We must regain confidence in our culture
訪談1980/12/15
Michelle Pao
Yuyu Yang is an internationally known sculptor and environmental designer. His designs were used for the ROC pavilions at world fairs in Osaka and Spokane; his large-scale sculptures grace buildings in Taiwan, Singapore, the United States, and other places; he has designed parks in such countries as Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. His artistic interests and accomplishments cover a very wide range; most recently, one of his main occupations has been laser art. In this conversation with Economic News staff reporter Michelle Pao, Yang talks of his experiences and his feelings about art, nature, and culture.
My Ancestors Must Have Done Something Good
When I look back, I feel very lucky and full of gratitude to my ancestors. They must have done something good, and I am being repaid for the virtue they accumulated. I have been blessed not only in having good teachers since childhood, but also in having the opportunity to experience different cultures and environments.
I was born in Taiwan, in Ilan – a beautiful country with mountains and seas in the northeast part of the island – and there I had a very happy childhood that taught me the grandeur of nature. My later experiences in Peiping, Tokyo, and Europe gave me a chance to understand the differences and the richness of various cultures.
Also, compared with the experiences of many artists, I have been very lucky in being able to make a living all my life at something that interests me When I have done, I think, could not have been achieved by myself alone; I have always had a lot of help from my friends. When I went to Italy, I remember, I could not speak a single word of Italian; but I lived there happily for three years and learned a lot about painting, architecture, sculpture, and landscaping. I must say also that I am full of gratitude to my family, who taught me what love is and helped me learn how to live with other people.
Art for Art’s Sake Is Outdated
My eight years in Peiping taught me the greatness of Chinese culture. Culture is not something on display in a museum; I know what Chinese culture is from the physical environment, architecture, the way people live, and the way people treat each other in Peiping. Culture is something that is connected very intimately with life. You can find harmonious relationships among the grounds, palaces, and ordinary people’s houses in Peiping, and from those relationships you can perceive the essence of Chinese culture the unity of nature and man. In Chinese culture we respect nature, never use it.
In Rome I saw a city that fully reflects the dominance of the ruling class. Houses there are very big – they make you feel that they could hardly have been made by human beings. When you stand on the ground, you feel a great pressure from the architecture. I admit the greatness of Rome architecture, but I must also say that it expresses dominance, the attempt to transcend nature. I don’t think that people can, or should, transcend or control nature. The exploitation of nature and natural resources has brought only shortages and ecological problems. This exposes a weakness of Western culture.
We should learn to respect nature and maintain a harmonious relationship with it. Each part of the world has its own characteristics. Marble form different places, for instance, has different colors and patterns. Marble from the Middle East always reflects its source, and marble from Latin America naturally reflects the characteristics of its geographical environment. Through respect for and understanding of different natural environments, we can start to lean respect for different cultures.
When I do a sculpture, I always select materials on the spot. I don’t think that a sculpture should exist alone, independently from its environment. The material and that whether the sculpture is in the round or in relief, should fit the total environment and reflect local traditions. I don’t agree with the idea of art for art’s sake; that’s an out-of-date opinion. A sculpture should not be created just to show off the artist’s ego or individuality, but to make the total environment better.
Making Things Uniquely Our Own
Culture is found everywhere in daily life, in the physical environment and in human relationships. It is a pity that we cannot find the unique features of our culture in our environment. When we look at our architecture in Taiwan, we see that it has been awkwardly and unnaturally borrowed from the West. It is something that we could never have developed in Taiwan; it fails to reflect our own culture, people, and history, and is not suited to our geographical environment.
There is no doubt that we should learn the advantageous parts of Western culture, especially advanced technology. But we should absorb those parts and turn them into something of our own. If we construct a building, it should fit our own geography, climate, history, and people; it should become a part of our total environment. If we want to achieve this, we should first gain confidence in our culture and try to understand it. If we fail to do this, we will not be able to create anything that uniquely represents ourselves. We will be left in the position of a colony of the West. Unfortunately, not only our physical environment, but the mentality of our people as well, reflects a colonial tint. This is not anybody’s fault; it is a long, sad story that has brought us to our current situation – the loss of confidence that we have suffered since the end of the Ching Dynasty.
We Need to Find Our Roots
We should realize, at least, that we need to find our own roots. While learning from the West, we should also understand our own people, geography, and history. It will not be easy, I know, to regain our self-confidence and come to know once again our own culture, especially since our education system has been totally Westernized. The search for our roots will lead us over a long road; a young person who wants to do this should spend one year, two years, or his whole life learning to understand the differences between the cultures of the East and the West.
One way to do this is to go to the library. Another way is to go back to nature; cities in Taiwan today lack the flavor of Chinese culture. To come into contact with nature, to worship it, may gradually help us to understand the essence of Chinese culture, which emphasizes a harmonious relationship between nature and man. It is also important that we do something to improve our education system so that it can help our younger generation learn about our own culture more easily.
Yuyu Yang is an internationally known sculptor and environmental designer. His designs were used for the ROC pavilions at world fairs in Osaka and Spokane; his large-scale sculptures grace buildings in Taiwan, Singapore, the United States, and other places; he has designed parks in such countries as Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. His artistic interests and accomplishments cover a very wide range; most recently, one of his main occupations has been laser art. In this conversation with Economic News staff reporter Michelle Pao, Yang talks of his experiences and his feelings about art, nature, and culture.
