我只有兩天我從沒有把握

一天用來希望一天用來絕望

我只有兩天我從沒有把握

一天用來路過另一天還是路過

——許魏

興濤大學畢業後做了教師，在家鄉樂山呆了好多年了，那真是個土肥水美的地方，昔日君子的樂土、蘇東坡的故鄉。佛光普照，生活閒適日子過得安逸，但他似乎仍不滿足於安居偶角。近幾年，劉興濤又在成都藍項藝術區租了個工作室，在那裏聚集著許多活躍的中國西南的藝術家：何多苓、周春芽、郭偉、趙能智、揚冕、羅發輝以及他的同窗吳建軍和更年輕的藝術家們。

從興濤不時寄來的郵件中看到近作，他的創作資源仍與家鄉的生活場景和感受有關。樂山這樣的縣級城市的變化，也許是今天中國城市化進程中那些吃力和費勁追趕現代化步伐的中小城市的一個縮影。現代化提升了經濟，卻在文化和日常生活中造就了焦慮和困惑。日漸繁榮發展的後面帶來的是更為明顯的差別和迷失感。劉興濤以《潰夜》命名的這組作品，將我們的視界引向白天喧鬧繁華盡落的暗夜，縣城空曠的街頭、無邊的灰暗、模糊不明的燈光、失落孤寂的行人，只有商業廚窗和廣告燈箱閃著覆蓋一切的慾望之光……用四川藝術家熟諳的傳統表現性的筆法塗抹的這些單色風景，表達出一種空虛焦燥的生存感受，真實裸露的感情和揮之不去的傷懷與鄉愁。在上個世紀八十年代中期之後，批評家們愛用“鄉土”、“溫情”以及感傷主義來形容西南地區本土特色的藝術，儘管這裡包含對這一地區藝術家創作的一種輕蔑。但今天，誰也不會否認西南藝術家們對中國當代藝術的重復貢獻，以及地方文化和社會生活對當代藝術的影響。正是重新認同這種地方性是構成當代性不可分割的一部分，劉興濤與其他西南的年輕藝術家，才有可能在全球化的藝術網路和文化衝擊的壓力下找到富於特殊性的接點。

生存在千篇一律追逐進步和時代美學的中國縣城邊緣的藝術家劉興濤尖銳而憂傷地關注著故鄉的生存日常的方面，描繪小城、變遷、風景、空間、時光如織物抽絲後留下縫隙，那些不象北京、上海、成都般飽和的城市，在那裏遠離的中心和權力就如苦澀走調的空洞，堆砌在一起的有喧嘩、臟亂的環境、塵土飛揚的國度、暗夜轟鳴、機器永遠在開膛破肚、錄影廳、檯球桌、麥當勞、武打片、卡拉OK和燈箱廣告構成了這個嘈雜、破敗，即受到新文化侵襲的小城的場景，透過《潰夜》一次一次地闖進我們的眼前：風景、傳聞、人物、記憶、美麗與哀愁，永遠暈頭轉向地遊弋于個人與歷史兩個空間。物欲過剩而願望失落，白天的狂熱一到深夜就變成了酸澀的調子；粗糙、色彩晦暗、仿佛蒙著層層霧的灰色，慾望如火中燒，孤獨堅如磐石、荒誕揮之不去，信仰細過遊絲，這一切我們何嘗陌生？

我一直以為，枯燥乏味的縣城生活一定會使藝術家誕生出感人的作品，不管是小説、電影還是繪畫。縣城生活與中國新的文化之間的巨大 的反差所孕育的激情和欲求始終在時光裏醞釀著。許多年前，我也曾在樂山清衣江邊黃桷樹下小坐，泡一壺花茶遠眺樂山大佛的身影，體驗余輝照耀下那份安詳和溫暖的意境。今天，這些記憶和風景已經嘠然而止，全然退色。如《潰夜》喻示的那樣，過去時代的理想和場景的潰敗是如此的徹底，現實的暗部象潰爛的傷口無法收拾。如歌手許魏歌唱的那樣：“我只有兩天，一天用來生活，一天用來死亡。”因此，劉興濤對於剛剛過去的縣城生活時光的記錄和描繪，令人肅然起敬——如果我們老去，這些繪畫作品不會使這些時光銷聲匿跡，它會將我們共同帶回時光的河流之中，如同我們曾經孤獨憂傷地站在三江交匯處，站到上世紀90年代和本世紀初中國縣城的暗夜的街道上，那時我們痛苦、窮困、迷惘而幼稚，浪漫、單純和可笑。

葉 永 青

2006年7月7日

于北京望京寓所

I have two more days, I am at lost

One day for hope, another for despair

I have more days, am at lost

After walking through the first day, so is the next.

