对于一位有着深厚的学院背景的艺术家，他一方面必须保持学院教育在他身上所表现出来的优势，一方面又要保持一种独立思考的姿态——既在学院的系统之内又必须游离于学院之外，这种矛盾经常会在作品中得到表现或是暗示。而这种矛盾恰恰构成了艺术作品中迂回反复的品质，同时也真实地反映出艺术家某个阶段的生存和精神状态。对于艺术家个案的研究，通过背景来找到衔接艺术家和作品之间的道路，以便使解读能够更为贴近艺术家创作的出发点。

    刘可早期的作品证明了他的艺术实践的参照系统是建立在学院背景之中，作为广州美术学院的高材生，他的技法操练和对材料的理解都是来自于学院的教学系统运作的结果——充分体现油画媒材的美学特点及其作为一种不可代替的媒材的个性和特殊的美感。刘可早期的作品很注重制作，注重材料之间的关系，即使是一个抽象的画面，但是，如果从画面上做一种逆向的“推理”的话，可以从逐步呈现的画面形象中看到他对于每一个步骤都努力做到严谨和克制，而且在色彩关系上仍然追求一种协调性并适当地体现出一种学院修养。抽象主义的主张是强化材料本身的文化特性和精神象征，直接体现出材料的叙述能力。对于材料的能力，刘可有清醒的意识，他寻找到这种能力的中间状态，节制地运用，目的是保持自我主体在画面上的必要位置，从而使自我和材料之间形成了一种平和的对话关系，彼此交换问题的 “意见”来达成最后协商的结果，从这一角度上也可以看出刘可在协调矛盾时那种内在的平衡力。

    线条是刘可作品中一个主体形象，各种粗细不一的线条互相穿插拱让，形状和长短、粗细的对比形成强烈的节奏感和时空感。画面不断覆盖、更新的层次流露出刘可在“对话和协商”时的心理变化——那种否定之否定的毅力和韧性。线条在刘可的画面上形成一种情绪的“流体”，一种自适的、随和的生存态度。线条的突出形象很容易使人和中国传统水墨艺术中对线条的美学定义—— “气韵”的形象化嫁接起来，但在刘可的艺术中，这种美学定义恰恰是一种“虚构”——这是一种不被赋予任何身份和文化底色的线条——一种纯粹的线条视觉。刘可对线条的“依恋”很多原因是来自于他对美国艺术家哈林的偏好。哈林的线条是一种“商业化”的线条，光滑、时尚和工艺化，高度的概括化的形象处理正是一种高度工业化社会在思想上的投影，一种硬边的剪影，哈林的出现恰好证明了美国社会高度发达的商业文明和后工业社会高度理性化的事实，同时也是一种社会美学思潮转变的必然体现。即使受到了哈林的吸引和启发，刘可并没有简单地挪用哈林的表现方式和图式概念，他通过学院的技巧训练巧妙地转化了哈林的模式，以一种更为灵活的、带有温度的“线条”来完成个人的叙述。

    作品中的叙事一直是刘可在艺术创作中探索的问题，他为作品命名时也经常有意识地暗示这种观念的存在，特别是到了他最近的一批作品，这种倾向更为明显。《逢简生活》、《与杜尚下棋的女人》、《奔走》、《生活图录》等作品（及其命名）证明了刘可正在不断地强化叙事在作品中的力量。刘可的叙事是一种平面化的叙事，他改变了原来叙事的语法特点——一种接近于古典式的、复杂的叙事方式（重叠的、多层次的、结构性的）。在新作品中，刘可让线条变得更为自由，色彩也更为丰富。画面上原来的层次关系消失，线条与线条之间仍保持原来的空间关系并列铺排，线条的笔触变得更为跳跃、灵动、活泼，线条与线条构成了互相依赖的形象，形成了情景细节和叙事碎片，整个画面变成了一个“事件现场”，事件与事件之间既互相关联又互相疏离，充塞在整个叙事的“时空域”里面。刘可营造的密密麻麻的线阵图式，像是一个视力测试图表，同时也像是一件不怀好意的“游戏拼图”——只有通过不断地辨认、不断地“完形”才能读出简化的、抽象的形象中纷繁复杂的内在事实。刘可的这一次转变“揭露”了刘可另一种思想脸孔——严肃的玩笑面孔。他把作为造型手段的线条的造型能力降到最低要求，然后像一个顽皮的孩子一样把造型中完整的线条不断剪碎，然后再用这些琐碎的线段重新拼接成一些可以辨认的形象，重新又回到了线条的叙事和线条的造型能力的问题之中。刘可迂回的手法恰恰印证了他对背景、对学科系统的疏远，因为他不想成为一种模式的的执行者，而是要成为一个提问者、一个实验者，而对线条采取的种种行动，正是一次“哗变”的开始。

