ART & CULTURE

You will become a part of the happenings;you will simultaneously experience them Allan Kaprow The Genesis of Performance Art In 1959, American artist Allan Kaprow sent out invitations for his debut show at Reuben Gallery with a captivating proposition: “You will become a part of the happenings; you will simultaneously experience them.” He described the show as “something spontaneous, something that just happens to happen”. The audience, unaware of what awaited them, arrived at the venue with only one instruction: no smoking or leaving during the event. Upon reaching the second floor of the gallery, they were given detailed directives, orchestrating their seating and movements across three segmented spaces of the gallery. This format allowed viewers to adopt various perspectives...

https://youtube.com/shorts/vrwiBZiuc4I?si=61gYvRr3FDq3yiVX On the evening of the 17th, The Fringe Club’s After Sunset Festival featured “Night of Obsession”, an exhibition that explored the intricate blend of pleasure and pain. This concept, central to artistic creation, requires a certain fascination with pain to express one’s aesthetic. Our attendance was prompted by an invitation from Siu Ding, the event’s photographer, to witness her project titled “Ritsu Aomame”, centering on the art of shibari, or rope bondage. Shibari, rooted in erotic culture, is an art that probes the interplay of body, emotion, desire, and connection, encompassing aesthetics, skill, and sensuality. Shi Shi, a master of traditional Japanese rope bondage, describes pain as a profound and authentic sen...

Do We Need a Museum Dedicated to Female Artists? Let's consider this question in context. In 1971, American historian Linda Nochlin posed a provocative question in her publication, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” This query, which might initially sound dismissive of women's achievements, actually challenges the underlying societal and institutional biases leading to gender inequality in art. The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), the first global museum founded to support women artists, has recently reopened after a two-year renovation. Winton S. Holladay, the museum’s board chair, emphasises the ongoing relevance of their mission amid persistent gender inequality in the art world. The museum’s future programs and exhibitions will increasingly focus on di...

The drama series All the light we cannot see was launched on Netflix on November 2. The condensed four-episode theatrical version is adapted from the original novel by Anthony Doerr. This Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel set during World War II became the New York Times bestseller in literature. Although the characters in the play are purely fictional, author Doerr uses the historical context of the 1944 siege and battle for control of Saint-Malo in Brittany, France. “It was really important to me to try to make sure that every detail of Saint-Malo was correct so that people who lived through the siege would believe in the authenticity of the project,” Doerr said. Although the series was rewritten. Part of the plot and ending of the original novel, but whether it is the novel o...

Motherhood is a long-term process full of a myriad of complex feelings.This complexity cannot be expressed solely by saccharine images of Mother and Child, nor by the image of the Mother Incarnate willingly sacrificing herself for the sake of her children. Annie Wang Motherhood: Sacrifice or Creation? Motherhood bestows life upon children, yet from the moment they depart the womb, a mother's identity grapples with personal sacrifices: her time, spirit, social life, and the trajectory of her pre-motherhood existence. Bearing a child for nine months is universally revered, and those who've journeyed through pregnancy may attest to its profound significance. Professor Chiang Chen-Yin of the Department of Hakka Language and Social Sciences at National Central University has obse...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh6WuUOeJT4 Pink October, a colour traditionally associated with romance and tenderness, also symbolises Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Late in September, Breast Cancer Now, a UK-based charity and research organisation, launched a poignant campaign called “If I Had More Time”. The initiative features interviews with nine women from diverse backgrounds, all of whom are battling Secondary Breast Cancer*. They open up about life after their diagnosis and explore what the concept of “more time” means to each of them. As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, the organisation released a five-minute documentary, Stories of Secondary, which includes previously unseen interview footage. The film captures intimate conversations with these wom...

Between June and October of this year, the NordArt 2023, currently Europe's largest annual contemporary art exhibition, took place in Büdelsdorf, Germany. One name that stood out amidst this creative extravaganza was that of Kayee C., a Hong Kong photographer. Kayee is a portrait photographer renowned for a distinctive approach – she often casts herself as the central figure in her work. While the expectation might be profound revelations like “my art is a reflection of self” or “I meld personal emotions with characters”, her journey started with a simple yet practical reason. She began her photographic voyage in 2015, falling deeply in love with portrait photography. Yet inspiration doesn't always align with model availability. Learning the ropes through self-study, she avoided wa...

In 2004, Sylvia Chang achieved a cinematic milestone with her directorial masterpiece, 20 30 40. This remarkable romantic comedy stands as the singular Chinese-language film selected for competition at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival. The film masterfully weaves together the distinct yet interconnected stories of three women, each at a different stage of life: Li Hsin-chieh in her twenties, Sylvia Chang herself in her forties, and Renée Liu in her thirties. Through these characters, 20 30 40 eloquently portrays the various struggles and transformations experienced by women across different generations. Now, nearly two decades after its release, 20 30 40 retains its status as a cinematic classic, especially within the realm of women’s cinema. Sylvia Chang’s dual role as dire...