“A Battle on Two Fronts: Political participation and personalized lyrical return,”

• Main Authors: Yu - An Ni, 倪又安
• Other Authors: 董振平
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/pm8x5x

碩士 === 國立臺北藝術大學 === 造形研究所 === 95 === This thesis, entitled “A Battle on Two Fronts: Political participation and personalized lyrical return,” is divided into four chapters. It discusses my personal multi-directional creations, their processes, as well as how they relate to my aesthetic viewpoints and sense of history. I, being the creator directly discussing the different points, have used the first person voice in the various chapters. Chapter I is an introduction entitled “The Gold Dust and the Sands of History.” Using simple words, I discussed the interdependence between historical values and ideology. Ideological (political partisan type) activities of struggle, used as the most important driving force behind the process of building art history, is often imbedded unnoticeably in trends and styles. Art as an area of knowledge, whether leading to a complete historical view or being transformed into myth, can by its nature, be explained as a process of turning soil into gold. In this chapter, I offered my own critique of the power struggles behind such artistic value system. Chapter II is entitled “Political Artistic Participation.” Here I discussed my four series of political art. “Political (the artistic type) participation” in struggles resembles impeding tanks with one’s own body. It means a clear recognition of my own position in the struggle and my conceptual basis, as I resist or dismantle the mainstream large framework that puts me under control, or as I undermine the myths it has created. Thus, “Political Artistic Creation” is also an interpretation of the struggles for power. Chapter III, “Personal Lyrical Return,” mainly probes into the traditional ink-wash culture (literati painting) and its relationship with my watermark woodcarving prints. I discuss a few of my frequently used reference targets (historical standards), and using such past classical works, again confirm the importance of ink wash and spirit of work in the process of creation. Chapter IV, the conclusion, is named “Artistic Battle—a kind of social practice.” This chapter resonates with the historical problems mentioned in Chapter 1 by stressing the non-neutral character of history. Here, I point out “social practice” as a way of practice in marginal warfare. Using current situations and examples, I offer an analysis of my personal views on struggles, and their future possibilities. Finally, the chapter closes with an optimistic view as I conclude a stage in my creative work and concepts.