長期以來以物質材料製作的雕塑總是試圖突破物質本身的束縛，從自然物質材料本身的屬性中脫離出來，營造出一種類它比擬的相似狀態，以求變現一種幻覺的真實，具象雕塑為此走過了漫長的路途。由于雕塑的實體性限制，在客觀表現物件的呈像過程中，體積的實在性和材料的重量感，使得在塑造景觀物象中總是難以脫離重心引力的牽掛，而牢牢的受制于支撐的基礎。為了穩定的站立起來，伸展出去，空間和跨度始終遊離在團塊構造的周圍，任何的突兀延展都要經過极其困難的斟酌考量，然後在中心穩定基礎牢固的前提下，逐漸突破平面的限定構成了一些豐富的裏面結構關係，使得空間的錯落佈置不再從屬于材料本身的自然形狀，而是在一個新的結構關係中逐漸接近表現物件。但是這時的表現範圍仍然受到限制。從古典到巴羅克再到現實主義，風格的變化自不待言，潛在于各種表現風格變化的基質是結構構造方式的變化，從封閉的從屬于材料限制的空間關係中掙脫出來，體積與空間在多大的範圍內可以自由運動一直是藝術家們琢磨不定的問題。

　　羅丹把生命運動的視覺效果推向了極致，在瞬間的運動中不僅融合了結構和機理細微變化的細枝末節，而且不顧基本形體常態的一般性特徵而作出非凡的調整，讓局部的真實服從整體結合的真實，進而服從整體運動狀態的真實，從而豐富了巴羅克以來在空間關係上的虛張聲勢的程式化格局，情境瞬開的表情特徵不僅存在于類型的變化中，而且存在于個性的差異中，由此人的社會現實性得到強調，精神面貌的情緒變化顯現出來，雕塑的人向真實的人進一步接近了。

　　羅丹在祖述希臘傳統菲迪亞斯的四個轉折面的形體結構中，仍然沒能徹底背離米開朗基羅兩個面的整體感構造，運動的依託仍然難以徹底排除。後來他的門徒馬約爾和卡爾米勒斯都試圖使雕塑輕巧起來，馬約爾借肥碩的人體以漂浮的動作來淡化重心引力，米勒斯則以小接點的支撐和向上伸展的動勢來營造人的輕盈動態，讓體積的重量轉化成克服自身重量的動力源泉，先賢們提供的藝術實踐成果，成為后來者有益的借鑒範例。廣州雕塑院的雕塑家許鴻飛正是在這種結構圖示的文化資源中探索自己的形式語言的，面對文化遺產，而是懷著深深的謙恭，在前輩大師引導的線索中，走出自己的路。

　　許鴻飛的肥胖女人運動系列雕塑，既有羅丹的運動感，也有馬約爾的體量感，在凌空運動方面則又與米勒斯有異曲同工之處。這一切，并非學究似的各家形式要素的機械羅列并置，而是根據自己對既往藝術經驗的體悟，對當代現實生活的觀察，把藝術語言有機的匹配到現實生活現象中，從而豐富了傳統語彙。關於現實生活狀態，關于對現實生活狀態多樣性的態度，許鴻飛用豐富多彩的構造形式，在經驗判斷和藝術表現中與現實景觀搭建了一條審美通道。讓壓路不用碾子下河不借筏子肥胖婆娘們揚長避短，該顯示力量的時候不含糊，該輕盈的時候不笨重，體積和空間在胖婆娘的生活百態中變化多端伸展自如。克服了雕塑重心引力的羈絆，肥胖的形態和雕塑的體積便可以有效的結合起來表現動感的主題，把過去長期由動勢暗喻的運動態勢鋪展開來，拓展了運動的空間範圍，這就使得生活的場景式記錄成為可能，像古代的張宣周舫一樣，時代的畫卷落墨于日常生活的平淡和閒適之中，許鴻飛的肥胖婆娘系列，無論是吹拉彈唱，還是遊戲嬉戲，或者劇烈運動，力量調控的張弛有度。在結構性的組合中，四兩千斤的對比關係和失重平衡的動態把胖婆娘自身重力加速度的動感推向了臨危的限度，再由肉山一樣巍然屹立的穩定性構圖嘎然而止。富態安祥的胖婦們可以動若矯兔靜若處子，絕沒有有躁動的唐突，也沒有呆滯的沉悶，豐腴體態的運動，包含了欣欣向榮的自然天性的茁壯和繁茂，又在具體形象情景化的表現中顯得真實可信。

