齐凤阁为画家阎敏写的评论文章：突破边界与延伸本土——纵观阎敏的综合版画

突破边界与延伸本土 To Break the Boundary and to Extend the Native
Territory

——纵观阎敏的综合版画—An Overall View of Yan Min’s Comprehensive
Prints

边界即外延，任何事物都有其内涵与外延，而外延、边界的无限延伸或模糊，必然影响到内涵，甚者将发生质变。也许是基于对此的认识，中国版画在多年的发展中习惯于固守边界，木版、铜版、石版等界线分明，为了保持画种的纯洁性，其他绘画技法包括一些现代科技手段均不混用，以致独幅版画、电脑版画等一直不被国家级版画展览所接纳。这种自我封闭无疑是版画拓展滞缓的原因之一。

Boundary is extension. Everything has its intension and
extension, while the limitless stretch or blurring of
the extension and boundary inevitably influences the
intension and will even cause qualitative change.
Perhaps it is out of this understanding that Chinese
prints get into the habit of defending tenaciously the
boundary. The boundary of wood prints, copper prints and
stone prints etc. is distinct. In order to keep the
purity of the kind of painting form, other painting
techniques including some modern scientific methods are
not used in mixture so that monoprints and computer
prints etc. are always not accepted by state level print
exhibitions. This kind of self-seclusion is undoubtedly
one of the reasons for the slow development of prints.
其实，版画应是一个最容易接受新观念、新技法、新材料包括新科技手段的画种，是一个最具国际性的开放性的画种，也是一个最容易突破边界走向综合的画种。不知阎敏在上世纪80年代末期对此问题有无明确认识，但是他在1989年开始的综合版画创作，对淡化当时固守边界的传统版画观念肯定具有积极作用。当然我在这里肯定阎敏在我国版画领域较早使用综合技法，并不是指他的创作具有先锋品质，相反，与后来在美术院校兴起的综合版画相比，它的特点乃是本土的延伸与传统的承继。

As a matter of fact, prints are a painting form that is
most ready to accept new concepts, new techniques and
new materials including new scientific methods, an open
painting form that is most international, and also a
painting form that is most ready to break the boundary
towards comprehensiveness. I do not know whether Yan Min
had clear understanding of this problem at the end of
the 1980’s. But his comprehensive print creation started
from 1989 definitely played an active role in weakening
the contemporary traditional print concepts of sticking
to boundary. Of course, when I affirm that Yan Min used
comprehensive techniques early in the field of prints in
our country, I do not mean that his creations have avant
garde qualities. In contrast, in comparison with the
comprehensive prints emerging from the art institutions,
the characteristics of Yan Min’s creations are the
extension of the native territory and continuation of
the tradition.

阎敏的版画创作得益于他的家乡——宜春的文化氛围。这个“版画之乡”在上个世纪60年代便出现过高峰，80年代当阎敏版画创作起步时，正是宜春版画群体的黄金时期，队伍庞大，版种齐全，尤以拓彩版画著称于世。当时他们提出了：“向民间学习，向乡土味靠拢，创造出有宜春特色的版画艺术新画派”的口号，这种共同追求与整体环境规约了阎敏的艺术取向。他由开始搞黑白木刻到水印木版直至拓彩版画都与宜春版画步调一致，其中的生活情趣与装饰风也未与同道们拉开距离，他在《秋歌》、《农家》、《燕子飞起来了》等画作中，都可感受到宜春版画的风味。1988至1989年到中央美术学院版画系进修，成为阎敏艺术道路的转折点。美院浓郁的学术氛围与活跃的思想碰撞，使他获取的不仅仅是版画技法，更重要的是观念的更新与视野的开扩。他开始反思自己的创作，力图与画友拉开距离，由于受到铜版画印制原理与伍必端、徐冰等老师作品的启发，它产生了突破版种边界、走向技法综合的意念，并很快付诸实践，于1989年下半年完成了他的第一幅综合版画——《山村轶事》，于是一发而不可收，一路走来，至今已有17个春秋，创作综合版画60余幅，成为我国综合版画的代表画家之一。

