I pay my own tributes to art with a clear conscience - 2012

I would like to dedicate all of my works to my parents and my relatives, to the people who I love and who love me.

When I was little, what I loved most was gazing into the starry night sky; as I invented simple songs and sang them to myself, the vast firmament full of mysterious and distant stars seemed to hold me in its embrace. Such moments made me feel as if I had turned into a very small star, a star with the freedom to roam in the endless cosmos.

I have chosen to live my life simply and genuinely, and perhaps that is why I have experienced many setbacks. however, I have always regarded myself as lucky. I have heard the best music, seen the finest pictures, and read the greatest poetry in the world, all of which are crystals of humanity’s greatest intellectual achievements. I have gone to a lot of places that are devoid of the sound and fury of cities and experienced the spiritual world of sincere purity. I cherish these memories deep within my heart as they allow me to communicate with God more fluently, and to sense the bliss that exists within the seemingly ordinary sphere of life.

My parents, Cen Jia Wu and Feng Lai Yi, as well as their relatives, friends, and teachers, left a lasting impression on my life. For example, my grandfather Feng Chun San, along with Chen Shiu Jing, Chen Yen Ke, Wang Li, Chiang Ying Liang, Tung Jia Jin, Cen Chung Mien, Li Ho Lin, Kuan Shan Yueh, Li Hsiung Tsai, Kuan Liang, Li Kuo Ping, Lo Chih Ping, Yang Li Guang and my parents’ students Liu Yi Wen, Hsu Jian Pai, and Tan Hsueh Sheng, and my mentor Zeng Xiang Kai, are all people whom I admire and revere most affectionately. I shall never forget the warm impression they bestowed on me through their gentle features; for although they resided in different academic fields, they have greatly influenced me through their moral conduct, their various instructions, and their faithful perseverance and dedication to learning and researching. These values have become the backbone of my existence; I am passionate about my views, defiant of the conventional, and a man of solitude.

I think of pain and joy as the two most fundamental sensations of humanity; my artistic endeavor is to recreate these sensations as faithfully as possible.

All extraordinary artwork radiates a powerful persuasiveness, regardless of its style being figurative or abstract, regardless of it demonstrating pain or joy. The elevation of all human emotion is aesthetic. Beauty exists within that which is emotionally moving, and this force, this ability to connect to one’s heart, is the power of beauty. The successfulness of a piece of art is determined by how the audience receives it, whether or not they can be touched by the passion or the sorrow it is meant to convey. A touching piece of artwork can move the heart to tears or to ecstasy.

Some artwork immediately delivers a strong visual impact that imparts vigorous sensual enjoyment. Other works can initially appear unremarkable, yet upon further contemplation by the viewer, reveals its profundity. Both types can be classified as being good, but I have always preferred to create paintings that fall into the latter category. I would rather these paintings hold and cultivate their vitality until they can bloom under the eyes of appreciative viewers. I never intended nor desired to become someone only capable of delivering a shocking first impression.

A piece of artwork’s age does not matter when the artwork is good, for altogether, fine artwork radiates the same sublime and eternal aesthetic experience. There perhaps can never be a definite conclusion as to whether Giacometti and Andy Warhol are better artists than Rembrandt and Vermeer, or that Chopin is a better composer than Boulez. But one principle will always hold true: fashionable work produced for the sake of the trend is often short lived, wilting into a product of the past the instant it is created, but artwork that can withstand the test of time entertain the common characteristics of great art, meaning it has the power to captivate the mind and soul of people from any era and age. It induces a timeless understanding of the devotion and passion needed for the artistic process and the boundless tension of the work.

When I was young, I had also tried to mimic the style of metamorphosis, which seemed novel at the time, so I was labeled as belonging to the contemporary school by many. In retrospect, it appears to me as a childish inclination, for it was only a curious imitation of western contemporary style. There was a period of time I enjoyed listening to contemporary music, but after examining most of it, I realized that only a handful of good works remained. Indeed, most of them were impressive, yet they did not break off from the common pattern. They were eager to impress the senses by putting together discordant tones or by reinventing the order of musical lines after decomposing it. Some even added sounds of nature in their music, resulting in an endless combination of anxious emotions and cacophony. On the other hand, classics consecrated by art history, whether of ancient or more recent ages, ripen under constant examination. Similar to old wine, they are tolerant and prefer careful tasting, are richer in taste the more one drinks, and are always leaving one’s faculties full of its fragrance.

That was when I became aware of my goal: to realize and create the intrinsic aesthetics embodied by the artwork is the perpetual quest of the artist. When again I looked up into the starry night, I felt as though those stars glistening with bright light were representative of the paragon of humanity. They were unreachable yet visible, always towering and showering us from above. In comparison, shooting stars only leave an impression when we are startled by their sudden appearances.

Right now I would only like the subject of my paintings to be about my personal perspective on life. I fill my being with wonderful memories when I paint. Although some sad moments resurface from time to time, my state of being is always uplifted and cheerful when I am creating, for I am singing the songs of my soul. Those melodies can be heartrending symphonies, romantic sonatas, but more often it is the indigenous folk songs I have remembered from my journeys. Thus, one of my most important goals is to seal these melodies inside my paintings so that the viewer may experience the gentle songs that echo in my head.

In the unforeseeable future, perchance I will paint with different techniques or on different subjects, but I will remain steadfast in at least one regard, and that is the emphasis on the inner values of innocence and sincerity in my work. It was at the earliest of days when the dignity of wonderful artwork persuaded and fortified my determination to become a painter. And so I will always remain faithful to my ideology and beginnings, and pay my own tributes to art with a clear conscience.

--- Cen Long 2012