The Ambassador Hotel is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of events embracing the arts and promoting environmental awareness in its Taipei, Hsinchu, and Greater Kaohsiung hotel branches until the end of this year. Although one of Taiwan’s oldest hotels, the Ambassador is certainly not old-fashioned. Rather, it is keeping up with the latest trends in street art, commissioning Guanzhou-based Chinese 3D street painting artists Wan Yiju and Wan Yiheng — aka the Wan Brothers — to create Taiwan’s largest 3D street painting titled 3D Future City, a Journey of Illusion, now on display outside the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel Hsinchu. The hotel’s anniversary celebration and Hsinchu’s local characteristics are elements featured in the work. People can physically step onto the painting and experience the virtual 3D effect that seems to catapault people through time and space into the future, suspended like clouds in the sky of a futuristic city.
Born into a family of artists, the 32-year-old twins’ artistic talent started to develop early on in their childhoods. The brothers have dedicated themselves to 3D street painting since 2004. They are the Guinness World Record holders for the World’s longest 3D street painting and regarded as the best 3D street painting artists in southern China today. Wan Yiju said at a press conference in Hsinchu last Thursday that their works have mainly focused on the themes of illusion and the future. For the 17m-long, 6m-wide, and 4m-high 3D Future City, a Journey of Illusion, which took two months to complete, they incorporated the ideas of technology and ecology in an attempt to reinforce the impact on the audience’s visual experience. Wan Yiheng said that the work is to convey an idea: As technology develops to a certain level, a society should evolve to be more eco-friendly and be more caring, not indifferent.
Another feature of the painting is a giant robot nicknamed “A-wei.” The robot stands in the suburb of the future city full of tall buildings and holds a watering can to nourish the earth. In addition, “A-wei” protects Sauter’s brown frogs indigenous to Taiwan, seen on the bottom right of the painting, and hermit crabs, on the bottom left, in the hope of raising awareness for environmental protection and animal conservation. The brothers’ dream is that technological development can reach a state of symbiosis with the environment. Besides the robot, the twins have created two jet-propeled cars flying out from the center of the painting to symbolize the act of carrying technology and culture toward a better future. People can physically step onto the flying machines and it looks as if they are flying. Interestingly, any movement made by people can affect the dynamics of the whole painting — one of the features that make 3D street paintings so attractive.
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報林亞蒂
When asked what is the secret of creating a 3D street painting, Wan Yiheng told the Taipei Times last Thursday that, unlike ordinary paintings, artists working on 3D street paintings often have to squat for long hours under the scorching sun, and so they have to deal with the weather and tiredness in their limbs. He also said that you cannot rely on conventional theories of perspective, and that you have to go against them to create the 3D effect. The brothers employ techniques such as the control of contrast and the principle that the closer something is, the smaller it appears, and the further, the larger, to depict a sense of space and three-dimensionality.
This kind of “inverse perspective” process requires artists to observe the work from various angles, and the idea can only be grasped thoroughly with experience. Wan Yiheng, however, stressed that even based on the concept of “the further the objects are, the larger they are drawn,” one may still find it hard to create the effects that are fundamental to 3D street paintings. He said that what made him and his brother better than other 3D street painting artists is their solid background in sculpture, which gives them a strong grasp of how to create a sense of volume. When asked how the style of the Wan brothers differs from other 3D street painting artists in northern China, Wan Yiheng replied that they not only incorporate grand themes of northern Chinese style, but also add attention to detail.
The Wan twins’ manager Vicki Lao told the Taipei Times that, other than 3D street paintings, the brothers also create illusion sculptures, which are to be exhibited in Taiwan later. On their first Taiwan visit, the Wan brothers presented 3D Future City, a Journey of Illusion as a gift to Taiwan. For those who fancy getting in the flying cars and traveling in the sky of the “future city” outside the Ambassador Hotel Hsinchu, the free-of-charge “journey of illusion” is an opportunity not to be missed. It will be there until the end of this year.
