陳泓易《李俊賢的尤里西斯之旅與惡之華》

李俊賢的尤里西斯之旅與惡之華

陳泓易 / 台南藝術大學造形所助理教授

 <李俊賢的尤里西斯之旅>

　　李俊賢是一個史詩書寫者。將他的作品並置起來你會發現其間銜接著詩體的韻律與節奏，尤其是他特有得超然視野與歷史感的角度。

　　史詩是一種口頭吟誦的文學藝術形式。在每一次口口相傳的重複中創造出差異。從最古老的巴比倫史詩「吉爾伽美什」(Gilgamesh)或者古希臘的「伊里亞德」與「奧迪賽」以及古印度的「羅摩衍那」(Ramayana)「摩訶婆羅多」，史詩經常是建構一個民族的精神主體的核心媒介。倘若以結構主義角度分析，大部分史詩都具備了某些共同基礎，如冒險、放逐、出征、災難、神助以及人神合體的精靈妖怪。

　　如果說李俊賢的繪畫具有史詩的內涵，那特別是因為他的藝術創作歷程有某種尤里西斯般的結構形式。希臘電影導演安哲洛普洛斯將荷馬的尤里西斯之旅隱喻成一個自我回歸與自我追尋的過程。

 　　在特洛伊城戰爭之後，尤里西斯海上出發要返回自己的王國家鄉綺薩嘉(Ithaca)島，然而在海上卻遭逢諸多奇遇。他遇到女巫奇爾珂(Cierce)，海上女神嘉利坷娑(Calypso)，受到雅典娜幫忙，最後漂流到小島受到Nausica的款待再回到故鄉。高雄就是李俊賢的綺薩嘉(Ithaca)，紐約則是他的流動的華麗饗宴，一如法伊耶克島上的諾西佳(Naussica)，而在藝術家作品中經常被強調呈現的靖海女神媽祖則彷彿是一直暗中幫助尤里西斯度過種種難關的雅典娜。

　　尤里西斯敘述一個海島子民遭逢的奇遇歷險，而李俊賢親身去經歷這個冒險，並且用史詩的眼光與視角去詮釋每一個似乎親切又非常詭譎的劇場化人物表現。這似乎是李俊賢的「台灣計劃」創作歷程。

　　李俊賢說：「從一九八九年以後，我就逐漸把一些自覺具有台灣本土色彩，又具有歷史意義的符號拿來研究，並作為創作題材。因為對歷史的關心，對於將“時間性”在平面藝術中表現，亦投入頗多心力，這種在“靜止的平面空間”表現時間流程的概念，使我對於藝術表現形成的思考，得以觸及到許多新的領域層面。」

然而李俊賢的漫遊心路歷程都在他的創作上留下痕跡紀錄。從高中到大學時期，他彷彿是一個自我放逐的漫遊者，而此時的遊人心態及創作呈現的是強烈的「唐吉訶德」式的一心外求卻永遠企及不了邊界的一種精神漫遊。畫面上呈現出一種孤獨旅行者的眼光與旅程，一種找不到出口的鬱悶與苦澀。細看此時的繪畫風格都能找出某些似曾相識的「藝術正確」的筆觸，就好像盡讀騎士古書篇章卻未曾真正出遊的唐吉訶德。

　　此時出征只是想像，然而模仿這些學院學習的符號卻無法在可見的真實世界中具體的呼應。典範的學習與知識性的閱讀與真實生活產生艱鉅而且巨大的落差。當他在前鎮草衙感受到真實生命的能量與美好時，卻還沒有辦法將世界的真實轉化成符號。於是用抽象的學院符號來企圖解決生活真實的經驗，儘管語彙過度熟練雅致，甚至充滿創意與動能，但此時的李俊賢並不滿意自己，甚至不確定是否要成為一個真正的藝術家。此時的紐約留學，是他具體而確切的生命出口，紐約讓李俊賢從唐吉訶德變成尤里西斯。

