“Let us truthfully reflect the pulse of the times. Life is beautiful. Our hopes to transform this island into a beautiful island, an Ilha Formosa, begin in art and end in art. We that love art, would give our hearts to our homeland of Taiwan. To persist in study and progress with foolhardy diligence—that is the mission of the Chidao Group, and also our life’s mission. Let us adorn this humdrum island with the Taiten in autumn and the Chidao Exhibition in the spring.” ─“Declaration on the Founding of the Chidao Group,” Tainan Shimpō, August 28, 1929.
In 1929, the Chidao (Tshiah-tó, Sekitō, Red Island) Group, an art group comprising Taiwanese artists and combining the Chi-hsing (Seven Star) Painting Group (founded in 1926) and the Chi-yang (Red Sun) Painting Society (founded in 1927), was founded. With zeal for nurturing life and inspiring Taiwan’s beauty with art, the artists had planned to present an annual exhibition every spring. However, the Chidao Group was put under the spotlight of the government due to the word “chi/tshiah/seki” (meaning “red”) in its name. For example, the Taiwan Nichi Nichi Shimpō identified the intention of the exhibition as “to rival with the Taiten.”
In April 1931, the third Exhibition of the Chidao Group toured from Taipei to Taichung and Tainan. Based on Lin Hsien-tang’s diary, Lin was invited to see the exhibition in Taichung. However, Chen Chih-chi passed away on the last day of the Taichung exhibition. Following the death of the core figure, the voice of the Chidao Group dwindled gradually. From a group photograph of the Chidao Group, one could see Kuo Po-chuan’s painting, Nude Woman. Moreover, the deep friendships among the members of the Chidao Group could be seen from Chen Chih-chi’s wedding photograph, which was treasured by Ran In-ting. (Elanor Hsin-ho Wang)
