首展∕演日期Date of Premier：

2012/2/4-2012/2/26 

首展∕演地點Venue (or outdoor location) of Premier：

紫藤廬  (台北市大安區新生南路三段16巷1號）

Wistaria Tea House (No.1, LN 16, Sec.3, Xin Sheng S. Road, Taipei)  

主辦單位 Name of the Nominee：

社團法人中華紫藤文化協會、交通大學亞太／文化研究室

Wistaria Cultural Association、Center for Asia Pacific/Cultural Studies at National Chiao Tung University                                              

 

 

展∕演介紹Profile of the Project

1. 「尋畫」展演整體概念及創新特色

 

「尋畫」是通過尋找吳耀忠（1938-1987）散藏各處的畫作而展開的一項文藝實踐計畫。「尋畫—現實主義畫家吳耀忠」不只是一場畫展，而是一系列結合調查、出版、展覽、座談等不同形式的文化行動。

吳耀忠曾經是他所處世代寫實畫派中最被看好的畫家，從在師大就讀時期開始，便已多次在省展、台陽展獲獎。吳耀忠也很可能是台灣美術史上作品流通最廣的畫家。在1970年代鄉土文學論戰前後，吳耀忠的畫作被採用做為多位重要作家的作品封面。接著在1980年初期，隨著台灣政治評論空間的逐漸打開，吳耀忠為許多政治評論著作及黨外雜誌繪製封面畫作。從1975到1984十年之間，吳耀忠的畫作透過書刊封面，傳散到一整個世代的文藝青年手中。由於抱持著社會主義的藝文觀，吳耀忠不將畫作視為商品，因此他的作品在生前並未出現在藝術市場。他的早期畫作或是贈送給親友，或是收藏家中；後期為書刊所畫封面，或是由出版社發行人收藏，或是在刊物發行贈送給編輯及作者，這些畫作因此散藏各處。

為了替畫家寫下生命故事，為了追溯台灣戰後現實主義文藝的流變，為了理解台灣左翼精神的發展，我們從2009年開始訪查尋找散藏各處的吳耀忠畫作。「尋畫」的過程像在一方覷黑的歷史空間中尋找隱藏其中的畫作，每找到一張畫作，就如同打亮一盞聚光燈，照亮了這張畫，也照亮了畫作背後交織的歷史脈絡及人事因緣。「尋畫」的過程又像在拼組一張人物畫像拼圖，每找到一位受訪者，就如同找到拼圖中的一塊片段，讓吳耀忠的整體生命輪廓得以更加清楚地呈現。在這過程中，書刊封面上的畫作是我們的線索，然而即便是要以吳耀忠所畫的書封為線索，眾多的書封本身也如同拼圖一般，必須一本本地找出、一張張地接合起來，才能夠呈現出吳耀忠作品的整體圖像。就這樣，拜訪了一位又一位的受訪者，在許多朋友的協助下，我們找出了一百三十餘幅畫作。

吳耀忠生前並未辦過個展，找到的這批畫作大多未曾公開展出，而只出現在書刊封面上。基於種種原因，我們知道這是為吳耀忠辦畫展的關鍵時間，錯過這個歷史時機，往後要再將這些畫作集合起來將更為困難。同樣是經由許多朋友的成全與協助，我們在紫藤廬、宜蘭文化局、清華大學藝術中心、高雄橋頭白屋等不同性質的空間舉辦了四場畫展，希望讓這批畫作能夠和不同地區、不同屬性的民眾產生聯繫。

要讓文藝和民眾產生聯繫，要讓作品跨越創作時代連結轉化出新的意義，需要的不只是一場展覽。為了讓「尋畫」計畫的結果不只是再現過去，並且能夠延展向未來，尋畫小組在「以文藝進行社會實踐」這個總主題之下，配合每場展覽舉辦了一系列共五場座談，邀請不同世代、在不同場域以文藝進行社會實踐的朋友們，一起來回顧自己的生命經歷，述說自己在成長過程中如何接觸了現實主義文藝，如何投入社會實踐，由此呈現與吳耀忠認識的因緣，進而反思文藝與社會實踐兩者關係在戰後台灣的流變。透過這樣的安排，希望能讓這場紀念展覽不只停駐在一個帶著遺憾的歷史段落中，並且能夠轉化為實踐經驗的反思，呈現出生命及歷史延續的意義，既和吳耀忠所處的世代對話，也為來者提供思考問題及反省實踐的素材。

就架構而言，「尋畫」包含了出版、展覽、座談這三個部分。從過程來看，「尋畫」是以報導文學的出版為核心，隨著研究過程的開展逐漸確立出版畫冊及舉辦畫展，並結合系列座談會及演講所構成的文藝實作計畫。

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Statement of artistic concept of this production/ exhibition. Please specially address the original and unique ideas of this project.

