New fangled art

During my many years in NYC, I was lucky enough to be able to visit numerous art exhibitions. Some of them featured classic works, while some were cutting edge and modern. It naturally led to the question: what is art? Does a pile of computer wires dangling from the ceiling suffice? What about an installation of 20 TV screens in one room, each blaring out a segment of a haunting song?

I've always struggled a bit to answer that question. Even the technically perfect paintings at the Met sometimes struck me as soulless. And so in that regard, I decided that for my own personal definition, art makes me FEEL something. Happiness, sadness, confusion... sure, I can roll with that. All this is to preface that I went to a rather interesting exhibition recently.

TeamLab Taipei is a creative group that strives to meld together the combinations of art, science, and technology. To this end, they put together an... experience, so to speak, that is quite interesting and unique. Visitors wander through a dark maze, to be deposited into various rooms filled with projected light. As each person walks through the rooms and along the walls, the light patterns get projected onto them as well, so that they too, become part of the 'art'. There was also a room filled with large bouncy balls, each lit up in a brilliant color. It was simultaneously beautiful and playful. The whole experience resulted in a feeling that I don't feel like pops up a lot when I go to art exhibitions... that of childlike wonder.

Wait, what? My expression doesn't convey childlike wonder??

Big colored balls... everywhere!

Of course, as I spend these few paragraphs putting an artful spin on this place, the rest of Taipei's young population was busy taking as many selfies as possible. Every single person had their cell phone out, sometimes spending many minutes trying to get the perfect shot. I admit, I took quite a few pictures myself, but I thought this became an interesting piece of social commentary. So many visitors were so busy taking pictures, that they didn't quite get a chance to just look around the room and absorb its beauty. Is that life today then, and what are we missing as we glue our eyes to our electronic devices?

Taipei's youth, just hanging around

Okay, fine. You caught me... I was on my phone too!

My favorite room was of course, the shortest one that the organizers hustled visitors through. You walked through heavy black drapes to come into a brilliant land of brightness and mirrors. It's a little dazzling as your eyes adjust, and then you feel like you're being literally bathed in a shower of ever-changing lights. It's all at once beautiful and overwhelming.

Loitering visitors, taking snapshots

Closeup of the brilliant lights

Okay, this made for pretty stunning photo ops too

It's interesting, this crossroads of art-meets-social media-meets-vanity. It's definitely not highbrow, but definitely pleasing to the masses. Which, in essence, may define modern art at its finest.

(caveat: the pictures posted here really don't do the exhibition justice; I wore black so the projections don't show up as well. I am just wary about posting pictures of my friends without their knowledge)

A late Happy New Year

Life in Taiwan has been flying by. It has been interesting, rewarding, and very yummy. It's been so busy that I really haven't been keeping up with writing. So in a very late entry, I will post some pictures of the Lantern Festival out in Taipei.

The Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the Chinese New Year holidays. I had never celebrated it before, but it seems to be a pretty big deal in Taiwan. Out in Pingxi, thousands of people trek into town to participate in the release of sky lanterns... huge white lanterns written with the wishes and hopes of the New Year. As the lanterns heat up, they gently float up the night sky in a brilliant display. I wasn't able to go this year, but it's definitely on my list for 2018.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there is the Bee Festival down in Yanshuei. Thousands of firecrackers are lit and fired into a crowd of people, who are all covered from head to toe in home-spun protective gear. Apparently, being hit by a firecracker will bring you luck... that is, if you don't first sustain burn injuries! The pictures I've seen of this event are insane, and I can't imagine being in that crowd!

In comparison, my own Lantern Festival experience was very mild. I wandered out to Taipei, where there were light shows, floats, and a myriad of lanterns on display. The mood was festive but mild, even with the huge crowds of people. In the end, it was very nice to partake in a bit of this local culture, especially since Chinese New Year was never a huge thing while growing up in the states.

It's the year of the rooster. Guess which animal popped up again and again? It's like... there's a theme or something!

One of the streets was decorated with strings of light. It's kind of
amazing how something so simple could create an atmosphere
that almost felt magical.

A large area was reserved for all the lanterns. Obviously, in this modern age, everything is lit electrically... no
unintended fire hazards here!

Some of the lanterns were made with recycled materials... this
pretty bird is made up all of plastic bottlecaps!

Chickens chickens.... it's the theme... (whoa, evening pictures = blurry pictures)

I'm not sure what this display meant... lots of ants crawling
on box-like structures...?

Another chicken! The globe-like 'eggs' that he is surrounded by
are actually plastic cups! I believe that this was one of the
student entries. Pretty good, right?

Another student entry; this time an abstract one. It looked really cool and impressive in person.

Part of the appeal of being in Taiwan is the interesting combination of both the familiar and the new. So many of my childhood celebrations and events are represented here, but done in a way that is new to me. It's both comforting and thrilling, all at the same time. :)

Snapshots

Life has been really busy and eventful so far in Taiwan, but I never seem to have enough pictures for a full fledged entry. So here are a few random shots taken on various outings over the past few weeks.

This large temple is located near my apartment. It's interesting how in Asia, modern life can be interrupted at regular
intervals by these imposing buildings.