　　倘若我們輕易的把李俊賢歸類為本土風格的藝術家，以慣行認知的庸俗文化與俚俗語言呈現來定義其藝術，那我們是誤會了也看輕了藝術家的用心了。李俊賢是一個同時具備共時性(synchronique)與歷時性(Diachronique)深度視野的藝術家。

　　他總是能在歷史的向度中觀看當下的時空，他倘若具有本土的特質也是一種以土地為初衷關懷的一種深思的情懷，並非僅僅是表面層次的情緒發洩或者以本土之名的廉價濫情。

如果無法理解李俊賢在本土與台客形象背後的深度與高度以及其自我要求的堅毅與智慧，那我們就沒有辦法理解李俊賢這種深思的本土。

　　李俊賢的畫大部分以寫實為主，特別是他的風景畫中，經常出現拉高的視野所貫穿的透視表現。這是他個人的畫風也表現在他的社會介入與實踐行動之中。它所創見的高雄「黑畫」，規劃的「現代畫學會會訊」、「南方藝術」、「藝術認證」以及高度參與的「新濱碼頭」之中，我們都能看到他在藝術創作之外並行的理念與努力實踐的用心。

  

常人貴遠賤近向聲背實

　　文學家喬伊斯與漫畫家宮崎駿都曾經挪用尤里西斯的故事原型創作，而在他們的創作中，諾西佳(Nausica)都扮演了關鍵的角色，在李俊賢的史詩當中，紐約就是他的諾西嘉。李俊賢曾說：「紐約對我太重要了!」

　　完全開放胸懷的紐約學習經驗讓他體會到「台灣文化實在是太特別了」的結論。

　　心裡分析學家拉岡曾經將佛洛伊德心理分析的結構：“本我”、“真我”以及“超我”用語言學重構成「想像界」、「真實界」以及「象徵界」。而其中最關鍵的則是「鏡像階段」讓主體得以藉由他者建構自身的主體。在安哲洛普洛斯的尤里西斯之中，從calypso到Naussica都是尤里西斯要重新辨識真正的綺薩嘉(Ithaca)的鏡像。

　　紐約是李俊賢的鏡像，讓他從想像界進入到真實界，回台之後創造他個人語彙的象徵界藝術秩序。李俊賢說，由於人在紐約，台灣文化的意像卻開始鮮明起來。並使得回台灣之後更用心的去關照台灣各種特殊文化，多元並陳的尊重與生命。他認為美國一如台灣，歷史很短，使得美國藝術不比歐洲般擁有多重的歷史層次與借鏡。於是美國不面向歷史而面向社會，此一策略李俊賢運用在其面對台灣的藝術創作上，他總是積極的面向社會，並且將面向社會之後的所得在回饋到個人的藝術創作，並進而更注重文化藝術中的中心與邊陲的議題。認為上層文化與次文化需要互相參照而非排斥，多元並陳才能使文化藝術更為精采豐富。事實上這是一直是一個後殖民的命題，對台客形象的鄙視與迴避在某種程度上就是對後殖民東方主義的妥協與接受，它造成本體自我永遠的他者化，如果不是第三世界化或是黑奴化，在這種情況下自我認同持續的錯置，使得本體自我處於一種無入而能自得的尷尬境地，這是長期被殖民的台灣，在思考文化與本質時不可迴避的命題。

　　但同樣的，倘若以本土之名去正當化一切又變成是一種反向的暴衝，台客或者本土最糟糕卻又經常出現的情境是被無限上綱成某種民粹主義(populisme)，進而以本土之名來正當化面對世界時觀念與眼界的自我封閉，並且鼓勵粗糙膚淺的低級與庸俗。這種可能的文化危機情況在全世界的反全球化與本土化運動中屢見不鮮，這種認知與情緒很快就會轉成為拒絕開放包容的惡意排外(Xenophobia)。

