Proceedings of the Symposium on Arts and Artists in Taiwan
San Francisco State University, March 13-15, 2003
Experiences in Painting and
Philosophy of Art
Ming-shyan Chiang
Department of Fine Arts, National Taiwan Normal University
162 Hoping East Rd., Taipei, Taiwan 106
English translation by
Chris Wen-Chao Li
Department of Foreign Languages, San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132
Introduction
In my ink paintings, I have a tendency to depart from traditional Chinese aesthetics, and embrace diversity in technique and form. Especially evident is my use of brush strokes adapted from western drawing, together with compound lines and layered presentation; reminiscent of western oil painting is the use of perspective, light and color texture; you will also see instances of stamping and splattering.
1958 to 1968 was the decade in which I received my formal training in art. During this period, I acquired the basics of Chinese painting, oil painting, watercolor, and drawing by imitating renowned pieces by past masters and the works of my professors, all the while adhering to a strict regimen of life drawing -- this gave me the foundation I needed for further study. From 1973 to 1977, I studied in Spain and traveled throughout Europe and North America to absorb as much as I could of western art. In this period I gained an in-depth understanding of different schools of western art -- their historical development, their characteristics, and their techniques -- resources which would prove useful in my own artistic endeavors. In 1977, I realized my long-term goal of returning to Taiwan and using art to capture the essence of my native land. In the next ten years, I would travel around the Taiwanese countryside and record my impressions of it in my work. On the one hand I was choosing images of rural Taiwan as my subject, but on the other hand I was using western artistic media such as life drawing, oil painting, and watercolor to depict local scenery. I also toyed with using traditional Chinese ink painting to record the architecture and historical structures of East and West. 1988 saw a marked change in both the style and content of my work: I made a number of trips to mainland China, and began a series of paintings which include the architecture of Tibet and the Great Wall. In the fall of 1997, my work as host of the TV show “Taiwan in Painting” brought me back to my love of all things Taiwanese, and I started a series of drawings of Taiwan’s historical relics. It was at this point that I hit upon my philosophy of “combining the creations of nature with inspiration from within” -- this, together with the synthesis of Chinese ink painting and the western study of color, form and technique, are what lie behind my portrayal of relics and architecture of historical and humanistic value. To this day, I continue to use soft tones and simple composition to endeavor to create clean, bold and exciting works of ink and paint.
- Fifth Avenue, New York (1995)
The main focus of this painting is the French chateau-style Plaza Hotel at the entryway to Fifth Avenue. I moved the Empire State Building to the upper left hand corner of the picture to give greater prominence to this symbol of metropolitan New York City.
I painted a similar work back in 1976, when I was living in New York, but my appreciation of architecture back then was very different from what I am able to see now. Back then my approach was that of traditional Chinese watercolor, placing emphasis on brush strokes and effects, with sparse lines and large areas of ink constituting the main body of the painting. Whereas in this recent work, I have chosen to use bold black lines to create stark contrast. The repetition of these hard lines brings out the grandeur and majesty of the buildings; also, as in western drawing, I used a combination of light vs heavy, fine vs broad strokes to further accentuate the contrast. Furthermore, the interspersing of wet and dry strokes gives the buildings further masculinity, weight and texture. The large ink blot at the center of the painting, in addition to aiding in the creation of tension and contrast, also serves to balance the picture -- on the one hand avoiding giving the impression that the buildings are suspended in mid-air, and on the other hand creating the illusion that the buildings are extending into the clouds.
It is extremely difficult to capture the shape and spirit of concrete buildings using a calligraphy brush. To avoid staidness, I often use the fluidity of human crowds, motor traffic and flag displays to add rhythm to the image. I also used lively strokes and vivid colors to offset the monotony of vertical lines and the extreme masculinity of city buildings. Notice also in the lower right hand corner that there is a bronze statue of a horseman which is not in the original scenery -- this was added to give weight to that corner of the picture, so that it would not look too empty.
- Leshan Buddha of Szechuan
The Leshan Grand Buddha of Szechuan is the world’s largest sitting buddha sculpture. Completed in A.D. 803 after ninety years of construction, it sits facing the Min river and commands an awe-inspiring presence.
In painting the Grand Buddha, I was interested not so much in the finer details of drawing, but more in recreating the overall mood and spirit the statue inspires. The buddha sits on the left of the canvas; in the middle are sharp cliffs that balance the weight of the sculpture. Boats dot the landscape in the lower right hand corner, and the layers of murky mountains in the distance stand in contrast to the weighty, masculine presence of the buddha and the cliffs.
