“艺术来源于生活，而高于生活”(Art sare come from life and higher than life)，对此，俄国文艺理论家车尔尼雪夫斯基有较早较多较完整的论述，车氏这句话即使放在我们当代艺术的学术体系之中，也依然有着极为重要的现实意义。

　　艺术与生活的关系融洽、亲密，人在自然界中的一切活动，都是生活;人在自然界的一切活动中，对自然现象进行的体验、感悟、提炼、加工，就是艺术。生活中充满艺术，但生活却不全是艺术。艺术来源于生活而高于生活，艺术是生活的提炼、加工和再创造。一方面，艺术家从生活中汲取有价值的、有意义的内容进行艺术创造，反过来充实生活，给生活以新的美的享受;另方面，生活为艺术提供了存在、生长的肥沃土壤，是艺术创造必然的基础和营养。艺术精神无论怎样天马行空、创意无穷，它始终植根于大地之上、植根于艺术家对生命深层次的体悟上，生活，也只有生活，才是“人诗意栖居”(海德格尔语)的根本。

　　在此前提下议论唐寅的绘画，我们可以从容展开对生活与艺术二者之间的微妙关系的探讨，因为唐寅的艺术创作风格恰好印证了此二者不可或缺的相互依存、相互促进，其作品《黄河壶口瀑布》、《紫玉兰》、《海船》、《礁石》、《白玉兰》、《鸡冠花》无一不说明唐寅对鲜活的生活细节所作的细腻观察与率性的感悟。正因为唐寅执着于了解生活、认识生活、溶入生活，又能够对生活素材进行筛选、分离、冶炼、提纯，因而其作品具备了净化心灵、陶冶情操之美的素质。

　　罗丹说过：“生活并不缺少美，只是缺少发现美的眼睛”。唐寅正是基于对艺术、对生活的挚爱，以他独到的感悟，以他出色的色彩感觉形成了自己的绘画语言，长期对生活色彩的提炼使唐寅的绘画具备了一种特殊的禀赋：不极端，不夸张，带有柔和的中间过渡，既能将客观的景物的固有色彩发挥得淋漓尽致，又能够把主观的感觉融入其中。这种特殊的色彩感觉似乎与德国摄影镜头讲究中间细节的细腻描写有着直接的师承渊源，热爱摄影的唐寅显然熟知个中三味。

　　真正的艺术是形而上的，只是机械地忠实于对客观自然的描摹，将永远停留在“止于技”的层面。令人欣慰的是唐寅没有在以敏锐的色觉感知世界的同时迷失自我，没有因为对色彩的迷恋而放弃对艺术更高层次的追求。在我观看过的唐寅画作中，已经消解了那种纯粹为客观而客观的迹象，敏锐的色彩感觉虽然是唐寅最为得心应手的一种技巧，但随着他对自己创作的逐步深入，他可能已经觉察到了这一点，因此在绘画创作中更多开始了以内心为始点的探索，并已经付之于行动，如他的《礁石》系列创作。

　　艺术创造的过程实际上即是对生活的浓缩与提炼，有时会把一些生活中的东西做的很纯粹、很极致。唐寅绘画的整体面貌是美的，纯粹的，并且明显带有创作者的个人审美倾向，因此在展现创作者的自我的价值上，亦体现出了唐寅努力达致的精神追求。

　　宋代禅宗大师青原行思提出参禅的三重境界：“参禅之初，看山是山，看水是水;禅有悟时，看山不是山，看水不是水;禅中彻悟，看山仍然是山，看水仍然是水。”对唐寅，我认为也是“生活-艺术-生活”三个阶段、三重境界的反复修炼。艺术如此，人生也如此。

左正尧 广州美术学院教授、广州美术学院大学城美术馆馆长

　　Art comes from life but higher than life, expressed by Chernyshevsky, aRussian literature and art theorist who had more detailed and completeaccount of this viewpoint. His words still has great realistic significance evenput in contemporary arts academic system.

　　Art and life are closely and harmoniously related to each other. All humaninvolvedactivities in nature are part of life; all experiences, perception,abstraction and processing of natural phenomena are art. Life is full of artbut not equivalent to art. Art comes from life but higher than life. Art is theabstraction, processing and reproduction of life. On one hand, artists absorbvaluable and significant subjects from life for their artistic creation which inturn enriches life with a new feast of beauty; on the other hand, life providesart with fertile soil for its existence and growth which is the necessarybasis and nutrients for artistic creation. No matter how unconstrained andimaginative , artistic spirit is permanently rooted to life and to artists’profound understanding of life. Life is no other than the basis on which “manpoetically dwells” (Heidegger).

　　Discussing Tang Yin’s paintings on the above basis we can easily probe intothe delicate relationship between life and art, because Tang Yin’s artistic stylejust proves the mutual dependence and enhancement necessary for both ofthem. His works like Hukou Waterfall of Yellow River, Purple Yulan, SeaBoat, Reef, Magnolia, and Cockscomb all indicate his exquisite observationand direct perception over vivid details of life. It is due to his persistent effortin studying and blending in life as well as his capacity to select, separate,process and purify the materials of life that his works are qualified for heartpurification and taste cultivation.

　　Rodin once said, “It is not a lack of beauty in life. It is our lack of eye todiscover.” Just based on his love of art and life, his unique perception and hisacute color sense has Tang Yin formed his own painting language. His pursuitof refining the color of life has given a special quality to his paintings: notradical, not exaggerating, with a soft transition which can fully display thecolors of objective scenery and meanwhile blend in subjective perception.Such a special color sense seems to be inherited directly from the exquisitedepiction of intermediate details emphasized by German photography. As ashutterbug Tang Yin obviously has his own understanding of this technique.Real art is metaphysical, that is, to mechanically and faithfully copy theobjective nature will permanently remain at the level of “techniques”. To ourdelight, Tang Yin does not lose himself while perceiving the world with hisacute color sense. Neither does he give up his pursuit of higher level of art tothe love of color. In Tang Yin’s works, there is no sign of pure objectivity toobjects. Acute color sense is Tang Yin’s most expert technique, however as hedevelops his creation he might have noticed this. That is why he has startedan exploration beginning from the innermost being, which he has put intopractice and can be seen in his works like Reef.

　　The process of artistic creation is actually the concentration and abstractionof life in which things in life are occasionally purified and perfected. Viewedfrom the whole, Tang Yin’s paintings are beautiful and pure with clearindividual aesthetic preference; therefore they display his own self-value anddevoted spiritual pursuit.

　　Qing Yuan Xing Si, a Buddhist master in Song Dynasty, had proposed threelevels for understanding Buddhism: in one’s eyes, with little understanding ofBuddhism, mountain is mountain, water is water; with a bit of understanding,mountain is not mountain, water is not water; at the time with a fullunderstanding, mountain is still mountain, water is still water. I believe forTang Yin both art and life are also the repeated three-level practice of “life –art –life”.

Zuo Zheng Yao

Professor of The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts