出乎天然，大家风范
——曾锦德作品观后
文 / 闫新生
关键词： 曾锦德，乱画，文人墨戏，疯子与天才，出乎天然，清气逼人
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我必须说句实话，曾锦德先生的作品兀然杂陈眼前时，我一半惋惜一半惊异，惋惜其“乱画”之作没有及时筛选，惊异其大家之作大师之作何其多也。无论传统之继承，无论中西之结合，更无论其探索之惊险都是少有人企及的。在传统的高度上无非逸品，他是有超逸之气，在中西问题上无非天衣无缝，他是出乎天然清气逼人。为什么会这样？我想他是疯子，是天才，是疯子和天才、酒翁和酒仙的结合体。只有疯子才敢于走那么远，只有天才才那么灵光。他又像小孩子，看他是透明的，我们都知道收起自己不规范、不合章法、不合墨法的作品，但他没有这意识，他说其作品“只是在说明自己，”这正是一位真画者、真艺术家的自白和心灵留影，这留影超越了完美。
他很爱家人，爱自己的老师、同学、朋友，爱我们这个民族，爱生命，但他又是不惜用自己的生命换理想的人，常借酒力任笔，心手两忘，人我俱无，没人操舟，无意于济，成就了其抒情的自觉，言志的喷发，是心灵与笔墨的交响。
他于艺术于现世都有异于常人的洞察也有百般的疑问，他带着这些走了，留下作品任人解说。
记得我初遇其作品是在山水高研班，去年夏天，福建学生带来一位画家的图片让我看看，看我怎么说，我当时认为有乱画倾向，不好就说。几天后曾路出现在我们聚会的酒楼上，因我老父母在一层等我，又没顾上多看，但发现了颇有意思的图像，开始觉察到此“乱画”非一般的乱画。再就是在北戴河，曾路带来了多幅照片，大出意料，就决定去看原作。
“乱画”一词见在贡布里奇解释毕加索作品，贡氏以塔希提《战神》、新几内亚《面具》作为毕加索可以“乱画”的根据，认为“乱画”的实验给了后人更多的教益，曾锦德和毕加索一样显然想弄清楚用最不可能的笔墨去构成一个形象这种想法到底能走到那一步。一个有创造的艺术家任何一种方法和笔墨都不可能长期使之满意。曾锦德受到过严格的造型训练，可能有出于反叛或厌倦的成分，他现在渴望简单明了，直扑主题或没有主题，抛弃一切的机敏乃至智慧，决心还光明于日月，照亮内在的真性。
“乱画”实验之信笔而为的游戏产物可能会吓坏没有艺术准备的人，不过在艺术家看来是一件严肃的大事。
中国的传统称之为“墨戏”，从米氏父子、梁疯子到徐文长，早已有之，非创作态度不严肃，是强调创造精神的高度自由，纵横挥洒，汪洋恣肆，或以之表现大化流行的韵味，或以之表现气化宇宙的脉动，或以之彰显现实世界引发的内在生命悸动，不复顾及雕虫末技。
也许正因为曾锦德秉承了文人墨戏与“乱画”传统，才有了其乱而不乱的上乘之作。一招一式皆合规范，举手投足全中程式，最多能造就一个一般般的画家。
闫新生 （中央美术学院外请教授、中国艺术研究院特约研究员）
2014年1月15日
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Innate Brilliance and Grand Style — Yan Xinsheng on Zeng Jinde
I must speak honestly: when Zeng Jinde’s works appeared before me in a seemingly chaotic array, I felt both regret and amazement. Regret for the “disordered” works not having been carefully selected; amazement at the sheer number of masterpieces by this master. Whether in inheriting tradition, combining East and West, or pursuing daring experimentation, his achievements are rare. At the height of tradition, his works are all masterpieces, exuding transcendent energy; in East-West synthesis, his handling is flawless and naturally brilliant, with an extraordinary clarity.
Why is this so? I believe he was a madman, a genius — a combination of madness and brilliance, a wine lover and a wine sage. Only a madman dares to go so far; only a genius can shine so vividly. He also resembles a child — transparent in his vision. His works disregard conventional rules, methods, or techniques, and as he said, “The works only explain myself.” This is the confession and soul imprint of a true painter and artist, transcending perfection.
He loved his family, teachers, classmates, friends, his nation, and life, yet he was willing to risk his life for ideals. Often fueled by wine, he let his brush flow freely, forgetting self and other, achieving lyrical consciousness and the eruption of will — a symphony of spirit and ink.
He had exceptional insight and many questions about art and life. He departed leaving his works for interpretation.
I first encountered his work in a landscape advanced study class. Last summer, students from Fujian brought some images for me to view; I initially thought there were tendencies toward disorder. A few days later, at a gathering, I noticed intriguing images and began to realize that these “disordered” works were extraordinary. Later in Beidaihe, Zeng Lu brought many photos, surpassing my expectations, and I decided to see the originals.
The term “disordered painting” appears in Gombrich’s explanation of Picasso, who used such experiments to inspire future generations. Zeng Jinde, like Picasso, explored how the most improbable brushwork could form an image. As a creative artist, no single method or brushwork could fully satisfy him long-term. Trained rigorously in form, possibly out of rebellion or fatigue, he sought simplicity and directness, abandoning cleverness and intellect, determined to return light to the sun and moon, illuminating inner truth.
These “disordered” experiments may startle the unprepared, yet for an artist, they are serious endeavors. Chinese tradition calls this “ink play” (mo xi), practiced by the Mi family, Liang Fengzi, Xu Wenchang, emphasizing highly free creative spirit, unconstrained execution — to express cosmic rhythm, life’s inner pulse, or the resonance of reality — without concern for minor technicalities.
Perhaps precisely because Zeng Jinde inherited the tradition of literati ink play and “disordered painting,” he achieved works that are chaotic yet ordered, masterful. Every gesture conforms to principles, every movement follows proper form, which would make an ordinary painter at most competent, yet he transcended the ordinary.
Yan Xinsheng
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