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digitalWrite (韓旭東,雕刻);

韓旭東畢業於台灣大學人類學系，從來都不是藝術系學院派，也不曾受過雕刻的專業訓練，上無教授下無學生，以無師自通的強大能量，一路創作了30年，累積400多件作品，藝術性渾然天成，在雕刻領域可謂既獨特又深具哲理。

藝術的新與變，要在現代和當代轉換，無法一蹴可幾，這是萬古不變的法則，無一例外。韓旭東默默的創作，時間成熟就會有一次質量兼具的展覽，以一種苦行僧方式，為藝術歷史留下紀錄。創作存乎執著和熱情，在作品可以完全體現，韓旭東為雕刻藝術，完全燃燒，也同樣一覽無遺… 集成材的雕刻方式，韓旭東信手拈來，從2010年開始，也有10多年的時間。韓旭東的變，並不躁進，韓旭東的新，沒有標新立異，比較了30年前的作品，可以發現一個共同的語言-「一路走來，始終如一」。

這次的展覽，可視為近10年的轉變過程。2019年初，韓旭東看了女兒機械系參考書後獲得啟發，竟然上網自修了程式語言，而且將學習到的知識，融入集成材雕刻創作，將藝術家們不易突破和完全受限的創作天份，在馬達驅動，手勢感應後，再次體現藝術的新與變，並在韓旭東的創作中靈活運用！韓旭東順勢而為的創作，將新與變的價值呈現，讓藝術無價得以彰顯。

Hsu-Tung Han digitalWrite

Han Hsu-Tung graduated from the Department of Anthropology at National Taiwan University, but he has no formal training in art or sculpture, nor does he teach sculpture to others. Yet over the past three decades he has produced over 400 exquisite pieces of wood sculpture, having developed a unique and thought-provoking style.

Each successive age inevitably gives rise to new forms of artistic expression, and Han’s sculpture is no exception. Having spent many years honing his skills with the dedication of an ascetic monk, quite indifferent to fame and fortune, his work has finally begun to attract the attention it deserves. Indeed, Han’s dedication and zeal are plainly visible in his distinctive sculpture.Han’s style has evolved organically over the past three decades, and in 2010 he began using glued laminated timber (glulam) as his main material, yet his recent work still retains his singular style.

This exhibition highlights the transformation Han’s work has undergone over the past decade, culminating in the production of a series of moving sculptures, the inspiration for which came in 2019, when he noticed a textbook on power mechanics on his daughter’s desk. His curiosity piqued, he soon began to teach himself computer programming. Overcoming the engrained ways of thinking that hamper creative work, after many ups and downs, Han eventually succeeded in completing a sculpture which moves in response to the viewer’s hand gestures—a remarkable combination of creativity and ingenuity!

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韓旭東  

Hsu-Tung Han

2012年父親過世，大環境紛紛擾擾； 政黨對立，世代間鴻溝擴大，口水滿天。數位產品快速進步，輾壓著舊有傳統與文化，並且正迅速的改變著人類的行為與生活方式。當時我從事木雕已經25個年頭。不禁意識到創作生涯似乎也應該進入下半場了。

於是我調整面向，不再做那些與文化和社會議題相關的作品，轉而思考進入數位時代後木雕創作是不是該有一些新面貌。當然，有些朋友認爲純手工製造的作品應該更為寶貴並且被珍惜。但是從另一個方向來看，數位技術這個讓人類過往許多文明積累都相形失色的產物，它不可能不影響到木雕創作。又或者說木雕創作在這個刺激之下能夠有哪些新的開展方向並獲得什麼新的啟發。

2012年從"頭像1號"開始，我嘗試用小塊的角料黏合為"集成材"之後進行雕刻，再將木塊規則或不規則地組合在這些交錯的正、負空間裡面，藉著這種幾何方塊的組合去營造出一種數位感。這個做法其實是在模擬構成電腦螢幕影像的"畫素"，兩者原理相同而且事實上視覺效果也相當接近，只是平面和立體的差別。2013年”解散集合”個展發表之後，國外的朋友把這些作品稱為 "pixelated wood sculpture"(像素木雕)或者歸類到"glitch art"(故障藝術)的一種。

這種「集成材」的雕刻方法，事實上給予木雕創作者極大的解放，不但擺脫了木材形狀的限制，而藉由小木塊自由拼組達到需要的大小，所以理論上只要在膠材的"open time"許可範圍內，我們可以製作很大的作品。木雕作者不必再去雕刻巨大的木材。而且傳統木雕消耗材料嚴重，「集成材」的使用，產生的廢料非常少，甚至可以使用過的木材來進行雕刻，不失為一種善待環境的新作法。