Yan Min’s print creation benefits from the cultural
atmosphere of his hometown—Yichun. On this “Land of
Prints”, a climax emerged in the 1960’s. In the 1980’s,
when Yan Min’s print creation started, it was the golden
period of Yichun print group. The team was large and the
print forms were complete. They were famous in the world
for rubbing prints. At the time, they put forward the
following watchword, “Learn from the folk, draw close to
native soil flavor ad create the new school of print art
with Yichun characteristics.” This kind of joint pursuit
and overall environment defined Yan Min’s artistic
orientation. From black and white wood engraving to
water prints to rubbing prints, he was in concert with
the pace of Yichun prints. The life interests and
decoration style were not distant from those of his
fellows. In his works such as “The Song of Autumn”, “A
Farm Home” and “The Swallows Fly up”, we can feel the
flavor of Yichun prints. The advanced studies in the
Department of Print in Central Academy of Fine Arts from
1988 to 1989 became the turning point in Yan Min’s
artistic road. The strong academic atmosphere and active
thought collision in the Academy gave him not only the
techniques of prints but also the renewal of concepts
and expansion of horizons. He started to reflect on his
creation and strived to keep a distance from his artist
friends. Inspired by the print theories of copper prints
and the works of such teachers as Wu Biduan and Xu Bing,
he produced the idea of breaking the boundary of print
forms towards technique integration, which he put into
practice soon. In the second half of 1989, he completed
his first comprehensive print—“Anecdotes of a Mountain
Village”. From then on, he worked towards this
direction. Up to now, it is 17 years. During this
period, he created over 60 comprehensive prints and
became one of the representative artists in
comprehensive prints in China.

在调入深圳以前，阎敏沉醉于他的家乡本土题材，那民风纯朴的小镇、街巷，独具特色的民居、房舍，颇富诗意的小河流水、田园树木等，使他充满了眷恋之情。他在谈及自己的创作时写道：“我经常到镇上写生，在长期对物象细致入微地观察、描绘之中，领悟大自然的平衡与和谐，以及人性的善良、宽容、率真、朴实。渐渐在所表现的物象中，我找到了情感的依附与归属，找到了心灵的默契与平衡，也找到了属于我自己的那一片宁静，那是一片远离都市、远离现实的宁静。”这种精神空间的寻索，是阎敏创作的动力，也是其作品的灵魂。在他《乡情》、《冬日》、《小巷深处》等作品中感悟到的不单是综合技法表现出的趣味，更是这种可贵的情动于衷的精神品质。

Before being transferred to Shenzhen, Yan Min was
immersed in his hometown native soil subject matters.
The small town and streets with rustic folk customs, the
folk houses and huts with unique features and the river,
fields, gardens and trees full of poetic quality filled
him with sentimental attachment. When talking of his
creation, he wrote, “I often painted from life in the
town. In the detailed and subtle observation and
delineation of things for a long time, I comprehended
the equilibrium and harmony of nature, the kindness,
tolerance, frankness and simplicity of human nature. In
the things represented, I seemed to find the attachment
and belonging of my feelings, the tacit understanding
and equilibrium of the heart, and also the kind of peace
that belonged to me. That was a piece of quiet land far
away from the city and reality.” This kind of search for
a spiritual space is the motive force for Yan Min’s
creation and is also the soul of his works. In his works
such as “Affection for My Hometown”, “A Winter Day”, and
“In the Depth of a Small Lane”, we can comprehend not
only the delights expressed by the comprehensive
techniques, but also this kind of valuable spiritual
quality of sincere feelings.

