Lovely Woman
The Silent World and Splendid Life of Lin Liang-Tsai—Interview with the Winner of Wu San-Lien Awards Foundation (Sculpture)
Author/Lu Tung-Hsi (from An Introduction of the Winner of the 31st Wu San-Lien Awards)
“Before he was forty, the majority of his art works were oil on canvas; after he was forty, he used cast iron and copper plates to build a world of sculpture, surprising the art field with soft and tough figures.” This is a comment about Lin Liang-Tsai from the art field whom is a legend in the field of sculpture in Taiwan. The story of Lin inspires numerous disables and general public.
Lin Liang-Tsai was born in Waichu Village, Erlin Township, Changhua County in 1947. His parents were born in agricultural families. His father, Lin Wan-Kuei was an accountant of the local farmers’ association. Lin Liang-Tsai is the sixth child of his family, and he has four brothers and three sisters. When he was born, he lost his hearing. After the WWⅡ, the political and economic condition in Erlin Township was unstable. To ensure Lin can receive better education and cultivate his earning capacity, Lin’s father had searched for appropriate special education.
At that time, there is no school for students with hearing impairments in Taiwan. When Lin Liang-Tsai was ten years-old, his father sent him to learn the lip language in a school for students with visual and hearing impairments in Tainan. After three months, to better take care of Lin, he was transferred to the branch school in Feng Yuan. However, the branch school only offed the class of hand language. Therefore, in the beginning, his father had to go to school and be the translator for him. Then, the school assigned three hand language teachers to assist him in learning the hand language.
Being hearing impaired did affect Lin’s relationship with his fellows in his early years. Since he was young, he like painting and drawing. He also found a lot of joy and satisfaction when drawing and painting. Art has been a subject Lin is proud of. The tranquil village is the best cure for his hearing in his childhood. That is the reason why his early paintings showed a countryside realistic style, and even a super realistic style. Lin Liang-Tsai once said, “It is not ‘me’ leads myself to the road of art; it is ‘nature’ leads me to the road.”
In 1968, Lin Liang-Tsai entered National Taiwan University of Arts. During the three years in the university, he worked hard in establishing the foundation of painting and was taught by greater teachers of painting in Taiwan, including Yang San-Lang, Liao Chi-Chun, and Li Mei-Shu for oil painting, Li Tse-Fan for watercolor painting, and Hong Rui-Ling for drawing. Of which, he was significantly affected by Liao Chi-Chun who was a color master of Les Fauves and focused on figures. The majority of theme in Lin’s art works focused on figures as well.
In the 1970s, exporting paintings was popular in Taiwan. Abundant copied oil paintings on foreign pictures exported abroad. After Lin Liang-Tsai graduated from National Taiwan University of Arts, he cooperated with his classmates to export copied paintings. Since 1972, he started the business of painting export for eight years. At that time, he worked overtime to process orders. When he had free time, he went to sketch outside; however, he was very busy and tired at that time.
Bad and good things might happen at the same time. When Lin was 36 years old, a thief stole 200 works from Lin. The thief almost made him bankrupt. He was really upset at that time; however, he decided to find a new start. In 1984, he finally decided to continue further education in Belgium. For general people, study abroad cannot be a big problem. However, for hearing impaired, how can he overcome the difficulty to learn a foreign language and cope with the communication challenges in an unfamiliar environment? And the most importantly, what was the attitude of his families?
For his families, Lin wanted to express his gratitude to his mother, Lin Hong Xiang. His mother said, “My silly boy cannot speak and talk. How can I believe that he can study abroad?” We can understand the worry of his mother. However, because Lin insisted that he must continue his education in abroad, Lin Hong Xiang sold a piece of land to support her silly son. (For farmers, land is their own property.)
After winning supports from his families, Lin Liang-Tsai had to overcome the difficulties of languages and communication. Fortunately, he met the most influential person of his life—Jacques C. Picoux, a professor in Department of French Language and Literature, National Taiwan University.
