何　芹

Mr. Liu Yuanchang, my loving-teacher and master of Chinese arts and crafts belongs to the latter type. His whole life is attached to fire, glaze and soil, creating human civilization using different pugs and temperature, using multiple techniques and crafts to mold the feeling to art and life. In the 1980抯, he had been active in such space environment and seeding his artistic seeds to the top of his bent, which could be called his golden period in art. "Ha'er Arhat" has provided more Buddhistic atmosphere to statue on the basis of tradition, integrating modern decoration tactics, giving a wonderful impression to people. While creating the large sculpture of "Bull" erected Guniuling (Bull Hill) Parking of Lushan Mountain, he had given a full play to all of these picked from past experience and materialized in his temperament: using large-piece building tactics, weakening the animal's skeleton, focusing on life style, providing both the majestic atmosphere of "Bull" and sense of imposing modern decoration. This sculpture has fully reflected the concept of "Qi" and "Dao" in Chinese traditional aesthetics, as well as the master's artistic talent and spiritualism of "see what is coming from one small clue". In the creation of "Goddesses Spreading Flowers", he had studied the realistical-painting & vividness, and plympness & thick-beauty decorative artistic style of the painted sculptures in the Dunhuang Grottos, using exquisite crafts and tactics to portray the appealing moment when the goddesses were spreading flowers all over the sky, to the world. As for "The Soul of Chu", he based on the concept of artistic freedom, and the incorporation between man and nature in aesthetic tradition, responding to the fortune of climatic condition, holding the Qi of the earth, so as to fully use the porcelain glaze tints in the ceramic lexicon to build the "Meaning Outside the Taste". The porcelain carving of "Life Spring" should be regarded as reforging of him after his study of tradition, which was also the value of beauty contained in pug, glaze and fire under the operation of crafts and techniques, that is the recording of his feeling and mood creation as abducted by fire clay.

"The art mirrors the author." Whoever has met with Mr. Liu Yuanchang is moved by his honesty. He was not only a kind and delegation man, but also a pristine organizer. In the 1970抯, as the director of a Carving Porcelain Factory, he was responsible for the affairs of the whole factory. In the late 1980s (till now), he has built his studio, organized and participated various artistic events, rushing about for carrying-forward of the porcelain carving art.

雕塑之所以有“凝固史诗”之誉，这在一定程度上与情传载体的择定有关。硬质自然材料与人造材料，都是雕塑家研究与利用的。如果说物质形态下的世界是材料的世界，那么某种意义上也是雕塑家的世界。他们根据各自的审美情趣展开艺术思维的翅膀，有广为猎取多种物质材料，也有终身与单一的质材为伴而寄情抒怀。我的恩师，中国工艺美术大师刘远长属于后一类型。他一生与火、釉、土结缘，用不同的泥料和温度创造着人类文明，用多种技法和工艺去塑造对艺术对人生的感受。即使雕塑处于低谷被视作“皂隶之属”，他都固守于“水土宜陶，土人多业之”的景德镇，像是他的人生无论潮起潮落都始终对生活充满着执著的感情。

20世纪60年代的风云变异莫测，好些专业人才自暴自弃，刘远长却以他的艺术功底来磨砺他的意志，他没有放下对艺术的追求。与粘土的关系有点八木一夫的精神——视作生命的共同体。创作《毛主席在井冈山上》、《扎钢》、《小秋收》等瓷雕作品时，有人对这政治特强的题材为他忧心。因为当时十分强调艺术形象的高度写实，十分强调主题思想的鲜明性和人物性格的典型性。但他凭借自己在学院苦练养成的造型基本功，按照社会主义现实主义艺术原则去阐述他的作品，终于获得成功而入全国美展。他这种对待艺术创作的严肃性，对党的文艺方针的诚实性，得到了同道们的赞赏，也是我们年青一代的艺术家值得学习的。……