Page 237 - 第18屆大墩美展專輯電子書

Juror's Statement, Seal E ngrav ing Category Liou, Yan-Chen

Seal engraving has gone through many stages of transformation scripts and pictures and has been the most beautiful medium for recording
time periods and civilizations over thousands of years. As if endowed with superpowers, we may be able to detect different interpretations of
history from the tiniest clues sculpted within the square of a seal s universe.

In 1996, Taichung City Government organized the first Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City without a seal engraving category. For
the second exhibition, I was honored to serve as an art consultant and glad to see seal engraving included. This art form entails a lengthy artistic
process selecting content and scripts, designing the positions of the characters, arranging the space and, finally, engraving. In addition, artists are
required to present 20 works, which translates into pure commitment and dedication. In other words, each seal meets a specific aesthetic standard
and there are no shortcuts or quick recipes for creating a quality seal engraving.

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For the 18 Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City, 32 seal engraving artists sent in their submissions and seven award winners were
selected by five jurors.

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First Prize went to Ku Yao-Hua s Free . The artist was first noticed in the 5 Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City and since
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then has made great progress, winning a Second Prize and two consecutive first prizes, respectively, at the 16 , 17 and 18 Da Dun Fine Arts
Exhibitions of Taichung City. He has also received strong recognition at other prominent art exhibitions, such as Third Prize at the National Art
Exhibition of the R.O.C. in 2011 and First Prize at the same exhibition in 2012 and 2013. This year, every juror was impressed with his works, as
his sophisticated skills and profound understanding of scripts have taken this particular art form to another level.
Mo Shuan-Lin s Chia Chai Tze Chou won Second Prize for his powerful, sophisticated engraving skills. The arrangement of spacing
between strokes is simple but harmonious. This is his first appearance at this major event and we congratulate him and hope that he will continue
his hard work and broadening his horizons.

Lin Chang-Chi s Referring to the Rules earned Third Prize with the artist s steady and fluent engraving. He first participated in the Da Dun
Fine Arts Exhibition in 2001 and since then has progressively sharpened his skills. He was awarded Second Prize at the National Art Exhibition of
the R.O.C and the Huang Shi Award this year, as his hard work and dedication have made him a legend in seal engraving.

Awards of Merit were presented to Lin Ju and Chu Hung-Lung while works by Cheng Chun-Yi and Lin Kuan-Hsien were short-listed. These
artists all have their own individual specialties and I hope they will endeavor to participate in all the major art exhibitions, making use of these
platforms to advance their skills.

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The Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City has entered its 18 year and over the past 17 years 38 seal engraving artists have been
awarded the top three prizes, awards of merit and short-listings in this category. If we could invite these artists to participate in a joint exhibition,
it would be a wonderful chance for seal engraving artists, students and the public at large to appreciate these fantastic artworks and perhaps learn a
thing or two. Finally, it would certainly serve to promote this ancient art form.

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