2019年初無意間看到的學機械的女兒桌上擺了一本書，是關於"arduino"的教學。隨手翻閱卻引起我極大的興趣。前言裡便提到是設計給初學和藝術家使用的。因為集成材由長方體木材黏合，因此它本身就存在著運動所需要的直線空間和軌道。所以我上網去找相關的教學，希望能夠藉由微電腦控制馬達讓作品動起來，但是又希望能兼顧作品完成之後仍能凸顯雕塑的性格，而不是被機械的性格掩蓋。整個過程在失敗中探索前進，學得很慢做得也很慢。寫的程式跑不動時就請向女兒請教。隔年"少林"初版完成，但問題太多，2021年又將內部所有構件全部更換。當"少林"的步進馬達聲音響起，木塊開始動起來，我知道其實我提出了一個問題，而不是找到答案；未來它可能要面對許多藝術與科學的質疑。但 ”新"、"變” 本就是藝術家應該信仰的重要價值，我不需要知道這個新嘗試方向是不是正確的。對我自己來說，六十歲了，組構這些軟硬體零件是很燒腦的，戴著放大鏡在接那些複雜的線路是有些辛苦的，而這一切，其實只是期許自己對藝術創作追求”新“與”變“的初衷可以有所交代，如此而已。

When my father passed away in 2012, it was a time of political turmoil, a widening generation gap, and endless public debate. It was also around this time that I became increasingly aware of how rapidly advancing digital technology was having a widespread impact on traditional culture and human behavior. By then, I had been engaged in woodcarving for 25 years and began to feel that my artistic career was entering a new phase.

As a result, instead of producing more sculptures on social and cultural themes, I began to consider adopting a new approach, one reflecting the latest developments of the digital age. Of course, many purists feel that artwork made completely by hand has more intrinsic value than artwork made using power tools; but looking at it from another perspective and seeing that digital technology has already had a major impact on how we view the cultural achievements of past civilizations, it’s inevitable that it will also have an impact on woodcarving. So the real question is not whether woodcarving will be influenced by digital technology, but rather how this influence will play out.

Starting with my sculpture Head 1 in 2012, I began to use small pieces of wood to produce glued laminated timber (glulam). The pieces are joined in both regular and irregular arrangements, interlacing positive and negative spaces, forming a combination of geometric squares reminiscent of the pixels composing a digital image. In this way, the same principles used in generating a flat digital image are used to create a three-dimensional sculpture, and the visual effect is very similar. Following my solo exhibition Gather and Dismiss in 2013, my new style began to be referred to overseas as “pixelated wood sculpture” and classified as a kind of “glitch art.”

Sculpting glulam gives the sculptor a lot of freedom, in that he isn’t constrained by the preexisting shape of a solid piece of wood and it’s possible to create a very large block of wood, subject to the “open time” of the wood glue. What’s more, glulam produces very little waste, and it can even be formed out of previously used timber, making it an environmentally friendly material—especially important in light of the dwindling supply of large pieces of timber suitable for sculpting.

My daughter is studying mechanics and early in 2019, I noticed a textbook on her desk about the Arduino open-source hardware and software technology. I found that the preface was geared to the needs of novices and artists. Since glulam is formed from long rectangular pieces of wood, it has the flexibility required for moving components. I began to consider how tiny motors driven by a computer might be adapted to integrate moving components into a sculpture, but in a low-key way that doesn’t overshadow the sculpture itself. I went online to find out more, but my progress was very slow. And when the program I tried to write didn’t run, I turned to my daughter for some advice. As a result of my work, I came out with Shaolin, my first moving sculpture, in 2020. 

Because Shaolin had mechanical problems, I replaced all the internal components the following year. At sixty years of age, I’m not so good at assembling minute and complex electronic components, even when using a magnifying glass; still keeping in mind the fundamental importance of change and innovation in art, I’m okay not knowing where this experiment will lead. In a nutshell, this is my understanding of the role of innovation and change in art and creativity. The moment I heard the sound of all the stepping motors and wooden blocks composing Shaolin begin to move, I knew that I had raised questions relating to art and science that could not yet be answered. 

策展人：蕭瓊瑞

Curator: Hsiao, Chiung-ju