Chapter 42 open your mouth

I have seen a reproduction of the famous painting "The Scream" by the Norwegian painter Munch very early. The title of this painting has been translated as "Howl" or "Weeping".Although the foreign language does contain compound meanings such as "screaming" and "howling", as a Chinese painting viewer, in my mind, "screaming" and "crying" are two concepts that are far apart.My first impression of this painting was the round mouth of the man in the painting.Because he was desperately venting, the mouth was no longer a perfect circle, but was torn into a deep vertical and crooked hole that seemed to be about to burst.A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, and carefully watched the original work of this painting.I stood in front of this famous painting for a long time, and felt an inexplicable shock.

shake.Munch was born in 1863 and died in 1944. He was a representative of expressionism in the history of European art, and this painting is the most famous monument of expressionism.I am not a researcher of art history, and I do not have a professional appreciation. I can only start from my own life experience, and use the visual impact provided by this painting to achieve my unique soul throbbing.In my opinion, it doesn't really matter whether the person with the upside-down gourd-shaped thin face in the painting is shouting angrily, crying mournfully, or screaming wildly.I was just stimulated by his desperately opening his mouth, and it was a strong stimulus.If I could name this painting, I would definitely call it "Opening a Round Mouth"!

Looking back on my own life, I have almost never opened my mouth so hard.Always remind yourself that you should be gentle and honest, and use subtlety as beauty; you must maintain a high degree of reason, control your emotions, and suppress your impulses; smile more in front of others, and be patient with yourself; Try to "open your mouth without showing your teeth"... The burst of vitality embodied in Munch's "open mouth" is far from the cultural connotation I have received.In the Munch Museum in Oslo, I also asked the Norwegian Sinologist who accompanied me to visit—he knew enough about Munch to clear my doubts—“Does Munch’s paintings reflect his extreme understanding of social reality?” Dissatisfied? Is this shout or howler calling for revolution?" He said that Munch's career in art was not bumpy, he became famous early and lived a long life.Although there were two world wars during his 80 years of life, and many places in the world, such as China, were plagued by disasters, his homeland, Norway, was far from the troubled place in the world at that stage, and he himself was not He is an active participant in a social and political movement. Therefore, it is true that "the benevolent sees benevolence, and the wise sees wisdom" for this painting. It is also a perspective for revolutionaries to understand it as a call for revolution.However, in all fairness, what Munch paid attention to in his artistic creation was not political revolution or social movement. This painting made in 1893, the round mouth, should mainly express the explosion of life itself due to confusion and hardship. Great catharsis.After hearing the explanation from my Norwegian friend, I thought to myself that my own life body is often trapped in extreme confusion and depression, but I have never opened my mouth so wantonly.How likely is the connection and integration between the culture it carries and the culture that raised me?How much nourishment can I get from that connected pipe?

I bought a large album at the Munch Museum in Oslo, and this painting is on the cover.When I returned to China, I often admired this painting carefully. I noticed that the person with his mouth open was standing on a bridge, facing the viewer.Because of the sound from his round mouth, the river under the bridge seemed to be infected and stood upright.However, on the left side of the painting, Munch deliberately painted the backs of two men walking on the bridge, but the mood seems to be very leisurely, and he doesn't care about the man in the painting who is struggling to open his mouth.I thought it was meaningful.Or is it the scream that came out of that round mouth, although the heaven and the earth echoed, its audio frequency has exceeded the range that the human ear can directly perceive?The situation of individual life and singing and crying, and the life trajectory and psychological response of others, often

Will it be so irrelevant?Or, Munch is trying to show us that we should not rely on the solidarity of others, pray for the pity of others, we should overcome difficulties and obstacles, go through pain and tempering, strive to open the mouth of the soul, and in the wild catharsis of the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty, Get redemption and sublimation.