　　這兩種極端情境無非都是「常人貴遠賤近，相聲背實」的結果，熱中迷惑的表象卻背棄真實的世界與自我。李俊賢選擇接受世界並進而攸遊其中，顯露一種無入而不自得的自在，李俊賢不同於其他自我標示本土的藝術家之處，在於他的台客認知不是僅限於膚淺狹隘的次文化，而是面對全球化之後的自我覺醒，一種在世界觀的文本概念下，在歷史深度中的自我追尋與自我認識。

　　如果我們認為留學紐約的藝術家與吃檳榔的李俊賢形象格格不入，那是因為我們自己內心的封建與後殖民預設立場，不雅或者不堪的不是檳榔這個被物化的客體，而是被殖民者內心的自卑與夢饜，李俊賢經常在作品中表達這樣的土地與文化認同概念，卻很少本地觀者或讀者能夠擁有像他一樣的獨立而不從(non-conformist)的勇氣，此時需要的事實上是一種跳脫自我進行對於自我的觀照。李俊賢的「台」不是膚淺的譁眾取寵，正如他自己說的「我現在的台是自然而且有自覺的」是某種經過「再確認」的立場與選擇，是一種「反映了開放社會對於環境現實，歷史現實的正面觀看思維的文化狀態」在這個自述中，開放心態是他強調的一個重點。

手路與氣口

　　李俊賢的繪畫中有一種不是油畫般描繪卻有點像書法般運行的筆觸，他運用猛烈的潑甩與暴烈(裂)的筆法形成他的另一種強烈個人特色，為了讓這樣的特色發揮到某種極致，藝術家甚至加入了文字語言的意象，而且是一些濃縮猛烈的發洩式字眼。其中更不惜使用鄉黨咒罵的字彙以期讓畫面劇場性的張力得以清晰凝鍊。如果我們不用風格來形容藝術家這樣的作法，那是因為風格是一種沒有名字的藝術史「沃夫林」，風格形成某種同一其內的均質性，他會將個人的身體感的痕跡抹去，李俊賢的這種作法勿寧是南台灣常說的「手路」，不論是評論辦桌料理或者廟宇建築大木作以及家具工藝等小木作，我們經常喜歡講「手路」卻不講風格。「手路」是一種個人辨識的密碼，它具備了集體潛意識投射的特質卻不會在風格的詮釋中消弭自我，手路可以解釋(表現)風格無法再現的身體感，特別是李俊賢的個人的潑甩筆法以及畫面構圖景深透視中的衝擊速度感。

　　在藝術家的自述中，談到這種手法形成的背景，他說：「青春期的生命中，腳踏車與西洋音樂所印證的高雄田野風景的內涵深度意像是「粗礪」與「ㄔㄨㄚ」的苦澀心境。」1980年代初入職場在高雄草衙的生命意像深刻的烙印在其生命認識中，他認定那就是高雄真正的城市底蘊，是高雄這個的性格核心所在：黏熱(熱烈)、草莽、粗重、濃濁。在這樣的手路之中，我們更看到了打狗黑手那種言語行為之間特有的「氣口」，一種脫去雅緻外貌的氣質性格本質。

如果一個字可以是一首詩！

李俊賢說：「“語言”似乎也是塑成台灣本土風格的一種重要因素。」

　　如果以台客的形象與氣質來將李俊賢與影響他的文學家如黃春明或王禎和一起比較，那就是淺薄而化約的胡亂認識這一位藝術家了。最早影響李俊賢思考的文學背景，事實上是羅曼羅蘭<約翰克里斯朵夫>與托爾斯泰<卡拉馬助夫兄弟>等文學的深度與密度，七等生與鍾肇政等本土文學的影響反而是在時間蘊釀與生命經歷之後才有了呼應。

　　倘若在九零年代曾經充滿了環繞本土議題的大量創作，在今天這些議題彷彿已經失去了光采而變得尷尬或者不合時宜。如果本土的能量逐漸消退，李俊賢認為，泛政治思維的刻意貶抑固然是原因之一，追求表相國際化的矮化也是，然而更重要的是藝術家無法創造出具備足夠創意的本土議題也是重要原因。果真如此，那表示當時有太多以本土之名卻進行消費本土之實的藝術家假面。創意的匱乏與消退是因為這些投機者並未曾真正深入去認識土地，尋找創作的材料元素，關於這一點，李俊賢的創意卻是不虞匱乏的。

