2015 “水色境迁” 虞子骏专访 | Interview with Yu Zijun
1. 作为上海美专的学生，您曾师从刘海粟老师，他对您日后的艺术创作有何影响？
Being one of the graduates from Shanghai Fine Arts School founded by great artist Liu Haisu, How did your teacher Liu Haisu influence your art creation?
刘海粟老师是我们的校长，也是我的人体油画老师。有一次的成绩汇报展时，水彩老师冉熙和刘海粟校长都来了，刘海粟老师在离开时特地倒回来看了我的一张《车间写生》。这幅画引起了他的注意，虽然刘海粟老师是少言寡语之人，当时并没说什么，但我心里特别高兴。
刘海粟老师主张写实并不是依样画葫芦而是要根据自己的个性和情感来创作发挥，不要跟老师所教画得一样，一定要表现自己的感受、思想和性格，这样每个人画出来的作品才会不同，才各有特点。我一直记着他说的一句话：“生命的价值并不在于时间的长短，而在于是否利用了这有限的生命，去为自己的民族创造物质与精神财富。”刘海粟校长对艺术创作的理解及其精神与目的对我今后一生的艺术创作有着巨大的影响。
Liu Haisu was not only our dean, but also my oil teacher. Once he came to see our exhibition, he showed his interest in my watercolour painting from the exhibition. I was very excited, even though he didn’t say much.
Liu Haisu has always been of the opinion that figurative art is not simply to copy the objects, it needs to be expressed with one’s own emotion and personality. Students shouldn’t copy what the teachers taught them, they have to be filled with their own ideas, emotions and charateristics. Then the paintings will be different from one to another by different artists. I always remember his saying “The value of life is not about its length, it’s about how to creat spiritual and material values for our nation inthe limited lifetime. ”His words have a great influence on my art career.
2. 据我所知，当今的一些享有声誉的著名艺术家比如陈丹青，陈逸飞，徐芒耀，刘毅等曾在青年时期从师于您，请问您是如何看待您当年的这些学生们在如今艺术领域里的贡献与造诣的？
As I know, some of today’s renowned artists such as Chen Danqing, Chen Yifei, Xu Mangyao and Liuyi used to be your students during their teenage, what do you think of their achievements in the art world?
这些艺术家大约在10-16岁时都曾师从于我，他们都各有特长。有些学生在那是就表现得比较突出，比如陈丹青。我教他的时间虽然不长，但他的脑子思路很灵活，对绘画表现出浓厚的兴趣，并且很用工刻苦钻研。在艺术领域里想要取得贡献与造诣并不是一朝一夕的就能成功的，而是需要长期的热情和坚持，我想这很关键的两点他们都做到了，是实至名归的。
They all have their own strong points. Among all the students, Chen Danqing impressed me a lot, although I only taught him over a short time. He got many interesting ideas, showing great interest and talent in art. He is also a hard- working person. All of them have been keeping their passions and persistence for art, leading Chinese modern art to another phase in China’s art history.
3. 作为中国第二代学习西方美术的艺术家，您的作品创作时间跨度很大，从上世纪40年代一直到今天，您分别经历了中国历史和中国美术史的变迁，请问您是如何看待和理解中国传统艺术与现当代艺术之间的关系的？
Being the second generation of learning western fine arts, you have been working on art from the 40’s last century through the recent years. I believe you have experienced the dramatic changes of China’s history and fine arts history. How do you perceive the links between Chinese traditional art and contemporary art?
