Ju Ming: Lifelike sculptures descend upon Singapore
Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Singapore
Those entering Singapore after Wednesday will be struck by a set of parachutes coming down at Changi Airport. Don't be misguided, however, as these are the Living World series of sculptures made by Ju Ming.
Ju Ming -- whose solo exhibition of 70 sculptures, including his most recent Taichi series, opens in Singapore on June 30 -- is Taiwan's preeminent contemporary sculptor, a onetime craftsman whose rise was set in motion by the powerful energy released during his tai chi exercises.
Natural breathing and flowing movements of an unusual esthetic characterize tai chi, the ancient practice that has its origins in martial arts and has gradually found momentum today for mental and physical health.
Demanding great precision in its practice, tai chi movements release tension in the muscles through which immense energy can be set free.
Said to have been taken from the movements of animals and nature itself, it is highly spiritual and has also been termed "meditation in motion", or an "inner martial art with an esoteric technique".
All these features are revealed in the monumental sculptures of Ju Ming, who has made tai chi part of his daily life ever since he was advised to learn and practice it to improve his slender posture, as well as developing his mental discipline.
Sometimes similar to rock structures found in nature, his larger than life bronze Taichi sculptures never fail to stir our senses. Motion and poise marked by an inner strength, the very characteristics of tai chi exercises, make his giant sculptures appear like indomitable creatures caught in a cosmic dance.
But among his most recent, and perhaps last works in the Taichi series -- for the first time being shown in Singapore -- is the Arch series, in which Ju Ming visualizes the joining of energies evoked by the movements of two tai chi practitioners standing opposite each other.
Sometimes an arch may incline to the left or right side, or is bolder in a certain part, probably indicating the stronger energy coming from that part. But somehow the artist manages to obtain a perfect balance, making his sculptural art an awe-inspiring esthetic piece.
It is telling for the artist's versatility that he has not remained stuck in representing the tai chi that has made him world renowned. From those cosmic dimensions of humankind, Ju Ming has moved on to human figure in every day life, but never leaving the movement and grace of his Taichi series.
This can be seen in the parachutist sculptures, once exhibited at France's Dunkirk Museum of Contemporary Art, and now in various stages of descent at Changi Airport. With parachutes made of strips of stainless steel, the life size figures of the parachutists are cast in bronze.
Other sculptures from his Living World series shown in Singapore are Lining up, a sculpture of a painted bronze, presenting life-size people of a wide segment of society standing in line, and Rest, aptly showing people resting on a bank.
While his Taichi sculptures are mostly in dark gray, the Living World shows color, inspired by the teachings of his first master who used to color his wooden sculptures of the goddess Kuan Yin.
Six of his most recent Living World sculptures relate to the monk the Venerable Ming Yi who cares for the sick and aged in Singapore.
Driven by the compassion and selfless giving of the monk, Ju Ming sculpted six monk sculptures in various poses. Five of the six sculptures were put up in an auction that was to be held last April, but was postponed until June 27 due to political circumstances in this part of the world.
Proceeds of the gala dinner and Art of Benevolence auction, the amount of which is unknown at the time of this writing, will be split between the Ren Ci Hospital, where the Venerable Ming Yi offers his services for the poor, and the Singapore Art Museum to fund the exhibition
Both in the cosmic dimensions of his Taichi series and in his instinctive, human and intimate Living World series, Ju Ming's strength seems to be rooted in an art derived from self- cultivation.
For Ju Ming, self-cultivation is the key to his artistic creation. Cultivating your art, he says, is like the process of self-cultivation in Buddhism. It starts with everyday life -- what you eat, what you wear and what you think about.
Up in the mountains of Nantou on the border of central to southern Taiwan, the master sculptor whose powerful and expressive style created a milestone in modern Chinese sculpture, lives an almost monk's life, mostly confining himself to his wood cabin and studio. Only now and then does he come out, entertaining interested guests, like on that memorable day when I joined three other people to his mountain "abode".
In his studio he showed us soldiers in styrofoam, awaiting their cast in bronze to become a part of his National Troops series. Though they may appear alike, they in fact are different, in height and in facial shape.
A revival of the Xian Warriors? Not at all, it's to fulfill a promise to let people know the experiences of a soldier, he made one day long ago. These sculptures will only be shown at the 5th anniversary of the Ju Ming Museum, slated to be in September 2005.
Ju Ming, who was born in Miaoli, Taiwan, on Jan. 20, 1938, started life as a humble temple sculptor. It was a search for a personal style that brought him into contact with the late Yang Ying-feng (b. 1906) under whom he studied and learned how to simplify his forms and intensify spiritual expression.
Ju Ming's first one-man show at the National Museum of History, Taipei, in 1976 brought him international renown and exhibitions in Asia, Europe and North America, which further enhanced his reputation as an artist who had achieved a personal expression that was unmistakably Chinese and yet comprehensible to a lay audience. In 1991 some of his larger figures were displayed at the South Bank Center, London and in 1997 at Place Vendome, Paris.
In 1999, he brought to conclusion his 12-year work, the construction of the 11-hectare Ju Ming Museum, an open air park that also serves as a repository for his works, in the hills of Jinshan, Taipei County, just an hour's drive from Taipei.
His fame is further enhanced by the prestigious French publisher Editions Cercle D'Art 's in January 2001 released a book on his works, titled simply Ju Ming. He has also received an honorary doctorate from Fu Jen Catholic University for his contributions to the arts.
The six-month-long exhibition of sculptures spread out over Changi Airport, the Singapore Art Museum, the Orchard Road, the Fullerton square and other vicinities in the city state, is Ju Ming's first solo exhibition in Singapore of this scale. No small achievement.
The six-month event includes an arts talk on July 4 on Sharing the Development of Chinese Art and Esthetics, featuring Chinese arts specialist Dr. Michael Sullivan, as well as Dr. Zhu Qi from the Ministry of Culture/China and Dr. Liu Baicun and Dr. Chin- Cheng of the National Taiwan College of the Arts at the Asian Civilizations Museum, Ngee Ann Auditorium (Empress Place Building).
Guided talk tours, multicultural tai chi demonstrations, children's programs, sculpture walk tours and modern interpretive dance, as well as photo contests and painting classes, will be held throughout the period.
Helina Chan of iPreciation gallery said that for the transportation of the thousands of tons weight of the sculptures, a massive sum of funds was needed, and specialists had to measure the ground of Orchard road and other vicinities for their carrying capacity before installing the sculptures.
The exhibition, which is jointly organized by the Singapore- based iPreciation gallery, the Singapore Art Museum and the JuMing Museum/Taipei, will travel to Beijing and Shanghai as of the end of December 2004.
JU MING solo exhibition runs from June 30 to Dec. 30. Further information at Singapore Art Museum, Bras Basah Road 71, tel: +65 63327808, fax: +65 63323218; and iPreciation, The Fullerton Hotel, 1 Fullerton Square, #01-10, Singapore, tel: +65 63390678, fax: +65 6438208.