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報林亞蒂
(Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times)
國賓大飯店今年歡慶五十週年，一系列以藝術創意與環境關注的活動，已一一在台北、新竹與高雄國賓展開至年底。老字號飯店推出的活動，不僅一點也不老套，甚至趕上當今3D地畫的新興潮流，請到來自廣州的3D立體畫藝術家雙胞胎萬以琚（大萬）與萬以珩（小萬）—又稱「萬氏兄弟」—在新竹國賓大廳外，打造一座全台最大的3D立體地畫《3D未來城．幻視之旅》。這幅作品是以新竹地方特色與國賓五十週年為創意發想，民眾可直接踏上這幅作品的畫布上，親自體驗以假亂真的立體效果，彷彿穿越時空，像是雲朵般翱翔在一座未來城的天空。
現年三十二歲出身美術世家的雙胞胎，自幼就展露藝術天分。自二○○四年起致力3D立體畫創作至今，他們是「世界上最長3D立體地畫」金氏記錄保持人，同時也是目前中國南方首屈一指的3D地畫藝術家。萬以琚上週四在新竹記者會上表示，以往的作品以夢幻與未來為主，而在台灣展出這幅長十七公尺、寬六公尺與高四公尺且耗時兩個月創作的《3D未來城．幻視之旅》，融入科技與生態的理念，加強畫面帶給觀眾的衝擊感。萬以珩則表示，這幅作品是要體現一個理念：科技發達到一個程度，社會應當充滿綠色環保與溫情，而非冰冷而無情。
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報林亞蒂
畫中創造出一個綽號「阿衛」的巨大機器人，在高樓林立的未來城近郊，手拿澆花壺滋養大地，並守護台灣特有的梭德氏赤蛙（畫作右下方）與寄居蟹（畫作左下方）等，提升對環境保護與動物保育的意識。兩兄弟對未來的想望，就是要達到科技發展與生態環境共生的境界。另外，兩位藝術家還設計了兩架向外飛馳的飛行器，象徵帶動科技與文化奔向一個更美好未來。民眾可走上飛行器恣意駕馭，有趣的是，每個乘客所做的任何動作，都會影響整個畫面的動感，這也是錯覺畫迷人之所在。
當問及創作3D立體地畫的要領時，萬以珩上週四向《台北時報》表示，有別於一般繪畫，3D立體地畫的創作一定要在露天且陽光曝曬下，長時間蹲著作畫，因此要克服天候不佳與體力不支等困難。他也表示，以正常透視感去完成作品，效果出不來，所以一定要「違反」。兄弟倆因而用「明暗對比」和「近小遠大」的方法加強畫面的空間感和立體感。
這種「逆透視」的過程，一定要由不同角度觀察，並且透過長期經驗才能融會貫通。不過，萬以珩強調，就算根據「近小遠大」的概念創作，不見得會有效果。更重要的是他與哥哥有雕塑的背景，所以對體積感的體現有較紮實的基礎。當問及「萬氏兄弟」作品與中國北方3D立體地畫風格之異同，萬以珩回應，他們畫風除了擁有中國北方3D立體畫的大器之外，他們還多了幾分北方所沒有的細膩。
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報林亞蒂
「萬氏兄弟」藝術經紀人廖慧吉吉表示，兩兄弟除了3D地畫之外，在中國還創作一些錯覺藝術雕塑，未來也會到台灣展出。這次首度來到台灣的「萬氏兄弟」，獻上台灣最大的3D立體地畫《3D未來城．幻視之旅》當作見面禮。有興趣搭乘「飛行器」居高臨下遨遊「未來城」的民眾，可以在年底前到新竹國賓來一趟免費的幻視之旅。
（台北時報記者林亞蒂）
A: In addition to “Mission: Impossible 8,” what other new movies are in theaters? B: “Final Destination: Bloodlines” and “The Wedding Banquet” are out. The French film “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” will also open soon. A: The Final Destination horror movie series is so scary that I don’t dare watch it. B: Then how about “The Wedding Banquet,” which is a 2025 remake of the 1993 classic of the same title? Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung’s performance in it is highly anticipated. A: But as a fan of British writer Jane Austen, I’m more interested to see how her works
The deep waters off the coast of California are home to a bizarre creature: the flapjack octopus. This creature, known for its pancake-like appearance, spreads itself thin on the seabed as a clever survival strategy, making it difficult for predators to spot and capture it. With its unique, umbrella-shaped body formed by webbed arms, the flapjack octopus moves through the water in a graceful manner. It propels itself forward by rhythmically moving its body and contracting its webbed arms. Its pair of ear-like fins, which move independently yet with remarkable coordination, also help it explore the deep-sea environment. These
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 I stand by the Miluo River as dusk falls. The court betrayal is too much. I served Chu with loyalty. I forged alliances and fought corruption. But the whispers of jealous courtiers, the murmurs of treason, spoke louder. The king cast me out. The water looks calm. It promises peace. I step in. The river is cold against my legs. I hear shouts behind me — fishermen calling my name. I keep walking. The calls grow louder, but I do not turn around. The water rises to my chest. It pulls at me. I
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Many people may be familiar with flapjack octopuses thanks to Pearl, a charming character from the Pixar film Finding Nemo. However, her portrayal presents several scientific inaccuracies. In reality, flapjack octopuses are deep-sea creatures, which are unsuitable for the brightly lit shallow reef environment depicted in the film. Their primary defense mechanism relies on their reddish coloration, which would be ineffective in the well-lit shallows. Pearl’s famous line, “You guys made me ink,” is another fictional detail that is not consistent with the observed actions of real flapjack octopuses. As common as it is in many other octopus
RSS