Taiwan lantern master adopts creative approach to preserving traditional craft
2021/03/12
A Taiwan paper lantern master is employing lashing of creativity and innovation in preserving one of the country’s time-honored cultural traditions for future generations.
Lin Yu-chu, 77, believes the decades she spent painstakingly creating lanterns, which symbolize good fortune and evoke childhood memories for many, is one for the reasons for invitations to display her work and deliver demonstrations at workshops in countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the U.S.
As a way of capitalizing on this overseas interest at home, Lin established New Taipei City-based Chinese Artistic Lantern Association in 1999, recruiting artisans to provide hands-on courses to the public. Nearly 10 years later, she set up World Taiwanese Lantern Association in Taipei City to further promote lantern making among international audiences.
According to Lin, who was recognized as a cultural heritage preserver by NTC Government in 2014, it takes a broad set of skills, including carpentry, electrical wiring, painting, metalworking and welding to produce an intricate lantern. Other details like assembly and transport must also be considered to ensure successful presentation, she said
WTLA Chairman Fit Lee is particularly impressed by Lin’s technical expertise and efforts to keep abreast of the latest technologies and techniques. These span light-emitting diodes, fabric types and decorative elements such as beads and paillettes.
Without doubt, Lee said, Lin’s greatest contribution is her breakthrough replacement of the lantern’s traditional bamboo structure with paper-wrapped wire. She also published two handbooks, “The Creative Lanterns DIY” and “The Beauty of Folk Art on Creative Lanterns,” in the 1990s to make up for the lack of reference materials on the art form, he added.
Many traditional crafts are at risk of dying out. But Lin’s simplified construction methods and manuals have boosted the prevalence of handmade lanterns, Lee said.
Wang Shinn-huey, chief of National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute’s Taipei branch, also holds in high regard Lin’s commitment and talent. “There is no question Lin has made major contributions to the art’s survival,” she said
The NTCRI branch hosted a solo exhibition of Lin’s work from September to November last year. The indoor show highlighted 30 pieces portraying golden pheasants, koi fish, moth orchids, paradise flycatchers, peacocks, peonies, tulips and local species such as the Taiwan blue magpie.
According to Wang, Lin excels at portraying natural elements like flowers, which she painstakingly recreates through a labor-intensive process. Overall, her attention to detail and use of color, form, line, shape and texture, as well as the artistic principles of balance, contrast, harmony, movement and proportion place her among the best in the lantern craft, she said.
After all these years, Lin’s passion for lanterns remains undiminished. In fact, she continues to dream about the future, committed to living each day to the fullest. The ultimate goal is to establish a museum dedicated to the collection, display and preservation of sophisticated examples for the public to enjoy for years to come, she added.
Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)
