Artwork Appreciation
The biblical story, The Tongue of the Wise becomes a lively and interesting still life with Taiwan features through the touch of HO Huey-Chih. She uses a variety of image symbols in a sentence, the golden apple in the upper right placed in a silver net; on the left side, there are horses and boats implying small parts affect the whole body, and on the right is an owl representing knowledge. The Tongue of the Wise means one should control his tongue and speak carefully. HO Huey-Chih also put food with homonym in the painting, Lao Tian Lu duck tongue, Yilan's famous ox-tongue biscuits, green Knotted flower Phyla herbs for relieving heat and detoxifying, and a dragon whistle that requires a dexterous tongue. The background is the wall of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. The blue tiles contrasted with the red and bright objects in front are intriguing, this piece allows viewers to enjoy deciphering the details, showing the vitality of Taiwan's daily life.