视觉的艺术与视网膜的艺术
文艺复兴盛期包括在它之前的艺术，我认为是一种视觉艺术，包括埃及壁画、希腊壁画、罗马壁画到中世纪绘画、文艺复兴之前的绘画等等。那么中国的绘画艺术也是典型的视觉艺术。我所认为的视觉艺术，它的特点在于一方面它来源于自然，比如说文艺复兴前期的乔托，另一方面，在绘画的因素、绘画的自主方面又大大独立于自然。什么是视网膜的艺术呢？我认为视网膜的艺术是指自卡拉瓦乔以后，欧洲油画体系逐渐转向这种表达眼球作为晶体对外界的反映，就是表达人的视网膜特征的这种艺术。这是人类的眼球晶体对外界的光色等自然因素的全面的模仿。我认为这样的艺术，从卡拉瓦乔起，一直到19世纪，欧洲艺术的一个相当的成分是这个成分。我举个典型的例子，维米尔的绘画，它几乎是对事物的一个透镜般的模写，这种艺术在19世纪到了顶峰。这种观念，也就是绘画的自然主义因素，绘画更多的能力是表达了眼球晶体对自然界的依赖关系和模写关系。提出这个概念的意义在于，在我们这个媒体越来越发达的时代，摄影、电影、电脑发达的时代，这些是典型的视网膜晶体艺术。在这个对绘画产生越来越大压力的时代该怎么走？绘画该怎么保持自己的独立性？我个人认为保持绘画的视觉特征，会是一个绘画坚守自己本质的好的方向。
绘画的崇敬感
我观察了整个20世纪在世界占主流地位的西方艺术所创作出的整体的图像。我有这样一个感触，20世纪的图像是充满后工业化的、梦呓的、恐怖的、绝望的、令人不安的图像，20世纪最广泛的现象是人们普遍失去崇敬感，如果说拿它与整个人类几千年艺术作比较的话，我对这种图像的警示作用表示怀疑。我认为在几千年中，绘画曾经是重要的，或者说是非常重要的，就因它代表了跟人类信仰相关的，或者代表了人类精华的思想感情。这样的作品我不用举太多的例子，这是20世纪正在失去的东西，我认为绘画在人们的心灵当中如果还应起重要作用的话，必须要有一批重要的艺术家，以他们卓越的心灵和才华，重新使绘画回到表达人类的精华感情和心灵活动的这样一个过程之中。
“十国之行”
在2000年，我按着西方文明成长的顺序分别走访了埃及、希腊、意大利、法国、德国等国家，这个行程我自称为十国之行。我感到造型艺术是伟大和幸运的，在这个过程里，我完全可以看到造型艺术在几千年里形成的成果以及相互的脉络关系。在这一点上音乐和文学就困难得多，而造型艺术你可以看到从最早的马斯塔巴或者最早的神殿，一直到我们最新的造型艺术成果，我们可以清晰地感到造型艺术的脉络和它成长的过程以及价值。我在十国之行中观察了整个造型艺术在几千年中产生的伟大精神历程和它所起的对人的支撑作用。在我看来，这一点在20世纪逐渐中断了，我认为这是不正常的，我认为这个伟大的脉络还应该延续下去。在这个时代，人类内心渴望的，就是这些伟大的艺术，她能够在人们的生活之中起到更大的支撑作用，艺术依然能够反映人类所应有的那种自信、伟大的心灵生活以及人的所有比较光明的价值部分。20世纪的艺术单一地表达人的精神分裂、迷狂、不安和无聊，以及琐碎的个人化的描写，是有很大不足和局限性的。20世纪是不是应该为自己的梦呓、精神分裂、自虐等价值骄傲，以及用狭隘的个人语汇来面对几千年的艺术成果呢？
我近期的艺术追求
我在近年的艺术追求中，摒弃了绘画的世俗化因素，强调了绘画的平面感和某种绘画的本质特征，我寻求绘画的永恒性以及内心的升华感，并且使绘画努力具有更强的精神力量。我共创作了大约三十幅作品，把它们作为普遍精神价值失落现象的一种回应。我在这些作品中寻找绘画的持久存在与人性的精神，选择并实践一种最高级的持久精练的造型方式。
我的新画
我这些画不是为了人们的仅仅一瞥而画，它们具有持久的特性，我在这些画中实现某种绘画曾有过的令人尊敬的特征。我所做的努力并不是为了创造与这个世俗时代等同价值的东西，而是更为深远的具有普遍价值的东西，我把目光投向人类的总体历史并从中获得我认为有价值的东西。我依赖这些作品表达了我们全部内在的升华感，并使这些作品成为有关严格的理性与人类信念存在的标志。我注定是孤独的，因为没有去做普遍市场意义的东西，也没有去追逐浮浅的流行观念，而是去实现高层次的精神存在。这些作品是长久以来我内心所期望的，它们经得起持久的注视。我在这些作品中探讨了曾经千古流传的广义的造型方式，并在此之上建立个人的艺术感觉。
持久的艺术
我的艺术并不是为第一眼的观赏而准备的，我已经把某种持久的本质孕育其中。不为人所接受是持久性艺术的最初待遇，开启那伟大的存在。我希望创造经得起长久注视的艺术，寻求艺术的最高级形态——最初的、非表面的技巧艺术的艺术。我在最简约的严格的视觉形式中重新寻求绘画与精神，这完全是一种新的绘画。我以自己的生活方式轻蔑人性的普遍世俗化和堕落。
绘画的表层
在绘画层面上我实现了一种可以“呼吸”的壁画表层，以避免油画的宫廷式表层语言，我希望这些画具有一种壁画的元素，我使用了非常严整的画结构以及蛋彩画所具有的特别的包容性。在这个时代人的视觉正在变得恍惚与肤浅，由广告与生活中的工业材料所决定的光滑表面造成的审美结果成为人们的视觉习惯。我迷恋一种泥土般的绘画，亲近、质朴、醇厚，我还倾向于大理石的时间感觉，乳色是我最倾心的，最有升华感的。
内在的价值
在这个时代我认为最深刻的人类变迁是人们正在迅速地失去人的内在价值感。当代艺术对此的反映为，把因价值危急而出现的种种畸态的艺术作为对现实的回应。其实我认为这个现实真正需要的是正面地坚持内在价值的人与具有这种崇敬感的艺术，对人类的某种宝贵精神的持守与升华。这是面对世俗大潮的最具挑战性的回应。我坚信亘古以来，世界诸文明所拥有的一些人类基本价值是共同的。当代生活中种种人类危机，是对失去这种价值的反映。在人们追逐的风潮中，我看到了艺术信念的退化与追逐名利的轻狂。
我的画风在回到早期的宁静，我在寻求一种人类精神的重要一面，而整个当代艺术已经沉迷于人的堕落的末世图景之中。我所探求的是人类有史以来具有支撑作用的那种精神理念，在这个时代这是少数，但是重要的存在。我的笨拙的努力，并不是为了创造与这个世俗时代等同价值的东西，而是更为深远的具普遍价值的东西。我以这些似乎庄严的人物，回应在早年内心中产生的静穆感。
The perpetual existence of spirit and the essence of painting
Chao Ge
Visual art and retinal art