 

“Searching for Wu Yaozhong’s Paintings” is an artistic-cultural project launched through searching for scattered paintings painted by Wu Yaozhong (1938-1987). The project is not just an art exhibition, but a set of cultural practices composed of research, publication, exhibition and forums.

Wu had been the most promising realist painter of his generation, already winning several awards when he was still a student at National Taiwan Normal University. Wu is probably also the painter with the most circulated works of art in Taiwan’s art history. Wu’s paintings were used as numerous prominent writers’ book covers during the Debate over Taiwan Native Literature in the late 1970s. With the opening up of political discursive space in the early 1980s, Wu had painted cover arts for many publications of political commentaries as well as nonparty-dissident magazines. Within the ten years from 1975 to 1984, Wu’s paintings were introduced to a whole generation of artistic and literary youths through book and magazine covers. Since he held a socialist view of art, he did not consider his paintings as commodities. As a result, when he was alive, his paintings had never been circulated in the art market. His early paintings were either given to his family and friends as gifts, or kept at home. The covers he later painted for books and magazines were either collected by the publisher or given to editors and authors as gifts thus were dispersedly kept here and there.

In order to write a life story for this painter, to trace the transition in the postwar Taiwanese realist culture and art, to understand the development of Taiwan’s leftist sprit, we started to look into and search for Wu’s paintings that have been scatteredly kept in different locations. The process of “Searching for Wu Yaozhong’s Paintings” was like searching for hidden paintings in a dark space in history. Finding a painting was like finding a spot light that shed light on not only the painting but also the history and people entangled with it. The process was also like finding pieces for a puzzle that portraits the painter. Whenever an interviewee was found, it’s like finding a piece that helped to enrich the picture of the painter’s life as a whole. In this process, covers for books and magazines he painted were our clues. However, though with the clues in hand, the many covers themselves were also like puzzle pieces that had to be found and put together one by one, so as to present the whole picture of Wu’s artistic work. Just like this, after visiting one after another interviewees, and with the help of many friends, we found over 130 paintings by Wu Yaozhong.

When Wu was alive, he never held a solo exhibition. Most of the paintings we found had never been publicly exhibited—they were only used as covers for books and magazines. For various reasons, we knew it’s time to hold an exhibition for him—if we missed it this time, it would be even more difficult to gather the paintings together. Again, with the help of many friends, we held four exhibitions in spaces that differ from each other in many ways: Wistaria Tea House, The Yilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tsing Hua University Arts Center and The White Cabin at Kio-A-Thau in Kaohsiung. By doing this, we hope to form certain connections between the paintings and different groups of people from different regions.

In order to connect art and culture with people, to allow the artworks to transcend time and generate new meanings, what we need are more than several exhibitions. The project “Searching for Wu Yaozhong’s Paintings” is not just for re-presenting the past, but also for opening up future possibilities. With this agenda in mind, we set up the main theme “Social Practices through Art and Culture” and launched a series of five forums with the above mentioned exhibitions. Friends and speakers from different generations carrying out social practices through art and culture in different sites were invited to join the forums. They shared with the audience their life experiences, how they got in touch with realist art and culture when they were young, and how they were committed to social practice. In this way, they showed us the personal yet historical elements that brought them and Wu together, while at the same time shed light on the dynamic relation between art-culture and social practice in postwar Taiwan. By arranging the forums and exhibitions like this, we intend to move beyond recalling a historical segment that past in regret, but to regenerate deeper reflections on the experiences of social practice, and illustrate the meaning implied in the legacy of their lives and histories. This is an attempt to not only be in dialogue with Wu’s generation, but also provide materials for the later generations to contemplate and reflect on issues of social practices and so on.

Structurally, the “Searching for Wu Yaozhong’s Paintings” project consists of publication, exhibition and forums. In terms of the process, the publication of literary reportage of his story has been the origin, while as our research dug deeper, the publication of a book of Wu’s paintings, the exhibitions and forum series gradually grew out of it, making it a practical project of art and culture.

