TRILOGY OF COLORS –
Chi Kuo-Chang Photo Image Art Exhibition
色彩三部曲-紀國章影像藝術創作展
Taipei Fine Arts Museum~ Room B02 ~
Exhibition Date : 23-04-2005~05-06-2005
Photographic artist Chi Kuo-Chang grew up in Sofong Township, Hualien. Between 1990 and 1993 he studied in Paris, receiving his Masters in Visual Arts from the Université Nationale de Paris VIII. His achievements include an award for excellence in art from UNESCO, qualifying him for the Paris City Council’s “International Residence” program for outstanding artists, and he had also taught at the Paris Photographic Institute as well as the Ecole Nationale d'Art.
Before studying overseas, Chi Kuo-Chang had worked for United Evening News newspaper as a photojournalist for nearly two years. During that time, he won the Best Taiwanese Photojournalism Award for 1988 as well as the 29th Chinese Culture Medal for Photography.
Achieved through hard work, these honors further emphasize this young artist’s passion for the art of photography.
In early summer 1994 Chi returned from Paris to present the first part of his “Trilogy of Color”, the “Symbols of Colors”. Its unique expression of abstract art photography and the visual impact of its rich colors reverberated through the art world in both Paris and Taiwan, drawing widespread media coverage.
Following his return, Chi continued to work creatively and teach at the same time. He also devoted much time and energy to promoting international cultural exchanges in the field of photography. He contributed regularly to Taiwan’s “Photodom” magazine on topics such as photography aesthetics and art reviews, and in every issue of the magazine introduced the works of European photographers from different periods and fields.
In October 1996, as the first secretary of the Chinese Photographers Cultural Association, Chi Kuo-Chang successfully organized the “1996 Taipei International Photography Festival”. Held in the B2 Art and Culture Space of Eslite Books’ Duennan store, it included large-scale works from three noted Western photographers and Taiwan’s pioneering photographer Deng Nan-Guang, fourteen academic seminars on photography, and the first ever four International Photography Educational Practical Workshops. This was followed with the “1998 Taipei International Photography Festival” at the National Museum of History. Around the same period, Taipei’s Jazz Photographic Gallery hosted the “Seven Contemporary Belgian Photographers” and the “Contemporary European and American Photographers” exhibitions. All of the these exhibitions were all planned by Chi Kuo-Chang, in addition to planning exhibitions of his own personal work, demonstrating his determination to promoting photography internationally.
The summer of 1997 saw Chi Kuo-Chang attend the “Les Rencontres Internationale de la Photographie d'Arles 1997“ at the invitation of its organizers and the French Ministry of Culture. This festival is the oldest and most prestigious international photographic art festival in the world, and for Chi Kuo-Chang, his first exhibition overseas. He was the first Taiwanese photographer to be represented at the festival in over twenty years.
Chi Kuo-Chang’s exhibition “The Dying Flower” at the Arles Festival was the second part of his "Trilogy of Color" series. During the month it was on display, it attracted much attention from fellow photographers in the French and European art establishment. The local media also covered it in detail. This led to much interest from leading contemporary art institutions such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Musee de l’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Galerie Nationale de Francois Mitterrand, Galerie Nationale de Colbert, Galerie Municipale du Château d'Eau in Toulouse, and National Online Gallery of Italy. These art institutions would later add Chi Kuo-Chang’s works to their collections and offer to host his exhibitions.
As the world prepared for a new millennium in 1999, France’s Ministry of Culture and the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris organized the “Millenium Exhibition of International Photographers”, which was to run from the summer and into the new year. Chi Kuo-Chang, as the only ethnic-Chinese photographer invited to contribute, presented his “Symbols of Colors” and “The Dying Flower” collections at the Galerie Nationale de Francois Mitterrand, the Galerie Nationale de Colbert, and the Galerie Municipale du Château d'Eau. His works made a great impression on European photographers.
When Chi Kuo-Chang returned to Taiwan in 1994, he found that the art of photography was neglected by the public at large. This was compounded by the impact of emerging digital camera technology in the “Pre-Digital Era”. More troubling still was the fear of the digital revolution overwhelming photography as an unique, subjective and creative art form. After much soul-searching, a reborn Chi Kuo-Chang fused the traditional and the digital to arrive at a new way to view the world through the camera.
With the camera as his brush, his life as the canvas, and art as his composition, he transformed every day objects into creative works of art, showing people that photography was not just about snapshots of scenery. Twelve years in the making, Chi Kuo-Chang’s complete “Trilogy of Color” will now be on show at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. These works are more than thought-provoking pieces of art – they represent a window into the soul of a dedicated artist. Through his eyes, we perceive a world that transcends the boundaries of time and space, and through the challenging images created by Chi Kuo-Chang’s camera, the people of Taiwan can communicate with the artist himself.
As a man who is interested in everything, Chi Kuo Chang says candidly: “In the ‘Trilogy of Color’, every step and every image reflects the ups and downs in my life. It is as if my inner thoughts and the memories are transformed into mirrors and frames. The camera then amplifies these inner spiritual energies to communicate to the world outside the artist’s hopes and expectations. To abandon my art would be tantamount to having a great chasm open up inside me, because nothing can replace the vibrant power granted by creating art.”
“As a man’s inner spirit grows in strength, so will the drive to create artistically increase,” Says Chi Kuo-Chang. “These two forces are intertwined and mutually supporting. An artist’s lot on Earth is not to drift through life comfortably. They have a task to complete, and this task is usually a heavy cross to bear.”
Exhibition Name: Trilogy of Color – Chi Kuo-Chang Photo Exhibition (by invitation)
Exhibition Location: Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Room B02
Exhibition Time: April 23 ~ June 5, 2005
(Previews from April 23 ~ 30)
以下為2005年前後,留法藝術家紀國章教授在法國現代美術館與台北市立美術館展覽前後重要媒體專訪報導:
留言列表
{{ article.title }}