論劉柏村的作品
文/ 菲利普‧金
劍橋大學榮譽博士
倫敦皇家學院前主席
我最近三年才熟悉劉柏村的作品。從外表看來，他不論是就人或是就作品而言，都顯得有點狂放不羈、自由任性、出人意表。他彷彿盡求好玩、將一切視為一個大玩笑。我不懂中文，但是，我想在他許多的戲謔中，大概也有自我解嘲。然而，在如此的表相之下，棲身的卻是一個嚴肅又敏銳的心靈，訓練精良且足以轉而執行並實現任何突發奇想的雕塑靈感。
劉柏村屬於那種在理論與雕塑實踐技巧上都有良好訓練的藝術家。他完全通曉木刻與石雕、金屬創作與其他雕塑技法，而由於他熟知現代雕塑的歷史發展，以及其他更廣泛的面向，使得他也得以處理社會議題。
我想從我最熟悉且得以端詳的作品開始談起，也就是始自2009年的「超人/金剛」系列。
對我們大多數人來說，超人只不過是一個卡通人物，一個虛構的想像。在電影裡，超人乃是在我們的當代世界中執行任務，而且充滿與市井小民同樣的意識。他為保護良善與對抗邪惡而戰。從另一個世界來的這個獨行者，解救了我們的世界。劉柏村早期的超人/金剛卻有一個女超人/金剛作伴，他們各自獨立，輪廓鮮明，向我們誇示他們的力量，雙腿在膝蓋處微曲，就像毛利橄欖球球員在比賽開始時並排而立的姿勢，一種為了恫嚇對手的毛利戰舞姿勢。勇士們顯然已為戰鬥做好準備。然而，這些超常的造物卻並未讓我們感到害怕，既使就如我們在藝術學院迴廊中仍可見的古典解剖像，他們身體的內臟都外露。
他們身體內在的構造，暴露湧現。我們可以在廢料場中找到的各式廢棄材料，就像齒輪之類的，全部被拼組在一起。金屬條成為他的韌帶，破裂開來的金屬皮膚，露出大量離奇古怪的不真實器官。讓人放心的是，懸掛在他腳上插有鮮花的花盆，使得這個戰士成為無法行動的人物，無能對我們造成任何傷害。
一尊好玩有趣的人像，換了一種背景脈絡，可能看來就會有所不同。對此，安東尼‧葛姆雷（Anthony Gormley）的雕像就是一個清楚例證。在他最近於倫敦海沃斯藝廊（Haywards Gallery）舉行的展覽中，葛姆雷展出了同樣是單獨站立的一些人像，主要是以他自己身體為模型的鑄鐵雕像。他們高立於藝廊附近的各個建築上方，從海沃斯的不同陽台都可以看到他們。在展覽期間，這變成一個計算到底可以找到多少雕像的遊戲。包含我在內的許多人都覺得他們很具威脅性，像是某種懷有惡意的觀察者，或是準備向你發出射擊的狙擊手。葛姆雷巧妙地利用環境，藉雕像設置的位置，讓他們變得相當令人震懾。相反的，劉柏村的作品給人神采快活的感受，我們得以與之共處而感覺自在。劉柏村和葛姆雷都對尺寸的突變感到興趣。葛姆雷的《北方天使》（The Angel of the North）可能是歐洲最大型的具像雕塑，這件雕像就如以機尾站立的波音巨無霸客機一樣高；葛姆雷最小的作品，可以一萬件微型的人群雕像為例，他們都望向同一個方向，相當令人不安，但卻也滑稽有趣。劉柏村同樣也大幅變動尺寸以符應其表現目的，他創作的超人/金剛有幾公分高的，也有四公尺的巨人。
他們兩人也同樣著迷於開發材料的可能性。葛姆雷利用鏽蝕的鑄鐵讓我們意識到此素材的重量，也因而讓我們體認到這些人物絕非真實，他們只是某種信息的傳遞者。在劉柏村的作品中，我們則是察覺到他致力於挖掘鋼鐵的強度與延展性，尤其是他後來以線條拉展出來的超人/金剛系列：劉柏村先是在鋼板上以連續線條勾勒超人/金剛的輪廓，再如螺旋一般地由外而內重複描繪超人/金剛身形，然後沿著畫出的線條切割鋼板，最後再拉開來延展於空間中。
雖然這些彼此相連的人像似乎入侵我們的空間，他們的豐沛數量，也有些排山倒海的氣勢，然而，就如劉柏村所有的作品一般，他們並不具威脅性。我們本能地感覺到他們都能再壓折回成一個薄片，然後安全地放進盒裡，就像小孩子從一張紙上剪出來然後拉展開成一長串的剪紙人偶一般。這些人像立足於地面空間的方式，構成了一種像是讓人難以捉摸的森林，不過，這卻是個友善的森林。單獨一個超人/金剛可能看來顯得威嚴，但400個就變成了一種馬戲表演，而我們也因而得以嘻笑且樂在其中。我們當然也可以進入這個森林，穿越這個金屬迷宮，並觀看與無法計數的超人/金剛輪廓混融在一起的其他觀眾。
成群的超人/金剛，看來好像是不合常理而且應該是令人畏懼的，然而，他們全都是以同樣的輪廓來勾勒，而且似乎完全地交相混雜而無特定秩序的事實，卻讓我們發笑。他們妄自尊大和浮誇自負的姿態，實際上或許也引領我們嘲笑自身。我們不也是有點趾高氣昂、有點過於自誇，這似乎是這些作品所傳達的訊息。就像葛姆雷的情況，在劉柏村的作品中，有某種社會意識在運作著，因為他透過就如複製和不斷重複的各式機械性手法，試圖讓我們 — 既使僅是潛意識地 — 感覺到生命的黑暗面。這也是一種藝術家們常用的手法，就如沃霍爾（Andy Warhol），雖然他從未讓我們發噱。另外，喜劇演員和精神治療師也曾採用來讓病患克服他們的恐懼症。在一個安全的環境中不斷重複地揭示導致焦慮的事物，終將讓我們克服恐懼，而如果這看來滑稽可笑，那將會更有效，因為笑終究是一切的最佳療法。
劉柏村早期的作品相當不同，但也反映了類近的雕塑關注，既使，形式上的原創性或許稍少。90年代早期，他在巴黎沙勒佩提耶聖路易教堂（Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière）的展覽，也呈現和後來作品一樣的對於材料和空間的探索。其中的核心關鍵，在於切分的片段，以擴展的形式陳列於展場地面。接下來的一些作品或許更應該說是裝置藝術，處理著可謂為「儀式性」的相關主題。
