自从摄影发明以来，绘画被多次宣称死亡，但绘画依然存在。不仅如此，由于摄影担负了绘画的实用功能，绘画有可能变成更加纯粹的艺术。就像现代交通工具的发明并没有终止人的跑步，反而让跑步摆脱了实用目的而成为供人欣赏的体育活动。因此，当丹托(Arthur Danto)宣称艺术终结的时候，我们也不能将它简单地理解为不再有艺术了。丹托想说的是关于艺术史的宏大叙事业已终结，我们已经很难按照历史顺序来看待艺术的发展。艺术终结之后仍然有艺术，就像摄影发明之后仍然有绘画，汽车发明之后仍然有跑步一样。为了避免歧义，丹托将艺术终结之后的艺术称之为后历史阶段的艺术。根据丹托，后历史阶段的艺术已经不会再有令人震惊的发明，有的只是不同风格的组合。换句话说，后历史阶段的艺术已经不可能出现极端创新，有的只是艺术家根据自己的具体情况作出的综合创新。毛锎的画在总体上就像这种后历史阶段的艺术。

　　初看毛锎的画，感觉像某种风格;细看之后，感觉又像另一种风格。毛锎的画，在不同的风格间的探索，让我一时无从把握得住。瓦尔顿(Kendall Walton)教导我们，只有将作品放在与之相符的范畴之下来感知，才能得出有关它的中肯评价。比如，只有将毕加索的《格尔尼卡》放在立体派的范畴下来感知，才会觉得它是一幅杰作;如果把它放在印象派的范畴下来审视，就会觉得它极其拙劣。面对毛锎的作品，我们应该将它放在什么范畴下来感知?

　　毛锎喜欢用浅色调，与古典油画钟爱的暗色调不同。从这个角度来看，毛锎的画像当代波普艺术。如果说古典油画追求的是酱油色，毛锎推崇的是奶油色。与酱油的老派和深黯相比，奶油显得时尚而清新。这正是波普艺术追求的明快格调。经过玩世和艳俗的洗礼，中国当代艺术已经完成了波普艺术的本土化。浅显明了的波普语言，让艺术家在发挥艺术的批判功能方面更加得心应手。

　　但是，毛锎的画与政治波普毫不相干。毛锎既不反社会，也不反艺术;相反，他完全沉浸在艺术的梦幻之中。毛锎不仅不批判现实，甚至也不满足于忠实地再现现实，他要做的工作，是通过自己的艺术将现实提升到梦想的高度。将现实虚拟化，反过来也可以说是将虚拟现实化，毛锎的作品力图突破现实与虚构之间的边界，让庄周梦蝶与蝶梦庄周取得同样的地位。无论是梦想成真还是南柯一梦，都是对现实的超越。由此，将毛锎的画归入超现实之列，也顺理成章。

　　然而，同为超现实风格，达利(Salvador Dalí)的作品则要怪诞和激烈得多。人们熟知的《内战的预感》中的撕裂形象，让人感到无比惊悚;《记忆的永恒》中的瘫软的时钟，则让人感到异常怪诞。毛锎的画，既不惊悚也不怪诞。从这种意义上说，毛锎的画属于非典型的超现实风格。为了让风格引入注目，典型的超现实主义画家更青睐噩梦和沉醉。噩梦和沉醉，通过将人生推向生死之交，可以让作品显得更加震撼有力。毛锎的画也表现梦，但表现的是美梦而不是噩梦;毛锎的画也表现醉，但表现的是陶醉而不是沉醉。毛锎没有追求怪诞和激烈，他不靠怪诞和激烈让自己在当代画坛的竞争中脱颖而出。

　　毛锎没有追求极端，而是坚守中间。他的作品既像波普又非波普，既像超现实又非超现实。毛锎的画之所以如此难以把捉，或许正在于它们处于这种“既是”“又非”之间。就像朱利安(Francois Jullien)指出的那样，“之间”不同于极端，极端是确定的，“之间”是待定的。“之间”意味着无数的可能，但不会为任何一种样式所固定。之所以难以从风格上来界定毛锎的画，原因在于他总在两端“之间”进行探索，而不愿意落入已有的套路之中。

