刘晨茵 沈爱群
不久前报刊上登出了三方印章:“以牛为师”“计黑为白”“老顽童”,落款署名“鲁光”,风格稚拙灵妙,令人回味无穷。
有人好奇:
是那个写报告文学《中国姑娘》的鲁光?是那个善于画牛的画家李苦禅先生的弟子鲁光?是画出被誉为“创新的中国画”《生命》的鲁光?
2020年夏天,接受笔者专访的鲁光哈哈大笑,揭开了这个谜底:“正是在下‘老顽童。”
有人嫉妒:上天太偏爱鲁光了,记者梦、作家梦、画家梦,都让他圆了,现在又要圆篆刻梦。
拥有多重职业、身份,过着多元生活的人,如今常被冠以“斜杠”的称谓,鲁光无疑是其中的佼佼者。
“我认为生命应有多种维度,而不只是單一的色彩——太单调,好像白白来人世间走一遭。”鲁光说。
“本人虽八十有三,但仍有尝新的勇气。”
实现“斜杠”人生
2020年初,宅家抗疫三月有余,鲁光发现自己成了“时间的富人”。
他每天早、中、晚在屋里走路半个小时。脚在走,脑子也不安静,突然冒出一个想法:自己从文从艺一生,诗书画都有涉及,唯独对印望而生畏。拥有的印章不下百方,但没有一方是自己刻制的。
想着想着,鲁光萌生了刻印的冲动。“记得读村校二年级时,在萝卜和泥巴上刻过字。很怪的,这个刻字的记忆,就使我与篆刻结了缘。我也曾为自己设计过一方牛形闲章,请一位篆刻行家操刀成印,不知有多少人赞美这方闲印。一位行家说,‘我们这些专业篆刻手是搞不出这种设计的。”鲁光告诉笔者。
记不清何年何月,鲁光也曾置办过刻字的刀具,大小印章石也装满了一大包。一有了治印的冲动,他马上把这些备而未用的东西给找了出来。
“也不知哪儿来的胆量,说干就干。操刀动石,没日没夜地刻制,疫情期间,我一口气治印十来方。”
先刻了两方小的,鲁光发到朋友圈,有人点赞。“其实点赞不等于赞赏,也可能见我这个八十多岁的老顽童居然玩刀弄石,觉得新鲜,顺手点个赞给个鼓励。可人老了,就爱听好话,有人点赞,就来劲。”
鲁光又接连刻了几方大章——“以牛为师”“计黑为白”“老顽童”和两方牛形大印。
刻印,鲁光的手劲是有的。他从小跟父亲做木杆秤,刨木杆,钻秤花,磨秤杆。用刀刻石,难不住他,而且能把握住力。
“不过,也出过好几回错,刻好印,发现字刻反了。有一方小印,刻了磨、磨了刻,刻了八回才完工。”当他将这方“童画”小章送给女儿时,不禁感叹了一句:“一分天资,九分劳累。”
鲁光说自己的心态好,刻坏了,有遗憾,但绝不沮丧。“每一回失败都是练刀。熟能生巧,用刀的轻重缓急,我慢慢掌握了。应该说,刻到后来,刀已听我使唤。我得坦然承认,对篆刻,我已上瘾了。”
自刻自乐,还可自用,鲁光太知足了。有行家在微信里对他说:你的印,最配你的画。鲁光认为这是对他初入印坛的最高评价。“但我深知,印途漫漫,探索求美是须终生努力的。”
诗书画印,终于,鲁光全沾了,深刻印证了他的“斜杠”人生。
“到了晚年,我的画上总算有了自己刻制的印章,能表述创作理念的印章。宅家抗疫,居然圆了一个篆刻梦,真是一份意外的收获。”
鲁光远在澳大利亚抗疫读书的小外孙,得知情况后,在视频里对他说:“爷爷,你又在爱好中开辟了新领域。”
人生不愿走重复路
20世纪60年代,鲁光从华东师范大学中文系毕业,从事新闻媒体工作近40年。他写中国女排的长篇报告文学《中国姑娘》轰动了文坛。
20世纪80年代初,鲁光采访老画家李苦禅先生时,李苦禅对成文很满意,说:“你很有才华,写得具体生动,如水银泻地,无孔不入。”末了,李苦老对他说:作画与作文是相通的,你可以画画!