1999年他在台北市立美術館的展覽，劉柏村只選用大理石，或許因為展場地面就是大理石。位於展場中央的是一個大理石床墊或說厚地毯，上面有兩隻大理石雕刻的腳，它們像是屬於在牆中央的那個身體殘軀所有；另外還有一隻浮動的、以大理石雕刻的手，似是隸屬於某件不可見的巨型雕像；兩張方形大理石凳，邀請我們入座與觀想，而另一面牆邊的大理石階，則邀請我們拾級而上，順著垂直牆面，將我們引向猶如一幅畫一般懸掛的長方形大理石板中的微型石階。靠另一面牆的是展示於台座上的大理石頭像，並列成排，就像在博物館中的羅馬元老院議員像。這些頭像都遭受截然的毀容變形，彷彿雕塑家正冷靜地進行排列組合，以外科手術般精確的手法賦予每個頭像不同的雕刻形貌，這些大理石也宛如具有黏土的特質，能夠輕鬆地留下雕塑家決定採用的任何身體行為的印記。在此作中，我們所有的預期都被否定，我們所見的真是大理石嗎？這些人正看著我們或者我們正看著他們？其中的方塊是用來坐的，或者，它們只是此儀式場景的一部分？留給我們的是一個永遠無法獲得解答的神秘謎題。我們自問「這是某種祭儀的展演嗎？」其中沒有任何得以消解緊張的幽默，這種明顯的不安，影響著身為觀眾的我們，我們本身可能也在其中扮演要角，因而我們也可以自問「我們在此是否參與其中而將此展演轉化為一種『真人搬演的畫景』（tableau vivant）？」
另一件作品中，一頭無首的母牛沿著一截短軌道前後來回地移動。這段軌道指向一個由樣式化的樹叢所構成的森林，看來就像是硬紙板剪裁而成。母牛永遠無法進入此森林，那節軌道限制了牠，而牠甚至無法得見森林。再次的，我們的預期受挫，我們的邏輯錯亂混淆，一條朝向我們的無意識的道路，卻也確實開啟，這或許並非人人歡迎，因為它可能是一處令人恐懼之地。
劉柏村想要解放我們內在的某些事物嗎？笑是一種可行的方式，否定我們的預期又是另一種。誰會想到一頭母牛能夠成為荒謬的化身，因而揭示與我們相關的某種事物。在這個例子裡，我認為我們的困惑茫然也讓人發笑。那頭母牛能夠在森林中看到牠失去的頭嗎？這件較早的和其他的作品都像是在說故事。這個故事引導我們進入自身，這也藉助於展場燈光的掌控和封閉的空間。超人/金剛系列則較少仰賴受限的藝廊空間，而延伸至超出牆面的世界，不論室內戶外都合宜。雖然早期作品技巧表現嫻熟完整而且非常引人入勝，但是它們歸屬於其他藝術家已有所探究的常見作品類型。我個人認為，超人/金剛系列更具雕塑的挑戰性。對我而言，後來的這些作品，經營著一個較陌生的領域，因此更讓人縈繞腦海，它們的原創性也清楚顯見而令人難忘。
The work of Po-Chun Liu
Phillip King
Honorary Doctorate, Cambridge University
Past President of the Royal Acasemy
I have come to know the work of Liu only in the last three years. From the outside both the man and the work look a bit wild, untamed and unpredictable. It seems as though Liu wants to have a bit of fun, and treat everything as a big joke. I don’t understand Chinese but I expect that there is quite a bit of poking-fun going on as well as self-deprecation generally. But, underneath the surface lies a serious and sharp mind that is thoroughly trained and tuned to carry out and deliver whatever sculptural inventions come to mind.
Liu is someone who has had a good training both academically and in the practice of sculptural techniques. He is thoroughly at home with the techniques of carving in wood and stone as well as metal work and other sculptural techniques, as he knows well the historical developments of sculpture in our modern era, and its wider aspects which enables him to also deal with social issues.
I prefer to begin with the work I most acquainted with and have seen at close quarters and that is the superman〔Iron Man〕series beginning in 2009.
To most of us Superman is just a cartoon character, a fancy of the imagination. In films Superman operates in our contemporary world and is imbued with the same consciousness as the average citizen. He fights for the good against evil. A loner from another world comes to save ours. Liu’s earliest superman has a partner superwoman, they are single isolated figures with the well defined outline, flexing their muscles at us, legs akimbo slightly bent at the knees like the Maori rugby players who at the beginning of a match stand in a row in such a posture for the Maori Haka, this in order to put the fear of god into their opponents. Warriors ready for battle. But these super beings don’t seem to frighten us even though like in the classical ecorches we can still see in the corridors of art schools, they have their internal organs of the human body on display.
