Four artists on the edge

Since Taipei County's Yingko Ceramics Museum opened in 2000 to promote ceramic art, the National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), organizer of the former "ROC International Ceramics Biennial," has been trying to provide museum-goers with something "alternative."

Calefaction and Diffusion (升溫與散熱), the history museum's current ceramics group exhibition, has joined four artists who have been in the field for decades to show how they have transformed ceramics from an ancient craft to a medium of contemporary art.

The four artists, Yang Yuan-tai (楊元太), Ah Leon (陳景亮), Kuo Yih-wen (郭義文) and Lo Sen-hao (羅森豪) seem to have little in common in terms of style or purpose -- Yang's harmonious geometrical works infused with religious sentiments, Ah Leon's concern with Taiwan's place in the history of ceramic art, Kuo's interest in philosophy and Lo's strong stand on social and environmental issues. The variety makes for a nice sampling of the latest developments in Taiwan's ceramic arts scene.

"Unrestrained by `exquisiteness' and `modesty' in traditional ceramics ... the four artists have in common a willing to create cross-disciplinary works and an open-mindedness," said Huang Hai-ming, installation artist and art critic.

The most eye-catching works may be Lo's installations and documents of his performances, some of which did not even involve ceramics.

Born in Chiayi, Lo has had a strong affection for land and earth since childhood, which was spent playing with clay. He later came to realize the vital connection between humans and earth. "After my grandmother had been dead for several years, my family went to her grave for "bone-picking." When the lid of the coffin was lifted, I saw only earth. My grandma had turned into earth. ... The same will happen to everyone. ... If you spit on the ground, you might be spitting on your own corpse from your last life," Lo said in a documentary about him, which is also on show.

Restoration Project (還原計劃) demonstrates the concept almost literally. Comparing the body of an animal to a vessel of his or her soul, Lo burned roadkills he found to ashes. Blending the ashes with clay, he made pots which are on show next to the photos he took of the carcasses.

Concerned about Taiwan's environment, Lo made Land Survey (土地調查) -- a shocking lesson of the harm people are doing to the land. Lo first melted littered glass bottles to a soft state, then put other garbage, discarded toys or pieces of metal, into them. Affected by the object inside, the glass bottles become twisted into grotesque shapes. An array of shining new bottles on the shelves next to them serves as a bitter contrast.

Treating ceramics objects as mini architectural pieces, Kuo leaves a small window-like square opening near the top of each work. Viewers can only wonder what or who remains hidden inside those "buildings."

Ah Leon was a craftsman of traditional Yixing pottery. During his study trip to the US, it occurred to him that the new direction for Taiwanese ceramics is not to blindly emulate international ceramic techniques, but to express the country's characteristics. His imitation wooden pots and tofu, popular among collectors, are his effort to create something that appears genuinely Taiwanese.

Yang often presents his ceramic works as if they are sculptures. He would place them in the outdoors and take photos of them from angles that make them appear to be several meters tall. Although these works are shown not in photos, but placed as they are in the gallery, they still convey a sense of serenity and geometric harmony.