I used drip techniques and paper and cloth stampings extensively to create lines and color patches of different effect; I then built upon these patterns and added stroke, color and wash to create effects that are difficult to achieve using traditional methods.
I also used a number of techniques from the traditional Chinese ink-and-wash repertoire: drip, spray, ink cumulation, and the break-in method. Here, the control of saturation is of utmost importance: the fine lines on the buddha’s face and in the sharp cliffs in the center stand in contrast with the heaviness of the thick color patches of black, green and red. Mysterious rays of light emanate from the buddha’s head towards the lower left hand corner. The open space in the lower right hand corner eases congestion and brings out the grandeur of the buddha statue. The desired effect is the juxtaposition of near and far amidst sharp cliffs and austere mountains.
- Waterways of the Yangtze
This painting is of Zhujiajiao (“Zhu family corner”) in the outskirts of Shanghai. Originally, the houses along the waterways were messy and unordered, so I took the liberty of reorganizing them and adding a boat and an arch bridge to the right to give the work more variety and greater integrity of structure. The painting’s main focus lies in the center of the canvas: here, I use brush strokes reminiscent of Five Dynasties painter Ching Hao (circa 850) coupled with the western notion of perspective to enliven the otherwise rigid structure. Visible also is the repetitive use of ink stampings, the zigzag utility lines atop the row of houses, the freehand doors and windows, the boats with perspective built in, and the arch bridge and other background scenery -- all united through a common sketch-style stroke to reproduce the feel of the southern Chinese countryside. To produce the hard, masculine effect that I love in architecture, I used a combination of horse-hair and wolf-hair brushes of different sizes.
In producing artistic work on this type of theme, an overly impressionistic approach borders on emptiness, whereas an overly realist approach leads to rigidity -- for which reason finding the right balance between the two approaches in terms of composition, ink-and-wash, and the choice of background scenery becomes extremely important -- this is an area to which I devote great effort.
- Yellow Mountain in the Mist
The oddly-shaped rocks, ancient pines and misty atmosphere of Huangshan (“Yellow Mountain”) have been a favorite subject of artists and writers for centuries. In my own version, I chose to let the mountain ridge spread out in the shape of a dragon, and allow the scenery to occupy the entire canvas. Adding to the force and rhythm of the image are the sharp lines in the style of Chinese painting’s Northern School (a la Ching Hao, Kuan Tong-shih). My love of the grandeur and austerity of huge mountains and great rivers should be plain to see.
In this work, I deliberately chose to present the subject matter in an unstructured manner because I wanted to use the rays of light beaming towards the center from the four corners of the canvas to bring unity to the unstructured masses. I took an unstructured composition as my starting point, and gradually used light to focus the mood of the painting, so as to construct a mysteriously tranquil space.
In this work, I am using scenery to create a mood, and wish to evoke the image of the greatness and beauty of Huangshan that lies in the heart of every Chinese. I first used a horse-hair brush to bring a sharp outline to the mountain slopes, to give the cliffs a masculine texture; then I used a softer brush to bring softer black and green washes to the image. The trees, the waterfalls, the mist, the red houses, the mysterious rays of light, and the necessary white spaces all add to the spirit and liveliness of the piece. Huangshan, as portrayed in this painting in all its full glory, is an ideal state of mind that I have long aspired to.
- Boats and Women of Hui-an
The women of Hui-an County near Quanzhou City in Fujian province are known for their diligence and hardworking spirit, which I hope to capture in this painting depicting their simple country life. Like in my other portraits, I use western life drawing techniques to capture the essence of my contemporary subjects.
In addition, you will notice that I have a penchant for drawing boats. This is because boats have a certain rhythm and fluidity, a certain mystery and intangibility that holds me captivated. In traditional Chinese painting, boats tend to be presented only in profile, whereas in my work I choose to give the vessels perspective so as to create a layered space, on top of which I add a touch of azurite and mineral green. You will notice also that the canvas has a very wet feel to it: ink-in-water, water-in-ink, wet-into-wet, ink cumulation, drip and splattering -- all the traditional watercolor and ink-and-wash methods have been put to use to bring unity and harmony to the painting. The painting also exhibits a great variety of dense compound lines created using techniques such as rolling and dragging, which add flair to each stroke and bring this work its most important form of artistic expression.
The use of water is very important in my work – over the years, one of my long-term goals has been to bring the harmony of water, ink and color to the highest artistic level.
