我的书房里有三幅牛安的画，挂在电脑台后的一面墙上，形成一组，每幅图中画有一人，姿态奇异。这是用毛笔蘸墨汁画在毛边纸上，再裱托在油画布上的，方方的，没有边框，很现代。画中线条流畅，忽粗忽细，若断若连，密密麻麻的文字巧布其中。曾有人说这线条得程十发书画的意趣。这组画一挂已有八年了，天天欣赏，惬意得很。

　　牛安从小喜欢画画，但是妈妈对她说，想要学画就得先学字。于是牛安在5岁那年就跟蔡慧萍老师学起了书法。在几年的书法学习中，牛安逐渐地接受了中国传统文化知识和艺术熏陶，后来又随我学了一段时间的素描和色彩，最后考进了上海大学美术学院附中。毕业后直升大学本部，攻读室内设计，可谓一路顺风。然而意想不到的是她却中途辍学去了日本留学。小姑娘独闯天下的勇气和胆量简直令我惊讶乃至钦佩。继而她又旅居韩国与美国，走上了从事绘画创作、艺术研究、多媒介艺术创作活动的道路。这段在日本七年、韩国一年、美国五年的生活经历可以说是牛安的另一种积累，这种从生活中获得的经验甚至要比在留学中获得的知识还要宝贵。在这一段不算短的异国生活中，使得她对东西方的生活方式、艺术观念有了真切的体会和深入的了解，以致能够全面地审视和思考东西方文化的差异与融合，而这对于她的艺术创作来说却是至关重要的。就上海来说，有着类似艺术经历的画家并不少，但是能够在东西方文化方面进行思考并渗透进自己的艺术创作中的人并不多。

　　牛安的绘画作品表现题材几乎是只有一个——女人。这一题材似乎从她进入创作的那一刻起就确定了。画中的裸女展现出各种妩媚的姿态，动作夸张。她们好像是纸上的精灵，在方形的狭小的空间里，竭力施展着肢体的魅力，挣脱边框的束缚，尤其是那胸前的一对尤物，画得轻松随意，却在目光中无法忽略。作品表达的情感于是就从女人的肢体与姿态中强烈地表露出来。经过二三年的优雅期之后，一种粗犷的面貌突然间出现了，粗粗的线条尽管依然卷曲，却呈现出一种刚强的姿态，编织状的抽象画面中隐隐约约地透露出一种不易被发现的人体，不禁使人想到罗丹水彩画习作中的那些大胆的人体局部。2005年前后，人体从画面中朦朦胧胧地显现出来，充满着生命的活力，已经变得纤细的线条随之被搅动起来，画中人好像是破坏之神湿婆，在天地间舞蹈着，毁坏着，也创立着。只一年后，狂风暴雨过去了，一种滑稽的、有趣的、美丽的女人体跃然纸上，洋溢着欢快的情调。与之同时问世的另一种风格则是在密集的线条中将人体隐藏起来，藏得很深，辨色力不敏感的人是绝对看不出画中的人的。这类画颇具抽象表现主义大师波洛克的艺术趣味。近年来，牛安又画了不少“大脸”，她说她并不喜欢画肖像，她之所以画这些“大脸”，是因为对人的表情特别感兴趣，从不同的表情中可以探究到各种人的内心深处。从这一点来说，“大脸”和女人体是一样的，都是借以表达感情的载体。牛安说：“我画每一幅画，都是要表现当时的某种感觉。我在挥动画笔宣泄情绪的时候，感到快乐。如果要我去重复过去已经画过的东西，那是不可能的。因为当时的感觉和情绪已经过去了。”(1)牛安的绘画始终行走在表现主义的天地里，情感的一头系着画家的心情，另一头则决定着画面的风格。牛安就是这样一位生活在自己作品里的女画家。

　　记得曾有人说过这样的话，一个人小时候学习的技艺往往会影响他(她)一辈子。牛安的画，不论是水墨画，还是丙烯画，给人印象最深的就是线条了。这种活泼的扭曲的长长短短的线条既描绘了形象，同时又打破了形象;既属于造型的，也是属于书法的，自由自在的挥毫消解了严格意义上的图像和书法的界限。这是一种来自心灵深处的倾诉，流露在画面上则变成欲语又止，转而一吐为快的情感表达。这种线条很难说得上是出自中国古代某家某法，与现当代水墨画家的用笔也迥然不同，不过究其根源，还是与中国传统艺术有着割不断的内在联系。画面中的文字也是奇特的，小小的密密的，似是而非、模棱两可的，汉文中又夹杂了日文与韩文。这些文字或聚集在一边，或包围着人体，抑或飘入到人体的怀中，像风像雨又像雾，似花似果又似水，活跃了布局的空间，又丰富了画面的层次，甚至还狡黠地向你透露点什么。图中的文字实际上是牛安在创作时的自我思维与自我交流的一种表露形式，字与画在作品中已经成为不可分割的一个整体。牛安在童年时代的书法学习对她的艺术创作影响之深可见一斑。

