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Toward the
21st Century --
Symphony of World Culture
Colorful, vivid, organic, harmonious, monumental,
rich, strong, dynamic..... A passionate symphony of color, form and image;
an orchestration of human cultures and nature, of God and human beings,
East and West, ancient and modern..... Birds, trees, flowers, animals; oceans,
rivers, mountains; temples, palaces; the life within, the life external.....
Heroes and heroines of old, symbolic figures; religious icons, scientific
icons, political icons..... Venus, Mona Lisa, Christ Jesus, Astronauts,
Madonna, Buddha; Mexican, African, Asian, American, Indonesian..... Peking
Opera, festivals of all kinds, dancing, shouting, singing, smiling, worshipping,
welcoming; hands open, hands in hands, gesturing, fighting, searching, playing,
idling.....
All that is life, all that is Being, all that exists, acts, walks, waits,
stands, rests, dreams, desires; all of our yearning, praying, loving, flying,
meditation..... Snow, water, earth, trees; growing, blossoming, embracing,
descending, marching..... Yes - A glorious symphony of world culture marching
towards the 21st Century, towards a new era of a global family, towards
a new age of "Love" - the real soul of our planet.
An age of Love, without war or hatred
An age of Harmony, of fraternity
An age of Renaissance, of Transcendence
An age of Hardware, Software and SOULware
A new age of Peace, Happiness, and Prosperity!
* * *
This large painting is composed of seven canvases, each one measuring 110"
x 80"; thus, the entire painting in its totality is of 110" x
560" in size. It is entitled "Towards the 21st Century: Symphony
of World Culture," a tribute by Dr. T. F. Chen to our new millennium
with a presentation of key points of human civilization up to the end of
the 20th Century, and looking forward to a new century of true Love, active
Peace, soulful Happiness, and widespread Prosperity.
These seven panels, each bearing its own title and able to stand by itself,
represent characteristic environments and significant cultural achievements
of our five continents.
* * *
The far-left canvas represents "Upcoming Latin America," with
her magnetic vitality manifested in passionate festivals. Folkloric dancing
and music, bright costumes and fiery colors swirl rhythmically underneath
beautiful snow-capped mountains and ancient gods. Gestures and shouts of
celebration affirm the existence of Latin Americans with their strong desire
to play an active role in the 21st Century.
The next panel is called "Africa Onwards." A magnificent bird
integrating Arabian dreams flies majestically in the deep twilight sky.
Beneath it, a glorious sunset cuts the silhouette of three tall giraffes,
reminiscent of the Black Continent of yore when the vast landscape was blessed
with abundant wildlife. Yet the grandiose mountains are still there, and
patches of land preserved into national parks are accompanying Africa in
her modernization. Hopefully, the fighting spirit of tribal natives and
the richness of African tradition will not be lost amidst the rapid waves
of new development. Rather, humanity must remember to always stay centered
in our roots and our life sources.
The third panel is titled "European Hit." This panel witnesses
the historical turmoil as well as the cultural achievements of the Western
world. The Occidentals have been shaping the world's history for 500 years
since the Italian Renaissance, which was a flowering convergency of the
ancient cultures around the Mediterranean Sea: Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and
Judeo-Christian. Venus, Jesus Christ, and the Mona Lisa are three of the
most prominent "Icons" of Western culture, which was rationalized
in the Age of Enlightenment and then industrialized after the mass productive
ability of machines. Yet, in the pursuit of Science untempered by Love,
the Western world was gripped in an arms competition and headed unfortunately
to destructive wars, as witnessed by Picasso. Amidst the fast-paced material
progress that thrives in the West, a nostalgia emerges for a simpler life,
a return to the fresh air, sunshine, and pastoral countryside as romanticized
by some of the Impressionists.
Pushed on by the excitement of exploration and the yearning for adventure,
the Westerners embarked on a journey to the Moon. Led by American astronauts,
we, humanity landed on the Moon and ushered in an Age of Space.
"Age of Love" is the central canvas with "Science in Love"
as its message. The lower portion of the painting depicts some of humanity's
most outstanding individuals from East and West, ancient and present, from
all of the different continents: Moses, Confucius, Gandhi, Lincoln, Shakespeare,
Rembrandt, Einstein, J. F. Kennedy, Van Gogh, Joan of Arc, etc. Also included
in the collage is the word "YOU," symbolizing the difference that
you will make upon this earth. Cherishing the freedom of creation, humanity
builds a world culture looking towards the 21st Century.
In this canvas, Dr. Chen creates a story that the American astronauts have
landed on the Moon only to realize that there is still another Moon waiting
for humanity to land upon - the real Moon, the spiritual Moon, the Moon
of "Love." Chen used Raphael's "Madonna on the Chair"
as the ultimate icon of "Love." "Love," being the real
soul of our planet (Teilhard de Chardin), ought to be the preeminent spirit
of the new age!