- Drepung Monastery, Tibet
Drepung Monastery, one of Tibet’s three great monasteries, is situated on a hill in the northwest outskirts of Lhasa, and is a major center of Tibetan Tantric Buddhist learning. The dark red walls of the monastery stand in contrast to the whiteness of the meditation chambers, giving the scenery a unique and mysterious Tibetan flavor -- an exotic feel that is all the more pronounced when painting on site.
A work of this type is more time-consuming than traditional Chinese painting, for not only is there the need to emphasize light and perspective, and employ complicated lines, washes and stampings, at times it becomes necessary even to create an aura of western surrealism.
This work plays on the contrast between black and white, with a dash of red to enliven the mood. The top, middle and bottom portions of the painting each see a mysterious ray of light travelling through, and the birds and the layers of mountains also add to the feel of rhythm and movement. The vertical calligraphy on the right completes the composition, adding a touch of flair to the solemnity of the scenery.
- Old Street, Sanxia
This painting is done on a traditional Chinese scroll, with the subject in the center of the canvas. I make extensive use of ink stampings, as brush strokes alone are not sufficient to capture the age-old feel of the subject matter. I begin by using lines to create a preliminary drawing, then I use light-colored ink to stamp and wash. Straight lines are used for the main components, and oil painting-style broken strokes are used to constitute the remainder of the picture. Shadings in ink, gamboge, cinnabar, and mineral green are added to select images to add texture and create perspective.
In this work, I combine techniques from Chinese ink-and-wash and Western drawing and oil painting to enrich my use of color and shading. The painting is characterized by the liberal use of wild strokes, through which the exoticness, isolation and decline of this old street find expression. The modern pedestrians that pace through the street bear witness to its decline.
- Rockefeller Center, New York
The Rockefeller Center on Fifth Avenue in New York is a place that never fails to capture the festive spirit of the holidays. I remember when I was living in New York, I would always come here on Christmas eve to soak up the rich Christmas atmosphere, what was for me an exciting and exotic experience.
In the painting, the building in the center stands out with its powerful, repetitive straight lines, which give it a beauty of rhythm and force, and create the illusion that it is extending into the clouds. The bronze statue and the red and green flags at the bottom bring variety to the scenery. The huge vertical structure is balanced by the flying birds and white space in the foreground, and the trees painted using deliberate wild horizontal strokes.
Where technique is concerned, this is a work that uses light and perspective to bring out differences in distance, direction, and surface qualities. I used a horsehair brush to drag out wet and dry lines; also, a saturated Chinese calligraphy brush was applied to the canvas with varying force and duration to create ink and water washes -- the end result being that the work contains strokes of great variety: wet and dry, fast and slow, opaque and transparent, deliberate and freeflowing. As always, the work reflects my personal ideal of “combining Chinese core philosophy with western applications”.
- Longshan Temple, Taipei
Built in 1738 in the reign of Qing dynasty emperor Qianlong, Longshan Temple has long been a major religious center awash in the fragrance of incense offered by worshippers from near and far, for which reason I believed it fitting to try to recreate an atmosphere of religious mystery and sacredness. The subject of the painting lies in the center of the canvas -- in front is an incense burner surrounded by countless worshippers. A mysterious hazy light floats through the center, on the one hand bringing out the human activity, and on the other hand creating depth of space. I took special pains to strike a balance between excessive detail, which deprives the work of fluidity and movement, and undue abstractness, which takes away from the elegance and solemnity of the subject matter. Both these extremes need to be avoided if one is to produce work of an artistic rather than mechanistic nature.
As for technique, for the most part the images in this painting are constituted of soft, broken strokes. However, to accentuate the age of the temple, I have used a combination of soft and sharp lines to give the building an antiquated feel. Ink plus cinnabar and mineral green create an aura of mystery characteristic of Eastern religious aesthetics. To bring out the atmosphere of religious worship, I used cinnabar stampings to create a smoky effect, and painted the incense burner in the middle with thick, dark ink to add weight and balance to the empty space. The mix of heavy black, spiritual light, and archaic cinnabar serve to create a feel of balance and tranquility.
- Eight Corner Street of Lhasa
Lhasa’s Eight Corner Street is the site of a famous flea market, and is rich in regional Tibetan flavor.
Now it is unusual for a Chinese artist to choose a blank wall and a few windows as the subject of a painting, as most find such scenery to be lacking in contrast. In order to make this white wall and twelve windows aesthetically more appealing, I made deliberate changes to the design of each window -- some are realistic portrayals, whereas others border on impressionism or abstractism -- the result being that they are all different and each have their own flavor.