　　牛安在画中运用了许多有趣的象征性符号，这是一个从未被人解读过的秘密，用得比较多的有三个：一个是椭圆形的圈，常以鲜艳的红色或黑色来表现;另一个是拖着长长尾巴的箭头，有画成黑色的，也有少数是红色的;还有一个是两只联结在一起的圆，颜色呈一红一绿，圆的中心还横有一条白缝。此外还有灯泡、十字符号等。在我看来，那椭圆形的圆圈是西方的宗教绘画中经常出现的，那是悬空在圣母头顶上的光环，象征着上帝的庇护。而牛安表达的含意更为丰富。她喜欢画圆圈是因为圆圈代表着循环、永恒，在中国，手镯被视为平安之物也是这个意思。不过戒指也是圈状的，所以又包含着某种约束。我本以为那箭头是从丘比特射出的爱情之箭演化而来的。而牛安则把箭头看作是英雄主义的一种精神象征，同时又包含着秩序。她说在建筑设计图纸中、交通标志上、每天摆弄的电脑键盘上都会看到箭头这个符号。至于那两个连结在一起的小圆球，牛安悄悄地说，那是两个人在说悄悄话，或许在接吻，也可能是在吵架。总之是两颗心灵的接触。牛安后来还画过一些直接表现男女情爱的作品，即便如此，画中也“只有像影子一样的男人，或者一些类似男人的小怪物。”(2)牛安的画“是个男人缺席的场所，但男人的影子却无处不在”。(3)牛安在她的女人世界里坦诚地表达了渴望、愉快、陶醉、失落、迷茫、痛苦、愤怒等种种不同的心境和情绪。情爱可以说是牛安绘画创作中不变的主题，亦是她源源不断的创作灵感的源头，也是我们解读她的作品的一个内核。正如英国作家劳伦斯所说：“性和美如同生命和意识一样不可分”。(4)

　　“美与生命连在一起，生命与爱连在一起，而爱则和人类连在一起。”(5)牛安在画中袒露的虽然是她个人的情感，但是这个主题涉及的却是人类的生命与爱。牛安以她自己的艺术语言来表达对生命与爱的感受，画面呈现的美必然会与他人不同。她画女人，不求姣好的容貌，有的甚至画得有点狰狞;她画女人体，不求女性窈窕的体形，有的甚至是畸形的;她画女性肌肤，不是天生丽质，而是将圈状的扭曲的线条布满全身，就像是长满了毛的大猩猩，从根本上消解了女性肌肤的圆润、光滑、细腻、白嫩等美感。在牛安的画中，涌动的是一种放荡不羁的本性，显露的是一种充满童趣的可爱，迸发的是一种撩拨心跳的激情。这美来自于生命的勃发，来自于爱情的狂热，并带着鲜明的现代印记。牛安的绘画创作，同时从中国传统绘画和西方现代艺术中吸取养料，继承着古人先哲的智慧，闪烁着现当代艺术的光辉。从那橄榄形的单眼皮眼睛里可以看到克利的目光;而那翘翘的小嘴上则带着唐代仕女的风韵。牛安的可贵之处正在于她的博采广纳，融会贯通，形成她独树一帜的艺术风格。牛安说，要想建立起自己的艺术面貌，就必须要把自己分析透了。言下之意就是要清晰地明了自己的长处与短处，要善于扬长避短。

　　热烈又含蓄，坦荡又隐晦、外露又内敛，牛安的艺术语言的多重含意，使得你在观赏她的作品时，在视觉感受与认知层面之间也许会存在一些障碍。一旦你看懂了，那就等于打开了大门，使你觉得她是如此地接近你。这就是牛安绘画艺术的魅力。

　　注释：

　　(1)转引自邢晓舟：《牛安绘画之灵与情》

　　(2)(3)棉棉：《饥饿的上海糖果》

　　(4)[英]劳伦斯：《性与美》

　　(5)[苏]邦达列夫：《美·孤寂·女人的气质》

　　I have three paintings by Ann Niu in my study, hanging on the wall behind my computer desk. Together they form a series. At the center of each painting is a human figure in a striking and unusual pose. Originally painted on bamboo paper with Chinese brush and ink, then mounted on the canvas—square in shape and unframed—these pieces are distinctly modern. The fluid lines modulate between thick and thin, broken and continuous, and in the spaces between them are intricately inscribed characters. Some observers have said that the charm of Ann Niu's lines is equal to that of Cheng Shifa's calligraphy and paintings. For the past eight years, this group of Ann Niu’s paintings has graced my study, where I can enjoy and appreciate them every day.

