Sat, Oct 01, 2016 page8

• Zodiac heads have no place at the museum

  • By Yang Chyi-wen 楊其文
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  The National Palace Museum has announced that it would remove 12 bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that it received as a donation from Hong Kong film actor Jackie Chan (成龍), and which are currently installed in the courtyard of the museum’s newly opened southern branch in Chiayi County’s Taibao Township (太保). There is no need to waste public resources on holding a public hearing to discuss what to do with these replicas, which are craft items rather than works of art, and as such have no place in such a prestigious museum. The museum would gain more credibility if it makes a prompt and firm decision on its own initiative.

  The animal heads lack aesthetic appeal. True art has a natural appeal that does not need to be explained. A statue of Venus, Rodin’s The Thinker and the Mona Lisa with her enigmatic smile were created in different centuries, but when we look at them we are intuitively struck by their beauty. Their impact is felt by mind and spirit and is not something that money can buy. Art is a purely sensual perception whose thrill you naturally feel when you approach it.

  The first thing that strikes you when you look at the animal heads donated by Chan is the form of their artistic presentation. As soon as you set eyes on them you get an impression of a ruinous scene of severed heads and dismemberment. One dark gray-black disembodied animal head after another is mounted atop a thin metal pole, its mouth open, but unspeaking. Below that are rows of metal bars connecting a platform above and a pedestal below. The entire presentation is utterly stiff and cold, without the aesthetic sense inherent in any artistic form.

  The animal heads also embody a great taboo of feng shui. The severed heads from China’s Old Summer Palace are works of industrial craftsmanship, but have little artistic value. In their original parkland setting, they served as gargoyles to ward off evil and disasters, while also functioning as fountain spouts, and they were placed in a low position. However, the 12 animal heads copied for Chan are taken to represent the months of the year and set in a high place like a dragon soaring freely into the clouds. The intention of using this reversal to ruin Taiwan by transforming its feng shui is all too obvious and definitely not worthy of praise.

  On further examination of the design, one finds that the rows of columns in each plinth form a dark hollow space that is entirely enclosed, with no exit. The animal heads appear to be mounted on sacrificial altars. On further consideration, the plinths also resemble cages or prison cells. Although made by human hand, the display gives the impression of something formed by nature. This is completely contrary to the form and arrangement of the space that they originally occupied in China. Behind the animal heads is a black wall covered with round convex dots. Apart from failing to blend in with its surroundings, how can this setting provide a suitably contrasting backdrop for the equally black animal heads?

  Should the animal heads be auctioned off or returned to the donor? In considering what to do with these artistically valueless industrial craft items, the National Palace Museum should not convene meetings to discuss the matter just to avoid criticism. That would be a waste of resources. Given the low artistic value of the heads, as well as the clumsy way in which they have been displayed, they are sure to be discarded eventually. They could either be given back to the donor or, if market conditions suggest that they would fetch a good price, be put up for public auction. In the latter case, the proceeds of the auction could be used to publicize and promote the museum.

  Yang Chyi-wen is president of Taipei National University of the Arts.

  Translated by Julian Clegg
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