Paiwan SAPALI cultural art workshop carves bridge into the future

With over 30 years of wood carving experience, the work of Paiwan wood-carving artist Zhu Cai-bao (朱財寶) is a common sight at Taitung’s famous Austronesia Cultural Art Festival (南島文化節). In November 2011, while working on a large-scale project at a stream near the tribal village, Zhu Cai-bao was struck on the chest by a 500kg piece of wood that accidentally fell, resulting in internal bleeding and his subsequent death.

The news brought shock and sadness to not only friends and family, but to the art world at large. Zhu Cai-bao was the driving force behind the practice of wood carving at Tu-ban (土坂), his work being visible even from the village entrance. It was the work of Zhu Cai-bao that established Tu-ban village as the main representative of preserving Paiwan’s tribal wood carving culture.

In 1983, a Swiss priest built a catholic church in the village. In order to embellish the church with a flavor of the Paiwan tribe, the priest encouraged Zhu Cai-bao to attempt carving the story of the Holy Trinity. Jesus in the Tabernacle, a work that Zhu Cai-bao dedicated to the church, was not only his first and perhaps most celebrated work of art, but also initiated a sculpting career spanning thirty years.

Paiwan SAPALI cultural art workshop carves bridge into the future
URL:https://www.peopo.org/news/218513

(以下是中文對照)
排灣族鑿痕SAPALI文化工藝室承先啟後

擁有木雕創作經驗，長達30年以上的排灣族木雕藝術家朱財寶，在台東縣著名的南島文化節活動中，常看到他的作品，不過他卻已經在2011年的11月，於部落附近的溪流，吊掛大型漂流木作業時，不慎被滑掉的500公斤漂流木擊中胸部，造成內出血傷重不治，親友都感到驚訝和惋惜，消息傳出後更震驚藝術界。

土坂因為朱財寶大師，帶動了整個部落的木雕風氣，從部落的入口意象，就看得到朱財寶大師的創意在裡面，所以土坂部落也成了保存排灣族典型木雕的藝術部落。1983 年瑞士籍艾格里神父，在土坂社區興建天主堂，為了讓天主堂具有排灣族特色，於是鼓勵朱財寶，嘗試以排灣木雕技藝，雕刻出三位一體等宗教故事，這是朱財寶初試啼聲之作，耶穌的聖體櫃，以及最有名的作品，三位一體木雕像，都奉獻給了土坂天主堂，卻也因此開啟了三十餘年的雕藝生涯。