Light My Fire! (Pingxi Lantern Festival)

Light My Fire! (Pingxi Lantern Festival)
Picture Taken by Chandra Suciadi

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Young Art Taipei

 
  
 She was as giddy as a school girl when I asked her to tell me about her art. Wei-Hui Hsu created her piece with cosmetic facial masks. The ones you wet and put on your face to clean your pores and free you from acne. “What? No way, you’ve got to be kidding me!” I said as my jaw dropped in amazement. "How creative!" I mean who would have thought of something like that? She dyes the facial masks different colors and uses a special glue to shape them into a face-shaped object. Her creation "Smiling Face as a Flower" is delicately layered. As thin and meticulous as a god-made flower It's extremely impressive that this was made by human hands. She tells me the layers are symbolic of the wrinkles that people get when they age. If you look closely you can see a face imprinted on the back. Her other installments include “Camouflage” which is a life-sized dress, shoes, and purse  made out of facial masks. They all entail horrific faces similar to Edvard Munch’s "The Scream". This comments on the anxiety that women feel about their appearance.  
Smiling Face as a Flower

Camouflage Dress

Camouflage Purse

Camouflage Shoes
 
         











So captivated by her ideals and talent I almost forgot that I was at the Young Art Taipei Contemporary Art Fair and I had other pieces to observe. The Young Art Taipei Contemporary Art Fair is the very first contemporary art fair in Asia that focus on young artist under the age of 45. This fair aims to be a platform for contemporary art in Asia held each year held at the Sheraton Hotel in Taipei. Each hotel room located on the 9th floor served as an art gallery displaying art from Approximately 60 galleries mostly all over Asia and a couple of other countries. The countries represented were Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, America, Singapore, and China. 
         As I looked around the hotel room. Wei-Hui Hsu graciously served as my translator, when asking about the other artist’s work in the room. Egene Koo from Korea also one of the winners of The Young Art Award. ( An honor only granted to six artist) deeply struck me with awe and amusement. Her animal-headed humans could be considered eerie to some but her strategic use of the color red and meticulous attention to detail compels you to step closer and loose yourself in her work. She draws her inspiration from Hans Christian Anderson stories. 
Never ending Childhood

         “ Human Love” is the phrase uttered by Hiroshi Mori when I asked him what inspires his work. Hiroshi spoke limited English but I as I stood teary-eyed in front of his paintings I was able to feel what he was trying to convey. It brought back memories of my own childhood and the innocence and simplicity of life back then coupled with the elegance of nature. 
Favorite Place: Keep on Believing

Favorite Place: Boy and Girl

         “I can’t tell you much about his inspiration because he is autistic and doesn’t talk.” His representative said to me. Ming Yeh only 19 uses colors so valiant and vibrant it screams out at you. There is no denying his painting’s presence. The representative also tells me her other client 21 year old Chi-Jen Huang also autistic does hours of research on the internet and produces a storyboard like scenario.  “ He always knows exactly what he wants to draw. He uses pen and never makes a mistake.” Ming Yeh and Chi-Jen Huang work with Luminance Art Space. Luminance aims to help mentally disabled people express their creativity attain independence through their art, and serve as a spiritual bridge of communication between disabled and non-disabled people.
Ming Yeh
                                                    
Beside the Pool

Chi-Jen Haung
                                 
Maya Superman












Tomohiro Takagi’s works consists of well-organized composition and delicately made depiction is something to be marveled at. His European-influenced surrealist style poses philosophical and eschatological questions between humans and animals. 
The Wood of Fallen Birds

         Rae Chou’s piece “Summer on the Beach” called me into the room as I walked by. It’s friendly aura is reminiscent of a Margaret Keane paining with slightly smaller eyes. Her subject matter and use of color has a calming effect on the soul. 
Summer on the Beach

In Chanel In Spring


         “Reading Habits” by Shih Yung-Chun  is described by lamenting a life you wish you had. Each head represents a different personality that the man in the painting can try on at any given time as if he is taking on different personalities. It’s a way of describing his non-conformist attitude toward society. 
Reading Habits C-Interview

Reading Habits D-File Drawer

         There were so many immensely talented artist at the Young Art Taipei Art Fair my only regret is that I couldn’t write about all of them. Observing paintings and sculptures the entire evening I kept thinking. It’s amazing how I couldn’t communicate with these artists via speaking with them ( Some were absent, or spoke another language other than English) but that didn’t matter they still were able to touch me deeply with their art. Art is a language all it’s own. I can’t remember the last time I felt so moved, touched and inspired.