　　毛锎为什么总是游走于两端“之间”呢?带着这个问题，我开始将关注点从毛锎的画转向画家毛锎。原来，毛锎在重拾画笔之前，在广告和摄影业界已经颇显成功。即使在决定画画之后，他也没有完全脱离他驾轻就熟的广告业界。尽管广告与绘画曾经具有很近的亲缘关系，但是随着时间的推移二者已经渐行渐远。借用古德曼(Nelson Goodman)的术语来说，如果说今天的绘画还是“亲笔”(autographic)艺术，那么广告已经变成了“代笔”(allographic)艺术。广告作品不仅允许复制，而且通常采取以大量重复的形式进行轰炸。信息技术的发展，让广告的复制不再限于机械复制，而是进入了数码合成，从而彻底消解了绘画意义上的原作概念。不仅如此，广告创意与广告制作可以完全分开，就像音乐作曲与音乐演奏可以完全分开一样。如果说广告制作仍然可以与手工有关，那么广告创意则是纯粹的观念艺术。毛锎从广告制作进入广告创意，对传统的手工艺术与当代观念艺术之间的区别深有体会。他没有选择观念艺术，原因在于他不希望自己的技艺被观念完全淹没;他没有倒向现实主义，原因在于不想自己的梦想戴上现实的镣铐。熟谙广告创意的毛锎非常清楚，再精彩的观念，它的效力也会受到时间的限制。相反，稍显笨拙的技艺，却可以具有持久的价值。借用精神分析的术语来说，可以名言的观念只是处于意识领域，不可名状的技艺才有可能进入更高层次的无意识的汪洋大海。与一般人将观念与技艺的关系视为道与技或者隐与显的关系不同，毛锎的画让观念浮在表面，让技艺潜在背后。他希望用清新的广告效果将观众吸引到作品面前，再用醇厚的油画语言跟观众深入交流。毛锎之所以不愿意做出非此即彼的选择，而是满足于在极端“之间”逗留，与他在社会上所扮演的多个角色有关。从这种意义上说，毛锎那些貌似与现实无关的作品，其实是他自己的生活写照。

　　当毛锎从繁忙的广告人的生活中分身出来，在僻静的工作室潜心绘画的时候，他一定是为绘画的某种特质所迷醉，这种特质就是油画语言所独有的醇厚。在毛锎的导师刘溢那里，我们可以看到油画语言的特有质感。毛锎也在追求这种有密度的质感。通过这种质感，刘溢的作品能够让观众从表面的戏剧冲突步入背后的心理抚慰。同样，通过油画语言的质感，毛锎的作品将观众从表面的清新带入深度的醇厚。在当代视觉文化中，我们看惯了外表的清新;在传统绘画中，我们看惯了内涵的醇厚。毛锎将二者巧妙地糅合起来，在对风格的消解中成就了自己的风格。

　　2016年4月21日于北京大学蔚秀园

　　彭锋(美学博士。现任北京大学艺术学院教授、艺术学院副院长，北京大学美学与美育研究中心副主任，国际美学协会执行委员，著名策展人，曾策划2011威尼斯国际双年展中国馆。主要研究领域为：艺术哲学、艺术批评、美学原理、中国古典美学、西方当代美学、中西比较美学。)

　　Fresh and mellow—Interpretation of Mao Kai’s painting works

　　Peng Feng

　　Since the invention of photography, painting has been declared death for several times but still exists now. In fact, as photography undertakes the practical function of painting, the latter could become a purer art form. It is the same that the modern transportation means did not stop people from running but made it a pure exercise with appreciation values. Therefore, when Arthur Danto claimed the end of art, we can’t understand his word as the disappearance of art. What Danto meant to express is that the narration of the art history has been ended and we cannot treat the development of art in the order of history. Art still exists after the termination of it, which is the same as painting after the invention of photography and running after the invention of automobile. To avoid any ambiguity, Danto calls the art form after the so-called termination of art the art at the post-historic period. According to him, art in that period of time would not bring us any stunning inventions but the combinations of different styles. In the other word, art in the post-historic period does not generate any extreme innovations but the comprehensive innovations of the artists according to their own situations. The painting works of Mao Kai belongs to the post-historic period, generally speaking.

　　People will easily classify Mao Kai’s paintings to a certain category at the first sight and then another different one at a closer look. Mao Kai’s paintings are actually the exploration of various styles, which makes it hard to be interpreted precisely. According to Kendall Walton, we cannot evaluate a work fairly if we fail to perceive it in the corresponding category. For example, only when we perceive Picasso’s Guernica in the category of Cubism, can we find it a masterpiece; if we just review it as Impressionism, we may find it clumsy. So, in what category should we perceive Mao Kai’s paintings?

　　Mao kai prefers to employ the light tone, unlike the classical painters who like the shade. We therefore perceive it as the modern Pop Art. If the classical painters are said to like employ the color of sauce, what Mao Kai prefers is the cream color which appears more chic and fresh—like the lightness pursued in the Pop Art. Honed by cynicism and gaudiness, Chinese modern art has accomplished its localization of Pop Art by simplifying its languages to make the artists more deft in exerting the critical function of art.

