Getting Wood to Talk (2)

The artist's style
Taking Yang's advice, Chang simplified his style, turning from realistic pieces to stylized ones. With wood as his medium of choice, Chang focused on creating landscape-themed sculptures, finding inspiration in the marble canyons of Taroko National Park. His treks to the park resulted in a series of carvings that captured the rugged beauty of Taroko's canyon walls, waterfalls and rapids.

By 1988, four years into his art career, Chang was winning awards for his art, which was becoming sought after by museums in Taiwan.

The artist's themes
Chang often features spiritual themes in his landscape sculptures. Prodigy, a piece that he labored over for 16 years, illustrates the Bible story of Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt. Considered a masterpiece, the wooden carving captures the moment when God parted the Red Sea. In The Breakthrough Bestowed by God, a copper sculpture, Chang portrays the struggle of a grape tree that's bursting through stone barriers. This complex piece serves as a metaphor for seeking God's assistance in all struggles.

As a sculptor whose career began at 47, Chang's success proves that - for a passionate artist - it's never too late to start!

Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: What’s a Shibboleth? 何謂Shibboleth？
Shibboleth n,
/ˈʃɪbələθ/
1: an old idea, opinion, or saying that is commonly believed and repeated but that may be seen as old-fashioned or untrue
2: a word or way of speaking or behaving which shows that a person belongs to a particular group

Language Lab
simplify v.
to make something easier or less complicated:
- The teacher simplified the story so young kids can understand.
- The new application procedure is simplified.
simple adj.
not difficult or complicated to do or understand:
- Nathan can't even solve simple math questions.

trek n.
a long and difficult journey, made especially on foot as an adventure
trek v.
trek past tense and past participle trekked, present participle trekking [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]

bestow v.
/bɪˈstoʊ/
to give someone something of great value or importance
bestow something on/upon somebody
- The university bestowed on/upon her an honorary degree.

metaphor n.
/ˈmɛtəˌfoɚ/
a word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar

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