路易斯的艺术评论 Louis's Art Critiques

路易斯撰写的一系列期刊，是他为画家夏洛蒂的作品专门创作的艺术评论。 A series of journals written by Louis that are art critiques of the artist Sharlotte's works.

《银河璀璨之夜》：梦与自由之始 Night of the Majestic Cosmos: The Dawn of Dreams & Freedom

01.《银河璀璨之夜》：梦与自由之始

01. Night of the Majestic Cosmos: The Dawn of Dreams & Freedom

作者：路易斯·赖斯

Author: Louis Rice

作为本系列评论的开篇之章，笔者选择的作品为：《银河璀璨之夜》。

As the opening chapter in this series of criticisms, the work I have selected is Night of the Majestic Cosmos.

这是著名画家夏洛蒂早期代表作品，亦为本系列随笔标题的由来。

This is an iconic work from the famous painter Sharlotte's early life, and is also where the title of this series of notes takes its name.

正如画家早期其它作品那般，由于尚未展现出其后来梦幻迷离的独特风格，本幅画作时至今日依旧未能获得应有的评价与赞许。对此本人谨表沉痛惋惜。

Just like their other early works, this painting has yet to receive the acclaim and praise it deserves to this day because it has not yet showcased the artist's unique dreamy kaleidoscopic style. I wish to express my deepest regret for this.

首先我们来看看画作本身：在广袤璀璨的星空之下，象征人类文明与秩序的黑色灯塔是如此单薄渺小——好似一叶扁舟迷失于无尽汪洋，只需一阵风暴、一排巨浪，便能够彻底抹去它存在过的全部痕迹。

Let us first consider the painting itself: Beneath a vast and brilliant starry sky, a black lighthouse symbolizing human civilization and order looks frail and insignificant — like a small boat drifting in a boundless ocean. All it would take is a single storm or a lone tidal wave to completely wipe any trace of its existence from the face of the earth.

而构成这幅图景的，则是极尽夸张的、涡旋一般永恒流动着的线条。这些线条如同吞噬万物的汹涌浪潮，旋转着、躁动着、动荡着，构成一切又解构一切。

And the composition of this image uses exaggerated lines that are perpetually flowing like a spiral. These lines devour everything like frothing waves, spinning, agitating, and upheaving, constructing everything while deconstructing everything.

单就技法而言，画家此时笔触仍稍显青涩、色彩也略嫌稚嫩；而其画风相比于后期的如梦似幻也明显过于「保守写实」。然而从这幅画作之中，我们已经不难窥见画家对于「人」与「世界」的反思。

As for technique, the artist's brushwork at this time was still a little underdeveloped, with a still immature palette. And compared to the dreamy style of later works, it is obviously too "conservative and photo-realistic." However, from this painting, we can easily glimpse into the artist's reflections on "people" and "the world."

「当我们在仰望星空时，我们在仰望什么？」

"When we look up to the stars, what are we looking at?"

每每抬首凝望深邃浩渺的宇宙，我们总难免直面自己的渺小。人类——或者更进一步而言，所有智慧生命的文明结晶——对于神秘莫测的伟大自然而言，终究不过如脆弱烛焰，稍纵即逝。

Every time we look up and gaze out at the vast and inscrutable universe, we are inevitably faced with our own insignificance. Humans — or rather, all civilizations of intelligent life — are nothing more than a fleeting and fragile candle flame before the unfathomable and mysterious might of nature.

然而在这幅画作中，无论是不朽的星空、无垠的宇宙，还是象征人类文明的微眇灯塔、与灯塔火光所照亮的那一缕夜色，世间万象究其根本，不过是虚数法则随意涂抹的扭曲线条。

However, in this painting, all phenomena in the world — be it the eternal night sky, the boundless universe, the insignificant lighthouse symbolizing humanity, or the shaft of light beamed out from that lighthouse — are fundamentally just twisted lines randomly doodled by Imaginary Law.

