易英：李大朋的双面人生

1993年

孪生，160×130cm，油画，1998

李大朋的画表面上看起来很简单实际上他只是搬用了波普绘画的表面形式,在那些简单的形象中包含了他太多的人生感悟.他的画是对于社会现实的一种精神反映,它不是客观地记录,在那种精神中把一种悲凉与反讽奇异地结合在一起,不可避免地折射出画家自身的人生境遇,一个艺术家在开始创作的时候,总是与真实的自我有一段距离,尤其是在题材选择上,因为它不象形式那样可以在无意识中外化艺术家的内心世界,正因为如此,强调表现自我的现代主义艺术总是把形式放在首位.而题材,作为艺术家对现实的观照与反映,总是作为客体与艺术家相对应.但对很多具象艺术家来说,题材并不是孤立的客体,在与题材对话的过程中,题材也象形式一样逐渐赋与艺术家的人格与意志,也就是说,题材逐渐与艺术家的人生经历和精神自传结合在一起.李大朋的画正是经历了这样一个过程.

面具是李大朋的创作起点,最初选择这一题材的动机可能比较简单,首先是京剧的脸谱使他联想到面具,不论出于何种用途,一旦戴上面具,人的真实面目便被遮盖起来;再联想到一个更深的层次就是人的双重性格,每个人都生存在非我的面具之下.这可能是对人性的一种悲观理解,但它构成了李大朋作品的一个现实.以”面具”为中心,李大朋对面具的含义进行了进一步的拓展,它不仅仅意味着人的双重性,甚至也是人类弱点的一种普遍性的象征.从这个意义上说,李大朋的画不只是一种视觉的表现,而是对人生的哲理思考.在面具的题材系列中,并不是直接表现面具,而把面具的含义作了引伸.

李大朋的作品充满哲理,在调侃中透露着沉思,在反讽中包含的冷峻,既是对他个的经验的剖析,也是对社会的观察,在人们日益疏远思想的今天,他仍以个人的话语方式在陈述着思想.

易英

1998

The Two-Faced Nature of Man:

An Interpretation of the paintings of Li Dapeng

By Yi Ying

Masks mark the beginning point of the cretive process behind Li Dapengs paintings . The artist’s motivation for choosing such a leit-motif , on the surface ,seems fairly stralghtforward . The artist’s masks prompt associations with the masks of Beijing Opera ,Perhaps more important they remind us that no matter what our intentions , when we put on a masks , we conceal our own true face . At another layer ,his use of masks are concerned with being “two-faced”. Every person exists under a mask that conceals his true identity . Perhaps this is a pessimistic view of the nature of man ,but it remains a reality within Li Dapeng’s paintings.

With “masks”as his central motif ,Li Dapeng takes the meaning of masks one step further :The mask not only signifies the “two-faced” nature of man ,but might even be said to be a symbol for mankind’s weakness ,in general .From this perspective ,Li Dapeng’s art is not purely a form ofvisual expression ,but a philosophical reflection on man’s condition . The artist’s masks series is not so much about masks(the signifier) themselves ,but rather are about what lies beneath the masks(the signified).For example ,in the painting “Thriving and Prosperous “, the mask has a double meaning ,It refers to the condition in which man survives .But , it also refers to how man continues to exist .Faced with the seductions of modern day material society ,the laughing mask undoubtedly expresses man’s quest for material happiness .The masks expression however is fake .Behind the mask lies man in his natural state .Material enjoyment is an aberration of man’s true nature.

The same motif carries with it a different meaning in the work titled “Civilized”.The mask here is still very much a symbol for man and hgis condition .But it is also a symbol of the gold-gilt ,consumer products of modern society that submerge the mask in a sea of material desire .”Thriving and Prosperous “and “Civilized “could be viewed as separate series ,the former being about material desire in its early states while the latter being about man himself as a social-aberrant born out of materialistic desire .The theme of both seriesis man and his surroundings .They are about the spiritual dilemna man experiences when faced with the seduction of materialistic society .

The “Twin” series is both a highly imaginative and tragic narrative of man .All of the works in this series feature two individuals bound together in one body .Each individual wears a different mask .Or , in some cases the two individuals paint masks on each other .This groupof works also hints at the split personality of man .By employing “Twin” as his subject , the artist suggests that man can be both himself and an “other “. The self is both itself and manifest in the form of an “other” .Under the driving force of the desire for money ,the socializationof the self results in the fragmentation of personal integrity .The self in its natural state and the self in its “other” state are often mutually conflicting .And ,then in some cases even the conflict itself is concealed behind masks.

By using a “pop painting “approach ,Li Dapeng is able to position himself as an observer situated within the modern world .It is as if he is coolly titled ,”An Apple That Lost its Way ,”is a unique social satire ,The golden apple is a symbol for love .Yet ,a golden apple held by an angel sitting in withered tree above three garishly-dressed ,young women seems to lose its original meaning .

In a similar work titled ,”The New Story of Love”,the artist employs the image of salome from the Bible to once again metaphorically refer to the falseness of love .Here he employs the dyptich form .On the left is a man with a two-faced woman .When the man kisses the one face of the woman ,the other face raises a knife high in the air .On the right panel of the same work is a monkey holding an alms bowl in which there is a mask made to resemble a skull .This is no doubt a reference to the sacrificeof love .While the work’scomposition and execution appears absurd ,the underlying realioty to which it refers is hardly so .

Li Dapeng’s works are philosophical.Beneath the playulness of the surface ,each work harbors serious and thought-provoking issues within his parody lies stolid observation.His works are both dissections of his inner self and observations of society as a whole .Today ,as man distances himself from serious self-reflection and thought ,Li Dapeng employs his own unique artistic language to express .his own reflections and ponderings on man’s condition.

by YiYing

1998