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Cheng, Mei-Chu¡¦s Quadrology on Art

 

1. Expressions of Sentiments; Records of Feelings

Paintings can be a form of literature or music. 

Paintings depict a blue summer day: sapphire skies, white clouds, blue seas and white waves. The rhythms of the song ¡§Grandma¡¦s Penghu Bay¡¨ start to beat: beach, sunshine, cactus and an old captain.    

Paintings portray a windy winter day: passions in the gusty winds, saga of loneliness and solitude and the sad smokes over the salty waters.   

Paintings describe a wild flowering spring: gaillardia blossoming far and wide, because old cows and wild cats know that she is beauty. Her beauty is tenacious, tangible and carefree.

Paintings narrate a patient autumn, in waiting: memories, blessings, recollections, wishes, peaceful lakes, dear old friends, Penghu and affectionate friendship.  

In my works are the concerns over people, who work hard over the land and sea and who cultivate with wisdom in the field of arts. They are the distributors of light and heat.  

My works record the lands of living, and observes the environment of generations after generations. They capture the glimpses of the temple celebrations and folklore events, as well as homes that witness the passage of growth. In a home of traditions, the picture consists of flower bricks, window decorations, carvings on the stones, cow-pulled wagons, sampans and artifacts. In such a picture, memories are extended, dreams are told and streams of thoughts are expressed.      

 

2. Self Reflections; Value Statements

After spending nine months in Tainan finding myself, I have come up with new positioning and values for art. Ways of presentations of art works for exhibitions are documentations, prints, 3-dimensions, device, live performance and poems. This is called ¡§concept art¡¨.        

The new concept of art means that art should not only play the role to ¡§beautify the heart and soul¡¨, but also attempt to ¡§mould the human mind¡¨ by creating impacts. In other words, art should beautify the heart and soul with its narrations and records, but mould the human mind with its reflections and statements.  

The creation and thinking process of ¡§reflections and statements¡¨ require sufficient life experience. It requires the examinations of the beats of the people, the environment, politics and economics, as well as concerns and suggestions for minorities or social issues. It touches on the education elements in order to enhance the quality of human resources, and expresses the internal workings of human minds. It can be meek or rebellious, objective or subjective. Perhaps, the concept of ¡§art¡¨ is ¡§the abnormality¡¨ of the concept.  

 

3. Three Direct Links of Spirituality

The three direct links of spirituality are ¡§the communications with your own soul¡¨, ¡§the communications between heaven and earth¡¨ and ¡§the communications between you, me and him¡¨.

Enlightenment has been a goal that all beings have been striving for since the dawn of the times. It has been a time honored goal that generations after generations have been fighting for. Among all the creatures, humans have developed the most elaborate behavior patterns because of their spirituality. Humans control the living environment and create cultures and perceptions. Humans create orders and norms, in which confusions and conflicts exist. We are at the inflection point of the history and armed with heritage of previous generations. Some would like inherent the traditional scopes and realms. Some would like to break through the systems molded in traditions. Others would like to take actions to exceed the traditional values. Still others would like to create new events with actions and impacts. To sum up, our behaviors range far and wide and there are countless of things¡K     

In that case, what is new and what is old? There is no argument that can prove our existence. Today, to prove our own existence, why don¡¦t we use the Three Direct Links of the artistic theory? The Three Direct Links of creations are new. They prove our fighting spirits, from life to art, by explaining the independence between ourselves and the environment.  

The First Link:

Individual Spirituality, Career, Family, Friendship, Religions & Aesthetics

The analysis of creativity and associations consists of two arguments:

  1. Spiral Analysis: Lateral thinking & constant extensions
  2. Concentric Circle Analysis: Big and small circles composed with individual interpretations

The Second Link:

Interconnections of Collective Environment, Chitchats, Social Phenomena, Tribe Observations and Cultural Landscape, either Constructive or Argumentative

The Third Link:

Distance between You & Me, Big or Small, Not Too Big or Not Too Small, Mutual Cares & Gazing

For example, what needs to be expressed into works of arts when you stand on the land of Penghu, facing Taiwan on the east and mainland China on the west? Or, what do you feel about the cultural subjects of the east and the west?

 

4. Face of the Island, Blue s& Dreams

There should not be a big population living on small islands of the world! I am so lucky to reside on a small island. We face the oceans and live to their paces for a long time. Time is flowing slowly. We take things easy and slow. The blues of the sea and the sky occupy our visions. There is always a sense of familiarity between people. A complex of the island (among the island residents) naturally emerges.

The blue exploration is a topic that I have been paying a lot of attention to recently. Modern people define blues as sadness and moodiness. Perhaps the rarely sights of blue skies is the reason that creates such a twisted perception. A timid internal world and chronic rains and clouds are confined into a small space. This element was misunderstood as ¡§the blues¡¨. To sum up, it is a reflection due to the lack of blue environments. However, island residents do not think so. They welcome blue days because blue means the presence of the sunshine. Life can run wild and free. Blue brings happiness and enables the island residents to leave behind the gusty winds of the past six months. Blue is the essence of life. Because of blue, island residents work hard. The blue of the skies and oceans on the horizon contains all the living creatures. Blue is a color of a broad view.       

The blue of the oceans hides countless dreams and inspirations humans have yet to tap into. The motif here that requires interpretations is ¡§dream of Penghu¡¨. The friends who visit here often leave the island with the images of gaillardia, old houses, beaches and cactuses and think that those are the elements of dream of Penghu. In fact, it is not the case. The real dream of Penghu requires you to leave it all behind so that you understand the careless and carefree of paces. Time can be wasted. You need to understand why the orchid grows in deep forest and sends off fragrance regardless. You need to understand why the winged angels indulge themselves in the fantasy land of mermaids. The promise of the vision of ¡§a peaceful mind, a simple self and intriguing imagination¡¨ has been the picturesque journey of my personal art creations.             

The contemporary art of depicting the faces of dull and bored city slickers is in. In my eyes they are sometimes gray and such works are like groaning without causes. Does this form of artistic expressions help people to grow? I doubt it. Therefore, I often elaborate my thinking when I participate in art exhibitions so that I can provide a different visual experience. Perhaps, my works provide assistance and suggestion to the urban folks: why not leave behind the hustles of the city and enjoy a change of landscape on the island! You will enjoy the calls and touches of the sea island blue.

 

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