世界是平的(卢延光)

    眨眨眼，我也快花甲了，人到了这个年纪才知道岁月如野马过际，过得飞快。到了这个岁月才更明白于事理，才更知道尊老的意义。
    新加坡华裔画家范少华的作品摆在我的眼前，才知道自己真的老了。而范少华也年纪不小了，一忽儿又一代人。二十六岁的时候，我那时更比范少华年轻多了。那年月，我在荔湾区少年宫教了三年少儿美术班的课，范少华那时还是小学四年级，九岁大，一直把他们教到小学毕业。过后，又一直互相间相忘于江湖，偶尔，很偶尔的见见面而互相珍重。到了今天，一班三十多个同学，就三人成材。范少华在新加坡画油画，叶华在澳大利亚教学兼画国画，陈美妍在广州也画油画。三人各个有成就，绘画有个性，都个个小有名气了。这令我分外开心，令我为他们在艺术领域得到社会器重，成长为一位有社会贡献的“精神贵族”而特别得意。然而回想起他们那一班同时由我带出的三十多位同学各散它方。想想成材率和淘汰率，也是令自己有些愕然和伤感的，个人也很无奈。
    广州出生的范少华美院毕业后到了新加坡十七年，如鱼得水。凭着他的学院派的视觉和艺术积累，凭着他的勤奋和拼搏，更凭着他的修养，文化和智慧，不断地取得当地艺坛的欢迎和突破。他是获奖专业户：韩国国际文化大展“功劳赏”；新加坡青年美展东方书画组优秀奖；大华银行全国美术展大奖。菲利普莫里斯集团新加坡美术奖，等等。每一次全国性作品展，他一出手就拿一个奖项，以致于当地的华文、英文报刊、杂志连篇类牍地把他捧为新星。
    细细观察范少华所拿奖的各类作品，我就感到作品中他的基本功力注定在新加坡是一种强项。从油画诉求的诸多色彩、素描、人体、构图、透视，他的画在广州就很优秀，惶论新加坡了。这也恰好自是广州美术学院在建国五十多年的教学成就和他在亚太地区的学术地位；中国油画的快速进步和魅力，特别在近三十年，成就之大有目共睹，到了今天，中国油画家们在亚洲完全可以领军，与俄罗斯比，他们不敢轻视。这就是范少华艺术能引起异地如此珍爱、称赞的意义。
    范少华的作品另一意义是跟得上世界的步伐，有全球眼光。近期他的一批作品对中西文化的冲突和融合都有着很多的探讨。最近国内有本畅销书《世界是平的》，也由此引伸于中西文化和艺术，也是平的，平等的，平和的等等；我们大可以从中西文化角度融会贯通，相互交融。用中国水墨的技法创作油画，范少华近期的抽象系列试图就往“世界是平的”意念去做，去玩，去变“魔术”。我感到，《永恒的刹那》的艺术试验不少是成功的。他的画，画得很随意，很自由！想想中国文人画也是很随意，很畅神，很自由，再想想西方西洋文人也是很浪漫，很潇洒，也很自由，中西那些精神贵族们其实统统理念一致，世界是平的！同样，全人类的价值观都是一致的。这就是全人类艺术家追求的自由世界。
    这次回到母体广东美术馆的展览，范少华的“国画系列”是一次新尝试。不用油画布，平头笔而改用宣纸和毛笔，画的又全是荷花，我看画面的组合很有想象力，有新意的。这是画家不断自我突破的职责和本能。他还在那里心胸万里，有着充沛的创意，我祝贺他。

卢延光
2007．6．9草业见山堂
（卢延光 广东省美术家协会副主席、广州市美术家协会主席）

The World is Flat

    I am going to be 60, and all that comes within a blink of eyes. It is until in their 60s that people will not realize or understand that time runs as fast as coltish horses, nor will they find out the rules of the world, or appreciate and respect the meaning of being old.
    When the works of Fan Shaohua--a China born Singaporean painter-- were displayed in front of me, they tell me that I am getting old. As a matter of fact, Fan is not the child he used to be either. When I was 26 years old, even younger than Fan now, I had been teaching in children’s art class at Li Wan Children’s Palace for three years, and Fan, at that time, was in 4th grade, 9 years old. I was teaching him until he graduated from preliminary school. Since then, we were apart. Occasionally our paths came across, but there were only brief greetings. Today, only three out of the thirty students in my class have great achievement in art field. Fan is pursuing his painting career in Singapore; Ye Hua is a Chinese Ink Painting teacher in Australia; Chen Meiyan is painting in Guangzhou. The three have developed different characteristics in their paintings; each is loaded with a great deal of fame. I am glad to see their success in art field, and also delighted by their becoming as “nobles of spirit”. But whenever I am reminded that the rest of the class were in other walks of life, thinking about their success and failure, I couldn’t help but feel struck by a force of helplessness.
    After graduated in Guangdong Academy of Fine Art, Fan had lived and worked in Singapore for 17 years. He was welcomed and had been constantly making breakthrough in art field owing to his diligence, braveness, gracefulness, knowledge and wisdom, and his years’ accumulated art sense and experience in academism. He is an “award collector”: “Award for Contribution” from Korea International Culture Exhibition; Award for Excellence in Singapore Art Exhibition of young artists in oriental painting and choreography section; United Oversea Bank National Art Exhibition; Philip Morris Singapore INC. Art Exhibition, etc. Every time there was an exhibition national wide, he was about to come back with one or more trophies. He was so successful that his stories and pictures were seen frequently in local newspapers and magazines both Chinese and English.  
    Scrutinizing his works, I was almost for sure that his solid techniques aided him to climb to the peak of success. Judging from different aspects of painting, whatever it is in coloring, sketches, human feature painting, composition or perspective, he had already built up his reputation in Guangzhou, which I assume would not be hard in Singapore., This could also mirror the teaching fruition as well as the academic status of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art in Asia-Pacific region. The progress of Chinese painting, especially in the past 30 years has been marvelous. Today, Chinese painters could be proud to take the lead in Asia, together with their Russian counterparts.
    Another meaning of Fan’s works is that they have reflected a global insight and followed the steps of the changing world. Some of his recent paintings have conveyed us his understanding of culture shock and fusion. Lately there is a best seller named The World Is Flat, in which the author wants to tell us that Oriental and Occidental art are flat, or in other words, equal and shareable. To paint with Chinese ink painting’s techniques, Fan’s series of Abstraction is a good example to implant the “Flat” concept into paintings. I think many of the artistic experiments in Lasting Moment are great. His painting is unbound and liberal. If you think about how Chinese ink painters practice their works, smoothly, unrestrictedly, together with that of the Western painters, romantically, freely, yes, both Chinese and Western “nobles of sprit” share this same idea: The World Is Flat! Likewise, all the citizens of this world share this value, and that’s’ what the artists have been pursuing for.    
    This exhibition-Fan Shaohua ’s Chinese Painting Series-is held by Guangdong Museum of Art, which should be a shot. Rice paper and brush pen instead of canvas and painting brush, with all content lotuses, I like the structure, for its imagination and originality. To break through, this is the artist’s obligation and instinct. I can tell he is still young to be ambitious, to be bursting with ideas, thusly I give him all my bless.   

Lu Yan Guang
2007.6.9  Cao Ye Jian Shan Mansion
(Lu Yan Guang -- Vice President of Guangdong Artists Association, President of Guangzhou Artists Association)