文/ 谷浩宇
70后(严格说来应该是70后后半)艺术家里，熊宇大约是最早发展出成熟稳定的风格的艺术家。2001年到2002年左右，便发展出自己独一无二的绘画语言。熊宇的人物经常穿着黑色连身紧身衣，看得出材质是高科技塑料，在好莱坞科幻片里经常出现。少年的头发银白，有着少年白发的沧桑，同时也“很酷”，仿佛在孤独又温柔的内心外有一层冰冷又带有保护色彩的包装。眼珠往往散发湛蓝的光采，有着迷离的眼神，有时回顾过往，有时也像凝视远方。飘忽游离的视线，在时间跟空间里飘荡。画作的内容也经常描绘生命或时光流逝的状态，作品里大量出现的几个元素，包括流逝的水，飘乎的风，呼出的气体，迷蒙的光影，这些无法触摸却又稍纵即逝的影像，都像是画作中对于时间与空间，或者人生状态的隐喻：2003年作品《羽林》，人物漂浮水里，水波静谧，羽毛在空气里缓慢飘荡，远方涣散迷蒙光影，树影婆娑。同年作品《黑色森林》，人物长出洁白羽翼，穿梭漂流在迷蒙树林间。2005年作品《花园》，画面色彩不同于以往的蓝灰色调，出现大量的橘黄，花园里乍看繁花盛开，近看却是秋天的枯叶。一只白鹭鸶飞来，却又像蓦然回首，即将飞离。
熟悉熊宇的朋友都知道熊宇的个性随和内向，不善于人群中表达自我。在80或90后的时代中，因为中国社会资讯的转变，出现许多“宅男宅女”。他们不爱出门与人群社交，而在网络世界里发展自我，虚拟出属于自己的世界。熊宇应该算是中国第一代宅男(Otaku)。跟同年龄的艺术家不同，熊宇最早沉浸在漫画与电脑游戏世界。在漫画与游戏的世界里，作者创造出属于自己的世界，世界里有自己创造出的人物，人物有自己的造型，有个性，人物生存的世界也依照作者的概念赋予一个属于作者自身的世界观。对于熊宇而言，画画跟漫画游戏很像，宅男在漫画游戏的世界里，可以放松的享受属于自己私密的世界，而画家在画布上创造属于自己独一无二的世界。
如果在现实生活中，憨厚老实的熊宇无法“很酷”，那么熊宇便创造出穿着紧身高科技连身黑衣银白头发的少年少女。如果眼睛不够大，那么便创造出碧蓝的大眼睛。如果身材有些许矮胖，脖子不够修长，那么便把脖子四肢拉长，创造出忧郁的模特 (较近于熊宇自身的，可能是人物的嘴唇，跟熊宇的嘴唇一样，厚厚的，饱满的。熊宇对自己的嘴唇也许是相当满意的)。或许，熊宇画作中不断出现的长脖子大眼的人物，是另一个活生生的，在熊宇创造世界里的另一个自我吧。许多人把熊宇画作中重复的人物归类为中国当代艺术里大量出现的图腾符号，其实，或许更像熊宇在他独创的世界里，对于人物生命的一种延续罢。我想到许多六、七十年代的法国意大利电影导演，自己写剧本，即使不同的电影不同的角色，也总是用同一个演员。演员有时从童年时期合作到壮年，似乎代替了导演在他虚拟的情节里扮演导演自己的人生。
熊宇以“水”的元素，贯穿五张牌/作品(先前提到，“水”原本就是熊宇绘画世界里不断重复的元素)。无论是《皇帝》、《皇后》、《恋人》、《世界》，或者《面具》，在画面底下都有流水。塔罗牌里的世界由四个元素构成，以大牌里的《世界》为例，一般在中央是个女神，牌的四角是由水、火、土、风四个元素构成。然而熊宇的世界里更多是水，有时宁静温柔，有时湍急奔放。塔罗牌的世界也可以与西方星座呼应，天蝎座的熊宇似乎恰巧透露了其微妙的属性：天蝎属水象星座，或许因此更多对水的流逝飘荡却清澈澄洁的迷恋吧。
在《世界》里，熊宇颠覆了基本的塔罗形式，创造了自己对世界的定义。画面里男女腾云驾雾般漂浮，山河无边无界，有一种开阔的气象，山中有云雾，近似于中国山水里的碧绿山水，有近景中景远景(属于中国美学的空间感)，也有大江奔逝的流水。《恋人》也颠覆了固定的形象，一对恋人立在水中，眼神里彷彿透露了爱慕，对爱的憧憬与不确定，有着少年青春的羞涩。水上有风，翻飞的头发与水波一起激荡。原本塔罗恋人牌背景经常出现的天使，也转换成中国画里具有仙气的白鹤(或白鹭鸶)。《皇帝》与《皇后》里，熊宇在造形上也结合了中国式的形象，大约是来自敦煌壁画与历代帝王图的灵感，再加以“改良”。其中皇帝拈花微笑，背后橘红帘幔绣上寿菊图样，画面一角神兽翩然而至，有着富贵庄严的气象。《面具(恶魔)》里，人物长出彷彿西方故事中“恶龙”的翅膀，手上却拿着中国化的巨大面具，似乎象征着心中的恶魔不是来自外界，而是人自己覆盖上。
在空间背景上，包括《世界》、《星星》、《月亮》、《太阳》、《塔》、《命运之轮》、《吊人》、《隐士》、《愚人》、《审判》、《死神》都发展于空中，人物重量好比空中云朵，往往自在飘翔。其中《世界》、《星星》、《月亮》、《太阳》又像自成一个宇宙星辰体系，人物翱翔，飞过日出，飞过一轮满月，飞过满天闪烁的星子，鸟瞰大地星辰，以及无边无际的大地与海岸线。《塔》、《命运之轮》、《吊人》像是一组，有时(身体/生命)向下坠落，有时轮转巡回。在色彩的使用上，也不同于旧塔罗系列般有较多华丽的装饰色彩，而是更单纯的色彩，似乎更接近透彻的水与灰白的云朵的颜色。除了《魔法师》的造型延续过往，有着湛蓝的眼珠，黑色的塑料紧身衣(然而发色却是黑色，整体带有未来不可捉摸的神祕色彩)，其余人物造型都穿着更轻松也更含蓄的灰白，眼睛也是灰黑色，包括人物的肤色发色都十分相近，与背景大量出现的灰黑色彩相融合。或许此时的熊宇，对于“人”的概念，不再突显个人，而认为个人融合生活环境是最舒适自然的状态罢。
对于每张塔罗牌的诠释，熊宇也赋予自己独到的见解。新《恋人》牌不同于之前的《恋人》，表情更自在泰然，上方没有天使也没有降临的仙鹤，而是更随意的云彩。《皇帝》与《皇后》少了华丽的布幔与雕琢的皇冠，却在眼神间多了沉稳与慈悲。《审判》不是在众人面前宣示罪行，而更像是真诚赤裸毫无伪装的看待面对自己的人生，诚实以对。《恶魔》有时是自己戴上的假面，有时是双手绑上细线的魁儡，其实都是心中产生的恶念。《战车》或许是二十二张塔罗系列里造型最抢眼的一件作品。在一般塔罗解释里，战车代表掌控与征服，战士手握权杖(象征主导与清晰的目标)，驾驭双马(双马思考行动不一，需靠战士坚定的意志力始能驾驭)。熊宇的战车，战士并不立于战车上控驭双马，而是与马同行，彷彿随着马一起走向未知的前方。
