The Photographic Journey of a Maverick (臺灣攝影獨行俠) is an exhibit of Huang Tse-hsiu’s (黃則修) photography spanning the past 70 years. The show is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of his career and visually document Taiwanese society and its changing aesthetics. Pictures from early in Huang’s career — including his iconic Longshan Temple (龍山寺) and Yehliu — Forsaken Paradise (被遺忘的樂園 — 野柳) — are juxtaposed with more recent color photos.
■ Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM, 台北市立美術館), 181, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段181號), tel: (02) 2595-7656. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Open until 8:30pm on Saturdays. Admission: NT$30
■ Begins Saturday. Until Jan. 29
Photo Courtesy of Chung Shun-lung
The Marker (里程碑) is a series of photos by Chung Shun-lung (鍾順龍) that examine Taiwan’s changing landscapes, particularly those affected by the construction of roads and railways.
■ Fotoaura Institute of Photography (海馬迴光畫館), 2F, 83, Chenggong Rd, Greater Tainan (台南市成功路83號2樓), tel: (06) 200-8856. Open Wednesdays to Sundays from 1pm to 8pm
■ Until Oct. 30
Reminiscent of the Past (懷舊古早味展) is a special exhibit on the work of ceramist Li Minn-hui (李明揮). Li seeks to instill a sense of nostalgia in viewers of his sentimental and realistic ceramic sculptures of everyday objects — old bicycles, tricycles, dumplings.
■ Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌陶瓷博物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yingge Dist, New Taipei City (新北市鶯歌區文化路200號), tel: (02) 8677-2727. Open daily from 9:30am to 5pm. Closes at 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays
■ Until Oct. 16
Emperor Kangxi and the Sun King Louis XIV: Sino-Franco Encounters in Arts and Culture (康熙大帝與太陽王路易十四 — 中法藝術文化的交會特展) examines in four parts the relationship between France and China 300 years ago, when both countries were at the zenith of their power: The first section documents the lives of the Emperor Kangxi (康熙) and King Louis XIV, including their achievements; the second considers the effects that French Jesuit missionaries had on relations between the two nations; the third addresses the influences each country had on the other’s arts and culture; and the fourth illustrates the innovations that were made because of ties between China and France. The exhibit includes more than 200 objects from museums in France, China and Taiwan.
■ National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221, Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市至善路二段221號), tel: (02) 8692-5588 X2312 (10:30am to 6:30pm). Open daily from 8:30am to 6:30pm. Closes at 8:30pm on Saturdays. Admission: NT$160
■ Until Jan. 3
Dolce Stil Novo — Domestic Landscape in Contemporary Italy: Art, Fashion and Design (新式幸福風 — 當代義大利式生活展) presents the “creativity and sophistication” of contemporary Italian design, from the country’s fashion industry and furniture design to art and cuisine. The exhibition’s organizers aim to strike a balance between avant-garde creativity and classic art.
■ Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, 80 Meishuguan Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市美術館路80號), tel: (07) 555-0331. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9am to 5pm. Admission: Free
■ Until Oct. 30
In the March 9 edition of the Taipei Times a piece by Ninon Godefroy ran with the headine “The quiet, gentle rhythm of Taiwan.” It started with the line “Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention.” I laughed out loud at that. This was out of no disrespect for the author or the piece, which made some interesting analogies and good points about how both Din Tai Fung’s and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) meticulous attention to detail and quality are not quite up to
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) hatched a bold plan to charge forward and seize the initiative when he held a protest in front of the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office. Though risky, because illegal, its success would help tackle at least six problems facing both himself and the KMT. What he did not see coming was Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (將萬安) tripping him up out of the gate. In spite of Chu being the most consequential and successful KMT chairman since the early 2010s — arguably saving the party from financial ruin and restoring its electoral viability —
It is one of the more remarkable facts of Taiwan history that it was never occupied or claimed by any of the numerous kingdoms of southern China — Han or otherwise — that lay just across the water from it. None of their brilliant ministers ever discovered that Taiwan was a “core interest” of the state whose annexation was “inevitable.” As Paul Kua notes in an excellent monograph laying out how the Portuguese gave Taiwan the name “Formosa,” the first Europeans to express an interest in occupying Taiwan were the Spanish. Tonio Andrade in his seminal work, How Taiwan Became Chinese,
Toward the outside edge of Taichung City, in Wufeng District (霧峰去), sits a sprawling collection of single-story buildings with tiled roofs belonging to the Wufeng Lin (霧峰林家) family, who rose to prominence through success in military, commercial, and artistic endeavors in the 19th century. Most of these buildings have brick walls and tiled roofs in the traditional reddish-brown color, but in the middle is one incongruous property with bright white walls and a black tiled roof: Yipu Garden (頤圃). Purists may scoff at the Japanese-style exterior and its radical departure from the Fujianese architectural style of the surrounding buildings. However, the property
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