Providence Journal
Zen Chuang's soothing blend of worlds
03/28/2003
CRANSTON -- Balancing.
Much of Zen Chuang's
life has involved the delicate task of balancing.
A physician and
painter, Chuang, 35, has pursued both disciplines, finding common ground
between science and art.
Born in Taiwan, Chuang
has also managed to meld the influence of traditional Chinese
brushstroke paintings with Western-style watercolor techniques. The
result is his own style -- elegant in design and exquisite in its use of
colors.
An avid reader, Chuang
says he loves classic English and American literature, but that poetry
is perhaps closest to his heart.
A few years ago, while
Chuang was still in medical school, these skills and passions blossomed
into a children's book that he wrote and illustrated.
The book is titled
Gee-Chi, which is the name of the little bird who is the protagonist and
also the Chinese phrase for the sound birds make (the equivalent of the
English-language "tweet-tweet").
The simple, hopeful
tale is about a lonely little bird who searches for his own song and for
others to sing with. The story is brought to life by Chuang's
illustrations of little Gee-Chi against backdrops of soft-colored
flowers, great expanses of sky and a vivid change of seasons.
Although the book has
not been published, the illustrations and text are on display this month
at the Cranston Public Library's main branch on Sockanosset Cross Road.
Sitting in the rear
gallery of the library last week, Chuang talked about his love of
medicine, art and poetry and how they work together in his life.
After spending his
childhood in Taiwan, Chuang moved to Argentina in his teens and then
came to the United States to study art and biochemistry as an
undergraduate at Brown University.
He had always planned
to be a doctor, he said, and he always painted. When he was a youngster,
his mother was so convinced of his artistic talent that she enrolled him
in English classes so he would be prepared if he won an international
contest.
Chuang did not win the
free trip to the United States that his mother had dreamed of, but he
won other contests and his painting style kept evolving as he moved to
South America and then the United States and was influenced by the
different cultures and landscapes.
After graduating from
Brown, Chuang enrolled at the Yale University School of Medicine. It was
during that time that he wrote Gee-Chi.
"I think a children's
book is wonderful... in that one can make it very simple but at the same
time profound, like poetry," Chuang said. "Children's books can also be
for [people] of all ages and can potentially reach a much larger
audience."
Chuang did his
residency work through Brown University and Memorial Hospital of Rhode
Island, in Pawtucket, concentrating on family medicine. He completed his
residency in 1998, and spent the ensuing years working with VISTA as a
traveling physician caring for people in poverty-stricken areas of the
country.
He traveled from the
desert of New Mexico to the Alaskan tundra, and always, he said, he
painted.
Upon returning to Rhode
Island , Chuang moved to Providence's East Side and decided to
concentrate on family medicine. Several months ago, he opened a practice
in Taunton, Mass. He also teaches a course called "art and medicine" at
the Brown Medical School.
For the Gee-Chi book,
and also to create prints for sale, Chuang uses a relatively new
technique called giclee. He takes his original watercolor works,
photographs them, scans them into a computer and then uses a
high-quality printer that disperses millions of droplets of pigment onto
the paper.
Chuang said that
special ink and high-quality paper must be used for the prints, which
are numbered and created in limited quantity. The result, he said, is
vibrant color that will last practically forever if properly cared for.
Medicine and art are
not two different worlds, according to Chuang. Art can enhance someone's
health just by the passive appreciation of it, he said, and that is why
he has decorated his office with what he calls "soothing" art works to
create a peaceful atmosphere.
It is not an original
idea, he said, noting that more and more hospitals, particularly in
children's wards, use art to make areas less stressful and foreboding.
Participating in art,
whether its painting or sculpture, can be even more beneficial, he said,
noting that it gives people insight, allows them to relax and also
imparts a sense of achievement.
One of Chuang's goals
is to eventually incorporate art therapy into his medical practice, he
said.
And art, Chuang said,
doesn't have to be limited to painting or drawing. It can be almost any
creative aspect of life -- from deciding where to place flowers in your
garden to baking a perfectly golden pie.
"Each person," he said,
"can be an artist in their own way."