Let's say you go to a party and paint designs on your body, then someone takes your photo and includes it in a project promoting world peace. Will it help stop the US from bombing Iraq? Will it keep the North Korean regime from building nuclear weapons? The organizers of a music and art event taking place this evening think it might. But while they're busy making final preparations for their festivities, other anti-war activists in Taiwan are wondering aloud about the efficacy of partying for peace.
In the past few weeks there have been several events aimed at gathering support for Taiwan's nascent peace movement and with the immediate goal of creating a local voice of opposition to a war in Iraq. Some of these activities have been protests, but others have been in the form of parties.
The first of these parties took place a month ago today. Early on Feb. 15, a few hundred protesters gathered outside the American Institute in Taiwan to voice their grievances with officials of the US' defacto embassy in Taiwan.
Later that same day, several dozen people attended a party at Huashan Music House (華山音樂管) that went into the small hours of Sunday morning. The management of Huashan donated the space and attendance was free. The only thing party-goers were asked to do was paint their face and imprint it on a large white cloth "as a sign of commitment ? to show your dedication to world peace," said the event's organizer, Sean Wratt. Many people painted one of their hands instead.
Another event, titled "Peace de Resistance," took place on the eve of Taiwan's 228 Peace Day at Taipei dance club Vacuum Space. Organizers charged attendees NT$200 and invited them to "give peace a dance."
This evening's event, which will take place at the dance club The Wall, is billed as a "collective musical and art event where everyone is the artist ? using the sensuality of their bare bodies as an expression of peace."
That ought to get at least a few people in the door. But Eric Lin isn't likely to be among them. He is an activist with Peacetime Foundation and would like nothing more than to see Taiwan's youth expressing their opposition to war. But Lin wonders what effect a party like tonight's might have. "I think their intentions are good, but I'd rather see them protesting in front of AIT in the morning instead of partying all night," he said.
And is there a difference between a party and a "collective musical and art event"?
"`Bare bodies' sounds like a party to me," Lin said. "Who is George Bush more likely to listen to; someone who hands him a petition with 10,000 signatures or someone who chooses an occasion like war to get naked and dance?"
As one of the organizers of tonight's event, Dominik Tyliszczak, has every intention of baring his body as an expression of peace. "Petitions get swept under some rug that the politicians never lift," he wrote in on-line materials publicizing the night. "Art is forever."
He has a point. Music, poetry and drama have served as outlets for anti-war sentiment since their beginnings. On March 3, Tyliszczak helped host a reading of Aristophanes' Lysistrata on the same day that readings of the Greek anti-war comedy were happening around the world.
The Lysistrata Project was conceived just seven weeks ago by two New York actors. Within days of having the date decided and after a lot of good publicity, 1,029 readings of the play took place in 59 countries. There weren't any tickets sold and most of the readings were reported to be rather intimate affairs, but as far as theatrical productions are concerned, that's a blockbuster run for a 2,400-year-old play.
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