台灣八景

藝術創作計劃 2013 – 2014

文／劉素玉

「台灣最美的風景是人」，這句話近來蔚為時尚，言者意指台灣人素質高、人情味濃，但是否也意味著台灣風景不美呢？起碼不比人美？其實台灣的天然景觀變化多端，極富特色，較之人文景觀實不差矣。

「台灣八景」最早見於1694年的《台灣府志》，400年來，八景名單因時空移轉而變更，除了開發建設、社會變遷等外在因素之外，民眾的審美力和認同度的變化更頗值玩味。風景美麗與否？因何美麗？遊人的主觀看法時常超越客觀條件。2013年起，兩岸的三位藝術家林磐聳、周剛、薛松受邀進行台灣八景創作計劃，八景名單事前並未限定，而讓他們盡情暢遊台灣，希望透過藝術家獨到的眼光與美學素養，再根據他們個人的特有藝術語彙來描繪，呈現在這個特定年代以藝術定格的台灣八景。

 

林磐聳

林磐聳以台灣島圖像進行創作已行之多年，台灣島的圖像固然不變，內容則千變萬化，植物花卉、山水雲石、線條點線…，皆可入畫，形塑台灣。

台灣八景創作計劃，林磐聳暫時捨棄「一圖一台灣」，而改為「一圖一景」，並延續絲路之行的創作形式－日行一扇，亦即畫在紙扇上。紙扇作畫在國畫中有悠久傳統，有攜帶方便、隨時隨地可畫的便利性，也便於人們收藏、把玩；但扇型尺幅對於構圖限制較多，但若掌握得宜，則增添趣味性。

林磐聳根據不同景色，分別採取單點透視或多點透視作畫，扇面上的風景因而呈現環景效果，觀看時，一折一折展開扇頁，映入眼簾的就是一段段的美景，其效果與觀賞手卷如出一轍。紙扇背面是畫家的書法手帖，內容簡述各景點的史地淵源，以及遊歷時的心境感懷，文字生動，情真意切，宛如一篇篇簡潔優美的遊記。這種「圖文並茂」的形式，延續並擴大他長年以來的家書創作計劃，因為較之明信片，扇面所能發揮的空間更大了。

 

周剛

周剛成長於古都西安，大學時就讀中國美術學院、畢業後又留校任教而移居杭州。江南山清水秀，與西北的壯麗遼闊大異其趣，周剛很幸運地在兩地都有長期生活與遊歷的體驗，這豐富他的創作歷程。他又熱愛出外實地寫生，足跡踏遍大江南北，唯獨未及台灣，雖然過去十多年來，因公差多次來台開會、教學、評審，對台灣風土人情並不陌生，卻從未實地寫生，此次參加台灣八景創作計劃可一償多年宿願，行前他就預料，從藝術創作的角度出發必定與尋常的旅遊大不相同，果不期然。

周剛認為，台灣風景雖然不及大陸壯闊，但卻小而美，最美之處在於「恰到好處」，而且和人的關係融洽和諧，不論自然風景或人文風景都可親可近，許多名勝，不僅是觀光景點，也是居民日常生活的天地，令人感到親切，例如鹿港小鎮，就令他留戀不已，簡潔素樸的龍山寺更吸引了他，走訪龍山寺當天，恰逢寒流來襲，他壓下帽沿、豎起衣領在刺骨的彰濱海風中畫了一下午；他也喜愛古意盎然、車水馬龍，生活步調卻悠閒的台南，那天走訪祀典武廟時，已近黃昏，為捕捉朱紅外牆在夕陽餘輝交相輝映的瞬間美景，他在對街赤嵌樓外的街邊展開畫紙和時間競賽，下筆迅速，酣暢淋漓。

暢遊台灣采風寫生，周剛眼到、意到、筆到，盡情揮灑，收獲豐盛，遠遠超出預期。

 

薛松

薛松作品的特點是將現成的圖像、文字進行拆解、重組、拼貼、繪製，其中又以火燒烤印刷品形成的灰燼或碎片最為獨特，那些印刷品，包括圖書、字帖、畫冊、照片等不一而足，經過火的洗禮之後，轉變為新的形態，產生新的視覺效果，而其內容又與創作主題互相呼應，產生對話關係，可以是矛盾、批判、隱喻、反諷或幽默的，整幅作品富有多重意涵。

薛松一向重視歷史與現實的思考，創作主題多元，山水、人物、名畫、時尚等，其中山水是一大亮點。他改造古山水，也繪製新風景，古山水的圖像裡有新風景的碎片；反之，新風景中有古山水的碎片，十分耐人尋味。

邀請薛松創作台灣八景，雙方一拍即合，賓主盡歡。他兩度來台，重要景點都不錯過，甚至去了外島馬祖，喜歡飲酒的他，進了八八坑道大開眼界，笑得特別開心。回去之後，如期繳出畫作，八件作品各有千秋，令人讚嘆的是他把搜集到的圖書文物一一繪製畫中，美景裡有原住民、漢人、荷蘭、日人…，也有閩南遺物、殘山剩水、文史字畫、蟲魚鳥獸…，巧妙安排，無懈可擊，即便101那樣新潮的大樓，因有人文、史地的拼貼碎片，而把現代與傳統、時尚與文化連結起來。台灣的風景繽紛美麗，除了自然景觀千變萬化，更因多元文化、多種住民、繁多物產等因素交織之故，薛松的魔幻技法最能充分呈現。

 

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Eight Views of Taiwan: Art Creation Project 2013 – 2015

“The most beautiful scenery in Taiwan is the people,” has recently become a popular phrase, meaning the Taiwanese people are warm and loving. But does it suggest the scenery of Taiwan to not be beautiful? Or at least incomparable to the people? In fact, Taiwan’s natural landscape is vastly diverse and full of character, very much like the people.

