把經過“改造”的漢字，或者説以漢字為素材，做成一座座巨大的雕塑品，而且連成宏大的雕塑群，應該説是劉永剛的創舉。

劉永剛能有如此的氣魄，從繪畫創作邁出這一大步，有其必然的內在原因。他對藝術的理解，似乎從形而下的層面跳越到一個很高的新境界。藝術之所以成為藝術，它不僅是現實生活的直接反映，它是把現實中的精神用藝術手段加以形象化，給人以力感和美感，給人以想像和啟迪。藝術家有廣泛選擇題材的自由，更有充分創建個性風格的自由，但他擁有的自由也會受到諸多方面的制約。這種制約除了來自觀眾的審美和接受水準外，更來自它自身的條件：知識和技能的儲備狀況，視野和修養的準備程度。藝術創作和科學實驗一樣，在新的課題前面，人們可以大膽假設、預想，但最終的成果在許多方面卻要受制于他己掌握的知識和己具備的素養，儘管也可能有諸多的偶然因素會發揮作用。在藝術領域，不可想像一個沒有充分知識儲備和文化涵養的人，可以為所欲為地施展自己的才能；也不可想像，沒有在長期實踐中獲得經驗的人，可以在藝術創新上一舉獲得成功。

劉永剛在上個世紀80年代己經馳名于畫壇。他在首屆中國油畫展獲奨的作品《北薩拉的牧羊女》，不僅已經顯示出他傑出的藝術才華，而且還表明他在藝術上求新、求變革的願望。這件作品中的人物以至整個畫面境界是靜穆而崇高。從表面上看，這件帶有古典寫實意味的油畫與現在他創作的以“愛擁”為主題的文字雕塑迥然不同，但細細觀察和思量卻可以發現，兩者之間卻有內在的聯繫，那就是都追求一種宏大而嚴謹的古典精神，追求表現一種穩定而堅實的力量。只是媒材與題材變化了，藝術氣魄更宏大了，藝術境界提升了。變化的原因來自於諸多方面：作者在德國遊學的經驗以及所受到的影響，他對藝術創造的新體悟，等等。劉永剛十分讚賞德國現代畫家馬克斯·貝克曼(Max Beckmann，1884-1950)的藝術，讚賞他藝術中的寓意性，讚賞他關注潛藏于表面事物下面的深層含義。劉永剛從貝克曼的藝術中受到啟發，結合自己的生命體驗和藝術經驗，包括他受到的漢蒙兩種文化的教育，以及他對漢字形象的理解，終於走向以“愛擁”為主題的雕塑創造。從結構嚴密的象形漢字出發，但又不是具體漢字的再現，而是經過加工和發揮，使漢字雕塑的造型切合“愛擁”的主題：宇宙間兩種基本力量—陰陽的對立與統一。劉永剛在處理這一系列雕塑作品時，機智、妥善地解決了雕塑結構的收斂與擴張、整體形象塑造與細部刻畫的課題，他用墨玉石作為材料以加強作品在色澤上取得單純而豐富的表現效果。

以“愛擁”為主題的雕塑介於具像與抽象之間，它們沒有刻畫具體的人的形象，但它們傳達了人性中最基本、最普遍的感情力量，而又不止于男女之間的愛。面對這些作品，不同文化層次的觀眾可以獲得不同的藝術感受，這一點當然是劉永剛所期待的。他似乎要讓觀眾在觀賞作品的過程中，在看懂與看不懂之間與作品對話與交流，從而得到某種精神的滿足。

邵大箴　　中央美術學院教授　博士生導師　 中國美術史學家

著名美術評論家　　《美術研究》雜誌主編

In the Depth of Character Sculptures: Impression of Liu Yonggang’s Works

Shao Dazhen

Mr. Shao Dazhen, professor from Central Academy of Fine Arts, doctoral tutor, historian of Chinese fine art, renowned critic of fine arts, chief editor of Journal of Fine Arts

‘Transformed’ Chinese characters, or rather, large sculptures based on Chinese characters and connected into groups, are pioneered by Liu Yonggang. There is an intrinsic reason for him to be so courageous as to take this step. His understanding of art seemed to have experienced a leap from a physical level to a new, higher one. Art is not only the direct reflection of real life, but the artistic rendering of it for the purpose of inspiring the sense of power and beauty, and to arouse imagination. Artists are free to choose a wide range of subjects and to establish their own styles, but their freedom is subject to restriction in various aspects. The restriction not only lies in viewers’ aesthetic level, but also derives from artists’ own qualifications—their reserve of knowledge and skills, and their preparedness in vision and cultivation. Like scientific experiments, artistic creations allow for bold assumptions and forecasts, but the final results are in many respects conditioned by artists’ knowledge and cultivation. Despite accidental factors, so far as art is concerned, it is unimaginable that a person ill-equipped in knowledge and culture can use his talent to the fullest extent possible; it is equally unimaginable that a person could succeed at the first go in artistic innovation without experience derived from long-time practice.

Liu Yonggang made a name as an artist in the 1980s. Shepherdess of Northern Sala, a prize-winning work at the first national art exhibition, not only displayed his outstanding talent, but it also expressed his desire for innovation. The human figure and the general effect of that painting convey a sublime serenity. Its classical realistic style appears so different from that of his latest works, the character sculptures named Embrace of Love. However, careful observation and thinking will reveal that both express the pursuit of a grand, rigorous classical spirit and a stable, stern power. The only differences are the change of medium and subject, a broader vision, and a higher level. The changes were caused by multiple reasons, such as influences during his study in Germany and his new ideas about creation. Liu thinks highly of the art of the modern German painter Max Beckmann (1884-1950). He is impressed by pregnancy of meanings in Beckmann’s works, and his concern for deep meanings under the surfaces of things. Inspirations from Beckmann’s art, his own life and artistic experience, his education in Han and Mongolian cultures, and his interpretation of the images of Chinese characters—these led to the creation of the sculptures named Embrace of Love. Though based on tersely structured hieroglyphic characters, they are not the representation of particular Chinese characters. Characters are modified to fit the theme of Embrace of Love—the opposition and unity between yin and yang, two basic powers of the universe. He ingeniously handled the contraction and expansion of the structure, the general image and the depiction of details. The use of black jade as the material strengthened the simple yet rich effect of the color.

The sculptures in Embrace of Love are half way between concreteness and abstraction. Instead of depicting human images, they convey the fundamental, universal power of feelings in human nature, which is not confined to the love between men and women. Viewers of different cultural levels will have different feelings about them, and that is of course what Liu expects. He seems to want them to derive certain mental satisfaction from communicating with his works, a communication that mixes understanding and the failure to understand.