My Ancestors Must Have Done Something Good
When I look back, I feel very lucky and full of gratitude to my ancestors. They must have done something good, and I am being repaid for the virtue they accumulated. I have been blessed not only in having good teachers since childhood, but also in having the opportunity to experience different cultures and environments.
I was born in Taiwan, in Ilan – a beautiful country with mountains and seas in the northeast part of the island – and there I had a very happy childhood that taught me the grandeur of nature. My later experiences in Peiping, Tokyo, and Europe gave me a chance to understand the differences and the richness of various cultures.
Also, compared with the experiences of many artists, I have been very lucky in being able to make a living all my life at something that interests me When I have done, I think, could not have been achieved by myself alone; I have always had a lot of help from my friends. When I went to Italy, I remember, I could not speak a single word of Italian; but I lived there happily for three years and learned a lot about painting, architecture, sculpture, and landscaping. I must say also that I am full of gratitude to my family, who taught me what love is and helped me learn how to live with other people.
Art for Art’s Sake Is Outdated
My eight years in Peiping taught me the greatness of Chinese culture. Culture is not something on display in a museum; I know what Chinese culture is from the physical environment, architecture, the way people live, and the way people treat each other in Peiping. Culture is something that is connected very intimately with life. You can find harmonious relationships among the grounds, palaces, and ordinary people’s houses in Peiping, and from those relationships you can perceive the essence of Chinese culture the unity of nature and man. In Chinese culture we respect nature, never use it.
In Rome I saw a city that fully reflects the dominance of the ruling class. Houses there are very big – they make you feel that they could hardly have been made by human beings. When you stand on the ground, you feel a great pressure from the architecture. I admit the greatness of Rome architecture, but I must also say that it expresses dominance, the attempt to transcend nature. I don’t think that people can, or should, transcend or control nature. The exploitation of nature and natural resources has brought only shortages and ecological problems. This exposes a weakness of Western culture.
We should learn to respect nature and maintain a harmonious relationship with it. Each part of the world has its own characteristics. Marble form different places, for instance, has different colors and patterns. Marble from the Middle East always reflects its source, and marble from Latin America naturally reflects the characteristics of its geographical environment. Through respect for and understanding of different natural environments, we can start to lean respect for different cultures.
When I do a sculpture, I always select materials on the spot. I don’t think that a sculpture should exist alone, independently from its environment. The material and that whether the sculpture is in the round or in relief, should fit the total environment and reflect local traditions. I don’t agree with the idea of art for art’s sake; that’s an out-of-date opinion. A sculpture should not be created just to show off the artist’s ego or individuality, but to make the total environment better.
Making Things Uniquely Our Own
Culture is found everywhere in daily life, in the physical environment and in human relationships. It is a pity that we cannot find the unique features of our culture in our environment. When we look at our architecture in Taiwan, we see that it has been awkwardly and unnaturally borrowed from the West. It is something that we could never have developed in Taiwan; it fails to reflect our own culture, people, and history, and is not suited to our geographical environment.
There is no doubt that we should learn the advantageous parts of Western culture, especially advanced technology. But we should absorb those parts and turn them into something of our own. If we construct a building, it should fit our own geography, climate, history, and people; it should become a part of our total environment. If we want to achieve this, we should first gain confidence in our culture and try to understand it. If we fail to do this, we will not be able to create anything that uniquely represents ourselves. We will be left in the position of a colony of the West. Unfortunately, not only our physical environment, but the mentality of our people as well, reflects a colonial tint. This is not anybody’s fault; it is a long, sad story that has brought us to our current situation – the loss of confidence that we have suffered since the end of the Ching Dynasty.
We Need to Find Our Roots
We should realize, at least, that we need to find our own roots. While learning from the West, we should also understand our own people, geography, and history. It will not be easy, I know, to regain our self-confidence and come to know once again our own culture, especially since our education system has been totally Westernized. The search for our roots will lead us over a long road; a young person who wants to do this should spend one year, two years, or his whole life learning to understand the differences between the cultures of the East and the West.
One way to do this is to go to the library. Another way is to go back to nature; cities in Taiwan today lack the flavor of Chinese culture. To come into contact with nature, to worship it, may gradually help us to understand the essence of Chinese culture, which emphasizes a harmonious relationship between nature and man. It is also important that we do something to improve our education system so that it can help our younger generation learn about our own culture more easily.
文章出處
“The Economic News”, No.1949, p.9, 1980.12.15, Taipei
另載 《楊英風景觀雕塑工作文摘資料剪輯1952-1986》頁117，1986.9.24，台北：葉氏勤益文化基金會
《牛角掛書》頁117，1992.1.8，台北：楊英風美術館
另載 《楊英風景觀雕塑工作文摘資料剪輯1952-1986》頁117，1986.9.24，台北：葉氏勤益文化基金會
《牛角掛書》頁117，1992.1.8，台北：楊英風美術館
關鍵詞
Culture
備註
收錄於《楊英風全集》第14卷：文集II
頁數：326
頁數：326