Eight Views of Taiwan first appeared in 1694 in the official Taiwan Chorography. In the four following centuries, the list of Eight Views has undergone a series of changes according to the times, due to not only the island’s development and social growth, but also the people’s choice of aesthetics and sense of cultural identification. What makes a scenery beautiful? A viewer’s opinion often oversteps the boundaries of objectivity. From 2013, three cross-strait artists, Lin (Apex) Pang-soong, Zhou Gang, and Xue Song, were invited for the Eight Views of Taiwan creation project. Without a preconceived list of Eight Views, the artists were invited to travel around Taiwan, and through their experience and interaction with the island, each represent the scenery in their own artistic language, ultimately painting a view into the cultural and historical heritage of Taiwan.

 

Lin (Apex) Pang-soong

Lin (Apex) Pang-song has adopted the image of Taiwan as his subject matter for many years. While the image of the island remains stable, the composition is ever-changing. From flowers and trees to clouds and mountains, they are all drawn together to form the image of Taiwan.

For Eight Views of Taiwan, Lin temporarily abandoned his usual iconography and continued his series from the Silk Road – A Fan a Day. Fan Painting is a classic genre in traditional Chinese Painting. Convenient in size and form, the fan can be carried and painted on without constraints with location, and is therefore popular among connoisseurs.

Lin Pang-soong utilizes the shape of the fan with the use of multi-point perspective, thereby representing the landscape in panoramic view. As the viewer opens the fan fold by fold, the composition is revealed in small sections, recalling the effect of a traditional hand scroll. On the reverse side is a brief history of the scenery, as well as Lin’s recollections, rendered beautifully in running-script calligraphy. This form of documentation through painting and calligraphy continues and expands his ongoing performance art piece with postcards and letters, in which the fan fuels the performance.

 

Zhou Gang

Zhou Gang grew up in the ancient capital of Xi’an and attended university at the China Academy of Art, where upon graduation he stayed on teaching at the academy, and has resided in Hangzhou since. The lush and subtle landscape of the Yangtze delta region is strikingly different from the dry and rugged northwest, and Zhou’s experience in living and traveling in both environments enriches his understanding of landscape art. In fact, Zhou is a firm believer in live sketching on location. Although he has traveled throughout the mainland in search of subject matter, the island of Taiwan has always eluded him, and desipte visiting Taiwan for academic purposes, the landscape of Taiwan remains strange and attractive to him. Therefore, the Eight Views of Taiwan creation project finally fulfilled his wish to capture Taiwan with his brush.

Zhou Gang believes while the landscape of Taiwan is incomparable to that of China, in terms of the sheer scale, he points out being small in size has its advantages. What he finds most remarkable is how cultural life in Taiwan is seamlessly integrated with the landscape. Whether a view of a natural scenery or one of historical importance, the location is not simply a tourist site, but also where residence conduct their daily lives. In small town of Lukang, Zhou was captivated by the Longshan Temple, and how it stood and functioned unchanged for hundreds of years. We visited the temple in late November, as the damp winter cold was settling in. Zhou; however, was completely undeterred by the winter wind and painted the afternoon away. He was also drawn to the quaint and relaxed pace of life of old Tainan. That day, as we visited the Martial Temple close to dusk, Zhou brilliantly captured the red temple walls set against the golden sunset. Sat on the sidewalk across from Fort Provintia, he set himself on a race against time, wielding his brush furiously before every inch of sunlight passed.

Through his journey around the island and his interaction with the scenery through live sketching, Zhou Gang’s emotional impressions of Taiwan are colorfully reflected in his paintings.
  

Xue Song

A prominent feature of Xue Song’s art is the reconstruction of ready-made images through collage, specifically with the burning of printed materials to create shards and ashes. These materials include books such as art catalogues, copybooks for calligraphy, and photographs. Whichever the material, the images are chosen to reflect or represent the subject matter, through juxtaposition, allusion, or metaphor. After being burned into spontaneous shapes, the individual images are then pasted onto the canvas in precise arrangements to form the overall composition, thereby achieving a multitude of visual effects.

In art, Xue Song explores the relation between history and contemporary life. His subject matter includes landscapes, historical figures, famous paintings, and fashion, in which the landscape genre plays a defining role. He transforms the traditional Chinese landscape by integrating images of contemporary life, creating a new composition that is stylistically both classical and modern.

In inviting Xue Song for Eight Views of Taiwan, he was enthusiastic about project and was a pleasure to work with. Twice coming to Taiwan, we toured nearly every important location, and even visited the Matsu Islands, where upon entering Tunnel 88 where Kaoliang liquor is distilled and stored, Xue gave off the happiest smile. Shortly after his return, eight astonishing artworks were completed. What is most remarkable is his use of materials he gathered in Taiwan, including vintage images of Taiwan aboriginals, Chinese settlers, Dutch traders, and Japanese colonials, as well as historical monuments, cultural landscapes, and famous paintings and calligraphy. By reassembling these images in collage, Xue Song’s creates a fascinating view into the cultural diversity and historical heritage of Taiwan’s beautiful sceneries.

 Elaine Suyu Liu