Tracing back to the source of boneless method is to talk about Tian Liming, a painter I am slightly familiar with. As for Tian Liming's paintings, we say that he is innovative and unconventional, and he has changed the traditional boneless method ... whether praising his contribution to the development of Chinese painting and excavating the tradition, or criticizing his excessive deformation of Chinese painting in a subtle way, it is difficult to find traces of traditional pen and ink in his paintings. All kinds of statements can't hide the fact that Tian Liming has become a young and middle-aged leader in the field of figure painting in China. Perhaps it is Tian Liming's consistent low-key and humble behavior that makes his paintings less controversial. There is no doubt that Tian Liming is a revolutionary figure who explored the development of figure painting in China, which is an indisputable fact.
(1) Lang Shao Jun said in the article "Reading Tian Liming's Painting Art" that Tian Liming's paintings are still Chinese paintings, although they are innovative. He further pointed out that Tian Liming's painting has never been boneless, but only introduced the light factor, and the introduction of light enriched and developed the traditional boneless method. The brilliant Mr. Lang Shao Jun is a leading figure in critical circles, and his talent and personality are respected and admired by the author. The author wants to further explore Tian Liming's view of pen and ink from the perspective of pen and ink, the carrier of Chinese painting. I think that Tian Liming's paintings not only belong to Chinese painting, but also enrich and develop the tradition of Chinese painting, which is reflected in his exploration of the tradition of pen and ink. This exploration is basically successful for today's art world, many schools flaunt innovation, and he has basically formed a "family style" painting style.
When it comes to Chinese painting, it is inseparable from pen and ink, which has become one of the important standards to measure whether it is Chinese painting. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, literati painting has occupied the mainstream of painting, and pen and ink have become the core of Chinese painting, especially literati painting. The emphasis of literati painting on "painting with books" makes Chinese painting more functional in writing, which also makes Chinese painting more lyrical and expressive, thus making Chinese painting more vital. This painting with books just emphasizes the importance of pen and ink. However, pen and ink is not static, it changes with the times and the atmosphere of the times. "Pen and ink should keep pace with the times" (in Shi Tao's words) has become the knowledge of the art world for more than 300 years from the early Qing Dynasty to the present, in other words, pen and ink are constantly enriched and developed.
We study the origin and significance of pen and ink in order to clarify the significance of pen and ink tradition. The author thinks that there are essential differences between traditional pen and ink and traditional pen and ink. The tradition of pen and ink emphasizes the development view of pen and ink, while the traditional pen and ink sticks to the expression form of pen and ink at a certain stage and treats pen and ink with a relatively static view. Obviously, we should choose the tradition of pen and ink as the standard to measure the right and wrong of pen and ink, because it is more scientific and reasonable. Brush and ink is a summary of various techniques of Chinese painting, such as using eighteen strokes to express the outline of characters and using various methods to describe the texture of rocks. Of course, it also includes the deboning method mentioned above. Zhang Sengyou of Liang initiated the boneless method, and Yun applied it to flower-and-bird painting, and the boneless method became famous all over the world. In the history of figure painting, Kai Liang's splash-ink method and Beiliang's stick figure method can also be regarded as the application of boneless method in the field of figure painting. This tradition continues to today's Tian Liming, where he introduced the light boneless method and further enriched and developed the light boneless method. In this sense, his exploration of boneless method and pen and ink tradition is successful.
(2) Line is a very important form of Chinese painting, and the basic skills of calligraphy are reflected in the quality of line. The reason why Tian Liming's paintings attract attention and debate is that his figure paintings weaken or even basically weaken the function of lines. This is precisely one of the important characteristics of boneless method. If he just learned and inherited the boneless method, maybe he wouldn't be the focus of attention. It is he who tries to create an ethereal artistic conception and introduce light to make the picture more hazy, which in turn makes the lines more blurred or even disappear. Therefore, while being attracted by Tianjiaxiang, people began to pay attention to whether Tianjiaxiang is a Chinese painting or not. The author thinks that in order to better understand Tian Jia, we should first review Tian Liming's artistic experience and thoughts.
Tian Liming studied under the famous painter Mr. Lu Chen. As we all know, Mr. Lu Chen has been committed to the modernization of ink painting. Moreover, most of Mr. Lu's later works mainly express the theme of life, with a strong flavor of life. A good student doesn't have to paint like a teacher, because painting a gourd ladle is doomed to failure, which is what makes Tian Liming smart. He carefully studied Mr. Lu Chen's painting concept, that is, combining the modernization of ink painting with the expression of life themes. When we understand the relationship between them, it is not difficult to understand Tian Jia. This is the same strain, but Tian Liming is young and has a good artistic accomplishment and high understanding, which makes him boldly explore the tradition of pen and ink, and finally walks out of his own family style.
Dong Qichang said that painting is divided into two factions, the North faction is getting better and better, and the South faction has an epiphany (see Dong Qichang's painting purpose). Tian Liming is from Hefei, Anhui. He lives in the north from the south, which has both the spirituality of southerners and the massiness of northerners. Therefore, under the guidance of Lu Chen, he has been accumulating precipitation, and this subtle learning realized an epiphany at the moment of swimming. In this way, Tian Liming was born. This achievement is accidental and inevitable.
(3) In the circle of figure painting in China, there are several phenomena worthy of attention. One is to inherit the traditional figure painting in China, among which Wang Tao is the best; One is Zhejiang figure painting, represented by Fang Zengxian, Feng Yuan, Wu Shanming and others. First, let meticulous figure painting have the flavor of life, with He Jiaying as its pioneer; The other is Tian Liming's family style. They are all outstanding figures in the figure painting field in China, and consciously or unconsciously undertake the important task of inheriting and developing Chinese painting, especially China figure painting. Maybe this is the meaning of my poor work.
In a word, Tian Liming inherited and developed the boneless method, which made the tradition of pen and ink continue and enrich. He combines talent, learning, courage and knowledge, bravely undertakes the important task of the development of figure painting in China, and strives to explore the new development of pen and ink tradition, eventually forming a family-style painting style. This also made him a young and middle-aged leader in figure painting in China.