Lumière: Renaissance of Taiwanese Art & Culture in the 20th century
Water of Immortality (1921) by Huang Tu-shui
Courtesy of MoNTUE
Standing in an upright position, a petite woman characterised by her robust physique confidently lifts her face to the sky, as if waiting to be nourished by the first drop of rain. A closer examination of her graceful visage reveals that her seemingly closed eyes is in fact half-opened, which recalls the common practice to depict the eyes of a Bodhisattva — the enlightened, compassionate beings who assist the mortals in attaining their spiritual goals — for half-opened eyes indicates that which separates the ‘awakened ones’ from the mortals who are still attached to worldly desires.
Titled Water of Immortality, this sculpture in white marble brings to mind The Birth of Venus by the great Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. But unlike the physical perfection often pursued by Western artists, Taiwanese sculptor Huang Tu-shui chose to depict this young lady with a body type that is typical of an Asian woman, further enhancing its authenticity.
What is also similar to its Renaissance inspiration is the presence of shells — big and small — featured in Water of immortality. Instead of depicting the goddess standing in the shell as Botticelli did with his paintbrush, Huang’s Venus seems to have walked out from a giant clamshell behind her. Some people have pointed out that the shell may be an allusion to one of the 33 Transformations of Bodhisattva who, according to legend, is said to have emerged out of a clamshell.
Huang Tu-shui was an art student studying in Tokyo then, and he worked nonstop on this block of marble in his dormitory. While working on the sculpture, Huang was often mocked by his fellow classmates for wasting his time on an art form that holds no future. Huang’s hard work paid off when Water of Immortality was selected into Teiten (Imperial Art Exhibition of Japan) in 1921. The fact of it being the first nude sculpture ever created opened up a new chapter in the development of Taiwan’s modern art development, inspiring generation of artists to come.
Huang Tu-shui’s Water of Immortality featured in a postcard from 1921
Collection of Nakano Katsutoshi
One would’ve thought that a work as important as such would be made accessible to the public, just like how Botticelli’s Venus can be found in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. But, truth be told, Venus of the East met a different fate and went on missing for nearly half a century.
After being crowned with Teitan, Water of Immortality became a collection of the then Taiwan Education Association (TAE). When the provincial capital relocated to Taichung, the TAE followed; and for unknown reasons, Water of Immortality was abandoned at the Taichung train station. As the only nude sculpture at the time, it is not difficult to imagine how the public would have reacted to the vulgarity of this creation; several parts of the sculpture, particularly the ‘private parts’, was splashed with ink.
Understanding the true value of Water of Immortality, the Cheung family sought shelter for this sculpture despite it weighing up to 500 kilograms, and has since then become its secret keeper in the decades that followed. In September 2021, the Cheung family — being reassured that Water of Immortality would be in good hands and well taken care of — donated the the sculpture to the Culture Ministry of Taiwan.
“Clinical Notes: A Patient Named Taiwan” by Chiang Wei-shui
Courtesy of Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation
After more than six decades, Water of Immortality stands before the eyes of the public as the anchor of the landmark exhibition Lumière — The Enlightenment and Self-Awakening of Taiwanese Culture at the Museum of National Taiwan University of Education (MoNTUE) in Taipei. Opened in autumn of 2021, the exhibition coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Taiwan’s Venus and, from a broader perspective, the centennial of Taiwan Cultural Association’s establishment.
In the same month when Water of immortality was selected into Teiten, the Taiwan Cultural Association (TCA) was established. In the words of the exhibition’s curatorial team, the young lady featured in Water of Immortality who seems to have walked out from the darkness behind her can be interpreted as the moment of self-awakening for Taiwanese culture.
In an essay “Clinical Notes: A Patient Named Taiwan”, Chiang Wei-shui (one of the key figures who spearheaded the founding of TCA) diagnosed Taiwan as suffering from ‘intellectual malnutrition’; Chiang further stated that the only treatment for this illness was a cultural movement, with the TCA as its main advocate.
With a broad selection of works of art, Lumière illustrates how a wide range of artistic practices — both yesterday and today — have contributed to the formation of a multifaceted identity of Taiwanese culture.
To foster public understandings of the arts, the TCA gave speeches, established newspaper reading societies, and produced plays and films. It is said that more than ten thousand people attended their public speech at the peak of their movement.
Against this backdrop, the exhibition surveys the various influences that this cultural movement has brought to the art world. Lumière is divided into four sections: Impulse of Life, The Creation of Landscape, The Public and the Modern, and Self-Awakening Modernity. Each section serves as a point of departure for viewers to explore the ways that modern artists, including Lin Chih-chu, Chen Cheng-po, Laio Ci-chun, Li Mei-shu, Hung Rui-lin, responded to the society at a time when Taiwan being led from darkness to light by a group of avid intellectuals.
Lumière at the MoNTUE
After TCA split up, public debates about arts and culture continued to contribute to the modern art scene. New art groups such as the Chidao Group (Red Island Group), in opposition to government-funded art exhibitions, was established by Fauvism- and Expressionism-influenced artists. In their declaration, Chidao Group writes: Let us truthfully reflect the pulse of the times… Our hopes to transform this island into a beautiful island, an Ilha Formosa, begin in art and end in art.
In this writer’s opinion, one of the exhibition’s highlights is none other than the premiere of the documentary on Water of Immortality. Titled Kam Loo Tsui (Water of Immortality), this documentary traces the history of this sculpture, from the process of carving to interview with its keeper, the Cheung family, who recounts the story of how they came to rescue the sculpture from ignorant vandalism.
The film’s directors, Lin Chunni and Huang Pang-chuan, used 16mm films, allowing us audience to examine the texture of the marble on a microscopic level, including the process of cleaning up the stains that have been sitting on her skin for more than half a century. This documentary ends with a theme song sung in Taiwanese. Its alluring and nostalgic melody leaves us all in silent contemplation that is quickly followed by a relief that she has finally come home.
Taking Photos (1938), Lin Chih-chu
What’s also interesting is that, in conjunction with the exhibition, the MoNTUE also collaborated with Our Theatre troupe in bringing to light two of the popular plays produced by the Taiwanese Cultural Association. Reproduction of the play not only enriches the repertoire of the exhibits, but adds another dimension to the way audience comes to understand the social and cultural dynamics of the period.
With a broad selection of works of art on display, Lumière illustrates how a wide range of artistic practices — both yesterday and today — have contributed to the formation of a multifaceted identity of Taiwanese culture. As we all know, arts and culture could exist in a kaleidoscopic range of forms and mediums, but some of them were born to lead its people towards a brighter tomorrow.
The exhibition Lumière — The Enlightenment and Self-Awakening of Taiwanese Culture is on view at the Museum of National Taiwan University of Education (MoNTUE) in Taipei, and runs through April 24th, 2022.