The year's best Taiwanese art is currently on display and while it's hard to find, it's anything but hard to appreciate. A variety of ethnic masterpieces are on show, each devised with a cultural perspective.
Of 166 artists, consisting of 21 textile, 44 sculpture, 46 ceramic, 15 metal and 40 other styles, there are 41 award winning pieces on display. For the first time this year, the winners were selected by Internet voting, to promote art awareness around Taiwan.
PHOTO: ADAM ULFERS, TAIPEI TIMES
There are a number of inspiring pieces and among them is an intricate pirate boat, occupied by a hoard of immortal beings, led by the monkey god. According to Yu Zhi-ren (
Another work is an alluvial bulb, smothered in countless coats of lacquer, called Butterflies Dancing Around Maple Leaves (
You will find a highly traditional piece that you might see at Grandma's house in Stone of Prosperity (
The 4th National Crafts Awards People's Choice Exhibition, is at 20 Nanhai Rd, Taipei (
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
After Jurassic Park premiered in 1993, people began to ask if scientists could really bring long-lost species back from extinction, just like in the hit movie. The idea has triggered “de-extinction” debates in several countries, including Taiwan, where the focus has been on the Formosan clouded leopard (designated after 1917 as Neofelis nebulosa brachyura). National Taiwan Museum’s (NTM) Web site describes the Formosan clouded leopard as “a subspecies endemic to Taiwan…it reaches a body length of 0.6m to 1.2m and tail length of 0.7m to 0.9m and weighs between 15kg and 30kg. It is entirely covered with beautiful cloud-like spots
For the past five years, Sammy Jou (周祥敏) has climbed Kinmen’s highest peak, Taiwu Mountain (太武山) at 6am before heading to work. In the winter, it’s dark when he sets out but even at this hour, other climbers are already coming down the mountain. All of this is a big change from Jou’s childhood during the Martial Law period, when the military requisitioned the mountain for strategic purposes and most of it was off-limits. Back then, only two mountain trails were open, and they were open only during special occasions, such as for prayers to one’s ancestors during Lunar New Year.
March 23 to March 29 Kao Chang (高長) set strict rules for his descendants: women were to learn music or cooking, and the men medicine or theology. No matter what life path they chose, they were to use their skills in service of the Presbyterian Church and society. As a result, musical ability — particularly in Western instruments — was almost expected among the Kao women, and even those who married into the family often had musical training. Although the men did not typically play instruments, they played a supporting role, helping to organize music programs such as children’s orchestras, writes
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