Anticipating some skepticism about the combination of figures made of all natural materials with ones of largely metallic construction, Hu articulated his idea for the decoration of the raised platform that is given to each artist or group of participants in the Taipei Lantern Festival. "Although I like to work with natural materials the best," he commented, "I want to have something for everyone...Society in itself is very complex. This year, in order to have something that will appeal to both the young and the old, I have developed the idea of using traditional images along with futuristic ones to bring together both ends of the spectrum in a single art exhibition." Incidentally, the theme that Hu is designing his exhibition around is the same legend that inspired the art work on the cover of this month's issue of Travel in Taiwan, "Rats' Wedding."
Painstaking Efforts
Hu begins the process of making lanterns by drawing rough sketches which later become intricate color drawings. Next come the frames which are made out of strips of bamboo; then limbs and even facial expressions are created by carefully positioning wire coils. Electric lights as opposed to the candles used in the past are mounted on rods that run through the bodies of the lanterns. A layer of cloth or paper masks the lantern interiors, giving them lifelike qualities and luminescence. Before arriving at the final design, Hu will experiment with a number of different shapes and colors. This is one of the reasons he begins construction months ahead of time. Quoting a Chinese proverb, "haste makes mistakes," Hu stressed that he likes to take his time while working. "I experiment a lot," he said, "and I am forced to throw away many pieces I am not satisfied with."
After countless alterations of design and lighting, Hu's lanterns are ready for the final stage: a full-scale "dress rehearsal." In the case of this year's lanterns, this means actually putting clothes on his largest rat lanterns. Last year, in order to get a large enough area to simulate the size of his exhibition platform, Hu had his assistants cordon off a section of the road in front of his house. Only after final adjustments were his lanterns ready to move to the site of the festival, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial.
The story of how Hu Wen-tzung came to be a participant in the Tourism Bureau-sponsored Taipei Lantern Festival is an interesting one. Prior to the 1995 festival, Hu had never made an lantern before. An instructor of flower arrangement at the National Palace Museum, as he tells it, years spent mastering this traditional art form taught him how to utilize space and bring out lifelike qualities in artwork. Often attending the festival in the past, Hu was miserable looking at the work of other artists when nothing of his own creation was on display. Two years ago, he approached the Tourism Bureau about constructing a lantern display of his own.
"People were skeptical about letting someone whose expertise was in flower arrangement make a lantern exhibit," he recalled, "so I offered to pay for the cost of construction myself." Hu insisted, however, that he knew in his heart he would be successful: "If you understand art, all art is the same; so I told the people at the Tourism Bureau that if they liked my artwork, they could provide financial support for my exhibit the next year."
A Master's Modesty
Hu's effort paid off. His 1995 Year of the Pig exhibit not only received rave reviews, but his lanterns were sent along with other pieces from Taiwan to be shown in Paris and New York. He has since been contacted by a numerous reporters and admirers of his artwork. This time, with the support of the Tourism Bureau, Hu began preparing almost a year in advance for the lantern festival in March. In spite of the shower of praise he has received since last year's festival, Hu often belittles the successfulness of his recent artwork. "Achievement and success are two different things," he noted. "I can be successful just by picking up some flowers, placing them in a pot, and arranging them in a way that brings out their beauty. For me success is defined merely as making something beautiful from something very simple." Hu's artistic perspective and personality are clearly reflected in his lanterns, which are at once simple and very expressive.
With Hu Wen-tzung's depiction of the famous "Rats' Wedding" theme, along with all the other spectacular lantern exhibits, the 1996 Taipei Lantern Festival promises once again to be a delightful experience for thousands of local and foreign visitors alike.