　　除了土地之外，海洋與媽祖的意象也在李俊賢的大型創作中反覆出現，畫面中明確的黑水溝隱喻台灣與中國的一種特殊的關係。而最為動人的則是“蕭高應”(瘋狗浪)的字型圖象，將整個畫面的悲劇性誇張卻嘲諷的投射出來。如果不是海神普希頓阻撓，尤里西斯不會經歷如此多的苦難。相對於一個海島，瘋狗浪是海島週而復始永不止息的苦難象徵，相對於古希臘需要雅典娜，中世紀的歐洲需要聖母，海島台灣則不能沒有媽祖。這是一個人類各民族共同的救贖與寄託，在遭逢生命的苦難時，我們永遠需要一個母親的隱喻，賜與我們面對苦難的勇氣與智慧，或者，在一切都無能為力的時候，給予我們慰藉。李俊賢用繪畫創造一種文學所無能表現的張力，將豐富的戲劇性與情緒，濃縮凝結於一個事實上不存在的文字，卻具有像形、形聲、指事、會意、轉注、假借的文字的多重內涵意境。

 　　李俊賢以象形文字的符號意像，創造性的繁衍增殖，再濃縮組合成一個獨創的圖像文字，或者用幾個口語諧音的字，以形聲轉注假借，造成彷彿全新卻又熟悉的意像。其中濃烈的濁而粗重的情緒性口語，產生一種既是親切又彷彿被客體化了的詭譎辯證。有某種將「白日放歌須縱酒」或者「何仿吟嘯且徐行」還原成其最原始，最張狂的本質意味，呈現一種「惡之華」般的反差(Oxymore,oxymoron)的詩意。

　　詩人波特萊爾的「惡之華」經常被輕易的解釋成對於優雅古典品味的冒犯，對倫理美學的挑戰踰越似的譁眾取寵。以醜陋與粗鄙形成對中產階級既得利益者品味的顛覆，企圖某種程度討好缺乏資源的大多數群眾，以此作為象徵資本的交換手段。

　　這樣的錯誤解讀讓詩人的深刻用心被表面廉價化了。事實上，波特萊爾對於自己的創作與態度一直進行著某種斯多葛般的自省與嚴苛要求，不明究理者，把詩人吸食鴉片的行為當成是自我放棄的墮落，把街上的漫遊等同於流浪漢行徑，把它與妓女的交往當作是敗德與不倫，把他的花花公子(Dandyisme)行徑認為是追求外表的膚淺。這是既成印象(stereotype)讓惰怠的無知者怯於運用自我思考與判斷能力的罪過，這也是廉價化約的集體「慣習」(Habitus)。

　　詩人敘述了荒淫與沉淪，呈顯了墮落與巴黎生活之索然與厭煩，然而詩人既不放逸，又非迷醉酒及鴉片，詩人遠勝於虛偽認知他的評論者，這也是藝術家李俊賢的創作與生命實踐態度。對他人尊重，對自己要求，斯多葛般真誠的實踐自己的理念，這是惡之華的作者波特萊爾的精采之處，也是藝術家李俊賢的真誠之處。在某一個程度上，波特萊爾是將現實的惡轉化成審美的快感(tu m’as donne ta boue et j’en ai fait de l’or)，又或者，是某種不切實的預設立場蒙蔽了我們，讓我們無法發現我們輕易認為的醜惡表象下的真實與生命能量。

　　詩人書寫粗野，心思卻非常細密；他展現鄙俗，其人格修養卻真誠而自我要求。

　　在詩集中的詩XXIII，詩人寫道：「O,Sublime, grandeur, fangeuse, ignominie!」(O!崇高,偉大,污鄙,醜陋!).

