Amorphous chairs, outrageously colored lamps and many other contemporary designs have gradually moved into "hip" households in Taiwan. As Germany and Scandinavian countries are still most often associated with contemporary design in people's minds here, the current exhibition at Taipei Fine Arts Museum (
Domains -- Contemporary Israeli Design (領域: 當代以色列設計展) is a traveling exhibition aimed at audience in East Asia and the Pacific region. To present a rounded sampling of contemporary Israeli design, well-known designers are exhibiting, such as Yaacov Kaufman -- who works for Lumina Italia -- as well as rising talents such as Ron Gilad, whose bullet-shot vase caught much attention at the opening of the show. Most of the 10 designers have gained increasing international recognition for their innovative works with a unique identity.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TFAM
Nirith Nelson, curator of Domains, explains at the opening of the exhibition that the short history of the state of Israel encourages designers to try out innovative concepts while the diversity of ethnic groups contributes to the variety of design approaches. The unstable political situation and limited economy in Israel, Nelson said, has turned designers' attention to improvisation and quick-fixes instead of time-consuming complex devices.
These improvisations are usually very amusing and original. Some of them have a pristine kind of beauty.
Yaacov Kaufman had in mind humanity's first chair when he designed Potchim. This one-off piece uses a complete block of tree trunk, part of which is still covered with bark. By making only two cuts and fixing a pair of hinges on the trunk, it becomes a folding chair. A similar trunk is cut only once, in a long "s" curve, to become a pair of chairs which easily blend in with a forest.
A recent graduate from Israel's well-known Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Sharon Peter Shechter incorporates the element of time in his furniture design in a humourous way. In Lamp Table, a table with book ends, Shechter cuts the veneer of formica from the wood table surface and bends the protruding formica to form the stem of a lamp and book ends. In Israeli households, there are countless tables which share this peeling-veneer appearance, only there it was caused by wear.
Probably the most beautiful work in the exhibition is Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow's Ga-mish, which looks nothing like a household object. The framed flexible plywood strips forms a vertical fretwork.
Placed against a wall, it can be a shelf of flexible compartments. Standing alone, it can be a room partition, or a floor window suitable for a Mediterranean climate. Whatever it is, the structure is a pleasure to look at. Pleasure, according to the curator Nelson, is one of the main triggers of Israel design today.
Domains -- Contemporary Israeli Design will run through Feb. 15 at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, 181, Zhongshan N Rd, Sec 3, Taipei. (
Last week, on the heels of the recall election that turned out so badly for Taiwan, came the news that US President Donald Trump had blocked the transit of President William Lai (賴清德) through the US on his way to Latin America. A few days later the international media reported that in June a scheduled visit by Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) for high level meetings was canceled by the US after China’s President Xi Jinping (習近平) asked Trump to curb US engagement with Taiwan during a June phone call. The cancellation of Lai’s transit was a gaudy
Following the shock complete failure of all the recall votes against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on July 26, pan-blue supporters and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were giddy with victory. A notable exception was KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who knew better. At a press conference on July 29, he bowed deeply in gratitude to the voters and said the recalls were “not about which party won or lost, but were a great victory for the Taiwanese voters.” The entire recall process was a disaster for both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The only bright spot for
From Godzilla’s fiery atomic breath to post-apocalyptic anime and harrowing depictions of radiation sickness, the influence of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki runs deep in Japanese popular culture. In the 80 years since the World War II attacks, stories of destruction and mutation have been fused with fears around natural disasters and, more recently, the Fukushima crisis. Classic manga and anime series Astro Boy is called “Mighty Atom” in Japanese, while city-leveling explosions loom large in other titles such as Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan. “Living through tremendous pain” and overcoming trauma is a recurrent theme in Japan’s
As last month dawned, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in a good position. The recall campaigns had strong momentum, polling showed many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers at risk of recall and even the KMT was bracing for losing seats while facing a tsunami of voter fraud investigations. Polling pointed to some of the recalls being a lock for victory. Though in most districts the majority was against recalling their lawmaker, among voters “definitely” planning to vote, there were double-digit margins in favor of recall in at least five districts, with three districts near or above 20 percent in
RSS