The Young Art Taipei 2012 aims to be a platform for contemporary art in Asia the next one will be held in May 2013.

Galleries and Artists and Works Featured in the Article

Wei-Hui Hsu
Exhibited by the Keumsan Gallery (Seoul, Korea)
(more info can be found at) www.weihuihsu.com

Egene Koo
Exhibited by the Keumsan Gallery (Seoul, Korea)
Featured works: Neverending Childhood Oil on Canvas 162x112cm 2011

Shin Yung-Chung
Exhibited by the PiaoPiao Gallery (Taipei, Taiwan)
"Reading Habits" C-Interview Acrylic on canvas 60x72.5m
"Reading Habits" D-file drawer Acrylic on canvas 60x72.5m 
(more works can be seen at) http://www.flickr.com/photos/clm0072/sets/

Tomohiro Takagi
Exhibited by the  Elsa Art Center (Taipei, Taiwan)
“The Wood of Fallen Birds” 194x130cm Oil on Canvas 2011



Hiroshi Mori
Exhibited by Gallery Yuki-Sis (Tokyo, Japan)
Featured works: “Favorite Place” Boy and Girl 116.7x116.7 acrylic, oil and urethane on canvas
“Favorite Place” Keep on Believing 100.0x100.0 acrylic, oil and urethane on canvas

Ming Yeh and Chi-Jen Huang
Represented by Luminance Art Space
art0080@gmail.com
"Beside the Pool" 130x163cm oil on canvas 2012 Ming Yeh
"Maya Superman" 54.5x78.8cm ink on paper 2012 Chi-Jen Huang

Rae Chou
Exhibited by Boss Art Gallery 9 (Taipei. Taiwan)
Featured Works: “In Chanel, In Spring”  50x42cm, acrylic on canvas, private collection 2011
“Summer on the Beach” 88x108cm acrylic on canvas, private collection 2011

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Wayfaring and Waterfalls

This is video footage of a hike I did with some friends in the Yangming mountains in Taiwan combined with another set of mountains (sorry I don't remember the name and neither do the people who I went hiking with.)I just joined a hike one day and didn't ask many questions I just followed. These can be seen at the end of the video where there are waterfalls. I apologize for the shakiness of the camera. It was really slippery and I was doing my best not to fall. (With that said. I need to invest in one of those cameras that I could attach to my head.) Most of the footage is our hike to Yangming mountain where there is a beautiful nature made hot spring. When we got there we stayed there for three hours. Our skin turned pruney it was awesome. It took me back to the days where when I was younger and I didn't want to get out of the bathtub and my skin turned pruney. My only regret is that we didn't buy beer before we went.  Hope you enjoy the video. ;-)
V
P.S.
If you don't see subtitles all through out the video please let me know and I will fix it. Thanks

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Bicycles

This is a 30km/18 mile bike ride that I did with some friends around Taipei. I was so sore the next morning that I crawled around my apartment.

Busted!

NOT covering your liquor in public is NOT illegal in Taiwan. I thought I'd take advantage of this opportunity. (Picture taken by : Sean Thompson)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Free Hug

This was taken a block away from Taipei 101.  I love hugs, and I love free things so how could I resist?

Road to the Mountains

I was going waterfall hunting with a group of friends in Taiwan. I took this before we went up the mountain.

Waterfall

Waterfall

Waterfall closeup

Waterfall closeup
A closer image of another waterfall

People Playing at the waterfall

People Playing at the waterfall
People Playing at the waterfall

Mountain View

Mountain View

Around the Bend

Around the Bend
We got off the train and are about to hike in the mountains.