Lee Tsai-chien (李再鈐) expected to expand his knowledge of Chinese sculpture when he set out for Europe’s galleries and museums in the early 1970s. What he didn’t expect to investigate, however, was the long tradition of Western sculpture dating back thousands of years.
“Traveling to China at the time was out of the question,” the 80-year-old sculptor said. “And when I traveled through Europe, I discovered for myself the ancient Greeks.”
What began as a search for Chinese sculpture ended with a book on Greek art and an enduring interest in the geometric forms that the ancient Greeks were obsessed with — an obsession that permeates the 16 abstract sculptures made from steel that are currently on display at the National Taiwan University of the Arts’ campus until March of next year.
The exhibition literature states that it is the largest outdoor exhibition of sculpture ever in Taiwan, and the lush grounds of Aigrette Down (鷺鷥草原) — a series of rolling hills to the left of the university’s front gate with stunning views of Taipei — serve as an ideal space for Lee’s large sculptures. Each sculpture can be seen as a meditation on an Eastern philosophical concept — whether Buddhism or Taoism — or Greek geometrical forms.
Jiang Yen-chou (江衍疇), the exhibit’s curator, breaks Lee’s abstract sculptures down into four periods both thematically and chronologically. “Finite and Infinite” dates to Lee’s earliest period — a time when he was establishing his personal style working with geometric shapes and surfaces. Using the symbol for infinity (∞) as inspiration, Unlimited Extension fuses three pyramids together in a way that resembles a closed ring. The surfaces proceed inward and outward and form an “unlimited extension” that goes on to infinity.
Lee’s “Decomposition and Composition” period reveals an interest in the five Platonic solids. It seems natural that the mathematics underpinning ancient metaphysical ideas would give way to an aesthetic of geometric forms. Cubed (元) is made up of three separate but linked cubes and demonstrates a mathematical theory through the combination of geometrical shapes.
A close reading of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy marks a transition to “Substance and Formlessness,” Lee’s third period, though still remains true to the geometric forms of the earlier works. Two for One (二而不二) incorporates the ideas of substance and formlessness, the physical and the imagination by juxtaposing two towers of stainless steel, the center of which is polished so as to provide a reflection of one with the other.
Lee shifts ideas inward in the final period, “Abstraction and Sense of Poetry,” and translates his personal experience into monumental sculptures. Dew (露), which stands in front of the university’s Administration Building, is a tall, slightly askew sculpture cross-sectioned with small bead shapes, which symbolize drops of dew and reveal Lee’s increasing interest in the natural world, “the most talented artist,” he said.
Like much abstract art, the works are somewhat difficult to penetrate unless given a clear guide as to what the artist is attempting. Fortunately, the title of each piece gives a hint as to the works’ multiple meanings.
The canonical shot of an East Asian city is a night skyline studded with towering apartment and office buildings, bright with neon and plastic signage, a landscape of energy and modernity. Another classic image is the same city seen from above, in which identical apartment towers march across the city, spilling out over nearby geography, like stylized soldiers colonizing new territory in a board game. Densely populated dynamic conurbations of money, technological innovation and convenience, it is hard to see the cities of East Asia as what they truly are: necropolises. Why is this? The East Asian development model, with
June 16 to June 22 The following flyer appeared on the streets of Hsinchu on June 12, 1895: “Taipei has already fallen to the Japanese barbarians, who have brought great misery to our land and people. We heard that the Japanese occupiers will tax our gardens, our houses, our bodies, and even our chickens, dogs, cows and pigs. They wear their hair wild, carve their teeth, tattoo their foreheads, wear strange clothes and speak a strange language. How can we be ruled by such people?” Posted by civilian militia leader Wu Tang-hsing (吳湯興), it was a call to arms to retake
This is a deeply unsettling period in Taiwan. Uncertainties are everywhere while everyone waits for a small army of other shoes to drop on nearly every front. During challenging times, interesting political changes can happen, yet all three major political parties are beset with scandals, strife and self-inflicted wounds. As the ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is held accountable for not only the challenges to the party, but also the nation. Taiwan is geopolitically and economically under threat. Domestically, the administration is under siege by the opposition-controlled legislature and growing discontent with what opponents characterize as arrogant, autocratic
When Lisa, 20, laces into her ultra-high heels for her shift at a strip club in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, she knows that aside from dancing, she will have to comfort traumatized soldiers. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, exhausted troops are the main clientele of the Flash Dancers club in the center of the northeastern city, just 20 kilometers from Russian forces. For some customers, it provides an “escape” from the war, said Valerya Zavatska — a 25-year-old law graduate who runs the club with her mother, an ex-dancer. But many are not there just for the show. They “want to talk about what hurts,” she
RSS