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By using the outline linear drawing technique of the traditional Chinese ink paintings, the artist explored the religious figures which were based on his own childhood memories of local shrines and temples and his art education of the academy of fine arts. Through the study of Buddhist sutras and Buddhist Iconography, the artist was inspired by the following 5 subjects for his creation: Three Bodhisattvas, Skanda Wei-Tuo bodhisattva, Four Heavenly Kings and Guardians of the World, Four great Bodhisattvas in Chinese Buddhism and Eighteen Arhats. Also, the artist made a comparative study between his own creation and the Buddhist paintings in the Chinese art history and Taiwan local artists. By keeping a low-profile attitude, the artist overcame challenge and stress to create a series of 30 Chinese ink paintings which depicted the 5 subjects in Buddhist art. The artist went through the process of taming the mind, calming the mind, relaxing the mind, and concentrating the mind. The viewers not only can see the Buddhist figures on paper, but also can read the rich and subtle meanings expressed by the mature outline linear drawing techniques. “As patience is to diligence, so courage is to honesty.”, the proverb was what the artist’s belief toward his art production. To pursuit the higher quality of the beauty of the religious characters, the artist also combined his observation of the “truth, goodness and beauty” in his quest of the art production. The thesis consists five chapters. The first chapter introduced the background for the choice of theme, define the scope of the thesis, and the schematic outline of the research procedure. The second chapter provided the result of the literature review and document analysis based on the study of the Buddhist sutras and Buddhist Iconography. The third chapter discussed the method to carry out the artist’s conceptual and practical innovation of his art production. The fourth chapter analyzed and discussed the artist’s collection of art works from the viewpoints of aesthetics and Buddhist Iconography. The final chapter concluded the artist’s findings and of the current project and pointed out the possible developments of the artist creation. While the traditional Chinese ink painting style created only a space of “Black-and-White Abstract Art”, the artist successfully constructed his quiet inner world, which echo the greatness of the mind of the religious artists in the history timeline. The artist had the compassionate concern for all sentient beings far and wide, therefore, for all those viewers who read carefully between the lines of his religious figures and would like to learn more, the artist was more than happy to help the viewers break the barriers of doubts and connect them to the appreciation of the beauty in the Buddhist art. “Study hard and work hard, then keep a low profile.” is the thinking for the artist to align with his pursuit of art and darma. This thinking will not only nourish the artist, but also touch along his path to the enlightenment.
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