《我的聖城》展覽介紹The Introduction of Holy Morphosis

 展名｜我的聖城 The Introduction of Holy Morphosis

展期｜2011/06/17~2011/07/17

地點｜地下實驗‧創意秀場

人類自古以來所發生的戰爭與衝突，有許多源自於宗教信仰的差異。世上所有的宗教信仰所強調的無非是無我、互愛、互助等信念，但令人驚訝的是，不同宗教間，卻經常使用暴力的方式來相互對待。這個矛盾的現象，促使人們思考，究竟一個人內在靈性的善念與塑造其價質信仰的外在機制之間有著什麼樣的落差？

回顧藝術的發展歷史，可以得知，藝術創作的主體曾經深受宗教思想的影響。而各個時代的藝術家也都不斷嘗試用各種型式的創作闡述思想與信仰。美國華裔畫家成瑞嫻在過去20年的創作歷程中，受到不同的文化歷史與宗教的啟發；她特別感興趣的是各民族間所共有的一種的宗教熱誠。她同時發現，這種無法量化的熱誠，在當代社會中正漸漸消失，導致當代人的靈性生活越發貧寂。

台北當代藝術館本次推出【我的聖城─成瑞嫻個展】，共展出成瑞嫻118幅作品，期望透過成瑞嫻色彩繽紛的宗教藝術，賦予宗教嶄新的面貌，並藉此傳達宗教分享生命的溫柔本質。

If we look at the areas currently war-torn, we find that religious difference is at the heart of the problem. It is staggering to think that all religious purports are to promote altruism, love and brotherhood and yet killing is the means of communication and resolving differences. What is the connection between the spiritual aspects of finding god in oneself, and in others and the institutions created to formalize these ideas? 

In looking at art history the majority of art has been commissioned by religious institutions or inspired by religious thought. For the last 20 years, the imagery in Emily Cheng’s work has come from religious sources from many cultures and periods. She is particularly interested in a quality that is hard to quantify, which is the element of devotion. It can be witnessed in particular objects that were made with great care and imagination. This quality is seldom talked about or seen in contemporary life, but can still be found in museums, churches, temples and mosques around the world. Emily Cheng is interested in finding, and transforming the visual artifacts we still have which possess these tender life-giving moments. In the religious artifacts, we find cultural links between countries and other religions. We can see which religions were in close proximity to each other by looking at the transmission of form.