This March, the port city of Hualien (花蓮) on the east coast of Taiwan will hold a spectacular display of stone sculptures from all over the world. The 1997 Hualien International Stone Sculptural Festival will take place at Hualien's Kwanghwa Industrial District between March 23 and April 19. The choice of Hualien as the location for this celebration of stone art is not coincidental. Hualien is one of the largest producers of marble in the world, and home to the work of a number of well-known Taiwan sculptors and a thriving community of stone artists.
Yang, who lived and worked in Hualien for a number of years, came to sculpture in a relatively roundabout way. Initially, when he had wanted to study at the Tokyo Academy of Arts, his father reluctantly agreed only on the condition that Yang study architecture. As the father put it, "A sculptor cannot make a living in the world."
It is true; sculpture, stone sculpture included, has had a hard go of it in Chinese artistic tradition. Only recently has it been accepted as one of the fine arts. Sculptors have created exquisite and detailed statues and stone carvings on temple pillars for centuries, but such sculpture has always been considered a craft, not an art.
"Stone is the fundamental material in the formation of the universe," he says. It has always challenged sculptors; if you cut too much you cannot remake the piece. When YuYu Yang looks at stone he says he sees it as a link to the universe. For him, nothing is more basic than stone, a substance that has been formed by the pressures of earth over a period of thousands of years. Pebbles, gravel, rocks, and boulders, he says, "all display nature's infinitely changing wonders." Yang's passion for stone reached its high point when he explored Taroko Gorge (太 魯 閣) during the 1960s. The rock slides and cascades of water cutting through the stone into the gorge impressed on him the "grandeur of the God-created mountains." He was then living in Hualien and had the added advantage of having a marble factory available.
Yang also sees stone rooted in Chinese tradition, with its natural strength being used in gardens, rooms, and courts. Part of these roots include the giant stone Buddha statues at Yungang (雲崗石窟) near the mainland Chinese city of Datong (大 同). Impressed by these from his youth, Yang worked on several stone Buddha statues in his early years. Later, his stone sculpture would change its focus to become more integrated with the environment, or what he calls "lifescape sculpture." One of his most famous lifescapes is a combination of giant rocks and stainless steel sculptures for the International Golf Course in Tokyo.
"We make the environment, which in turn remakes us," he says. He has giant marble pieces around the world, including "Peace and Prosperity," "Echo of the Phoenix," and "Flight" in Singapore. In Japan, a round marble sun rises over a curving landscape in the work "Dawn." Set against the background of a lake, this piece of art imitates and complements nature.
Lin set out as a gymnastics teacher, but with the passing of the years he found that his strength and flexibility were diminishing. His aging body was unable to keep pace with the demands of this field. As he humorously puts it, "I didn't want to be put in a situation where I would have to demonstrate for my students and be unable to perform."
Fortunately, an early appreciation of art meant that Lin was able to train himself in the fine arts. After winning first prize for a sculpture piece entitled "Paint" in 1972, he had the confidence needed to pursue this field. He began to specialize in stone sculpture, his reason being that such sculpture lasts for thousands of years. He also discovered that his years of rigorous training as a gymnast paid off when faced with the physical demands of large works in stone.
The majority of Lin's works are medium in size, ranging from 2.5 to 3 meters high. He works in marble, granite, and other types of stone. His work is displayed indoors and outdoors. Lin's style is semi-abstract and symbolic; he believes an artistic environment should be not so much realistic as poetic. He says that he wants his works to display both the nature of the medium and the nature of what he depicts. He would like to see his work "Affection" placed beside a stream, to "blend with nature and be surrounded with lit lamps to make it lyrical and affecting."
Lin's work can be seen at the Hualien Stone Sculptural Festival between March 23 and April 19. For more information, contact the Hualien County Cultural Center at tel: (038) 227-121 or fax: (038) 227-665. Lin's works can also be seen in Yilan and in the Taiwan Museum of Art in Taichung.
Some of Yang's stone works can be seen, along with other pieces, in his Lifescape Sculpture Museum at 31 Chungching South Road, Section 2, Taipei, for more information, tel: (02) 396-1966. One of his stone Buddhas is on display at the National Museum of History, 49 Nanhai Road, Taipei.
Copyright 1995 Vision International Publishing Co.