The famous Dickinson line, "there is no frigate like a book to take us lands away," could also refer to the sculptural work of artist Chen Lung-bin, who is currently exhibiting his carved-book figures entitled "Landscape on the Shelf" at the American Cultural Center (ACC) (until March 28) and a large wall work in the group show "Relocated and Recycled -- Contemporary Taiwanese Paper Collage" at Kuo Mu Sheng Foundation Art Gallery (until Feb. 26).
Wielding his electric band saw, Chen chips away at the faded pages of discarded books such as the bulky Manhattan telephone directory, trashy hardcover novels and glossy magazines to form life-size three-dimensional human figures and busts of Buddha while the exposed dusty and carved paper pages evoke the hardy textures of marble, plaster or finely grained wood.
Chen can be likened to the traditional artisan who took pride in his craftsmanship, but his work should not only be seen on purely an aesthetic level. To Chen, the book signifies the glut of information, the over-exposure of printed materials thrust upon us, while he also sees the mass production of books, most of which we will never be able to read, as environmental-waste products. By reusing cast-off books and old magazines, Chen is creating new art forms through recycling, but by destroying the contents of the books, he challenges the power of the printed word.
Chen's exhibition at the American Cultural Center -- an important place that provides vital exhibition space for emerging artists -- is installed in the two glass-door presentation cases that line the foyer. Both cases contain three glass shelves and on each shelf, a figure carved from books lies entombed like a mummy. Here and there, texts unexpectedly jut out from these forlorn figures.
In one case, the figures carved from brown-tinged pages look more like an anthropological display. In the opposite case, the figures, carved from broad sheets of white computer paper, appear like plaster death casts. Yet the figurative illusion disappears when one peers under the glass shelves to read the spines of both Chinese and English books; then it is obvious these are not bodies, but books.
Naked but `tasteful'
However, much to Chen's chagrin, he was urged beforehand to remove any suggestive anatomical elements that may offend frail sensibilities, but incidentally the sculpted materials fit together like accordion pleats making it easy to insert or remove any offending parts. Unfortunately, their removal compromises the integrity of the work and the original intention of the artist. Chen's carved figures show the human state "au naturel" to reveal the truth and nakedness of the human spirit, and is no more lewd than, say, a commonly seen painting of a nude model at her bath, and it is dubious why seeing a pile of carved paper arranged as a naked human being could be objectionable to viewers.
Chen's work is also currently showing at the pristine basement gallery space of the Kuo Mu Sheng Foundation, one of the best-kept secrets in Taipei, which is sponsoring a pleasingly eclectic group show of Taiwanese artists' collages. Here, in a very different presentation, is a wall-sized grid of paper collages attached to a yellow ochre-colored wall. Each 20cm-by-20cm panel is either rosy pink or aqua and from a distance the work is a harmonious array of saturated color like blue and pink tiles swimming in a sea of yellow.
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