　　就如同尤里西斯將遭逢Ciece，這不是崇高與下流的兩個世界，這不是想像與真實的兩個世界，在你我每個人心中，就同時存在著卑鄙於崇高，真實與幻想，理性與感性，這正是藝術最精采之處，它同時表達了那個可見的與不可見的我們的世界。

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee Jing-sheng’s Ulysses Journey & Les Fleurs du mal

Chen Hong Yi /Assistant Professor of Graduate Institute of Plastic Arts

Lee Jing-sheng’s Ulysses Journey

Jiunshyan Lee is an epic writer. If you appositely put his works together, you will find that the rhythm and the rhythm of the verses are well connected among them, especially his unique vision and transcendent perspective sense in history

Epic is a literary art form of oral recitation. It creates a difference in repetition in every word of mouth. From the most ancient Babylonian epic ”Gilgamesh” or ancient Greek “IIiad” and “Odyssey” to ancient Indian “Ramayana,” an epic is always regarded as core media in constructing a national spirit body. If it is analyzed in structuralist’s perspective, most epics all have a certain common basis such as adventure, exile, war and disaster, fabulous things and sacred man-god monsters or wizards.

Jiunshyan Lee’s paintings have more epic connotations especially than there are some certain forms of Ulysses-like structure in his artistic creative development. Greek film director Angelopoulos has made Homer's Ulysses journey into a metaphor of the process of self-regression and self-searching. 

After Troy war, Ulysses started on sea to go back to the hometown of his kingdom, Ithaca Island. And he encountered many adventures at sea. He met Witch Cierce, Sea nymph Calypso and was helped by Athena and finally drifted to an island and was treated by Nausica’s hospitality and then return to his homeland. While Kaohsiung is referred as Jiunshyan Lee’s Ithaca, New York is as his flowing gorgeous feast. Just like Naussica on Fayiyeke Island, in the artist's work it has often been emphasized to be presented as Jing Sea goddess, Matsu, seemed to be like Athena who had been secretly helping Ulysses to overcome various difficulties.

Ulysses described an adventure story of an island person encountered and Jiunshyan Lee wanted to experience such adventure and meanwhile to interpret each figure that seemed friendly and very treacherous performance in a theater with epic vision and perspective. This seems to have made up the creative process of”
Taiwan Plan” by Jiunshyan Lee.

“Since 1989, I have studies by gradually putting some symbols with conscious Taiwanese colors, and historic meaning as creative themes. Because my great concern about history, I have also put a lot of efforts in performing “Timing” in the graphic arts. Such concept of performing time process of "Stationary Flat Space" has inspired me the formation of artistic expression to reach the new level in many fields,” said Jiunshyan Lee.

However, Jiunshyan Lee has left tracks and records of his spiritual journey on his creations. While he studied in the senior high and college, he was like a self-imposed exile wanderer and at this time with such wandering mind, what he created to present was a strong “Don Quixote” heart – a roving mind seeking out but hardly reaching the border. The picture shows the vision and journey of a lone traveler, a kind of depression and bitter, failing to find the exit. If one takes a careful look at it, one can find some déjà vu “Art Correction” brush stroke from the painting style at this point, just like Don Quixote, a knight who had only read lots of ancient books but never went out traveling.

Going on an expedition at this point is merely an imagination. However, after imitating these symbols studied in the college, he failed to get any specific response from the visible real world. There was a strenuous and enormous drop between academic study plus informative reading and real life. When he experienced the energy and good time of real life at the former town Caoya, he could not transform the reality of the world into symbols. Therefore, he applied the abstract academic symbols to attempt to solve the real life experience. It spite that the applied words were excessively skilled and elegant, and sometimes even full of creativity and kinetic energy. At this point Jiunshyan Lee was not satisfied with himself and even not quite sure if he wanted to become a real artist. Studying abroad in New York at this time then became his specific and exact life outlet. And New York changed Jiunshyan Lee from Don Quixote into Ulysses.

