我們的老羅

我們的老羅

老羅自傳：

羅旭，彌勒人，1956年生于小商家庭，童年自帶草墩加一本正式課本走完小學。初中學工學農，弄懂莊稼是從土里長出來的。16歲被“照顧”進縣瓷器廠工作，期間唯一的樂趣是捏幾個小公雞。21歲被分配到建筑隊工作，曾幻想做個建筑設計師，后發現不精于計算，中途放棄。23歲那年突發奇想，要做個藝術家，正式從事“反、壞、右”。學畫，考了三次藝術學院，遺憾的是無人錄取，氣急之下索性從建筑隊告假，以養殖長毛兔為生，結果兔死毛飛。1985年混進縣文化館充當美工，1988年被中央美院雕塑系主任錢紹武先生收編為“私生”子，舞弄了一年的人體造形。1992年忍不住饑寒、欲望，從文化館辭職出走，在清水環境中作菜雕撈了點碎花銀。“球粘不得熱氣膨脹起來”，一閃身從彌勒擠進昆明。1994年伙同一幫熱血男子創辦“《達達藝術有限責任公司》”，1994年底被推為董事長，一時羽扇綸巾，英姿煥發。1995年初被攆下臺，在任3個月，1996年再度雄心勃起，肩扛一根三米長的竹竿，膽大加上銀行信任，建土著巢。1997年8月自任土著巢“老總”兼廚師長，指點灶上江山，把玩原始民族歌舞。打造：“吃什么、吃文化；看什么、看藝術”的虧本平臺。三年辛勞，落得骨瘦如柴。2000年5月1日關門停火，養狗遛驢，員工各逃性命。2000年5月至今栽花種草，座臺、發呆、養雞、養鴨、種瓜、種豆。期間有過群展、個展，得了幾把美女送來的鮮花。幾經搗騰，其心仍未看破紅塵，但方式愚笨，閉門造車，守株待兔。前后數個十年旅程回瞰，玩泥巴的時間最長，曾多次想改道，木已成舟，難為它用，只好順水行舟。

2004年至2006年，蓋房子的妄想癥發作，先后設計了西雙版納的“地氣”建筑群，“僻寒”山莊，并忽悠艾未未主持設計論證會。乘病勢之力，設計了數個楊麗萍的“指光劇場”、“雀之林”等等。做了個3.6米高的“三江并流”建筑模型參加對比窗藝廊在上海舉辦的當代設計展，一路興奮得要死，結果都成了紙上談兵。這種自戀空悅的激情一直延續。看著一堆紙，雖仍是紙一堆，但嗨的無慶，玩玩而已。繼2004年的上海多倫美術館個人作品展之后，除了蓋房子的妄想之外，登堂入市，在不同的城市辦了幾個主題性藝術個展，奔上了“小糠之路”。幾個沖出去，又回到家的來回，幾乎把自己煉就的如同一個“男杜十娘”。還好，沒有百寶箱，也沒有百寶的重負，只有一身的輕快，一大堆厚愛我的朋友。2014年5月至今，得彌勒哥們們如打了雞血般的器重，任性發揮，就地取材（材料和人才），改了或正在蓋著這些房子：萬花筒、農墾博物館、半朵云、印章房、音樂農莊、前店后廠……我自己把這兩年的蓋房行為理解為“吃多了，排瀉”。

Autobiography:

I am Luo Xu， native of Mile. I was born in a merchant family in 1956. In my childhood， I fnished primary school with a haystack and an ofcial textbook. During junior high school， I studied industry and agriculture，and fgured out how crops grow from soil. At 16， someone helped me to get a job in a porcelain factory in the county， where the only fun thing for me was to make a few cockerels out of clay. At 21， I was assigned to work in a construction team. I had once dreamed about being an architect， but later found that I was not good at calculation， and had to give up on this dream. At 23， I decided to be an artist on a whim， and ofcially began to engage in the “counter-revolutionary， bad and right-wing” undertakings. I learned to paint and applied for art schools for three times， but sadly I was not enrolled by any of them. Out of frustration， I took leave from the construction team， and tried to make a living by breeding long hair rabbits， but unfortunately all of them died. In 1985， I started to work in the county cultural center as an art designer. In 1988， I became an apprentice of Mr. Qian Shaowu， director of the Department of Sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts，and studied human body molding for one year. In 1992， due to poverty and desire for a better life， I resigned from the cultural center， and managed to make a little money by making vegetable sculptures. “The balloon expands with heat”. I left Mile and made my way into Kunming. In 1994， I partnered with a group of ambitious friends to found “Dada Arts Co.， Ltd”. At the end of 1994， I was elected as chairman of the company， and enjoyed temporary success. At the beginning of 1995， only 3 months after I took office， I was ousted. In 1996， I regained my ambitions， and built Earth Nest with a 3-meter bamboo pole on my shoulders， as well as a bold spirit and trust from the bank. In August 1997， I appointed myself as the “president” and head chef of Earth Nest， where I directed the catering and folk song and dance business. I created a loss-making platform where “you can eat culture and see arts”. Three years of hard work did not pay of， and I became a bag of bones. The company was shut down on May 1， 2000， and I kept the animals while the employees left. Since May 2000， I have been living a leisure life by growing fowers and plants， raising chickens and ducks， and growing vegetables. During this period， I took part in group and solo exhibitions， and received a few bunches of fowers from beautiful girls. After all these unfruitful eforts， I still had hope in my heart， and tried to pursue my dream， but in a foolish， blind and passive way. Looking back on my career in the past decades， I spent the longest time playing with mud. I thought about changing my career path for many times， but the die is cast， and there was nothing better for me to do. So I had to keep going.

From 2004 to 2006， my fantasy about building houses reappeared， and I successively designed the “Diqi”building group and “Pihan” Mountain Villa in Xishuangbanna， and persuaded Ai Weiwei to host the design demonstration meeting. Subsequent to these efforts， I designed several “Zhiguang Theaters” “Forests of Sparrows”， etc. for Yang Liping. I made a 3.6-meters-high building model of the “Three Parallel Rivers” to take part in a contemporary design exhibition held in Shanghai by Contrasts Gallery. I was really excited on my way to the exhibition， but it all turned out to be just an empty theory. This kind of narcissist passion has continued to this date. When I look at a pile of paper， I get excited and enjoy playing with it， although it is just a pile of paper.

Following my solo exhibition in Shanghai Duolun Art Museum in 2004， I held several thematic solo art exhibitions in diferent cities， in addition to my fantasy about building houses. I was on my way to a well-of life. After running out and returning home for several times， I almost turned myself into a male version of “Du Shiniang”. I feel alright. I do not have a treasure chest or the burden of treasure. What I have is freedom of life， and a lot of friends who love me.

Since May 2014， thanks to the strong support from friends in Mile， I was able to design at will， making use of local materials and talents. The following houses have been modified or are currently being built: Kaleidoscope， Agricultural Reclamation Museum， Half Cloud， Seal Room， Music Farm， Front Shop Back Factory， etc. I regard my architectural eforts over the past two years as “excretion after eating too much”.

LAOLUO - OUR OLD PAL