Jerome Chia-Horng Lin
ICUL CTION C o n t e m p o r a r y
A r t
R e v i e w
Special Issue
education. Art offers an outlet for our instrincts to relinquish the constraint. As an artist, I simply follow the human nature. Symbolic strategies are essential for communication purposes because most of us recognize certain cultural protocols via symbols. Some artists invent their own syntax of symbols as if it's a new language. I found it very interesting and amazing. I also think the overwhleming mass media including internet spur this trend further. On top of that, general public are thrilled by tempestuous information and loose the patience on virtually everything. Obscure and subtle metaphors in art are getting harder to draw attention, no mention about media report. The usage of psychological, narrative elements in art is not a new idea. Take Hieronymus Bosch(1450~1516) for example whose work is known for its fantastic imagery, detailed landscapes, and illustrations of religious concepts and narratives. If you study his art more, you might rediscovery the Contemporariness within his creation. Historically art repeat itself in a regular pattern but never the same. If we define the Contemporariness as a way of thinking, they were there for centuries. As to the last question, I have to say it's an interesting journey for me. When I was a fine-arts major in college, my interpretation of narrative has nothing to do with timeline. It's like taking a photograph you intend to seize a moment and rearrange it to the canvas. After I receive trainings and hand-on practices on animation production, I learn a very clear awareness of timeline for my canvas. It's a
very different mentality before and after. I intend to do both ways. One process is that I slice stills from the movement to compose my paintings. Another is I have the paintings in related sequences, then I try to animate them. Typical animation production is using the latter technique. But the mainstream animation storytelling emphasizes on the story structure and down-to-earth appeal while I am into abstract and surreal atmosphere. The experience of animation gives me a different way of thinking. The dialogue established by colors and texture is a crucial part of your style: in particular, the effective combination between intense nuances of tones sums up the mixture of thoughts and emotions. How much does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones you decide to use in a piece and in particular, how do you develop a painting’s texture? Moreover, any comments on your choice of "palette" and how it has changed over time?
Nowadays I usually stare at the ongoing painting for a while to sense it's need. It seems to possess it's own soul to enage a visual conversation with me. For me mind is more powerful than brain. I used to think a lot when I paint. Gradually I learned to 'listen' and feel the paintings than to use my brain. One thing I know for sure is my pallette relfects my emotion of every different era. As I look back at my paintings years ago. I recalled those memories at that time, knowing how I feel at that moment and particular event triggering that concept.
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