Famed Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming (朱銘) was found dead on Saturday evening at the age of 85, in what prosecutors said was an apparent suicide.
Ju’s family contacted authorities at 9:45pm on Saturday when his wife found the sculptor on the rooftop of his apartment in Taipei without any signs of life after he did not return from an evening workout there.
Emergency responders pronounced Ju dead after arriving at the scene.
Photo courtesy of Juming Culture and Education Foundation
A preliminary post-mortem examination suggested that Ju died from asphyxiation, leading prosecutors to conclude that he took his own life, the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Ju was reported to have suffered from a number of chronic ailments in the past few years.
Known for his masterful depiction of people and the human anatomy through sharp-edged shapes and sleek choices of modern colors, Ju was a pioneer in the sculpting field, with works displayed or permanently purchased around the world.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
Aside from his achievements as a sculptor, Ju’s most notable contribution to Taiwan’s art scene is the Juming Museum, Taiwan’s largest outdoor collection of outdoor sculptures.
Located in New Taipei City’s Jinshan District (金山), the vast area features the works of other local sculptors, including his masters and teachers, and a large collection of his own personal catalogue, situated in a park featuring ocean and mountain views.
Originally from Tongsiao Township (通霄) in Miaoli County, Ju’s first foray into art was at age 15, when he became a student of temple sculptures and painting.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS