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 (the 29th) and run until January 13, 2013. With the theme “The Great Acceleration / The Future Is Already Here — It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed,” the exhibition reflects on various issues and processes in the history of modernity through 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.” This edition boasts the highest number of participating artists and largest exhibition area to date. During the event period, nine appreciation sessions and four art dialogues will be organized. Starting October 2nd, guided tours in Chinese will be offered daily at 2 PM from Tuesday to Sunday, with an additional evening session at 7 PM on Saturdays.

The exhibition spaces for this year’s Taipei Biennial are divided among the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (floors 1–3) and Paper Factory 1918. These include six mini museums: the Museum of Rhythm, the [Former] Memorial Museum, the Museum of History and the Monster, the Gourd Museum, the Museum of Transgression, and the Museum of the Unconscious Base. Through various mediums such as painting, video, photographic slide installations, and sound installations, viewers are guided to perceive and reflect on how many “rational” viewpoints and behaviors taken for granted today have, within their historical contexts, become systematic mechanisms of violence that oppress the vulnerable and marginalize others—what the exhibition refers to as the “modern monster.” The exhibition also delves into the interrelations between modernity, culture, and nature.

The nine scheduled appreciation sessions during the event will be held in the audiovisual room on the basement level of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Through segments of DVD works, participants will gain insight into the thematic essence of this year’s biennial and the connections between the artworks, while also exploring the core ideas behind the discourses of the “modern monster” and “resurrection.” The sessions will further discuss contemporary art’s engagement with imagination, time, rationality vs. irrationality, and history vs. contemporaneity. The four art dialogues will feature Taiwanese participating artists such as Chang Chao-Tang and Yeh Wei-Li sharing their exhibition experiences, along with curators of the mini museums, critics, and the director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, examining new international art trends and various aspects of the biennial. Both the appreciation sessions and art dialogues are free of charge and do not require pre-registration, with a limit of 300 attendees per session.

In addition to the regularly scheduled Chinese guided tours, family-friendly biennial tours will be offered starting October 13th on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Starting mid-October, the “My Mini Museum Project” creative workshop will be available every Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, also without the need for pre-registration. Admission to the Taipei Biennial at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum is NT$30 for full-price tickets and NT$15 for concessionary tickets, while Paper Factory 1918 is free to enter.

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