【艺术家Q&A】冯翰婷：欢迎来到成年人的世界

“纯爱小说”系列  Romantic Novels series 

凯瑟琳（之一） Catherine (part 1)

布面丙烯，acrylic on canvsa, 25×35cm, 2016

*Please scroll down for English.

Q：你是何时开始画画的？画画的兴趣是如何发生的？

A：我从小就开始画画，和大部分小朋友一样，有意识开始就喜欢乱涂乱画了。

最早的印象是5岁前在我奶奶家住的时候我反复画一个戴草帽的扎双麻花辫的小女孩，以及5岁后在我阿姨家住时临摹了很多她家的相册封面，内容都是一些甜美的小猫小狗插画。

读小学一二年级的时候我在美院附近的十香园学过画画，但时间很短暂。中学时期沉迷日本少女漫画。

Q：美术学院的教学对你有什麽影响？

A：我一直对美院的教学抱有怀疑和不满，但是她的确给我提供了一个环境，拓宽了我认识艺术的渠道。

我大一在国油版雕的混合基础部，继续着和高考前一样的基础训练；大二开始分工作室，我选择了第四工作室，读了一年，我觉得这个工作室的教学满足不了我，我就在大三的时候转去了第五工作室，我是在第五工作室第一次系统的接触到西方的当代艺术。

“纯爱小说”系列  Romantic Novels series 

姐姐  Venus

纸本丙烯  acrylic on paper, 20×13cm, 2016

Q：你有否想过，自己算是职业画家还是业余画家？

A：在我看来画画并没有职业与业余之分，只有画得好与不好。画得不好再职业也没用。不过，我从来都觉得自己画得不够好。

Q：跟你同辈的画家，很多都会遇到一些画画的瓶颈，深感画画的困难。很多人说，画得愈多，愈感到不自由，有很多包袱（像人生的中年危机）。你有这种感觉吗？

A：以我个人的感受和观察，我猜测大家的瓶颈是来自于“生活的动荡”，我所指的“动荡”不单指物理的动荡，精神的动荡也算。

就像陈侗老师之前写我的那篇推送文章里面说到“她自然也有自己的困惑与不顺心”，老师说得很对，我真的有很多不为人知，不可言说的困惑与不顺心。也许，毕业后分别多年的同学们也一样，经历了不同的困难，障碍与挑战。这些都是造成精神动荡的来源，没有一个相对宁静的环境（心灵）是很难很难静下心来创造的，这个我深有体会。

纯洁的爱（十八） Pure Love 18

纸本彩铅  colored pencil on paper, 13×19cm, 2011

Q：你是如何开始一张画的？是从一个概念开始，还是从一个意象开始？

A：应该是从意象开始，还有就是情绪。情绪对我影响很大。

愤怒，悲伤都是我启动绘画的动能。

Q：你的画都没有背景，像一些东西的标本。换句话说，你的画大部份都是“静物”，很少有风景，几乎完全没有人物。我想请你谈谈为什么。

A：我也不知道为什么。画的时候也没想过是“标本”这个想法。

没有人，我觉得可能是因为以前的基础训练（高考前两年训练加本科四年）画过太多人的原因，那段时间里画过很多人的素描和速写。不知道是不是这个原因，后来就潜意识不怎么关注“人”了。

很少有风景，这个可能跟我从小到大观察和看待事物的方法有关，我很少“宏观”的去看东西，都是喜欢从“细节”入手。

纯洁的爱（二十九） Pure Love 29

纸本彩铅  colored pencil on paper, 13×19cm, 2011

Q：你的画中，有很明确的甜美，这种甜美经常与“少女”挂勾（不知道这种挂勾有何深层原因？）。在我们的文化中，一般会认为成熟的人不应该过多喜欢可爱的东西，否则就是“长不大”。但是，从你的工作中，我们是否可能找到一种方法，让我们“大人”（不论男女！）合法地欣赏甜美和可爱？

A：我们的文化是“少年要老成”，其实是很实用的，特别在职场，一个成熟的形象总是更容易得到别人的信任与倚重。

让“大人”合法地欣赏甜美和可爱这一点可以向霓虹国学习一下，将“卡哇伊”进行到底，体现在生活的方方面面，让成年人严肃的思维也喘口气，放松一下。

要说深层原因的话可能是我的青春期比一般人要长，我妈妈经常说我的智商只有十五岁，我以前一直认为她是在讽刺我，直到现在我才发现妈妈说的是实话（应该是她多年对我的观察所得），我在某些事物的喜恶和选择上真的就和一个十五岁的青少年相差不远。

