真实度媲美油画！中国新写实剪纸艺术家记录50年乡土变迁 | New Realistic Paper-Cuttings

北京昌平有一家剪纸艺术馆。但这里收藏的剪纸，色彩层层叠叠，栩栩如生，观者无不称奇。有媒体称，这些是“用纸剪出来的油画”。

Located in Beijing's Changping District is a gallery of paper-cutting artworks. Its collections are quite unconventional. These layered works are so life-like with rich colors that they are regarded as "oil paintings cut out from paper."

《故乡之路》(The Path to Hometown)

这些剪纸的作者是李闽，工艺美术专业出身的艺术家。从2003年起，他从传统非物质文化遗产“蔚县剪纸”中汲取营养，开始创作“中国新写实多层剪纸”。

The artist is Li Min, who specializes in industrial arts. Inspired by the intangible cultural heritage of "Yuxian County paper-cutting" in 2003, he created the "neo-realistic Chinese-style multi-layer paper-cutting."

“最早我是研究民间艺术的。民间的剪纸，一般都追求喜庆和美满，所以都用红色的纸，而且主要追求那种中国画式的线条和装饰性。”李闽说。

"I used to study folk art. The traditional paper-cutting bears people's wishes for joy and happiness. That's why they use red paper and focus on the decorative outlines like in the Chinese ink and wash paintings," says Li. 

但是，李闽不满足于这种形式。“我当时受到‘照相写实主义’的很大影响，所以很想把西方素描对光影的表现融入传统的剪纸艺术当中。”极度写实和局部强化人身上的特征，成为了李闽的追求之一。

Having a second thought, Li wants to jump out of the box. "I was deeply influenced by photorealism and wanted to infuse the western sketches into Chinese paper-cutting, focusing more on the light and shadow." Thus he began to pursue the extreme realism that emphasizes features of the figures.

《大海之歌》(Song of the Sea)

最开始，李闽的剪纸还只有单层，只是在造型上趋于写实。但经过十几年的探索，这一工艺已变得十分复杂，一幅剪纸可以多达16至18层，且每一层都用一张完整的纸雕刻而成。每一层色彩的微妙不同，共同组成了最终作品中层次分明的油画色彩效果。

At first, Li worked on the realistic patterns with a single layer. After a dozen years' exploration, the techniques became very complicated. A piece of work consists of 16 to 18 layers of paper, with each layer carved on a single piece of paper. The subtle color differences between every layer work together to show the refined, oil-painting-like color effect.

因为李闽对东西方艺术的完美结合，2009年，他还应邀为中国外交部制作美国总统奥巴马的剪纸肖像。

Due to his effort in merging eastern and western arts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked Li to make a paper-cut portrait for U.S. President Barack Obama before his state visit to China in 2009.

但李闽自己最为青睐的，还是乡土题材。他生活了50多年的蔚县，成为他孜孜不倦表现的主题。

Local themes are always Li's favorites. Living in Yuxian County, northern Hebei Province for more than 50 years, he takes everything in the region as the themes for his art works.

“我觉得，一方水土养一方人，我想通过自己的剪纸，唤起广大民众心目中的家和故乡的形象。”李闽说。半个世纪间，他目睹了蔚县的沧桑巨变，看着居民们一脚从农耕文化踏入现代世界。但他始终关注的，是农村生活中的那种荒凉和沧桑。石墙，瓦砾，农田，都是他反复表现的景象。有时候，画面又会出现极其精致的女性形象。

"I think people are deeply connected with their homeland. I want to remind people of their hometown through my works," says Li. In 50 years, he witnessed the significant change in the county, where the locals stepped into the modern world from their agricultural tradition. He is always interested in the vastness and desolation of the rural scenery. Stone walls, rubble and crop fields are frequently seen in his works. Sometimes, he puts exquisite female figures among them. 

“我的审美追求其实还是很东方的，”他解释说，“我就是想将那种苦涩和精致，沧桑和美好用唯美的方式组合在一起。”

"My aesthetics is quite oriental style," Li explains. "I would like to merge the bitterness and the delicacy, the vicissitude and the beauty together in an artistic way."

《金秋》（The Golden Autumn）

2014年8月，首都博物馆展出了李闽和工作室中的民间艺术家团队完成的45件作品，囊括了红色经典、故乡记忆和人物风景三大主题。有老人在看展时潸然泪下，“因为他看着我的作品，真的想到了自己记忆中的故乡。”李闽说。

An exhibition was held at Beijing's Capital Museum in August, 2014 for Li and the folk artists of his studio. Their 45 pieces of work covered three major themes, namely "Red Classics," "Hometown Memory" and "People & Scenery." An old man burst into tears staring at his works, "They may have truly reminded him of his beloved hometown in the memory," says Li. 

李闽作品的成功，也引起了更多人对剪纸艺术的关注。有同行对他感慨：“你的努力让中国剪纸人吃得更好一点了。”

The success of Li brought more attention to paper-cutting as an art form. "Your effort has improved the conditions of the paper-cutting artists in China," said one of his peers.

现在，他致力于保护和发扬剪纸这一宝贵的民间艺术。“只有懂传统才能反传统。对非遗的抢救，不就是想要传承成一个古老的技艺么？”

Li is devoted to protecting and promoting paper-cutting as a priceless folk art. "You can only oppose the tradition when you totally understand it. Saving an intangible heritage is equivalent to passing on the ancient craftsmanship."

2015年，李闽剪纸艺术馆落户昌平。“其实我也没有做什么特别的事情，但是得到了社会各界这么多的支持，我很感激。”李闽说，“希望这个艺术馆能起到抛砖引玉的作用，让大家更关心民间剪纸艺人，关注剪纸艺术的发展。”

Li Min's paper-cutting gallery was established in Beijing's Changping District in 2015. "I didn't do anything extraordinary," says Li. "Yet people from different fields gave me their full support. I feel grateful. I hope the gallery can inspire more people to care about the culture and the development of the paper-cutting art."

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