on TAIPEI Kil'n time in Taipei - Community Services Center
on TAIPEI Kil'n time in Taipei - Community Services Center
on TAIPEI Kil'n time in Taipei - Community Services Center
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above, as <strong>on</strong>ly an architect<br />
with Chen’s genius can,<br />
without any of the pa<strong>in</strong>ful<br />
distorti<strong>on</strong>s that Picasso<br />
had to (make us) endure,<br />
He created often poignant<br />
l o g o s o f o u r t i m e s: a s<br />
the large cat (seen from<br />
above) watch<strong>in</strong>g a mouse<br />
(seen from the side) dash<br />
between its outstretched<br />
p a w s, s y m b o l i z i n g t h e<br />
tensi<strong>on</strong> between Ch<strong>in</strong>a his<br />
h o m e l a n d, a n d Ta i w a n<br />
his place of residence. He<br />
would pa<strong>in</strong>t the mounta<strong>in</strong>s<br />
around Chungk<strong>in</strong>g where he’d been at university, and<br />
<strong>in</strong> his narrow landscapes these mounta<strong>in</strong>s would appear<br />
<strong>time</strong> and aga<strong>in</strong>, populated with fairies, m<strong>on</strong>keys, cranes<br />
and all sorts of w<strong>on</strong>drous spirits of the imag<strong>in</strong>ati<strong>on</strong> as<br />
<strong>on</strong>ly Chen could c<strong>on</strong>jure up. Likewise, he has pa<strong>in</strong>ted<br />
the effects of telescopic and microscopic see<strong>in</strong>g, and has<br />
limned breathtak<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>es (c<strong>on</strong>tours of a female torso) <strong>on</strong><br />
which a mosquito is land<strong>in</strong>g for a treat. Or it may land<br />
<strong>on</strong> a slice of watermel<strong>on</strong>. The viewer must take great care<br />
always to look closely at the m<strong>in</strong>uscule <strong>in</strong>habitants of<br />
Chen’s m<strong>in</strong>dscapes!<br />
Play<strong>in</strong>g with perspective and proporti<strong>on</strong><br />
In his tireless experimentati<strong>on</strong>s with ways of see<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
Chen Qikuan was f<strong>on</strong>d of mak<strong>in</strong>g mounta<strong>in</strong>s (or<br />
skyscrapers) c<strong>on</strong>verge from four sides toward a central<br />
sun (or mo<strong>on</strong>). His titles belie often more poignant<br />
feel<strong>in</strong>gs unuttered. For example two goldfish, each<br />
captive <strong>in</strong> its own glass vessel, kiss each other across the<br />
permanent divide, h<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g at the heartbreak of families<br />
torn apart by politics or war. However <strong>in</strong> exhibiti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
he’d title such a work “Small is Beautiful” which <strong>in</strong><br />
another sense is also most apt. Chen also enjoyed<br />
creat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>time</strong> out of space. He would pa<strong>in</strong>t night and<br />
day c<strong>on</strong>current at two ends of the same scroll that can<br />
be viewed vertically or horiz<strong>on</strong>tally with equal clarity,<br />
seen as it were from two sides of the earth. Here too,<br />
details are adroitly rendered alive with flora and fauna,<br />
or build<strong>in</strong>gs, streets and meander<strong>in</strong>g streams, details<br />
Li Ancheng - Old Brush New Inspirati<strong>on</strong><br />
Li Ancheng - B6<br />
observed <strong>on</strong>ly by a div<strong>in</strong>e<br />
eye. Or he almost turns<br />
past memories <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
future by mak<strong>in</strong>g us look<br />
out the w<strong>in</strong>dow, <strong>on</strong>ly to<br />
see an ancient bridge. He<br />
plays with perspective and<br />
p r o p o r t i o n s – w i t h o u t<br />
resort<strong>in</strong>g to distorti<strong>on</strong> of<br />
any k<strong>in</strong>d, where from a<br />
lotus p<strong>on</strong>d we see a l<strong>on</strong>g<br />
boat <strong>in</strong> the distance, full of<br />
people, dwarfed beneath a<br />
s<strong>in</strong>gle lotus leaf. And when<br />
it suits, he adds reflecti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
so that what looks like<br />
mounta<strong>in</strong>s engirdled with mists also resemble karsts ris<strong>in</strong>g<br />
out of flooded rice paddies. No <strong>on</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the history of<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g (or world art for that matter, except for<br />
Le<strong>on</strong>ardo) has ever achieved anyth<strong>in</strong>g near this degree of<br />
s<strong>in</strong>gular genius. And probably no <strong>on</strong>e else ever will. This<br />
is not a matter of skill. It is a matter of temperament. Of<br />
that <strong>in</strong>effable gentleness and percepti<strong>on</strong> that arises from<br />
serenity and yearn<strong>in</strong>g at the same <strong>time</strong>.<br />
Vigor and m<strong>on</strong>umentality<br />
Next let’s look at an <strong>in</strong>k pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g master born<br />
a generati<strong>on</strong> later <strong>in</strong> Taiwan. Li Ancheng ( 李 安 成<br />
born 1959 <strong>in</strong> Yunl<strong>in</strong> County) creates breathtak<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
c<strong>on</strong>temporary <strong>in</strong>k works <strong>on</strong> paper with brushwork of<br />
the highest caliber aspired by traditi<strong>on</strong>al literati masters.<br />
The comb<strong>in</strong>ati<strong>on</strong> of this most modern expressi<strong>on</strong><br />
burst<strong>in</strong>g forth with such vigor and m<strong>on</strong>umentality, and<br />
yet embody<strong>in</strong>g the most ancient of traditi<strong>on</strong>al values<br />
and techniques, takes <strong>on</strong>e’s breath away, and we know<br />
therefore that ‘traditi<strong>on</strong>’ itself can release its cultural<br />
essence <strong>in</strong> the most c<strong>on</strong>temporary of art manifestati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
without los<strong>in</strong>g viability as most would make us believe.<br />
Li Ancheng is Taiwan’s foremost <strong>in</strong>k pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g master<br />
with the deepest roots <strong>in</strong>to Ch<strong>in</strong>ese cultural traditi<strong>on</strong>s,<br />
and yet his is the most c<strong>on</strong>temporary outlook up<strong>on</strong> his<br />
native world that has been yearn<strong>in</strong>g vociferously for<br />
rootedness as well as liberati<strong>on</strong>. His creati<strong>on</strong>s reach<br />
back to an ancient traditi<strong>on</strong> buried beneath thirteen<br />
centuries of attitud<strong>in</strong>al and technical changes, while at<br />
the same <strong>time</strong> they speak to an <strong>in</strong>ternati<strong>on</strong>al audience<br />
of the highest discernment that has <strong>on</strong>ly s<strong>in</strong>ce the mid-<br />
20th century awoken to more basic explorati<strong>on</strong>s of dot,<br />
l<strong>in</strong>e and plane <strong>in</strong> brush-movement. His art is Taiwanengendered,<br />
is Taiwan pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g at its most h<strong>on</strong>est,<br />
most vulnerable and at its best. Unlike other Taiwan<br />
Culture Industry products, Li Ancheng’s pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs are<br />
hymns to his own cultural and geographical roots, and<br />
are <strong>in</strong>imitable. He is noth<strong>in</strong>g less than a Liv<strong>in</strong>g Taiwan<br />
Nati<strong>on</strong>al Treasure – if such categories exist as they have<br />
<strong>in</strong> Japan for nearly a century.<br />
Vitality and directness rega<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese <strong>in</strong>kwash pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g (shuimohua 水 墨 畫 ) has<br />
20 june 2010