其后,齐白石的弟子崔子范请他写传记,鲁光提出拜崔先生为师,崔子范欣然收下了这个已过天命之年的老弟子。崔子范颇为幽默地说:“传记写成了,说不准一个画家也出山了。”这话对鲁光是一个激励。
“人生遇到一位大师已是幸运,我却遇见两位大师,实乃大幸。遇到他们,改变了我的人生命运。两位恩师的人品和画品,对我的影响是终生的。”鲁光告诉记者。
李苦禅和崔子范都是齐白石的入室弟子,画风厚实、拙朴、大气。20年来,鲁光以师为师,以友为师,朝朝暮暮,涂抹不止,在美术之路上苦苦探索。
“学我者生,似我者死,不图变是没有出息的。”崔子范曾对他说:“你喜欢我的画,但在艺术上要背叛我,离我愈远愈好。走到一起是双输,各奔前程会双赢。”
齐白石先生专门为李苦禅治过一方“死不休”印,即“画不惊人死不休”。苦禅师曾经特意找出那方印,盖在送给鲁光的画上。“他说,这是信!这是苦禅大师对我的终身教诲,也是我的奋斗目标。”鲁光说。
1993年,鲁光和朋友到杭州灵隐寺观光。他在给朋友拍照时,从镜头里透视那一排排参差的红烛,火光焰焰,辉煌无比。“回到北京,那熊熊燃烧的红烛一直在我眼前晃动,挥之不去,创作冲动无法抑制。”
可是,采用传统的画面构成、色彩搭配、表现技法,已经无法表达鲁光心中的渴望。于是,他就“无法无天了一回”,进行了颠覆性的创作。当丈二幅的《生命》在中国画研究院被打开时,不止是在场的人,连他自己都激动起来了!
《生命》这幅画采用平面构成法,以祭祖庆诞的红蜡烛为题材,采用饱和的大红色、有力的直笔,画出无数红烛;在红烛间留出的空白处,斜势添上金黄色的烛苗。寥寥数笔,红黄黑三色烛光已跃然纸面,火苗在风中蹿动,逼人眼帘。
1994年岁末,《生命》在中国画研究院展出,引来美术界的好评。吴冠中、刘勃舒等名家都认为此画很现代,范曾也连声称赞此画具有强烈冲击力。《生命》已成了鲁光的“专利”产品。
这些年,求此画者颇多,鲁光一概婉言谢绝。有些好友很不理解。鲁光坦言:“不是我舍不得送画,不画的原因是不愿重复自己。”
不愿重复,不仅是鲁光在绘画艺术上的追求,也是鲁光在人生道路上的追求。
“我用右手写了几百万字的文学作品,但是开始画画后发现自己的字与画面并不协调,于是开始尝试正手练字、左手书写,锻炼一种生疏感。”
鲁光总结自己一生有三个“超过”:左手超过右手,指的是我的书法创作;绘画超过文学,因为我对于绘画的热爱要大于文学;后半生超过前半生,退休前我勤勤恳恳像老黄牛一样工作,退休后开始自己“心”的生活。
也正如他60岁时在中国国家画院举办的画展“从零开始”一样,这是他新生活的开始。
不愿重复还体现在更多方面:
鲁光曾应邀为人民大会堂画过一幅丈二匹《五牛图》,也为中国现代文学馆和驻外使馆、大型画展画过大画。大构图、大笔头,挥洒尽兴。
2018年开始,鲁光热衷于画小品,2019年起,又钟情于小小品。他为此起了个名字叫袖珍大写意,一平方尺、半平方尺,甚至三分之一平方尺。
“我以文学入画,无论画什么,都是画人,画人生,画我的理想和追求。一言以蔽之:画自己。”
虽然已是“80后”,但鲁光创新的脚步一直没有停歇。
“笔墨由我用。做笔墨的主人,不当笔墨的奴隶,艺术贵创新!”鲁光这样说。
最难忘的是家乡永康
鲁光的老家在浙江永康公婆岩山下的两头门村。他在这里度过了贫穷而又快乐的童年。虽然后来求学于上海,工作在北京,当记者,写文章,画画,满中国奔跑,满世界行走,但鲁光说,人生最难忘的还是童年,无论是苦难还是欢乐。
退休之后,鲁光回到远在千里之外的永康老家,与儿时玩伴相聚,结交年轻一代的文人墨客。
“回归故里,落叶归根,使我晚年生活和绘画艺术接通了地气。”鲁光说。
在公婆岩下,鲁光建造了一所鲁光艺苑,命名为“五峰山居”,为南北文化艺术交流提供了一个清幽的场所。山居建筑精巧、园林别致、文化小品众多,留下了很多名人大家的足迹,他的新作也源源不断地在这里问世。
30多年来,鲁光几乎每年都要回到五峰山居住上一段时间,短则数月,长则半年。“如果说,家乡留住了我的心,那么五峰山居则是留住了我的身。”鲁光说,他和他的五峰山居变成了一座文化桥梁,一座联结浙江永康与全国各地文化体育界人士的桥梁。
“前些年,我说起自己已成为‘80后,回乡的次数会愈来愈少,想将自己的画作和图书捐赠给家乡。永康市有关部门的同志听了之后,表示家乡政府将为我建个艺术馆,珍藏陈列我的赠品。”鲁光为家乡对文化艺术的重视而深深感动,也感觉“诚惶诚恐”——无以回报家乡的养育之恩和对他晚年生活的关爱,唯有继续捐赠。
鲁光决定大舍。
“对捐赠一事,这些年我一直在考虑。我一生爱书如命,藏书至少一万几千册。前些年,我已將自己的数千册藏书送给家乡的图书馆。我画画30多年来,展览多次,自己满意的作品大多留了下来,心里一直有个念头,将来要送给家乡。”
鲁光告诉笔者,近些年来,一些名家过世,其子女常有为争抢遗产而闹得不可开交的,亲情被葬送殆尽。“好在我们家子女开通,对我的打算鼎力支持。”
2019年,鲁光将承载了他20载创作生涯的鲁光艺苑捐赠给市政府。捐赠仪式上,他打了个比喻,“姑娘20岁就可以嫁人了,鲁光艺苑造好也有20年,可以‘嫁人了,我给她找了个好婆家——永康市人民政府。”
鲁光说,他一生在外闯荡,为家乡做的事太少,写了那么多书、画了那么多画,但写故乡的文字、画故乡的画却极少。
如果将一生所作所画留给家乡,算作一种对故乡的回报的话,他打心眼里愿意。“我的作品有个地方存放,使我的文学和绘画作品,能在促进故里文化发展中起到一点点作用,是我之大幸。”
Lu Guang: Multi-dimensional Life
By Liu Chenyin, Shen Aiqun
Lu Guang is the author of , a reportage published in 1981 on the Chinese womens volleyball team which caused a sensation in the nation. He is an outstanding student of painting master Li Kuchan (1899-1983). He is also the man behind , a heavyweight entry in the hall of fame of modern Chinese painting.
Lu Guang surely has a life full of color and success. “Life should be multi-dimensional, or I would feel it is wasted. I am 83, but the desire for trying new things still surges in me,” declares proudly the octogenarian.
The first three months of the pandemic-plagued 2020 turned Lu Guang into a seal-engraver. “Ive done many things in the world of art, but I never had the confidence to try seal-cutting. Practice makes perfect. I feel I have become addicted. Now I can make seals by myself and put my marks into my paintings, which feels exciting.”
“Now you have something new to play, grandpa!” Lu Guangs grandson sent his congratulations from Australia.
