Taipei Artists Rally for Rights

Organized by conceptual artist Tang Huang-chen, a mass demonstration by artists took place in Taipei on Oct. 31 in which they demanded a trade union for artists be set up.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/taipei/2009/11/01/230956/Local-artists.htm

Art and Torture: Vinegar and Oil

What is the purpose of art?

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Surely, it's not made for torture.

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It seems like a no brainer: Art and torture really do not go together. And that's what many of today's artists are saying.

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Artists, in this case, musicians, are rallying together to demand the US government to release the names of the songs used as torture at Guatanamo Bay.

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As Roseanne Cash stated in the Washington Post's provocative article: "It seems so obvious. Music should never be used as torture."

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It is truly disgusting to think that an artist's work was used to torture another human being.

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Read the compelling article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102103743.html?hpid=topnews

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Image courtesy of www.rso.cornell.edu/progressive/articles.php?id=59

R.I.P. Nancy Spero (1926-2009)

http://www.tate.org.uk/research/tateresearch/tatepapers/09spring/joanna-walker.shtm

Age is just a number

There is an imperceptible line between conceptual art and creative writing.
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Conceptual art drips with metaphor and is soaked in narrative.
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But the best thing about being a writer instead of an artist is that your birthdate is not published in a catalog!

blah, blah, blah

Please accept my apologies for not blogging lately: too busy harvesting crops.

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Anyways, who needs art critics? Now there is a site that generates verbose critiques. Just type in a 5 digit number and instantly get a paragraph of text like this:

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"With regard to the issue of content, the disjunctive perturbation of the spatial relationships brings within the realm of discourse the distinctive formal relationships."

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Sounds fun, huh? Okay, try it now. The Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator at http://www.pixmaven.com/phrase_generator.html

Chinese Censorship

The following was sent to me by a Taiwanese curator. I can't believe Melbourne would kowtow to Beijing. Oh, I forgot, Rudd.
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"Withdrawal of “Miao Miao” screening from the MIFF
28/07/2009
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The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia (TECO) is very surprised and regretful to hear that the distributing company of the film entitled “Miao Miao”, namely Fortissimo Films, which is based in Hong Kong, has decided to withdraw the screening of “Miao Miao”, directed by Taiwanese Cheng Hsiao-Tse.
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The withdrawal is due to the recent boycott made by the authorities of the Chinese People’s Republic which controls Hong Kong, against the Melbourne International Film Festival. This has nothing to do with Taiwan which is in support of the continuous participation of the film and the freedom of expression and human rights.
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The TECO regards that the arts is a special medium that should be above politics and free from political dictation. The TECO firmly believes that it is wrong to boycott this international cultural event because of political differences. The TECO feels very disappointed that the Australian public will be unable to have the opportunity to enjoy viewing “Miao Miao”.
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However, there are two Taiwan short films, namely “Joyce Agape” and “The Pursuit of What Was”, that will still be participating in the Melbourne International Film Festival. The TECO will continue to give their full support to the Melbourne International Film Festival, and hopes to introduce more Taiwan films to this event in the future."

dangerous art

The Guardian has an article about the Robert Morris Bodyspacemotionthings exhibition at the Tate Modern and how this interactive work, which was made in the seventies, is still hurting people.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/jul/12/tate-modern-robert-morris-injuries