《愚人》是二十二张塔罗里的第一张牌，一般对于愚人牌的解释，是指愚者热爱冒险，并对生命永不放弃的冒险精神，充满希望与勇气。正面的看法是纯真与无邪的理想主义，有些随性，秉持自己的理想与信念而行。然而逆向的解释就沦为过度随性所致，寻求自身的快乐舒适，忽略身边的预警。塔罗牌诠释这张牌时，一般描绘一个愉悦的青年轻松自在的走到悬崖边，手上拿着一朵玫瑰花(象征天真无邪)，肩上扛着包袱(象征过去的智慧与满载的理想)，然而再一步便有坠落悬崖的危险。一旁狗在吠，仿佛提醒青年谨慎注意。熊宇的“愚人”却彷彿描绘纵身一跃的剎那，摆脱所有束缚，自在的在云端上享受飘空的舒畅。
熊宇的作品里，无论是水，空气，光影，飘荡在水中或腾云驾雾的人们，他们无拘束的内在，都仿佛有一种奇特的重量。我说不出这种重量到底有多轻，或者有多沉重，我说不出这种重量是否带领熊宇无目标的飘行，亦或是持续而稳定的随着重量的轨道运转。我问熊宇，这些水跟云雾为何始终出现在画面里，熊宇说：“因为他们让我很舒服”。或许，舒服是熊宇最贴切的一种重量吧。
是否有一天，熊宇对人生又有了新的看法与体悟，那么，在未来的五年，十年，熊宇是否再创造一套更新的塔罗，里面是熊宇再次历练后的人生。或者这次的塔罗就是熊宇谱出的世界蓝图，在蓝图的基础下，继续延续熊宇既虚拟又真实的艺术世界。我们拭目以待。
Among those artists who were born after the 1970es (to be strict, in the late 1970es), Xiongyu probably is the earliest one who has established his mature and steady style. Between the year 2001 and 2002, he has developed his own painting style. The figures that he draw are always dressed in tight black, which is made out of high-tech plastic that is often used in the Hollywood science fictions. The teenager that he painted always wear grey hair, which indicate both the frustration and coolness of teenagers. It looks like that teenagers are lonely and tender inside; they are cold and protective outside. Their blue eyes are often on the rove, as if they were recalling the past or staring far away. His painting often describe the state of life and time. Some of the frequently-appeared things in it are flowing water, blowing wind, breathing air, and mixing shadow, which indicates unpredictability and transientness. All of this constitutes a metaphor to time, space and life. In his work called the feather forest he painted in 2003, while people are floating in the water, feathers are flying elegantly in the air, with peaceful water and misty tree shadows far away. In the painting entitled black forest, people are flying, with their purely white wings, through the mysterious forest. In “garden” that he made in 2005, the color was changed from blue (his usual color) to yellow. It looks like a great many blossoms from far way, and autumn trees when you come nearer. The white bittern in it seems to fly near if you look at it in one way, and fly far away in another way.
