原住民植物學家羅賓基默爾（Robin W. Kimmerer）用古老傳說和直覺，以及科學的探究，深入解析苔蘚之於森林的功能：在廣闊的雨林生態系中僅占三千分之一的苔蘚植物，卻供養著每一個存在於森林的各式物種，讓彼此互依共存、連結牽絆。苔蘚是多數植物向上發展與向下生根的生態護甲及能量供應鏈，儘管它們的物理構造相當簡單，且大多匍匐在地，但如網狀一般的莖葉鋪面，是緊緊牽繫著每一種動植物的存在要件，它們所提供的庇蔭及保水功能，對於森林中的蕨、葉、芽、木，甚至是飛禽走獸，都扮演著微小低調卻不可或缺的支撐系統。
The Secret of An Art World— Narrating the 10-year Milestone of the Next Art Tainan
Curator: Lin Ping
By embracing instincts and ancient legends, as well as pursuing scientific exploration, botanist Robin W. Kimmerer studies the function of mosses in the forest. Though areas covered by mosses only make up a tiny fraction of the vast rainforest ecosystem, mosses support all the different species in the forest, allowing interdependent lives to coexist and connect. Mosses are simple in structure, but they provide ecological protection and energy supply for most plants to grow tall or build deep roots. Moss stems and leaves, like a dense mat or web, weave together all the survival elements for animals and plants. Also mosses provide shade and water retention. It is easy to disregard them, yet they play the role of an indispensable support system for floras and faunas in the forest.
The reason to talk about mosses is because I think a well-established art ecosystem resembles that of a moss forest. Just like how the lives of a plethora of species are intertwined, for an art ecosystem to grow and mature, it not only depends on the creative energy of artists, but also on many other factors, from gallery support for emerging artists, audience participation, to collectors’ enthusiasm. Founded in 2013, Next Art Tainan awards will soon celebrate its tenth anniversary. We are committed to showcasing emerging artists and their works, and introducing them to commercial galleries and the general art market. Over the last decade, we have awarded close to 130 emerging artists. Upon receiving the awards, these artists enjoy broader and elevated career pathways, and collectively they form an inspiring artistic current.
Next Art Tainan has become an influential interface that nourishes the artistic creativity of emerging artists, promotes public showcasing, cultivates aesthetic sensibility, broadens the collector community, and supports the art collection and trading market. Despite limited resource, Next Art Tainan continues to grow and expand. We also partnered with Art Tainan Expo in recent years, a synergistic alliance that offers our awarded artists more opportunities into the art market. Thanks to the persistent engagement of all stakeholders year after year, we have gradually created a vibrant art industry based in Tainan that embodies diverse art forms with pluralistic themes.
Most mosses are small and inconspicuous, but they hold the key to the secrets of the lush forest. They are the medium for exploring the wilderness. Over the last decade, Next Art Tainan has spread and broadened its influence like spreading mosses that form a green, velvety carpet, and has provided the nourishment for emerging artists to grow and flourish into tall trees, and even a vast forest. During the award selection and curatorial process, different ideas concerning aesthetic appreciation, cultural critics and contemporary art creativity mingle and collide. This is like how water and air flows among and nourishes the various species, and together with the rocks on the land, form an extremely abundant moss scape.
Art schools, art museums and galleries all try to survive with each own’s merit, yet there is also a symbiosis among them. Each of them carries out its own appropriate role in the micro-ecological zones and habitats. Robin W. Kimmerer describes these habitats to be very inclusive and nurturing, like “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf, which allows species to grow and flourish without competition. The same concept applies to how art institutions and galleries can work together to nurture diverse artists, and Next Art Tainan prides itself for playing the intermediate role.
