A Style of Her Own: Self-taught Artist Liu Yi-lan／自成一家 畫家柳依蘭
A Style of Her Own: Self-taught Artist Liu Yi-lan
◎English translation: Peng Hsin-yi
Ms. Liu Yi-lan's story is certainly an impressive one. She once made a living picking bamboo shoots and selling them in the traditional markets; however, with the huge hit "it", she became a highly renowned portrait artist. Although she has never received any former art training, she has hosted many extremely successful exhibitions. She has even caught the eye of celebrated art critiques such as Mr. Chiang Hsun who described her paintings as "radiant and sexy but with a touch of sadness".
At the age of twelve, Ms. Liu's life changed after her father passed away. She became sensitive and melancholy. By the time she was twenty, she was already married. Although marriage provided her with all her material needs, she began to feel there must be more to life than just having possessions. She began painting as a way to express herself and channel her feelings. Today, she inspires many through her paintings. She feels painting is a language that transcends boarders, culture and even race. She feels it is a method of communication that transcends time and space, touching lives without scrupulous effort. Painting has provided her with healing and strength and believes it will continue to do so for as long as she lives. An autobiographical documentary about Ms. Liu was recently produced by renowned film director Mr. Lu Yan-jhong, capturing the personality behind the popular art work.
Ms. Liu is an avid reader, and books have been her main source of inspiration. She has worn many hats; she is not only as an artist but also a wife and mother. Reading has turned her into the humble person she is today. She has a lot of respect for people and their individuality. She chooses her words very carefully and makes sure those around her feel comfortable.
Ms. Liu's portraits feature fashionably-dressed characters with big, exaggerated eyes. They are profoundly expressive, somber and full of sorrow. Her art draws on topics she is familiar with such as Asian themes. She feels life is a work in process and continuely developing and believes she still has not produced her greatest master piece. Ms. Liu has been painting for fifteen years and has works exhibited at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art and the Academia Historica. But Ms. Liu believes her art will continue to evolve and is always striving to take her work to higher levels.
Ms. Liu's work is now on display at the "Mona Lisa in Taiwan" exhibition at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts from until September 15th. Ms. Liu's works, along with eighteen other contemporary artists paint modern interpretations of the world-famous Mona Lisa. Admission to the exhibition is free of charge.
自成一家 畫家柳依蘭
◎文／侯雅婷
關於畫家柳依蘭，有人著墨於她從傳統市場的醃筍工成為畫家，有人以素人畫家形容她，而影響她甚鉅的知名藝術評論家蔣勳曾以「大器、燦爛 、冶豔，還帶點憂傷」形容她的油畫作品，導演盧彥中甚至以她的故事為題材拍攝紀錄片，她畫作中無法複製的獨特性，讓佇立在畫前的觀眾感受深刻。
她畫的人物像總有著超大的眼睛，大器中流露嚴肅、憂傷的神情，且打扮入時，有著濃濃的東方味。柳依蘭坦誠，畫裏反應她心靈狀態的空間。柳依蘭12歲時喪父，形成她敏感、憂鬱的人格特質，20歲時嫁作人婦，生活無虞，但柳依蘭認為人生不能只有這樣，直到投入畫畫，在畫作中表達自我，搭起了與外界溝通的橋樑。柳依蘭認為，透過畫作可以跨越國界、文化、種族地交流，甚至跨越時空的觸動更多人的生命，這對自幼體會生命無常的她而言，是種療癒 ，畫畫帶給她力量，她因此不斷創作。
非學院出身，柳依蘭靠著大量閱讀汲取創作的養份，無形中也給了她對生命的包容和生活的智慧，現實生活中她是媳婦、妻子和母親等多重角色合於一身 ，但閱讀使她謙卑，和人溝通時，她選擇對方能接受的語彙與人相處，恰如其份地扮不同的角色。她她說人一生像一件作品，追求不同階段的突破，相信有一天孕育出代表作。作畫15年，她的作品被高雄市立美術館、國史館典藏，她期許自己的畫作不斷進步。
想欣賞柳依蘭的畫作，即日起至9月在高雄市立美術館展出「我們都是蒙娜麗莎─當代篇：蒙娜麗莎MIT」，一睹柳依蘭和其他18位畫家精彩演繹蒙娜麗莎。
American percussionist Kevin Lee Romanski
◎ English translation: Tan Shu-chun
◎ Photo courtesy of Kevin L. Romanski
Kevin Lee Romanski is an American percussionist who has been living in Kaohsiung since 2006 and has a Taiwanese wife. He teaches at the Department of Performing Arts in Shu-Te University. He also recently became a father for the first time. Although he is a busy teacher and family man, he still takes time to get know the local culture.
