Set up to coincide with the opening of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 1983, the Tenth International Biennial Print and Drawing Exhibition has played a vital role in promoting the traditional Chinese art form of printmaking as well as exchanges among international print artists.
At the sixth biennial, "drawing" was added to the event's name with the aim of promoting the appreciation of a greater diversity of art forms on paper.
Each biennial includes two parts, one of selected works from an international competition and an accompanying exhibition with print and drawing-related themes.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TFAM
This year, to celebrate the biennial's nearly 20-year history, the invitational exhibition is a retrospective of sorts. "Exhibition of Recent Works by Former Award Winners" on TFAM's 1st floor features 77 artists and 117 works. Their evolved skills and concepts, as the exhibits show, make this part of the biennial even more interesting than the winning works of the competition.
Apart from prints and drawings, installations and mixed media works are on show, as there's no limit on which medium the works employ. Neither is there any limit on the surprise viewers will get when encountering in a single gallery the astounding works by former award winners, many of whom have since gained international renown.
Chung You-hui (
PHOTO COURTESY OF TFAM
Though presented in the cheerful manner of a travel diary, the work was inspired by the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Held over in the US on his trip after the attacks, he passed time watching TV and wondering "did the twin towers really collapse? Is it some special effect like in a Hollywood movie?" Chung told the Taipei Times in a phone interview.
Chung began thinking that "what you see with your eyes at the moment might be false, and what you have always kept in your memory might never have happened," he said. "If the line between the real and the unreal can be thus blurred, why not create the reality that I travelled around the world in my Mini? This can be a way to solve the regret that there are things you cannot take with you when you go somewhere."
Another interesting work is Dawn Chen-ping's (
Under the sink, he placed a head of the devil among stalactites hanging from the underside of the sink. In this way, a small universe is built up in a private space. By using the sink, one not only gives flesh to holy images but water to the devil's land as well.
"In a private space like a restroom, where one is faced only with oneself, there are Heaven, Earth and Hell all in one place," said Dawn. Many visitors to the restrooms at TFAM were disgusted when they found the Devil's head under the sink, while others had great fun matching their face with the printed outline on the mirror.
Turning to the exhibition of winning works on the third floor of TFAM, visitors will be shocked by a big pair of eyes staring out of darkness as they ascend on the elevator. Portrait of a Child -- Social Victim No. 6 is an eye-catching work by Vara Chaiyanitaya from Thailand, winner of the gold medal in the print category. Composed like a portrait used in missing-person notices, the solemn black-and-white image shows a little girl against a dim background, overlapped by shadows of Thai letters.
The girl's sad and helpless stare expresses the silent accusation that give a voice to Vara's stand on Thailand's rampant violence, which, according to Vara, the Thai media luridly portrays with relish. "My objective is to create artistic media that can reflect the pain of the victims. So everyone ... will understand the problems and help make this world a better place," he said.
The work's concern with the social environment is what judges valued most this year. "The really good works not only have to be technically outstanding but socially conscious as well. This year, we placed great value on works that were willing to discuss such issues as environmental protection and cultural expression," said Wang Hsio-hsiung (王秀雄), chairman of the competition's international jury and professor at the Department of Fine Arts at Tunghai University.
Gold-medal winner in the drawing category deals with a much lighter theme. Hills (山丘), by Pan Jen-song (潘仁松) -- whose prints have been exhibited in six previous biennials -- is a delightful work blending abstract and realistic techniques to show the landscape of Yangming mountain, where Pan lives. The idyllic scenery is portrayed with thin pencil and ink strokes in dots and lines. Inspired by nature and childhood memories, the work does not strictly correspond to any actual scenery in Yangming mountain, but "is meant to stimulate the viewers' imagination, so that different viewers see different sceneries in the drawing," Pan said. The occasional use of light yellow gives the landscape rhythm and a pulsing warmth.
"The work stands out with its unique landscape depiction. It shows a freshness and almost tangibly clean air," said Wang.
With the number of international participants of the competition setting a new record this year, viewers can expect to see a selection of works of unprecedentedly high quality. The trend to blend printing and drawing techniques is also evident in many works. Most importantly, the biennial is a chance for the public to experience the tranquility in the works by Japanese artists, the ingenious use of mixed media by American artists and the untamed imagination of other up-and-coming talents.
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