人和艺术有不一样的缘分。丁力与艺术的缘分让我觉得有些新奇。他和艺术有一种近距离的关系，从孩提时期就开始了。说“近距离”的意思是，他能越过艺术史，越过东、西、古、今，直接亲近艺术中形式的那部分－绘画中的点、线、面啦，浮雕中的体块和空白的搭配啦，兴致勃勃地玩起了他的游戏。一玩就是三十年。这样的关系就如他自己所说的，“我的艺术创意灵感更多的是源于丰富的生活经历，再加上我的天分，任我自由自在发挥，从来没有受过任何书本的束缚，完全是自己多年的摸索。”这种与艺术相处的关系，就叫近距离，或者说直接。

　　当然，一路走来，他也在吸收不同的文化元素，有东方的，西方的，尤其他的这批抽象画，看着显然是具备了一付西方的面孔，但对他稍稍多作了解，就能知道，他对待自己笔下的抽象画其实具有一种中国的民间态度，更准确地也许可以这么说，他是用一种民间的态度－直接了当的爽快劲－来对待西方式的抽象画：把喜欢的，顺手的，对脾气的，只管拿了来，玩“嗨”了就好。

　　丁力也许自己都不知道，他的这个态度，对美国现代艺术代言人格林伯格所特别强调的抽象绘画的精神性，有一种中国式民间化的消解。这是会让艺术史家吃惊的－怎么可以这样？！但是在丁力的画中事情就是这样发生的：他无需费心去弄清楚整个抽象画的来龙去脉，也不必去苦读抽象画的理论名著，比如康定斯基的《论艺术的精神》、罗杰·弗莱的《视觉与设计》、格林伯格的《现代绘画》……等等等等。他不管那些东西，就能完全靠了“自己摸索”，也一样把抽象画画得风生水起，大开大合的。愿意挑剔的人也许会说，不先细细阅读西方，如何就可以上手这样的西式绘画？可在我看来，这却正好是丁力抽象画中最最有趣的部分。这好象是一支奇兵，带着突击的意味，无视正规军的打法：搭架子，卖关子，掉书袋，兜圈子……格林伯格把抽象绘画的架子搭得够大吧，谱摆得够足吧，又是精神性，又是艺术的最高原则，其实到底也就是一个平面，承载着点线与色彩而已。这一点子事，满不必忽悠成那种样子。所以智者说，人一思考，上帝就发笑。所以才有杜尚这大顽主把小便池扔出来笑话笑话大家伙儿。

　　因此在我眼里，丁力就是用中国民间处理事物的态度来消解格林伯格的郑重其事。这个态度在艺术圈内还真不大看得到。

　　如今在当代艺术中，会做建设的已经不能算高层次，会做消解的才是高手。因此，看丁力的抽象画，其实可以绕过它们的正面，无需多分析他的画面如何如何，倒是可以从整个艺术的格局中去肯定他对待抽象画的那种特殊立场和态度——“从来没有受过任何书本的束缚”。这够有多难得啊！在一个艺术巳经被理论武装到牙齿的时代，能这么说，这么做的人，是要有胆量的。所以这个一边画着最西式的抽象画，一边完全拒读西方任何理论的画家，身上有着最深入骨髓的民间态度：无视正规，只要试着合手，不问来处，色色自己料理。这挺好，真的挺好，换成别人，装都装不出来。

　　如果丁力能把这种本能的民间性变成一种有意识的武器，对大摆架子的主流艺术做出更主动的出击甚至攻击，那就会更有看头了！！

王瑞芸

西方艺术史学家

国际美术批评家/作家

中国艺术研究院美术研究所研究员

Construction in Deconstruction

　　Researcher of Research Institute of Fine Arts, Graduate School of Chinese National Academy of Arts

　　Human and art are often closely associated with each other. Ding Li is associated with art in a unique way in my eyes. He is so close to art, even when he was a child. I say he is "close to art," because he could come close to the elements of art form, such as pot, line and plane in painting, as well as combined massive and blank spaces in relief, while bypass art history, the east,the west, the ancient and the current. Happily and vigorously, he plays a game of his own, and has been playing for three decades. Such an association is explained by himself as, "My creativity was mainly inspired by my rich life experience, and my intrinsic genius. So, I could develop my art freely, free from any limitation of books, but with my years of exploration." Such an association with art is "close," or "direct."

　　Certainly, he also absorbed different cultural elements, both eastern and western. The abstract paintings exhibited are seemingly westernized. Learned more about him, one may understand he painted abstract works with a Chinese attitude. More exactly, he painted with the direct and straightforward attitude, taking those elements he preferred and playing with them.

　　Maybe he doesn't know, he has already deconstructed the spirituality of abstract painting emphasized by Greenburg, the spokesman of modern American art, in a Chinese way. It surprised the art historians, how come? But it did happen in Ding Li's creation: He never bothered to learn details, nor read any theoretical masterpieces of abstract painting, such as Kandinsky's On the Spiritual in Art, Roger Fry's Vision and Design, Greenburg's Modern Painting... He ignored them, but "explored" by himself. Still, his abstract paintings were well developed. Critical people may question how an artist could start western painting without carefully studying western art? In my opinion, this is just the most interesting part of his abstract paintings. Like a new force's rising, he initiated a sudden and unconventional attack, despite the maneuver of regular armed forces: over-exaggeration, suspension, quotation, turning around...Nobody can be more exaggerating than Greenburg. Spirituality, highest principles of art... All in all, it is only a graphic art form, carrying dots, lines and colors. It should not be over-exaggerated much. So the wise man said, "A man thinks, God laughs." And so, Duchamp, the biggest playboy, threw the urinal out to tease us.

　　Therefore, Ding Li was deconstructing Greenburg's rigidity with the attitude in dealing with daily affairs. It is rarely seen in the art circle.

　　In contemporary art, construction is not a big deed, while deconstruction is. Therefore, we may ignore how his abstract paintings look, but confirm his special attitude towards them from the perspective of art style. How valuable it is to be "free from any limitation of books." At a time when art has already been armored to the teeth, it requires courage to say like that and do like that. Thus a painter must have the most deeply-rooted civilian attitude, to paint abstractly in western way, and to refuse any western theories. Despite any regularity or mainstream, he tried anything preferred, never asked its origin. It is a good practice, nobody can even imitate a little.

　　If Ding Li turns such an intuitive attitude into a weapon, attacking the high-profile  mainstream art more actively, a more interesting story will be initiated.

Wang Ruiyun

Western Art Historian

International Art Critic/Writer

January 2016, Beijing

作者：王瑞芸