The art before and during the Renaissance period could be considered as visual art, including Egyptian mural painting, Greek mural painting, Roman mural painting, the medieval painting and the painting before the Renaissance. Chinese painting can also be looked as visual art. On one hand, visual art comes from nature, such as Giotto in the early period of the Renaissance; on the other hand, the characteristics of visual art are independent from the nature in terms of the factors and self-determination of painting. What is retinal art? As far as I see, after Caravaggio, the entire European painting system turned gradually to the expression of the reflection of eyeballs about the outside world. That is to say, it is a kind of art to express the characteristics of the retina of human being. This is a kind of complete imitation of what reflection of the eyeballs on the outside lights, colors and other factors in nature. As far as I know, this kind of art, from Caravaggio to the nineteenth century, had occupied a considerable proportion in European art. Let me take a typical example, the painting of Vermeer was almost a complete imitation and depiction on the objects. This kind of art had reached its peak in the nineteenth century. This kind concept was also the effect of naturalism in painting, the strength of painting is more focused on the retina’s dependence on nature and on the imitation and depiction relations. The significance in such an advanced time with photographs, movies and computers, all these media are retinal art. What is the way for painting media to go in such a time? How should painting maintain its independence? Personally, I think maintaining the visual characteristics of painting may be a good direction in keeping one’s intrinsic characteristics in painting.
The respectability of painting
I have observed the overall picture generated by the main stream western art in the 20th century. I have such a feeling that the pictures of the 20th century were full of post-industrialism, terror and despair and they made people feel uneasy. The most pervasive phenomenon is that people lost their respect to art. If it is compared to the arts of the past thousands years in human history, I keep skeptical to the alarming function of this kind of picture. In my opinion, during the past thousand years, painting had been critical or even very critical, because it had represented the things related to people’s belief or had expressed the essential thoughts and feelings of human being. As for such kind of work, I need not propose too many examples. These are what was lost in the 20th century . From my point of view, if painting is to have an important role in people’s heart, there should be a group of important artists, who can revitalize painting to the progress of expressing the essential feelings and psychological behavior of human being with their outstanding talents.
