Artist to Watch: YunMing Chang 張韻明 - Reverie on the green rice fields of Taiwan

TAAC's core commitment is through art to practice diversity, equality, and inclusion.

The depictions of horizontal moist and fresh green fields have lingered in the midst of our desolation period, and complements our relentless drive towards high technology.

We hope you do not begrudge praise and admiration.

Yunming Chang 張韻明

Reverie on the green rice fields of Taiwan

Summer Countryside, ink & color on rice paper, 2000

Are the effects of aesthetic signs only determined within cultural systems? Is this ethno-semiological? [1]

Unlike the last several decades, during the 1970s international art never flowed through a single channel to which a label could be attached; art was “diversified, split, factionalized” as Rosalind Krauss notes.[2] This splintering in art historical terms became manifest in Taiwan in the 1980s. Taiwan's history blends influences from its various colonizers; however, in the 1980s Taiwan recaptured its native culture identity, in reaction to being expelled from the United Nations and the lifting of martial law in Taiwan. The current in international trends was superimposed on this sea change in Taiwan’s circumstances in conformity with the conditions of the land and sea, thus forming a rich and complex culture.

In this Artist-To-Watch chapter, we feature stunning watery rice fields by Taiwanese artist Yunming Chang. Upon returning from three months of solo travel in mainland China, he adapted the techniques he had learned to Taiwan's renaissance of self-identity. With this innovation he made evident the connection to his rural roots, both in representational and later in abstract works. Chang dares place bright colors, particularly his characteristic vivid green, in brush ink to carry moisture on to rice paper, and takes as subject the surrounding environment. He demonstrates in a distinctive way a peaceful and pleasing farming life, orderly in a fascinating composition of staggered and horizontal lines. His art points out that seemingly natural boundaries of a rice paddy can be reconstructed and that they transect the painting screen. These countryside scenes, which speak so strongly to us, became his signature genre. A mix of melancholy with joy and exuberance gives these paintings an attractive sweetness. Whereas, the dark black ink smear is thick enough to shout out the unitary and partitioning forces.

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Lakeside, Asphalt and oil on canvas, 38 x 57 inches, 2008.

Chang applied asphalt to create a series of mysterious forests, bold black and pure white, reflected in the water and creating a tension, yet also an abstract tranquil beauty.

Secluded residence near water (臨水幽居)

27 x 27 inches, 2005

Yunming Chang 張韻明

Born in southern Taiwan, YunMing Chang currently lives and works in Taipei. He earned an MFA from Lindenwood University in St Luis, Missouri, and a BFA from National Taiwan University of the Arts, Taiwan.

In 1995, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award, National Taiwan University of the Arts. YunMing Chang is well-known as a stylist of color-ink. He has had solo exhibitions in numerous museums and galleries in Taiwan and internationally, such as National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Taipei Museum of Fine Art, and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Gallery. He also held many solo exhibits at art centers such as that at Lindenwood University; Chinese Cultural Center, Houston; Texas State Museum of Asian Cultures & Education Center, Corpus Christi, Texas; Art Expo, Taipei Cultural Center in New York City.

Some pieces of his recent work with different symbolism seemingly appeal to diverse portions of the underlying structure of logic. We note that he extends his palette to oil paint and even asphalt. At the age of 50, Chang studied in the US and subsequently traveled around Europe in order to broaden his perspective on art. The results prefigure an image of personal freedom under the premise of pursuing complete liberation in artistic creation. Twentieth century modern art, especially Antoni Tapies (1923–2012), Joan Miró (1893-1983), and COBRA (or CoBrA, [3]) has inspired him. He pays special attention to texture, which he shapes via rough, overlapping, collage etc., Chang's symbolic paintings express his complex emotional discourse and are characterized by the interplay between texture and line, as well as densely rendered colors. Examples are Key to the World and Affix (see below) in mixed media on canvas. He imbues his creations with rhythm and emotion through his innovative signifiers.

A view of the fishing grounds (漁塭一景), ink and color on rice paper, 27 x 27 inches. 2015

Key to the World, Mixed-media on canvas, 36 x 28 inches, 2016.

