在美国，6月是青春洋溢梦想放飞的毕业季。早几年我参加过儿子的大学毕业典礼，今年又有了一趟难忘的毕业典礼观摩：外甥杰杰三年前从杭州来，就读美国首屈一指的艺术院校——罗德岛设计学院（Rhode Island Schoolof Design），现在毕业。
典礼上的中国嘉宾
美国高校的毕业典礼内容丰富，形式多样。
罗德岛设计学院毕业典礼正式开始，照例是校长致辞、嘉宾致辞以及杰出教师获颁奖、杰出毕业生致辞。作嘉宾致辞的是2012年度普利茨克建筑奖得主、中国美术学院建筑艺术学院院长王澍，他的讲话受到师生们的倾力喝彩。这位被誉为建筑界诺贝尔奖的得主、以唤起“场景与回忆之间的共鸣”、倾注“对时间的诗意体会”于设计作品、崇尚“建筑师首先要是个哲人”的新一代大师，在他绝不陌生的罗德岛设计学院的毕业典礼上，面对数千听众用英语演讲，从容地阐释了自己对建筑的理解以及建筑设计理念，仿佛是一次东西方文化以及设计理念、创意极其默契、融洽的交流。在这个大典上，王澍被授予罗德岛艺术学院荣誉博士（Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts），这是一所美国最佳艺术设计高等学府对来自中国的一位设计大师的崇高敬意。
在王澍之前，还有另一位同样来自中国杭州的嘉宾致辞，他就是中国美术学院院长许江。他以汉语致辞（一位年轻人即时翻译），推崇中国美术学院与罗德岛设计学院近年来的良好互动与合作，并就技术时代艺术何为等话题作了阐述。许江在被邀作这番艺术领导能力和远见（Leadership and Vision in the Arts）的演讲之后，被罗德岛设计学院授予“荣誉院长”称号（Presidential Honor for Distinguished）。
王澍和许江的演讲都不期而然地获得了全场听众的掌声与欢呼。亲临其境，让我尤其感慨的是，这两位特邀演讲嘉宾不仅都来自东方，且同样来自我的家乡杭州，来自中国美院这座中国顶尖艺术学府。亲切感和与有荣焉的自豪感油然而生。当然，我更清楚，王澍和许江亮相美国一流艺术院校毕业大典，也正是他们在艺术领域的杰出成就，让世界认识到今日中国的艺术及其创新理念，不仅紧追时代的步伐，也不啻引领时代的潮流。西方与东方，只有在生活中在艺术中更容易相互欣赏相互理解相互融合。我的感悟还包括：东西方世界，尤其是中国和美国在各个领域正在相互交融。在文化教育艺术领域，中美文化之间的互动互补互惠的交流与合作，更加深入人心。这种趋势与发展，不仅是两国人民的幸运，是人文艺术的福祉，也是地球村融合发展的基础。
拥有两所名校的普罗维登斯
罗德岛设计学院在普罗维登斯的市中心。我们坐在图书馆的圆顶大厅休息，翻阅资料知道这是一座历史悠久的建筑，上面几层楼兼作学生宿舍。我看到大厅门外有搬移学习、生活用具的学生，他们需要在暑假暂时或者永久离别这里。
普罗维登斯是美国最早的城市之一，早在1636年就有英国人来此开拓定居，目前依然是全美最大的珠宝首饰、银器设计和制造中心之一。早期移民发展的布朗家族，催生有常青藤高校联盟的布朗大学。布朗大学与罗德岛设计学院交错相挨，一起融入普罗维登斯这座精致的小城，和谐又亲切。这座州府小城由于有两所名校而益添光彩。其实，哈佛大学、麻省理工学院所在的波士顿近郊剑桥镇，斯坦福大学所在的北加州帕洛阿托市，加州理工学院所在的南加州帕萨迪纳市，无不兼具这样相得益彰的传统与功能。
普罗维登斯堪称一座传统底蕴深厚的新英格兰城市，人文艺术兴盛，博物馆很多。街道、小巷纵横交错，颇具欧洲城市风韵。与城市同名的普罗维登斯河穿城而过，各种历史时期、风格的建筑沿河而建，极富灵气，生动别致。
我们到市内的会议中心，熟悉将要举行罗德岛设计学院毕业典礼的场所，隔壁的展厅已经布满了各个系科毕业生的实习作品。该校的专业课程繁多，硕士课程在全美艺术学院与耶鲁大学并列第一，其中杰杰所读的平面设计及工业设计相当著名，为顶尖科系。匆匆观摩展品，已然体察到无论是建筑、绘画、雕塑、珠宝、玻璃、陶瓷还是摄影、数字媒体等各种平面、立体的设计作品，无不时尚、前卫、新潮，当然也注重实用结合；每一件作品都浸透了毕业生对美好生活的热爱与投入。