A pretty view of a river running through Beitou. The area is best
known for its hot springs.

Beitou's Thermal Valley, an expanse of water that is so hot that
it is literally steaming. 

Steaming!

A really interesting piece of art from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
It looks like a messy splatter of paint, but is actually
embroidery. Spot the 'imagine' in the middle...?

Another interesting piece. The caption reads: 'between a
rock and a hard place'.

With the weather finally cooling down in Taiwan, it's definitely time to get outdoors and see more great sites. Hopefully more entries soon, with pretty pictures!

Does art have to make sense?

Another holiday in Taiwan, another long weekend filled with rainy weather. So while my dreams of exploring the beautiful outdoors of the Taipei area have to be postponed, I still was able to see some interesting things. And of course, the best thing to do when it's raining outside is to appreciate some art inside!

Arriving at the Museum of Contemporary Art, visitors are greeted by cheerfully colored loops. This is the work of Ronald Ventura, an artist from the Philippines whose work is on exhibit at the museum now.

They look like remarkably cheerful tracks for Sonic the Hedgehog to run through

Interestingly, the rest of Ventura's work wasn't nearly as happy. The name of the exhibit was called "Finding Home", and although the museum blurb spoke about themes of travel and what a home meant in a physical, mental and sociological sense... I didn't really get that.

Lots of neon-lit displays in darkened rooms.

I found the exhibit to be macabre, dark, and slightly uncomfortable. I don't know if this was the artist's intention, but if there was any home to be found, I would definitely think it was haunted! A lot of the exhibit was in dark rooms, unfortunately, so many of my pictures didn't turn out. My favorite (not pictured) was a large, life-sized wooden carving of a man whose lower body was a boat. A projector above the room projected images and sounds of waves crashing onto the boat, and the effect was quite haunting.

Creepy little girl

A mixed media work. The artist applies some graffiti-style techniques, adding details in layers

This surreal carousel featured two horses that slowly creaked
(audibly!) back and forth. It's hard to tell from this picture,
but one horse has two heads, and the other has two tails.

After winding through the maze-like proportions of this exhibit, I was ready for a change. Luckily, the second featured artist had a very different style. Leigh Wen is a Taiwanese artist currently living in the United States. She uses the same technique in all her art, but features it on different mediums. The results were very interesting and beautiful.

Here are a dozen ceramic bowls, decorated in her signature pattern
of wavy lines. A small hose above each bowl would slowly drip
water down. A light on the ceiling would then reflect the ripples,
causing an interesting visual effect.

These small paintings are done on deconstructed wine crates

I loved this collage piece; it was both beautiful and soothing

Stretched canvases in the shape of orchids. She also used the same technique to print on fabric, and then created
fancy ballgowns. I forgot to take a picture of those though.

This piece was GIGANTIC, easily spanning the length of the room. My guess would be that this is 30 feet wide

A closeup of her painting technique. The small spidery lines canvas all her artwork. In the paintings, this created a sense of movement that worked really well.

I loved this one as well. It was also huge, maybe over 25 feet wide and 10 feet tall

Maybe because my expectations for this museum was low, I was very pleasantly surprised. Modern art is sometimes difficult to grasp, but both these exhibits made me feel something (even if it maybe isn't the exact feeling the artist intended). And with the low admission price of 50 NT (less than $2 US), this was a fantastic break from the dreary weather outside!

Absorbing culture

... or better phrased as: "getting out of the damn heat"!

It's hot in Taipei. Terribly terribly hot. And humid. Walking a mere 5 minutes outside in the shade means that you're already drenched in sweat. So in hopes of escaping this weather while doing something interesting, I headed off today to one of Taipei's many museums.

The National Museum of History is not one of the larger museums in the city, but its frugal price tag of 30 NTD  ($1 USD) and its proximity to an errand I had to run made it the destination of the day. I had no idea what was being displayed, and was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few exhibitions available.

But because of my errand, I had to detour through the Taipei Botanical Gardens on the way. While this wasn't particularly pleasant temperature-wise, all was forgiven when a view of the museum's rear came into view, flanked by a giant lotus pond.

Giant expanse of lotus plants

Alas, it was a cloudy day today and therefore I had terrible lighting for the pictures. But it was really very pretty!

A picturesque pavilion amidst a jungle of lotus plants

Gorgeous lotus bloom

Unsurprisingly, there were more than several artists set up along the pond

Finally, I circled around to the entrance of the museum. About time too; I felt like I was about to melt! And after paying my dollar entry, I slipped into the soothing air conditioned halls and appreciated myself some art.

Front of museum. I had luckily JUST missed a load full of schoolkids, apparently.

There were four main exhibitions on display in addition to its permanent art. The first featured porcelain dolls painted by chiu zhou artists, depicting Chinese opera performers.

It's like... a fancy diorama

Another exhibition featured some modern jade works by an artist named Tu Kuo Wei. I have to admit, I didn't understand most of it, which featured jade carved into small cubes or rods. Frankly, I thought they totally looked like something else.......

