Beijing Platform Culture and Art Development CO., Ltd-Article-Lightness, Speed and Turbulence of Lines —

Lightness, Speed and Turbulence of Lines ——On Wu Shan's paintings

Wang Min’an

2020.11

No one's lines are thinner than those drawn by Wu Shan. In another word, no one's lines are lighter than Wu Shan's. These lines are trying to shrink and lose weight, as they are hiding themselves. Though appearing so light, they do not belittle, contempt or deny themselves. Wu Shan worked so hard and persistently to draw these fine lines, which he had been drawing for decades. These light lines not only embody Wu Shan's art style, but also embody his life style. Perhaps, Wu tried to live a light and simplified life, a life trying to cut off its branches, remove its cumbersome and avoid heavy burden, as if those light lines are getting rid of various cumbersome obstacles. Here, life embodies its own existence and weight in a light way; the heaviness of life is just the lightness of life to some extent. A good life is a light life. Similarly, for Wu Shan, a good art is a kind of light art. Calvino expressed the similar opinion. He said that the world is getting heavier and heavier, and so is art. He wanted to pursue a totally opposite art. Faced with the increasingly petrified world, there should be akind of light art to fight against this trend. He tried to reduce the heaviness of literature in terms of both language and structure.

▲纸本手稿 No.379／Manuscript on paper No.379

纸上签字笔／Pen on paper

2013 / 26.5x35.5cm

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山歌／Shange

大漆、麻、木板／Lacquer hemp board

2018 / 33x28cm

In such light art of Wu Shan, what do light lines imply? We see that these lines are closed with neither beginning nor end, and they are always self-connected, reciprocating, revolving and playing themselves in the complex labyrinth-like cycle. With somewhat internal autonomy, they are immersed in their own world and refuse any external transcendental intrusion. In this way, the lines eliminate the external reference. Not only are they self-contained in terms of line connection, they show no interest in the outside world as well. Such lines are those without meaning. In other words, they are alienated from all kinds of meanings and burdens, and are nothing more than the lines themselves. At the same time, the lines themselves are so light, so subtle, and are stripped of their final thickness, their weak strength, or their own weight. Moreover, they are of very stable and uniform trace without ups and downs. The only change in them is that in color from section to section. However, because they are thin lines, these changes will not lead to steepness and precipitousness. They are basically uniform in terms of the trace, thickness, density and speed. And the uniform lines will cause neither upheaval nor turbulence. Therefore, you can see no inner energy of the lines here: the lines do not have passion inside. Therefore, autonomous closed line as they are, we cannot see their internal violence. They neither impact the boundary violently, nor act prudently and conservatively to the boundary. The lines do not weaken or enhance the boundary. They do not form the boundary or intend to trespass on it. These lines are also not cutting, binding or entrapping lines that people habitually confront. They have no openings, no sudden turns, no violent side escapes. Neither are they cumbersome, laborious, stuttering or unable to move. They are neither impulsive nor restraining. On the contrary, these lines are quiet, unmoved, immersed and involved in their own business. They are so quiet that you can even call them non-moving lines. They are purely lines, or the trace of the lines.

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朝元歌／chaoyuange

大漆、麻、木板／Lacquer hemp board

2014 / 80x60cm

These plane lines are completely different from those violent, urgent and free-willed lines of strength, and are not rational sketching schemes, but are always silently facing their own world. You will feel that the lines are drawn slowly and carefully (they show no impulsion, rudeness or clumsiness), so slow that the speed itself is lost, and you can't even feel the speed, just as you can't feel its passion. However, slow speed and meticulousness do not mean careful consideration, careful selection, or elaborate conception. It's hard to see where the lines start and where they end. The lines are no vector with significant sense of direction. It is even difficult to determine in which direction the lines are outlined, both directions are possible, opposite as they are. We can't travel along their paths, or we can't walk on these lines, we don't have an effective and predictable path to track or chase them, they’re everywhere, with no track left behind. They don't even have a destination, and nobody knows where they should end up. They don't form patterns either. Once they are about to form a recognizable pattern, they deviate from that pattern because the pattern is by no means the target and shelter of these lines. They never make patterns around a certain image.In this regard, it is difficult for us to see the ambition, planning and purpose of these lines. They show aimless patience and meticulousness and seem to exist only for the sake of meticulousness, and it looks like meticulousness and patience are their aims. In other words, the planning of these lines is reflected in this meticulous and patient process. This kind of patience is shown not only in the slow speed of the lines, but also in the formation of these lines. They (including the background of the lines) are made by lacquer, or the drying process of lacquer is the formation process of lines, which is a slow process. The lines are painted over and over again (repeatedly but in moderation, without making it bulky) until they are protruding significantly on the board. The lacquer is also drying over and over. No matter how thin and simple they are, no matter how light they look like, it is a long and time-consuming process. The drying process of lacquer, or the formation process of lines, is also a process of patient waiting, a process of time interruption, pause and fracture. A picture starts again after a long pause.

