Taiwan's public sculptures were born out of the Japanese colonial government's efforts to support urban development. They served the politics of the time, with colonial officials as the subject of eulogy. Since Taiwan was a colony, the colonial government had no intention to cultivate local talents, nor did it take into consideration the artistic value of public sculptures as installations that would interplay with, decorate and beautify the environment. It was only in the 1920s that the talent of Huang Tu shui, the first native sculptor, was recognized in the art circles of Japan. Throughout his life, however, Huang was commissioned by the authorities to create likenesses of the Japanese imperial family or other works that served as honorary tributes. Their purpose was wholly to highlight the governmental achievements of the colonial rulers. In the years from 1930 to just before the upsurge of Japanese militarism, the cultural scene in Taiwan was (relatively speaking) thriving, such that government officials began to pay attention to placing artistic sculptures in public locations with educational significance. Among these were Huang Tu shui's Sweet Dew and Samejima Taiki's Looking Towards the Homeland. Both works had been selected at the Imperial Art Exhibition, and were kept in the Taiwan Education Association Building. Huang's opus Water Buffaloes was used in 1936 to decorate the Taipei City Hall, while a cast bronze figure of a goddess made according to the sculptor's plan was placed in the Keelung City Hall. Eventually, with Japan's outward expansion, the making of sculptures was influenced by the militaristic atmosphere. Sculpted images in public spaces became aligned in purpose with loyalty and patriotism. Later, as the urgencies of the war caused the military to be in great need of resources, it became increasingly harder for sculptors to work. The use of materials was restricted, and bronze works of the past ended up as sacrifices for the war.
Keywords
Japanese Rule, public spaces, sculpture, Huang Tu-shui
In the existing research on the history of Taiwanese art, the art movement in Taiwan during the period of Japanese rule is often interpreted as a historical transition in the form of "modern art connecting to its European sources via Japan". This dominant, conceptualized interpretation focuses on general character and neglects the idiosyncrasies of individual artists. The works of many Taiwanese artists who had studied in Japan are accordingly seen by experts either as "legacies of plein-airism" or cultural products sporting a "southern exoticism" that catered to the imperialistic perspective and taste. This mainstream discourse does lay bare certain realities indeed in the writing of the development of Taiwanese art during the period of Japanese rule. However, as we in the new century today look back on the new art movement initiated by our forebears nearly a century ago, what I am concerned about and hope to uncover is this: In the era when "colonialism" was unavoidable and being confined to a gestalt of lateral transplants was necessary, was anyone able to break through the invisible limitations and start a new page with the energy of independent thinking towards the indigenization of art? Other than the vertical relation between "Japanese mentors" and "Taiwanese students," can we, in the matter of art in Taiwan under Japanese rule, put forth an alternative structure of parallels— such as "Japanese mentors" vis-à-vis "Taiwanese masters," or "Taiwanese masters" vis-à-vis "Taiwanese masters?"
Approaching from this angle, I focus more on how Taiwanese artists reflected on their own cultural situation after returning from their immersion in modern art in Japan, and how they thereby came up with artistic reversals. Such reversals might have stemmed from rebelliousness against the colonialists (as seen, for example, in Chen Chih-chi), a heartfelt attachment to the native countryside (as seen, for example, in Huang Tu-shui), or even the sort of identification with the motherland that we today would distance ourselves from (as seen in, for example, Liu Chin-tang and Chen Cheng-po). However different the inner motivations might have been, the resultant artistic praxes ultimately boiled down to two fundamental routes of evolution -i.e., the localization of sentiments and the nationalization of artistic language. The sculptor Huang Tu-shui and the painter Liu Chin-tang, two of the earliest figures in the history of Taiwanese art to study in Japan, happened to be representative of these two trends. The opuses of both men may be small in quantity due to their early demises, but as far as artistic quality is concerned, Huang Tu-shui's Siddhartha and Water Buffaloes as well as Liu Chin-tang's Days on the Run and Forsaken People count as immortal masterpieces that would shine in any top museum in the world.
This paper goes from Taiwanese art of the Japanese rule period to Japan's modern art, from three-dimensional sculpture to two dimensional painting, and from the lives of artists to their ideals and sentiments. It is hoped that my research and exposition will etch a more fitting and accurate profile for Huang Tu-shui and Liu Chin-tang as two figures in art history to set out as one "Taiwanese master" vis-à-vis another.
Keywords
Taiwan's art under Japanese rule, sentimental localization, nationalization of artistic language, Huang Tu-shui, Liu Chin-tang
朱銘美術館藏朱銘木雕作品研究與典藏維護現狀探討The Study of Ju Ming's Wooden Artifacts of the Juming Museum collection and Its Collection Management and Conservation Development
This article focuses on Ju Ming's wooden sculptures and Juming Museum. Started from the artist's studio environment, techniques, selection of materials, and later extended to explore the state of collection management and conservation.
Artifacts age and deteriorate differently within time; the degree of deterioration varies based on the materials, techniques and collection environment. Therefore, the collection environment plays an important role for long term preservation.
This article aims to advocate the museum's effort to improve the exhibition space and collection environment under the restrictions. The deterioration of wooden artifacts, the impact of temperature and relative humidity on woods, pest infestation are also discussed.
The paper proposes the ideal collection environment for the preservation of wooden artifacts. It also demonstrates the pest management procedure and development at the Juming Museum. In conclusion, it provides the directions for the conservation research and future developments of wooden artifact studies.
Keywords
Ju Ming, Private Museum, Wooden Artifact, Collection Management, Conservation, Pest infestation, Deterioration
Few people would doubt Ju Ming's achievement today. However, what he had done in the past has left some surprising issues. People like to talk about the legendary story of how he became famous overnight, and many of them still think of him as a "naïve artist."
The legendary story, the general impression of a "naïve artist" and the world-famous Taichi series all happened in the 1970s. The decade was critical and remarkable. It was during that time that Ju Ming studied closely with his master, Yu-yu Yang, and acquired his fame overnight as a nationally known sculptor. Therefore, it is quite meaningful to take Ju Ming as a key example to review the 1970s.
This essay analyzes Ju Ming's sculpture style and change of aethsetic ideas from three aspects: "Tradition/Life Aesthetic," "Academy/Modern Art," and "Transformation/Mixing the East and West." It also discusses Ju Ming in relation to the zeitgeist.
Keywords
Ju Ming, wood sculpture, sculpture, Taiwanese art, the Nativist Movement