　　From the time she was a child, Ann Niu loved to paint. Early on her mother advised her that if she wanted to learn to paint, she should first study Chinese calligraphy. And so, at the age of five, Ann Niu began to learn calligraphy under the instruction of Cai Huiping. Those years of studying calligraphy fostered Ann Niu’s knowledge of traditional Chinese culture, while also molding her artistically. Later, she studied drawing and watercolors with me and ultimately tested into the secondary school attached to the Academy of Fine Arts at Shanghai University. After graduation, she continued at the Academy as a student of interior design. Anyone would have said that things were sailing along very smoothly for her.

　　But then, rather unexpectedly and abruptly, she changed course, suspending her program to study in Japan. I was filled with amazement and admiration at the sheer courage of this young woman who was setting out on her own into the wider world. After Japan, she lived briefly in Korea, and then in America. Her career as a painter, art researcher, and multimedia artist was underway. Seven years in Japan, one in Korea, and five in America greatly enriched her life experience. One could say that this living experience has proved to be far more valuable than what she learned in her formal studies.

　　This long stint overseas gave her an appreciation and insight into Eastern and Western ways of life and artistic outlooks, and she was able to examine, up close, the differences and coalescences of Eastern and Western culture. This is the most important quality informing her creative works. In Shanghai, it's not hard to find painters with artistic backgrounds that are similar to Ann's, painters who have devoted much thought and attention to Eastern and Western culture. What makes Ann so rare is the degree to which East and West together permeate her art.

　　Almost all of Ann Niu's paintings have essentially one subject—a woman. This was established practically from the moment she first began to make art. Her female nudes, with their exaggerated gestures, are rendered in a variety of appealing poses. Situated in cramped paper squares, they are like magical beings trying with all their might to give free play to their seductive bodies and to free themselves of the confines of the frame. Especially entrancing are their breasts. Although painted with naturalness and ease, these feminine objects are impossible to ignore. In this fashion, Ann Niu powerfully expresses her feelings with women's bodies and gestures.

　　After an elegant and restrained phase of two to three years, a bold and unrestrained look suddenly emerged in this artist's paintings, characterized by heavy lines that, for all their sinuousness, display great strength. At first barely discernable, a human figure is faintly visible amidst the abstract forms covering the woven-looking surfaces of these paintings. One can't help but be reminded of the bold partial figures in Rodin's watercolor studies. Around 2005, the human body became a hazy image in Ann Niu's paintings. Energetic and slender lines roiled the paintings, and the figures came to resemble broken Shivas, dancing between Heaven and Earth, at once destroyers and creators. But in less than a year, this stormy period had passed, and playful, humorous, and beautiful women came to life on the paper in an atmosphere suffused with lightheartedness. At around the same time, Ann Niu was developing another style, in which the figures were concealed amidst a profusion of lines—and hidden so well that a viewer suffering from color-blindness would be hard-pressed to see them. These paintings call to mind works by the Abstract Expressionist master Jackson Pollock.

　　In recent years, Ann Niu has also painted a number of “large faces.” While she says that she doesn't really like to paint portraits, her intense interest in people’s expressions drew her to paint these "large faces," whose diverse expressions allow her to plumb the depths of different people's inner states. In this respect, the "large faces" and the female nudes are similar: both are the bearers of emotions. As Ann Niu has remarked: "Whenever I paint, I am trying to make visible the feelings of a particular moment. When I'm holding my paintbrush and letting my emotions flow out, I am at my happiest and most fulfilled. But if you ask me to go back and paint the same thing again, I won't be able to do it: the feelings and mood of that particular moment have faded away." 1 Ann Niu's paintings have always inhabited the realm of Expressionism, with the artist's feelings connected to her state of mind and determining the style that appears on the canvas. In this sense, Ann Niu is a woman painter who lives inside her own work.

　　I've heard it said that skills learned when one is young will always exert a lifelong influence. In Ann Niu's paintings, be they watercolors or acrylics, what leaves the deepest impression on me is the lines. Lively, curvy, long or short, these lines create form while at the same time shattering it. They belong simultaneously to the representational and to the calligraphic. This free-spirited play of the brush succeeds in sweeping away rigid notions about the boundaries between painting and calligraphy. It is an outpouring that originates in the depths of the artist's soul. Laid bare in the painting, it is reticent at first, but then goes on to achieve catharsis. It would be difficult to identify Ann Niu’s lines with any particular ancient Chinese master or style, and her brushwork is likewise completely different from that of contemporary watercolorists. Nonetheless, there is, at root, an unbreakable connection between her technique and traditional Chinese art. The Chinese characters she inscribes on her paintings are notably eccentric, tiny, and dense, and only superficially standard. Sprinkled among them, one can also find Japanese and Korean script. Sometimes the inscriptions are gathered together on one side, sometimes they surround the human figure, and sometimes they float over the figure's chest. Like wind or rain, mist or flowers, fruits or water, they animate the compositional space and enrich its patterning, slyly revealing to you a little something. These inscriptions are in fact Ann Niu's private thoughts and inner dialogs, given form and made visible. Together, the writing and painting in her works make up a whole that cannot be divided. The influence of Ann Niu's childhood training in calligraphy is clearly evident.