In the gold area, the paint is embodied with ropes. The lines symbolize the different lives that people lead. The circle represents a keyhole, a place to turn the switch and explore the unknown future.

Landscape, Chinese ink & color on rice paper, 54 x 11 inches, 2000

During a trip to Colorado, the scenery reminded Chang of the painting Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains (鵲華秋色) Zhao Mengfu (趙孟頫, 1254–1322), Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368). The conical hills recall one of the dominant hill types in Northern China. Chang augmented the original with his lemon yellow and green colors, and a layering laying to create a sense of depth. This pattern of organization makes his paintings appear very simple and approachable.

Brush ink painting on paper, traditionally seen as a typical Chinese technique, depicts a high mountain and water - in black and white - or the royal color applied in accurate renditions of hierarchy to palace architectural forms. Blank space on the paper is as eloquent as painted areas. However in Taiwan a body of colored ink painting has gradually proliferated its own authority to represent local, ordinary living landscapes. This discourse reaches its highest development in Yunming Chang's painting. If his basic ink painting technique nods to Chinese forbears, his rich tone in color might remind us of gouache painting that can be counted as Japan's influence.

Of course, an entirely accurate, hyper-realistic representation is antithetical to the spirit and conception of ink painting. The artistic imagination must exert its summary action on the scene. A deep green has been poured over the field; it is not a stormy power or gaudy but suggestive of the fresh moisture after the rain. Yet it also hints at a certain morbid lyricism, some kind of vulgarity of elegance. Clouds and sky are lost to view, with attention confined to black outlines of the land in Chang's paintings. The rice field edge loses its definition and is subordinated to the teeming emotion which the field carries. The black boundary is not lost bur repeated and amplified in the timbers of adjacent buildings.

When interrogating the eclectic possibilities in his ink, oil painting and different symbolic language expressions, we find something of the myth as the brush ink, and signs that Chang has taken from ancient cultures. Can we term ethno-semiological these effects of aesthetic?The product of several decades of activity as a professional artist this work unleashes patterns, or endless demolition of the self and negation the past. The operation of the universe is constantly moving simultaneously towards excellency and disorder. It is always Art that supplies Nature's lack, a voice that is a substitute for the voice of Nature.[4]

-- Luchia Meihua Lee, Curator

Notes:

[1] Institutions and Objections: Critical Revision, 1. Jacques Derrida (1930- 2004) 'The Exorbitant: Question of Method and 'the Engraving and the Ambiguities of Formalism', from Of Grammatology, in Art in Theory 1900-2000, An Anthology of Changing Ideas, ed. C. Harrison & P. Wood, 2002. Blackwell: MA, Oxford, pp.946-949

[2] Institutions and Objections: Critical Revision, 12. "Rosalind Krauss (1940-) 'Notes on the index, Part 1', ibid., p.994

[3] COBRA (or CoBrA) was a European avant-garde art movement active from 1948 to 1951

[4] op. cit. Derrida p.949

Affix(綴), mixed media on canvas,

69 x 27 inches, 2020

Light of Lake and Mountain (湖光山色), ink & color on rice paper, 54 x 27 inches, 2019

Four Seasons (four panels), ink & color on rice paper, 54 x 27 inches each, 1992

Details of Four Seasons, from it reflection of the water to greenish plants and yellow grain and the only winter traces.

Statement by artist Yunming Chang

Su Dongpo's wrote "Life is like a dream. Allow me to offer a drink to the river, the moon and its reflection." I say that if my life is a dream, then I raise a toast to art!

I shouldn't be an artist, but a fisherman or a laborer, but fate is so wonderful. I was born in a very remote fishing village in southern Taiwan; there were only 6 families with no water or electricity, and the houses had thatched roofs. After graduating from elementary school, I had to work on a fishing boat fishing with my father and brother. But I got seasick frequently and was not cut out to be a fisherman! In despair, my family had to borrow money for me to continue studying.

