New York-based artist Joshua Balgos’ video Whatever it Takes explores an individual’s obsession with the perfect body, the ideal job and the relationship that everyone dreams of.
■ Taipei National University of Arts — Kuandu Museum of Arts (台北藝術大學關渡美術館), 1, Xueyuan Rd, Beitou Dist, Taipei City (台北市北投區學園路1號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 5pm. Tel: (02) 2896-1000 X2432
■ Until Sept. 20
Young Hong-guo’s (楊紅國) fantastical pastel-colored oil paintings depict a surreal and mechanized world in The Ultra-Dimensional Adventures of Pets (寵物們之超時空冒險). The paintings use animal imagery to personify and critique contemporary society.
■ Dynasty Art Gallery (朝代藝術), 41, Leli Rd, Taipei City (台北市樂利路41號). For a viewing call (02) 2377-0838
■ Until Aug. 15
Look Toward the Other Side — Song of Asian Foreign Brides in Taiwan III (望向彼方—亞洲新娘之歌(三)) is the third part of Hou Shur-tzy’s (侯淑姿) series that explores through photography the lives of female foreign nationals who marry Taiwanese men.
■ Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (關渡美術館), 1 Xueyuan Rd, Taipei City (台北市學園路1號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm. Tel: (02) 2896-1000
■ Until Sept. 20
Wild Aspirations — The Yellow Sheep River Project (野想－黃羊川計畫) is an exhibition of picture books created by Chou Ching-hui (周慶輝) that merge photography and painting and examine the relationship between children and the physical landscape in which they live.
■ Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), 181, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段181號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5:30pm, open until 8:30pm on Saturdays. Tel: (02) 2595-7656
■ Until Aug. 30
Li Show-ming (黎少明) and Yin Yu (尹愚) combine Chinese knotting with jade artifacts from their personal collections to create new works of art. Old Jades, New Inventions: An Exhibition of Ming and Yu’s Creation (古玉新飾:明 & 愚創作展) brings together 170 of these intriguing sculptures that were created over the past decade.
■ National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2361-0270
■ Until Aug. 30
Taiwanese artists Huang Tzu-chin (黃子欽) and Chiang Chi-yang (江佶洋) use photography, video and installation art in Old, Yes! (老．不休) to map the spatial and temporal history of Taipei’s Datong District (大同區). The exhibit attempts to capture the sights, sounds and scents of one of Taipei’s oldest areas.
■ Museum of Contemporary
Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2552-3721. On the Net:
www.mocataipei.org.tw
■ Until Aug. 23
Land, Life & Love (大地、生命與愛戀) is a solo exhibit by Taiwanese artist Hwang Buh-ching (黃步青) and consists of his early oil paintings that explore and are intimately bound up with Taiwan’s natural environment.
■ Jin-Zhi Gallery (金枝藝術), 41-3 Sinfu Village, Yuanli Township, Miaoli County (苗栗縣苑裡鎮新復里41-3號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 1pm to 6pm. For a viewing call (03) 786-4858
■ Until Sept. 20
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
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
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
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