東西方藝術的交融

闕維杭

在美國，6月是青春洋溢夢想放飛的畢業季。早幾年我參加過兒子的大學畢業典禮，今年又有了一趟難忘的畢業典禮觀摩：外甥杰杰三年前從杭州來，就讀美國首屈一指的藝術院校——羅德島設計學院（Rhode Island Schoolof Design），現在畢業。

典禮上的中國嘉賓

美國高校的畢業典禮內容豐富，形式多樣。

羅德島設計學院畢業典禮正式開始，照例是校長致辭、嘉賓致辭以及杰出教師獲頒獎、杰出畢業生致辭。作嘉賓致辭的是2012年度普利茨克建筑獎得主、中國美術學院建筑藝術學院院長王澍，他的講話受到師生們的傾力喝彩。這位被譽為建筑界諾貝爾獎的得主、以喚起“場景與回憶之間的共鳴”、傾注“對時間的詩意體會”于設計作品、崇尚“建筑師首先要是個哲人”的新一代大師，在他絕不陌生的羅德島設計學院的畢業典禮上，面對數千聽眾用英語演講，從容地闡釋了自己對建筑的理解以及建筑設計理念，仿佛是一次東西方文化以及設計理念、創意極其默契、融洽的交流。在這個大典上，王澍被授予羅德島藝術學院榮譽博士（Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts），這是一所美國最佳藝術設計高等學府對來自中國的一位設計大師的崇高敬意。

在王澍之前，還有另一位同樣來自中國杭州的嘉賓致辭，他就是中國美術學院院長許江。他以漢語致辭（一位年輕人即時翻譯），推崇中國美術學院與羅德島設計學院近年來的良好互動與合作，并就技術時代藝術何為等話題作了闡述。許江在被邀作這番藝術領導能力和遠見（Leadership and Vision in the Arts）的演講之后，被羅德島設計學院授予“榮譽院長”稱號（Presidential Honor for Distinguished）。

王澍和許江的演講都不期而然地獲得了全場聽眾的掌聲與歡呼。親臨其境，讓我尤其感慨的是，這兩位特邀演講嘉賓不僅都來自東方，且同樣來自我的家鄉杭州，來自中國美院這座中國頂尖藝術學府。親切感和與有榮焉的自豪感油然而生。當然，我更清楚，王澍和許江亮相美國一流藝術院校畢業大典，也正是他們在藝術領域的杰出成就，讓世界認識到今日中國的藝術及其創新理念，不僅緊追時代的步伐，也不啻引領時代的潮流。西方與東方，只有在生活中在藝術中更容易相互欣賞相互理解相互融合。我的感悟還包括：東西方世界，尤其是中國和美國在各個領域正在相互交融。在文化教育藝術領域，中美文化之間的互動互補互惠的交流與合作，更加深入人心。這種趨勢與發展，不僅是兩國人民的幸運，是人文藝術的福祉，也是地球村融合發展的基礎。

擁有兩所名校的普羅維登斯

羅德島設計學院在普羅維登斯的市中心。我們坐在圖書館的圓頂大廳休息，翻閱資料知道這是一座歷史悠久的建筑，上面幾層樓兼作學生宿舍。我看到大廳門外有搬移學習、生活用具的學生，他們需要在暑假暫時或者永久離別這里。

普羅維登斯是美國最早的城市之一，早在1636年就有英國人來此開拓定居，目前依然是全美最大的珠寶首飾、銀器設計和制造中心之一。早期移民發展的布朗家族，催生有常青藤高校聯盟的布朗大學。布朗大學與羅德島設計學院交錯相挨，一起融入普羅維登斯這座精致的小城，和諧又親切。這座州府小城由于有兩所名校而益添光彩。其實，哈佛大學、麻省理工學院所在的波士頓近郊劍橋鎮，斯坦福大學所在的北加州帕洛阿托市，加州理工學院所在的南加州帕薩迪納市，無不兼具這樣相得益彰的傳統與功能。

