Memories Interwoven and Overlapped: Post-Martial Law Era Ink Painting in Taiwan at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts will display Wu Chi-Tsung’s WireIV, Still Life 05 – Cherry and Cyano-Collage 008.

Memories Interwoven and Overlapped: Post-Martial Law Era Ink Painting in Taiwan

Date: 2017 Jul 8 – Oct 8
Venue: Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
Curator: Wu Chao-Jen

 

Ink painting is an important form of painting that represents the Oriental traditions. Originated in China, ink painting was later introduced to Japan, Korea, and Chinese-speaking regions in southeast Asia. Ink painting uses paintbrush, ink, paper, and silk as media, and has formed a system of its own in the domain of art. After the Tang dynasty, Chinese ink painting was divided into the”Northern School” and “Southern School.”  The “Southern School” emphasizes intriguing brushstrokes and rhythmic use of ink; it focuses on bone method or the way of using the brush to create vitality and spirit, fusing poetry, calligraphy, and painting together. It is closely related to traditional Chinese literati philosophy. However, “literati painting” overemphasizes refined literati tastes, which has also affected the development of ink painting. After the 18th century, ink painting was introduced to Taiwan by government officials stationing in Taiwan, scholars and tutors, and traditional painters; famous artists from the period included LIN Chao-Ying, LIN Chueh, and HSIEH Kuan-Chiao. Although these artists were commonly referred to as the “Min-practice” because they inherited the wild and leisurely ink painting style of the southern Zhe school of painting, they nonetheless gave rise to the beginning of the heritage, transformation, and development of ink painting in Taiwan.

In late 19th century, “Western painting” and “Toyoga ( Eastern painting or gouache painting),” which originated from the meticulous heavy color techniques of the Chinese “Northern School,” were introduced to Taiwan during Japanese colonization. With the aid of “Taiten ( Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition)” and “Futen (Taiwan Governor-General Art Exhibition),” many Taiwanese traditional ink artists switched path to creating “Gouache painting,” becoming the unique “local color” of the new southern territories propagated by the Japanese colonial government. Japanese colonial system fell as WWII came to an end in 1945, and in 1946, Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office organized the “Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition ( Provincial Exhibition).” In 1949, the Nationalist government moved to Taipei, and many renowned Chinese ink artists came to Taiwan and lectured at institutes or tutored at own studios, leading to the “Debate over the Orthodoxy of National Painting” in the 1950s. It was not until the establishment of the “Gouache Painting” category by the Provincial Exhibition in 1983 that gouache painting could finally break the shackles of the orthodoxy of National Painting, yet the term “National Painting” was only gradually replaced by “ink painting” in the 1980s.

Hence, every major political or historical event has triggered social and art and cultural developments, and are all intertwined. Politically, Taiwan was under martial law from 1949 to 1987; and during this highly sensitive period of authoritative rule, Taiwanese art  communities experienced the “Debate over the Orthodoxy of National Painting” in the 1950s, the emergence of modern art groups in the 1960s, the debate of nativist realism in literature and art during the 1970s, and establishment of National Institute of the Arts ( now National Taipei University of the Arts) in 1982 and the Department of Fine Arts at Tunghai University in 1983; together, the art and literature communities challenged and gradually dismantled the authoritative system. Taiwanese art professionals fearlessly broke the political shackles during the martial law period, and boldly challenged the past political taboos after the lifting of martial law in 1987, which enabled ink art and other forms of art to thrive and prosper, constructing a splendid and vibrant new look for ink art.

2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law, and National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts has specially invited Professor WU Chao-jen to curate a special exhibition entitled “Memories Overlapped and Interwoven: Post-Martial Law Period Ink Painting in Taiwan,” adopting the perspectives of art history and temporal axes to examine the course of development of ink painting in Taiwan since the lifting of martial law in 1987. The exhibition features five major themes: 1. Aesthetics of Brush and Ink; 2. Abstract Expression of Ink and Wash; 3. Ink – Environment – Society; 4. Ink – Video – Installation; and 5. Putting an End to the Debate over the Orthodoxy of National Painting. The five themes showcase interrelated contents while featuring independent displays. Through different themes and aspects, the curator reexamines the intertwined relation between Taiwanese ink painting and politics, highlighting the diverse creative visions inspired by artists’ life experiences facing the overlapping and interweaving of historical memories, explores the vibrant ambitions of artists who strive to break historical restrictions of ink painting, and combs  through the interwoven historical relationship between Taiwanese ink painting and gouache painting.

“Memories Interwoven and Overlapped: Post-Martial Law Era Ink Painting in Taiwan” features works of diverse categories and media, including ink and wash painting, meticulous heavy color painting, gouache painting, installation, video, and animation; in terms of style and expression, all the works manifest artists’ realizations and sentiments of life, social and cultural concerns, dialectics on history and reality, and the depth and breadth of ink art exploration, exhibiting vibrant creative energy and dynamics. Through interpretation of and dialogues with exciting works of 24 artists from different generations, this exhibition aims to investigate the intertwined relation between Taiwanese ink painting and politics, and present artists’ diverse creative visions inspired by overlapped and interwoven historical memories, as well as the splendid and exciting new look of ink art constructed on such visions, concretely, and in details, presenting and explaining the course of development of Taiwanese ink painting from the lifting of martial law up to the present time.

