Peak Junji

作品賞析

Ni Yu-An has many identities in the art world. When he publishes woodcut prints, he uses the name “Wang Wu,” when he does calligraphy and painting, he uses “Zhang San,” and when he works with conceptual art, he uses “He Shi.” What he is attempting to challenge is the view that holds that one must promote single names with single styles in the art market, in order to facilitate academic research and market sales. Among the artistic areas he is involved in, he is particularly fascinated by the historical significance of printmaking, because it has historically represented left-wing aesthetics and possessed a socialist artistic character. He describes printmaking as physically exhausting labor. He has also studied Shaolin kungfu, and Peak Junji was created when he followed his teacher to visit Shaolin Temple. He engraved a wood carving board with the magnificent mountains, waterfalls, and dry forests that they passed along the way. There is a saying, “The technique of the knife is the brush and ink.” That is, one can incise sharp, masculine lines with a triangular-bladed carving knife, and softer, feminine lines with a round-bladed carving knife. Every pathway taken by Wang Wu’s knife across the composition is an expression of respect for printing.