The most important thing for an artist is to keep creating! Treat artistic creation as a lifelong pursuit! The older you are, the fewer your good friends, and no matter how much you say or how fluent you are about your work, you will inevitably be lonely! To paraphrase Su Dongpo, "human life is fleeting, accidental, and temporary - just like a bird’s footprints in mud."

To read the complete artist statement-click here

Image above: Protector (守護者),

ink & color on rice paper, 27 x 27 inches. 2011

To read a complete artist self description, click here

Click here to read : 以畫為詩為賦一張韻明藝術創作自述

to read article : 從鄉野到圖騰

To read article click here : 聚落圖象 - 張韻明魅力城市系列

Click here to read : 張韻明早期專心於水墨畫創作長達二十餘年

Ranch Scene

ink & color on rice paper,

27 x 27 inches, 1992

More information: Yunming Chang

Portfolio website:

https://changyunming.weebly.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/yunming.chang.7

Youtube:

水畫廊張韻明油畫 2014.12.26

https://youtu.be/utZLGeoIz4o

email: artist.taiwan@gmail.com

After the Rain (雨後)

ink & color on rice paper,

27 x 27 inches, 1994

Scarves with images of YunMing Chang's art

Material: 100% virgin wool
Property: Top quality 13um Albas virgin wool, with CQA washing, carding, natural dyeing, spinning, weaving, finishing – in all, more than one hundred processes.

** Reaching Hermes standards.

Characteristic: World class art works with vivid, natural colors. Non-allergenic, delightful to the touch, and environmentally friendly, this reversible scarf feels like cashmere.

Mask, Mixed-media on canvas, 47 x 47 inches, 2017

Indigenous totems mixed with his signage appeared in Chang's later works.

Contact: info@taac-us.org if you are interesting to support this artist in any creative way.

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- The TAAC team wishes you cool, safe summer time

The Song of a Thousand Winds -

Mourning the loss of Mr. Democracy of Taiwan Lee Teng-hui

化成千風-感念台灣民主先生李登輝千の風になって

https://ll-greenyes.blogspot.com/2020/07/blog-post.html

Image courtesy of artist

Stephanie Cheung & Chengwen Lin

Image courtesy of artist

Fang Yeh

Image courtesy of artist

Yen-Hua Lee

Exhibition: Urban Reverence, New York (paused due to coronavirus)

The phenomenon of migrants forming an international cross-cultural "urban tribe" is one of the urgent topics in the 21st century. Analyzed historically in the context of the planet and symbiosis, this involves the survival of human beings and maintenance of balance among various living things. The discourse thus moves to valuing human nature, preservation of multiple cultures, the environment, and the new multi-faceted unity. Potential political, economic, and cultural crises can only be averted by an emphasis on the diversity of life that promotes interactive relationships.

Curatorial team:

Chief Curator: Luchia Meihua Lee, Executive Director, TAAC

Co-curators: Jennifer Pliego, Director of Special Programs and Head of the House of Art, El Taller Latino Americano, NYC

Sarah Walko, Curator, Director of Education & Community Engagement, Visual Art Center of New Jersey

Urban Tribes-II Urban Reverence Participating artists

Herberto Turizzo Anaya, Reinhard Blank, Dennis Redmoon Darkeem, Catherine Lan, Wei Lee, Yen-hua Lee, Stephanie Cheung/Chengwen Lin, Shih Pao Lin, Eleng Luluan, Sarah Haviland, Diana Heise, Hiroshi Jashiki, Alexander Khimushin, Rosalía Mowgli, Walis LaBai (Dingwu Wu), Sarah Walko, J. Maya Luz, Chin Chih Yang, Yeh Fang

2019 Urban Tribes-I Urban Caravan Participating artists: Ando, Steven Balgh , Ching Yao Chen, Yutien Chang, Jen Pei Cheng, Chemin Hsiao, Andrea Coronil, Felipe Galindo, Mingjer Kuo, Pey-Chwen Lin, Yi-Chun Lo, Kelly Tsai & Ryan Hartley Smith, Yu-chuan Tseng, Lulu Meng, Pei Shih Tu

LIGHT YEAR 51-We the People & LIGHT YEAR 53-From People to the Land