盧昉,台灣藝術家,持續在創作中,尋找自我的定位。
出生於外省裡更外省的家庭,俗稱台灣外省人第二代,過去曾長時間居住在美國和西班牙。2008 年底,再次回到台灣,試著找尋在這片土地上的歸屬感,又或是與他生命的連結。當時台灣正流行村上隆等卡漫畫風,與他在西班牙學習的古典技法大不相同,加上剛回國的文化衝擊,諸多的因素讓他在新的環境裡努力找尋自我定位。因此,他開始模仿知名古畫,透過擅長的寫實技法,加入偏卡漫風的自畫像,大鼻子誕生了。
爾後,在畫作中,也加入台灣的身影,像是辦桌、廟宇、臺北橋機車瀑布等文化元素。他說:「在某些人心中總有段美好年代,對我來說,是 80 年代的台灣。雖然印象已逐漸褪去,但我希望透過這些畫作,去找尋一個『我想要的台灣』,不單單是為了懷舊。」。
或許,有些觀賞者會覺得盧昉是在惡搞古畫,然而,畫作中的古代西方人,對於他來說,宛如靜物一般,並沒有太多的感情投放,反倒,某個層面上是在惡搞自己。多年來對於自己身份的混淆與矛盾,希望透過挖掘台灣 80 年代的美好時代,「修補」那段他未參與,或有點脫節的歷史與記憶。結合古典畫派與文化衝突的因子,描繪他心中東西方文化的融合與矛盾。
後來,我問他:「你和大鼻子的關係是親密還是疏離?」 他靦腆地說:「有時候蠻認識自己,但也隨著生命的改變,會覺得一部分的自己,很喜歡玩電動,很喜歡小時候的東西。大鼻子有著小孩子的模樣,但我已經是 40 幾歲的人了,所以大鼻子應該是個『很老的肥小孩』,也算是我對自己筆下的一種刻畫。」。
除此之外,同時也是基督徒的他,對於信仰有種奇妙的關係。作品中,總有著宗教畫的氣息。像是仿效文藝復興時期油畫之父 揚·凡·艾克﹝卡農的聖母﹞ 的「大鼻子與聖母」,聖母瑪莉亞懷裡抱著大鼻子,這意想不到的反差是畫家盧昉希望可以傳達的訊息:「難道聖母瑪莉亞與耶穌一定是白人嗎?」
在未來的作品裡,盧昉也預計用溫柔幽默的方式,試著去探索宗教的底線,將信仰帶入一點人性。
Lu Fang is a Taiwanese artist who explores the self through creating.
Born into a Chinese immigrant family, Lu Fang is known as a second-generation mainlander in Taiwan. In the past, he has also lived in America and Spain for a period of time. In 2008, Lu Fang came back to Taiwan to search for a sense of belonging and connection to his life. At the time, caricature style, such as Takashi Murakami’s art, was popular in Taiwan, which greatly contrasted with the traditional painting techniques he learned in Spain. In addition to the different art styles, many other elements resulted in culture shock for Lu Fang. However, this became his motivation for self-exploration which led to his unique, now iconic, style, the Big Nose, a mixture of both traditional and caricature styles.
Lu Fang also adds in elements of Taiwan, such as roadside banquets, temples, and "motorcycle waterfall" into his paintings. He said, “Inside everyone’s heart, there will always be a period of time that is special to them. To me, that period of time would be the 80s in Taiwan. Even though I do not recall much from the past, I hope that through my artworks I will not only recall my old vision of Taiwan but also discover my ideal vision of Taiwan.”
To some people, Lu Fang’s art style may be a spoof of traditional paintings; however, to Lu Fang, his paintings are more of a spoof of himself. As a third culture kid, he doesn't see himself fitting in either the Western or the Eastern cultures. He is unable to relate with the Westerners featured in Western paintings, as they are still foreigners to him. However, he is also unable to relate completely to the local Taiwanese culture as he never had the chance to fully experience Taiwan. In order to make up for the experiences he is missing from both cultures, Lu Fang decides to mix in elements of traditional Taiwanese culture into Western paintings.
During the interview, I asked him, how’s the relationship between you and Mr. Big nose? Are you close or distant?
He said, “Sometimes I know myself well but through life changes, a part of me is still childlike. Mr. Big Nose is a metaphor of myself, an old childlike middle-aged man.”
On the other hand, Lu Fang is also a Christian. Some of his works include religious paintings. For example, he parodied ﹝The Madonna with Canon van der Paele﹞by Jan van Eyck, the inventor of oil painting during the Renaissance, in his artwork “Virgin and Mr. Big Nose”. In this piece, the Virgin Mary is not holding baby Jesus in her arms but Mr.Big Nose. The humorous and satirical painting calls into question of how the Virgin Mary and Jesus are almost always portrayed as white.
In his following artworks, Lu Fang will use his way to explore the bottom line of religion with his gentle humor and bring some humanity into religion.
- 邀請您一同在 8/10 Portraits-The way in 肖像:探幽之徑 藝術餐會中,認識這位有點幽默直白又帶點感性的藝術家 盧昉。
You are invited to join us on Aug 11 at one of the hidden private kitchens in Taipei to get to know this amazing artist, Lu Fang. - 時間 Time:6:30PM - 10:00PM, August 9-11, 2019 地點 Place: 狐偲 La Renardiere 了解更多資訊與訂票連結 EXPLORE MORE INFO & BOOK TICKETS: https://www.thestudio-invite.com/portraits - 協辦單位 Co-organizer: 多納藝術 Donna Art
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