If we handily classify Jiunshyan Lee as an artist having local style and further define his artistic presentation with vulgar culture and vulgar language known to the public, then we might have misunderstood and underestimated the artist’s great intentions. Jiunshyan Lee is regarded as an artist having deep vision of both synchronique and diachronique.

He was always able to watch the space-time in a historical dimension. If he has the local quality, it is also considered as a thoughtful feeling in initial caring about lands, not merely a surface-level emotional venting or a cheap sentimentality in name of local community.

If we fail to realize Jiunshyan Lee’s depth and height behind the local and Taiwanese image and its self-required determination and wisdom, we will also not understand such thought-provoking local presentation from Jiunshyan Lee’s.

Most Jiunshyan Lee’s paintings mainly relate to realism, especially among his scenic paintings, they always show a high-pulled prospective view throughout the performance. This is his personal style which is also reflected in his actions and practice among social involvement. Among his creative work like Kaohsiung “Dark Painting”, his planning “Modern Painting Association Newsletter” “Southern Art” “Art Authentication” and highly participatory “Xin Bin Pier,” we can see his great intentions both in the concept and efforts to practice besides his artistic creations.

Ancient valuable, modern despicable; seeking for vanity instead of reality
Both the writer Joyce and the animator Hayao Miyazaki ever applied Ulysses’s story prototype creation story. However, among their creations, Nausica played a key role. And in Jiunshyan Lee’s epic, New York was his Nausica. Jiunshyan Lee once said, “New York is so important to me.

The learning experience with fully open mind in New York made him realized the conclusion “Culture in Taiwan is so special!”

Psychoanalyst Lacan once reconstructed Freud’s psychoanalysis: “I”, “Real me” and “Superego” into “Imaginary” ”Real World” and “Symbolic.” And among them the most critical one is ”Mirror Theory,” which allows the body to construct its own body by others. In Angelopoulos's Ulysses from calypso to Naussica are, they are mirror images of real Ithaca that Ulysses would like to re-identify.

New York is the mirror image of Jiunshyan Lee, which allows him to enter the real world from the imaginary world. After he returned to Taiwan, he created his own artistic vocabulary symbolic order. Jiunshyan Lee said, because of being in New York, the imagery of Taiwan culture began to clear up. Besides, after he returned to Taiwan, he intended more to care about a variety of special culture in Taiwan, respecting life in diversification. He thought the US, the same as Taiwan, had short history and art in the US was not like art in Europe which owned multiple historical levels and so much to be learned. So the US chose to face the society instead of history. Jiunshyan Lee has then applied this strategy to face the artistic creation in Taiwan. He has always progressively faced the society and given what he has got after facing the society back to his personal artistic creation and further emphasized more on the center of cultural art and the border issues. He thinks that the upper culture should cross-refer the subculture rather than exclude it, both presenting in diversified way so as to make more splendid rich cultural arts. In fact, this has been a postcolonial proposition. The contempt and avoidance on Tai-style image, to some extent, means compromise and acceptance on postcolonial Orientalism. It has caused the embody itself to become self-other forever. If it is not assimilated by the third world or negro-slaved, under such circumstance, the continual misplacement of self-identity has put embody itself in an embarrassing situation that on one is contented. This is a proposition cannot be avoided in thinking about culture and quality for people in Taiwan who have long been colonized.

But again, if we attempt to justify everything in the name of localization, it will become a reverse violent conflict. Such worst situation Tai-style or the local often present is usually exaggerated into some kind of populilsme and further justify itself in the name of localization as self-enclosure to confront with the time and vision of the world as well as to support vulgar, low and shallow culture. This is often seen that such possible culture crisis happens in worldwide anti-globalization and localization movement. Such cognition and emotion will soon be converted into malicious Xenophobia which means a refusal to open inclusion.

