"Though abstract expressionism and representationalism often appear to be opposing concepts, they are actually two sides of the same coin. "
Many refer to Chihung Yang as a master of abstract expressionism. Yang resists this designation and pushes back at the narrowness of abstraction as a genre. Though his work certainly makes use of visual abstraction, it also holds representative figuration at its core.
Abstraction poses a difficulty to its viewers because it disrupts the convention of art as representation. Yet there are feeling revealed by a paintings color, strokes, and lines, such as melody, emotion, and time, which are invisible to the naked eye. People always bring their preconceived ideas and forms as a way of interpreting that which they cannot recognize. Chihung Yang flips our understanding of abstraction and representation, allowing us to see that the difference is only a matter of perspective.
Yang shared a picture from Jinmen on his Facebook. Though the image appeared to be a black and white form, reminiscent of an ink drawing, it was actually a photograph of the shadow of a tree and water. Yang wrote “If what you see in this image is abstract, then it is abstraction- if what you see is representation, then it is representation.”
When we as viewers abandon our designations of abstraction and representation, we can begin to focus on form, composition, color, and strokes. Similar to viewing the cursive of Chinese calligraphy, even though we may not recognize the character, we can still understand the silent beauty, rhythm, and power of its' shape.
Yang's prowess at drawing began sixty years ago, during his childhood.
He honed his talents unconsciously. As a child, his hometown of Zhongli was small and simple, there were no art museums or galleries to learn from. His remembers his earliest access to paintings was the illustrations on the billboards of the local movie theatre, marveling at the masterful and lifelike depictions movie stars. Through these he was inspired to learn to paint, seeking out opportunities to learn.
After he began junior high, Yang happened upon Lust for Life, a biography about Vincent Van Gogh. On the cover, Van Gogh's self portrait curved and swayed, stirring Yang's curiosity and inspiring him to paint. He sometimes stills draws inspiration from Van Gogh, referencing his paintings when working.
Though studying Van Gogh brought Yang quite far, he still had much to learn through school in order to become a painter worthy of representing Taiwan. During high school, Yang often went to libraries and bookstores to study western art theory, like classicism and realism. It gave Yang a solid foundation of western art history before he enrolled in National Taiwan University of Arts.
The atmosphere and the teachers in National Taiwan University of Arts felt like the perfect environment for Yang to learn painting. The teachers there showed Yang what it was to be an artist and also brought him into greater understanding of the western world of art.
"Thoughts produce behavior, behavior becomes habit, habits form personalities, and personalities determine fate."
When it comes to art, Yang differentiates between artisans and artists. He argues that craftsmen can only mechanically repeat themselves, focusing on the process of making rather than truly creating. Yang reminds himself and other artists that when you become stuck in a repetitive cycle, the way to break out is to examine your creations and determine what shapes them as your unique work.
Yang derives his unique ideas from personal experience; from his identity as a part of the Taiwanese community, to the cultural conflict he felt being in the United States. He found plant seeds in his suitcase that have experienced the same transition as he did, but their life was more seamless. Like organic abstraction- consciousness flows and even when you do not notice it changes slowly. Opportunities come from life experience, and in this way success is a natural change similar to climbing a mountain, only when you stop to take a break do you discover you have arrived at the peak.
"After a short period of learning you feel you can travel the globe, after a longer period of learning you feel immobilized."
Yang always gives his students the advice that “ Time tells all ”. Only once a person specializes in their field will that person will know what room there is left for improvement. The farther you specialize, the more you carve a path for yourself to continuously improve and grow. Like Vincent Van Gogh, Yang's life has been tied to his dreams in spite of any life obstacles that were in the way. He pursued his art through every career decision, and throughout it all he never abandoned his goals nor betrayed his ideals, a life lived without regrets.
（Figure 2 left）Analysis of Dream, 2008, Acrylic on Canvas, 48"x48"
（Figure 2 right）Trap, 1986, Charcoal and Acrylic on Canvas, 98"x78"