文革以后，国外西方的思想都渐渐渗入中国，，很多中国艺术家都开始学习或效仿国外的东西，觉得一切都很新鲜，但毕竟缺乏实质性的理解。所以有些学得四不像。在解放前，我们美专的学生早已接触到很多西方的艺术家。所以对我们来说西方艺术并不陌生。90年代，改革开放后的西方艺术大量进入中国，很多艺术家在效仿西方艺术的同时也收进了很多垃圾，当时的中国画坛良莠不齐，好像出现问题了，我很伤心。目前的状况要好很多，艺术家的西方艺术的识辩能力提高很多，我希望中国当代艺术家应该掌握好创新和传统之间关系，上层建筑应根据经济建筑的变化而变化，所以创作的作品一定要具有时代性。
现在艺术家要用现代的目光来看待中国当今的情况，不能抄袭中国的传统艺术，要用现代的思想和手法去表达中国传统艺术的精神。
After Chinese Cultural Revolution, our door has been open to the international world. Many of Chinese artists started learning or copying western art, however there was a lack of understanding of western art in depth. In the 90’s, there was quite a lot of poor quality western art influenced Chinese artists, at that time, I was upset. Nowadays, this situation has been improved. Most of our artists have developed their capabilities to identify various art from occidental countries. I hope Chinese contemporary artists can manage the relationship between innovation and tradition. The contemporary art should reflect today’s world in the new times. Artists need to represent China in a modern way based on our traditional spirit.
4. 这次展览中所展出的肌理水彩作品非常特别，能与我们谈谈它在创作过程中与一般水彩作品的区别吗？
Your textured watercolour pieces look very distinguished, what’s the difference between textured watercolour works and ordinary ones?
80年代初由于一次意外地手部受伤，让我发现并爱上了肌理水彩。机理水彩简而言之就是使用不同的材质去压印水彩画面，然后根据我主观的创作需要形成不同的肌理图案，从而使纸上作品能产生更多的层次感。
I discovered and have been falling in love with texture watercolour works after my hand’s injury in the 80’s. It was an accident as well as a beautiful surprise! I used different media to press on the watercolour works to form various patterns with textures according to my subjective needs of creation. Then the watercolours on paper have more depth comparing to the ordinary ones.
5. 您为何对水彩画独有情种？您还尝试过其他不同的绘画方式吗？
Why are you keen on watercolour paintings? Have you ever tried to work with different media?
其实在美专时，我是学习油画的，但我个人喜欢画水彩，是因为水彩画更适合我的个性。它有天然的美并变化无穷，出彩色彩亮而通透，用笔潇洒随意，与中国画法一致，是抒情的理想画种。水彩画的变化很多样，不像油画，各种色彩可以在水的作用下尽情融合，从而产生意想不到的效果。
Actually when I studied in Shanghai Fine Arts School, I’ve leant oil painting. However I personally prefer watercolour paintings, because it suits more my characters. Watercolour has a natural beauty, the vibrant colours meet with water, leaving a light and transparent touch on the painting. Water is a magic medium. It carries pigments to flow, to mix up with different colours, to form unpredictable patterns in a truly free style. It’s quite close to the feeling of traditional Chinese Ink paintings.
6. 您现在已年近90高龄，但您仍然坚持创作，是什么让您对艺术创作保持着如此大的热情？
You are close to 90-year-old now, but you still keep painting. What makes you have such great passions for art creation ?
虞子骏：我从小开始画到老，只要画得动，就要一直画下去，这是我此生的最大的兴趣爱好，现在我更要坚持画水彩画，不仅仅是因为个人兴趣和爱好了，更感觉创作水彩有一种使命感。因为现在画水彩画的人越来越少，而水彩画又价廉，很多艺术家都不愿意创作水彩画转而创作油画了。我要把水彩画这个画种保留下来，同时还想要发展水彩画的创作，比如肌理，借助其他一些媒介而不只是用笔来创作，水彩画也要适应新的时代发展需要而创新，我身上肩负着发展中国水彩画的使命。
I’ve started painting since a very young age, as long as I am able to paint. I won’t stop painting, as this is the biggest interest in my life. Now I have more reasons to carry on painting watercolours, since less and less artists work on the watercolours, due to its relatively low price. Many artists convert to work on oil paintings. I am afraid we are losing this beautiful art. I want to keep and develop watercolours to get along with the new times. I deeply feel this responsibility on my shoulder.