Tseng Ming-Nan Craft House Introduction
"‘If you don't study all day and just do these mud sculptures, are you going to rely on them to make a living in the future?’ The mother, hurriedly preparing dinner, was furious when she saw the entire stove filled with Tseng Ming-nan's ‘clay sculptures’. Unexpectedly, her words came true; after trying various jobs, Tseng Ming-nan ultimately chose ceramics as his lifelong career. Penghu's Wang-an Island boasts beautiful stone weirs and rare green sea turtles. From Tian Tai Mountain, one can gaze at the azure coastline. As the sun sets, sitting in Huazhai to watch the sunset while sunlight spills a wide golden path down to the horizon can be mesmerizing, making one yearn to follow that golden road toward the sunset. This is how the author, as a traveler, admires the beauty of Wang-an. But for Tseng Ming-nan, who was born in Wang-an, it seemed like destiny; women farmed while men went out fishing, which felt like an inherited norm. When children from Wang-an start primary school, most must leave home to study in Magong. Leaving the nest before they have grown their wings means loneliness and helplessness for a seven-year-old child. Thus, many children drop out due to homesickness, and Tseng Ming-nan was no exception. "I dropped out in the third grade and spent two years as a cowherd, sometimes fishing with my father or helping my mother farm." At the age of twelve, Tseng Ming-nan boarded a boat with his mother to Kaohsiung, where he witnessed the city's splendor and saw the world beyond Wang-an. "In the past, Penghu used kerosene lamps at night. I was excited to see electric lights for the first time, raising my hand to count the streetlights, and I also saw cars, trains, wide roads, and large ships... it felt like landing on the moon — very shocking!" Tseng Ming-nan recalls his feelings from over fifty years ago, speaking with excitement still. Having learned about the outside world, Tseng Ming-nan no longer wanted to be a shepherd. He realized that education was the only way to break free from fate. Since childhood, he had a passion for labor classes and hoped to study art in college, but he couldn't fulfill this wish, so he enrolled in the Army Management School (the predecessor of the National Defense Management College). After his military service, he coincidentally found the National Taiwan University of Arts had established a night division, allowing Tseng Ming-nan to return to the world of art. Over a decade later, he traveled to the UK to obtain a master's degree in art. Tseng Ming-nan understands well that competing with ancient masters is extremely challenging. Thus, at the beginning of his creation, he deeply studied Chinese ceramics, starting from tradition, based on Han and Tang dynasties, and then identifying rarely seen styles within tradition. He spent considerable time and money, finally innovating a vivid iron-red glaze, creating a distinct personal style. The term ‘Dingzhou flower porcelain carving red jade’ was praised by the eminent Chinese literary figure Su Dongpo concerning iron-red glaze. Tseng Ming-nan's ‘Iron Red Jar’ displays a brilliant red that gradually transitions into pale yellow and white, with cursive writing on the white areas. This work exhibits fine net-like cracks and luster reminiscent of cicada wings, showcasing a blend of classical and contemporary styles. His piece ‘Traces of Time’ employs glazing techniques and kiln firing conditions to create a weathered texture, conveying the passage of time through mottled appearances. ‘Lady’ is another work that showcases cursive lines in ceramics. The depicted woman, with her head bowed, embodies the gentle shyness of Chinese women, with flowing lines stripped of excessive details, simply sculpting the elegance of ancient women. The entire work exudes a sense of calm and stillness. The characteristic of pottery from the Han and Tang periods is ‘thick and robust’ and ‘combination of hardness and softness.’ Thus, Tseng Ming-nan’s ‘Sapphire Glaze Vase’ retains a sense of ancient style in its form, reflecting a solid and rustic atmosphere. The stable blue rises into rust-red and brilliant blue colors, with a gradient that reveals crystalline patterns, emitting a brilliance reminiscent of sapphires. Science, technology, and art are the three elements of ceramics. Tseng Ming-nan states that the glaze formula can be calculated using equations, but the kiln temperature, firing time, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, and the thickness of glaze must all be expertly managed to showcase the artistic aspect of creation. His piece ‘Chicken’ utilizes iron-red glaze for the head, while the back employs a white jade-like celadon, and the belly reveals the natural beauty of earth through stone-like texture. A single piece displays three different colors and textures, illustrating Tseng Ming-nan's exceptional skills in technique, glaze use, and creativity. The Taiwanese pronunciation of chicken is ‘jia,’ which reminds Tseng Ming-nan of the value of ‘home’ during his childhood experience of leaving home for education. “Family ethics are a fundamental tradition in China, carrying cultural connotations.” Additionally, when Tseng Ming-nan asked his mother for a dog as a pet, she replied, “We don’t have enough for ourselves, what will the dog eat?” So he chose to keep a chick as a pet. Hence, chickens became a frequent subject in his works. For example, ‘Family Portrait’ depicts a rooster and hen with three chicks, where Tseng Ming-nan uses hand-modeling to present a rocky texture, highlighting the simplistic beauty of clay. In the 1990s, Tseng Ming-nan focused on creating clay plates, using copper as a coloring agent to produce rich colors like red, blue, purple, and green under reduction firing. His piece ‘Figures’ features sapphire glaze painted on clay plates, extending ink wash styles with calligraphic brush strokes. In this artwork, the calligraphic lines outline the facial features, with the background appearing as ink-washed landscapes. The two-toned purple and white on the face enhances the mysterious aura of the woman. Having once navigated without a compass, relying on experience and the courage of fishermen while following his father to fish in the vast ocean, Tseng Ming-nan gained self-confidence in challenging himself. Regarding his ceramic works that he considers ‘talented creations by fate’, Tseng Ming-nan hopes to leave a name in the art world someday."
