VieShow Cinemas’ Taipei Sun, a digital IMAX movie theater located in Taipei’s Ximending area, closed its doors on Sept. 8 in preparation for the building to be torn down for an urban renewal project. The fate of the mosaic mural The Rising Sun, which is 18.5 meters long and 3 meters high and is located on the second floor, has since become a focus of controversy.
The mosaic mural was created by Yen Shui-long (1903-1997), an important figure in Taiwanese art, whose work ranged from painting, crafts and pottery to advertising design, and who was a pioneer in Taiwan’s arts and crafts. Yen was a cofounder of the Tai-Yang Art Society in 1934, along with Chen Cheng-po, Yang San-lang, Liao Chi-chun and other founding figures of modern Taiwanese art. Yen’s oil paintings cost millions of New Taiwan dollars and his mosaics are estimated to have a market value of tens of millions.
The Rising Sun is one of 16 mosaic murals created by Yen during his lifetime. It was specially crafted for the opening of the theater (then named Sunrise Theater) in 1966 and became the theater’s greatest treasure. The theater and the mosaic are intertwined with the youthful memories of several generations. The magnificent mural is composed of abstract color blocks, yet with the details showing subtle changes in color.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs 照片：台北市文化局提供
Taipei City Government therefore intervened to facilitate negotiations, and the builder, Songyang Investment Co, Ltd, which is also the owner of VieShow Cinemas’ Taipei Sun, agreed to preserve the mosaic mural properly and look for a suitable place for display. For now, the mural will be dismantled into parts and transported to the builder’s Nangang warehouse for storage.
(Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)
台北西門町的日新威秀影城九月八日熄燈，將都更改建為綜合商業大樓。位於影城二樓，長約十八點五公尺、高三公尺的馬賽克鑲嵌壁畫《旭日東昇》，其去留成為關注焦點。
《旭日東昇》為著名台灣前輩藝術家顏水龍（一九○三～一九九七）之作品。顏水龍是台灣工藝美術先驅，其創作橫跨繪畫、工藝、陶藝、廣告設計，並在一九三四年與陳澄波、楊三郎、廖繼春等前輩藝術家共同創立臺陽美術協會，為台灣美術的重要人物。顏水龍的油畫動輒數百萬元，其馬賽克鑲嵌畫據估計也有上千萬的市價。
顏水龍生前創作了十六件馬賽克鑲嵌壁畫，《旭日東昇》為其中之一，是一九六六年應邀為戲院（當時名為「日新大戲院」）開幕而特別製作，成為鎮院之寶，連同戲院承載了許多人的青春回憶。壁畫壯觀宏偉，以抽象色塊構圖，細部卻又表現出細膩的色彩變化。
經台北市政府協調相關單位，日新戲院業主、建商松陽投資事業股份有限公司表示，會妥善保存原作，另覓合適地點規劃重現；目前將對壁畫進行切割，運送至松陽在南港的倉庫保存。
（台北時報林俐凱）
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