Special Exhibition 'Tree of Life' of Late Outsider Artist Hung Tung Revives Folk Vitality

(CNA Reporter Chiu Tsu-yin, Taipei, 12th) The late outsider artist Hung Tung, who once created a sensation in Taiwan, is the focus of a new special exhibition organized by the Ministry of Culture's Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center. Titled 'Tree of Life - Hung Tung's Creation and Taoist Folk Art', the exhibition revives the vitality of Taiwanese folk culture through his unconventional works and will open tomorrow at the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center in Taipei.

A pre-exhibition press conference was held today. Deputy Minister of Culture Wang Shih-ssu said in her speech that Hung Tung was a legendary artist whose creations brought new perspectives and understanding to his time. Through his works, people could see 'this seems to be Taiwan, this seems to be the self we are familiar with.' More importantly, she noted, his creations reflected the zeitgeist of Taiwan in the 1970s.

Ho Cheng-kuang, publisher of 'Artist' magazine, mentioned in his speech that Hung Tung's first solo exhibition in 1976 attracted a massive crowd, especially visitors from all over the country. Many were ordinary people and students who had never attended an art exhibition before, drawing over 200,000 visitors during the entire run.

Academia Sinica Academician Lee Fong-mao stated in his remarks that Hung Tung received no formal education and had no teachers. Instead, the 'Nankunshen Daitian Temple' was his teacher, and he created himself within the atmosphere of temple culture.

Lee added that in the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas', there are no absolute boundaries between humans and objects; they are interconnected. 'Hung Tung's paintings can be seen as a mythological archetype, a manifestation of the mind. To him, a person can grow into a tree, and a tree can grow into a person,' Lee said.

The special exhibition is presented in four major themes: 'The Life of Flowers and Trees - The Creative Expression of Hung Tung's Work', 'The Artistic Presentation of Words/Paintings', 'The Embodiment of the Taoist Cosmology', and 'Hung Tung's Creation and Folk Beliefs'. It juxtaposes Hung Tung's paintings with Taoist folk artifacts, illustrating the resonance between folk rituals and artistic language through cross-references of Buddhist statues, talismanic lines, and embroidery crafts. The exhibition features over 130 sets of items. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150612