程乃珊

　　作家

　　岁月不同时光。“时光”只是单一的计量词，“岁月”却是人与时光对话的结晶。时光流逝是一种自然的物理现象，流逝的岁月，是化学的，因为随岁月流逝的不仅是青春年华，还有我们曾经十分熟谙的生活场景：比如弄堂口彻夜亮着晕黄柔光的烟纸店里叫得出我们乳名的那对老夫妇、夏日浴后带着一身药水肥皂的清香，额头搽着一抹雪白的痱子粉与小朋友一起玩造房子的童年、还有，穿着可体旗袍，将麻纱绢头在手里握成一束花样的，轻曳着檀香扇的我们的妈妈和祖母……

　　历史，是无法挽回也不可能重复，但是，可以印记。

　　笔者不懂画，但觉得陈逸鸣笔下的民国女人很耐看，她们有如电影分镜般诗化地定格，尽然画家故意抹去可以代表那个逝去岁月的所有符号，但不用借助任何参照物，你都能强烈感受到，这就是那已逝去的岁月——不是因为她们的服饰，如今，连餐厅的带位小姐都会穿上一套旗袍，而是那浓郁的、弥漫着整个画面的意境。她们的眼神都不是现代的，而是湮远超然的，透着几丝淡淡的冷漠，那是一种隔世的漠然，尽然冷漠，余韵却是浓重的，绵长的。或者这不应称“冷漠”，而是种经过琢磨、筛选的思考距离，是画家本身的观视世界的独特角度。这与画家的性格颇有异曲同工之处——熟悉逸鸣的朋友都觉得，逸鸣有点“冷面消稽”的味道。所谓冷面滑稽，就是以冷静的不露声色的口吻，描述无奇不有的荒诞世俗。我们常说“文如其人”，也可以“画如其人”。

　　眼下“老上海热”仍十分旺火，成为众多艺术创作争相取材的热点，“老上海”不断被美幻着，过度地被奢华、被艳丽……老上海女人作为一个特定的符号，也不断被过度修饰着包装着，恰如而今处处可见到的新建的所谓老街!

　　逸鸣笔下的上海女人——虽然画家并未刻意标明她们的地域身份，但入眼就是那样上海，全然没有现代人想象的那样珠光宝气、妖娆时尚，然她们的婉约和娴静，恰恰是现代女性所缺乏的。画家在这里表达的不是单一的平面的视觉感，而是一份深沉的对城市人文的叩问!让观画者不禁怦然心动：这就是流逝的岁月啊!

　　上海女人，秀雅内敛，低调却执著，如丝一样的柔又如丝一样的韧，不论在民族存亡的硝烟中还是黑白颠倒的乱世，不离不舍，默默织出几代载满繁花盛况的彩虹。上海女人，不同传统的师母夫人，她们既传承了旧式女子懿贤良淑的余韵，又受西方人文教育的熏陶，是现代版的《浮生六记》中的芸娘，是沉寂了五千年的中华女界吹起的一支银亮的长笛，为摩登上海抹上一道鲜亮的色彩。遗憾的是，在日益加速的生活节奏和经济大潮冲击下，上海女人曾经放逸得如涓涓清泉的Solo，已成绝响。

　　上海女人是夹在上海史里的一叶沁着檀香的薄薄的书签，一个不留神就悄悄地滑落在时间长廊的那一头，幸好，被一位有心的画家轻轻地捡拾回来，艺术的笔触令她们在岁月的流水中，由过客成为归人。

　　Elapsed Years

　　Cheng Naishan

　　Writer

　　Years differ from time. Time is a single measure word while years serve as the product of people’s dialogue with time. The passage of time is a natural physical phenomenon, yet the elapsed years are characterized by chemical evolvement featuring the elapse of youth as well as once familiar life scene, reminding us of those old couple sitting in the grocery with dim light on at the mouth of lane, who were able to recall our infant name, the delicate fragrance of lotion soap after having a shower in summer, the childhood when children, with white bath powder on forehead, gathered to play house-building game, besides, our mothers and grandmothers who were dressed in exquisite cheongsam, gracefully swaying sandalwood fan with flax handkerchief in hand.

　　History can never be recovered or repeated, however, it can be imprinted.

　　I am not an expert in painting, however, in Chen Yi Ming’s artwork, I assume the female characters of the era of the Republic of China highly stand appreciation, who are poetically freeze-framed as if in the form of utilizing storyboard. Though the artist intentionally erases all the symbols standing for the elapsed years, you can sense without any reference that it does represent the elapsed years despite their dresses even if the hostess in a restaurant is dressed in a cheongsam in the modern time, the artwork demonstrates a flourishing sense as well as artistic conception. Their expressions convey a sense of transcendence rather than modernity, illustrating some indifference, indifference of the previous generation. Despite such apathy,its lingering charm still remains dense and lengthy. Perhaps it should not be referred to as ‘indifference’ but a polished as well as selected thinking distance, the unique perspective by which the painter observes the world, which fantastically conforms to the personality of the artist, especially those who are familiar with Yi Ming know that he has a sense of ‘Deadpan Comedy’ by means of which he portrays this ever-changing world. We usually say ‘Writing style is the man’, also ‘Artworks mirror the artist’.

　　At present, the concept of ‘Old Shanghai’ remains flourishing and popular and has been the focus of drawing materials for many artistic creations. ‘Old Shanghai’ has continuously been illusioned, unduly luxurious and flamboyant. As a specific symbol, the lady in Old Shanghai is also unduly decorated and beautified as if the newly-built old streets that can be seen everywhere now.

　　The Shanghai ladies in Yi Ming’s artworks, though the artist doesn’t sedulously indicate their regional identity, seems to boast a special charm of Shanghai sentiment without glittering jewelry or enchanting fashion as modern people imagine, but a graceful and gentle disposition it is which that modern female lack. Here the artist doesn’t mean to express a flat visual perception but a in-depth inquiry for urban humanity, which will make audience emotionally exclaim that such are the elapsed years.

　　Shanghai ladies are beautiful and introverted and display the gentle and tough quality of silk, whether in the era of national crisis or in the troubled times, they never desert anyone while accomplishing thriving fruits. Shanghai ladies, differing from traditional role of tutor’s wife, they not only inherit the virtuous quality of traditional female, but also are edified by western humanity education. They are like modern Yun Madam in Six Chapters of A Floating Life, a silver flute played by Chinese female who has been silent for five thousand years, thus adding a bright color to modern Shanghai. Regretfully, with the increasingly rapid pace of life as well as economic shock, the Solo of Shanghai ladies, once performed like trickling spring, has increasingly disappeared.

　　Shanghai ladies are like a thin bookmark with sandalwood fragrance in Shanghai annals, which will slip to the end of the time gallery without being noticed, fortunately, it is one minded artist that has recollected it and the artistic stroke has turned them from passers-by into returnees with the elapse of years.