我们与天地同源，又与尘埃无异。世间万象，究根结底，本无意义。

We come from the stars, and are no different to space dust. Everything in this world is ultimately meaningless.

那么在这冰冷空洞的基调之下，画家又给了我们怎样的答案呢？

So, in this cold and empty tone, what answer has our painter given us?

请看那点缀着神秘紫罗兰色调的深蓝夜空中，群星正散发着柔和的黄白光芒。这些光芒与灯塔的火焰相互映衬调和，于是我们感受到时光流逝中躁动的喜悦、感受到无尽长夜中燃起的温情。

Take a look at the mysterious violet tones dotted into the indigo night sky. The constellations are giving off these gentle pale yellow lights. These lights contrast and harmonize with the flame in the lighthouse, so we feel the restless joy of time passing, but also warmth ignited in this cold long night.

有了这些色彩，那些杂乱不安的线条便而不再因忠实自然而显得冷漠无情。它们依旧流淌着，回环往复，永不停驻，却因沾染上人类灵魂的温度而散发出柔和的光晕，为沉寂空茫的夜空带来一丝生机。

Thanks to these colors, those messy and restless lines no longer look cold and ruthless because they are faithful to nature. They still flow — looping back and forth, never stopping — but they emanate a gentle halo due to having been stained by the warmth of human souls, bringing a touch of life to the vast and empty night sky.

即便现实不过一场幻梦， 即便宇宙并非为人而造，我们依旧需要追求属于自己的那片天空——无论在画里，还是在梦中。

Even if reality is nothing more than a dream... Even if the universe was not created for humanity... We still need to pursue the sky that belongs exclusively to ourselves — be it in a painting, or in our dreams.

《海岸线》：蜕变与新生 Coastline: Metamorphosis & Rebirth

03.《海岸线》：蜕变与新生

03. Coastline: Metamorphosis & Rebirth

作者：路易斯·赖斯

Author: Louis Rice

本期我们来简单评论一下画家的成名之作：《海岸线》。

In this edition, we will briefly critique the painter's breakout masterpiece: Coastline.

作为引领画家进入大众视野的重要信使，在这幅画中，画家的笔触技法更为成熟，其独特梦幻的个人风格也已基本成型。对于本作的解读，早有无数评论家和学者珠玉在前。其中诸多名篇佳作已为众人所耳熟能详，故不再于此赘述。而笔者此次依旧沿袭以往的思路：从作品出发，对作者本身进行剖析。

As an important messenger leading the painter into the public eye, the brushstroke techniques in this painting are more mature, and the painter's unique dreamy style has basically taken shape. Numerous interpretations of this piece have been offered up by art critics and academics. Those famed works are familiar to all, so I won't repeat them here. Rather, this author shall continue on the same train of thought as before: An analysis of the artist starting with the work.

相信熟悉笔者的老朋友们已经对笔者的分析方式有所了解，但受画家本身热度的影响，近期本人又因此随笔系列获得了一些关注。为此，在本篇开头，笔者将首先展示自己的思考逻辑，与新晋的读者稍加分享。

I trust that old friends already familiar with me also understand my methods of analysis, but due to the artist's popularity, these essays have recently attracted some attention and following. Because of this, I will share with new readers an outline of my line of thinking at the start of each chapter.

学界普遍认为：作品不可与作者等同。此等观念经过无数历史与文化的验证，似乎早已成为颠扑不破的真理。但笔者以为，所谓作品，究根结底不过是创作者潜意识碎片拼接的产物——它们就如梦与幻觉那般，往往会于细枝末节之间，映射出创作者本人也未曾意识到的、源于其心底最深处的欲望。

There is a general consensus in academic circles that artworks cannot be equated with their creators. This is a concept verified by countless cultures over the centuries and seems to be an immutable truth. But this author believes that so-called works are ultimately no more than the product of splicing fragments from the creator's subconscious mind — just like dreams and hallucinations which often reflect in detail the deepest desires of the heart, which even the creator remains unaware.

