Almost Art | Raw Vision报道：邵炳凤-重绘的记忆

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本文刊载于Raw Vision第99期。Raw Vision是全球影响力最大的专注素人艺术的专业媒体，于1989年英国创刊至今一直致力推进素人艺术的发展，发现并介绍了数百名世界各地的杰出素人艺术家。官方网站：rawvision.com 。

中国拥有全世界最多的老年人口，截止2017年，65岁以上的老年人已经超过了1.5亿。如果走近这个庞大而沉默的群体，你会发现他们所呈现的日常场景惊人的相似。他们中的大部分都选择继续为子女贡献，照顾孙辈、操持家务；而闲暇时间则以“养生”为要务，遵循规律的饮食起居、旅游健身、培养某种兴趣爱好，以对抗衰老、疾病或日常的空虚。对于今年71岁的邵炳凤来说，她的退休生活似乎更加丰富而精彩，她在十年前成为了一位艺术家，此刻，她的画作正同时在巴黎和北京的画廊中展出。

正在作画的邵炳凤，2018

邵看起来比实际年龄年轻，头发花白，瘦小而精神矍铄。她住在女儿位于燕郊的家里，由于去年在北京做了一场有惊无险的小手术，计划最近都长居于此方便检查。这里虽然距北京市区几十公里，地属河北，但由于房价低廉而逐渐形成了一座卫星城，也有很多在北京活跃的艺术家因为同样原因选择了这个区域。白天人流已经涌进了城区，邵所住的小区异常安静。女儿的房子在一层，有一个种满植物的小院。邵的小房间对着小院，床边就是摆满颜料盘和画具的大画案，午睡之后她便继续临案描画没有完成的画作。有时候一站就是一下午，聚精会神。女儿希望她多休息，但是对她来说，画画就是最愉快轻松的活动。

邵炳凤，《四大金刚》，2016，纸本水墨，69x92cm

在邵的画案上，一个iPad醒目的立在那里，屏幕上显示着一张奇异的图片，一个看起来像来自东欧的黑衣少女侧躺在矮柜上，下面打开的柜子里是一只豹子，被她垂下的发辫吸引，而邵正在描画的那张巨大而柔软的宣纸上，呈现同样的构图，只是少女变成了穿着碎花围兜的中国乡村女孩，枕头、柜子增加了细密的传统纹饰，豹子多出了很多只，还有了惊讶的表情。她用细细的毛笔填色，颜料全部使用中国传统设色水墨，素雅的色调表现的却是充满紧张的怪异画面。这个场景大概会让第一次见到的人充满好奇，但这就是邵已经沿袭十年的创作模式：这不能被称为临摹，因为创作出的完全是另外一幅作品。邵每幅作品的创作时间少则一个星期，多则一个月，有些还会在画完很久后因为不满意重新敷色。就在这样日复一日的涂抹练习中，已经诞生了超过500幅绘制在宣纸上的完整水墨画作，呈现一种鲜明而统一的属于邵的风格。

邵炳凤，《有趣扮相》，2018，纸本水墨，69x69cm 

参考图像

邵近几年用来借鉴的图片都是女儿帮忙在网上搜到的，她会选择她觉得“有意思”的来画。从她最近创作的马戏团系列、达利系列、工业时代的美发厅系列等来看，这个“有意思”一定包含了夸张的戏剧张力、饱满的内容、猎奇的场景等。她甚至试着画了几幅中世纪祭坛画。无论原始图片是否黑白，是否清晰，对于邵来说是一样的，她的创作贯穿从起稿到填色的全过程。

邵炳凤，《吸烟有害健康》，2017， 纸本水墨，69x69cm 

参考图像 

她从不追求画的像，下笔是一种随性的认真。早期的西洋人物都画成了东方人的脸，尤其不会画儿童，她自己也很遗憾这一点，“就是长着大人脑袋的侏儒”。不管是人物的着装还是室内的家具摆设，涉及到装饰的地方，总是在无意中偏向了中国传统的纹饰，蜿蜒的曲线、花卉、元宝、福字，这些民间美术中用于表示吉祥、喜乐的图案填充了摩登女郎的比基尼和冲浪板，也让马戏团小丑的弄臣造型看起来像京剧演员，甚至给他穿上一双绣花鞋。她还经常在背景空白的地方加上日常生活中的物件，于是达利背后的墙上有着中国家庭常见的暴露着管线的壁挂空调（商标也保留了下来）和栅栏状暖气，圣母的脚边摆着中式的瓷器插花，而自家院子里的盆栽更是出现在大部分作品的边边角角。

