怪才罗旭的妄想和异行

（文）叶永青　四川美术学院教授

怪才罗旭的妄想和异行

（文）叶永青四川美术学院教授

这些年我在云南结识的朋友中，罗旭一直被视为怪杰，他的传奇般的经历和言行，他建造的建筑群落和他创造的那些数量惊人的作品，他那种大隐于闹市的浪漫情怀以及独立特行的梦想本身，常常遭致各种议论和评价。昆明是边远的小城，它的文化和历史受到现代空袭的冲击力度，比之许多中国中心城市的病灶原发点来，自是更加触目。而另一方面，卷地烈焰来不及细微爆透的地方，在草根层极处还留有些许农耕时代烬余。则未尝不是幸事。在质疑现代化的声音里，经常能听到对古老手艺的怀想，许多时候还应和着对自然和泥土的讴歌，大致上采取这种姿态的人士远处两端：一头是真正在深山荒野间，仍然靠着手传心授的旧艺勤勉度日的匠人，另一头却是城市书斋内纤尘不染的浪漫文人，而罗旭却能集两种品质为一身。

制造神话是人类的天性，对那些出类拔萃的人物，如果他们生活中有什么令人感到诧异或者迷惑不解的事件，人们就会如饥似渴地抓住不放，编造出种种传言，而且深信不疑，近似狂热，这可以说是浪漫主义对平凡暗淡的生活的一种抗议，这样的传奇和神话，被追加在一个个我引以为荣的云南人身上：罗旭、跳舞的杨丽萍、拍电影的吴文光、盖房子的赵青、搞音乐的田丰。传说中的一些小故事和事实一道成为他们通向成名之路的最可靠的护照。

罗旭的身上兼有一种肉欲的狂燥和悲剧性的忧郁混合的特质，仿佛作为永恒的牺牲似的把自己灵魂的秘密呈献出来，给予了十年前的一片土地。一个艺术家--雕塑也好、诗人也好、建筑师也好，以他充满想象力和创造力的美丽作品把世界装点起来，满足了人们的审美意识和好奇心，但这也同人性的本能不无相似的地方，都有其粗野狂暴的一面，在把作品奉献给世人的同时，艺术家也把他个性才能和遗憾呈现在你眼前。探索一个艺术家的秘密，令人费解和迷人，这个奥秘同大自然极相似，其妙处就在于无法找到答案。罗的最不足道的作品也使我们能模糊地看到他的奇特、诙谐、复杂、受着折磨的性格，包括那些不喜欢他的艺术的人之所以不能对他漠不关心，肯定是因为这个原因。也正是这一点，使得那么多人对他的生活、性格充满了好奇心和浓厚的兴趣。

其实在许多人眼中，罗旭不仅是一个失败的经营者，也同无数落魄的艺术家没什么不同的。的确，生活中的罗旭与我们想象中的天才相去甚远，他永远只会对那些慕名而来和偶然闯入的访客抱以微笑，多年前我第一次见他时，罗旭细小的眼睛里闪耀的就是这种微笑，这其实是一种经历过风雨也看见过彩虹的平和与透亮，也许正是这种平和谦虚掩盖了他的思想和野心，也使人们在满足了短暂的好奇心之后，却与这片红土房子的缔造者和守望者，一位真正独特的天才和大师失之交臂。

罗旭出生在云南红河州的弥勒，那片干燥的红土地上，盛产中国最好的烟草和葡萄，或许，是这个地域因素熏染了他的心性，造就了其旺盛多产的创作欲。虽然成长在中国社会彻底学习西方的时期，但他钟情的还是乡野风。他早年干过建筑小工，在文化馆工作，为掌握艺术技巧，艰苦奋斗，并到中央美院进修雕塑。罗还一不小心就下海经商几年。自任董事长、总经理、建筑师、舞台演出编导、餐厅老板、伙食大厨和制做桌椅板凳、锅碗瓢盆的工人……几年间，罗旭经历了自己的“土著巢”和有限公司从有到无，从兴到衰的过程。这个过程也使罗既“阅尽人间春色”，同时又倍感人世艰辛。 生意场上的失败和丰富的人生阅历使罗旭不得不退守到这片占地十余亩的房子中。这是1996年他根据儿子的灵感和艺术家的意志修建的外形酷似女性乳房和原始砖窑般的建筑群。以艺术家的狂想和手工式制作方式施工造就的土著巢使许多造访这里的各界人士感到震憾。对于有建筑师提出老罗的房子是对现代建筑的挑战的说法，老罗也不谦虚：“我最大的挑战就是不用米达尺！”这个回答意味深长且歪打正着，当初罗刚画完建筑设计图，曾认真地去找建筑设计院审批，院方的结论是“这房子没法造！”老罗赌气回来自己找了施工队，亲自手提一蓝石灰布线、按线定基，等砖砌达了人高，老罗拿根竹杆、左指右划，指南打北，硬是口传和身教三百个工人把最高为16米的建筑数十座盖成了，罗旭以自己的直觉和知性无意间突破了现代建筑以数学和结构为准绳的繁离，为自己的幻想开启了一个新鲜的奇异的境。

