A collection by French poet Charles Baudelaire published in the 19th century themed on decadence — Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil) — has had a great influence on modernist literature.
A lot of meaning was derived from the term “the flower of evil” and used in different contexts, among them, a painting by Taiwanese artist Liu Gung-yi (劉耿一).
Entitled The Flower of Evil (惡之華), the painting bears Liu’s critical consciousness. In the painting, a group of people are facing Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) Memorial Hall in Taipei, called here the “Chiang Kai-shek temple” and the “temple of Stinky Head.” The artist’s depiction of the building is obviously not complimentary — the title gives it away. It is presented as a “flower” of “evil,” that is, the magnificent facade of an evil essence. The critical viewpoint is manifest in the moribund tone of the painting.
It has been controversial to worship Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) since martial law was lifted and the nation became a democracy. The projects of transitional justice often involve removal of statues of Chiang, repurposing Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and converting other cultural symbols, which often stir up public sentiment.
However, the cult of authoritarianism still exists among those who cling to the party-state ideology, and the specter of dictators still haunts Taiwan, hindering the nation’s development.
Liu looks directly at the huge ghost standing in the square with the eyes of an artist and depicts the symbolic structure of evil. There is an implied critical spirit in his work, but it did not cause a stir, nor is it considered a reference to transitional justice projects.
He also has a series of paintings called Social Landscapes that bear witness to the process of democratization in Taiwan.
Although Taiwan, which was under martial law for a long time after the end of World War II, has democratized, the task of transitional justice remains unfinished.
Just as the commemoration of the 228 Incident is one-sided — with the focus on those who were targeted and their families — transitional justice is the concern of political parties that are rooted in Taiwan such as the Democratic Progressive Party, but it is not taken seriously by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Transitional justice has cultural connotations, but projects in Taiwan focus too much on politics and they have not taken shape as a cultural movement, let alone become a national consensus in a cultural sense.
The confusion of national identity since democratization has blurred political vision.
The Ministry of Culture has been trying to deal with the “Chiang Kai-shek temple” and has solicited many proposals, but due to the lack of consensus on transitional justice, the huge symbolic structure of evil still casts its shadow over the capital, and even over the National Theater and Concert Hall, which are institutions of the arts.
Taiwan’s democratization relied mostly on political movements and there was not enough cultural drive behind it. Political reform — in which the form of power is greater than the connotation of meaning — lacks a stable foundation. This was caused by the monopoly of education, culture and mass communication during the many years of martial law under the party-state. The solution depends on cultural conditions.
The Flower of Evil presents a critical vision through the eyes of the artist and demonstrates the social concern of a Taiwanese painter. Art can intervene in society and art criticism demonstrates social responsibility, which should echo.
Taiwan needs more artists to shape the internal conditions or cultural dynamics at the core of transitional justice.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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