Chapter 23 what a face

At the beginning of June, there was a report in the American "Star Weekly" titled "Michael's nose is about to fall off!" It is said that the rock superstar Michael Jackson not only trimmed his cheeks, lips, bags under the eyes, but also lifted his forehead for his stage image, but his nose could not withstand five or six plastic surgeries, and red and brown spots appeared, causing lesions and high fever .The article also attached photos, one was taken when Michael was 20 years old, brown skin, thick eyebrows, broad nose, full of young blacks; the other was a recent photo after bleaching, but he covered his nose, making it difficult to see the truth.

I suddenly realized why Michael came to Taiwan to sing and wore a black mask when entering and leaving the hotel. Blacks in the United States are both a minority and have a historical background of being reduced to the lower class, so they are often discriminated against.But on the other hand, a small number of blacks, with their innate physical ability and sensitivity, can also be proud, surpassing whites, and become players and singers admired by the public.When the ball is in the hands of the blacks, and the song is in the throats of the blacks, they can do whatever they want without transgressing the rules as if possessed by a demon, which is beyond the reach of the whites.Black Throat is like fertile black soil, and it can produce surprising and strange flowers with just one click.Envious white people came to borrow soil to plant flowers.

Michael Jackson today is reminiscent of Elvis Presley thirty years ago.Michael is doing everything possible to "bleach" himself, just as Elvis Presley is trying to "smear" himself: the two rock singers are like a match.Elvis Presley grew up in black gospel ballads, and already has a bit of "black content".This background, together with the "beat and blues", "country and western" that he mastered in the future, combined black and white, formed his diverse and good rock singing voice.Even so, these alone, Presley is not enough to become Elvis.It was his high frequency gyrations that triggered thousands of young mouths to suddenly scream with emotion.Of course, this trick is learned from black people.

Especially to Chuck Berry.Presley's voice is a rich baritone; Berry's is a clear tenor, fluent and mellow, especially feeling passionate, easily conquering the white audience.Berry's singing skills are good at both black blues and white country west, and he can't stop himself when he sings to the point of forgetting his feelings.He's nine years older than Presley, and just so happens to provide a role model.In those days, the typical white southern boy envied his neighbors when it came to singing, and Presley was no different.In the future, when he sang "Black Songs", it could be unreal, and the "knee-shaking skills" he learned could not be stopped.

It was not until Michael Jackson appeared that the black prodigy took the throne back.But in the mainstream society of white people, he wants to cure whiteness with whiteness, so he has to "bleach himself" first.The black prodigy's strategy to conquer the world is a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, he must be both male and female, and penetrate the genders;But the price of unscrupulousness is too high, and that price is suffering. For the sake of self-bleaching, plastic surgery is reduced to disguise, and disguise is reduced to disfigurement.It is sympathetic for Michael's intentions to maintain the throne of the music scene and endure such hardships.Although he conquered the world, he became a slave to inferiority and vanity, and trampled on his "black is beautiful" self-esteem.When Diana Ross and Jesse Norman are both worthy of their true colors, why does Michael have to change his face?Elvis Presley learned from black people, but Michael is too "superficial" to learn from white people.

"Body and hair, the parents don't dare to hurt her, this is the beginning of filial piety." If I were Michael's mother, I would be so sad.His mother gave him such a heavenly voice, he didn't know how to be grateful, but wanted to give back the face that his mother gave him.This unfilial piety is not only towards the mother, but also towards the tribe. "Only a great hero can show his true colors, and it is the real celebrities who are self-sufficient." The so-called true colors refer to their true faces and true temperaments, not beauty, especially not makeup or plastic surgery.Therefore, in the beauty pageant venue with a strong commercial flavor, although "beauties are like clouds", it makes people feel tacky.The combination of handsome men and beautiful women always makes people feel a little Hollywood.In the world of art, a portrait of a "handsome man" is often inferior to an "ugly man", just as in the world of show business, first-rate actors rely on their acting skills, while third-rate actors rely on their beauty.

The most sensitive type of portrait painting is self-portrait, because the person who makes the portrait is the person being painted, and self-beautification is just human nature.But a real painter must resist the vulgar desire of self-beautification, because he understands that the beauty of reality cannot be converted into the beauty of art, because the beauty of art comes from the true temperament of the subject, that is, the soul exposed on the face of the subject, presented in the subject Draw life on human hands.Michael Jackson's ideal self-portrait is a handsome Caucasian man with feminine charms.The self-portrait of a great painter such as Van Gogh is a person who puts his temperament on his face and calls his soul into his eyes, himself.Michael Jackson, disfigured by plastic surgery, painted someone else, even an alien race, in his self-portraits.