XuWei

Upon graduation, Xintao stayed in Le Shan for several years working as a teacher. Le Shan is the birth place of famous scholar Su Dongpo, and is a heaven on earth for mankind. Life is beautiful and comfortable here; however, Liu Xintao simply could not stay put without challenge, few years ago Liu Xintao moved to Chen Du and rented a studio in Lan Ding Art District where many famous southwest artists like He Duoling, Zhou chunya, Quo Wei ,Zhao Nengzhi, Yang Mian ,Luo Fahui and even his schoolmate Wu jianjun do their creative artworks there.

From the mailed images, it′s obvious that Xintao′s painting is deeply related to his hometown′s living conditions.

Le Shan is a County like a miniature of many China ′s small and medium cities which are trying to catch up with modernization strenuously ,just to reach urbanization but with much sacrifice. The elevations in economics has created anxiety and despair in daily life and as cultural impacts .Behind this progression that brings prosperity is a wider social gap and lost feeling.

“Despondent Night”-the title for this exhibition chosen by Liu Xintao himself, leads us to the reality of a bustling city late at night –quiet streets ,endless gloominess ,blurred lights, lonely and despaired street walkers and left with commercial display windows and bill boards trying to maintain the glory of the city in the day time.

Using Szechuan traditional painting technique, Xintao paints monochromic scenery adeptly by expressing boring life, deserted love, unforgotten sorrow and home sickness. In the mid 80′s, many art critics loved to use “native ness”, “warmness”and “sentimental value”to representation is also a humiliation to them.

But today, no one can deny the important contributions and influences of the southwest artists to the local culture and social life that lead to Chinese contemporary art. This recognitions has made local culture ad social life as part and integral of contemporary element. Hence Liu Xintao ,together with other southwest young artists,can now find his own style and unique characteristic despite under the pressure of art globalization network and the invasion of western culture.

As a suburban artist living in a stereotyped environment and chasing after ever changing progressive society and modern art,Lin Xintao′s sharp sense but despair feeling have directed him to detail attention of daily living environment, county scenery ,

Changing city, landscape space and scars that left by time. Unlike big cities like Beijing ,shanghai and Chengdu where have reached saturation point, counties are far from central government control and influence, but yet lie a big boring hollow hole where behind it filled with a mixture of progressiveness, dirty and dusty environment, night howling, annoying machinery noise, video shops, snooker tables, McDonald, kung fu movies, karaoke and commercial neon boxes which create untidiness ang

destruction,resulting from the invasion of new culture to this small counties.Through this”Despondent Night”we are repeatedly presented with landscape scenery,scandals,human behavior,memory,beauty and sorrow,and lost souls tomed between human and history dimensions.Desire has become despair,day time buzzling city has rurned intodull musical notes.What is left for us to experience is roughness,fading comlor,moodiness,burning desire,loneliness,absolute absurdness,and loss of direction.

I always believe that boring counties usually produce many talented arists who can create astonishing paintings.This applies to novel,movie and to art.The big differences between county life and China’s new culture have nurtured impulsiveness and strong desires that await time to bring them out timely.

Many years age,I ever sat under a tree in Le Shan Qing Yi,having a pot of flavored tea and watching of a shadow of Le Shan Buddha statur from a distance while feeling warm and peaceful.Today,this memory and scenery have gone indefinitely.

Just like what is said in the”Despondent Nighe”,the idealism and scenery of the past have been destroyed perpetually,replaced by a reality that full of scars and destruction.Just like what is sung by a famous singer Xu Wei,”I have only two days left,one for living and one for dying”,Liu Xintao’s efforts to documentaties the recent past of county life in lasting memory has to be given a big credit.When we all get old,Xintao’s paintings will remain as memory that can bring all of us back to the old days,be it remembering when we stand together at the cross road feeling lonely and sad,or be it when we stand at a dark street in a county of 90’s or early millennium,feeling painful,inadequate,loss,childish,romantic,

Naïve or ridiculous.

Ye Yongqing

At Beijing Wang Jing Flat

07 July 2006