Q. Sotheby's took native oil paintings as the theme of their auction, and at most international auctions ceramics play the important role among the Chinese items. What then do you see in the future for Chinese painting at international auctions?

A. Auctions are just a kind of exchange of objects. You have to spend money and play your cards to make exchanges. Of course, people want to find what they can understand most, so painting is not seen to be as important as ceramics on the market. What I want to stress, however, is that you cannot look at the rise and fall of Chinese painting in terms of auction-house fashions.

Westerners see ceramics as more important than ink painting, which is understandable. You can trace this back in history to the entry of porcelain into the West several hundred years ago, which enabled European ceramics to take a big step forwards. No matter whether it is in terms of quality or technique, they all have an understanding of Chinese porcelain, and can thus appreciate it.

Calligraphy and painting are the ultimate points of culture:

Q. Paintings have thus been limited. They are the ultimate point of Chinese culture, as well as being the most difficult part, embracing the threads of five thousand years of Chinese philosophy and life-style. Unless you can penetrate deeply into the structure of our history and get an understanding of Chinese thinking, then in terms of enjoyment, there is always a barrier.

Take the writing on paintings. Apart from it being the artist's own testament, it is also a communication with the people of his own time. Later people can understand how the people of that time lived and felt. No matter whether it be material or spiritual life, both can be perceived in this way.

Nevertheless, painting might be an important point in Chinese culture, but what Westerners understand to be the special qualities of that culture is just what they have not got. We can supplement each other. If you look at it in terms of physics, when a wave hits its trough it must rise up again. The cultures of East and West are the same. Do we not often say, "ten years the river goes east; ten years the river goes west"?

Q. The Sotheby's auction in Taiwan attracted a lot of enthusiasm. A lot of people hoped that appearing in the catalog of an international auction house and media reports could deepen the impression made by our artists on the international arts scene. What do you think about promoting the advancement of Taiwan's arts on the international scene?

A. I just said that auctions are a kind of material exchange, a kind of investment or preservation of your capital. It is just like buying stocks and shares. What everyone has in mind is exchange. There can be seen no sincere artistic consideration and therefore all that can be achieved is some kind of exchange between people. To see this as some kind of culture promoting intermediary would be misleading and a deviation from the truth.

As for the auction catalog, it is the same as the auction. Apart from telling you the prices of paintings, about the lives, backgrounds and motivations of the artists, there is absolutely no explanation. How can this kind of catalog bring about any cultural understanding?

As for reports in the media, I think that the news stresses numbers far too much. It cannot be that just because numbers can best attract people, everyone must write articles about the prices of paintings. It seems that our artistic circles only look at numbers these days. Good art is not judged by its price.

We cannot just rely on auctions:

Q. Then what is the significance of Taiwan holding international auctions?

A. Basically, it proves that Taiwan is very rich and has a lot of buyers. The dishonesty attracted by the auctions will perhaps make everybody look properly at some problems, such as how to examine whether a painting is authentic or not. Looking a bit deeper at the problem of authentification, why are there so many false paintings? Today, no matter who it might be, the gallery which unwittingly buys a false work will still sell it again without making any noise about it. I hope that galleries and collectors will have some guts about this and immediately give up any false paintings they receive.

Nevertheless, among the collectors with whom I have had contact, many of them are very lovable. Sharing the same cultural and emotional foundations they are willing to buy works by native artists. Taking this first step towards being respected by one's own compatriots is very helpful for artists looking to expand a larger space.

It is like at the beginning of the twentieth century, when a group of good-hearted Americans got together to help artists have exhibitions in different countries or invite them to hold joint exhibitions with American masters. This gradually enabled American artists to step onto the world stage.

Something that I cannot avoid mentioning is whether or not Taiwan's arts can really have an international artistic position. Galleries, artists and collectors have a lot of power to influence, and especially the arts business. I hope that they can be well-intentioned entrepreneurs who will not want to just pursue profits.

I also believe that Asian-Pacific arts are daily receiving more attention. Just like sowing in the spring and plowing in the summer, we should take advantage of this to promote Chinese painting towards the West. The 21st century could be our opportunity.

[Picture Caption]

Au Ho-nien feels that the broadcast media put too much stress on the values of paintings and that we cannot rely on prices to judge art. (photo by Diago Chiu)