1993年定居深圳以后，这座现代化的新兴移民城市给予他的完全是另一番感受。八面来风的观念冲击,多元文化的交融碰撞，打破了他心里的那片宁静，在艺术上也开始了多方探求。组画《自在》与《乡亲父老》等以人物刻画为主，但仍是其本土题材的延续，《海风》系列以近景特写手法不厌其烦的对船只的描绘，实际也是在延伸本土。而《古风》系列与《汉风》、《汉韵》系列则完全摆脱了故乡情结，从江西小镇中走出，回归到远古的楚汉传统。那有着丰厚历史底蕴的羊头石马，记载着沧桑巨变的古文字符号，都成为他新的精神载体。在艺术手法上则向现代靠拢，打破传统的透视法规，以超时空的处理与随意的拼贴、组合，为斑驳的历史遗存凭添现代的视觉新意。近年画家又推出了女人体系列与《时尚》系列，前者以轻松自如的形体语言，表现“向往”、“守望”等不同的情绪心理，后者以衣服的实物压印走出绘画，向传统的创作惯性挑战。从这些作品中可看出画家崇新求变的愿望与要求，但在自我超越的同时，会不会丢弃本真的自我？也值得画家深思。

After he settled down in Shenzhen in 1993, the new
modern immigrant city gave him a completely different
experience. The conceptual impact from all sides and the
integration and collision of diversified cultures
disturbed the peace in his heart. He started pluralistic
explorations in art. Group prints such as “At Ease” and
“Elders and Folks” mainly depict people, but are still
the continuation of his native soil subject matters.
“Sea Breeze” series delineate boats unweariedly, which
is actually the extension of the native soil style.
While “Ancient Customs” series and “Han Customs” and
“Han Charm” series are completely free from the hometown
complex. They walk out of the small town of Jiangxi and
return to the remote Chu and Han traditions. The goat
head and stone horse with rich historical traits and the
ancient characters and symbols recording great changes
become his new spiritual vehicles. In artistic
techniques, he draws close to modernity, breaks the
traditional perspective rules, and adds modern new
visual meaning to the mottled historical remains with
treatment that exceeds time and space and casual
assembling and combination. In recent years, the artist
also introduced women series and “Fashion” series. The
former expresses the different feelings and psychology
of “longing” and “watch” with easy and free body
language. The latter walks outside painting with the
press and print of real clothes and challenges the
traditional creation inertia. From these works, we can
see the artist’s wish and demand for venerating the new
and seeking changes. However, while transcending the
self, will the artist lose the true self? This also
merits the deep thinking of the artist.

每位画家都是各有所长，亦有所短，只要能做到扬长避短，把自己的优势最充分地发挥出来，即是最佳选择。在我看来，阎敏可以既不必像学院版画那样追求理性深度，也不必像年轻学生那样一味现代。只要能把自己擅长的综合技法推向极至，自己最熟悉的乡村小镇还有任其截取的广阔空间。正像他自己说的那样：“你怎么画和画什么都不是什么问题，关键是你能画到什么程度，达到什么高度，能否提升作品的精神含量，画出你对自然，对事物深切而独到的感悟。”相信，阎敏清醒的认识必然会带给他正确的抉择，我们期待他获取更大的成功！

Every artist has his own merits and shortcomings. The
best choice is to foster strength and circumvent
weaknesses and give the fullest play to one’s
advantages. As far as I am concerned, Yan Min does not
have to pursue rational profundity like institutional
print artists, nor does he have to follow modernity like
young students. So long as he can culminate the
comprehensive techniques that he is good at to
perfection, the villages and small town he is most
familiar with still has a wide space for his choice.
Just as he has observed, “How you paint, what you paint
and whether your paintings are realistic or abstract are
not problems. The crux is the degree and the height your
paintings reach and whether you can elevate the
spiritual contents of your works and express your
profound and unique understanding of nature and things.”
I believe that Yan Min’s clear understanding will
inevitably bring him correct choices. We expect that he
will score bigger successes!




二00六年八月十六日
中国美术家协会版画艺委会副主任
《中国版画》杂志主编齐凤阁
August 16, 2006
Qi Fengge
Deputy Director, Commission for Print Art, China Artists
Association
Chief Editor, China
Print magazine