全城瞩目的毕业典礼
罗德岛设计学院这个一流的艺术类院校尚欠缺一座足以容纳大型活动的体育馆或者礼堂，不过，普罗维登斯市的会议中心这些年几乎就理所当然地成为罗德岛设计学院举行毕业典礼的最佳场所。这使我回忆、比照起先前不同的经历与观感。斯坦福大学每年的毕业生动辄六七千名，除了上午在学校万人体育场举行毕业大典外，各院系下午都还会自行举办相应的典礼，毕竟，向毕业生发证书之类的程序只能分开进行。而加州理工学院属于袖珍型精英大学，每年毕业的学生也就两三百人，学校园区内的大草坪正好布置成毕业典礼的舞台与坐席。由于小而精，相应的程序设计也很温馨，典礼前一天下午，是校长开放自己的官邸，毕业生和亲友们次第到访，在校长家的后花园享受加州阳光下的派对时光，品尝美味小吃和红酒。类似的暖身活动还有正式晚餐与毕业生表演的晚会。
那么，罗德岛设计学院的毕业典礼又会呈现怎样的新鲜感呢？
我们参观了杰杰在工业设计系老楼的工作室后，就一门心思赶赴这场全城都瞩目的大典——罗德岛设计学院毕业典礼。
市区的人流几乎都涌向会议中心。沿楼梯步上二楼，典礼大厅门前区域早已熙熙攘攘，毕业生和亲友有说不完的话。鲜花已经售罄，气球也很走俏。
与会者除了亲友，都是当地各界人士和居民。大会堂中间前端的几百个座位是留给毕业生的，观礼者都在前端两侧和后面落座，主席台右侧已有当地的知名乐队现场演奏，热情欢快。仪式开始前，先是穿戴各种博士服的学院教师们排队鱼贯而入，接受公众的掌声与欢呼，并在主席台就座，他们中不乏当今时尚设计界的先锋人物甚或大师。接着，各院系的硕士毕业生、学士毕业生依序列队进入会场，除穿戴学士服、硕士服之外，不少学生也标新立异，披挂起各种奇装异服和帽衫，甚至打扮成不同的卡通或动物，雀跃着行进，赢得一片呼声不绝。 通例的程序一一走过。毕业生挨个上台，从校长手里领受毕业证书。典礼宣布结束的一刹那，毕业生欢呼雀跃，嬉闹玩笑，却没有出现通常向高空抛帽子的景象，也许这些天之骄子们也舍不得自己荣誉的象征。毕业生与亲友不停地拍照留念，从会议大厅直到大厅门外，延续着毕业大典的荣耀与喜悦。
我们与身着硕士服的杰杰穿街走巷，不时有路人向他祝贺。因为全普罗维登斯城的居民都知道，今天是属于罗德岛设计学院的日子。
（本文图片由作者和达飞欴提供）
Witnessing My Nephew’s Commencement in Rhode Island
By Que Weihang
A few years ago， I attended my son’s 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 China’s 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 bachelor’s 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 America’s 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 bachelor’s degree recipients. Many of these young people were dressed in master and bachelor’s 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 year’s 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 master’s 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.