In terms of technique, I first used stamps and washes to give the wall an antiquated feel. Then I painted layers on each window to give them perspective. I used ink to outline each window, followed by more stampings and washes, and then I drew yet another outline to give the windows a more layered feel, thus avoiding monotony. Variety is created by distorting window shape and adding color. The dark ink tones bring out a mysterious religious atmosphere and give the piece a sense of unity. The grainy texture of the ink is suggestive of peeling walls and the effects of aging.
- Grand View of Potala Palace
Potala Palace is the world’s largest buddhist monastery. Situated atop Marpori Mountain (“Red Mountain”), its majestic presence is both breathtaking and awe-inspiring.
Sharp masculine lines crisscross the canvas in this work, giving rise to a weighty, rocky texture in the portrayal of mountains. In the palace portion of the painting, one sees more contrast and white space, which was left there deliberately for visual effect. The rays of light at the bottom of the picture stand in harmony with the V-shaped light patch atop the mountains; this pattern of contrasts from bottom up bring to the work a sense of unity. Colorwise, the painting consists mainly of greyscale ink shades with a mild sprinkling of mineral green; some cinnabar was added to the white walls to enliven the picture. Despite the sparse use of color, the feel of sacredness, mystery, and tranquility thus created rivals many of my best paintings of temples.
In this work, not only do I synthesize the aesthetics of East and West, but I also adhere to my personal philosophy of “combining the creations of nature with inspirations from within”.
- Door Gods of Wenwu Temple
The depiction of “Door Gods” is common in temples throughout Taiwan -- this is an element of Taiwanese folk belief, and is considered an integral part of Taiwanese culture. The door god portrayed in this painting comes from Wenwu Temple (“Temple of Cultural Attainment and Martial Valor”), located near tourist hotspot Sun Moon Lake.
The painting itself is a compromise of Eastern and Western principles, resulting in a semi-abstract (impressionist) form of expression. Cinnabar, a Chinese favorite, stands out in the color scheme, as is often the case in paintings of temples. Towards the end I sprayed onto the canvas any number of non-conscious, non-traditional lines to add a lighthearted touch to this serious work, balancing solemness and liberal spirit to create a more lively effect.
- Chaotien Temple, Peikang
In 1997, I began to host and produce a TV show called “Taiwan in Painting” for the Folk TV Network, in which Taiwanese historical relics and artifacts are viewed through the medium of painting. In this program I introduced to the audience my many paintings of temples throughout Taiwan, of which the present work is a typical example.
Lying in the foreground of this work are red lanterns -- red being a color used abundantly in Taiwanese folk art, especially in the decoration of traditional temples. The presence of red in the foreground brings a dash of auspiciousness to the solemn feel of the temple, and creates a striking visual effect. To emphasize the grand scale of the temple, I deliberately painted the people smaller. I eliminated all unnecessary temple ornaments and detail to give the painting a simpler look. One sees the interplay of concrete and abstract in the two stone lions at the temple entrance, which add to the mystery and authority this place of worship, and bring a sense of perspective to the work.
- Old Street, Tamsui
This work was painted on a long horizontal scroll -- a visually more balanced and relaxed setting which has been my format of choice in recent years. In painting scenery where historical relics sit side-by-side with modern architecture, one has to be careful with proportions and balance, or else the result would be utter chaos. In addition to using traditional Chinese ink-and-wash techniques and methods of light, color and perspective from western oil painting, I left the sky blank and used stampings to create a layered feel that goes with the modernity of the pedestrians and cars on the street. This is for the most part a realist painting.
- Dihua Street, Taipei
Dihua Street dates from the pre-Republican period and shows architectural influences from Qing dynasty Fujian province and post-baroque renaissance European. The buildings on this street are all of historical value, showcasing an elegance and exquisiteness characteristic of European architectural style transported to Taiwan.
The painting was done on a long horizontal scroll. To return the buildings to an earlier historical period, I have taken the liberty of removing signs and placards from the exteriors, and have stripped the streets of modern automobiles, leaving only pedestrians to walk up and down the thoroughfare. Buildings most representative of Chinese and European architecture have been selected and pieced together to serve as the subject of this work. I used a combination of contrastive textural layers from oil painting and the stamping of abstract shapes to create the age-old feel of walls and buildings. The result is a work that is at the same time concrete and abstract.
- Door Gods
Traditionally, “door gods” are drawn by craftsmen rather than artists. Most painters are reluctant to work with such subject matter.