Lu Guang graduated from the Chinese Department of East China Normal University in the 1960s, and had a career as a journalist for four decades. The release of his reportage, , created quite a stir. When working on an article about Li Kuchan in the 1980s, Lu Guang was encouraged by the painting artist to try painting. “A man who knows how to write knows how to paint. You have the gift. I can tell,” Li told Lu Guang.
Lu Guang started learning how to paint in his 50s. He took lessons systematically from Cui Zifan (1915-2011), a disciple of Qi Baishi and prominent artist. Cui took him under his wing essentially because he was impressed by Lus extraordinary writing talents.
Two decades of student-and-teacher bond and friendship changed the life of Lu Guang. “It is lucky to meet one great mind in ones life. It is the ultimate blessing to have met two,” remarks Lu Guang.
“It is one thing to admire my paintings and learn from me; it is equally important to ‘betray – to drift away as much as you can until you build your own quality,” declared Cui. Cuis warning is burned into the art and life of Lu Guang.
Lu Guang visited Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou in 1993. The flickering candlelight he saw when taking a picture of his friend inspired him to create a huge painting. The display of this powerful masterpiece, titled , with a style that defies definition, at the National Art Museum at the year-end of 1994, won overwhelming acclaim.
Over the years, Lu Guang said “no” to many people offering a high price to get an artwork from him. “I dont want to repeat myself,” he explained. “As I get more and more immersed in the world of painting, I became uneasy about the way I use my right hand to write. So I started to go left-handed in my calligraphic practice.”
Lu held a solo art exhibition held at China National Academy of Painting, at the age of 60. The exhibition was named “From Zero”. Indeed, he is always ready to restart in whatever he chose to specialize in.
Lu Guang is always on the look for breakthroughs in his pursuits, as reflected in his changing artistic style. Starting 2019, his freehand creation showed a preference to petite sizes.
“Whatever I paint, I put my life and myself into the art. I am not a slave of art. I love changes,” declares the octogenarian.
Lu Guang was born in a village in Yongkang in central Zhejiang, where he spent his bittersweet childhood years at the foot of Wufeng Peak. “Being back in my roots brought a lot of life into my retired years and my art,” says the journalist-turned artist. Lu Guang built an art house near his birthplace and spends a lot of time there every year. Many works have been created there.
“I am already in my 80s, and cannot expect many revisits to my hometown. So I have been thinking a lot about donating my art works and my book collection to Yongkang. The local government has taken my thoughts seriously and is working on the possibility of an art gallery. I want to say thank you, also to my supportive children.”“Ive written many books, and painted for decades, but I have done little for my hometown. I feel happy and relieved to see there is a place in my birthplace where all my art works can be displayed and shared,” says the Yongkang native in his 80s.