 

 

2.本展演計畫的目標，及相對於創作者∕團隊創作歷程或專業發展的意義。

 

為了替畫家寫下生命故事，為了追溯台灣戰後現實主義文藝的流變，為了理解台灣左翼精神的發展，由此有了「尋畫」計畫這一系列過程。尋畫小組已在上述三個面向做出努力，回到美術場域，這項計畫又有甚麼樣的意義呢？

在日本殖民時代新美術運動展開的1920-1930年代，吳耀忠的老師李梅樹及其他美術界前輩們，以沙龍為實踐場域，透過參與殖民母國的帝展及殖民地的台展，為自己的藝術實踐立下豐碑。戰後1950年代後期到1960年代中期，為了挑戰掌握重要展覽評選權力的前輩畫家，台灣新一代的美術青年揚起現代主義的旗幟，相繼組織了五月畫會、東方畫會，並透過進軍國際來建立自己的權威。然而不論是日本殖民時代的外光派寫實畫家，或是戰後現代主義的抽象畫家，都是以「沙龍」及「畫會」做為主要的美術實踐場域。獲得殖民母國或國際權威獎項的酬賞，是證立自己畫作價值的重要途徑。

　　吳耀忠在1967年以前，同樣是以參加沙龍獲獎來證明自己的畫藝，並建立起自己作為一位畫家的認同。但自1967年起，吳耀忠開始透過刊物插畫，試圖打開新的美術實踐場域。1968年吳因與友人組織讀書會而入獄。1975年出獄後，吳耀忠接續先前的努力，以社會寫實為風格，以勞動及庶民生活為題材，建立了以書刊封面為場域、面向社會大眾、描繪社會生活的藝術實踐，也為台灣戰後美術發展留下別具意義的作品。

一般畫家通常不願意被定位成畫書刊封面的畫家，因為那意味著自己的作品缺乏獨立存在的價值，只能作為書刊封面或插圖。然而由於吳耀忠抱持著社會主義的藝術觀，他將繪製書封視為讓藝術作品得以普及到一般民眾的途徑。在接受摯友陳映真的訪問中，吳耀忠提出了如下的看法：

畫在一切藝術中，怕是最具有私有財產的性質。用框子一框，掛在堂皇的客廳中，成為財產，且有投機性的市場。繪畫的民眾化首先必須打破它在需求上的稀少性；版畫、蝕刻、平版印刷提供了繪畫作品之大量生產的可能性。因此，在充分把握印刷美學的基礎上，繪畫作品的大量印製，是一條有意義的道路。我的畫並不怎樣，但從來沒有以只讓少數人收藏為高的想法。封面設計使我實現了一部分願望。

　　封面不只是吳耀忠文藝實踐的場域，也成為他在構思美術表現時考慮的因素。正因為理解到自己的畫作將成為書刊封面，吳耀忠在經營畫面時有了不同的設想。一般而言，西畫在創作時，總是將畫紙或畫布當成一方完整的世界來經營，繪畫完成，也就意味著畫面再也無所添加，甚至無法添加。但吳耀忠在畫這批作品時，心裡便已經知道，這些畫作在他手中完成之後，將會與文學、報導及評論文字相結合，進而開展出新的生命。

《台灣美術風雲四十年》是第一本以台灣戰後美術發展為主題的專著，作者林惺嶽先生在其中寫下：「到了七十年代鄉土運動勃興時，在美術方面並無適當人選可資與文學家並駕齊驅的開拓新局。」吳耀忠正是一位在美術領域可以和鄉土文學論戰時期現實主義作家輝映媲美的畫家。

要如何界定一位畫家在美術史上的地位？從這位畫家在重要展覽中的獲獎紀錄？還是他所組織的畫會及所開創的畫風？或是畫作在民眾之中所銘刻的印象及產生的迴響？當我們跳脫以沙龍、畫會做為美術實踐場域的思考框架，當我們不再以舉辦展覽做為評斷畫家的首要依據，轉而以畫家與社會的關係做為考察原則時，我們將發現，吳耀忠帶給台灣美術史的遺產是如此寶貴而豐美。

即便吳耀忠在創作時就已知道，自己的畫作在畫好交給書刊編輯後，就要與時代的訊息相結合，開展出新的生命；但吳耀忠應該沒有想過，在自己去世二十餘年後，會有人尋訪他散藏各處的畫作，讓它們與當代的敘事行動相結合，轉生出新的文藝實踐意義來。透過尋找吳耀忠的畫作，連結文學與美術、文藝與社會、過去與當代，這正是「尋畫」計畫的意義所在。

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please address the goal of this project, specify the meaning of this project to the professional development of the artist / group.

 

In order to write a life story for this painter, to trace the transition in the postwar Taiwanese realist culture and art, to understand the development of Taiwan’s leftist sprit, we initiated the “Searching for Wu Yaozhong’s Paintings” project and the ensue activities. We have been involved in the above mentioned three dimensions. Back to the field of art, what’s the meaning of this project then?

As New Art Movement developed during the Japanese colonial period from 1920 to 1930, Wu Yaozhong’s mentor Li Mei-shu and other predecessors in the artistic circle used salons as their practice site. By participating in the Empire Art Exhibitions held by the colonial mother country and the Taiwan Art Exhibitions held in the colony, they achieved great accomplishments for their artistic endeavors. After WWII, between late-1950s and mid-1960s, a new generation of young artists organized the Fifth Month Art Group and the Ton Fon Art Group to challenge their senior painters who monopolized the selection process of important exhibitions and established their own authority by going international. But both painters of the plein-air realism during the Japanese colonial period and the abstract painters of post-war modernism all used “salon” or “art group” as their major artistic practice site. They also justified the values of their paintings by winning awards from their colonial mother country or international authorities. 

