中国水墨人物画的“前世今生”，似乎正是历经贯穿了近百年来的革命与争议这条界带，其声势与时长甚于史上的任何时段。个中纠结与得失权且不说，但有两点却可以肯定，即：横向的外来元素与时代嬗变，促使革命必将继续革下去，而纵向的传统本质，也必将继续传下去。二者并行不悖，且大势所趋。与其相反的是，抛却传统的革命，与拒不革命的传统，无疑都成问题。革命与传承，恰如竞技场上的“攻”与“守”，兼备则胜。亦攻亦守的水墨人物画家，当下似乎并不少，或各依套路，或各怀侧重，尽管其中的品位格调高下次第。

　　画家张禾水墨人物的注入元素——外力，正是作用于他所坚守的中国水墨传统精神——原发力这个本体的渗透与外延，所谓寓“攻”于“守”。张禾似乎为自己勾画了一张攻守“战略图”，他的注入元素与源自书写程式的“笔墨技法”，以及源自中国哲学观的“意象造型”，一并织就了他的艺术“经纬线”。

　　张禾之于笔墨，得益于他的一手好字。“笔墨程式”缘于中国水墨画的特殊媒介工具，以在局限中发掘优势，或者说化局限为优势，同时形成独立于造型之外而又结合于造型的审美形式。从而，为此世代不断地提纯、总结书写与渲染的要旨。因此，“笔法”出“书法”；“书法”出“画法”成为了笔墨的递阶因果。张禾便直取魏晋碑法，并尤得《爨宝子》之神貌。但见他的水墨人物画，满纸笔骨墨筋，于沉实、滞涩中顺带一股决绝的率性，扫劈有致，纵横捭阖。而张禾的皴擦笔势，还间或呈大墙垒石般的网状结构，体面的韵律感粗犷而浑然。至此照见笔墨，或仅就“笔墨”而言，如果套用某二人的话而成为一句话，那便是：“笔墨之外的资本等于零”……

　　张禾之于造型，更倾向于融入姊妹艺术的跨界元素。显然，张禾的客观物象融于主观意念，即概括说法的“师于物而得于心”的意象造型，依托于一种间接的转换。为此，张禾醉心于诉诸提炼、概括中的斩截与粗粝的崇高，诉诸碑塑与岩石之气。陈师曾说过，“六朝造象，则面目衣纹，俨然画家法度，此但见于刻石者也。”与之相反，张禾的水墨人物画却是：面目衣纹，俨然刻塑法度。楔凿、刀锤受力于木石金属，当当作响。张禾铺展的分明是“二维雕塑”的造型图式。因此，张禾所强化、凸显的心性情怀，并非通过物象的夸张、变形与不似之似来体现主观情感的物化外延，而是通过对物象的提炼、概括或着力呈现二维的平面空间，以求自由写“我”心之物，而为“我”所用。尽管张禾心性物化的水墨人物并没有做变形处理，但却尽可能地舍弃了背景、场景甚至某些道具等环境。而一旦“屏蔽”物象之间互为坐标的参照，便无疑也相对弱化了维度，继而也无疑弱化了叙事式的铺陈，图式因此便更加趋近于平面化与单纯化。

　　至此，似乎回响了翁贝托·波丘尼的高声宣称：“让我们把人体打开，把环境关闭到人体里面去。”那么，这样的“人体”也必将是以雕刀代画笔，或以画笔代雕刀的型塑，非此而不得其简括与硬朗。张禾似乎正沿着自己所编织的“经纬线”，一路刊凿。

2015.6.15 北京

​Guo Baoguo：Zhang He's Stele Sculpture

　　"The history" of traditional Chinese ink portrait paintings seems to run through the inter-belt between revolution and disputes for nearly one hundred years. Its momentum and duration exceed any period of time in history. Let along various entanglements, gains and losses, but two points are certain: horizontal external elements and times evolution. They make the revolution continue, and the vertical traditional essence will continue as well. Both of them run parallel and represent the general trend. Contrarily, the revolution abandoning tradition and the tradition refusing revolution will be problematic. Revolution and inheritance are like "offense" and "defense" in arena. Victory will come when both are guaranteed. There seems to be quite a few traditional Chinese ink portrait painters who can offend and defend nowadays. They go their own ways and have particular emphasis, although their tastes are diversified.

　　As an element added to ink portrait paintings, external force is just the tradition spirit of Chinese ink paintings he persists in, which is penetration and extension of original force as an essence. That is, "offense" is contained in "defense". Zhang He seems to portray an offensive and defensive "strategic map" for himself. The elements he adds are from "brush-and-ink technique" in writing formula and "imagery modeling" in Chinese philosophical view. All of these create his artistic "quadrillage".

　　His brush and ink paintings are attributed to his good hand. "Brush-and-ink formula" is originated from the special media tool for Chinese ink paintings, aiming at discovering advantages in limitation or transferring limitation into advantages and creating an esthetic form which is independent from modeling but combines it as well. Then, it is refined, summarized and rendered for generations. Therefore, "brush technique" generates "calligraphy", while "calligraphy" which is a kind of hierarchical cause and effect for brush and ink. Zhang He adopts stele calligraphy in Wei and Jin dynasties and gains the character pattern of Cuan Baozi Stele. His ink portrait paintings are filled with brush and ink sketches, showing resolute willfulness in solidness and stumbling, featuring charming brushing and looking perpendicular and horizontal. Zhang He's wrinkling and rubbing handwriting is sometimes of net structure formed with great walls and stones. The decent rhythmical image is rough and complete. As for "brush and ink", if one sentence is generated from the statement of the two people, it will be "the capital beyond brush and ink is zero…"

　　His modeling is more inclined to integrating trans-boundary elements for sister arts. Apparently, Zhang He's objective things are combined into subject idea. That is, image modeling that "learning from the things and obtaining from the heart" relies on an indirect transition. Therefore, Zhang He is obsessed with resorting to extraction, interception in generalization, nobleness in coarseness, stele sculpture and rock energy. Chen Shiceng said, "The sculpture is made by Six Dynasties, and its surface is covered with drapery patterns. This is the artistic standard painters follow, but it is only seen among stone gravers." Contrarily, the ink portrait paintings by Zhang He are characterized in that its surface is covered with drapery patterns and this is the artistic standard for engraving. Wedging chisel, knife and hammer impose forces on wood, stone and metal which blurt out sounds. What Zhang He displays is a modeling scheme for "2D sculpture. Therefore, the temperament and feelings that are reinforced and embodied by Zhang He do not reflect the objectifying extension of subjective emotion through image exaggeration, deformation and resemblance of non-resemblance. 2D plane space is sown through image extraction, summarization or attachment in order to describe "my" ideal object freely and serve "me". Although ink portraits that are deposited and objectified by Zhang He are not deformed, they abandon background, scene and some properties as far as possible. The reference of coordinates among "shielded" images will undoubtedly weaken the dimension, narrative elaboration, and the scheme is more planar and purer.

　　So far, this seems to respond to the declaration of Umberto · Boccioni, "Let me open the human body and then close the environment in it." If so, the "human body" will be a graver in place of a brush or the type plastic of brush in place of graver. Thus, the conciseness and robustness cannot be obtained. It seems that Zhang He is caving his way along the "quadrillage" he is weaving.

June 15, 2015, Beijing