The 12th “Hualien International Stone Sculptural Festival,” with the theme of “Stone Mambo”, breaks the conventional static exhibition framework, taking the artists’ creative processes as the main concept. Thus, “movement” is taken as the main theme to connect the essence of various activities in the festival.
Sculpture is the oldest form of art, even predating painting. People in the ancient time have formed a primitive form of sculpture in the process of making stone and pottery into functional objects, whether as vessels, ornaments, or religious-used object. It then has developed into a purely spiritual work that staying independently. Basically, the concept of sculpture is ever changing. The emphasis on sculpture shifted from the practicality to spirituality and non-practicality. In form, most of the sculptures are convergent, space-occupying, enclosed and block-like. Materials include stone, wood, clay, terracotta, and metal, emphasizing the permanence of the sculpture and representing figures of gods, humans, and animals.
The basic principles, from concept to materials and forms, which frame the classical sculpture and form specific sculptural concept, have lasted for thousands of years With the advent of modern art, the concept of sculpture changed drastically, with abstraction of concept, the open in its space, and changes in form. The diversification and expansion of materials broadened up the dimension of the essence of sculptures. All these factors have greatly expanded the concept of sculpture.
The exhibition is divided into three sections, including “Convergence between Stones,” “In Unison with Textures,” and “Whirling Waves of the East,” the organizer takes “movement” as the core curatorial concept. The concept emphasizes the artists’ creative process and symbolizes the gathering of participating artists from all over the world in Hualien, as if the stream of Hualien flowing eastward into the ocean. Furthermore, the waves and sounds formed by the streams echo the core concept, creating a sound that is unique to Hualien.