If you expect architecture biennales to be filled with lots of boring wall texts and models, think again. The Taiwan Pavilion (housed in the prison near the famous Bridge of Sighs) at this year’s Venice Biennale, curated by Roan Ching-yueh (阮慶岳), the assembled installations show that the world of architecture is rapidly changing with people realizing we must tend to our small gardens rather than impose heroic monoliths in city centers. So instead of showing grandiose architectural schemes, Roan gathered a variety of voices that show the strength of small-scale, humanizing architecture in Taiwan.
Upon entering the Taiwan Pavilion, one encounters You Yuan (遊園), a beautiful simulation of a Chinese rock garden whose ground consists of glittery pieces of crushed glass and large stones made from recycled glass. A swing set in the corner transforms this interior prison space into a meditative garden that is entirely created from urban waste.
This installation by Helsinki-based Marco Casagrande who had taught at Tamkang University stirred some local controversy. Newspapers such as the Minsheng Daily had a field day in criticizing the choice of non-Taiwanese (ie. foreigners) to display their work in the coveted main exhibition room while Taiwanese architects were relegated to smaller rooms. It is to Roan’s credit that he recognizes that architecture in Taiwan is not limited to those with Taiwanese blood coursing through their veins. This strategy paid off as hordes of visitors including European TV crews were fascinated by this exhibition.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROAN CHING-YUEH
Norway-based 3RW Architects showed several videos titled Urban Farmers that included interviews of people in Taiwan and Norway who are trying to eek out a living as farmers in a rapidly industrializing world.
Huang Sheng-yuan’s (黃聲遠) Field Office, a team of architects, work only 15 minutes driving distance from their office in Ilan, preferring to tend to their own backyard. For their participation in Venice, they set up benches that seem to have been plunked down in a rice paddy, so that viewers can contemplate life in a small town agricultural society.
Socially-minded architect Hsieh Ying-chun (謝英俊) lives and works in Nantou, Taiwan and China. His new project called Sustainable Construction links society with the economy and the environment. As he was in China helping farmers build their own homes, he was discussed his ongoing project with visitors via a video link.
In Timescapes, young Tainan-based architect Liu Kuo-Chang (劉國滄) uses suspended hand-made rocks to convey the sense of drifting in the ocean. If you are not able to make it to Venice, the exhibition will come to Taiwan next year.
Unfortunately politics reared its ugly head in this innocuous gathering of architects. When Roan tried to organize a panel discussion between East Asian architects, the Chinese architects said they were unfortunately unable to set foot in the Taiwan Pavilion, so when he proposed to rent out a hotel room with his own money the Taiwanese organizers threatened to pull the plug on his budget, so the discussion took place without the participation of the Chinese architects.
Politics are definitely not on view at Taipei’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Artists Today@MOCA 2006, the current exhibition of three Taiwanese artists provides a chance to see lighthearted whimsical works that please the eye and tickle the fancies.
Chen Hui-Chiao’s (陳慧嶠) Here and Now tactile installation consists of her signature use of a bed, needles and thread to create a dreamy walk-through set. Twin brothers Chang Geng-hwa and Chang Keng-hau’s Screw it! consists of toys, baby heads in bird cages, and interactive animations. The second floor is reserved for Ku Shih-yung (顧世勇), a versatile artist working in a wide range of media creating works that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
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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