Mon, Feb 11, 2008 page2

• FEATURE: Public artwork a work in progress

  • By Mo Yan-chih / STAFF REPORTER
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  A giant red birdcage encapsulating a tree on the traffic island at the intersection of Dunhua South Road and Anhe Road and several colorful chairs lined up a few steps away blend into the environment to shape one of the most recognizable public artworks in Taipei City.

  The Garden Outside of a Birdcage was one of the nine pieces of art commissioned by the Taipei City Government in 1999 in a project called the Dunhua Public Art Vestibule, which aimed at adding artistic features to one of the city's major streets and giving Taipei a facelift.

  "The birdcage symbolized the city, whereas the tree represented the nature and life. The piece is a conversation between the city and nature, and an urban garden to help people relax their mind and body," artist May Hsu (徐秀美), creator of the piece, told the Taipei Times.

  

  The back end of a zebra stands in front of the zebra crossing at the intersection of Dunhua North Road and Civic Boulevard in Taipei City.

  PHOTO PROVIDED BY TAIPEI CITY'S DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS

  Installed at a time when public art was still a new concept for many residents, her piece and other works in the project made art more accessible to people and encouraged their interaction with art, Hsu said.

  The red birdcage, for example, became street furniture for many people, who would sit in it or on the balustrade while taking a short break. For some, it can even be a prayer tree, as Hsu once found a note tied on top of the birdcage by a student praying for good grades.

  "It is interesting to see how people interact with the birdcage. [They do so] in many creative ways," she said.

  Thanks to continuous efforts by the city government to increase the amount of art in the city, residents can also enjoy public art near the Dihua Sewage Treatment Plant, Nankang Software Park, Civil Boulevard, the Xinyi district and at more than 15 mass-rapid transportation (MRT) stations.

  From the zebra's behind at the intersection of Dunhua North Road and Civic Boulevard, Robert Indiana's Love sculpture in front of Taipei 101, to the Suite of Hands at the NTU Hospital MRT station, a total of 305 public artworks including sculpture, paintings and mosaics are now scattered throughout public spaces in the capital.

  Public art in Taiwan began to flourish after 1998 when the Council of Cultural Affairs launched the Public Art Establishment Measures (公共藝術設置辦法), which stipulated that owners of public buildings should set up artwork with an expenditure of no less than 1 percent of the construction budget.

  The Taipei City Government became the first local government to establish a Public Art Fund in 2005 to manage its municipal public art budget and assist owners of public buildings with displaying art works, said Wang Yi-chun (王逸群), a division chief at the city's Department of Cultural Affairs who oversees the public art projects.

  Wang said more art is on the way, as an amendment to the measures that becomes effective in May will encourage architects to design public buildings as works of art while simplifying the review process of public art installation.

  Taipei's latest piece of art, Wang said, can be seen during the Taipei Lantern Festival, which begins on Saturday along Renai Road and at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

  Rather than simply having a mascot this year, the department invited architect Liu Kuo-chan (劉國滄) to design a piece of art, which includes a 9m-diameter red lantern made up of hundreds of plastic rats and the memorial hall itself, which will be wrapped in red and gold cloth.

  "The main lantern tells the story of a rat getting married and the hall is its new house. Hopefully the integration of the lantern and the site will make a deep impression on people," Liu told the Taipei Times.

  Another new public art project is a giant embroidery piece featuring Neihu's landscape created by local community members that will be displayed inside the Neihu MRT Station once the Neihu line becomes operational, Wang said.

  Ziqiang Tunnel (自強隧道), near National Palace Museum, will also be transformed into a public artwork in May, with calligraphy written on top and paintings on the walls, he said.

  While lauding the city's efforts to promote public art, Hsu urged the city government to take better care of its artworks.

  Wang said each of the city's public art pieces is maintained by a different department.

  In addition to regular maintenance, Wang said the cultural affairs department would eliminate outdated artwork and place more emphasis on the integration of public art and the environment.
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