而越是了解作者本身，了解他们的成长环境、人生经历，这个反推的过程便越是精准。于是在此基础之上，我们且对前两期的选材稍加回顾：在《银河璀璨之夜》中，我们不难看出画家对艺术与美的热爱、对自由的强烈渴望与对人类的反思与关怀；

And the more you understand the creator themselves — the environment in which they grew up and their life experiences — the more accurate this process of inference will be. Therefore, on this basis, we will briefly review the topic of the first two notes: In Night of the Majestic Cosmos, we can clearly see the artist's love for art and beauty, the strong desire for freedom, and their reflection and love for humanity.

而在第二幅《罗宾之死》中，画家则通过刻画一场形式化严重的、庄重却潦草的葬礼，来倾诉对乏味现实生活的厌倦与不满。

And in the second painting, the Death of Robin, the artist instead portrays a severely formulaic and solemn yet disheveled funeral to express their weariness and displeasure at the tediousness of boring reality.

在有了以上认知的前提下，我们再将目光转向这幅著名的《海岸线》——整幅画的背景由沙滩、海洋与天空三部分构成，各自的边界通过黄金分割比例自左上至右下斜切呼应；而从左下至右上，也就是自沙滩至天空之间，则由四种鲜明意象所构成的弧度所串起：黑色的蛇蜕、白色的飞鸟、金黄的云霞与赤红的太阳。

Bearing this premise in mind, we may then turn our focus to this famous Coastline. The background of the entire painting is composed of a triad of beach, ocean, and sky. Their borders echo each other diagonally across the canvas between top-left and bottom-right in the shape of the golden ratio. At the same time, from the beach in the bottom-left to the sky in the top-right, spans an arc comprising four clear themes strung together: A molted black snake skin, a white soaring bird, a golden cloud, and a crimson sun.

根据笔者的解读，沙滩、海洋与天空分别代表：现实的物质世界、人们的精神世界、艺术与美本身；而蛇蜕、飞鸟、云霞与太阳则代表着画家的个人理想：沉重的现实生活已经如同老旧蛇蜕那样被抛弃，而获得新生的画家则如同脱离了大地束缚的飞鸟一般，正朝象征自由与灵性的灿烂云霞奔赴而去；至于那高高悬在天顶的太阳，则是真善美的具象与化身，是画家永恒追逐的目标与朝向。

Based on this author's interpretation, the beach, ocean, and sky respectively represent the material world, the mental world, and aesthetics itself. While the molted snake skin, the soaring bird, cloud, and sun represent the inner ideals of the artist. Burdens of life lie abandoned like a molted old snake skin, while the artist reborn is like a bird freed from the shackles of earth, rushing toward those brilliant clouds symbolizing freedom and spirituality. And the sun, high in its zenith, is the manifestation and embodiment of truth, goodness, and beauty — the goal and desire which the artist eternally longs for.

画家对于色彩和线条取用也别具匠心，画中的沙滩笔触凝重、黯淡灰败，海洋起伏绵延、浓墨重彩，天空则线条轻盈、透亮明快；而四种意象的颜色为黑、白、黄、红，则分别对应炼金术中黑化、白化、黄化与赤化的四个过程，在三重维度上象征着画家本身的蜕变与新生。

The artist also makes creative use of color and line. The brushwork for the beach in the painting is solemn and forlorn, while the undulating ocean uses thick and heavy brushes, and the sky uses graceful and light lines. The colors of the four themes are black, white, yellow, and red which correspond to the nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, and rubedo processes in alchemy. Thus, three dimensions are used to symbolize the metamorphosis and rebirth of the artist.

