Beautiful love letter drawn in Taiwanese poetry
2021 Bologna Book Fair Lagazzi Prize "Poetry Category" Jury's Choice Award Turning the process of a tree into a book into "Love Criticism"
"Qingpi" is the Taiwanese pronunciation for "qingshu". Animo, who grew up near Hanxi in Taichung, once heard that Chen Huang Yiling once came to him in a dream to teach him to sing Taiwanese songs. If he had not painted, he would have become a Taiwanese singer. He was very good at speaking Taiwanese. In this book, Love Letters, he wrote a beautiful love letter to "trees" and "books" in Taiwanese poetry, which is also a confession of the hometown of Animer's soul.
In the relationships of the world, the only one that can strike a balance between respect and possessiveness is the distance between a tree and its readers.
"Love Criticism" is an extremely beautiful poem picture book, or it can be said to be a collection of works with poems and essays; the first few paintings in the book were exhibited in the 2018 solo exhibition "White Horse Shit", and were later selected for the 2019 Bologna Illustration Exhibition in Italy.
In the relationships of the world, the only one that can strike a balance between respect and possessiveness is the distance between a tree and its readers.
"Love Criticism" is an extremely beautiful poem picture book, or it can be said to be a collection of works with poems and essays; the first few paintings in the book were exhibited in the 2018 solo exhibition "White Horse Shit", and were later selected for the 2019 Bologna Illustration Exhibition in Italy.
Starting from these pictures, Animer slowly wove together a complete narrative line in his mind. After completing "Xiao Wan", he continued to look for information, collect materials, and ponder. The "White Horse Shit" series of paintings is already stunningly beautiful. The trees, which are like fireworks, lingering waves... both concrete and abstract, and in various postures, have amazed many viewers and fellow artists.
The three landscape paintings at the beginning are actually one long scroll. The woodlands, logging ponds, train tracks for transporting timber, paper mills, old printing presses in the second half... while carrying narrative and explanation, the artistic beauty of the pictures is not diminished at all.
Finally, with the addition of text, it became a gentle love letter describing "from tree to book"──
Lagaze Prize jury praise
"This poem by Taiwanese illustrator and writer Anim is gentle, full of tension, and a bit mysterious, paired with extremely beautiful paintings. Before the text begins, the book opens with several amazing continuous cross-page landscapes, including mountains, trees, sea and houses. Then, each page of the poem is accompanied by a fascinating and beautiful illustration - the picture is not only a reflection of the text, but also inspires readers to think and explore further. The beauty of the paintings in this book is breathtaking. The whole poem has the mysterious temperament of Japanese haiku/tanka, and there is no clear narrative line. When the surprising ending is revealed at the end of the book, the reader's expectations will also be challenged."
Finally, with the addition of text, it became a gentle love letter describing "from tree to book"──
Lagaze Prize jury praise
"This poem by Taiwanese illustrator and writer Anim is gentle, full of tension, and a bit mysterious, paired with extremely beautiful paintings. Before the text begins, the book opens with several amazing continuous cross-page landscapes, including mountains, trees, sea and houses. Then, each page of the poem is accompanied by a fascinating and beautiful illustration - the picture is not only a reflection of the text, but also inspires readers to think and explore further. The beauty of the paintings in this book is breathtaking. The whole poem has the mysterious temperament of Japanese haiku/tanka, and there is no clear narrative line. When the surprising ending is revealed at the end of the book, the reader's expectations will also be challenged."
About the Author
Animo Chen
"One day, I accidentally swallowed the paint thinking it was a chocolate bar. I found it to be a delicious delicacy. So I ate it every day. The paint colored my stomach layer by layer until I vomited out a mold of the shape of my internal organs. The intestines, stomach, and heart were really beautiful. It was like cultivating both the inside and the outside."
Graduated from the Department of Visual Communication Design of Dayeh University, and obtained a master's degree in Painting from the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Applied Arts in Prague, Czech Republic. His works are diverse and prolific. He has worked as a photographer, art director for television and film, animation director and illustrator for 18 years. He is good at expressing with literary images, which complement the text and have profound meaning. His works are often published in literary supplements of various newspapers, and he draws covers for books.
"One day, I accidentally swallowed the paint thinking it was a chocolate bar. I found it to be a delicious delicacy. So I ate it every day. The paint colored my stomach layer by layer until I vomited out a mold of the shape of my internal organs. The intestines, stomach, and heart were really beautiful. It was like cultivating both the inside and the outside."
Graduated from the Department of Visual Communication Design of Dayeh University, and obtained a master's degree in Painting from the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Applied Arts in Prague, Czech Republic. His works are diverse and prolific. He has worked as a photographer, art director for television and film, animation director and illustrator for 18 years. He is good at expressing with literary images, which complement the text and have profound meaning. His works are often published in literary supplements of various newspapers, and he draws covers for books.