有朋友说我近期的作品中，这种甜美有点褪去了。也许，人不可能永远“甜美”下去。

Q：你觉得“崇高”是什么？

A：我觉得，人有灵魂，就是崇高。如果一个人的思想和生活都在复制别人提供的一个模版，就等于是没有灵魂。 

还有更崇高的就是“牺牲精神”── 有时人应该为了一些事情去牺牲一点东西。我不喜欢太为自己着想的人。

举一个我小时候的例子：在我读小学的时候，有一次放学，我一个同学仔买了一瓶汽水，她喝了几口然后递给我，只有一根吸管，我其实很怕别人的口水，当时内心很挣扎，但我想这可能是友谊的象征，我就喝了。

面包（二） Bread 2

纸本丙烯  acrylic on paper, 20×27cm, 2012

Q：最后，你希望你的画，你的艺术，能带给他人怎样的经验和感受？

A：以前我不怎么思考这个问题。在创作的时候我很“独裁”，只讨自己的欢心，只满足自己的需要。 

但是，从前年开始，我有稍稍思考过类似的问题。

在我学习的过程中，我留意到艺术家大致可以分为两种类型：发泄型和抒发型。

发泄型艺术家的特点是执着或者偏执，怨念很重，对一些曾经不愉快的经历和回忆念念不忘，化悲愤为力量，从而转变为创作的动力。例如：路易丝·布尔乔亚、梵高、草间弥生等。

抒发型艺术家，或者是思想较单纯，情绪趋于稳定，但心思细腻敏感，喜欢“简单”，“重复”，“单一”的主题。例如马蒂斯、莫兰迪、仇英等。

我想，如果说万物都有灵魂，那么，用怨念和执念创造出来的作品，有一天，应该会化作一些小精怪，出来淘气捣乱也有可能。

我以前的创作动力更偏向前者，但是，现在我变了，我更希望像“美少女战士”其中一集里面的女画家，用“爱”来创作，在作品里注入“爱”。

纯洁的爱（一） Pure Love 1

纸本彩铅  colored pencil on paper, 13×19cm, 2011

Feng Hanting: Welcome to the World of Grown-ups

Q: When did you start drawing? How did you start getting interested in it?

A: I started drawing since I was a little kid. Like most of the kids, I almost started to like it since I remember.

One of my earlier memories is when I was living with my grandmother at the age of 5, I have drawn a little girl who wears a straw hat and has her hair braided. A little later, I lived with my aunt. She had lots of photo albums and I liked to copy their covers. Those were all images of kittens and puppies.

Q: How did the art academy influence you?

A: I never believed in the art academy, and I never liked it. However, it provided me with an environment in which I extended my knowledge of art. 

In my first year at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, I attended an inter-departmental class and received fundamental training. In the second year, I chose to join the Forth Studio of the Oil Painting Department. I stayed there for just one year because I wasn't happy about the teaching there. In the third year, I joined the Fifth Studio. That was where I got a systematic introduction of Western contemporary art. 

纯洁的爱（六） Pure Love 6 

纸本彩铅  colored pencil on paper, 13×19cm, 2011

Q: Have you ever thought about this question: are you a professional painter, or are you an amateur painter?

A: The practice of painting cannot be categorized as professional or amateur. It can only be categorized as good or bad. A professional painter who makes bad paintings has no value. As for myself, I never thought my practice is good enough. 

Q: Many painters of your same generation are now encountering a bottleneck period. Making a painting became very difficult. Many painters told me that the more they paint, the more they feel discomfort. They seem to be carrying lots of heavy burdens – it sounds like a kind of mid-life crisis. Do you ever have a similar feeling?

A: I guess the bottleneck that people are experiencing come from "the turmoil of life". Such "turmoil" doesn't only mean an actual event, but also a spiritual state. 

Chen Tong wrote a short text for me which was published in an earlier WeChat post, and he said in it "she naturally has her own confusions and discomforts." He was absolutely right. I do have lots of confusions and discomforts, which I can't and I don't like to speak of. I guess all my classmates would have experienced different obstacles and challenges in life, and those are the reasons for our spiritual turmoil. If an artist can't have a quiet environment and state of mind, it is extremely different to make art. 