Among the friends I have met in Yunnan these years， Luo Xu has always been regarded as a maverick genius. His legendary experience and actions， the building groups and the astonishing amount of works created by him， his reclusive and romantic sentiments， and his maverick dreams are the subject of constant debates and comments. Kunming is a remote small city. The impact of modernism on its culture and history is more striking than many central cities in China， where the focus of infection originates. On the other hand， in places where the roaring fame has not completely burned down， at the grassroots level， there are still some remains from the agrarian age. This is a somewhat fortunate thing. Among the voices that question modernization， we often hear the reminiscences about old craftsmanship， sometimes along with the praise of nature and earth. People with this attitude are generally located at two ends: craftsmen in the mountains and wilderness， who makes a diligent living with their old skills， and romantic scholars in urban studies， who are unafected by the environment. Luo Xu has both of these qualities.

Creating myths is a human nature. If there is anything astonishing or confusing in the life of an outstanding person， people will grab at it with great eagerness， and make up all kinds of rumors， in which they believe frmly and even madly. This can be said to be some kind of protest of romanticists about the ordinary and dull life. These legends and myths are imposed upon a few Yunnan people that I am proud of: Luo Xu， the dancer Yang Liping， the film producer Wu Wenguang， the house builder Zhao Qing， and the musician Tian Feng. Some of the stories and facts in the legends have become their most reliable passport on the road to fame.

Luo Xu has a special quality that combines sensual mania and tragic melancholia. It is as if he dedicated the secrets of his soul as an eternal sacrifice to a land a decade ago. As an artist， a sculptor， a poet， and an architect， he decorates the world with beautiful works full of imagination and creativity， satisfying the aesthetic consciousness and curiosity of people. However， similar to human instincts， it has a wild and furious side. While dedicating his works to the world， an artist will reveal to you his personality， talents and regrets. The secret of an artist is confusing and yet enchanting. Similar to the secret of nature， the beauty of it lies in the fact that it is impossible to find the answer. Even the most insignificant work of Luo Xu vaguely reveals his bizarre， humorous， complicated and tortured personality. This is defnitely the reason why those who dislike his arts cannot be indiferent about him. This is exactly what makes so many people curious about and interested in his life and personality.

In fact， in the eyes of many people， Luo Xu is not only an unsuccessful businessman， but also not much different from the great many sorehead artists. Indeed， Luo Xu in real life is nothing like the genius we have imagined. He will

always smile at the visitors who come on purpose or barge in occasionally. The frst time I met him several years ago， there was such a smile in his small eyes. This is actually a kind of peace and brightness of someone who has lived through the storm and seen the rainbow. It is probably this kind of peace and modesty that covers his thoughts and ambitions， and makes people miss the opportunity to really get to know the creator and watcher of these red-earth houses， a truly unique genius and master， after their temporary curiosity is satisfed.

Luo Xu was born in Mile， Honghe Prefecture， Yunnan. That dry red land abounds in the best tobacco and grapes in China. It is perhaps this geographical factor that infuenced his nature of mind and gave rise to his vigorous and fertile creativity. Although he grew up in a period when the Chinese society fully learned from the Western world， what he loves is the country style. In his early years， he worked as a construction worker， and worked in a cultural center. He worked hard to learn artistic skills， and studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Accidentally， Luo Xu ventured into business for several years. He appointed himself as a chairman， a general manager， an architect， a stage performance director， a restaurant owner， a head chef and a worker making tables， chairs，stools， pots and pans… Within several years， Luo Xu watched his “Earth Nest”and limited company decline and fnally go out of business. This process allowed Luo to see the best things in this world and experience the hardships in life. Due to his failure as a businessman and his rich experience in life， Luo Xu had to retreat to these houses covering an area of more than ten mu. This is a group of buildings he built in 1996 based on his son's inspirations and his will as an artist， which has an appearance that resembles a woman's breasts， and looks like primitive brick kilns. The Earth Nest built manually out of an artist's wild imagination has shocked many visitors from all circles. In response to the comment from some architects that Luo's houses are a challenge to modern architecture， Luo said immodestly: “My biggest challenge is not to use the metric ruler！” This answer is meaningful and scores a lucky hit. At frst， when Luo fnished the architectural design drawings， he seriously tried to fnd an architecture design institute to review and approve them，but the conclusion of the institute was that “this house is impossible to build！”In anger， Luo came back and found a construction team on his own. He held a basket of lime in his hand， set out the lines， and fxed the foundation according to the lines. When the bricks were laid to the height of a person， Luo fetched a bamboo pole， and pointed it around to orally and physically guide three hundred workers to build several dozens of 16-meters-high buildings. With his intuition and intelligence， Luo Xu accidentally broke free from the limitation of modern architecture based on mathematics and structure， and opened up a brand new extraordinary territory with his imagination.

The Delusions and Strange Behaviors of the Maverick Genius Luo Xu