普羅維登斯堪稱一座傳統底蘊深厚的新英格蘭城市，人文藝術興盛，博物館很多。街道、小巷縱橫交錯，頗具歐洲城市風韻。與城市同名的普羅維登斯河穿城而過，各種歷史時期、風格的建筑沿河而建，極富靈氣，生動別致。

我們到市內的會議中心，熟悉將要舉行羅德島設計學院畢業典禮的場所，隔壁的展廳已經布滿了各個系科畢業生的實習作品。該校的專業課程繁多，碩士課程在全美藝術學院與耶魯大學并列第一，其中杰杰所讀的平面設計及工業設計相當著名，為頂尖科系。匆匆觀摩展品，已然體察到無論是建筑、繪畫、雕塑、珠寶、玻璃、陶瓷還是攝影、數字媒體等各種平面、立體的設計作品，無不時尚、前衛、新潮，當然也注重實用結合；每一件作品都浸透了畢業生對美好生活的熱愛與投入。

全城矚目的畢業典禮

羅德島設計學院這個一流的藝術類院校尚欠缺一座足以容納大型活動的體育館或者禮堂，不過，普羅維登斯市的會議中心這些年幾乎就理所當然地成為羅德島設計學院舉行畢業典禮的最佳場所。這使我回憶、比照起先前不同的經歷與觀感。斯坦福大學每年的畢業生動輒六七千名，除了上午在學校萬人體育場舉行畢業大典外，各院系下午都還會自行舉辦相應的典禮，畢竟，向畢業生發證書之類的程序只能分開進行。而加州理工學院屬于袖珍型精英大學，每年畢業的學生也就兩三百人，學校園區內的大草坪正好布置成畢業典禮的舞臺與坐席。由于小而精，相應的程序設計也很溫馨，典禮前一天下午，是校長開放自己的官邸，畢業生和親友們次第到訪，在校長家的后花園享受加州陽光下的派對時光，品嘗美味小吃和紅酒。類似的暖身活動還有正式晚餐與畢業生表演的晚會。

那么，羅德島設計學院的畢業典禮又會呈現怎樣的新鮮感呢？

我們參觀了杰杰在工業設計系老樓的工作室后，就一門心思趕赴這場全城都矚目的大典——羅德島設計學院畢業典禮。

市區的人流幾乎都涌向會議中心。沿樓梯步上二樓，典禮大廳門前區域早已熙熙攘攘，畢業生和親友有說不完的話。鮮花已經售罄，氣球也很走俏。

與會者除了親友，都是當地各界人士和居民。大會堂中間前端的幾百個座位是留給畢業生的，觀禮者都在前端兩側和后面落座，主席臺右側已有當地的知名樂隊現場演奏，熱情歡快。儀式開始前，先是穿戴各種博士服的學院教師們排隊魚貫而入，接受公眾的掌聲與歡呼，并在主席臺就座，他們中不乏當今時尚設計界的先鋒人物甚或大師。接著，各院系的碩士畢業生、學士畢業生依序列隊進入會場，除穿戴學士服、碩士服之外，不少學生也標新立異，披掛起各種奇裝異服和帽衫，甚至打扮成不同的卡通或動物，雀躍著行進，贏得一片呼聲不絕。

通例的程序一一走過。畢業生挨個上臺，從校長手里領受畢業證書。典禮宣布結束的一剎那，畢業生歡呼雀躍，嬉鬧玩笑，卻沒有出現通常向高空拋帽子的景象，也許這些天之驕子們也舍不得自己榮譽的象征。畢業生與親友不停地拍照留念，從會議大廳直到大廳門外，延續著畢業大典的榮耀與喜悅。

我們與身著碩士服的杰杰穿街走巷，不時有路人向他祝賀。因為全普羅維登斯城的居民都知道，今天是屬于羅德島設計學院的日子。

（本文圖片由作者和達飛欴提供）

Witnessing My Nephews Commencement in Rhode Island

By Que Weihang

A few years ago， I attended my sons college commencement ceremony， which turned out to be an unforgettable experience. The past June I attended another equally unforgettable commencement ceremony. Three years before， my nephew Jiejie came from Hangzhou， the capital of eastern Chinas coastal Zhejiang Province， to study at Rhode Island School of Design， one of the best design institutions in America. This past June， he graduated.

