水火之歌

劉國松的水拓畫vs.薛松的焚燒拼貼

策展人／劉素玉

運用水、火作畫，古今中外皆有，這是一種對材質的挑戰。主張「革筆的命」的五月畫會創始人劉國松，於七○年代初開始探索水拓技法，就是把墨或顏料滴入水中，再加入松節油等揮發性的油，以紙吸取飄浮於水面上自然散開的線條、紋路，之後再進行畫面的加工處理。

劉國松說過：「我最滿意水拓畫的系列作品，在比率上它自然多，人工少。」他認為，人工太多便生刻板，只有自然，才能生動，才見氣韻。

水拓技法產生多變的線條、流動的紋路等自然效果，提供劉國松源源不絕的創作靈感。劉國松的「太空畫」講求事先佈局構思，屬於「胸有成竹」的創作；而「水拓畫」則因應拓印出來的效果去塑造意境，是運用「畫若佈弈」的理論。1974年的《錢塘潮》是他以水拓法完成的早期佳作，全畫以水拓法產生的自然流動紋路為背景，其上則裱貼一輪明月與幾塊山石，呈現月下浪潮拍岸翻騰的景象。1976年的《流動的山峰》則是利用流變幻異的水墨紋路創造出雲譎波詭的山水意境；1977年的《雲水一家》中，水拓法所產生行雲流水般的動感超越了畫筆所能呈現的自然效果；1982年的《白雪是白的》是水拓法所產生白雪般晶瑩剔透的效果，再以淡墨淡彩暈染；1985年的《吹皺的山光》運用水拓法產生有如岩石紋理的基礎上，再施以暈染及渲塗，前後的山石紋路層次豐富，渾然天成。劉國松的水拓畫，取代了傳統畫筆創造的山石、流水、雲霧，甚至更勝一籌，他勇於拋棄畫筆，另闢蹊徑，更加奠定他成為「兩岸水墨現代化之父」的英名。

中國自秦漢時期就有「火燒畫」，至今仍盛行於西安一帶，西洋也有人以火焰作畫，如法國的伊夫．克萊因(Yves Klein)，直到近代的美、加都有人持續探索，其所呈現的特殊效果與新奇經驗，超越了普通畫筆。中國當代藝術家中也有以玩火而走紅國際藝壇，如蔡國強的火藥爆破，而薛松更是直接拼貼焚燒過的碎片殘骸於畫布上，畫風獨一無二。

薛松的焚燒拼貼頗有一番波折與戲劇性，源自於90年代在他工作室發生的兩次大火，他從災後廢墟殘留的碎片得到創作靈感。燃燒的爆發力與殺傷力，令人驚恐，也令人刺激；而被火燒後的碎片殘骸，產生奇異的視覺動感，將其重組拼貼在畫布上，構成新的圖像，而殘片本身的內容與畫布上的形象互相對應，創造了一個全新的語彙，又賦予了多重意義，形成了破壞與再生、解構與建構的歷程。

薛松作品的另一大特色是融入了中國傳統文化美學的形態，尤其他對傳統書法、山水的喜愛，不論是作品挪用古畫山水、書法形式，或是直接焚燒其碎片於作品，都使得他的作品含有豐富的水墨元素，而這與當今水墨畫尋求革新的精神，包括不拘媒材與多元形式的潮流不謀而合。

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 A Song of Water and Fire

Liu Kuo-sung’s Water-Rubbing

Vs.

Xue Song’s Burnt Collage

by Elaine Suyu Liu

Painting with water and fire, in both historical and modern times, is a challenge in media. The founder of the Fifth’s Moon Painting Group, Liu Kuo-sung, who advocated “revolution against the brush,” began experimenting with the technique of “Water-Rubbing” since the 1970s. Liu’s pioneered technique involves dripping ink into water, then adding turpentine to manipulate the flow of the ink in the water, and finally placing paper onto the water’s surface to capture a “rubbing” of the ink’s pattern.

Liu Kuo-sung said: “I am most pleased with the Water-Rubbing series. In terms of ratio, it is more spontaneous, and less artificial.” Liu believes that too much artifice will lead to rigidness, and only spontaneity will allow for true liveliness.

Water-Rubbing essentially captures and records the endless possibilities of how ink flows through and mixes with water, and therefore provides Liu with endless inspiration. While Liu Kuo-sung’s Space series requires a planned general composition prior to execution, the Water-Rubbing series truly illustrates his belief of simply going with the flow, or painting with total spontaneity. High Tide of Qiantang River of 1974 is a great early example of the series, where the entirety of the background was created with “Water-Rubbing,” and only adored with additional collage pieces such as the moon and mountains. In Flowing Mountain Peaks of 1976, the naturally rising and sloping lines of “Water-Rubbing” alone comprise the peaks of valleys of the formal composition. In Water and Cloud Share the Same Source of 1977, the natural and delicate lines of “Water-Rubbing” surpasses any depiction done by the brush. In White Snow is White of 1982, the effects of “Water-Rubbing” brilliantly mimics the clarity and radiance of fresh snow, and is given depth with light washes of fine ink. Mountain Light Blown Into Winkles of 1985 utilizes “Water-Rubbing” to create the grain patterns of the mountain, with further layers of ink added on that natural foundation. With the “Water-Rubbing” technique, Liu Kuo-sung abandoned the conventional use of the brush and earned the title of “The Father of Modern Ink Painting” in both Taiwan and Mainland China.

The practice of painting with fire in China can be traced back to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and is still prevalent today in the region around the ancient capital of Xi’an. In the Western tradition, Modernist such as Yves Klein, have experimented with the element, and have achieved an unique visuality far beyond any likeness of the brush. Chinese Contemporary artists have also emerged on the international spotlight by playing with fire, such as Cai Guoqiang with his explosives and fireworks, and Xue Song with his collages of brunt and charred images.

The origin of Xue Song’s brunt collage is quite dramatic. Having had two fires break out in his studio in the 90s, a distressed Xue found inspiration from ashes left by the destruction. The nature of fire is to consume and destroy, fueling both fear and a strange satisfaction. Xue’s burnt images are branded with a new visuality, and also given new meaning through rearrangement as collages pieces on the canvas. In turn, the process of destruction and reconstruction, and symbolic death and rebirth, creates a new artistic vocabulary.

Another major feature of Xue Song’s art is his integration of traditional Chinese painting motifs, especially his fondness and knowledge of calligraphy and landscape paintings. Whether his composition adopts the appearance of a Classical Chinese landscape or canonical calligraphy, or features brunt images of the genre within the artwork, Xue Song’s art is filled with the spirit of traditional ink painting, in which innovation is derived from tradition, and new media of born out of conventional ready-made materials.