Taiwan Today

A 70-year-old Atayal grandmother and amateur artist beat out 400 rivals to take first prize in the Geisai Taiwan arts festival Dec. 6. Judges unanimously selected Tien Hsiu-chu for the show’s top honor after reviewing her series of colorful, life-filled pieces depicting traditional life in an Atayal village in Hsinchu County. According to sources familiar with the matter, Tien only started painting two years ago at the urging of her daughters. “Tien’s work stood head and shoulders above the offerings of younger, mainly avant-garde artists at Geisai,” they said. Geisai is an influential Japanese art festival initiated in 2002 by prolific and thought-provoking contemporary artist Takashi Murakami. The one-day event, which took place at Taipei’s Huashan Creativity and Cultural Industry Center, was its first Asian stop outside Japan. “I have never seen an artist of this age selected to win Geisai,” Murakami said. Co-judge Yoshitomo Nara, a well-known Japanese pop artist, said she was “touched by the sincere love of life represented in Tien’s paintings.” National Taiwan Normal University student Lee Chen-tao finished behind Tien with his paintings that borrow from the works of masters such as France’s Jean-August-Dominique Ingres. Third place went to Kao Chien-yi for the “wild and uninhibited style” running through her creations. Currently unemployed, the 20-something Kao put her life on display in an eclectic collection that included doodled monsters, family photo collages and cigarettes. A dedicated painter and photographer, Kao said she ignored disapproving friends and relatives in turning her back on the world of 9-to-5 jobs. “This prize proves that it is okay to find one’s own way in life.” All three winners have been invited to participate in next March’s Geisai in Japan. (PCT-JSM)