邵炳凤，《美好马戏团》，2016，纸本水墨，69x138cm 

与这些近乎乖张的朴拙的造型相对应的，是她在某些技巧上无师自通的娴熟。她似乎自然而然的掌握对阴影、复杂褶皱的处理，到了近期已经可以描绘出如丝绸裙子或大象皮肤这种复杂的肌理。她擅长使用重复的细小图案进行填充，如雪地上的雪花，细致精确到让人误以为是纸张自带的效果。这几乎是另一种刺绣女红，或者说是她自创的民间工笔画，精细整洁的画面显现出极高的完成度。

邵的第一幅作品是画在新买的衬衫中夹带的废弃卡纸上的，那是2006年，她已经退休快十年，由她一手带大的孙子已经四岁多了，平时陪孙子画小猫小狗，那天突发奇想临摹了一张旧照片。正在艺术院校进修的女儿和女婿回家之后看到画作大为惊叹，我们现在完全可以理解这种惊叹，邵是先天已经具备自己风格的艺术家。在女儿和女婿的鼓励下，邵早期重绘了几乎所有的家庭老照片，从她年轻时的黑白影楼肖像照，到八十年代彩色胶卷刚流行时拍摄的家庭聚会、喜宴现场，及至成名之后认识的艺术圈朋友的肖像照片。早期的作品相比之下更简洁，色调也相对暗淡，但神奇的地方在于，不管什么年代的照片，包括近期的西方摄影，经她重绘之后都显现出统一的年代感，即使没有经历过那个时代的中国人，也能被唤醒属于一个民族的记忆。

邵炳凤，《家族系列之二十一》，2012，纸本设色，43.5x66cm 

 邵炳凤家庭照片

邵是随和共和国成长的一代人，这也是在大时代中沉浮抗争，很少有机会选择自己人生道路的一代人。她1947年出生于山东省的一个普通农民家庭，家里有7个兄弟姐妹，1958年大跃进的时候她正在上小学三年级，初中阶段遇到了大饥荒，只能靠野菜树叶为生，饥饿与贫困深深的留在了她日后的记忆中。初中毕业后她回家务农，做过各种杂工，其中有两年是绣花工，这可以解释画作中对传统图式的熟悉。1967年公社选拔人才，通过了体检等着大学录取通知书的邵最后等来了文革十年的浩劫，这也成了她一再提起的遗憾。文革使所有人的工作和生活都冻结了，她记得混乱的跟着人跑，贴标语写大字报，什么也没学到。但是政治宣传所带来的美学启蒙、当时的时尚和人群的表情，将她的审美选择定格在了她的青春时代。当她在画多人场景时，总会安排一些人穿着绿军装、带着红五星帽子，提醒观者毛的时代并不是尘封之下的历史，这一代人都无法完全从中走出。

邵炳凤，《吻别》，2016，纸本水墨，94x173cm 

1971年，24岁的邵与湖北一名油田工人结婚，之后的六年她与丈夫长期分居，带着两个女儿住在婆家，承担着繁重的农活，靠自己双手艰难维生。1978年，邵终于带着孩子来到油田与丈夫团聚，然而生活还是同样的困苦，他们住过草房子、帐篷，随着单位的分配调动到不同的工作，修公路、盖房子、配药品，后来邵在家属服务站干过会计，还当了两年站长，负责管理油田所有家属的工作。89年，邵开始在中原油田报社财务处做会计，直至97年退休。

像中国很多老人一样，邵象征性的信佛，她的画案边贴着字条：南无阿弥陀佛，她说因为菩萨保佑她才能这么幸运，现在过这样好的日子。也许正是她知足、随和而又质朴的性格特质，塑造了她的艺术风格，真正打动我们的是从画作中传递而来的真诚，是经由创作过程传达出的对生活的热爱。撰文/刘苑 译/巍然

邵炳凤，《自画像之一》，2011，纸本水墨，55.5x33cm 

 年轻时的邵炳凤

China has the largest elderly population inthe world. By 2017, the number of people aged 65 and over had exceeded 150million. When you look closely at the everyday life of this enormous but largelysilent community, you’ll find it shockingly homogeneous. The majority of seniorcitizens in China have chosen to continue their roles as family caregivers,helping their children with house chores and looking after grandchildren. Theirfree time is usually spent on fitness-related activities; they try to battleold age, ailments and feelings of emptiness by sticking to a healthyroutine/diet, traveling, being physically active and developing some kind of hobby.For 71-year-old Shao Bingfeng, however, life after retirement means much more.She became an artist ten years ago. As we speak, her work is on show simultaneouslyat galleries in Paris and Beijing.