June 2， 2012 was a big day for Rhode Island， as 645 graduates of Rhode Island School of Design （RISD） would attend the commencement ceremony and officially graduate from the prestigious school. Like me， thousands of well-wishers and family members flooded into Providence， the capital of Rhode Island， to witness the spectacular day. The city proper hosts the campuses of five colleges including Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design， two high-profile higher education institutions in America.

Altogether， 176 postgraduate students and 448 bachelors degree recipients would officially graduate that day. As the campus of RISD does not have such a big space for the commencement ceremony， the Rhode Island Convention Center had served as the venue for the big event. Before I went to the Convention Center， I visited a display room at the Industrial Design Department situated in an old building where Jiejie had studied. After the visit， I was on my way to the center. The people I saw on the street were moving in the same direction toward the same destination： the Convention Center. After I walked up to the second floor， I saw crowds in front of the hall where graduates and their families chatted. Fresh flowers had sold out. Balloons were on hot sale.

Before the ceremony， I visited an exhibition in the center where graduation designs were on display. The exhibition was a feast for eyes. RISD ranks with Yale University side by side as Americas number one art schools in terms of the number of graduate courses in design. The graphic and industrial design course at RISD， which my nephew took， is quite renowned in the United States. I went through the exhibition hall at not a too slow pace， feeling dazzled by the galaxy of exhibits： the designs covered architecture， painting， sculpture， jewelry， glass， porcelain， photography， and digital media. The artifacts looked both avant-garde and pragmatic.

The convention hall was packed. Participants included family members， local residents and representatives from all of walks in Providence. The hundreds of seats in the middle were preserved for the graduates. Spectators sat in the seats behind them and on the two sides. A locally well-known band was playing music on the right side of the rostrum， adding a touch of festivity to the big day.

Before the commencement ceremony， teachers donning doctoral costumes filed in， among loud cheering of the public before they sat down on the rostrum. Of the staff were illustrious fashion designers and masters. Following the teachers were 176 graduate students of master degrees and 448 bachelors degree recipients. Many of these young people were dressed in master and bachelors costumes whereas some sported strange-looking costumes and headgears and some even displayed cartoon and animal images. While they filed into their seats， we spectators cheered loudly.

The commencement unfolded as usually as I had known. The president and honored speakers spoke. Graduates came on the rostrum one by one to accept the graduation certificate from the president. What caught my eyes were two guest speakers from Hangzhou， the capital of Zhejiang， China. One was Wang Shu， a professor of Hangzhou-based China Academy of Art and 2012 Pritzker Prize-winning architect， seen as the Nobel Prize for architecture in the world. Wang delivered the Commencement Address. He spoke in English about his own approach to the architecture， the commercialization of design in China and the disbelief among his countrymen that he had actually earned international recognition for his work in the form of this years Pritzker Prize. At the commencement ceremony， Wang received the title of Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts. The other speaker from Hangzhou was Xu Jiang， president of China Academy of Art. Addressing the audience on the subject of leadership and vision in art， Xu talked through an interpreter about the interaction and exchanges between China Academy of Art and Rhode Island School of Art in recent years and about technology and modern art. He received the Presidential Honor for Distinguished. I felt honored partly because they came from Hangzhou， my hometown， and mainly because their presence at the commencement ceremony of RISD meant the global recognition of their achievements in arts.

Hearing the conclusion of the commencement ceremony， the graduates cheered， laughing， hugging， and shaking hands， but they did not throw their hats into the air. The graduates and their families took photos inside and outside the hall.

Jiejie， dressed in the masters costume， and I and other family members walked in town. Now and then someone came up and congratulated him. All the people in Providence knew that the day belonged to Rhode Island School of Art.