從老莊美學來看20世紀金屬雕塑

Appreciating the 20th Century Metal Sculpture Through the Lens of Lao-Chuang Aesthetics

老莊哲學裡講究在生活中透過樸素、虛靜和坐忘的心性修持從而體悟「物我兩忘、天人合一」來作為人生圓滿的最高境界，其實這與金屬雕塑家透過在造形中不斷精煉美感意境、在材料的反覆斟酌中追求形質純粹與最終達成自我實現的圓滿創作過程十分相似。老莊的哲理中常以一種不停流動的「無常之常」來看待世間萬物的流變，彷彿眼前的一切是一個龐然的有機生命共同體，然而卻在繁複的形式下亂中有序、自成一套生命運行的自然法則。如果這個形成萬物共生共榮、和諧發展的「道」可以和金屬雕塑家所追求的美學價值觀比擬，那麼老莊這種面對對象保持冷靜思考的習慣，其實也與創作者在面對金屬材料時保持適切的思考距離，不執迷於「物我」，以求在純淨的美學與純熟的技巧自然掌握下達到圓融完美之境十分相似。透過老莊這樣的美學觀照來看有機、抽象形式的現代金屬雕塑，其實不僅兩者在美學的核心價值上不謀而合；同時現代金屬雕塑中即興與直接焊塑作品的創作方式也鮮明地呼應著老莊思想中「流動」與「寫意」的宇宙人生觀，也因而在作品中具現了濃厚的東方人文情懷。本文將針對在20世紀藝術風潮中，直接與間接影響金屬雕塑發展的立體主義、構成主義與未來主義等，分別列舉藝術家與作品來析論其中與老莊思想相互呼應的美學觀點。

Taoism puts great emphasis on leading a simple life as well as mediating to reach emptiness, tranquility and sitting in oblivion that are critical for understanding and experiencing the greatest state in the human lifetime in Taoism-- forgetting about the self and the external world and becoming united with the heaven. This philosophy is somehow similar to what metal sculptors are pursuing, mainly refining the artistic conception during the design stage, dialectically and repeatedly chasing after purity both in forms and quality, and finally, creating an perfect artwork of self-realization. Taoism often views all changes in the world as constant inconstancy that flows perpetually. It is like seeing everything in front of us as a gigantic organic life community that is though complicated and in chaos but orderly, forming a distinct and natural principle of the cycle of life. If we draw a parallel between“tao”, meaning the rule in Chinese, of harmonious coexisting of all creatures and the aesthetic value pursued by metal sculptors, then the practice of thinking calmly in Taoism is very similar to the artists’attempts of keeping a distance from the metal materials during the contemplation stage in order to attain a perfect and well-balanced result via exercising pure aesthetics and mature skills naturally. Lao-Chuang’s aesthetic emphasis coincides perfectly well with the abstract form of contemporary metal sculpture, whereas the creative method of improvisational and directly welded sculpture work of contemporary metal sculpture also straightforwardly echoes the notions of flow and spontaneity of Taoism’s cosmic life. That is why the artwork could be so rich and full of oriental humanistic ideas. In this paper, the authors listed the artists and their metal sculpture works that have been directly or indirectly influenced by Cubism, Constructivism and Futurism in the 20th century art movements. The author also discussed the aesthetic perspectives of these works echoing the philosophical ideas of Taoism.