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People who know XiongYu knows that he is easy-going and introverted. In the 1980es and 1990es, Otaku emerged in China due to rapid information exchange. Rather than go outdoors and have social contacts in person with people, they create their own virtual world on the network. Xiongyu is perhaps among the first generation of Otaku. Unlike other artists, he immersed himself in the world of cartoon and video games, where he crated a world that belong to him. In his world, he has different and unique figures where he grants his own world views to. As for XiongYu, painting is just like cartoons and video games. Otaku can enjoy their private world thoroughly in cartoons and video games, just as painters can create their unique world freely on the frame.
Because of his kindness and honesty, XiongYu cannot be “very cool”. However, he can create teenagers in his painting with silver grey hair and tight back clothes. He enlarges their eyes, if he thinks that the eyes are not big enough; he makes their bodies and necks longer when necessary; he makes their lips as thick as his (maybe that is because he is very happy with his lips). Perhaps the figures with big eyes and long necks that often appear in his paintings are the ideal images of Xiongyu himself in another lively world. Though many people see those repetitive figures as the frequent totem symbols that have emerged in the area of China’s art. I would view it as a continuity of those figures’ life. That makes me think of those French and Italian movie directors in the 1960es and 1970es, who always used the same actor (actresses) for different roles in different movies. They kept using them from their childhood to their adulthood. This seems to indicate that the directors created his virtual world to reflect continuously his own life .
As mentioned before, XiongYu uses water as a consistent element in his five Tarot cards. No matter what cards they are-such as “the emperor”, “the queen”, “the lover”, “the world” or “the mask”, they all have water at the bottom of the frames. The world in Tarot is made up of four elements. Take “the world” for example, usually there is a goddess in the middle, with water, fire, earth, wind at the four corners respectively. XiongYu seem to use more water, peaceful in form or not, in his works than others. Tarot seems to corresponds with the constellation in the west. The scorpio that XiongYu has according to constellation seems to perfectly infer the subtleness of water, since is belong to the constellation of water elephant.
