Oil painter Peng Tai-jen says, “To me people are full of holes and resemble organisms that never stop growing and spreading. People are both penetrated by others and penetrate others. The concept of plants symbolizes a sort of emotional constraint, the embellishment of feelings, the violation of values, and the parasitic pattern of memories.” Peng believes that people are connected to each other through a mutual penetration, much like plants tangled together, relying on each other, “forming a relationship in which they are linked together as a community,” he says.
In linking together the intangible with the tangible, Peng outlines the layers of life-forms with confidence and accuracy in his oil paintings. At first his paintings look like something made in the midst of chaos, and although that may be the case, they manage to leave one awestruck. Peng’s solo exhibition — “Plants, Humans, Portraits” — will be on display until April 29 at the King Car Cultural and Art Center in Taipei. For more information, visit the center’s official Web site at http://arts.kingcar.org.tw.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY KYLE JEFFCOAT)
油彩畫家彭泰仁表示,「對我來說,人是一種充滿孔隙又像植物會不斷生長延伸的生物,被他人穿透也穿透他人,而植物這個概念,象徵一種情感的束縛、情緒的渲染力、價值觀的侵略、回憶的寄生模式。」他認為人與人因為情感互相穿透而連結,像植物的糾結與彼此的依存,「形成一種關係鏈結的共同體。」
Photo: Chao Shih-hsun, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者趙世勳
把這種有形無形的鏈結形諸於油彩,成為一幅幅乍看繽紛卻懾人心魄的畫面,看似飛亂的筆觸,卻筆筆下得自信而精準,層層堆疊架構出人的生命質感。「植物‧人‧肖像」創作個展,在金車文藝中心台北館展出至四月二十九日。可以參考官方網站: http://arts.kingcar.org.tw。
(自由時報記者凌美雪)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from