Imagination: The Wonderland of Picture Books 幻。畫: 繪本的奇藝世界

2022 Spotlight Taiwan Lecture

Su-Hsing Lin: Imagination: The Wonderland of Picture Books

Abstract

The study on “Picture Book” began and then flourished in Britain in the late 19th century, subsequently surging into the art community in Japan. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, works of many prominent European and American thinkers and painters were extensively published and translated into Japanese. In the early 20th century, with the influx of foreign cultures and ideologies, picture books began to emerge in Taiwan’s and China’s publishing industry. Subsequently, picture books from the Chinese world in the 21st century has been developed into an important “visual text”. The picture book is a form of true art. It is not merely to facilitate the process of reading for children or even adults but has its implicit influence that has subconsciously changed how visual graphics is perceived and appreciated as well as its interaction with the world. The rising prosperity of the picture book market in recent years has attracted more and more artists into the profession while numerous award-winning works have also been introduced to Taiwan. My talk, Image Nation: The Wonderland of Picture Books consists of three subtopics, guiding us to studying from Golden Age of Illustration, Reincarnation of Picture Books, to Strolling down the Wonderland of Chinese Picture Books. Featuring various examples which contextualize the transition of its practice, it offers an insightful view of how the picture book is formed and developed as well as its impact on the graphic culture and illustration industry in Taiwan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Speaker

Prof. Su-Hsing LIN (林素幸) received her B.A. degree in History from Tunghai University, Taiwan, and earned a MA and a PhD in Chinese Art History both from The Ohio State University. She was an Assistant Professor at Shu-te University in Visual Communication Design (2004-2009) before joining the Department of Art History at Tainan National University of the Arts. Prof. Lin researches principally on the graphic design in modern Chinese art, and visual culture in Shanghai and its interactions with Japan and the West in 20th century, as well as Taiwanese art.

 

 

 

 

 

Publication

Book

Feng Zikai yu Kaiming shudian: zhongguo ershi shiji chu de dazhong yishu (豐子愷與開明書店-中國20世紀初的大眾藝術)
. Xian: Taibai wenyi publishing company, 2008.
Selected Journal Papers
Su-hsing Lin, “The Acceptance and Significance of Xie Guanqiao’s Ink Paintings in Taiwan, China and the East Asian World – from the Perspective of the History of Collection (從收藏史看謝琯樵水墨畫在臺灣、中國與東亞世界的流動與意義),” Journal of Tainan Art Museum, 2021. 10, No. 2, 116-138.

Su-hsing Lin, “The Art of Book Design during the Japanese Colonial Period in Taiwan: The Case Study of Nishikawa Mitsuru (日治時期臺灣的書籍裝幀藝術－以西川滿為例),” Journal of Art Studies, 2020.12, No. 27, 43-122.

Su-hsing Lin, “Rebuilding Legitimacy: Hwang Chun Pi and His Landscape Paintings in Postwar Taiwan,” Art in Translation, 2019.07, 11:1, 45-74.
Su-hsing Lin, “The modernity of Qi Baishi’s landscape paintings and the collecting taste between China and others (從齊白石山水畫看中國繪畫的現代性－兼論中外收藏品味之異同), Beijing Fine Art Academy ed., Studies of Qi Baishi No. 6, Nanning: Guangxi meishu chuban she, 2018.09, pp. 162-173.

Su-hsing Lin, “Beyond the Barriers: An Enquiry into the Painting Career of Cai Cao-ru (飛越藩籬：蔡草如筆墨世界之探索),” Cheng Kung Journal of Historical Studies, No. 52 (2017 June), pp. 87-137.

Su-hsing Lin, “The Tourism Culture in Edo Period from the Perspective of Ando Hiroshige’s “The 53 Stations of Tokaido (從安藤廣重《東海道五十三次》看日本江戶時代的旅遊文化)”, Journal of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Vol. 105 (2016 July), pp. 74-96.

Su-hsing Lin, “Exploring Visual Languages: Zhang Guangyu’s Cartoon Journey to the West in the Development of Chinese Art and Popular Culture in Early Twentieth-Century China (縱探語境－從張光宇《西遊漫記》探索二十世紀出中國美術史及大眾文化之發展與意義),” Chung Hsing Journal of Humanities, Vol. 56 (2016 March), pp. 59-116.

Su-hsing Lin, Book Review of Green, ed., “Rethinking Visual Narratives from Asia: Intercultural and Comparative Perspectives,” The Journal of Asian Studies, Volume 75 No. 1, pp. 209-210.
Su-hsing Lin, “A Forgotten Page: Yuyu Yang’s Early Graphic Design – A Case Study of Harvest Rural Periodical (被遺忘的一頁－楊英風與早期臺灣美術設計作品：以《豐年》為例),” Journal of Design, Vol. 20 No. 1 (2015 March), pp. 59-116.
Su-hsing Lin, “Paintings on the Preservation of Life and Modernization of Buddhist art in Early Twentieth-century China,” in Bogna Łakomska, ed., The Artistic Traditions of Non-European Cultures Vol. 2. Warsaw/Torun: Polish Institute of World Art Studies & Tako Publishing House, 2013. pp. 49-74.
Su-hsing Lin, “Movable Museums: Book Design and Commercial Arts in the Early Twentieth-Century China (移動的美術館：20世紀初中國的書籍裝幀設計與商業美術),” Router: A Journal of Cultural Studies, Autumn 2011, No. 13, pp. 163-228

 

Selected research Projects

01.2021 – 12. 2022  Dancing with the World: the Art of Picture Books (與世界共舞–百年經典繪本之美)
08.2020 – 07.2022.  Flip: Art of Book Design in Modern East Asia (翻開–近代東亞書籍的容顏)
2017 – 2018.  The Dialogue of Chinese Landscape Painting with the World in the Early Twentieth Century – the Case Studies of Qi Baishi and Feng Zikai (二十世紀初國畫山水畫與世界的對話 – 以齊白石和豐子愷為例)
2014 – 2015.  Dancing with the world – the development of picture books in 20th century China and its network of significance (與世界共舞：20世紀華人繪本藝術之發展及其意義網絡)

2013 – 2014.   Images of Childhood: The Development of the Art of the Picture Books in 20th Century China (童心印記：繪本藝術於二十世紀中國美術的發展與特色)

2009 -2010.   From graphic to design – The relationship of Graphic Design in the 20th century China and Japan (從圖案到設計–近代中國平面設計之發展與日本的關係).