從黑非洲到綠江南，一刀一鑿刻出文化橋梁

胡昊

供職于剛果民主共和國金沙薩美術學院的哈桑可能沒有想到，一年之后可以再次來到杭州，繼續為期一個月的木雕創作學習交流。

在日前結束的文化和旅游部“對非培訓基地”浙江省文化館第八屆非洲藝術家木雕創作交流活動中，哈桑是一年前參加第七屆非洲藝術家木雕創作交流活動的9名非洲藝術家中，唯一一位第二次參加該活動的非洲藝術家。

此次交流活動邀請了來自多哥共和國、剛果共和國、剛果民主共和國、加蓬共和國和科特迪瓦共和國的15名木雕藝術家來華進行為期30天的木雕創作交流。通過一個月時間的學習和交流，這些藝術家們在離開的那一刻，對杭州依依不舍。

二度參加，只因能學到真本事

“盡管在同一個地方（程允賢雕塑館）進行創作，但我們看到的一切都有了變化，而這僅僅只有一年的時間。”在筆者眼里，哈桑并沒有什么變化，胡子沒變，發型也沒變；但在哈桑眼里，浙江的變化真大：“我們去了東陽看木雕，去年還沒有的木雕作品，今年有了新的陳設，壁畫也加上去了。這讓我們覺得，這里創作木雕的速度真快。”

浙江的雕刻最出名的是東陽木雕、樂清黃楊木雕、青田石雕和甌塑，被合稱為“三雕一塑”，而其中木雕就占了兩樣。非洲藝術家們來學習交流的，就是這兩種木雕的創作。因此，位于“中國木雕之都”東陽的中國木雕城，是他們必須“打卡”的地方之一。

哈桑開玩笑說，去年交流學習完，大家都覺得他學到了真本事，不但開拓了眼界，也解決了以前非洲木雕中作品難以保存的問題，“我在杭州學到了在木雕作品外面涂上一層清漆，這樣不但增加了雕塑的美觀，更可以長久保存木雕作品，防止蟲蛀。”去年回國后，哈桑用涂過清漆的木雕作品辦了個展覽，這對當地的木雕藝術家們沖擊很大，“他們才知道，原來木雕還可以這樣處理保護的啊。”

哈桑的經歷，證明了他在杭州學習交流的成效。因此，今年的第八屆非洲藝術家木雕創作交流活動，在當地文化部門和我國駐當地使館的力促下，他再次來到了杭州。“去年我們學習用陳木進行雕刻，今年我們用樹根進行雕刻，都是木雕的一個門類。不管雕刻的是木頭的哪個部分，這都是重新賦予木頭以新的生命，是一件很有意思的事情。”哈桑告訴筆者，今年回去后，他打算再辦一次個人木雕展，而這次展出的地方已經不是剛果民主共和國了，而是放在了比利時的布魯塞爾。

大開眼界，買下5套切割工具

“來杭州之前，我對中國一無所知，但我知道，這是一個美麗的城市，這里的雕塑有獨特的方式。杭州和多哥的雕塑藝術各有各的風格，所以我來了。”多哥藝術家科菲佳已經從事雕塑29年了，他認為，在雕塑的技藝上，其實中國的匠人們已經走在了前面，“在這里，我們看到很多非洲沒有的工具。我就想著要把這些東西帶回去，給我的同事們開開眼，讓他們知道，在遙遠的東方，有個藝術上的競爭者存在。”科菲佳舉了個例子，他說比如鑿子，雖然多哥也有，但質量并不一樣，“在杭州用的鑿子質量明顯更好。”

使用機器來進行木雕創作，是讓所有非洲藝術家們最為驚嘆的一點。“用機器創作木雕，效果更好。”出生于木雕世家的剛果藝術家馬辛戈感嘆，他從15歲就開始學習木雕創作。他說，在剛果，大家一般用斧子對木頭進行初步的處理，但想要控制力度和角度，對新手來說難度太大了，“有了機器的使用，可以讓處理更加精細化，也更適合新手使用。”

來自科特迪瓦的羅內說，機器的使用可以加快工作的進程，“我們那里一般采用砂輪來進行木雕創作，而在這里，他們告訴我們可以采用切割刀。我們是一點一點磨出來，但在這里，藝術家可以直接把不需要的部位切除掉，這樣的效率簡直提高了三到四倍。”羅內在進行創作的時候，已經能把切割刀用得很順手了。“我不認為使用機器會讓我的作品失去靈魂，相反，我可以更加精準地表達自己的情感，所以這讓我對機器不會產生排斥。”