　　Ann Niu uses many intriguing symbols, and this is a secret that has never been unraveled. The three most frequently recurring symbols are: an oval, often rendered in bright red or black; an arrow, trailing a long shaft, usually black, but occasionally red; and a pair of linked circles, one red, one green, with a white seam running through the middle. In addition, there are also light bulbs, crosses, and other symbols. In my view, the ovals are versions of a motif that often appears in Western religious art, namely the halos that hang in the air above the Virgin Mary's head, symbolizing God's protection. But what Ann Niu means to express is even richer than this. She likes to paint circles and ellipses because circles represent recursion and perpetuity. In China, a bracelet carries these meanings and represents tranquility. However, finger rings, while also round, imply a kind of shackling. Originally, I had thought that the arrows derived from Cupid's arrows. But Ann Niu sees them as spiritual symbols of heroism, which also imply a sense of order or sequence. She points out that we can find arrows on architectural drawings, on traffic signs, and on the computer keyboards that we use every day. As for the two linked circles, Ann Niu quietly says: "Maybe it's a kiss; maybe it's an argument. Either way, it's two spirits touching."

　　Ann Niu has, on occasion, painted paintings that directly portray love between men and women; but even so, in these paintings, "there are only men that resemble shadows, or else little monsters that resemble men."2 "Ann Niu's paintings are an arena from which men are absent, and yet the shadows of men are everywhere."3 In her world of women, Ann Niu forthrightly expresses yearning, happiness, intoxication, loss, confusion, pain, anger, and every imaginable state of mind. One could say that the underlying subject of all of Ann Niu's work is love. It is also the inexhaustible wellspring of her inspiration and one of the kernels at the heart of any interpretation of her works. Just as D. H. Lawrence said: "Sex and beauty are inseparable, like life and consciousness."4

　　"Beauty and life are intertwined, life and love are intertwined, and love and humanity are intertwined." 5 Although what Ann Niu exposes in her paintings are her own personal feelings, her works relate to the lives and loves of humankind as a whole. Because Ann Niu responds to life and love with her unique artistic language, it's only natural that the beauty we see in her paintings is different from anyone else's. When she paints a woman, she isn't concerned with creating a pretty face; and some of the women she paints are in fact frightening to behold. When she paints a woman's body, she isn't interested in depicting a soft and feminine form; and some of her women do appear deformed. When she paints female flesh, she doesn't paint women who are naturally beautiful. Instead, she covers these figures with curling lines, making them look as hairy as apes, and fundamentally overturning the aesthetic of a plump, smooth, and fair-skinned female beauty. In the paintings of Ann Niu, what surfaces is an unrestrained and irrepressible nature, what reveals itself is a childlike charm, and what explodes is a passion that makes one's heart race. This aesthetic is drawn from the ferment of life itself, from the fever of love; and it bears a decidedly modern imprint.

　　Ann Niu's painting, nourished by both traditional Chinese painting and modern Western art, has inherited the wisdom of the ancient masters, while blazing with the light of contemporary art. Her almond eyes hold the vision of Paul Klee, while her small, upturned mouth displays the refinement of a Tang Dynasty beauty. What makes Ann Niu so priceless is her eclecticism and her complete mastery, which have combined to create a unique artistic style that stands out from the crowd. Ann Niu has said that if you want to establish your own artistic persona, you must first engage in thorough self-analysis. The implication of this is that you must learn to clearly recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, and become skilled at making the most of your good points while not indulging your weak points.

　　Passionate yet self-contained, straightforward yet ambiguous, outwardly visible but inwardly reserved, the multiplicity of divergent meanings in her paintings can leave you feeling as though there is some kind of barrier between your visual perception and your cognitive awareness. But once you understand what you're looking at, it's like opening a big door, and you will see yourself in this artist. That is the magic of Ann Niu's art.

　　Notes:

　　1 Xing Xiaozhou: "Ann Niu's painting: Spirit and Emotion"

　　2 3 Mian Mian: "Sweet hunger: Shanghai Artist Ann Niu"

　　4 D.H. Lawrence: "Sex and Beauty"

　　5 Bondalev: "Beauty, Lonesome, Woman's Temperament"