Relevance, Rebellion and Redemption

Taiwanese trash repurposers bring their vision to Eureka

(Sept. 9, 2010) A tree trunk sways suspended, looming over the eight-inch seedling underneath. A heart-shaped, fibrous leaf, broad as your average human, hangs to the side of the very appealing three-piece band Children of the Sun. Their California jazz-soul winds through the Accident Gallery, buoys the heaviness suggested by this month’s exhibition, “Going Green: New Environmental Art From Taiwan.” See, the pieces all focus on environmental issues — global warming, pollution, waste disposal, loss of habitat and urban encroachment.

One collection of work by Wu Mali documents “Taipei Tomorrow as a Lake Again.” Imagining the impact of climate change on the basin city, regional planting activities were designed as a way to not only reflect on environmental issues, but actually gain connection with the land. In an interview in Taiwan Today, Mali explained, “My art is more of a social movement to make changes in our behavior for the benefit of humanity and nature, and to make art more relevant to society.”

Gravity ERIN WHITMAN

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Currently Taiwan, a primarily urban, highly developed technological country, boasts many contemporary artists who specialize in video art and other new media. For the modern artists who choose to focus on the natural world — of major importance in traditional Chinese art and culture — art is a way of looking back and looking forward at the same time.

“Every Drop Counts” by Chung-ho Cheng and Chia-ping Liu demonstrates this beautifully. Fiber-based “leaves” stand tall on stalks, angled to funnel the morning dew into containers. A perfect symbiosis of function and art, these moisture collectors are poised to grow more valuable as access to clean water disappears.

While the impact of the faraway installations is somewhat diminished by only being able to view them through photographs and video, immediate reward is found in the Eureka-specific installations of artists Ya-chu Kang and Su-chen Hung. Hung’s piece focuses on the importance of trees for the environment — the aforementioned trunk/seedling installation. Kang’s outdoor installation, “Hero,” the form of a human skeleton wearing a cape like a super-hero and composed of plastic and other non-biodegradable waste collected on local beaches, is sited along Eureka’s boardwalk.

Some pieces in the exhibit are less literal. Fay Ku’s “Spawn” is drawn with sharp lines but soft meanings, appealing as an illustration in a mythology book, yet hinting at something colder, more clinical. It’s the sort of piece you stand in front of for a bit, wondering what’s going on.

The “Going Green” exhibition is sponsored by the Taipei Cultural Center, New York City, and funded by the Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan, and continues at Accident Gallery, Eureka, through Oct. 2. The artists and the artworks for this exhibition were selected by Jane Ingram Allen, an American independent curator, artist and critic living in Taiwan since moving there in 2004 with a Fulbright Scholar award.

Also worth noting at the Accident Gallery, “An Emotional Pile” by Seth M. Smith VI. While photomontages typically go for the Cubist look or fall into the Hockney-inspired category without adding value, this particular work results in something that appears post-earthquake, made more poignant by recent natural disasters and, in that context, makes a gutsy comment.

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ONE Comments

Comment / By Ruth / Sept. 10, 7:21 a.m.

I just wanted to point out that First Street’s current show, with Erin Whitman’s peice, is the HSU Faculty & Staff Show, not the Alumni show, as mentioned in the article.