Suitcase Art Project: Imprint of Stories and Memories

• Main Authors: Chen, Li-hsuan, 陳俐璇
• Other Authors: Wu, Ma-li
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/pyhr63

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 跨領域藝術研究所 === 97 === In early times, literacy was not prevalent in Taiwan, and thus, it gave birth to professions such as readers and stenographers. People depended on one another more due to this lack of literacy. However, because of progress literacy rates grew and stenographers and readers became obsolete. This literacy growth decreased the interactions between words and people. Knowing the lost rich relationships, The Suitcase Art Project was initiated. Through the project, I intended to rejoin stories to people, using chops as the media to carry stories from various locations. The chop users’ own life experiences will influence the tales they relay, so each tale will be different. The chops connect the storytellers, story listeners, writers and printers, through the engraving and sealing. One stop during The Suitcase Art Project creation, I carried a suitcase to Dapu in Chiayi, Kaohsiung Cultural Center and Houwo Community in Matsu to compile and compose stories. The suitcase is where the media is transported. Carrying the suitcase, traveling to different spatiotemporal scenes and engraving in chops, provided a vestige of life for those obsolete professions. The experience also started a dialogue within the Kaohsiung Cultural Center and the Houwo Community about what I observed during the trip and what I had experienced in life. That dialogue has inspired me and provided a muse and drive for more chop art creation.