Abstract / Symbol / Oriental Exhibition of Taiwan’s Masters of Modern Art
The target of Chu Ko’s “cultural chauvinism” obviously included the Chiang’s regime, whose r uling par ty had per severingly been tr ying to revive the Chinese culture and the bureaucracy in the tradition of literati painting during the Ming and Qing dynasty. Also, it indicated the arrogance and self-confinement of the KMT cultural policy makers. In his ar ticle, he criticized that the so-called “National Painting” was totally lack of reflection and was the daydreams of the moron “Chinese painters”. He suggested that people here should abandon egotism of being the center of East Asians to avoid self-humiliation. To enlighten culture, people need to embrace the concept of “East Asian Commonwealth” and, therefore, create a real painting, belonging to the 20th century. 4
II. The Continuation of the Unfinished “May Fourth Movement” in Taiwan The “modernization movement” of the Chinese ink painting, which Chu Ko had been working on for decades, though under the toughest, the bleakest, the most terrifying political environment, could be regarded as the continuation of the May Four th Movement in post-war Taiwan. Chu once said, “The KMT government did not introspect itself on the fundamental cultural level, nor did they cherish the spirit of the May Four th Movement… On the contrar y, they took the side of the old culture, which they originally wanted to over throw, thus, causing the turbulence and segregation for decades… New painting should have had the chance to prevail like vernacular Chinese and become a painting form to lead the development of the culture.”
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It shows that Chu Ko thought that the origin of
the corr uption of the cultural development was the indifferent attitude the KMT government had toward the May Four th Movement. As a consequence, none of the revolutionary improvements had been made culturally. These remarks hit the bull eye when it comes to the sufferings and agony the modernization of the Chinese culture has endured over the past hundred years. In the mean while, they pointed out the incapability and shor tsightedness of the authority. Liu Kuo-Sung gave more detailed explanation about Chu Ko’s viewpoint: 4
Regarding Chu Ko’s thoughts and discussion on the
The failure of the May Fourth Movement was partly because they forgot about art. They forgot
modernization of Chinese painting, please see his ar ticle
the role that art played in the Italian Renaissance… Because of the deeply-rooted bureaucratic
in Taiwan Shin Sheng Daily News on July 12th, 1967. It was
thought … it ruined the development of creativity and the assertion of individual personality.
“The Discussion on Modern Chinese Painting” published later included in Essays on Contemporary Painting in Taiwan 1945-1990, edited by Jason C . Kuo (Taipei: Lion Ar t
And at that time, artists with self-awareness were far and few in between… After the KMT
Publication, 1991), pp. 118-135.
inhabited Taiwan, most of the revolution-conscious artists were left behind the iron curtain, and
Times Weekly, April 1st, 1990.
118
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Chu Ko, “Establishing the New Chinese View”, in China