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纸本手稿 No.382／Manuscript on paper No.382

纸上签字笔／Pen on paper

2013 / 26.5x35.5cm

The meaninglessness and aimlessness lines with no passion, no strength, no trajectory and no pattern point to a thorough lightness, thorough weakness, and thorough silence. These lines seem to have been silent to the greatest extent so that they can no longer be silent. These lines seem to be drawn to hide, to disappear, and to erase themselves. The way they show and confirms themselves is to erase themselves. It can also be said that these lines are trying to hide while showing themselves, and vise versa. People rarely see such lines of shyness.

Why can these lines show and hide themselves? They appear on top of a base and background and stage on a game of lines and background. These stable lines rely themselves on a monochromatic background painted by lacquer. Immersed in this background, the lines emerge from this background quietly, as if being afraid of disturbing or destroy the background. They are playing a kind of appearing and disappearing game with this background: the background seems to give birth to them and therefore, is their bedding and foundation to support their blossom. This is the whitening and birth of the thread, a birth with a matrix. However, on the contrary, the background seems to prevent them from blooming, and seem to cover, absorb, swallow, restrain them, and keep them in the bud so that they cannot grow. They are the lines of infancy and fragility. There is a conflicting relationship here, which, however, is an intimate conflicting relationship: the lines parasitize the background of color block, but also maintain a conflict with it; they depend on the background of color block, and are trying to break free from the background. They are playing a game of contradiction with this background: it is this breaking free that makes them manifest hard, and it is this parasitism that makes them impossible to manifest prominently. In this way, the lines and the background show a close relationship that is both conflicting and belonging, a relationship full of tension.

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出城曲／Chuchengqu

大漆、麻、木板／Lacquer hemp board

2016 / 60x50cm

The degree of line presentation depends on this tension. Sometimes the lines are almost annihilated in the color block, and sometimes the lines stand out from the color block. So, what about the color block as the background? We always see the lines in the picture, not eye-catching as they are, it is this kind of inconspicuousness that arouses all people's attention. We even forget the large color block in the background, as if the color block is natural, as if it has already been there, and the artist's job is just to draw fine lines on the color block. The thin lines draw more attention. But what if we shift our attention to the background of the color block? It can also be said that the color block is also determined by the lines. This is a simple color block of lacquer, pure and integral, immersed in the complacency of color. But the lines that emerge in this background, no matter how low and subtle they are, always destroy the integrity, always leaving cracks and flaws in the background as a whole. They seem to break into the picture and cut through it. It's an irony of integrity. However, on the contrary, we can also regard this kind of destruction as elaborate decoration and embellishment, as a kind appropriation of monochromatic abstract painting. To put it in a radical way, we can see them as a destructive rebirth of the totality: it is these low-key lines that lead to an incomplete totality, incomplete monochromatic painting. It is the breaking-in of the appearing and disappearing conflict between lines and color block that endows a new destiny to this color block. It is pulled out of the framework of a minimalist or abstract painting category. The color block is no longer being looked at carefully, nor does it contain mysterious spells for people to guess. It just shows itself in the struggle against the lines. In this regard, painting, no matter how fine its lines, how simple its tone, how silent its voice and how thin its image, we can still feel its inner and hidden agitation and dispute.