Print

Mail

wiki links

Forging a pioneer's trail

By Vico Lee
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Oct 12, 2003, Page 19

Had Yan Shui-long (顏水龍) lived to see the development of handicraft and design in Taiwan over the last few years the lifelong educator and promoter of this form of art would have been pleased that today's artists take design seriously and that people increasingly appreciate the beauty of handicrafts.

Apart from being an outstanding oil painter, Yan devoted his life to handicrafts from his youth, trying several times -- though without success -- to set up his own handicraft school. He also wrote extensively on the subject in his later years.

Pioneer of Taiwanese Handicraft: special exhibition of Yan Shui-long's 100th anniversary, (台灣工藝先驅顏水龍先生百歲紀念工藝特展) currently on show at the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute's Taipei Craft Design Center (台北工藝設計中心), presents a small yet multi-faceted selection of Yan's works.

To shed light on the life of a dedicated master, the exhibition also includes a reconstruction of Yan's studio, his collection of exotic handicrafts from other countries and some well-designed personal items like his glasses cases. Together, these create a rounded picture of an artist who lived out his art in his life.

Well-known as the "Father of Taiwanese handicraft," Yan juggled teaching, painting and making handicrafts. In preparation for a retrospective in 1997, which was meant to celebrate his 95th birthday, Yan painted eight hours a day in the hope of presenting an impeccable selection of works. He was tired out and slipped in his bathroom, sustaining a bone fracture. He soon died from complications resulting from an operation on the injury.

Throughout his life, Yan advocated the merits of handicrafts. "Art is not just a painting on the wall," Yan once said. Handicrafts not only help improve living standards in a developing country but foster people's appreciation of beauty, Yan said. They can give people a lift in a country that values wealth and longevity, because their influence on people are more far-reaching than fine art.

At a time when most artists in Taiwan would not demean themselves to make product designs or advertisements, Yan created many of these kinds of works. His series of 12 advertisements for Japan's Smoca tooth powder is the best part of the exhibition.

"Since freshening up after getting up in the morning is your style, how can you not use Smoca after smoking?" the advertisement asks in Japanese with a simple yet inviting picture of a bathroom door left ajar.

Yan's package designs for Taichung's Tai Yang Tang (太陽堂) cake shop, maker of sun-cake snacks, is an example of his characteristic composition and use of warm and cheerful colors. The petals of the sunflower that is the shop's logo, are stylized to show elegant, festive or stately images of the product.

Rural life and Aboriginal culture inspired him most. Yan expressed his admiration for Aboriginal esthetics in his clay works. The stock imageries of snakes, fish and human figures are adjusted to depict the true life style of Aboriginal people.

Mural mosaics are another part of Yan's celebrated works. Apart from Rural Life mosaic in Taipei's Chian-tan Park and Sports in Taichung Stadium, the exhibition includes large pictures of many other mosaics which are located in less-visited places across the country.

"Pioneer of Taiwanese Handicraft," an exhibition celebrating Yan Shui-long's 100th anniversary will run until Oct. 26 at the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute's Taipei Craft Design Center, 9F, 20 Nanhai Rd, Taipei (台北市南海路20號9樓).
This story has been viewed 1973 times.