Formosa News recently featured a special report on Wu Chi-tsung and his artworks, focusing particularly on the creative process of his cyanotype photography. Reporter Stephany Yang visited the artist’s studio and had an in-depth discussion with Wu Chi-tsung about his unique techniques involving Xuan paper and the natural interplay of sunlight and shadows. Viewers had the opportunity to see how Wu ingeniously blazes new trails by utilizing natural environmental elements for contemporary creations that convey the essence of ink painting. The program also delved into Wu Chi-tsung’s artistic evolution and his modern interpretation of traditional Chinese ink painting. The following report extract is reposted from FTV News.
Today we take you to meet Taiwanese award-winning multidisciplinary artist Wu Chi-tsung. Wu is famous for creating beautiful landscape artworks by wrinkling Xuan paper and putting it under sunlight. FTV reporter Stephany Yang takes us to see the artistic process.
Stephany Yang: Beautiful landscape artworks are hung on the wall. At first glance, it might look like a regular painting, but it’s actually a cyanotype work created by Wu. He first applies a photosensitive coating to Xuan paper, which is also called rice paper. He then wrinkles the paper, and puts it under the sunlight at the top of his studio’s rooftop.
Wu Chi-tsung: For about half an hour, I will keep changing the shape and read the beautiful and random texture of light and shadow. Then, gradually develop the shape of the work. All the work, I did usually under the sunlight. Sunlight could change any time. Wind will move the paper. The most important thing. You cannot control how you crumble the paper and what form you would get. I love all the randomness in the work so I can always find new things and learn from it.
Stephany Yang: Afterward, he washes the paper. Mountains, oceans, glaciers, and other landscapes slowly emerge.
Wu Chi-tsung: After exposure under the sunlight, I need to wash the paper for half to one hour to remove the extra chemical because cyanotype chemical contains some acid. If it remains in the paper, it will make the paper become yellow and fragile. It is kind of interesting because I was working under the direct sunlight so I could see stronger contrast like this part. You could see a very strong color tone and contrast inside. For me, I almost could see each paper and feel the weather of the day when I was doing the exposure. I think every day is different.
Stephany Yang: For some of the works, he uses aluminum mounts to create a gray texture. Wu says the process of creating an art piece requires a great deal of patience. The color, detail, and texture of the work greatly depend on the type of Xuan paper and weather conditions.
Wu Chi-tsung: You can see on top is no acrylic color, anything. Just simply a reflection of the aluminum panel with the texture. When you walk around the work and see the work from different directions, the reflection will change. Also, the light of the environment changes through the daytime. The papers I used on this work was created on a cloudy day but with stronger UV light because you can see the strong intensity of blue tones, but at the same time have a very smooth shadow tones. Also, this paper was machine-made paper, not handmade paper. It shows a very strong blue.
Stephany Yang: Wu was trained from an early age in Chinese calligraphy, watercolor, Chinese ink painting, and drawing. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Taipei National University of the Arts. He began experimenting with cyanotype art in 2012. He hopes to reinvent ink painting.
Wu Chi-tsung : My cyanotype work combines two things together. One is to have a dialogue with ink painting, Shan shui, this tradition that I started to do since I was a kid. I really love the kind of aesthetic behind it. But nowadays, we don’t use brushes anymore. We barely use pen for handwriting. It might be difficult for the audience to relate to this art tradition. So, I got the idea to replace the ink and brush part with experimental photography. That is why I came up with the idea to try the cyanotype. It is very simple and very direct. The most beautiful thing is that it works under the sunlight. It is not in a dark room. It is the environment engaging with nature which I like a lot.
Stephany Yang: Wu says he wants to continue to create bigger works and pay tribute to nature.
