Letting the Cows Graze

Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Last week, I visited a friend at the Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA). At the entrance, I happened to see two rare Taiwanese water buffalo grazing on the surrounding grassland. Is this a coincidence, an accident, or does it carry another implication? Can art be taught? It seems it can only inspire. Knowledge can be taught, but what about creation? Do those two cows metaphorically suggest that art creation education is merely "letting cows graze"? Let nature take its course.

Therefore! Under the premise of Joseph Beuys's statement that "everyone is an artist," we should not only let the cows graze but also provide students with a lush green pasture. Moreover, art education should grant every student a pair of wings, allowing them to spread their wings and soar under all possibilities of art, discover their own individuality, create their own world, and achieve the value of their existence.