These two extreme scenarios are nothing but a result of “Ancient valuable, modern despicable; seeking for vanity instead of reality.” which tells us one’s confused appearance seems enthusiastic but actually abandoning the real world and oneself. Jiunshyan Lee has chosen to accept the world and wandering in it, being indulged freely. This is how Jiunshyan Lee is different from other artists who self-label themselves as local ones. The difference is that his Tai-style recognition is self-awareness after confronting with globalization rather than being limited within shallow and narrow subculture, self-seeking and self-awareness in deep side of the history under the literal concept of worldview.
If we think the image between an artist, Jiunshyan Lee, who studied in New York and the same person who chews Bing Lang (Taiwanese chewing gum) is incompatible, that is because our own inner default position from feudal and post-colonial thought. That chewing Bing Lang is considered indecent or disgusting is rather Bing Lang becoming an object with material relations than an inner inferiority and a nightmare after being colonized long time ago. Although Jiunshyan Lee always expressed such concept of the land and cultural identity in his works, few local viewers or readers can own the same courage of non-conformist as he. Meanwhile the fact that is needed for now is an escape from one’s own self-contemplation of conduct. Jiunshyan Lee’s “Tai style” is not shallowly grandstanding. Just as he himself once said, “My Tai style now is natural and conscious,” is a position and selection after “reconfirmation” and also a “cultural situation that reflects the open society upon reality in the environment and the positive thinking in historical reality.”In his narration, open mind has become a key point that he has emphasized.

Craft and Style
Among Jiunshyan Lee’s paintings, there is one that is not a painting-like drawing but a brush stroke a little bit like calligraphy. He has applied brush stroke in violent splashing and violent cracking ways to form another strong personal feature. In order to elaborate such feature to some extreme extent, the artist has even added literal image, with some concentrated violent vent-type words. Among them, he also used local curse words to make the screen vivid and condensate in theatric tension. If we do not use style to describe what the artist has done, that is because style is an art history without names. (Wolfflin) Style shall form certain heterogeneity in it, but he will erase the track of his personal physical sense. What Jiunshyan Lee did is exactly called “craft” often said in southern Taiwan. Either a chef’s cooking or great wooden sculpture in temples, furniture or other small wooden craft, we often like to talk about his “craft” instead of “style.” Craft is considered as a personal identified code. It has the characteristics of a collective unconscious project, but will not self-eliminate in style interpretations. Craft can be explained (performed) of the body sense which cannot be created, especially Jiunshyan Lee’s personal splashing way of brush stroke and the sense of speed impact in perspective depth sense of the picture composition.
In the artist’s narration, when talking about the background how such craft was developed, he said, ”In my youth, the depth image of field in Kaohsiung shown by bikes and western music was a bitter mood called “rugged” and “jagged.” In the beginning 80’s, his career image when taking his first job at Caoya in Kaohsiung was deeply imprinted in his life understanding and he was sure that was Kaohsiung’s real city rooted culture and where Kaohsiung’s core quality was: sticky heat (enthusiastic), wild, heavy, strong and local. Among these crafts, we can even find the particular “craft” from the conversation of those “Dago” dark hands, a kind of essential character without an elegant appearance.

If a word can make a poem!

Jiunshyan Lee said, “’Language’” seems also to be an essential factor to mold a Taiwanese local style.”

If you attempt to compare Jiunshyan Lee by his image and quality of Tai-style with writers such as Huang Chun-ming or Wang Zhen who had affected him, it will certainly be shallow and careless to understand an artist like him. The literature background that had influenced Jiunshyan Lee the earliest, in fact, was the depth and thickness in literature such as Romain Rolland “John Christopher” and Tolstoy “Calama help Cardiff Brothers.” The influence of local literature like Qi Deng-sheng and Chung Chai-cheng happened later after a certain time in his career.

If in the 90’s there once were a large number of creations about local issues, for now these issues seem to have lost their luster and become awkward or inappropriate. If the local energy is gradually diminishing, Jiunshyan Lee thought that although one of the reasons certainly was general political thinking’s deliberately belittling and so was dwarfing the pursuit of globalization. However, what was more important was, another important reason was that the artists failed to create local issues with enough creations. If it was so, that meant there were too many fake artist who thought themselves were truly local in the name of localization. The lacking and diminishing of creativity was because these speculators did not truly profoundly understand this land. As to seeking for creative material elements, Jiunshyan Lee was certainly not short of creations.