民視新聞最近特別報導了吳季璁及其藝術作品，並重點介紹了他的氰版攝影藝術的創作過程。由記者Stephany Yang來到藝術家工作室，與吳季璁詳細探討了他使用宣紙以及日光與陰影自然交互作用的獨特技巧。觀眾將得以一窺吳季璁如何巧妙地另闢蹊徑，利用自然環境元素來進行傳達水墨精神的當代創作。該節目還深入探討了吳季璁的藝術演變以及他對中國水墨畫傳統的現代詮釋。以下是從FTV新聞轉載、由吳季璁工作室翻譯的報導摘錄。
今天我們帶您認識台灣屢獲殊榮的跨學科藝術家吳季璁，他以將宣紙折皺並置於陽光下所創作的美麗的山水藝術作品而聞名。民視記者Stephany Yang將帶領我們一同見證他的藝術創作的過程。
Stephany Yang：美麗的山水藝術作品懸掛在牆上。乍看之下，它可能像一幅普通的繪畫，但實際上這是吳季璁用氰版攝影法的原理創作的作品。他首先在宣紙上塗上光敏薄層，然後他將紙褶皺，並將其置於位於他工作室屋頂上方的陽光下曝曬。
吳季璁: 在大約半小時左右的曝曬時間內，我會不斷改變（紙張的褶皺的）形狀，閱讀光影的美麗而隨機的紋理，然後逐漸發展出作品的型態。所有的作品通常都是在陽光下製作的。陽光會隨時改變，風會移動紙張，最重要的是，你無法控制如何褶皺紙張以及你將得到什麼形狀，我喜歡作品中的這所有的隨機性，這樣我就可以不斷發現新事物並從中學習。
Stephany Yang: 之後，他洗淨紙張，山川、海洋、冰川和其他山水景觀逐漸浮現。
吳季璁: 在陽光下曝光後，我需要花半小时至一小時洗净纸张，以去除多餘的化學物質，因為氰版摄影所使用的化學物質中含有一些酸性成分。如果它残留在紙上，紙張會變黃且脆弱。有趣的是，因為（這張紙版）我是在直射陽光下工作，所以（在這張紙張上）我可以看到更強烈的對比，就像這部分一樣，你可以看到非常強烈的色調和對比。對我來說，我幾乎通過每一張紙感受到曝光那天的天氣，每一天都是不同的。
Stephany Yang: 對於一些作品，他使用鋁製底板創造灰色的紋理。吳說創作一件藝術品需要很大的耐心。作品的顏色、細節和紋理在很大程度上取決於宣紙的類型和天氣條件。
吳季璁: 你可以看到（這件作品）頂部沒有壓克力顏料，任何東西，其紋理來自於鋁製底板的反射。當你在作品周圍行走，從不同的角度觀察作品時，反射會發生變化。同時，展示空間的光線也會在一天中發生變化（並進一步豐富作品呈現的效果的可能性）。製作這件作品上使用的宣紙的那天是陰天，但有較強的紫外線光線，因此你可以看到藍色調的部分具有激烈的強度，同時又呈現出非常平滑的陰影調。此外，這種紙是機器製造的紙張，而不是手工紙。它呈現出非常濃郁的藍色。
Stephany Yang: 吳季璁從小就接受中國書法、水彩畫、中國水墨畫和素描的培訓。他畢業於台北藝術大學美術學士學位。他於2012年開始嘗試氰版攝影藝術，並希望重新詮釋水墨畫。
吳季璁: 我的氰版攝影作品將兩件事情結合在一起，（水墨傳統與實驗攝影）。水墨畫與山水傳統是我從小就在接觸與對話的。我非常喜歡水墨中的美學與精神，但現在人們已幾乎不再用筆寫字，遑論使用毛筆的經驗。對觀眾來說，可能很難與這種藝術傳統產生共鳴。所以，我想到了用實驗攝影來替代墨和筆部分的想法，這就是為什麼我想嘗試氰版攝影的原因。它非常簡單而直接。最美妙的是它是在陽光下運作的，而不在昏暗的暗房中。它與大自然的環境產生直接的互動，這一點我非常喜歡。
Stephany Yang: 吳表示他希望繼續創作更大尺幅的作品，並進一步向大自然致敬。