众所周知，《海岸线》是画家人生的巨大转折点。这个浓墨重彩的点，或许可以理解为画家倾其所有只身来到匹诺康尼、可以理解为其仅凭一幅作品便成为一匹脱颖而出的黑马，然而对于笔者而言，在那之前——这个点——早已尽在画作本身之中。

Everyone knows that Coastline was a huge turning point in the artist's life. This thick and heavy work could perhaps be understood as the painter putting everything on the line in coming to Penacony, or it could be understood as the painter being a precocious dark horse that rose up through a single masterpiece. However, in this author's estimation, this point had already been revealed in the artist's work itself — even before this painting was made.

《人间乐土》：当梦境俯瞰现实 Paradise on Earth: When Dreamscape Overlooks Reality

04.《人间乐土》：当梦境俯瞰现实

04. Paradise on Earth: When Dreamscape Overlooks Reality

作者：路易斯·赖斯

Author: Louis Rice

本期鉴赏的是画家的代表作：《人间乐土》。这幅画作的问世，代表着画家风格的彻底成熟，也令其成为纯粹还原主义画派中，无人能出其右的代表性人物。

In this issue, we are appreciating the artist's signature work: Paradise on Earth. This painting represents the complete maturity of the artist's style, establishing them as the unparalleled icon of the pure reductionist school of art.

然而在正式对这幅作品进行探讨之前，请先允许笔者与诸位分享一个喜讯——在阅读过上期评论之后，画家竟主动回复了笔者的留言，并对本人此前的一系列分析表示了欣赏与认同！

However, before formally discussing this work, please allow me to share a piece of good news: After reading the previous issue, the artist actually replied to my comments to express appreciation and endorsement for my series of analyses!

截止到笔者着手本文之际，我们已有数封书信往来。画家其人言辞质朴，但字里行间无不体现出恬静的优雅与包容的气度。与画家就某些理念进行简单的交流后，笔者对其越发钦佩仰慕，遂决定在完成本期文章之后，即刻动身前往匹诺康尼，一睹这位伟大画家的惊世之姿。

At the time of writing this issue, we have exchanged letters several times. The artist's words are simple, yet reflect a peaceful elegance and tolerance between the lines. After a simple exchange of ideas with the artist, I have grown to admire them even more. So, I have decided forthwith to pick myself up and take leave for Penacony as soon as this issue has been penned, such that I might witness the stunning appearance of this great artist.

那么撇开闲话，让我们将目光重新转回这幅旷世佳作之上。每每凝视这幅作品，我总会不知不觉被引入画家的精神世界，而这过程无疑美妙非常：

Let us put aside such idle talk and turn our attention back to this incomparable masterpiece. Every time I gaze at this work, I always find myself subconsciously slipping into the painter's mental world, and it is undoubtedly an extraordinarily wonderful process:

当这幅画骤然映入眼帘时，人们只能窥见画面中一团团雾气般轻盈缥缈的光晕。继而这些光晕涌动变化，演变成为一张由红宝石与珍珠缀成的嘴、一只由黄金雕刻的眼与眼中流淌下的、绚丽多彩的水晶泪滴。那些泪滴从眼角出发，列队前行，组成线条、组成涡旋——同那眼、那嘴一共——组成虚空中扭曲怪诞的人形。

When first beholding this painting, the viewer can only glimpse a soft, misty halation like clouds of mist. These halos then shift and change, evolving into a mouth made of rubies and pearls, an eye carved from gold, and gorgeous crystal tears flowing from the eye. Starting at the corners of the eye, those teardrops march in formation to form contours and vortices — together with the eyes and the mouth — all creating a twisted, bizarre human shape out of the void.

但继而在这片迷离又炫目的光晕之中，这些凝聚的意象又轰然破碎。于是我们看到黄金黯然、宝石淌血，听闻珍珠哀鸣、水晶迸裂…这些娇贵的造物如今却饱含着撕裂般的痛苦，仿佛正处于一场充满恐惧阴影的、无法醒来的残酷噩梦之中。而我们则被这古怪的幻梦残片所惊醒，蓦然重新坠入现实。

But then, amid this fuzzy yet dazzling halo, these condensed images shatter with a bang. And so we see the gold dim and the gemstones bleed, and we hear the pearl wail and the crystals crack... These delicate creations are now filled with searing pain, as though trapped within a cruel nightmare of shadowy terror from which they can never awaken. Meanwhile, we are startled awake by these uncanny dream fragments, falling headfirst back into reality.