Before 1967, Wu Yaozhong also tried to prove his painting skill and gain his identity as a painter by joining art salons and winning awards. But since 1967, Wu began to open up a new artistic practice site through his illustrations for magazines. After he was released from jail in 1975, he continued his previous endeavor, utilizing social realism as his style and using laborers and common people as subject matters. He also established book and magazine covers as his creative site, choosing the artistic practice of facing directly the common people and the reality of the society, leaving behind meaningful art works for Taiwan’s post-war artistic development.

A painter would generally not willing to be labeled as book and magazine cover arts painter because it would mean one’s works of art lack the value of independent existence but rather are only used as covers or illustrations for books and magazines. However, because Wu embraced a socialist artistic view, book and magazine cover arts for him was a mean to introduce art works to the general public. In his interview with good friend Chen Yingzhen, Wu made these comments:

 

Among all art forms, painting possesses the quality of private ownership the most. A painting can easily be framed, hung in a parlor room and become a property, thus creating the most opportunist market. The popularization of paintings must first shatter the condition of rarity. Block printing, etching and lithography provide the possibility of mass production of paintings. Therefore, on the basis of fully controlling the esthetic of printing, the mass production of paintings is a meaningful path. My paintings are so so, but I never have the idea of letting only a handful of people to collect them. Cover arts and designs allow me to realize part of my ideal.

 

Cover art was not only Wu’s expression of his artistic practice, it also became a factor when he was conceiving his artistic expression. Because he realized that his art works would become book and magazine covers, Wu began to imagine a different way of arranging his tableau. In general, when a painter is painting in western style, he would view the painting paper or canvas as an enclosed universe. Once the painting is completed, it means that there is no more space to be filled or even can no longer to be filled. However, when Wu created these cover arts, he knew in his heart that once his work was done, his art works would be connected to literature, investigative journal reports and commentaries and furthermore developed into new lives.

Forty Years of Taiwanese Art in Turmoil is the first book about the artistic development of Taiwan’s post-war art scene. The author Lin Hsin-yueh wrote: “By the time of the seventies when the native movement began to thrive, there wasn’t anyone in the fine art circle capable of forging a new order along with literary giants.” In the field of art, Wu is exactly the painter resonated with his counter parts in the literary scene—the Realist writers during the Debate over Taiwan Native Literature.

How to define a painter’s status in art history? By the painter’s award records in prominent exhibitions? By the art group he organizes and the style he pioneers? Or by the impression imprinted on and the response generated by his paintings amongst the people? When we break out of the confine of thinking salons and art groups as artistic practice site and as we turn from using art exhibition as the basis of judging a painter but instead observe a painter’s relationship with the society as our principle, we will discover the legacy Wu Yaozhong left to Taiwan’s art history is so precious, bountiful and beautiful.

When Wu Yaozhong created these paintings, he might have known that once submitted to the book and magazine editors, together with the information of that time, these paintings would gain new lives from then on. However, it may not occur to him that twenty years after his death, a group of people started to look for his scattered paintings, combining them with contemporary narratives and practices and generate new artistic-cultural meanings. Combining literature with art, culture with society, past with the contemporary through searching for Wu Yaozhong’s paintings is the exact meaning of this project.

 

 

 

主辦單位: 

1. 社團法人中華紫藤文化協會

策展人：林慧峰

企劃：劉佳奇

活動執行：林秀俞、卓昀姿

展場設計：陳淑強

 

2. 交通大學亞太／文化研究室

策展人：林麗雲（交通大學亞太/文化研究室研究員）

蘇淑芬（交大亞太/文化研究室執行總監）

陳瑞樺（清大社會學研究所助理教授）

展場設計：羅文岑

 

Organizers:

1. Wistaria Cultural Association

Curator: Hui-Feng LIN

Project Manager: Chia-Chi LIU

Project Executive Team: Hsiu-Yu LIN and Yun-Tzu CHO

Exhibition Site Designer: Shu-Chiang CHEN

 

2. Center for Asia-Pacific/Cultural Studies, NCTU

Curators: Liyun LIN (Research Fellow, Center for Asia-Pacific /Cultural Studies, NCTU)

Shu-Fen SU (Executive Supervisor, Center for Asia-Pacific/Cultural Studies, NCTU)

Jui-Hua CHEN (Assistant Professor, Institute of Sociology, NTHU)

Exhibition Site Designer: mirrwork