為了能讓自己的同事和學生了解木雕創作中機器的使用，羅內委托省文化館的工作人員小尹采購了5套切割工具，準備帶回去，“如果有需要，我會托小尹再幫我采購一些的。”聽說羅內采購了5套機器，人均只采購了1套機器的其他非洲藝術家們拍著手開玩笑說：“他可真是個‘富豪。”

短短一月，愛上了杭州和綠茶

“要住一個月其實并不容易，你也知道，非洲不是在中國的邊上，我還有5個兒子。”來自加蓬的比洛是這次來杭的15名非洲藝術家中唯一的一名女性，她黑色的頭發時髦地挑染了幾片紅色，“和孩子們分開讓人很糾結，但對我來說，這是一次驚喜的發現之旅。”比洛告訴筆者，在杭州的一個月，要比自己曾經在南非學習的一個月更有收獲，也更值得，“不過杭州的互聯網質量很好，我隨時隨地可以視頻聊天，看看我的兒子們。”

比洛還收獲了意外的驚喜，她在杭州度過了自己的生日。那天晚上，省文化館的工作人員專門為比洛準備了蛋糕。當工作了一天的藝術家們走進餐廳準備吃飯的時候，整個餐廳的燈全暗了，省文化館工作人員推著生日蛋糕，唱著生日歌走了進來。那一刻，遠離家鄉幾千公里之外的比洛感動得像個孩子一樣哭了，妝都哭花了。

在杭州住了一個月，藝術家們對于杭州這個城市的評價都很高。科菲佳說，這個城市確實很不錯，景色很美，人也很好，“每次我們到外面去，安排逛一個小時，但總是會超時，因為一路上都是找我們合影的人，大家都太熱情了。”科菲佳說，唯一需要吐槽的，就是杭州太熱了。“比多哥還熱，你看我都曬黑了。”科菲佳開玩笑說，這個印記應該不錯。

短短的一個月的時間，一些非洲藝術家愛上了喝茶，尤其是綠茶。他們在吃午飯的時候，都喜歡泡一杯中國綠茶。“在非洲，很多人喜歡中國的茶，大家都喜歡‘吃茶。”馬辛戈告訴記者。工作人員后來告訴記者，這些非洲藝術家們說喜歡“吃”茶，確實是“吃”，因為他們不但喝茶水，最后還會把茶葉嚼嚼咽了。

在聊天中，藝術家們都很感激2015年12月約翰內斯堡峰會帶來的“文化紅利”，可以讓他們遠渡重洋來到中國，把非洲和中國的木雕技藝相融合。當年的約翰內斯堡峰會提出，要加大對非洲文化領域的人力資源培訓力度，中方將實施與非洲文化交流“千人計劃”。

從那年開始，浙江省文化館作為文化部首批“對非培訓基地”，連續承辦文化部“博茨瓦納學員刺繡培訓班”“非洲學員竹編培訓班”“非洲學員陶藝培訓班”“非洲藝術家木雕創作交流”等活動，均獲得良好反響，為中非文化交流拓寬了渠道，充實了內容。

哈桑告訴筆者：“我們期待今年在北京的中非合作論壇，希望能夠從中獲得更多的文化交流的機會，讓非洲文化和中國傳統文化能夠更加深入地開展交流。”

African Sculptors Engaged in Cultural Exchanges in Zhejiang

By Hu Hao

Tshamala Mpoyi Hassan came to Hangzhou in June 2018. It was his second visit. A woodcarving artist from an art academy in Kinshasa， the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo， he was one of the seven African woodcarving artists who in 2017 took part in a workshop in Hangzhou sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Zhejiang Cultural Center. This year， Hassan took part in another 30-day workshop in Hangzhou.

In June and July 2018， 15 woodcarving artists respectively from the Togolese Republic， the Kingdom of Kongo， the Democratic Republic of the Congo， the Gabonese Republic， and the Republic of C?te dIvoire gathered in Hangzhou to go through a 30-day workshop.

