Reflecting on History from an Asian Perspective: Taipei Biennial Opens Tomorrow

Text by MOOK Scenic Spots Travel Life Network, compiled and reported by Chen Guanxin

 

The 2012 Taipei Biennial will open tomorrow (29th) and run until January 13, 2013. Themed “Modern Monsters / Death and Life of Fiction,” the exhibition reflects and reconsiders various issues and processes in the history of modernity from the Asian perspective of curator Anselm Franke from Berlin. Featuring over 80 artists from around the world, the event showcases a series of works at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and Paper Factory 1918 in Shilin, including six “mini museums.” Both the number of participating artists and the exhibition area are the largest in the event’s history. During the event period, nine appreciation sessions and four art dialogues will be organized. Starting October 2nd, there will be two Chinese guided tours available daily from Tuesday to Sunday, with an additional evening session at 7:00 PM on Saturdays.

This year’s Taipei Biennial exhibition spaces include the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and Paper Factory 1918, featuring six mini museums: the Rhythm Museum, the [Former] Memorial Museum, the Museum of History and Monsters, the Gourd Museum, the Transboundary Museum, and the Museum of the Unconscious Base. Through various media such as paintings, video, photographic slide installations, and sound installations, the exhibitions guide viewers to perceive and reflect on how many “rational” viewpoints and behaviors, now taken for granted, have historically become systems of violence that oppress the vulnerable and marginalize others—what the exhibition refers to as “modern monsters.” The works also further explore the interrelationships among modernity, culture, and nature.

The nine scheduled appreciation sessions during the event will be held in the audiovisual room on the basement floor of the Taipei Museum of Fine Arts. Through segments of DVD works, participants will gain insight into the thematic meaning of this year’s biennial and the relationships between the artworks, as well as a deeper understanding of the core ideas behind “modern monsters” and “death and life.” The sessions will also explore contemporary art’s engagement with imagination, time, rationality vs. irrationality, and history vs. contemporaneity. The four art dialogues will invite Taiwanese participating artists such as Chang Chao-Tang and Yeh Wei-Li to share their exhibition experiences, along with curators of the mini museums, critics, and the director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, discussing new trends in international art and aspects related to this biennial. Both the appreciation sessions and art dialogues are free of charge and require no reservation, with each session limited to 300 attendees.

In addition to the regular Chinese guided tours, bilingual family-friendly tours will be offered every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday starting October 13th at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Starting mid-October, the “My Mini Museum Project” creative workshop will be available from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM every Tuesday to Sunday, also without reservation. Admission to the Taipei Biennial at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum is NT$30 for full-price tickets and NT$15 for discounted tickets, while entry to Paper Factory 1918 is free.

 

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