Mid-life goals
Roughly ten years ago, thanks to the stable income afforded by his pork stand as well as having closed a few successful real-estate deals, things started to look up for Chuang. The kids were all in junior high school. So, he slowly began to distance himself from the pork stand. After manning the stand in the mornings, his afternoons were free for him to play tennis and collect antiques.
The road to becoming an antiquary can be traced back to a family heirloom dish, which also set him on his way to becoming the aesthete that he is today. This was when he took an otherwise commonplace serving dish made of Taiwanese cedar to an antiques dealer he met through playing tennis, to be restored. Someone along the family line had had it varnished, but after having the varnish carefully removed, Chuang wondered in amazement at the original grain pattern of the Taiwanese cedar. From this moment on, he began to dabble in antiques, amassing quite the collection. He purchased exquisitely carved cabinets, tables and a bedroom suite which included the rarely seen traditional Chinese red bed complete with stepping-cushion and under-cabinet, all crafted of premium lumber and worth over NT$1 million.
The year was 1998. Chuang had one piece of investment property tucked away in a secluded area that he just couldn't seem to unload. He consequently took this property, which faces an ancient estate and features a view of the Yangming Mountains, and transformed it into the "Life Art Villa." It not only serves as the Chinshan community art exhibit, it serves refreshments too.
Now with a place to display art, Chuang, with the guidance of local artist couple Hsu Wei-pin and Tsao Shih-mei, began to don yet another hat--that of curator.
For his first piece, entitled "Dexterity," Chuang used one of his veteran cleavers, which he lodged into an already fragmented chopping block. He then soldered fish fins fashioned of ordinary steel wire onto the handle, and used screw-nuts and marbles to imitate fish eyes. What was once a meat-cutting cleaver used in the market now resembled a fish out of water. Many collectors have made offers for the piece, but Chuang cannot bear to part with it.
At a joint exhibit on the theme of chairs, Chuang presented his peculiar "Uneasy Chair," named so inasmuch as the upholstery was full of nails and it was linked to the ceiling by a garland of barbed wire. It made a notable impression on those in attendance. Many people might view the creative process as a perplexing one. Chuang doesn't see it that way at all. He takes a more whimsical approach.
"I think it's because I never received any training. Whenever I want to make something, I just make it. I feel unrestricted," Chuang articulates his attraction to the freedom involved with artistic creation. Plentiful time and space are all that's needed to nourish freedom. As for Chuang, he only strives to put his spirit into his creations. He doesn't enter competitions or try to to earn money from his art. "Now that's true freedom," he chuckles.
Chuang, who inherited his pork stand business from his father, is a living legend at the traditional market.