 

 

 

國立台灣美術館記憶的交織與重疊─後解嚴臺灣水墨群展，將展出吳季璁作品《小品之五 櫻》、《鐵絲網IV》、《氰山集八》

記憶的交織與重疊─後解嚴臺灣水墨

時間：2017 07.8 – 10.8
地點：國立台灣美術館 201-202展覽室
策展人：吳超然

藝術家：于彭、王怡然、李茂成、李君毅、李明則、李重重、李義弘、吳季璁、林鉅、姚瑞中、洪根深、倪再沁、袁旃、許雨仁、陳念慈、彭偉新、彭康隆、曾建穎、華建強、黃致陽、楊世芝、楚戈、潘信華、蘇煌盛

 

水墨畫是代表東方傳統的重要繪畫形式，源自中國並傳播至日本、韓國及南洋華語地區等國家，水墨畫以毛筆、墨、紙、絹等為媒材，在美術領域中自成體系。中國繪畫自唐代後分為「北宗」、「南宗」兩系統，「南宗」創作講究筆趣、墨韻；重視骨法用筆，營造氣韻生動，詩、書、畫融合之意境，與中國的傳統文人思想密不可分，然而「文人畫」過度崇尚文人雅興亦影響水墨畫之發展。18世紀後水墨畫隨著清代寓臺官員、文人教席及傳統畫師流傳至臺灣，時有林朝英、林覺、謝琯橋等名家，雖因沿襲自中國南方福建浙派之狂放野逸水墨風格而被慣稱為「閩習」，卻也開啟水墨藝術在臺灣傳承、變革與發展的扉頁。

19世紀末日本殖民臺灣引入「西洋畫」及源自中國「北宗」工筆重彩繪畫技法之「東洋畫」（膠彩畫），在「臺展」、「府展」的推波助瀾下，眾多臺灣傳統水墨畫家都改習「東洋畫」，成為日本殖民政府標榜南方新領土的獨特「地域色彩」。1945年二戰結束日本在臺殖民體制，1946年國民政府行政長官公署舉辦「臺灣省全省美術展覽會」（省展），1949年國民政府遷都臺北，許多中國水墨名家隨之來臺擔任教席或開班授業，乃至有1950年代的「正統國畫之爭」。直至1983年「省展」成立「膠彩畫部」，「膠彩畫」乃揮別正統國畫名稱牽絆，然「國畫」一詞仍到1980年代才逐漸由「水墨畫」所取代。

由此可見，每每發生重大的政治或歷史事件，總會牽動社會與文化藝術的發展，彼此相互纏繞。在政治上，臺灣於1949-1987年戒嚴，在高威權敏感的戒嚴時期，而美術界則歷經了1950年代的「正統國畫之爭」、1960年代現代美術繪畫團體興起，1970年代文學及美術的「鄉土寫實」論戰、1982年國立藝術學院（今國立臺北藝術大學）與1983年東海大學美術系等相繼成立，共同經歷過藝文界對威權體制的挑戰與逐步拆解過程。臺灣的藝文工作者，在戒嚴期間無畏地衝破政治上的禁錮，乃至1987年解嚴後對過去政治禁忌的勇於顛覆，使水墨與其他藝術呈百花齊放之勢，建構出繽紛的新水墨藝術風貌。

2007年適逢臺灣解嚴30年，國立臺灣美術館特別委請吳超然教授策劃「記憶的交織與重疊─後解嚴臺灣水墨」特展，著眼以藝術史為觀點、時間為軸線，爬梳自1987年解嚴迄今，臺灣水墨的發展脈絡。本展以五大主題為軸：一、筆墨美學；二、水墨的抽象表現；三、水墨‧環境‧社會；四、水墨‧影像‧裝置；五、告別正統國畫之爭。五個主題內容彼此關連，展示手法卻各自獨立，策展人透過不同主題面向切入，重新檢視臺灣水墨藝術與政治的糾結關係，彰顯創作者的生命經驗，面對歷史記憶的交織與重疊，所激發出的多元創作視野，探索藝術家在水墨領域中，突破歷史框限的旺盛企圖，並梳理臺灣水墨與膠彩之間的糾結歷史關係。

「記憶的交織與重疊─後解嚴臺灣水墨」展出作品類別與媒材紛呈，有水墨、工筆重彩、膠彩、裝置、錄像及動畫等，在風格表現上，在在彰顯藝術家對生命的感悟與觸動、社會人文關懷、歷史與現實的思辨，及水墨藝術探索的深度與廣度，展現出旺盛的創作活力與動能。本展企圖透過24位不同世代藝術家精彩作品的演繹與對話，檢視解嚴後臺灣水墨藝術與政治的糾纏關係，呈顯創作者在歷史記憶交織下，迸發出的多重視野，以及以此所建構出的繽紛多彩的水墨藝術新貌，具體而微地闡述解嚴迄今的臺灣水墨的發展脈絡。