In 1979, Lin Liang-Tsai and few friends with hearing impaired met in a coffee shop on Nung-an Street in Taipei City. Jacques C. Picoux, a professor of Paris Diderot University, liked oriental culture and volunteered to join the teacher exchange program with National Taiwan University. Picoux saw Lin and his friend gesturing and went to know them. After few days, Lin Liang-Tsai asked a friend call Picoux and told Picoux that he wanted to learn French.
Lin is the first hearing impaired student of Picoux. Picoux was very surprised and said, “I told him it was too difficult. But when I raised a problem, he always told me that it can be fixed. Finally, I was convinced.” Then, Picoux taught Lin French for more than three years. Picoux wrote recommendation letters and apply schools for Lin. Finally, Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles Rue du Midi admitted his enrollment. The school appreciated his art works and believed that it is not easy for a hearing impaired to learn.
In 1984, when Lin was 38 years old, he went to Belgium to continue his further education. However, the school did not off translation for hand language. Hearing difficulty made his learning journey extraordinary hard. Fortunately, the majority of classes are to create art. Although Lin cannot hear the instructions, he tried to understand the instructions from feeling. When he studied in Europe, a Belgium professor encouraged him to use his eyes to compensate his ears. The teacher opened a window of his heart.
During staying in Europe for six years, Lin Liang-Tsai created sculptures in daytime and drew paintings at night to earn tuitions. He also took photos for magazines and went to flea markets or auctions to search for goods for selling to those who like antiques. In 1989, he graduated as the top of the university and was rewarded by Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles Rue du Midi. In 1990, The Torch of Freedom won the European June 4th Democratic Monument Prize, winning respect and praises from the art field in Belgium.
When he graduated from Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles Rue du Midi, the school issued him a letter of appointment, and he also wanted to stay in Europe to continue his art business. When he studied abroad, he frequently asked his friend to call his big brother Lin Jin-Yao, who had a strong relationship with Lin, but his niece answered the phone for several times. He asked his families about his big brother and knew that his brother died after he went abroad three years later. The families worried that his brother’s death might affect him but they did not tell him. When his brother was alive, his brother took care of his father. When Lin knew his father was sick, he decided to return to Taiwan after he finished the work for the European June 4th Democratic Monument Prize in 1990.
When Lin engaged in painting export business, he was addicted to the emerging business in Taiwan—antique stores. When he had free time, he liked to visit antique stores. This hobby and expertise became his tool for living when he studied abroad. When he returned to Taiwan and started to use copper plates to create figures, he met his wife who has the same hobby for art and antiques—Chang Chieh.
Due to his hobby of antiques, after Lin went to exhibitions, he also went to the antique store run by Chang Chieh. Through communicating using pens, they found they had similar opinions on arts. Because Lin lost hearing, it was difficult for him to apply/audit exhibitions and contact with others. Therefore, Chang Chieh assisted him in cope with these things. Soon after he returned to Taiwan, he found that the art environment in Taiwan overemphasized on packaging. To earn popularity, Taiwanese artist used to describe their works with exaggerative words. Lin was disappointed and planned to return to Europe, but the love with Chang Chieh rooted him in Taiwan.
In his silent world, he uses his hands, sights, and spirit to observe people. He hammers, burns, cuts, and twists copper plates, turning them into vivid art creations. Viewers can ‘see’ the noise and shout of the silent world and shape the thickness and width of their lives. Moreover, his unique art gift allows him to precisely interpret his emotions and life perspectives. Particularly, he has used the inner world of silence to face the external environment. He selected to use the tough material to demonstrate the toughness and resistance of humans. Compared to general public, he can face the limitation of life more consciously and directly.
Lin earned the title of professional painter of Belgium. In addition, The Torch of Freedom won the European June 4th Democratic Monument Prize, which is an important collection in Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles Rue du Midi, Musee Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, and National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.