Almost all great Western painters have left self-portraits, and they are almost unwilling to beautify themselves, and even willing to "uglify themselves".To say "uglify" is of course an overstatement, but at least it disdains "should hide ugliness".From the self-portraits of Western art masters, I really can't see anyone who can be called handsome, but they still take pictures without any taboo, and even choose "old and ugly" to draw.They are portrait masters, they hold the pen in their own hands, whether they want to be beautiful or shy, it is all up to them to decide. Knowing that this stroke is bound to "retain ugliness" for future generations, they disdain to forge illusory handsomeness and would rather fulfill the truth of art.

Among the Impressionist masters, Renoir is the one who paints the cutest girls and young women, so he is also the most popular among the audience; everyone's eyes linger on the girl playing the piano and the young woman listening to the opera, and rarely turn to Renoir self portrait.I want to point out that Renoir's portraits of himself are not only about aesthetics, but rather seeking truth and vividness.I have seen two self-portraits of him, one was painted at the age of fifty-eight (1899), and the other was painted at the age of sixty-nine (1910). They both have thin faces, a little sad and tired eyes, and gray and messy beards. .The sixty-nine-year-old one is more bloody due to the rose-red background, but the eye sockets are more sunken than the previous one, which is really old.As evidenced by the photographs taken by Renoir in 1875 at the age of thirty-four, these two self-portraits are quite realistic, without any attempt at self-beautification.No matter the photos in the early years or the portraits in the later years, it shows that this master who painted others so beautifully is neither handsome nor handsome.

El Greco, who was originally from Crete and died in Spain, has only one self-portrait that looks old and haggard, with gray complexion, sunken cheeks, tired eyes, messy beard and beard, intertwined into a sick appearance, In addition to the bald peaks and slanted ears, it gives people the feeling of bats and mice.I don't understand why the master who painted saints and nobles so noblely chose this old self-restraint to pass on to future generations? The French painter Jean Baptiste Chardin (Jean Baptiste Chardin, 1699-1779), who was good at dealing with middle-class life in a sober and low-key way, also painted himself at the age of seventy. Hearty and spirited.The eyes of the person in the painting are clear, the lips are pursed tightly, and the expression is calm and firm yet serene, but otherwise, the appearance is not majestic or noble.On the contrary, there are three things on the head that look rather funny.The first thing that attracts attention is the pair of round-rimmed glasses, which seem to have a good temper.Then there is the brim of the sun-shielding hat as wide as the eaves of the roof, obviously because old eyes are afraid of light.What's more, there is a turban that wraps the head and the back of the head very carefully, even the ears and the nape of the neck are also protected, which is said to be to prevent paint.I was indifferent to this portrait at first glance, and I really don't understand what kind of image this poor old man with cumbersome clothes has.When I figured out why the artist "dressed up" in this way, I realized that this was not a costume to treat guests, but a normal state of painting in casual clothes. I couldn't help feeling amiable because the artist was unprepared and willing to let us see his true colors in daily life.