Their internal anatomy spilling out, cogs wheels all kind of junk material one can find in a scrap yard, all assembled together. Metal rods are ligaments, skin is torn metal revealing unlikely organs in wild profusion. Reassuringly a flowerpot with living flowers hang from legs making this action man a non-action person incapable of doing us any harm. A figure of fun which in another context would not seem so.
Anthony Gormley’s is a clear demonstration of this point. In his last show at the Haywards Gallery in London, Gormley had a number of the same single standing figure, basically a cast in iron of his own body, perched on various buildings near the gallery which could be viewed from the various balconies of the Haywards. It became a game during his show to count how many such figures one could find. Many people including me found them quite threatening, like some malevolent observers, or snipers ready to re bullets at you. Gormley cleverly uses the environment to place his figures in positions where they become quite threatening. Liu’s work by contrast leaves us with a bouncy feeling and we can share the same space and feel comfortable. Both Liu and Gormley share an interest in abrupt changes of scale. Gormley has probably made the largest gurative work in Europe, “ e Angel of the North”, which is as tall as a Boeing jumbo jet standing on its tail, and some of the smallest works ,like his groups of 10,000 tiny figures all staring in the same direction which are quite disturbing but we can also be funny. Liu also jumps scale to suit his purpose, making supermen a few centimetres high as well as 4 metres giants. They also both share a fascination to exploit the material Gormley uses, rusted cast iron which makes us aware of the weight of that material and as a result make us also aware that these figures are in no way real but only there to carry some sort of message, and with Liu we a aware that he is exploiting the strength and pliability of steel with Liu he especially exploits this in the later series of pull out supermen where a continuous outline of superman is drawn repeatedly like a line spiraling inwards and then the metal cut along the drawn lines to be finally pulled out and spread into space.