　　However, Mao Kai’s paintings are not the political Pop. He who is not anti-social or anti-art is completely obsessed in the fantasy of art. He never criticizes reality nor stays faithful to the representation of it. What he does is to life the reality to the height of dream in his own way of art and to virtualize the reality. We may also called it “the realization of the virtual world”. Mao Kai tries to break the boundary between the reality and illusion in his works to give “Zhuang Zhou dreaming of butterflies” the same position as “Butterflies dreaming of ZHuang Zhou”. Whether it is the “dream coming true” or “ a fond dream”, it is the transcendence of the reality. It is therefore evident to classify Mao Kai’s paintings to the Surrealism.

　　Nevertheless, Salvador Dali, the painter of Surrealism painted in a more absurd and fierce way. The hysteric image in the well-known Soft Construction with Boiled Beans always make people chilly with thrill; the feeble clock in The Persistence of Memory looks rather weird. By contrast, Mao Kai’s paintings are neither thrilling nor absurd. In that sense, his paintings belongs to the atypical Surrealism. As a matter of fact, to attract more attention, the typical painters of Surrealism tend to express nightmares and obsession, making their works more powerful by pushing the life to the edge of death. Mao Kai also depict dreams in his painting but the beautiful instead of the bad one. He also illustrates inebriation but the intoxication rather than obsession. Mao Kai does not pursue eeriness and violence because he never wants to stand out in the art world today with that elements.

　　In the other word, Mao Kai never goes to extremes but rather keep moderate. His works is Pop Art but different, surrealistic but different in some way. It is hard to classify them probably because they are between black and white. Just as Francois Jullien said, “moderateness is different from extremes; the latter is definite but the former is undetermined, meaning numerous possibilities but not being fixed to any format. We will therefore find it hard to define Mao Kai’s paintings because he is always exploring between the two ends rather than follow any existed patterns.

　　Why is Mao Kai capable of going between the two poles? This question shifts my attention from his paintings to the painter himself. It turns out that before Mao Kai restarted painting, he had made some achievements in advertising and photography circle. Even after he decided to spend more time in painting, he did not completely get rid of the advertising industry he had been familiar with. Although advertising is said to be genetically related to painting, as time goes by, two have gone to opposite directions. In the word of Nelson Goodman, if painting is regarded as the art of autography, advertising has become the art of allograph. The advertising works can be copied, generally, in the way of constant repetition. With the development of information technology, the copy of advertising is no longer limited to the mechanical reproduction but the digital compositing, which has completely weakened the concept of originality in the sense of painting. What is more, advertising originality can be separated from advertising production, in the similar way as the musical composition can be separated from musical performance. If the advertising production is still connected to handwork, advertising originality is sheer pure art of concept. From advertising production to advertising originality, Mao Kai has deep understandings about the differences between the traditional handicraft and modern art of concept. He did not choose to be engaged in the latter because he never wants his skills to be overwhelmed by concepts. He has no tendency to the realism because he never wants his dreams to be shackled by reality. Mao Kai who is quite familiar with the advertising originality knows clearly that even the most brilliant concepts would be limited by time, but the skills, even with some awkwardness, may have the lasting values. In the terminology of psychoanalysis, the concepts that can be articulated are still in the domain of consciousness; only the indefinable skills have the chances to enter the higher-level of world of unconsciousness. Unlike the common people who regard the relationship between the concepts and skills, Mao Kai makes the concepts more superficial in his paintings with skills hidden behind, for he wishes to attract the audiences to his works with fresh advertising effect and then communicate with them more thoroughly with mellow language of oil painting. Why he refused to make absolute choices but content himself with lingering between the two extremes depends on the various roles he plays in the society. In that sense, those works of him which seem irrelevant to the reality are actually the portrayal of his own life.

　　As Mao Kai tries to get away from the life as an adverting design to devote himself to painting in his quiet studio, he must have been fascinated by a certain trait of painting which is probably the mellowness exclusive to the language of oil painting. In the works of Liu Yi, mentor of Mao Kai, we have found the unique texture of the language of oil painting which is also pursued by Mao Kai. Through that kind of texture with density, Liu Yi successfully helped the audiences to find the psychological concern behind the dramatic conflicts. Therefore, through the similar texture, Mao Kai guided his audiences from the external freshness to the mellowness with depth. In the modern visual culture, we have had enough of the superficial freshness and in the traditional painting we have seen much of the implicit mellowness. But Mao Kai is capable of combining the two smartly, which eventually helped him have his own style in the process of the digestion of styles.

　　April 12, 2016 in Weixiu Garden, Beijing University

　　(Peng Feng: Doctor of Aesthetics, professor and vice president of College of Art at Beijing University; deputy director of Research Center of Aesthetics and Aesthetic Education at Beijing University; executive member of International association for Aesthetics; famous curator; planned China Pavilion at 2011 Venice International Biennial Exhibition. Main research fields include: philosophy of art, art criticism, principles of aesthetics, Chinese classical aesthetics, modern western aesthetics, comparative aesthetics between China and the West)