One of the "Three Youths"
DOES IMPERIAL ART WORLD EQUAL THAT OF THE EMPIRE? WHAT WERE THE TRANSIMPERIAL RESONANCES?
SETTLER ARTISTS?
Guo Xuehu made his debut at the first Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition (1927) with the painting titled "Flying Waterfall among Pines Cliffs" (Shōgaku hisen) (ADD IMAGE). He was one of the only three Taiwanese Chinese artists, whose works got accepted to the tōyōga division of the exhibition. The other two artists, Chen Jin (1907-1998) and Lin Yushan (1907-2004), were only one year older than Guo Xuehu, and had received some of their artistic training in Japan.
add image from Taiwan Kyoiku 1933 11 with people crowded outside looking at the list of names
The Vice-Governor General, Gotō Fumio (1884-1980), speaking at the opening of the first Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition to the crowd of invited guests, expressed his hopes that the exhibition would flourish and contribute to the “imperial art world” (teikoku bijutsukai) (“Nankoku bijutsu no dendō o kizuku hatsu no Taiwan Bijutsu Tenrankai."). During the opening ceremony, the organizers also read congratulatory telegrams from Japan’s Minister of Education and the former organizer of the Korea Fine Arts Exhibition (Chōsen bijutsu tenrankai) Mizuno Rentarō (1868-1949), the director of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy Fukuhara Ryōjirō (1868-1932), and the director of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts Masaki Naohiko (1862-1940) (Nihon bijutsu nenkan Shōwa 3nen, 41.). Thus, the organizers mobilized their contacts to major bureaucrats in Japan to position their efforts firmly within the imperial framework of art patronage and highlight the putative benevolence of the colonial rule.
Why would artists in Taiwan, especially Taiwanese Chinese be interested in participating in this exhibition?
By the time the first Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition opened in Taipei, residents of the island were familiar with the bustle and hustle of the so-called "artistic fall" (bijutsu no aki) in the metropole. Taiwan nichinichi shinpō had for years been regularly reporting on the salon in Tokyo and other art-related events. The power of the press helped shape the popular image of an artist as a successful exhibition participant and a public figure. Also, exhibition participation promised an opportunity for sales and elevating an artist's standing in the art market. Nearly two months in advance of the salon's first opening in Taipei, the newspaper began extensive reporting on the topic, with the hopes of attracting potential participants and garnering wide interest (ADD photo tns 1927.10.28 of the entry?).
In result, the phenomenon of the "exhibition fever" surrounding the Tokyo salon and other major exhibits also afflicted aspiring artists in Taiwan, especially those of Guo Xuehu's generation. Even some anti-colonialists supported Taiwanese-Chinese artists in participating in the official exhibitions (Jason Kuo 2000 add page number).
Taiwan nichinichi shinpō announced the names of all artists and work titles accepted to the exhibition, reproduced selected works, and published multiple reviews. Art critics named Chen Jin, Lin Yushan, and Guo Xuehu "The Three Youths of the Taiwan Salon" (Taiten san shōnen), gesturing to their very young age (for an artist with an exhibition record) and the scandalous fact that all senior and much more experienced Taiwanese-Chinese artists in the tōyōga category, including Cai Xuexi, had their works rejected. Gossip ensued.
As a self-taught artist, Guo Xuehu felt enormous pressure to prove himself the following year.
Art historian Yen Chuanying has pointed out that the official salon in Taiwan functioned as a popular event and cultural propaganda and had only limited benefits for participating artists, since the government did not establish an art school or an art museum on the island (Yen, “The Art Movement in the 1930s in Taiwan,” 52. Yen, “Nankoku bijutsu no dendō kenzō,” 367-368.) The library was the only institution outside of the salon that, albeit indirectly, supported aspiring artists.