The rumor that the Spanish painter Goya fell in love with the Duchess of Alba has inspired us to imagine how romantic the author of "The Naked Maja" (The Naked Maja) should be.Unexpectedly, what appeared in his self-portrait was not a middle-aged man with a short neck and a fat face, with pedantic round-frame glasses half slid down the bridge of his nose, or an old man with half-bald forehead and gloomy eyebrows, who was not at all handsome. Goya's self-portrait disappointed me, but Donar's surprised me.The former is at best not pretty, the latter is downright ugly.Dona's hooked nose protrudes from the center of his brows, almost occupying most of his face. It is especially prominent when viewed from the side. It has long been the object of exaggeration by cartoonists. Even in his early self-portraits, he himself refused to let it go.With such a long nose, plus thick eyebrows, big eyes, and thick lips, it is really a bit ugly. The two most prolific self-portrait masters were both born in the Netherlands.Rembrandt van Ryn (Rembrandt van Ryn, 1606-1669, also translated as Rembrandt) produced about 600 oil paintings in his life, including as many as 60 self-portraits. More than one hundred.Another feature is that many self-portraits were drawn from the age of twenty-three to the age of sixty-three, that is, from adolescence to the year of death, without interruption, so the appearance and mood of each period are recorded.It shows how persistent the painter's self-examination and exploration are. This courage and perseverance of self-examination and self-disclosure can only be sought from true masters. These self-portraits are especially moving when they were made in his later years. After meeting them once, they will be unforgettable for life.Rembrandt had no intention of explaining all the details out of context, what he wanted to explore was character and state of mind, so people in the painting often only see a face full of spirituality, profound eyes that are so resolute And calmly, he stared at us without joy or fear, no, he didn't see us, he was just looking at eternity through us, beyond us.A phantom light came from above, casting shadows under his brows and nose.There are also some shadows hiding in the hair and beard, highlighting the mystery.But the part that faces the light shines a golden brilliance on the face, making the vicissitudes that should be full of vicissitudes turn out to be extraordinary and transformed into a look of glory. Rembrandt and Renoir are both masters of portraiture, but their materials and styles are just opposite.What Renoir abandoned, Rembrandt took.Rembrandt's portrait gallery is almost full of old men, women and ordinary or even ugly people.His aesthetics can be said to be born out of the ugly: he is a master craftsman who turns decay into magic. Like his predecessors, Van Gogh never painted beauties and handsome men, but he still became a master of portraiture.He was unknown all his life, and of course no one hired him for a portrait, so there was no need or intention to please the Master.At the same time, he was too poor to hire a model, so he had no choice in painting portraits, so he had to use materials according to circumstances, and painted some lonely little people, such as Second Lieutenant Milie, painter Baxi, Doctor Gachet, etc., who already had a relatively high status up. The next best thing, Van Gogh turned to self-painting.After all, it is much more convenient to draw yourself. Not only does it not need people, but you can know yourself and explore the meaning of your life.A painter's self-portrait is similar to a writer's autobiography, but the autobiography can be described directly, while the self-portrait can only be eloquent, and all kinds of inner feelings must be conveyed by the appearance, after all, it is a symbol.Affection is born from the heart, and appearance is born from emotion.In order for the audience to deeply understand their own mood, the painter should first accurately grasp his own appearance. Only after the appearance is determined can the audience decode it into mood and metaphysical life. Rembrandt painted 60 self-portraits in oil in 40 years, while Van Gogh painted more than 40 in 10 years. The frequency of repeated self-examination and deep self-examination even surpassed that of his predecessors. Loneliness, how brave to self-dissection.He frequently wrote letters to his younger brother to confide in people; he painted himself frequently to confide to the soul; he painted starry sky, wheat fields, and endless sunflowers with childlike faces more frequently, in order to confide to all life. It is the loneliest soul at the end of the nineteenth century, which is filled in those more than forty shocking self-portraits.How much tenderness is hidden in the cold and lonely, sometimes dressed like a gentleman, sometimes poor like a Zen master, sometimes covered with a broken right ear, sometimes lost like an idiot, sometimes clenching his teeth like a martyr, but his loneliness is the same.Rembrandt wrapped himself in sepia mystery, leaving only an old golden face like an ancient lamp.In order to compensate for his loneliness, Van Gogh created something out of nothing, agitating the background behind him into a blue vortex-like light wheel.Both of them did not avoid the ugliness of reality, but achieved the beauty of art, and the loser in life became the winner in life. Michael Jackson had plastic surgery again and again, only to buy a mutilated mask.Rembrandt and Van Gogh treated people with their true colors, but they were completely reborn. In the Chinese painting tradition, the achievement of portrait painting cannot be considered high.Landscape painting is advertised as depicting the ease in the chest, which can be regarded as a self-portrait of a literati painter in essence, but a real self-portrait is rare.The looks of Fan Kuan and Li Tang, and the looks of Ma Yuan and Xia Gui, we all have one side and don't know Lushan.So once I saw that Shen Zhou had a self-portrait, I was really overjoyed. In the self-portrait, Shen Zhou is dressed in cloth and black hat, with white beard and hair, and his temples are slightly exposed at the bottom of the hat.The clear face has hale eyes, long ears and nose, a straight nose, and a plump head, giving people the auspicious feeling of a white elephant.The wrinkles around the eyes and sides are as light as ripples, echoing the creases of the robe sleeves.There are sparse old age spots between the facial lines.The half-length of the portrait can be seen, and the arched hands are hidden in the big sleeves, but a nail is exposed.The overall posture and expression, the mountains are stable and the waters are still, and there is a majestic atmosphere amidst benevolence.Viewers feel admiration for the painting spontaneously, and the longer they watch it, all worries will disappear.This is something you can't appreciate before van Gogh or even Rembrandt's self-portraits. People say that the eyesight difference is small, and that the eyesight is too narrow. I don't know, and I don't know what's missing. There is no comparison in appearance, but I am afraid that I will lose my morals. Going on for eighty years, today is next door to death. Shen Zhou inscribed the five ancient poems himself on the painting, showing humor in his open-mindedness.Although the portraits in Western oil paintings are relatively thick and powerful, it is inconvenient to write poems, and loses the mutual benefit of poetry and painting in Chinese paintings. Rembrandt and Van Gogh would readily agree to the phrase "there is no difference in appearance", but Michael Jackson, who is struggling with plastic surgery, may not listen to it.