Negotiating Traditions : Taiwanese Art Since the 1980s

Abstract

Traditions, especially those that are non-Western, tend to be popularly perceived as very ancient. This is frequently not the case as shown, for instance, by Eric Hobsbawn and others in their studies demonstrating that traditions are often quite recent in origin and sometimes invented. Employing this perspective as a starting point, it is my special interest to investigate how contemporary Taiwanese art came to develop an active, creative relationship with tradition, provoked by the analysis of, the resistance against, or the programmatic re-presentation of that tradition. After Martial Law was lifted in 1987, the Taiwanese society witnessed an unprecedented era of rapid and continuous change. As a result, cultural resources and different traditions from the past, rooted in various timelines and localities, have concurrently surfaced and presented themselves as multiple opportunities for visual artists. The objective of this thesis is to examine how traditions are developed, constructed, incorporated, juxtaposed, forged, and processed; in short: how they are negotiated by the artists, and what kind of messages and ideas are expressed by them, by which means and for which reasons. After providing a historical survey of Taiwan’s artistic development, the study focuses on six major artworks by six contemporary Taiwanese artists including Huang Chin-ho, Yang Mao-lin, Lien Te-cheng, Wu Mali, Huang Chih-yang, and Hou Chun-ming. The primary issues subsequently examined are the artist’ visual languages, their artistic styles and development, and the iconographical sources from which they draw. Furthermore, contemporary writings and the artists’ statements are extensively consulted, evaluated, analyzed, and critically read in order to uncover the full meaning or hidden messages contained within the artworks. The study concludes that the project of Taiwan's contemporary tradition-making is ambitious and heterogeneous, encompassing cultures as diverse and hybrid as Western contemporary philosophical discourse, various artistic traditions, local popular and religious customs, the Chinese tradition, especially in its marginal and occult varieties, and, not least, the cultural impact of Japanese colonial rule.