I did like this one piece though, carved out of jade

Meandering upstairs, I ended up spending quite some time looking at the prolific works by Tsai Mao Sung, who primarily did ink paintings and calligraphy. His works were numerous, filling up several rooms. I ended up snapping way too many photos to post here, so here are just some of my favorites.

This one suggests a serene mountain scene, the mist gently dissipating as the sun rises 

Bummer, this one was framed behind glass so there's a glare. But this may have been my favorite piece! The
brooding mountains, the red trees... it's all so moody!

I found this one quite romantic, with the two small figures in the foreground, holding
hands. :)

As a huge contrast, the museum also housed some oil paintings by Chiang Long Fang, whose bold and colorful work reminded me of... an artist who I can't remember at the moment. :P I can't pretend to be an art connoisseur! He does seem to have a thing for chickens though...

Chicken! Names of pieces, left to right: Messenger of Fortune, Moving Forward No. 1, and Pride

This large piece (at least 6 feet tall) gives off a very American vibe to me!

All in all, this was a pleasant and cool way to spend a few hours. It's nice that Taipei has quite a few museums to choose from, and I'll try to go to another one before the week is out and I am back on the grind.

Did I mention I'm always hungry...?

So! I am on a brand new adventure. I have left the continent of Europe, to travel back to Asia. I am in Taiwan this time, and my poor waistline (so newly reacquired after vigorous dedication to a New Year's resolution) is probably on the verge of disappearing again. But it's Taiwan! The island of food!

I've been in Taipei for less than a week, and have mostly been seeking out small local places for my meals. I haven't even cracked open the pandora's box that are the night markets, and there is already more than plenty to keep my belly full. Is it surprising then, that my photos so far are 98% food?

So far, the takeaway I've received from this week's meals is that Taiwanese food is unexpectedly heavy for such a warm climate (and it is WARM. and HUMID).

One of my first meals back to celebrate my return to Asia involved rice balls. I missed those little suckers so much when I was in France, which was funny because I had eaten them so much in Japan that I was sick of them.

YUM!

Another trip down memory lane is Ah Chung Mee Sua, is a rather famous place located near where I'm staying in Ximending. I visited last time I was in Taiwan, and it hasn't changed at all. The broth was thick and tasted heavily of bonito, while the braised intestines added an earthy flavor. I have to admit, I felt really full and needed a nap after eating the whole large bowl. This meal set me back 110 NTD (65 for the mee sua, 40 for the drink), or $3.50 USD.

Hearty, and rich, this would make a really good winter
meal/snack

Rats; the picture below really doesn't make the dumplings look appetizing. But rest assured; they were plump and juicy and best of all, CHEAP. This restaurant sells dumplings by the piece: all pork-based dumplings cost 7 NTD (22 cents USD), and all shrimp-based dumplings cost 8 NTD (25 cents USD). Each protein was paired with different veggies, so there were about 10 different types of dumplings in all. I stuck with the pork base, and had pork-cabbage, pork-leek, and pork-radish. 7 dumplings in all, for a cheap dinner of 49 NTD, or $1.56 USD. Next time I'll try the shrimp!

Maybe I'll get 10 dumplings next time... splurge!

I was walking along one day when I noticed a small open-air restaurant with about 5 items total on its menu. They specialized in zongzi (粽子), sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed. The Taiwanese version of this yummy treat involves pouring a gravy over the whole thing before serving. This certainly sounded interesting, and so I had to try. Taste-wise, this was more like a Cantonese 糯米雞... it was stuffed with fatty pork, peanuts, a salted egg yolk, shitake mushroom, and chestnuts. Paired with the savory gravy, it was delicious and filling. And at 65 NTD (just a smidge over $2 USD), another cheap meal!

Not pictured: the lumps of fatty fatty pork.

For dinner one night, I tried to balance out the heavy food with something a little lighter. I found a place serving Fujian-style fish balls, and decided to try them out. These fish balls were stuffed with bits of meat and served in a light broth. The fish ball portion was a little bland, but the meat inside was generously flavored. Add a simple dish of greens in an attempt to be healthy, and I had a 75 NTD ($2.40 USD) meal.

See? So healthy.

The menu. Everything's so cheap!

Of course, I had to go get a Taiwanese breakfast one morning. I ended up ordering way too much food... a nice large cup of sweet soy milk, a Taiwanese rice roll (stuffed with 油條, pork floss, and pickled radish), a fried fritter filled with lotus bean paste, and some fried turnip cake. This was enough for me for two meals, and only cost me 95 NTD ($3 USD).

A bounty of food for three bucks.

After all these meals, spending anything more than two or three dollars seems outright frivolous! Like I mentioned before though, I'm finding the food surprisingly heavy and unsuited for hot weather. One thing that does make sense though, is the plethora of drinks available in Taiwan. With this weather, it's imperative to stay hydrated! I finally broke down after a few days, and got my first shaved ice. It was from a pricier spot, and cost more than any of my meals so far (120 NTD, $3.82 USD)!

The first. Of many.

There is still a long loooooong list of food I want to eat, so perhaps it's good that I'll be spending a year here. It's tempting to cram it all in now though! The juicy fried pork chops! The night market street food!

... maybe I should look into joining a gym or something....