邵炳凤，《多彩马戏团之七》，2017，纸本水墨，69x46cm 

A petite woman with grizzled hair, Shao isfull of energy and looks younger than her age. She currently lives with herdaughter’s family in Yanjiao. Due to a minor surgery last year—a close call butthankfully nothing worse—she decided to settle in the area for easy access tothe hospital. Although the town is miles away from Beijing and technicallybelongs to Hebei, the low house prices have turned it into a satellite city andattracted a lot of artists working in Beijing. During the day, when most peoplehave gone into the city, the residential area is very quiet. Shao’s daughter’sapartment is on the ground floor and has a small backyard filled with plants.Shao’s room faces the yard, and her sizable bedside work table is covered withpalettes and art supplies—a convenient setup for the artist to continuepainting after her siesta. Once the work has begun, Shao would remain standing withunwavering concentration, sometimes for an entire afternoon. Her daughterwishes she would not work so hard, but Shao thinks there’s no better way torelax than painting.

邵炳凤，《爱的拥抱》，2018，纸本水墨，69x69cm

There’s an iPad on Shao’s work table thatstands out among the palettes and brushes, and an intriguing image appears onits screen: a girl in black (who appears to be Eastern European) is lying onher side on top of a low cabinet; there’s a leopard inside the open cabinetthat seems to be fascinated by the girl’s hanging braid. This is the image Shaois currently trying to reproduce on a giant piece of soft rice paper. Shao’spainting retains the same basic composition, but the Eastern European girl has beenreplaced by a Chinese country lass dressed in a floral print dudou (traditional Chinese bodice), thepillow and the cabinet are now decorated with finely-crafted traditionalpatterns, and a few more leopards with surprised expressions have joined thelone one in the original picture. Shao uses traditional Chinese pigments and thinink brushes for coloring, which produces an unassuming tone that nonetheless servesto create tension and depict all kinds of eerie scenes. Those who see Shao atwork for the first time would probably be intrigued by her method, but she hasbeen working this way for more than a decade: she is not really duplicating,because her creations are completely different from the references she uses. Apainting typically takes Shao from a week to a month to finish, and sometimesshe would recolor old works long after they are completed if she spotssomething unsatisfying. Over 500 completed rice-paper works have already comeout of Shao’s daily exercise, all with a distinct, unified style that belongsto her and her alone.

邵炳凤，《出水芙蓉》，2018，纸本水墨，69x69cm

The reference pictures Shao has been usingfor the past few years are all fetched from the internet by her daughter. Shao wouldpick what she finds “interesting” to paint. Judging by her recent series (suchas the Circus series, the Dalí series and Hairdressers from the IndustrialPeriod), the artist’s definition of “interesting” must contain elements such asexaggerated dramatic intensity, rich content and novelty scenarios. She has eventried her hand at medieval altarpieces. The color (or lack of) and resolutionof the original image is irrelevant to Shao. Her creative process coverseverything from the first draft to the finishing touch.  

邵炳凤，《美发系列之九》，2016，纸本水墨，69x46cm

Creating lifelike images is never Shao’sgoal; her brushstrokes are characterized by their unconstrained intuition and heartfeltsincerity. The Western figures in her early paintings all have oriental faces,and she finds painting children especially challenging. She admits that it’s apity she can’t paint them better than “dwarves with adult heads”. From clothingto furniture, wherever decoration is concerned, Shao is always drawn towardtraditional Chinese patterns. Winding curves, floral patterns, auspiciouscharacters—these images are normally used to represent good fortune andhappiness in Chinese folk art, but they are found on the bikinis and surfingboards of modish girls in Shao’s work. Even the clown who plays Rigoletto inthe circus looks like a Peking Opera performer with a pair of embroideredshoes. Shao likes to fill the background of her paintings with everydayobjects: the wall behind Dalí is decorated with a wall-mounted air conditionerwith exposed ducts (complete with the label) and a column heater, both commonlyseen in Chinese households; a traditional porcelain flower vase sits at thefeet of Madonna, and the potted plants from Shao’s own backyard can be found inmost of her paintings.  

Shao’s eccentric and na?ve visual style is supportedby her self-taught painting skills. She seems to have mastered shading and thehandling of complex folds automatically; recently she is even able to take onthe texture of silk dresses and the skin of elephants. Shao is especially goodat filling blank spaces with micro-patterns; the snowflakes she draws are sorefined that many mistake it for the texture of the paper itself. Thistechnique can almost be seen as a kind of embroidery, or a version of folkGongbi (a type of Chinese painting) of Shao’s own creation. Her finished workis exquisite, neat and shows a high degree of completion.

