Performance art is in a category of its own. Often using the body, the performance artist can make bold, political, personal or transgressive statements that use nudity, public protests, bodily functions and other rebellious modes of expression to get across an urgent message.
The Taiwan International Performance Art Festival TIPAF started yesterday and runs until Sunday, so you still have time to see an overview of various performance art from around the world, including 26 artists from 13 countries.
Organized by Taiwanese performance artist Ahlien Z.H. (鄭荷) and titled Reach Outlying 2005 the festival includes several sections: Artists from Eastern Europe, Asia and Taiwan who will give live performances; a seminar with notable speakers on various topics such as extreme aesthetics; and a video section showing some extremes in performance art.
For Eastern Europe, the rich history of performance art includes artists who have lived under repressive regimes and developed covert ways to get their messages out.
The artists who will perform for the festival are Hungarians Szirtes Janos and Samu Bence, Poles Janusz Baldyga and Slovakian Jozef Cseres. The section on Asia includes artists from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China, the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea. There are also seven artists from Taiwan scheduled to perform including experimental sound artist Lin Chi-wei (林其蔚).
Performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, at the Taipei Artist Village, 7, Beiping E Rd, Taipei (台北市北平東路7號) and Nanhai Gallery, 3, Ln 19, Chongqing Road, Sec 2, Taipei (台北市中 正區重慶南路二段1 9巷3號). It's from 3:30pm to 10pm, with breaks so the audience can meet and chat with the different artists.
The event is co-sponsored by TESMotion, an organization that encourages the artistic program aimed at the reformation of individual bodies.
Its main function lies in fos-tering activities such as art festivals while focusing on establishing the facility for cultural introspection and on promoting its potential strength in the Asia-Pacific region.
You can see more Taiwanese performance art at the Taipei MOMA gallery, 3F, 19, Ln 252, Dunhua S Rd, Sec 1, Taipei (台北市大安區敦化南路一段252巷19號3樓), with a summer series titled Carefree-Taiwan Performance Art Relay. It runs until Sept. 17 and is curated by prominent artist, curator, writer Yao Jui-Chung (姚瑞中), who recently published Performance Art in Taiwan 1978-2004, an informative look at Taiwan's provocative art scene, with great photos and text in Chinese.
Now, having had a taste of media-inspired performance art, you will want to check out the artist-run space Shin Leh Yuan for the joint exhibition of artists Ho Hsin's (何佳) Writing Imagery Father Jai and Mimicry by Kuo Hui-chan (郭慧禪). Both artists use memories to explore the present. Kuo's digitally altered photos are haunting and shows absence and presence in the rapidly changing face of an Asian city. Shin Leh Yuan Art Space is at 15-2, Zhongshan N Road, Ln 11, Sec 2, Taipei (台北市中山北路二段11巷15-2號1樓). The exhbition is until Aug. 14.
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