiness ... after I have emotions in my mind, the material is in your life experience, and I can ask for it at will and stick to it.

I also shared my painting in a short video, and a comment said, "This painting has at least 10 years of training." I am happy to see it, but I feel guilty. In fact, there is no systematic training for more than 1 year. I also try to draw a normal picture that others can understand, but I find that my drawing is very rigid, whether it is modeling or composition. I still like to draw at will.

Painting is a combination of techniques and ideas, so techniques are naturally important. But remember, after you learn the technology well, you must not limit yourself to "technology". Instead, we should take the tool of "technology" and go further and further to places where no one has ever set foot. This is why I want to declare that art should return to art, not that art should return to technology!

Excerpts from the prose works of Dunzhe Ling, an independent scholar, artist and writer.