从眼前这些大大小小、精美天真的画作当中，我们几乎很难看出哪怕一丝的“不正常”痕迹，但这些作品的的确确就是出自几十位来自全国各地的“自闭症儿童”之手。他们以天真的方式为自己、为我们大家，同时也为绘画艺术涂抹了一笔真正意义上的天真。

　　自闭症是一种伴随患者终生的精神疾病，它的影响不仅涉及个人和家庭，还关系到医学、心理学、社会学、以及整个社会的文明进程。与正常儿童相比较，自闭症儿童的“不正常”是显而易见的，然而这种不正常并没有抑制住他们在绘画领域里正常表达自己的心情和向往，反而有助于他们的发挥和宣泄。在尽显儿童绘画应该具备的所有特征的同时，甚至超越了儿童绘画所应有的特征。因为在艺术的精神家园中从来就没有“正常与非正常”的不同，非正常就是正常的，正常反而是不正常的。在医学和社会学领域，人们也许需要致力于将非正常转变为正常的努力，而在文化艺术领域，我们所要做的却恰恰相反。得益于艺术世界的宽容与平等，孩子们可以随心所欲地尽情施展他们在现实世界中无法获得的乐趣、追求以至尊严。从这一点看他们是幸运和快乐的，古今中外多数艺术家所梦寐以求的期待也不过如此了。

　　相对于普通儿童乃至成年人，自闭症儿童的理想世界和现实世界是很难区分的，绘画就是他们的现实，现实也就是他们的绘画。对他们来说，绘画并不是世外桃源，而是生活的一个组成部分甚至是全部，他们不能像普通人那样自如地游离于理想和现实之间，他们的现实是“理想化”的，他们的理想却不能“现实化”。从这一点看他们又是不幸和痛苦的，过去、现在甚至未来的自闭症患者都无法超越这种桎梏。因此，我们说他们是天真的、他们的绘画是天真的，天真到永远都不能摆脱这种天真。

　　我们面前的这些绘画不仅是对自闭症儿童天真的展示，同时也是对我们现有人文观念的清理与质疑，它揭示了在医学、社会等自然现象之后存在的文明现象，使得我们这些观看者和被观看者之间产生交流、理解和共鸣，使得我们不再从疾病的角度去观看他们的不同，而是从文明的角度去拓展和改变我们的认同。科学在发展，社会在进步，当我们用一种“成熟”的目光去审视别人的“天真”的时候，是否思考过我们也同样缺少些什么呢。

　　清华大学美术学院

　　李木

　　The Art of the Na?ve

　　Gazing at the assorted drawings that are placed before us - each of them brimming with an unblemished childlike radiance, an uninformed pair of eyes may find it hard to trace any air of “extraordinariness” in them. Yet, truth be told, all of the art pieces which stand before you and me originate from the creative exuberance of more than 10 different autistic children all over China. With an innate naivetythat was borne in them, each of the strokes they left on the canvasses also made indelible marks in spectators like us as well as the world of art.

　　“Autism” is a lifelong neural disorder that has a widespread influence: from the personal domain of the patients and their families to wider domains of the society, such as the fields of medicine, psychology, sociology, or even the development of a civilization. Although an autistic child stands out strikingly among a crowd of their “ordinary” peers, the same “extraordinariness” does not inhibit that natural desire residing within them to be express in art. On the contrary, their condition flourishes this artistic expression. While making an effort to display the characteristics of children’s art in this exhibition, we discovered that we have far exceeded this aim. The reason is simply because there is no distinction between the “ordinary” and “extraordinary” in the spiritual realities of art: the “extraordinary” is often deemed as the “ordinary”, yet the latter is less prized as the former. While the arenas of medical and social science should do more to change the status of the “extraordinary” to “ordinary”, opposite is true for the arts & culture arena. What would ultimately benefit the na?ve children would be the art world’s bestowal of magnanimity and equality on the ”extraordinary” like them. With this liberation, they have the freedom to express their enjoyment, motivation or even dignity - that which the real world harshly sweeps away. On this note, we see the benediction and satisfaction in these children’s lives – the very hopes cherished by all artists across the span of time.

　　In comparison to the “ordinary” children or adults, the boundary between ideals and realities in autistic children is blurred. To them, drawing defines reality; reality is caricatured in their drawings. Drawing is not just a form of romantic escapism to them, but an integral part of their lives that makes them whole. Unlike the “ordinary”, whom are able to traverse freely between the planes of idealistic and verisimilitude, the na?ve regards the real world as fiction, yet their ideals can never be materialized in reality. On this note, they can be seen as deprived and miserable. There holds no key to the shackles that autism binds the na?ve to. No wonder they are called the na?ve - naivety follows them wherever they will be, even in their drawings.

　　Coming back to the exhibition, it would be an understatement to think that the drawings of the na?ve serve display purposes only. They are reminders to civility of the need for re-orientation and re-examination. These drawings expose the current state of civility alongside the natural states of medicine or sociology. When looking at them, we as viewers take on an interactive exchange, understanding, and finally, resonance, with those who are being viewed. Instead of constantly seeing the na?ve as sufferers of a sickness impossible to be shaken off, we realized the need in ourselves to admit of our myopia and embrace those who are different from us. Even as Science continues to advance at a break-neck speed and Society continues to improve with leaps and bounds, should we, the “civil”, ask ourselves if we are missing the larger picture as we quickly brush off the “naivety” that we see in these children’s drawing?

　　Academy of Arts and Design

　　Li Mu