Besides land, the image of ocean and Matsu were also repeatedly shown on the large-scale creations by Jiunshyan Lee. The vivid dark ditch on the painting was a metaphor of a special relationship between Taiwan and China. And the most touching one was the font image of “Xiao Gao Ying” (mad waves), which exaggeratedly projected the tragedy of the whole painting in a mocking way. But for Poseidon’s obstruction, Ulysses might not have suffered so hard. Relatively, mad waves are a suffering symbol of never-ending cycle of an island. Also, as Athena to ancient Greece, Holy Mother in medieval Europe, Matsu is essential to people living in an island like Taiwan. This is considered as a common salvation and sustenance of all human beings. When suffering in our life, we always need a mother’s metaphor, who can give us courage and wisdom to face difficulties; or, when we are helpless, she can timely comfort us. Jiunshyan Lee applied paintings to create a tension which literature cannot present to condense the abundant drama and emotion on virtually non-existent texts, wherein they own multiple conceptive contents of texts which contain shapes, phonogram, referring, knowing, transferring, and guising.

By applying the symbolic images of Hieroglyphics, Jiunshyan Lee condensed and composed original image texts by creative multiple reproduction, or made up a brand-new like but familiar images by applying several slangs in phonogram, referring and guising ways. Among them, strong turbid heaving emotional slangs have generated friendly but objectified as treacherous dialects to reduce to change “Singing by drinking in the day.” or ”Why not just sing and follow your heart?” into a most original, the most insolent quality to present an Oxymore poetry just like “Les Fleurs du mal.”

Poet Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du mal” was often easily interpreted as an affront to the elegant classical appreciation and as grandstanding to challenge passing over ethical aesthetics, to subvert the taste of vested interests of the middle class as ugly and vulgar conduct and try to curry favor most people who are lack of resources in certain degree as an exchanging means of symbolic capital.

Such misinterpretation led to make the poets’ profound intentions become popularly priced seemingly. As a matter of fact, Baudelaire had been introspected and stringently required in engaging in a Stoic attitude upon his own creation and attitude. Those who did not know the truth thought the behavior that a poet smoked opium as self-abandoned and fallen; considered those who were roaming on the streets as homeless tramps and regarded their contacts with prostitutes as harmful to the society’s morals; considered the way his playboy Dandyisme did as the pursuit of superficial appearance. Such stereotype made those lazy ignorant being afraid the fault to apply self-thinking and their ability to judge. This was also referred as cheap group Habitus.

Poets described the dissolute and degradation to present the fallen and dull and boring life in Paris. However, poets were either heedless or addicted to drinking and opium. Poets were far better than reviewers who recognized them as hypocrites. This is also the artist Jiunshyan Lee’s creative attitude and life practice. Respecting others and requiring oneself, sincerely practice one’s own concept in Stoic way compose the brilliant part of the writer Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du mal,” and also the sincere parts of the artist Jiunshyan Lee’s. In certain degree, Baudelaire transformed the reality of evil into aesthetic pleasure (tu m’as donne ta boue et j’en ai fait de l’or), or, some impractical default position blinded us and so we failed to find the truth and life energy that we easily believed they were actually ugly appearance.

Although what the poet had written is rough, his mind is quite fine; he showed vulgar, but his personality cultivation was since and self-required.

In a poem of Anthology XXIII, a poet wrote,

“O, Sublime, grandeur, fangeuse, ignominie!”

Just as Ulysses should meet Ciece, this is not two worlds of nobleness and nasty and not two worlds of imagination and reality. In everyone’s mind, both coexist, nasty and nobleness, reality and imagination, sense and sensibility, and it is the most brilliant part of art because it expresses both our visible and invisible world.

【5花雜[10]色．888．讚】李俊賢創作的五年紀錄