Ubiquitous Blessings of Fenghuang — Porcelain and the Phoenix in Culture and Creativity (鳳鳴八方—瓷工藝的文化創意演繹) brings together porcelain, ceramics, jade, textiles and other artifacts from throughout Chinese history to illustrate the mythological and symbolic importance of the phoenix in art. The exhibit is on the National Museum of History’s second floor. On the fourth floor, The Seal Collection of Shinde-yinhui (欣得印彙藏印展) displays more than 500 seals dating back to antiquity. Biographies of famous seal engravers — as well as calligraphy and painting done by these artists — from the Ming and Qing dynasties reveal the general development of the medium and place it in its historical context.
■ 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. Admission is NT$30
■ Ubiquitous Blessings of Fenghuang ends July 4, the Seal Collection ends June 13
Contemporary painter and curator Lai Hsin-lung (賴新龍) splashes fragments from his unconscious on the canvas in his solo exhibit of oil paintings at La Chambre Art Gallery. Lai’s expressionist works of soaring birds and vague landscapes suggest an artist in touch with nature.
■ La Chambre Art Gallery (小室藝廊), 31, Ln 52, Siwei Rd, Taipei City (台北市四維路52巷31號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from noon to 9pm. Tel: (02) 2700-3689
■ Until June 5
Animated Images (動畫藝術展) presents the recent work of seven artists from Belgium, Switzerland, China, Germany and the US working in photography, animation, film, video installation and the graphic novel. The exhibit explores contemporary uses of various mediums that both comment on and employ animation as a means of examining various aspects of society — often with an activist’s bent — such as environmental degradation, excessive consumption and the increased homogenization of culture under the influences of global capitalism.
■ Digital Arts Center (台北數位藝術中心), 180 Fuhua Rd, Taipei City
(台北市福華路180號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm.
Tel: (02) 7736-0708
■ Until Sunday
Lost in the City (城市失格) offers a mystical and nostalgic look at cities across the world through the paintings of three contemporary award-winning artists: Shiau Bei-chen (蕭北辰) Hsu Pei-cheng (�?�) and Liao Zen-ping (廖震平).
■ Galerie Grand Siecle (新苑藝術), 17, Alley 51, Ln 12, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段12巷51弄17號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 1pm to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2578-5630
■ Until June 1
Yang Po-lin (楊柏林), an emerging sculptor whose work is on public display at the Presidential Office, Hsinchu Science Park and Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, continues his creation of monumental sculptures with Here I Am (我在這裏). Yang’s sculptures project a warm sense of earthiness and show a profound concern for the environment and humanity. The sculpture on which the title of this exhibition is based employs an inflatable device in the shape of Taiwan — symbolizing the country’s need to stand up and face external pressures.
■ 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) 2552-3720. Admission is NT$50
■ Until June 6
Contemporary Chinese painter (or “art worker” as he prefers) Ying Yefu (嬰野賦) makes his Taiwan debut with Appetizer (頭盤). Employing gongbi (工筆), a meticulous and highly detailed brush technique found in traditional Chinese painting, Ying’s work explores the pain of others through disturbing images of children in various acts of love and violence.
■ Digital Arts Center (台北數位藝術中心), 180 Fuhua Rd, Taipei City (台北市福華路180號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 7736-0708
■ Until June 16
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
This year’s Michelin Gourmand Bib sported 16 new entries in the 126-strong Taiwan directory. The fight for the best braised pork rice and the crispiest scallion pancake painstakingly continued, but what stood out in the lineup this year? Pang Taqueria (胖塔可利亞); Taiwan’s first Michelin-recommended Mexican restaurant. Chef Charles Chen (陳治宇) is a self-confessed Americophile, earning his chef whites at a fine-dining Latin-American fusion restaurant. But what makes this Xinyi (信義) spot stand head and shoulders above Taipei’s existing Mexican offerings? The authenticity. The produce. The care. AUTHENTIC EATS In my time on the island, I have caved too many times to
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not