Retired, but still working
Stepping into Sun Wen-hsiung’s studio in Yonghe, New Taipei City, one is struck by how the small space is divided into a workroom and an exhibition area. In addition to his finished prints, there are various tools and items of equipment, including gravers, a magnifier, a reducing machine, and a printing press. The furnishings look rather plain, but the focus and rigor of the artist shine through.
While he may be retired now, Sun’s days are just as busy and fulfilling as ever—each day he sets aside a fixed four-hour period for creative work, as though he were still working for a living. He is always investigating different media and techniques, experimenting and testing his limits. It is long, hard work, “but whenever I complete a new piece, I get a real sense of joy out of it.” When he starts talking about his creative work, Sun’s eyes light up with a passion that belies his nearly 80 years.
In 2012 he completed a transparent acrylic engraving, making use of the medium’s ability to be engraved on both sides, as well as its thickness, to create a work with a striking three-dimensional effect that stands out against a black backdrop.
He was also commissioned to engrave a portrait of the model Lin Chi-ling. For this four-by-three-centimeter piece, he worked at an incredibly fine 13 lines per millimeter, resulting in an exquisite portrait notable especially for the soft, floating appearance of the hair. This intricate piece of work took Sun a full year to complete.
A man who has lived much of his life working at the micro scale, Sun has even tried his hand at “miniature writing”; “It feels as if neither the pen nor my fingers are even moving,” he says. On a strand of hair, he wrote out Yue Fei’s “Man Jiang Hong” at seven or eight characters per square millimeter, and on a single sesame seed, at ten characters per square millimeter, he wrote out Li Qingzhao’s “Late Spring in Wuling.” With the latter, he set a new Guinness World Record, and the craftsmanship in the lettering is beyond amazing.
While technology may continue to advance in leaps and bounds, with even the production of banknotes gradually moving toward a more computerized process, human artistic skill and craftsmanship remain virtually irreplaceable. Having left his life in officialdom behind, Sun has turned in recent years to holding exhibitions and lectures, as well as generously passing on his skills and methods to younger generations, so that this once mysterious and hidden art can be more widely appreciated and kept alive.
Continuing his creative work after retirement, Sun Wen-hsiung has developed a method of engraving acrylic that creates particularly striking images when set against a black background.
Different materials and inks accentuate the distinctive style of each piece. (photo courtesy of Sun Wen-hsiung)
Different materials and inks accentuate the distinctive style of each piece.
Sun Wen-hsiung has a lasting fondness for his former career and proudly displays his old “engraving section” office doorplate.