　　以我長期與許鴻飛接觸的經驗看，他有著嶺南人勤奮踏實的品性，同時在雕塑創作實踐方面也不墨守成規，無盲目崇拜權威的奴性，在默默工作中積攢自己的實力然後異軍突起。作為一個藝術家，在以公共藝術為主要創作方向的同時，他深深知道判斷藝術品優劣的標準除了專家和委托人的鑒賞之外，廣大民眾的態度更為重要，藝術為大眾服務不是空話，而是他時刻牢記的創作方向，這使他在對現實生活移情自適的選擇性表現中，仍然不失對現實生活中重大事件的關注和敏感性，而在處理這些表現題材的時候，不是拿樣作怪的擺出一幅沒有靈魂的形式軀殼，尋找一些先入為主的題材和內容充塞到固定的形式中去，而是從平凡生活的細節中發現震撼力的藝術元素，根據此情此境的感動，形式和內容油然而生悄然暗合，這在表現酣睡的救災士兵的雕塑中得到了很好的體現。因此，許鴻飛創作中多樣性的表現，就不僅停留在題材和內容的更替中，而是隨時根據表現內容作出相應的調整，這樣，我們便可以發現在許鴻飛的表現範疇中，沒有習慣性的程式，不是像一些雕塑家那樣，一招先吃遍天，從一而終，再也突破不了自己創下的輝煌頂點，成名的那一刻即是衰敗的開始，許鴻飛的創作仍然處在變數的過程中。

　　最近他又在籌畫把自己的雕塑運去粵北山區連南做雕塑巡迴展，送沉重的雕塑作品下鄉，這種沉重是重量上的，當這些活蹦亂跳的肥婆娘們出現在粵北山區的田間地頭時，在更大的背景下，襯托著粵北的崇山峻嶺，這些肥胖歡娛的婆娘們便會顯得輕盈靈巧婀娜多姿了。

　　雕塑是凝固的音樂，是無聲的詩歌，是定格了的舞蹈，是持久的視覺閱讀……是生命激情最美的結晶。

　　LIGHTNESS OF WEIGHT & FLEXIBILITY OF VOLUME

　　Gao Meng has a Ph.D.in Sculpture from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and is an Associate Professor of Sculpture Department at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

　　Figurative sculpture has a long history of trying to break through the limitations set by the properties of the medium, in order to reach greater levels of naturalism. Due to the volume and weight of the material, a work of sculpture is often tied down to a base for stability. All horizontal, vertical or diagonal extensions must revolve around a core structural element. Any irregular extension is only possible on the premise that the central element is sturdy and stable, followed by painstaking calculations. These efforts lead to more complex internal structures and a gradual breaking free from a flat surface. Manipulation and composition of space is no longer restricted by the material’s natural form; it becomes possible to build new spatial-formal relationships so that the depicted subject appears more naturalistic. Yet, expression is still limited. Beneath the aesthetic and stylistic choice from the eras of Classcism to Baroque to Realism, there is a continuous exploration in how to transform models of construction so that physical restrictions of the material can be overcome, and greater liberty in commanding form and space can be attained.

　　The work of Auguste Rodin was the culmination of realistic representation of a sculpted figure in action. To represent movement, he combined the subtle modulation of form and texture with radical formal choices that went against conventional formal compositions. The realism in the details was coherent with the overall sense of realism, which created a coherent and realistic image of a living and moving figure. He added to the formulaic, superficial grandeur of Baroque sculptures a variety of human expressions that were not determined by the work’s genre, but differentiated by identifiable human personalities. The portrayal of genuine, life-like emotions and the allusion to psychological states highlighted a sense of social realism in his work. Figurative sculpture took another step towards looking like a real person.