“A trip to ten countries” in 2000, along the order of the western cultures, I traveled to Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, Germany and other countries respectively. I called that trip “a trip to ten countries”. I felt that the plastic arts were great and lucky. During that trip, I could completely find the achievements of plastic arts created during the past thousand years and the relations between each other. In this regard, music and literature seem to be much more difficult to perceive, but, with the plastic arts, you can see from the earliest to the latest achievements. We can clearly feel the venation of the plastic arts growing process as well as its value. During my trip to the ten countries, I observed the great developing path of plastic art in the past thousand years and its supportive function on human being. From my point of view, this point has been gradually interrupted in the 20th century, which, is abnormal. From my point of view, the great venation should be continued. Nowadays, what human being long for in their hearts are those great arts, which can play greater supportive roles in people’s lives, which can reflect the confidence and the great psychological behavior and the relatively bright value part of human being. The art in the 20th century simply expressed the schizophrenia, mania, uneasiness and vacuity as well as insignificant depiction of personalization. This kind of art has serious deficiencies and limitations. Should the 20th century be proud of schizophrenia and self-torture? Should the 20th century use a narrow language to cope with art achievements of the past thousand years?
My recent pursuit of art
During the recent years, I have given up the secular factors in painting, and have emphasized the complanation and essential characteristics of painting. I pursue the perpetuity of painting and the enhancing of spiritual life and I try my best to give painting a more powerful and spiritual strength. Having created more than 30 works, I take them as a kind of response to the phenomenon of the loss of universal spiritual value. I seek in these works the perpetual existence of painting and the spirit of humanity and choose and practise a most advanced, everlasting and polished plastic way.
My new work
These works are not created for a glance by people; they have the feature of durability. In the work, I revitalized the ever existing respectable characteristics of certain type of painting. The endeavors that I made are not for creating an equal value to the secular time; I made the endeavors for a deeper thing with universal value. I paid my attention to the overall history of human being and from which I obtained what I think is valuable. Through these works, I expressed the complete improvement in mind and made these works become the mark of strict rationality and the existence of human belief. Maybe I would be deemed to be lonely because I did not do focus on market importance, nor did I chase the shallow concepts in fashion. Therefore, these works have expressed what I longed for all the time and they can withstand everlasting gaze. In these works, I have discussed the best-known ways of plastic arts in extensive meaning, and have built a personal feeling for art.
Ever lasting art
My art is not prepared for the first sight appreciation. I have nurtured certain durable and lasting essence in painting. The durable art is always unaccepted at the initial phase but it explores a great existence. I wish I could create the art that can be appreciated for a long time. I seek for the most advanced form of art , the art of the foremost and non-superficial techniques. In the simplest and strict visual forms, I seek the painting and spirit again, which is totally a new kind of painting. I disdain the pervasive secularization and degeneration of humanity in my own life style.
The surface layer of painting
On the surface layer of paintings, I have realized a kind of mural painting that can “take breath”， in order to avoid the royal court genre of superficial language. I hope these paintings can own a kind of mural painting elements, so I adopt very strict framework and make use of the special capacity of tempera. At present, people’s vision is becoming in trance and superficial. The aesthetic results made by the smooth surface of industrial materials in advertisements and life have become a visual habit of human being. I am infatuated with a kind of soil like painting, which is approachable, simple and pure. I am also apt to the feeling of time of marbles. Opal marble is my favorite, which makes me feel a sense of sublimation.
The intrinsic value
At present time, I think the deepest change of human being is that people are losing the sense of intrinsic value rather rapidly. The reflection of contemporary art on this change is the appearance of various kinds of abnormal arts that reflect on the reality at emergent moments. In fact, I think what this reality really needs to the positive people that insist on the intrinsic value and the respectful art, as well as the persistence and enhancing on certain valuable spirit of human being. This is the most challengeable response to the secular tide. I believe that from the remote times, the fundamental value of human being in all civilizations of the world is almost the same. Various dangers of human being in contemporary lives are actually the reflection of loss of this kind of value. In the fashion-sought background, I have found the degeneration of art belief and the ostentation and hubris in chasing of fame and gain.
My painting style has returned to the early calm and quiet status. I am seeking for a critical aspect of human spirit, while the entire contemporary art has been trapped into the depraved end-day scene. What I explore and seek for is the supportive spiritual concepts ever existing in mankind’s history. Perhaps there are only a handful of them, but they do exist essentially. My humble efforts are not for creating something with the same value of this secular time, but for something deeper with universal value. I made responses to the feeling of calm and solemn in early years by these seemingly venerable characters.