In this section, you will meet the two disabled creatures. The Peon Fish represents idealists in history and present day while the Forsaken Fowl is artist who works diligently to provide the world with beauty in spite of his humbleness.
To go through this text, the author arrives at an important aesthetics conclusion, expressing the question that concerns him more than any others: “Do the material art works carry the spiritual beauty of the artist ? " In his eyes, the answer is YES!
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Myths offer life models.
— Joseph Campbell
My “creative myth" is series of invented plots woven within the original frame work of Chinese myth to reveal specific messages. It is more than merely an entertainment; but to provide audiences with materials for contemplation. — Lin
歸墟的夏夜 Summer Night in Guei-Shiu,1994,150x200cmx2
The Tragedy of Peon Fish, 1994
(Preface) For my exhibition in Fine Art of Museum of Taipei (1994), I published as part of my installation. In this piece I explore the struggle and self-transcendence from the bondage of Original Sin and also depict the emotional transition of the fish from resistance to obedience. When encounters with difficulties, no living creature is perfectly reacted, but each just strives to approach perfection.
The Peon Fish represents the idealist and I portrayed its characteristics as: “ one-eyed, belly-swollen, hermaphroditic, dumb and solitary,” for physical deformities sometimes achieve spiritual perfection. Gibran confirmed this idea in his where he wrote: “For deafness is the ear of the infinite.” Sages are destined to be solitary and solitude is probably the way of becoming a sage.
(The Legend)"Peon Fish" originated in an occasion of condemnation to mankind. Within a short life span, it was destined to undertake the duty of cleaning the Yellow River. In the first half of its life, the fish was ordered to swim from HSIN SU HAI, the riverhead, to the vast ocean called GUEI SHIU, to seek salvation. During the second half of his life, it swam back upstream in the same roaring and winding river. This homecoming trip ended in giving birth to a baby fish and the exhausted old fish then passed away with peaceful mind. Tasks are carried forward from generation to generation ceaselessly in a timeless and endless cycle.
The Peon Fish Variation I / II
I. Lin’s Installation in the Fine Arts Museum of Taipei, July 23 – August 21, 1994
(連結: Object of Objects/ Installation II)
II. Dance Drama “The Tragedy of Peon Fish" derived from Lin’s poetry and choreographed by German-trained dancer Yu, Neng-Sheng.
>> The first performance in Taiwan was staged by the Chamber Ballet Taipei at the National Theater on Aug.1997.
>> The first performance in Europe staged in Landestheater, Coburg, Germany on Oct. 24, 1998. ( 連結: -心靈的邂逅 Aesthetic Encounters ———-舞劇Drama Dance)
The Forsaken Fowl,1996
(Preface) After the publication of , I stopped creating new myths until early 1996. However, I had long brooded over the durability of artistic “spirit” in artworks, and one day a solution emerged from my depths as I recalled a museum trip in Germany. As an artist, I do hope my work will acquire a persistent ‘life’ that will pass down through generations, but I am disappointed when I read Empiricist demands for evidence of this ‘life’. Of course no one has ever witnessed, much less recorded a statue singing or talking. Nevertheless, on that occasion in Munich, 1989, I experienced a deep and soulful communication with statues. It was an early morning in spring, and I set out to visit Lenbachaus to appreciate the masterpieces of Kandinsky. But due to poor navigation I came instead to another museum. One of its exhibition rooms displayed more than one hundred bust sculptures, each supported by a five-foot column. Some of the faces had suffered minor damage. As I rambled in this ‘silent crowd,’ sunbeams streamed into the room through windowpanes facing a leafy courtyard. The air was quiet enough that I could sense my heartbeat. Thus in quiet contemplation, I perceived an energetic and miraculous current, and the impact of this current was so clear that it remains etched in my memory to this day. Oftentimes, our inspirations flow from our understanding of artists. But when I walked into that exhibition room more or less by accident, I knew nothing about those artists. Nothing prepared me for the experience, and its spontaneity now informs me that there is ‘life’ in artwork and that audiences may be inspired by its ‘radiation’ in days and centuries to come.
Having established a premise, I began constructing my writing. Initially, the miserable life of an artist reminded me of the humble sparrow and St. Francis of Assisi, but a problem arose when I found that this poor bird had no corresponding character in Chinese mythology.
The only similar creature I found was the Hsuan-niao which appears in the royal documents of the heliolatry SHAN. In the records of and , I found nowhere to commence my ‘interknitting,’ and so I stopped for a period. Then one day I came across the same story of Hsuan-niao in <LU-SHE-CH’UN-CH’IU> which mentions that the bird laid two eggs instead of one. This extra egg provided me with sufficient cloth to prick the first needle, and so the Forsaken Fowl was born.
(The Legend) In mid-spring, a Hsuan-niao arrived at the King’s garden and there laid two eggs. Princess Chien-ti swallowed the handsome egg and abandoned the ugly one on the waterfront. At dawn, a toad held cassia leaves in its mouth to shield the egg from sunbeams; and when dusk came, the toad removed the leaves to let the egg bathe in moonlight. This job continued daily for ten months, until one day in early spring of the next year, a hideous bird hatched out. Tung-chun deemed this newborn creature a disgrace to his royal family. In towering rage, he ordered the Wu to execute the bird and granted it three golden arrows. The first shot mutilated the bird’s comb and the second cut off its beak. Dolefully, the terrified bird pled for God’s help. Ch’iang-eih (Cynthia) had mercy on the bird and bade Feng-t’ai go to the rescue. In a flash, dense fog enveloped the target so that the final shot missed. Thus the bird made a narrow escape by scuttling off into the western wilderness. Suffering from disfigurement, the poor bird became bald and dumb and was dubbed ‘Ya-tu’ by people.