Although these joined up figures seem to invade our space, and in their exuberant profusion are somewhat overwhelming, as in all his work they do not become threatening. We instinctively feel that they all could fold back into a sheet and put safely in a box, like the mannequins cut-outs, cut from a single sheet of paper that children cut out and then pull out into a long string of figures. e way these figures take up the floor space creates what seems an impenetrable forest, but it’s a friendly forest. One superman may seem awesome but 400 become a circus and we can laugh and enjoy ourselves. It is also quite possible to enter the forest and negotiate this metal labyrinth and watch other viewers merging with the various outlines of countless supermen.
An army of supermen seems absurd and ought to be frightening, the fact that they are all drawn to the same outline and seem all jumbled up and in no particular order makes us laugh. Their self-important and boastful pose actually leads us to perhaps also laugh at ourselves. Aren’t we all also a bit puffed up and a bit too self-important is the message these works seem to convey. Like with Gormley a social consciousness seems to be to be at work in Liu’ work as he is trying to make us aware if only subconsciously of the dark side of life through various mechanisms like replication and constant repetition which is a mechanism also used by artists like Warhol who however never makes us want to laugh but also by comics and psycho-therapists to make patients get over their phobias. Constant repeated exposure in a safe environment to what causes anxiety eventually gets us over our fears and it is even more effective if it is made to look funny as laughter is after all the greatest therapy of all.
Liu’s earlier work although quite different reflects nevertheless similar sculptural concerns though perhaps in a less original form. In the early 90’s he had an exhibition at Saint Louis de la Salpêtrière which also shows a similar concern for material and space as in the later work. What appears to be a cored apple is cut up in section and displayed in an expanded form on the gallery floor. The next few works may best be described as installation works, with a theme running through that might best be described as “Ritualistic”.
In his exhibition at the Taipei Museum of Fine Art, in 1999, Liu used only marble, perhaps because the floor of the gallery was already also marble. Placed in the center of the gallery is a marble mattress or thick carpet with 2 marble feet, which appear to belong to a marble torso floodlit and in the middle of the wall, there is also a floating marble hand that seems to belong to some
enormous invisible statue, six marble stools, cube like that invite us to sit and stare ,and on another wall a marble staircase invites us to climb a vertical wall leading to a miniature marble staircase on a rectangular marble background hung like a picture, Against another wall a series of marble heads on pedestals stand in a row, like some display of Roman senators in a museum, but these head have all suffered some disfigurement which seem quite arbitrary as though the sculptor was coldly going through the permutations of applying to each head a different incision with surgical precision and as though the marble had the character of a clay like substance that can therefore be easily imprinted with whatever physical action the sculptor has decided to apply. In this work all our expectations are denied, is this really marble we are looking at? Are these heads looking at us or are we looking at them? Are these cubes for sitting on or are they part of this ritual tableau? We are le with a mystifying puzzle that can never be solved. We ask ourselves “Is this a rendering of some ritualistic sacrifice?” No humour there to relieve the tension and this apparent unease seems to reflect on us as spectators, as though we ourselves may be responsible and we can ask ourselves “Are we there to participate and turn this display into a ‘tableau vivant’?”.
In another work a decapitated cow moves back and forth along a short track that points to a forest of trees stylized to look like a cutout cardboard forest. is cow can never enter the forest. e track won’t let her and she can’t even see it. Again our expectations are thwarted our sense of logic confounded, a sure way to open the road to our unconscious, something that may not be welcomed by everybody as it can be a frightening place to go to.
Does Liu want to unlock something in us? Laughter is one way of doing it, defying our expectations is another. Who would have thought that a cow could become something absurd and thereby reveal something about ourselves? I would say that in this case our perplexity also leads to laughter. Could the cow be looking at her lost head in the forest? is earlier work and others too are like story telling. e story draws us into ourselves, this is helped by the controlled lighting and the closed in space of the gallery. e superman series relies less on the confined space of a gallery and reaches out to a world beyond walls, and can work just as well indoors as outdoors. Although technically well accomplished and extremely engaging, the earlier work fits into a familiar category of works that have been already exploited by others. I personally find the superman series more sculpturally challenging. For me these later works operate in more unfamiliar territory and therefor will linger longer in the mind, their originality evident and memorable.