In “the world”, XiongYu has given his own definition of the world in his painting by toppling over the old formation of Tarot. The speeding people in the sky and the spectacular landscape without bounders form an open and refresh artistic atmosphere. Mountains are surrounded by clouds and mists, like those Chinese mountains-and-waters painting; the painting has close shot, medium shot and distant shot (the spatiality in the Chinese aesthetics). In “the lover”, a young couple of lovers are standing in the water, with their eyes indicating love to each other on the one hand and the shyness to express their love explicitly on the other. The wind on the water makes the couple’s hair and the water waving tenderly. The angles in the background of the lover Tarot was replaced by white cranes symbolizing eternity. In the “king” and the “queen” cards, XiongYu has also made some “improvements” by borrowing the inspiration from Dunhuang fresco and pictures of ancient Chinese emperors. The emperor is smiling with flowers in his hands, behind him is a orange-colored curtain with chrysanthemum symbolizing long life. At one corner of the painting, there is a deity beast with agility and grace, symbolizing richness and honor. In “the mask”, people have the wings of Belial which comes from the western fictions, with huge Chinese masks in their hands. This seems to indicate that the evilness in people’s heart is not from the outside, but the inside.
All the works, including “the world”, “the stars”, “the moon”, “the son”, “the tower”, “Fortune’s wheel”, “the hung” “the anchoret”, the fool”, “the judgment” and “the Azrael”, are painted in the air. People in it are like clouds flowing freely in the sky. Among them, “the world”, “the stars”, “the moon” and “the son” are like an star system in the universe. People in it are flying over the sun, the moon and the stars. “The hung” “the anchoret” and “the fool” form another group, symbolizing the path and cycling of life. Unlike the old Tarot series, where a variety of colors are used for luxury, this group uses more simple and purified colors, which is like the color of clean water and that of white clouds. Only the sculpt of “the enchanter” remain the same as usual, which is characterized by blue eyes, tight black plastic clothes, and black hair, which adds color to the mysteriousness of the whole frame. The sculpt of others are characterized by implicitly grey clothes and grayish black eyes. People have similar skin colors which harmonizes with the grayish black background color. Perhaps XiongYu’s understanding of people at this moment does not lie in the form of individuality, but on the harmoniousness among people and the nature.
XiongYu has granted his refresh interpretations to each Tarot card. “The lover” is differentiated with the one he made before, in that they have more sangfroid facial expressions and that, instead of the angels and the cranes, there are more freely-floated clouds at the top. In the “king” and the “queen” cards, there are fewer flowery curtains and carved cranes, but more calmness and kindness in between their eyes. In “the judgment”, the criminals are not being declared their crimes in the public, instead, they are facing their deeds and their life at large sincerely. “The Azraels” are sometimes wearing masks, while other times holding dummies in their hands. Actually their evilness arises from their heart. “The chariot” is probably a hit among those 22 Tarot cards. In the traditional ones, chariots symbolize dominance and conquer. The soldier is holding a cane in his hand, which indicate dominant and clear goal; and he is riding two side-by-side horses which do not have the identical minds and actions, so they are driven to perform identically according to the chariot’s will. XiongYu’s soldier in his work “the chariot”, by contrast, is not driving two horses, but walking together with them to the unpredictable distance.
“The fool” is the first card among those 22 Tarots. “The fool” usually indicates that he likes to be risky, never gives up, and he has great courage and attitude for life. It can be seen positively as being truely idealistic, strongly willed and , but negatively as being overwhelmingly stubborn and trying to seek his own happiness and comfort and neglecting the potential dangers in life. The traditional description of the card is that, a cheerful youngster walks to the cliff edge loosely, with rose in hand (symbolizing innocence and pureness), and bag on shoulder (indicating his wisdom and hopes). However, he has the potential danger of dropping off the cliff, so a dog is barking aside to remind him. “The fool” in XiongYu’s painting focusing on the moment of jumping of the cliff, breaking away from all the fetters and flying on the top of clouds enjoyably.
No matter what elements are in Xiongyu’s works-be it water, air, shadow, or people flying in the mist, they all have the characters of being light (considering its freeness) and being heavy (considering its distinctive value). It is even difficult for me to distinguish them very well. I cannot tell whether this character of heaviness is going to take Xiongyu floating aimlessly or it is going to make him move forward on the right track of the heaviness. I asked him why water, clouds and mists are always in his paitings, he said that is because it can give him comfort. Perhaps, comfort is the right word to modify heaviness.
Maybe someday later Xiongyu has new views and attitudes on life, then will he create again another set of distinctive Tarot in five or ten years? Can he make world both virtually and realistically based on his new world blue print? Let’s wait and look forward to it.
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