Because it was ugly, the bird was forsaken by its father, the Sun God. Despite this misfortune, the bald and speechless creature found a white stone and devotedly dyed it with its own blood. After seven weeks of self-sacrifice, the plain stone became charged with profound beauty. In the final moment, the dying bird exerted its last strength and tore open its chest with its own claws. A sparrow ate the entrails out of pure admiration, and was transformed into the likeness of the forsaken fowl.
神話部落
神話提示生活模式
—約瑟夫. 坎伯
我的創造性神話是以杜撰的情節穿插於中國古老的神話中，企圖以此傳達特定的信息，在娛樂之外促發讀者的省思。
—林勤霖
河囚—忘歸魚的死與生 1994
〔緣起〕1994年為了在北美館的一次展覽，我「偶然」的寫了「忘歸魚的死與生」。目的是用這種虛構的物種來探討面對原罪的掙扎與超昇。
我用牠們來隱喻人類中理想的追求者。作者特別強調了牠們由抗拒到順從的心路歷程。當面對困境時沒有任何生物是完全的，他們充其量也只能竭力的接近完全。忘歸魚被賦予的特質是：「獨眼、鼓腹、雌雄不分、瘖而不群」。這些肉體的殘缺在我看來反而是使精神完美的恩賜。獨眼者雖然不能判斷距離，但有時長遠的眼光反而成了裹足的牽絆。鼓腹則純是一種功能的
設計。雌雄不分在於強調精神性的繁衍是可以獨力完成的。再者，五官的失能不是常常使得心靈更加清明嗎？紀伯侖曾說過：「For deaf is the ear of the infinite!」孤獨彷彿是聖者的宿命，也是造就聖者的因由。
〔故事〕人類因貪婪、殺戮遭天譴而變成此魚，每年春天溶雪之
後，自黃河上源順流游向「渤海」口。沿途吞食泥沙而 為「河清」竭力；抵「歸墟」後吐盡泥砂旋即折返「星宿海」生子而亡。幼魚冰封一冬之後，存活者繼續「河清」的任務作著這了無窮盡的代代循環。！.
忘歸魚變奏曲
I.) 在台北市立美術館的裝置展覽(7.23~8.21,1997) (連結: 物象的意象—裝置 II)
II.) 旅德編舞家余能盛改編成巴蕾舞劇在國家劇院實驗劇場演出(1994年8月) 於1998年10月24日在德國哥堡劇院演出( 連結: 心靈的邂逅 Aesthetic Encounters ———-舞劇Drama Dance)
失音鳥 1996
〔緣起〕當忘歸魚寫完之後，自忖不可能再有故事可寫了，但在 1996 年初，心中蘊釀已久的「藝術品生命」問題，激起了我用神話來「說明」的動機。做為一個藝術工作者，當然希望他的作品得以承載生命而傳之久遠。但是這一議題到了實證主義者的手中就格外的令人沮喪。誰能舉證雕像有「生命」的存在呢？的確，我從未聽過雕像說話，但在 1989 年確曾有過一次和雕像作靈魂深度溝通的經驗。那是一個初春的早晨，在慕尼黑，我原計劃要去 Lenbachhaus 看Kandinsky 的畫，結果卻誤打誤撞的走進一個不知其名的博物館看到了一群不知作者是誰的雕像。那個展覽室陳列著上百個石雕頭像。許多五官都已殘缺，館方用等身高的方柱作支架。徘徊其間就仿如置身人群之中。陽光從中庭的樹林穿透進來，空氣靜到可以感覺自己的脈動。凝神中，一股電流般的「能量」向我推擠過來，那種震撼至今記憶猶新。它是那麼純粹以致我確信那就是發自作品的生命力。說它純粹是因為我全然不知作品的背景，因為許多時候我們被作品感動其實只不過是作者的偉大身世使然。基於這個「物質能承載精神」的確信，我開始了第二次的「編織」！
藝術家的清貧讓我想到 St. Francis of Assisi，也想到了卑微的麻雀。只是在中國的神話中，麻雀是沒有地位的。倒是玄鳥在太陽崇拜的商朝開國史中佔了相當的分量。從詩經和史記的記載，我找不到切入點。不久，偶然在呂氏春秋中看到玄鳥「遺二卵」，其中的一個成了契，另一個下場不明。一陣狂喜，於是「失音鳥」就誕生了。
〔故事〕 仲春，玄鳥至，遺二卵。其光潤者，簡狄吞之；餘者粗鄙，見棄於水濱。晨明，有蟾蜍密銜月桂葉覆之以蔽日。定昏，復揭之以受星月之光。歷十月，翌年孟春之際。有鳥破殼而出，形貌甚惡,東君恥之。怒遣其烏授三矰以射之。一中其冠，二中其喙，是鳥懼怖，哀告於天。嫦娥憫之。急命逢泰馳救。不須臾，雲霧四垂。三射不中，翻飛而去，亡於大荒西野。是鳥冠毀舌斷，名為啞禿。
崑崙之西，大漠之南有峚山，其玉盈谷，啞禿得其美者攫之而東。止於鍾山之陽，大湖之畔。日泣其血而潤之，歷四十九日，血方盡，旋鼓其餘力以爪裂膛。曏者有雀鳥窺於其側，感其誠而欲效之，食其五臟。俄頃，化為其類。
啞禿之石，累世積之，日月炙，雨露潤，色澤斑爛。水石相映，若花雨繽紛。得之者輒感其靈焉。