藝術的代價——蒲添生戰後初期的政治性銅像與國家贊助者The Price of Art Creation—The Three Political Bronze Statues by Pu Tien-Sheng and His National Patrons in the Initial Episode of Post-war Period of Taiwan
Studies on Taiwanese sculptor Pu Tien-Sheng have not yet escaped from the perspective of artistic individualism, which glorified the talent and achievement of the artist, but at the cost of concealing the real predicament of artists lived in the post-war period of Taiwan. In opposition to this viewpoint, this article tries to discuss Pu Tien-sheng's three bronze statues in the initial episode of post-war period: Chiang Kai-Shek in military uniform, Sun Yat-Sen, and Koxinga within a political and economic context. Those statues were commissioned by official institutions. In Chiang Kai-shek sculpture's case, government officials supervised the making of the work, determined its aesthetic criteria, even threatening to put the artist into jail, in order to make the sculpture's inaugural on schedule. The official powers also raised money for the cost of bronze statues and artist' s living. The expenditure of Sun Yat-Sen Sculpture heavily depend on the raised money by illegal means of exert latently pressure on basic functionary and people. Those fundraising activities in turn formed a democracy fiction of people's supporting the regime of official powers. However, in an era of economical crisis, Pu Tien-Sheng can only received financial support from official powers, and made claim of his artistic idea of making art for the nation's people in authoritie's favor. Finally, the official authorities also control artwork's image, before the making of Koxinga bronze statue, the image of Koxinga had raised a hectic dispute in late 1940's and early 1950's, the debates was not only a pure academic discuss, but also stamped by the political ideology with the slogan of "guang fu" (Taiwan Restoration) and "fan gong" (Recover the Mainland China), which the sculptor must obey in his work's form. Pu Tien-Sheng had to negotiate with the political hegemony, and compromise is an important stake. However, when the martial law period of Taiwan ended in 1986, the discourses about him always glorify his talent and his idea of "art for art' s sake," and in contrary concealing the political involvement of the artist. It also omits an important issue in modern or contemporary Taiwanese art, about where the moral line of an artist's compromise is and where the one of personal social responsible is in such an involvement.
Keywords
Pu Tien-Sheng, The Initial Episode of Post-War Period, Political Bronze Statues, Chiang Kai-shek, Sun Yat-Sen, Koxinga
The methods of expression for Hiroto Kitagawa's figure sculpture are currently highly diverse, but the recurring features of his works are nonetheless very numerous. In particular, Hiroto Kitagawa's terracotta figures have been getting a lot of attention lately. The sculptures have bony bodies like Western models, and the characters are young with very unique costumes. The figures also have the faces of an idealized Asian young person with a cold look and straight posture, giving them a very distinctive look. Although at first glance his works appear in the Manga style, they are really the result of a long development. The works have a spirit of an era, a folk quality, and an individuality which combines both the western and the Asian.
Hiroto Kitagawa studied creative sculpture at the Kanazawa College of Arts, and then engaged in further studies in Italy where he learned the traditional terracotta ceramic method. He also actively investigated the features a sculptured figure should have, according to his own ideals. His past works show he has ceaselessly sought new inspiration and vitality for sculptured figures. For example, it has been said, "For searching and showing the truth of human beings, Hiroto Kitagawa uses the soil to express their spirit and shape." This paper introducing his background and early studies, as well as his Italy period and terracotta work. The paper goes on to discuss the development of his art work, special features of his works, and provides a thorough overview of Kitagawa's creative endeavors.
Keywords
Kitagawa Hiroto, Figure Sculpture, Terracotta, Anime and Manga Styles
For his 2009 residency at the Tung-Ho Steel Enterprise Corporation, Liu Po-chun bent strips of discarded industrial steel to fashion his series of figurative sculptures entitled Vajra. Composed of puffed-up outlines that remain empty at their centers, these figures represent a key transition in Liu's recent work. In the past, his sculptures occupied a thematic realm which both retained the representation of human forms and suggested ready-made objects. Liu's work from this earlier stage embodied the gap between the articulable and the visible which was often present in the work of various generations of Taiwanese artists; specifically discourses of Liu's generation, who called for social commentary yet did not create corresponding perceptual expressions. Vajra is unlike this preceding work, and therefore the beginning of a new phase for the artist.
First, vajra is a mythological prototype higher than all living creatures, and therefore a ready-made image of preeminence. Next, moving into the mediate realm of semiotics, Liu has eliminated the flesh-and-blood body in this work, which hastens the viewer toward the object itself. Finally, Liu arrives at a loose and referential polysemy; but postmodern theory alone cannot explain away the reflexivity in Liu's self-mocking Vajra. Such reflexivity, unlike the popular yet ultimately inconclusive identity issues prevalent in 1990s Taiwan, suggests "the possibility of a creative (self-) destruction for an entire epoch." (Beck 2) In this regard, discourses of subjectivity wrapped in issues of identity must first be destroyed before Vajra can permeate certain social milieus of Taiwan's cultural field.
Keywords
Liu Po-Chun, Sculpture, Body, Subjectivity, Reflexivity, Mediate, Contemporary Taiwanese Art