　　Tough Rodin reinterpreted the lesson of ancient Greek artist Phidias and his use of contrapposto, his work still showed the influence of Michelangelo, the formal and spatial compositions of whose sculptures were predominantly configured on a two-dimensional visual plane. The expression of dynamic movement was still restricted by the necessity of a stable suppor. Subsequent artists like Aristide Mailllo and Carl Milles also strived to make their sculptures appears light and nimble. Maillol reduced the sense of weight and gravity by producing voluptuous figures that seem to float. Milles’s figures were engaged in upward motion, with only a single small point of contact to the supporting base, to create the illusion that movement was driven by an internal, biological energy of the figures. For contemporary sculptor Xu Hongfei, these were precious lessons from which he did not simply learn and limitate, but respected, explored and developed his own distinctive stylistic language.

　　Xu Hongfei’s series of Chubby Women sculptures embody the sense of movement found in Rodin, the sense of weightin Maillol, and a trace of Milles when counter-gravity movements are depicted. This is the result mot of a mechanic combination of the achievements of his predecessors but of his own learning: an integration of his personal creative experience and observation of nature. It is a transposition of an artistic language to scenes of the contemporary everyday life; It is an innovation of a traditional formal language. Xu use a rich formal vocabulary to depict the diversity that he sees in the mundane daily life and carves out a special standard for beauty between reality, objective observation and artistic expression. His plump figures seem to move without any strenuous effort. They express power and strength, but their movements appear light and supple despite the size and shape of their physical mass. Xu succeeds in overcoming the sense of gravity. He manages to combine heavy and massive forms with the actual volume of the sculpture and ends up with the effect of fluid, unrestrained and dynamic movement. When sculptures can extend and expand within a larger space and scale, it becomes possible to document more actions and scenes from the ordinary everyday. As in the work of ancient painters Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang, Xu’s choice of subject matter falls on the seemingly insignificant details in life. And whether his “women” are engaged in music, games or exercise, Xu demonstrates a confident and precise control over the degree of tension and power he wishes to appear in his work. In terms of formal elements, he utilises the contrast of the heavy against the lightweight. He produces images of a heavy and substantial woman caught in dynamic movement, in which the woman’s weight seems to be the cause for her imminent collapse as well as her precarious, momentary balance. Xu’s Chubby Women can appear nimble and agile, or still and peaceful. They are neither impulsive, nor dull and passive. These animated women sculptures emanate a sense of natural well-being, and they appear realistic and convincing.

　　I have known Xu Hongfei for a while and I see that he has the down-to-earth conscientiousness of a person from Liannan. He is keen to challenge conventions and dose not blindly follow rules, especially in his artistic practice. He does not submit himself to authorities; he concentrates on training himself and developing his skills, and eventually he stands out from the masses. As an artist, he understands that when art is intended for the public, the public’s reaction to the artwork is more important than the quality judgment made by experts and patrons. Xu endeavours to make art serve the public. He retains an acute sense of sensibility and personal empathy towards what is happening in the world around him. His work is not an empty, soulless, formal representation of his subject; nor dose he fill an empty shell with some sugjuective, superficial preconception. Instead, he looks for the artistic potential in the most minute of details, from which he develops a most natural and suitable form that is coherent with the content of the work. His sculpture of a group of sleeping soldiers is a fine example. Xu dose not adhere to a single subject matter, but is always finding new ways that best represent any particular subject. He does not work according to a formula and he is not like those sculptors who make one masterpieces, and then repeat the same idea over and over again, never surpassing themselves, always in their own shadow of glory. Xu Hongfei’s art is constantly changing and evolving.

　　Recently he is planning to install his heavy women sculptures in the natural landscape of Liannan. However, regardless of their physical weight, when these big, lively ladies set foot on the vast landscape, with the mountains as a backdrop, they will surely look graceful, beautiful, light and airy as a feather.