Sun, Sep 25, 2016 page3

• Artist hopeful comic fest will lift Taiwan’s profile

  ART MARATHON: Au Yao-hsing said four French artists have been invited to join their local counterparts in a battle of skills, patience and endurance in drawing

  • By Wu Po-hsuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  A Taiwanese comic artist is hoping that a comic-drawing marathon next month, inspired by a French festival, will boost the profile of Taiwanese artists.

  Comic artist Au Yao-hsing (敖幼祥) visited France last year, staying in the village of Angouleme, home to one of the world’s three largest annual international comics festivals.

  At the festival, Au experienced a 24-hour comic marathon, which he said moved him with its “surge of explosive creative talent.”

  

  A handout photo shows an example of the work of artist Au Yao-hsing, who will be hosting a comic-drawing marathon inspired by the comics festival in Angouleme, France, in Hualien on Oct. 6.

  Photo courtesy of Au Yao-Hsing

  Drawing inspiration from his experience in Angouleme, Au will on Oct. 6 host an international festival in Hualien, where he hopes French and local comic artists will test each other to bring out the best of their skills, patience and endurance in the art of drawing.

  Every year the Angouleme festival attracts more than 200,000 artists, hobbyists and publishers. Twelve years ago organizers established the Maison des Artistes residency program, which accommodates up to 16 artists at a time for anywhere from a few months to two years. Artists from around the world use the space to collaborate and share creative ideas.

  Last year, Au and fellow Taiwanese artist Mickeyman (米奇鰻) brought Taiwan’s unique perspective on the arts to the Maison des Artistes for the first time.

  Au said the festival’s comic marathon was the most important aspect of attending the festival for him.

  The marathon required participants to create 24 pages on topics that changed every eight hours, with the aim of testing the extremes of the artists’ stamina and patience.

  Au said that artists typically need two to three hours on average for a single page of artwork, and that the marathon was made especially challenging by the nature of the topics: Artists were asked to create a character in each eight-hour interval who would tell a story and throw the previous character’s story on its head.

  “The activity was very short, but the sensations it created were magical. Being there at the competition you could feel the explosive energy of all of these artists — they were exhausted after drawing for 24 hours straight. Some were unable to complete their pages, but I was lucky to be able to finish mine with only 10 minutes to go in the final hour,” he said.

  After the event Au decided he had to bring the competition to Taiwan.

  He said that although Taiwan has numerous art exhibitions, he feels the creations often lack focus.

  Au cited difficulties in publishing artwork in the nation, including copyright issues.

  However, a marathon event like the one in Angouleme would allow lots of works to be created in a short time, which would immediately be displayed for all to see.

  For the Taiwan-France Comic Marathon, Au said he would work with the Comic Artist Labor Union in Taipei, while four French artists have been invited to the event through the Maison des Artistes.

  Aside from participating in the competition, the French artists will be invited to travel with organizers within Taiwan.

  Au said he hoped the event would solidify ties between Taiwan and France and bring international attention to Taiwanese comic art.
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