至此，画家为我们展示了一个荒诞又真实的噩梦。她为那些空泛的概念与真切的欲望——藉由轻薄绚丽的色彩——赋予了肉眼可见的形体，继而又将他们无情地敲碎：

Here, the artist has shown us an abstract yet very real nightmare. By using a light and splendid palette, she gives those vague concepts and real desires a tangible shape — before ruthlessly smashing them to pieces:

谁能想到那代表灵性的飘忽光晕竟会沉淀为奢华的俗物？那市侩泥泞筑就的贪婪大口啃噬着原本的静谧，珠光宝气却又可怖狰狞；那本应清澈的眼瞳也因庸俗的侵染而堕落为黄金，就连淌出的泪水也难以幸免，干涸凝固为令人目眩的水晶。

Who would have thought that a fleeting halo symbolizing creativity would sink into vulgar luxury? The greedy mouth built by banality gnaws at the primal serenity, bedecked with glittering jewels yet horrifying and ferocious. Those once-clear eyes corrupt into gold by vulgar contamination, and even the flowing tears are unavoidably dried and congealed into dazzling crystals.

这瘟疫一般的浮华之风究竟源于何处呢？繁荣兴盛的匹诺康尼、永恒欢乐的匹诺康尼，你为人们带来梦想与欢歌，却又暗中滋生一切罪恶。声色犬马、财气酒色，填满了人们的肉体，却又抽干了他们的灵魂。那么迄今为止，究竟有多少人溺死在那光怪陆离的幻梦之中，成为一具具快乐且肿胀的浮尸呢？

Where, then, does this plague of ostentation come from? Thriving Penacony, rapturous Penacony — You bring humans dreams and entertainment, yet breed all sin under your cover. Song, dance, wine, and gambles fill up people's bodies and simultaneously drain their souls. So, then, how many have drowned so far in that mirage and intangible dream, only to become a joyous and bloated cadaver?

对于这场看不见的精神浩劫，画家敏锐地将其尽收眼底，并进行了深刻的反思——她将它们一一敲碎了：放弃了透视、摒弃了逻辑、消解了边界，画家用明亮的、轻薄的色块，提炼再现而后狠狠敲醒了这纸醉金迷的噩梦。

As for this invisible spiritual disaster, the artist keenly takes in the entire scene at once and performs deep reflections. She smashes them one-by-one — Giving up perspective, abandoning logic, dissolving boundaries — the artist uses a bright, light color palette to refine, recreate, and brutally shatter this nightmare of vain luxury.

这是一种破坏与重塑的激烈对抗，静谧之中匿藏狂妄，而画家在其中完成了自己的朝圣之旅——一种纯净灵魂的归乡之旅。

This is a fierce duel between destruction and re-creation with arrogance hidden among the serenity. The artist uses it to complete her own pilgrimage — a journey home for the pure of soul.

而当我们透过这些疯狂的表象，去窥视画家那细腻却狂放、冷峻又热烈的灵魂时，我们的灵魂也将如乍闻惊雷般震颤。

And when we peer through these crazed appearances into the soul of the artist — one that's delicate yet wild, aloof yet scorching — then our souls, too, shall quiver akin to hearing the first bolt in a thunderstorm.

笔者一直十分好奇，这样一位惊世天才究竟是被何种人生经历所捏塑的？而现在，本人将亲自前往这位伟大画家的所栖之处，寻找答案——自此，我也将踏上自己的朝圣之旅。

The author remains curious: What kind of life experiences formed such astonishing genius? And now, I will personally visit the residence of this great artist to seek out an answer. From here on out, I, too, will be embarking on a pilgrimage of my own.