火（八） Fire 8

纸本水墨  ink on paper, 19×17cm, 2011

Q: How do you begin a painting? Do you begin with a concept, or do you begin with imagery?

A: I usually begin with an image, and emotions. My emotions lead me. 

Anger and sorrow are the reasons and the energy of my practice.  

Q: Most of your paintings have no background. In a way, they remind me of the drawings of the specimen. In other words, most of your paintings are still life. Rarely are there landscape, and barely any figures. Why is it so?

A: I don't know why. I never thought of "specimen" when I made my paintings.

I tend to not include human figures in my paintings now. It may have something to do with my experience as a student, when I had to make too many sketches of human figures during six years of training -- two years of preparation class for art academy, and four years at the academy. It may be the reason why I am now unconsciously less concerned about human figures. 

I don't paint a lot of landscape either. It is due to my way of observing the world. I seldom look for a big picture. On the contrary, I always like to look at the details. 

纯洁的爱（十二） Pure Love 12

纸本彩铅  colored pencil on paper, 13×19cm, 2011

Q: I think your paintings have a kind of sweetness that we usually relate to young girls (although the rationale of this relationship is hard to explain.) In our culture, the general opinion is that mature people should not like cute things; the grown-ups should not adore cuteness. Therefore, I think your paintings may be offering us a way that grown-ups (men or women!) may appreciate sweetness and cuteness legitimately. Do you think so?

A: In our culture, we are demanded to become mature as quickly as possible. Practically, in a workplace, a mature person will have the advantage of being trusted and looked up to more easily. 

About letting "grown-ups" appreciate sweetness and cuteness legitimately, we should learn from Japan, which the "kawaii" is omnipresent. Adults and their rigid minds should take a break from time to time. 

I think I have a longer adolescent than most people. My mum likes to say that I have the intelligence of a 15-year-old. I used to think that was just a mother-to-daughter sarcasm. Now I realize that she really means it – and it is based on her long-term observation of me. To be honest, in terms of my personal preferences, I am indeed not that different from the 15 years old youngster.

A friend said the sweetness is casting off in my more recent works. Perhaps, a person just can't be a sweetheart forever. 

Q: What do you think the Sublime is?

A: A person who has a soul is sublime. A person doesn't have a soul when all his or her thoughts and life are based on other people's models. 

The Sublime is also about sacrifice. People should learn to scarify for a higher purpose. I don't like people who only think about themselves. 

I think of an example: one day when I was in primary school, a classmate of mine bought a bottle of soft drink and wanted to share with me. There was only one straw and I really don't like sharing a straw with other people. I surely had my struggle, but in the end, I used the straw after all, because I believed that there was a symbolic meaning to our friendship. 

“纯爱小说”系列  Romantic Novels series 

朱迪  Jody

布面丙烯，acrylic on canvas, 25×35cm, 2016

Q: The last question. How do you want people to experience your art?

A: I did not think much about this question before. I want to "dictate" my own work. My purpose is to make myself happy. I only want to satisfy myself. 

However, since two years ago, I have been kind of thinking about this question.

Through learning about art, I found that artists can roughly be categorized into two types: the venting type, and the sentimental type. 

The venting type artists are obsessed with their own thoughts and emotions. They have strong negative energy because they can't let go of a certain unpleasant experience or memory. Their anger and sorrow became their power to create. These artists include Louise Bourgeois, Vincent van Gogh, Kusama Yayoi, and many others. 

The sentimental artists are calm. They have simple thoughts and sensitive minds. They prefer subjects that are simple, repetitive, and singular. They include Henri Matisse, Giorgio Morand, Qiu Ying...

If we believe that all things have souls, like how folklores of Japan describe, then it won't surprise us if the artworks that were created with an obsessive and vengeful spirit would one day come into life and make a mess of this world. 

I was more the former type, but now I've changed. I hope to be like the female painter who appears in one of the episodes of Sailor Moon – she creates art with Love, and her artworks are filled with Love.

冯翰婷个展“珍珠”将于8月10号开幕，敬请期待。

Feng Hanting solo exhibition "Pearl" will open at August 10.

“纯爱小说”系列  Romantic Novels series 

甜  Sweet

布面丙烯  acrylic on canvas, 25×35cm, 2016