出版品
鄭乃文序
謝季芸七十書法展 序
國立國父紀念館館長 鄭乃文
傳統職業婦女在藝術的創作過程經常是特別艱辛，因為除了必須在職場努力外，還要操持家務；所以，真正能用於創作的時間非常珍貴，做好個人時間管理及分配也變得相當重要。中國書法學會謝理事長季芸女士在書法藝術創作上的成就，正是突破上述限制的最好例證。謝女士出生於台南望族，後因家道中落維持家計，高中畢業後即以優異的成績進入電信局（今中華電信）服務。三十歲那年，其先夫因一場車禍意外致天倫夢碎，陷入困境。謝女士發揮母 光輝，母兼父職，獨立撫育栽培子女，維護一個幸福美滿的家庭。在生活艱困的環境中，仍堅持執著於藝術創作，不間斷地參與各種藝文活 ，充實內涵。今日，謝女士在藝術上能有如此聲望及成就，堅毅卓絕的精神令人十分感佩。
一九七九年謝女士正式拜黃金陵先生為師研習書法，深刻的體會書法之堂奧，也「磨」出了定靜、內斂的個性。在「字隨心轉」中，其書法風格也轉趨成熟。就在技法日趨精進後，渴望進一步提昇至心靈層次，她也開始研習古文，品味詩書，相繼師承周植夫、李猷及張壽平等大師學習詩詞。藉由弄墨舞文，開始學畫花鳥，享受與大自然同行的樂趣。有感於終得在藝術領域心無旁騖衝刺，即自號「未遲」以自勉，可見其積極努力的人生態度。
綜觀謝女士對藝事追求道途的歷程，可說是一步一腳印，迄今成就斐然，得來絕無半點僥倖，獲頒的獎項及肯定難以勝數。在中國書法學會會員們眾望所歸的推崇下，擔任第十五屆理事長。這是我國書法社團首次由女 擔綱領導，具有歷史 的意義。謝理事長不但一本創會的初衷，戮力以赴的推展藝文活 ，使該會活 異常熱絡，會務昌隆。另謝理事長上任後，意識到書法藝術為中華傳統文化之菁華，除了長期推展書藝活 ，更有必要為書壇之歷史整合盡一份心力，在人力、物力不足的情況下，毅然籌措經費，舉辦了一場「翰墨千秋大展」—一部台灣半世紀的書法史，又於今(2008)年六月帶團遠赴北 京參加「第八屆國際書法交流北京大展」，在書法界引發了極大的迴響，令人刮目相看。
本館展覽諮詢委員會肯定謝女士精湛的書法造詣，全數通過支持其個展之申請案，於九十八年元月六日至十五日假「逸仙藝廊」展出精湛作品百餘件。在此，作品集行將付梓之際，特撰文表達個人敬佩之祝賀之意，並推薦於社會大眾，並祈蒞館觀賞，共襄盛舉。
二○○八年十一月
Prologue
For traditional working women, the path of artistic creations is particularly arduous, because they not only have to excel in their workplace, they must also take care of the home. Therefore the time they have to devote to their creative work is very limited, and sound management and allocation of their time becomes extremely important. The artistic accomplishment of chairwoman Hsieh of the Taiwan Chinese Calligraphy Society is the best example of overcoming the above mentioned barriers. Ms. Hsieh was born in Tainan to a prominent family. Subsequently, due to the need to support her family, she began working right after high school and was able to find work in the department of telecommunications of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (or Chung Hwa Telecom of today) with her high marks. At age 30, her husband passed away after an auto accident, leaving her to look after the family on her own. Hsieh shouldered the responsibilities of both parent to her children and provided them a healthy family environment. Amidst her setbacks, Hsieh still persevered with her artistic pursuit, as she continued to participate actively in all sorts of artistic and cultural activities. Today, Ms. Hsieh is accomplished and well known in the artistic world, and her determination for the extraordinary is an inspiration to all.
In 1979, Ms. Hsieh officially apprenticed under the guidance of master calligrapher Mr. Huang Jin-ling, where she was able to gain a profound appreciation for the depth of Chinese calligraphy, and the experience also helped to cultivate her character of equanimity and humility. This was reflected in her belief that “calligraphy is a mirror of the heart and mind”, which is evidenced by the increasing maturity exhibited by her calligraphic style.As her technique and mastery of the art progressed steadily, she yearned to further ascend it to a spiritual dimension, thus she began training with ancient literature and partook in books of poems, plus she further apprenticed with calligraphy masters Zou Zhi-fu, Lee You and Zhang Shouping to learn poetry. In the process, she also began her training in the genre of painting flowers and birds, and relished in the appreciation of nature. Inspired by her swift ascendance in the arts, she assumed the nom de plume “Wei Chi (nowise potter)”as a self encouragement, which testifies to her attitude in life of ever forging ahead. Reflecting on her artistic pursuit indicates it was an extraordinary accomplishment that was hard earned, winning her numerous accolades. Under the anticipation of fellow calligraphy society members, she was named to serve as the Society’s 15th president, with a historic significance in that she is the first woman to assume that position. President Hsieh served dutifully and diligently promoted the Society’s activities. After assuming the post, she recognized that calligraphy as the pith of Chinese cultural heritage deserves not only frequent holdings of exhibits in its promotion, but also necessitates more efforts to rectify its role in literary history. Although restrained by limited manpower and resources, she still managed to raise the needed funding to organize the “Exhibition of Contemporary Calligraphy”, an in-depth and comprehensive exhibit, examination and retrospect of works by contemporary Taiwan calligraphy artists of the last half a century. In June of this year (2008), she also led a delegation to Beijing China to take part in “The 8th Annual International Chinese Calligraphy Exchange Expo”, where her efforts drew much acclaim within the calligraphic circles and made quite an impression.
The advising commission of this exhibit hall affirms the distinguished achievements of Ms. Hsieh, and unanimously approve and support her application for the exhibit on her personal works, which is scheduled for January 6th through 15th of 2009 in the Yat-sen Gallery with over a hundred pieces of works. As this distinguished collection of work will soon grace the halls, I hereby take the privilege of composing a note of my personal admiration and congratulation, and offer my recommendation of this rare event to the public, which I anticipate to attend in person to enjoy and support the exhibit.
Sincerely,
Cheng Nai-wen November, 2008