台灣原住民藝術發展的價值定位，從受日本殖民統治起被發現、蒐藏與研究至今，不論在作為人類學物質文化演變的標本物證上，還是在表現族群美感的原始藝術上，始終具有科學研究與審美價值的雙重地位。唯受世界局勢與社會經濟變遷、人群文化互動影響，當代的原住民藝術已轉型呈現出多元面貌，諸多原住民藝術工作者包括外界專家學者在內，皆對何謂「原住民藝術」及其今日是否仍適宜被當作是「原始藝術」提出反思。
本文先討論「原始藝術」、「原住民藝術」、「當代原住民藝術」名辭的定義問題，再論述當代原住民藝術工作者對原始藝術、族群工藝、藝術創作的認知概念，並提出學者們對原住民當代或現代藝術中所反映之「現代性」的質疑。最後，亦從西方社會原住民藝術之發展進程，來檢視同樣在爭取主流社會中之價值體系地位建構上，台灣原住民藝術工作者的努力與具體成果。再提出一點的是，當創作者企圖從原始藝術或傳統工藝走出，追求純藝術發展時，作品中卻隱約地透露出一種將其族群文化之過去／傳統／原始視為是美好且值得懷念的理想型烏托邦特質。
台灣原住民藝術、當代、原始
My study will first concern itself with defining 'Primitive Art,' 'Indigenous Art,' and 'Contemporary Indigenous Art.' Secondly, it seeks to explore some underlying issues embedded in the concepts of primitive art, ethnographic handicraft, and models for creating aesthetic representation, each presented by the indigenous artists. The essay also calls in question the 'modernity' in contemporary or 'modern' indigenous art, its truth challenged by diverse critical factions. Finally, it examines the efforts and achievements of the artists in their attempt to incorporate the mainstream societal values progressively. Put another way, it looks into the extent to which the ethnic identity and cultural difference are articulated in Taiwanese indigenous art, in contrast to their Western counterpart.
It is worth noting as well that the contemporary indigenous art exposes a homogenizing nostalgia for the return of the lost pristine state. Rather than presenting itself as a radical break with the past, their work often harkened back to more distant and presumably more authentic origins. The 'modem' was thus often justified as the more 'authentic' to the traditional ethnic values.
Taiwanese Indigenous Arts, Contemporary, Primitive
