[藝評] Chopin, Delacroix and Bao Ling / 《蕭邦、德拉克洛瓦與林葆靈》

Little Guilin Night #9 / 80 x 150 cm / oil and acrylic on canvas / 2008 (我的個展 《夜曲IV》 (Nocturne IV)將展出的作品之一)

In Chopin's "Nocturnos" there is a fluid, romantic, historical pregnancy, a sort of revolutionary "Beauty" and "Light". Invisible conflict of light and dark, playfulness of raindrops in the night, colored contrasts. Through abstract tones images and forms emerge, lit emotive that like butterflies fly in the wind.

Maybe that is why there is a similarity of application of color between Chopin and his friend Delacroix, and tone and dynamics of Lin Bao-Ling's newest works. There is a certain historical turn, a gentle revolution.

If these are the tipping points in the similarities which connect him to the European tradition, then the composition of the painting is similar to the Chinese vertical. That is, semi abstract tones of dark and light distributed through the vertical with an accent on the reflection of the narrative not the narrative itself. This shift of action is one of the main qualities of his work. Something like El Greco's "Toledo" in the dark but under the city lights.

The lack of physical presence of figures in Bao-Lings paintings does not mean their absence. The generators of light (and sometime dark) hide behind the light and the dark. The vibration of the scene anticipates the human involvement. The makers of fireworks don’t sleep at night. We don’t see them but we know for sure that in his paintings no one sleeps, even us as the viewers, it is total insomnia.

Bao ­ Ling has enriched and armed his pallet with mostly monochrome contrast and beautifully painted surfaces. The association to the old Masters and the forgotten preoccupation with aesthetics brings us back to the times of candles and natural light.

Consciously, with light and dark he covers the city, the cars, the civilization, the progress, the restaurants, boats, trains...and only reflections of this civilization emerge covered in bright, sparkling lights. Like shooting stars, frozen on the canvas.

I am not sure if Lin Bao ­Ling heard Chopin's "Nocturnos" was working on his midnight scenes. And maybe he was not thinking about El Greco and Goya. But it so happens that he blurred our vision, troubled our water and left to some past time, leaving us by ourselves, sleepless.

The question now is when and how will Lin Bao ­ Ling finish his "Nocturno" and when this "Drunken night" will end-and the sun will go up. It seems like never, because Bao ­ Ling has loved that space and atmosphere for many years, since his study years at LASALLE. And in it he feels like the master of ceremony. Like an explorer who discovers and a magician who hides.

Milenko Prvacki

Artist,

Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts

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蕭邦、德拉克洛瓦與林葆靈

在蕭邦的《夜曲》（Nocturnos）中，蘊含著一種流動而浪漫、帶有歷史孕育感的氣質——一種革命性的「美」與「光」。那是光與暗之間看不見的衝突，是夜雨如戲般跳動的節奏，是色彩的對比與交錯。透過抽象的音調，影像與形體逐漸浮現，被情感點亮，如同蝴蝶在風中飛舞。 

也許正因如此，蕭邦與他的朋友德拉克洛瓦之間，在色彩運用上存在某種相似性；而這種色調與動態的精神，也出現在林葆靈最新的作品之中。那是一種歷史性的轉折，一場溫柔的革命。

如果說這些相似之處，是將他與歐洲藝術傳統連結起來的關鍵，那麼在構圖上，他的繪畫則更接近中國式的縱向結構——半抽象的明暗色調沿著垂直方向分布，著重的不是敘事本身，而是敘事的倒影與回聲。這種行動的轉移，正是他作品最重要的特質之一。彷彿艾爾・葛雷柯《托雷多風景》中的夜色，只是被城市燈光所照亮。 

林葆靈畫作中人物的缺席，並不代表人的不存在。光（有時也是暗）的生成者，隱身於光與暗之後。畫面中的震動感，預示著人類的介入。煙火的製造者在夜裡不會入睡；我們看不見他們，卻能確信，在他的畫中，沒有人在睡覺——甚至包括作為觀者的我們。那是一種徹底的失眠狀態。 

林葆靈以多半單色的對比，豐富並強化了他的調色盤，並以精緻的筆觸處理畫面表層。他與古典大師之間的聯繫，以及那種幾乎被遺忘、對美學的專注，使我們回到燭光與自然光照明的年代。 

他有意識地以光與暗覆蓋城市、汽車、文明、進步、餐廳、船隻、火車⋯⋯而真正浮現的，只是這些文明的倒影，被明亮、閃爍的光所包覆——如同凝結在畫布上的流星。 

我不確定林葆靈在創作他的午夜場景時，是否聆聽著蕭邦的《夜曲》，也不確定他是否想到艾爾・葛雷柯或哥雅。但事實是，他模糊了我們的視線，攪動了水面，把我們留在某個過去的時刻，讓我們獨自清醒、無法入眠。 

問題於是成為：林葆靈何時、又將如何完成他的「夜曲」？這場「醉夜」何時才會結束、太陽升起？看來似乎永遠不會。因為自他在 LASALLE 求學時期以來，這個空間與氛圍便深深吸引著他；在其中，他彷彿是儀式的主持者——既是探索者，也是隱匿的魔術師。 

米連科·普爾瓦茨基 （Milenko Prvacki）

藝術家 

新加坡拉薩爾藝術學院（LASALLE College of the Arts） 

美術學院院長
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拉薩爾藝術學院純美術系系主任Milenko

百忙中抽空幫我的新畫作寫的介紹文

(將收錄在7月的個展《夜曲IV》展覽畫冊裡)特此感謝!