“ T h e n e w tim e d id w a sh o u t m a n y g o o d cra fts,
a n d p la s tic to o k over. IV e lo s t m a n y c r a ft a esth etics,
h u t th e fo u n d a tio n w a s s t ill th e r e , a lo n g w ith
o ld m a s te r s s h o w in g a n d m a in ta in in g th e ir g o o d
te ch n iq u es. T h is is th e b a sis o f T a iw a n e s e cra fts
tod ay . ”■— A h L e o n
Above:
Ah Leon’s work, like
his trompe l’ceil tree
ring teapot, are influ-
enced by Chinese tea
culture and include tech-
nical details that allow
the tea to brew and be
poured properly.
Below:
The National Taiwan
Craft Research and
Development Institute,
the primary government
agency for preserving
traditional crafts and
promoting contempo-
rary work.
well-appointed facilities to children and
adults. Classes are often taught by interna-
tional artists as part of a residency program,
which also gives them opportunities to
create work and display it. “It is very im-
portant to have international artists at the
museum,” says Wen Hung Cheng, director
of education marketing at the Yingge, not-
ing that this project serves as a complement
to traditional skills. “They will bring new
ideas.” The museum also has a spectacular
park featuring ceramic sculptures, events,
a working version of a traditional square
kiln (which bakes bread on Saturdays),
and a variety of family activities.
Bamboo, which is native to Taiwan,
is another traditional craft material that has
been the focus of contemporary projects.
While bamboo was used in Taiwan for
years as a construction material, artistic
bamboo craftsmanship was brought to Tai-
wan in the 1930s by the Japanese during
their period of occupation. Today bamboo
has gained cachet as an ecologically re-
sponsible material. Jhushan in Nantou
County, traditionally a center for bamboo
production, is home to a number of artists
and designers using the material. Yeh Chi-
Hsiang’s family operated a bamboo factory
in Jhushan, and today he runs a gallery in
the town, where he sells his own bamboo
carvings along with the work of other art-
ists. Wen-Huang Liu founded Bamboola
in Jhushan in 1980, and designs objects
ranging from small-scale items to furniture
with laminated bamboo. While very much
tied to traditional forms and aesthetics, Liu
incorporates technology both into his man-
ufacturing process and his products—one
of his latest pieces is a bamboo iPhone case.
The National Taiwan Craft Research
and Development Institute is the principal
government agency for the promotion
of contemporary crafts in Taiwan. Its head-
quarters is in Nantou, a midsized town
about an hour south of Taichung. Its im-
pressive facility includes an education
building housed in an old high school, offer-
ing four floors of studios, workshops and
classrooms in which both children and
adults can learn about traditional crafts
and make their own objects.
The institute has been one of the forces
behind efforts to preserve indigenous crafts
such as Atayal weaving. The Atayal people
form the second largest aboriginal tribe
in Taiwan, and live mainly in the hills and
070 am erican craft aug/sep io
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