中国艺术家袁野·序

方杰

　
　　认识袁野是从想买他的画开始，两个人就这样认识了。

　　其实，我一向不太喜欢中国水墨画，尽管我是个中国人，也接受过完整而系统的中式教育。我不喜欢中国画的原因：一者是因为历史上的中国画家太多，流派纷杂。闹明白要花好些时间；那些大名家的画也看不完，自然无暇，也不知道应该怎样去关注当代的中国国画家们。不太喜欢的第二个原因：在于我对中国国画家有隙，觉得他们的画里，没有社会责任感。满幅花草，闲人聊意，只供文人雅玩，无非是寥寥数笔，以解胸中逸气，梅兰菊竹白眼鸟，却毫无使命感可言。完全是些牢骚和颓废的小情趣，我认为这是宋代以降，汉民族的衰落，造成的。

　　西方画家恰恰相反，画的大都是政治和社会题材，诸如宗教和军事之类，对事件起了影像记载和承载作用，对历史研究有确切的帮助。正是因为社会、政治类中国画的缺少，使得我们研究历史时只能借助文献资料，而文献资料的客观性受作者的影响很大，这样就导致我们的历史中出现很多“公案”；而也正是因为此类中国画的稀少，更显得它珍贵。《清明上河图》只是一副风俗画，但各朝各代有无数人是靠研究它而过活。香港嘉士德曾以2.3亿港元的天价拍出过一个图案内容为“鬼谷子下山”的元青花，就是因为和军事搭了一点边，就比单纯表现花鸟、鱼虫的同类型瓷器高出好几倍的价格。

　　我喜欢袁野的画，大抵有三：一是因为袁野的画的色彩。他的用色很得外国人的欣赏，外国人总觉得中国画家不懂色彩，中国画是没有光彩的，袁野却是个例外，这或许和他早年钻研油画有关，他的色彩有油画的味。远看是油画，近看却是国画。

　　第二，袁野的画带有强烈的东方史源符号。有一阶段，袁野向我借了很多考古报告，特别是文化期的东西，看得出他是进行了专门的研究和对比。

　　第三，袁野的画有中国国画家最重要的意境。意境是虚脱于具体现实物体，是一种精神上的存在。看同一件物品，不同文化、不同阅历的人会产生完全不同的理解，甚至这种理解的差异会表现在同一个人的不同年龄段上。就象我们经常说的一句话“横看成岭侧成峰”。这就是意境。历史上，西方画家是绝对的写实，这种写实的水平至今没有人能超越。而随着照相技术和光影技术的出现，写实的画法被现代技术所冲跨，而发展成了绝对的抽象，抽象得象宣传海报和符号。画面本身所应表现出的美感和想象空间被各种抽象的线条和夸张的色彩所替代，以至于无法将这样的画放进温暖的三口之家，而只适合放在单身汉的小屋里。

　　袁野的画既有色彩，也有意境；我想新生人类和外国人一定喜欢。外国人喜欢是件好事，中国最当红的画家，哪一个不是被外国人捧出来的。

　　看袁野的画，容易入眼，容易联想，总觉得很熟悉，特别是他带有宋意的画。其实他并不是抄袭，这是更高妙的师承，意追高古情在当今。就象看当年雍正仿宋的瓷器，也能闻到宋的味道，宋的精神，却更有他自成一派的韵味在深处。

　　过去社会的历史，是文献记录的历史，今后的历史将一定是影像的历史，包括绘画。我想以后研究袁野，能否从历史背景入手，研究他如何用色彩，画的意境和理论。当然如果袁野能多一些使命感，多画一些当代的事件、人物那就更好了。

　　那么他将来一定是一位集大成者也！

澳籍华裔 鉴藏家 奥普控股集团董事会主席：方杰

Fang jie

　　Yuanye and I got to know each other when I wanted to buy his paintings.

　　I actually have had a dislike of traditional Chinese painting all the while, though I am a Chinese and have had complete and systematic Chinese education. There are two reasons for my dislike. One is there were too many Chinese painters in the history and various genres. It will take much time for you to make them clear. We do not know how to care about modern Chinese painters either. Another is I have prejudice to traditional Chinese painting. I think most traditional Chinese painters did not have social responsibilities in their paintings. They just drew for fun, no any sense of mission. I think it had revealed the Han nation’s weakness since Song dynasty.

　　The western painters are different. They draw more political and social background paintings, such as religious and military affairs. All these paintings are helpful to study the history. Because China lacks social and political paintings, I only can use the literature to study the history. But the objectivity of literature was affected by the author and then we only can find the public case in the history. Riverside scene at Qingming Festival was a genre painting. Almost every dynasty people keep studying on it. Christie’s bid a blue vase with 2.3 billion just because the content of the vase was about war. The price was much higher then some vases which simply show flowers and birds.

　　There are three points that I like Yuanye’s paintings.

　　First is his color. The color he used is appreciated by foreigners. Most foreigners think Chinese people don’t understand colors. There is no light and color in Chinese paintings. Yuanye is an exception. He likes studying oil paintings years ago which maybe is the reason his paintings full of oil paintings color. If we look far at his painting, it is like oil painting, it is like Chinese painting if take close eyes.

　　Second is the strong eastern symbol of his paintings. He borrowed some reports of ancient relics especially data in the culture terms days ago. I can tell he have done special study and contrast on them.

　　Thirdly, there is the most important artistic conception in his paintings. Artistic conception is out of concrete objects. It is kind of spirit. To see the same object, people of different culture and different background will have different understanding, even in different ages. We have a verse "Mountains is a ridge while seen by the side; is a peak while seen by the end" which is the artistic conception. In the history, western artists painted realistically, and no one can surpass even till now. While with the photographic and light technique developing, realistic way was substitute by all those modern techniques. And it developed into abstract which were like propagandistic posters and symbols. There are only abstract lines and exaggerate colors, no any beauty and imagination. These paintings only can be put in the single's room, not in a cozy family.

　　Yuanye's paintings have color and artistic conception as well. The foreigner and new-born people should like his paintings. It is good for that his paintings are popular for the foreigners.

　　Yuanye's paintings are nice to appreciate, easy to imagine and familiar to us, especially his paintings with Song dynasty sense. He dose not simply imitate. He is good at studying ancestors. He can use nowadays mood to express the old times thinking. When we see Emperor Yongzheng's Song dynasty taste porcelain, we can smell and taste Song spirit.

　　The past time is the recording literature time. The new coming time will be the video time. If we will study Yuanye in future, could we study how he uses colors, artistic conceptions and theories from the history background? If Yuanye can paint some pictures of modern case and people with more sense of mission, that would be better.

　　So he will be a great successor in future.

(Author:President of Aupu Group Holding Company Limited, Board of directors)                                      (Translator: faye.yan)