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NATIONAL TOURING EXHIBIT OF RECENT TAIWANESE ART ON VIEW AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY
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“Frolic: Humor and Mischief in New Taiwanese Art” features works by 27 emerging artists
A sense of fun with a touch of mischief is the theme of an exhibit of contemporary Taiwanese art at the Ben Shahn Galleries at William Paterson University in Wayne from October 27 through November 28, 2008. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
The exhibit, which features paintings, sculpture, video installation art and some site-specific installations by 27 artists, was co-curated by Dr. Thalia Vrachopolous, based in New York, and Jane Ingram Allen, based in Taiwan. The exhibit is sponsored by the Taipei Cultural Center in New York City.
Vrachopolous, an associate professor at John Jay College and an independent critic and curator, developed the idea for the exhibit following a trip to Taiwan, during which she viewed artworks by emerging artists in alternative spaces, studios, residencies, galleries and museums. “Upon returning home and re-examining the materials these young artists had given me, I realized that their work contained a common thread: humor,” she says in the exhibit catalog. “Whether they were dealing with gender, politics, identity, colonization, Eurocentrism, or any other subject, they did it with fun, humor, and mischievous punning.” To realize the show, she partnered with Ingram, a writer, curator, and critic from Taiwan.
“The frolicsome spirit and humor expressed by today’s young Taiwanese artists may seem somewhat paradoxical given the present gloomy economy and the uncertain political state of Taiwan,” writes Allen. Yet, she says, “They have the ability to smile through their troubles and see the humor in impossible situations.”
Among the artist’s featured in the exhibit is Meng-chuan Ho, who focuses on social stereotypes. Ho’s “Perfect Marriage” (2007) combines female stereotypes such as bride, fashionable woman, maid, student, career woman, and traditional wife into hysterically funny images that ridicule the multiple roles women are expected to play in order to be considered perfect mates.
Howard Chen uses seemingly innocuous items, like stuffed dolls and tacks, to convey social contradiction. Regular and mass-produced pins are used in conjunction with sequins and rubber doll faces to produce appealing little creatures that are grouped in corners. The combination of the quintessential baby with the dangerous pin is grounded in the Dada spirit of exploring seemingly innocent constructs.
Animation prints by Akibo Lee reflect the use of high technology in Taiwan and the influence of Japanese cartoons and comics in Taiwanese culture. In “She is My Lulaboo,” a robot appears in a mini-dress in front of a backdrop of exploding red fireworks; the bright background seems to pulse with energy.
Other artists in the show include Agi Chen, Ching-yao Chen, Shih-chun Cheng, Meng-yeh Chou, Tsai-rung He, Ai-hua Hsia, Tang-wei Hsu, Lanya Huang, Pei-ying Huang, Wan-ling Huang, Ya-chu Kang, Fay Ku, Hui-chen Kuo, Yu-an Liao, Chien-jung Lin, Ching-fong Lin, Ping-yu Pan, Wan-ting Su, Charwei Tsai, Shieng-nien Yang, Jui-chung Yao, Yi-li Yeh, Hung Yi, and Wen-fu Yu.
The exhibit is one of three shows on view concurrently in the Ben Shahn Galleries. “Ben Wilson: The Margin as Center,” on view in the South Gallery, provides an overview of the artist’s career beginning in 1930, with special focus on large abstractions created from the 1970s through the 1990s. On view in the East Gallery is “Bill Leech: Landscapes, Abstractions, and Faces from the Police Files.”
This exhibit is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Ben Shahn Galleries are wheelchair-accessible. Large-print handouts are available. For additional information, please call the Ben Shahn Galleries at William Paterson University, 973-720-2654.
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October 15, 2008
www.wpunj.edu
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