=[零舍X设涂社]=

没错，这本书甚至超越了我偶像那本The Art of Hellboy或者去年我入手的那本Alex Ross的Mythology。这是一本感人的个人传记，但同时又是充满灵性的生活绘本，能胜过我偶像Mike Mignola的地方大概就是那合宜的文字与图像的组合。书里讲述的是作者Danny的太太Patti在一次地铁站候车时不幸失足坠落铁轨，而这时正是地铁入站的时间，幸运的是Patti保住了性命－－在付出了下半身的机能性的代价上；从此丈夫担起了照顾瘫痪的太太＋年幼的儿子＋一家子杂事＋自己的事业的重任，生活自然瞬间变成灰暗的颜色，这不仅是主观上的，客观上Danny的圈子里亲朋好友们都小心翼翼的考虑如何照顾Danny的感情，虽出自好心，但却造成一层沟通的隔膜，Danny发现自己变得孤独起来了；而某一个晚上，Danny灵光一现，觉得应该开始自学画画，不是说出于要记录下自己这一段家庭悲惨的遭遇，只是单纯的一个点子，但正是这么一个点子，给Danny带来一个冲破灰暗生活的契机，Danny通过学习画画重新认识自己周遭的世界，重新去享受造物主的恩宠，重新去发现生活的意义，而在这一切的经历下，留下了这么一本文字与图形并茂的记录本子，也就是这本Everyday Matters。书很感人，也很启发，对于Danny自己来说，这既是自己的身心恢复（"Recovery"）的记录，同时也是对这个世界再度认识（"Discovery"）的记录。Danny的字写得很好看，而且看得出来他的排版功力很有一套，文字和图画配合得很好，读着他的文字，看着旁边的配图，文字就开始立体起来，而且好像可以感觉到Danny在纽约街头边走边停边画的样子，生活，原本就应该这么活灵活现的。本书还有更巧妙的一点，整本书除了书末的条形码是印刷字体，其余一切都是Danny的字迹，连扉页正后方的那页版权页（就是记录作者、编辑和出版社信息，还有那些ISBN编码的地方）也是Danny自己手写的，虽然不在明显的地方，但让人觉得很有新意。

大家可以去Danny的官方网站看看这本书的介绍：http://www.dannygregory.com/store.php，在Everyday Matters by Danny的那个条目下有个链接Learn more about this book，又或者你可以去Amazon上看：http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156898443X?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance





图很漂亮，是吧？我还想引用其中的一段文字，有关画画与生活：

Something about that drawing was different from anything I'd done before. I took my time and then suddenly I zoned out. My mind went blank, my breathing slowed, and when I finally stopped to look at my page, I was amazed that I had managed to create anything so beautiful. At first it seems a fluke, but then I draw the content of our medicine cabinet (slowly, slowly), and again I saw something new. (You can see it, too, on the next page).

What was different was not the drawing bu the seeing. I caressed what I drew with my eyes, lingering over every curve and bump, gliding around contours and into shadows. No matter what I looked at in this way, I saw beauty and felt love. It was very weird but it happened again and again. When I slowed way down and let my mind go, I had the same incredibly sensual experience. It didn't matter what I drew. And then I discovered that it didn't matter what the drawing was like. In fact, I could simply toss it away, like the skin of a banana.

What mattered was the slow, careful gaze.

The reason why most people draw badly is because they draw symbols instead of what they see. A nose is a sort of triangle. An eye is a circle with another one inside. An ear is a circle with a squiggle. The brain has an inventory of shorthand symbols for stuff, and that's what we draw.

It's very human. Assigning things to categories, using symbols and signs; these skills separate us from the beasts. Unfortunately, these symbols are a screen through which we come to see the world. We say, "That person is rich, that one's crass. He's a criminal type, she's a blonde, they're famous, she's in a wheelchair..."

We lump people and things and experiences into categories and deal with them accordingly. It's efficient but it strips the world of texture and chance, like eating every meal at McDonald's or wearing the same uniform every day.

This kind of thinking shows itself when we try to draw. In fact, that's the reason most people will say, "Oh, I can't draw." Kids never say that, until they reach the age of twelve or so, and their symbols are hard-baked.

What I began to see by drawing is that everything is actually special and unique and interesting and beautiful. Everything. Just by sitting and studying it, I quickly began to penetrate beyond the categorical imperative that made me feel so afraid.

I saw that if everything around me looks different than I think it does, maybe the gloomy life I had been defining for us was also just an illusion.

Because just as a tree is not a tree is not a tree, I had no real idea what life with a disabled wife would be like.

I'd have to wait and see.