While the outlines of each character preserve traces of the preliminary sketch, the brush strokes for the most part follow principles of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, showing a wealth of contrast in thickness, direction and curvature. I used layered colors to achieve the effect I was aiming for, using dark and light cinnabar to perform a variety of stampings and stamp dyes; the ink cumulation method was employed in the bottom half of the picture to make it appear more respectable and less kitschy.
Stamp dyes of gamboge, azurite and mineral green acrylics were used to bring flair to the image. The lantern in the upper left hand corner is partially covered, so that it does not split the composition into two halves and scatter major elements. In retrospect, when reworking such age-old folk motifs, the balance of line, shape and color demands meticulous attention if we are to breathe new life into traditional imagery.
17. Temple Gathering
I love experimenting with different sorts of modern craft materials; I try different kinds of paper, and am willing to tackle all types of subject matter. For I am only using these materials as a medium through which to express my experience of beauty and to bring to fruition my philosophy of artistic creation.
“Temple Gathering” is a painting done using layered colors. I first used a dry brush to sketch an outline; then I used a thick wash of ink to draw the beard of the general, creating an aura of martial valor. Next I used fine dots to draw the distorted faces of the two lowly spirits, giving them each a miserable, despicable look. In the process of applying washes and color, I took care to use fast strokes and vertical washes to bring out the authority of the general Chung Hsu; whereas for the lesser spirits next to him, horizontal ink washes were used -- this is done to create contrast between the two, making it evident who is the lead figure and who is of a lower status.
18. Lanterns and Dragon Columns
This painting is of a subject matter rich in Taiwanese local flavor, something not seen very often in traditional Chinese ink-and-wash paintings. The masculinity of the dragon columns and stone lions stand in contrast with the romantic lyrical mood of the red lanterns, bringing out the flavor of Taiwanese folk art.
The painting consists largely of lines and strokes interspersed within each other, creating order amidst chaos. In addition, layered colors are used to juxtapose the abstract and the concrete, giving expression to the mysterious atmosphere of Taiwanese temples.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it was the first ten years of my artistic training, the ten years in art school, that equipped me with the basics of drawing -- it was here that I became thoroughly familiar with the materials, content, spirit, and forms of artistic expression encountered in Chinese painting. After that, my years studying in Spain and travelling throughout Europe and North America broadened my understanding of western art, and further exposed me to the techniques and theories of the western tradition; it also made me realize that my destiny was to return to my roots, that is, to capture in painting the ethnic subject matter that I am most familiar with, but to do so while incorporating western methods and artistic philosophies.
After returning from the United States, I formally embarked on my mission to paint local scenery and subject matter, to pursue my goal of “acting locally and thinking globally”. Shortly thereafter I began my series of paintings of mainland China, during which period I acquired a taste for great majestic landscapes and tackled the challenge of ever grander subject matter. From 1997 onward I started a systematic study of Taiwanese historical relics and folk art, and was more concerned with using painting to record history.
Subject matter aside, my artistic style has also changed throughout the years, but my underlying principles of artistic endeavor have remained unchanged. I summarize them below:
- The ancient Chinese place much emphasis on strokes and ink shades, but in the process have neglected the importance of shape and color variation. I wish to walk out of the shadow of the ancients and cover all aspects in my artwork, so as to invent an original style.
- I paint all manner of subject matter, regardless of whether or not it is considered worthy of high art -- the important thing for me is that it has to be something I am familiar with. I use modern materials and tools to give my work a more contemporary feel. I aim to experiment with different media to express my concept of beauty and reach my own artistic goals.
- When painting literary landscapes, I pay attention not only to mood, but also to color; when drawing western architecture, I avoid monotony of shape by creating variation in stroke and color; when treating folk art and historical subjects, atmosphere becomes jumps to the foreground, for this is what separates the work of a craftsman from the original creation of an artist.
- I use toning to bring variation to monotonous subjects. That is to say, in a work with complex forms, the role of color is diminished; whereas when there is little variation in form, layered colors are used to let the subject stand out. When layered colors are used, toning brings unison and balance to the picture, avoiding a tacky, kitschy feel.
- Whereas traditional Chinese painting places much emphasis on white space, my paintings tend to be packed to the brim -- while this is the case, I use variations in abstraction, object density, stroke speed, color tone, brush saturation, line curvature and edge sharpness to offset the crowdedness; this, together with the use of stampings, stamp dyes and ink dyes, breathe a breath of life to the crowded space.
From here you can see that my painting style and philosophy of art are things that change as I go through different periods in my artistic experience, but that these different periods merge into one another and each build upon the previous period. I insist on creating works with original content, and abhor form without substance. I hope to continue on my path of combining Chinese and Western forms of artistic expression in the creation of original works.