Kevin feels his Chinese has improved greatly since he began teaching music history at Shu-Te. In order for his students to fully comprehend the class, he began lecturing in Chinese. At first, his wife helped him put together notes in pin-yin so his pronunciation would be correct. However, after a few classes, he was able to do it without the help of the notes. He even speaks a little Taiwanese to help elaborate his point.
Kevin explained how different percussion instruments have different rhythm patterns. He particularly likes the xylophone because it allows for a wider range of musical expression. In Taipei, there are fewer xylophone players than piano players, so his xylophone concerts have become widely renowned. He has held numerous xylophone concerts around Taiwan and incorporates a variety of music in to his shows, including pop and Broadway. He also makes sure he strikes the correct balance between classical and pop, in order to entertain audiences that enjoy a wide range of music.
Kevin enjoys Kaohsiung's warm weather, affordable prices and simplicity of the city's street layout. Kevin also has a favorite local diner where he has inspired a dish. The eatery chef customized Kevin's favorite dish pineapple and shrimp fried rice. The pineapple and shrimp fried rice is so good that the owner put it on the menu. He is really excited about this. Kevin enjoys his life in Kaohsiung City.
改變中文菜單的擊樂演奏家─李凱文
◎ 文／侯雅婷
◎ 照片提供／李凱文
美籍擊樂演奏家李凱文是高雄女婿 ，2006年定居高雄，任教樹德科技大學，學校對他而言像個大家庭，隨著學生人數漸增，他也越來越忙碌。初為人父的他，細細領略跨文化的趣味。
當被問起上課都以英文授課嗎？凱文說，因為教授一門音樂史課程，中文因而突飛猛進，為了讓學生充份了解授課內容，在太太協助之下，他將中文發音寫成英文小抄，強記中文，每堂課都以字正腔圓的中文深度剖析教材，幾次音樂史的課程之後，他發現自己可以丟掉小抄，說著流利的中文，他偶爾夾帶一點點台語能更傳神地表達語意。
談起凱文擅長的擊樂演奏，他特別醉心木琴演奏，他認為許多打擊樂器所發出的節奏強度不一，木琴能賦予音樂更寬廣的表達空間，而學習木琴的人數也遠低於鋼琴，讓他的木琴音樂演奏更容易脫穎而出。在台舉辦多次室內音樂演奏會，並結合流行音樂和百老匯式的秀場演出，期以豐富的演出內容，吸引現場佳賓，他更留心演奏曲目的安排，在精英音樂和大眾音樂間取得平衡，避免太嚴肅的音樂讓聽眾情緒緊繃，或是太放鬆的音樂讓聽眾進入夢鄉。
居住高雄8年，凱文喜歡高雄陽光高照的好天氣、便宜的生活開銷與井然有序的棋盤式街道。談起在地的飲食經驗，他常造訪一家台式炒飯的小店，老闆特別為他客製化鳳梨蝦仁炒飯，由於滋味太棒了，還被正式列在菜單上，說起他改變菜單這件事，他深深地引以為傲。他也分享，他通常會在附近購買一杯涼飲、一份雞蛋糕來搭配他最愛的鳳梨蝦仁炒飯，這些在高雄生活中的小片段令他非常滿足。