邵炳凤，《歌唱主旋律》，2017，纸本水墨，69x69cm

Shao’s first painting was done on a pieceof cardboard paper that came with a newly bought shirt. It was 2006, and shehad spent nearly a decade in retirement. The grandson she had been taking careof had already turned 4. She had been content drawing cats and dogs with hergrandson before one day,onthe spur of the moment, she painted an old photograph. Her daughter andson-in-law were both studying at the art academy at the time, and they weregenuinely surprised when they saw Shao’s painting. We can now understand theirwonder completely—Shao is an artist who was born with her own style. Encouragedby her daughter and son-in-law, Shao went on to repaint almost all the oldfamily photos, from black-and-white studio portraits of her younger self tophotos of family gatherings and weddings from the 80s when color films werejust starting to become popular, and to portraits of friends in the art circleshe became acquainted with after she had made a name for herself in theindustry. Comparing to her later works, Shao’s early paintings are morestraightforward, and the colors are relatively opaque. But the magic is that nomatter what period the reference photo comes from, Shao’s work always seems tocarry something of times gone by. Even her reproductions of contemporaryWestern photography bear this trait. Her work has the power to awaken thememories of a nation even in those who have not experienced the turmoil of a particularperiod. 

邵炳凤，《喜事系列之二十一》，2011，纸本水墨，52.5x75.5cm 

 邵炳凤家族照片

Shao belongs to the generation that grew upwith the new republic. Born to a time of great social and cultural upheavals, fewpeople in her generation had the luxury to choose the life they wanted. Shaowas born to a peasant family in Shangdong in 1947 and had seven siblings. Shewas in 3^rd grade when the Great Leap Forward started in 1958, andthe Great Famine came when she was in middle school. Shao managed to survive onwild plants and tree leaves, but hunger and poverty were deeply ingrained inher memory of this time. After graduating from middle school, she returned hometo work on the farm. She also did various odd jobs, including two years as anembroiderer, which explains her familiarity with traditional folk art patterns.In 1967 Shao was selected to go to college. She waited excitedly for theadmission letter after she had passed the physical exam, but what cameeventually was not the long-awaited letter but the decade-long CulturalRevolution—a misfortune Shao keeps lamenting over even today. The CulturalRevolution put everyone’s life and work on hold. Shao remembers running aroundwith the crowd, putting up posters and propaganda material. She didn’t learnanything, but her exposure to propaganda became an unexpected source ofaesthetic awakening, and the fashion and faces of people from this periodgreatly influenced her taste: the visual style of her work is clearly groundedin the time of her youth. Whenever she paints a scene with multiple people, shewould always dress some of them in green uniforms and hats with the symbolicred star; it reminds the viewer that Mao’s era is not buried history, but thecollective memory of an entire generation of Chinese people who can never detachthemselves from the past completely. 

邵炳凤，《喜事系列之二十》，2011，纸本水墨，52.5x75.5cm 

In 1971, 24-year-old Shao married an oilfieldworker from Hubei. She and her husband had to spend the first six years oftheir marriage apart. Shao went to live with her in-laws and her two daughters,and had to toil all day on the farm in order to make a living. In 1978 shefinally moved to the oilfield with the kids; the family was reunited, but lifedidn’t get any easier. They lived in a straw house and then a tent, and hadvarious jobs assigned to them that include road construction, house-buildingand pharmaceutical work. Shao ended up working as an accountant at the familyservice center and even served as the head of the center for two years,managing the affairs of all families associated with the oilfield. In 1989 shebecame an accountant at the finance office of Zhongyuan Oilfield News, where she stayed until her retirement in1997.

Like many senior citizens of China, Shao isa lay Buddhist. She decorated her work table with the Buddhist chant “Namo Amitābha”and says she must thank Buddha for her good fortune and the wonderful life sheenjoys these days. Perhaps her artistic style is also shaped by this feeling ofcontentment and her easygoing, down-to-earth personality. What really moves usis the candor in her paintings—the pure love for life in each brushstroke.

 邵炳凤，《自画像之六》，2013，纸本水墨，54x66cm 

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Almost Art Project （AAP）是中国首个也是唯一一个专为素人艺术家（自学，未受过专业艺术教育）举办的艺术项目。我们创办的素人艺术节自2015年至今已经成功举办了四届，发现并推出了百余位来自各个领域的素人艺术家，向公众展示千余件杰出的素人艺术作品。