    孙晓枫
    2006-10-16于烟雨路三十八号

    For a well-educated artist, he should keep the advantage of college education on one side; on the other, independent thinking is a must. That’s to say, he is not only in the college but also out of it. Such kind of conflict is imoled in his works that makes up the feature of circuity in his works and meanwhile reveals a certain stage and the spirit of artists. In order to better understand their works, it is necessary to research on certain artists to find out the affiliation between the artists themselves and their works.

    Early works by Liu Ke proved that his art practice is based on his college education. His skills and understanding of the material are the result of college education, because he is really a true student of Guangzhou Fine Arts Institute—sufficiently reflect the aesthetic features of oil material and the characters and special beauty of irreplaceable material. Those ones by Liu Ke had been focused on the relationship of material and execution. Even though it is only an abstract picture, it is found that all the steps are perfect with harmonious colors sprung from the college education by conversely thinking. Abstract art points at the cultural features, spiritual symbol of material and the direct narration of the material. Liu Ke clearly knows about the role of material. And he is looking for the middle state in order to reserve the must spot for the principle part in the picture to balance the relationship of material and the principle part. From this aspect, Liu Ke shows his ability to coordinate inner conflicts.

    Lines are main part in works by Liu Ke. Various lines are mixed together in order. Various shapes, lengths and thickness form the strong sense of rhythm and space-time perception. The picture is continuously overlap-add and renewed, which shows the inner changes of Liu Ke during the talking and negotiation—the will and toughness of denial in denial. Lines in his pictures are emotional liquid, and that’s kind of self-adaptable and comfortable living state. It is easy to link up the lines with the definition of that of traditional Chinese Ink Art-- Idea of Vigor Appeal. In works by Liu Ke, such aesthetic definition is fictive, and this is kind of line never attaching any identity or cultural impression—pure vision of line. This results from his idol Haring, an American artist. Lines by Haring are commercial, smooth, fashionable and technical. Highly generalized image proposal is the reflection on minds of industrialized society. The fact of Haring proves the truth of American highly developed commercial civilization and great sense in highly industrialized society, which definitely reflects the changes of social aesthetics. Even though Liu Ke is attracted and inspired by Haring, it is not simple usage of the expression and picture concept of Haring. He finishes personal narration by more flexible and warmer lines after digesting Haring’s way.

    What he is always thinking about is narration. Such kind of concept can be found in the name of his works, especially in his latest works. Liu Ke continuously emphasizes the power of narration in his works, such as Simple Life, Woman playing chess with Du Shang, Running, Life Illustrations, etc. Narrations by Liu Ke are complanate, challenging the original ones, classic, complex, overlapped, multi-layered and constructional. In his new works, lines are more footloose and colorful. The original hiberarchy disappears, but the lines are still paratactic reserving the original location. The brushwork becomes more active, flexible and lively, while the lines lean on each other, and form the scenery details and narration pieces. The whole picture plane is the spot, while different events connect with each other and keep distant as well. Works by Liu Ke is full of lines. It is so thick that it is like the eyesight tester, or a “playing collage” with bad intentions. It need long time for us readers to analyze and read it to understand the fact inside. The conversion of Liu Ke reveals his another inner face—serious smiling face. He makes the line just a line in the creation, and then severs them into pieces. Then these pieces are used to form another identifiable images. Finally we get back to the problems of narration and the sculpted lines. Liu Ke’s way in creation tells us that he has kept far away from his background and college education, because he doesn’t want to be a executor but a questioner, experimenter. The mutiny starts from his usage of lines.

    Sun Xiaofeng
    Oct. 16, 2006No.38, Yanyu Rd.

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