Hassan immediately noticed the fast changes in Zhejiang he hadnt seen a year before. “We are in the same place （Cheng Yunxian Sculpture Gallery） to work out our new creations， but we see a lot of changes，” commented Hassan. “Last year we visited Dongyang to see woodcarving there. This year， we saw new artworks and we even saw frescos. We know how fast woodcarving artists in Zhejiang are working.”

In terms of sculpture and carving， Zhejiang boasts woodcarving of Dongyang， boxwood carving of Yueqing， stone carving of Qingtian， and sculpture of Wenzhou. This year， the 15 African artists explored the secrets of the two woodcarving arts. They visited Dongyang again， the woodcarving capital of China.

Soon after his one-month study in Hangzhou and his return to the Congo in 2017， Hassan held a solo exhibition in Kinshasa. His woodcarving artworks， all coated in varnish， caused a sensation. Local artists flocked in to take a look at the protective coating. They had never known that woodcarvings could be protected this way.

So this year Hassan came again， with the assistance of Chinese embassy in Kinshasa and the cultural authorities of the Congo. “Last year we carved the wood material that had been stored for years. This year we carved on tree roots.” He was planning to hold another solo woodcarving show after the workshop in Hangzhou concluded. But this time， he was to display his woodcarving creations in Brussels， Belgium， after he concluded his study in Hangzhou.

Aboflan Kofiga， a woodcarving artist of Togo engaged in the art for 29 years， was surprised to see something quite new in woodcarving in Hangzhou. “Before I came， I knew almost nothing about China. I knew Hangzhou was a beautiful city and woodcarving here was quite unique. Thats why I came，” remarked Kofiga. “Our Chinese artists are quite advanced. They use tools we dont have in Africa. I will bring these tools back for my colleagues to take a look so that they will know they have competitors in the distant East. “We have chisels in Togo， but chisels used in Hangzhou are of much better quality，” he said.

The most surprising thing these African artists saw and learned about in Hangzhou was that machines could be used in woodcarving. Messengo Guynel Emma observed， “Machines make woodcarving more effective”. He started how to do woodcarving at 15. In the Congo， he said， the axe is used in the first phase of a woodcarving piece. Beginners find it too difficult to finesse the forces and angles. A machine can do a job more sophisticatedly and a beginner can operate a machine more conveniently，” commented Emma.

“We use the grinding wheel back home to create woodcarving pieces， “said Ayebi Kouao Rene from C?te dIvoire. “We learned here that a machine can directly remove the parts that are not needed. This works three or four times faster.” Rene learned how to use a machine to do woodcarving. “I dont think a machine can make my artworks soulless. In contrary， I can express myself more accurately. Thats why I have no reason to dislike machines.” He bought five sets of cutting tools in Hangzhou and planned to share them with his students and friends. He was prepared to buy more through an employee at the Zhejiang Cultural Center if the need arose. The fellow African artists joked that Rene was rich.

Biloghe Mengue Zélia Flore was the only woman of the 15 African woodcarvers at the workshop. She has five sons back home. “It is difficult to be separate from my children. But this is an amazing journey of discovery. Internet in Hangzhou is excellent. I can video-talk with my sons，” she commented， her black hair dyed red in small blocks. Compared with a one-month study in South Africa， the 30-day workshop in Hangzhou was more helpful， she commented. She celebrated her birthday in Hangzhou. When all the artists sat down to dinner after a day of work， the lights in the dining room were turned off， and a cart with a birthday cake on it was pushed in by workers with Zhejiang Cultural Center. People sang “Happy Birthday”. She wept like a child.

The 15 African artists spoke highly of Hangzhou. But “it is hotter than Africa， complained Kofiga， “Look， I am tanned.” Some of them fell in love with tea， especially green tea. They sipped tea and ate up all the tealeaves.

The African artists were grateful to the Johannesburg Action Plan launched at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg in December 2015. According to the action plan， “the Chinese side will establish ten major ‘Culture Training Bases for Africa and execute the ‘One Thousand People Program for culture training in Africa”.

It was in 2015 that Zhejiang Cultural Center was designated by the Ministry of Culture as a major Cultural Training Center for Africa. The province has so far hosted eight workshops for the training of African artists engaged in embroidery， bamboo weaving， porcelain， woodcarving， etc.

Hassan of the Congo said， “We are looking forward to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation this year for more opportunities on cultural exchanges between African culture and traditional Chinese culture”.