The panel to the right of "Age of Love" is called "Asian
Treasure," depicting the cultural achievements and beauty of India,
China, and their neighbors. To symbolize China, there is the Dragonhead,
with the Great Wall zigzagging like the curving body of the Dragon underneath.
Appearing below, the Chinese characters seem to emphasize their importance
in forming Chinese civilizations. The vividly painted masks of the Peking
Opera are also Chinese icons where color and meaning, symbol and psychology
are materialized in forms.
As for Indian civilization, Buddha appears to be its center whose message
is carried to all races, as the five dancers from Matisse are tinted in
five colors representing the five races. The Taj Mahal in all its splendor
is reflected in the water as seen through flowers, leaves, and birds. An
empty space in pink allows the panel to breathe while revealing the upper
images from Dunhuang, Tibet, and an Indian temple where a divine couple
makes love, representing the soul's union with the divinity.
The sixth panel with a large phoenix flying above is called "Far East
Onwards." Represented here are images of the Asia not of the continent,
but of the ocean: Japan, Taiwan, etc.
With her own tradition and culture, Japan emerged into modern history since
the Restoration of Meiji in 1868. While adapting Western ideas and technology,
Japan nevertheless preserves her tradition and taste. Taiwan stands between
China and Japan. Though profoundly rooted in Chinese culture, Taiwan has
approached the path of democracy and modernization.
The last canvas depicts the "Peaceful Oceanian," like the Tahiti
loved by Gauguin. Under a beautiful sunset, palm trees murmur as lovers
embrace. The ocean undulates in a deep cerulean blue; the golden sunshine
penetrates an umbrella of red and purple flowers to pour its light onto
a beautiful Indonesian lady. The light, air, scent, and marvel of nature
are all there with the Hawaiian paradise, emerging out of its esoteric mythology!
Of course a true sum of our human nature and history upon this God-blessed
planet - the ever-changing tapestry of birth, life, growth, suffering, redemption,
love, loss, death - is too profound and too vast to ever be captured in
one painting or in one artist's vision. Yet hope for the coming of this
new age has inspired Dr. Chen to humbly express his own individual vision
and to offer his own blessing for the age to come. Dr. Chen is a master
artist who believes in the divinity of humanity and the attainable harmony
for all of the cultures of the world.
May God bless the new Millennium with Peace, Happiness, and Love!
( by T. F. and Julie Chen ) |
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Homage to Picasso
Picasso: "Guernica", 1937
Edward Quinn: photo of Picasso and Jacqueline, from "Picasso a l'Oeurve"
El Greco: "The Assumption of the Virgin", 1557, Chicago Art
Institute
We would be surprised if a painter fresh from the Orient and seeking the
most important achievements of contemporary Occidental art did not fall
under at least one of the Picasso spells. From Picasso's extravagant lifetime
variety Chen has found many images that richly adapt to his compositional
necessities and his philosophical dredging.
In the lower half of Homage to Picasso there is a marked clash of two
symbolic realities. The Guernica figures in left and right could be called
- credit to Malraux, whom Chen immensely admires - Man's Fate: greed,
suffering, and war. Thrust upward through the center, Greco's Assumption
figures emphasize the redemption, an overcoming of evil: Man's Hope. The
Anguished head on lower left, the bull's ears, the tral figure, accentuate
the eye's path toward heaven. The violence of Guernica is overcome. The
little block above the head on the lower right is a window leading to
the outside - to the dawn, early morning. It is an element for composition
rather than a symbolic meaning. Guernica has a window in the same place,
but rather than floating in space, it is a tiny opening through a heavy
solid wall that the figure tries vainly to reach; nothing can be seen
beyond the wall.
The upper figures float high in the sky of a blindingly bright early morning.
The dark silhouette behind Picasso is the Venus de Milo, to Chen the Goddess
of fine arts and beauty. The magenta figure, whose coloration is almost
as spectacular as the luminescent bust of Picasso, is Jacqueline. The
amorphous blue volume - a blue of jealousy - represents all of Picasso's
other women. These figures, which rise into the sky with the ominous dominance
of a mushroom cloud, form an unusual godhead of the arts.
Though of Greek origin, El Greco was a Spanish painter: a kinship with
Picasso. Especially with the Guernica quotations, Chen has given the painting
colors of his own choosing and some modifications of volumes. He did not
plan the irony that the Greco disciple pointing upwards in the Assumption
of the Virgin should be pointing directly to the symbol of the artist's
mistresses. There are other hidden mockeries scattered throughout Chen's
Neo-iconography. ( by Lawrence Jeppson )
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