Complex Shit

I can't believe I missed this story.
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At the end of July, Paul McCarthy's house-sized inflatable artwork broke from its moorings, wreaking havoc in Switzerland. The wind carried it away. It downed a power line and broke a window.
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This work was a huge blow-up of dog doo-doo and titled "Complex Shit."
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The performative action of the enormous turd named Complex Shit blowing around in the wind sounds hilarious, but luckily no one was hit by it.
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Read here for more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7558129.stm

Art Can Save YOUR Life

Art is truly a life saver, and now research backs that up. No kidding.

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Med students who studied art developed sharper visual perception and made far more accurate diagnoses than the med students without the art training.

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Studying art helped train the students to be better observers and to see things more clearly.

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When budgets are cut for governmental or educational programs, the arts are usually cut first as they are deemed frivolous.

Is a doctor who can examine you with great visual acuity frivolous? Or the doctor who first notices signs of cancer or disease? Hmmm, I think not.

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Read here for the study:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2008/08/18/art-medicine.html?ref=rss

Art breakfast in Taipei

Since the start of the Beijing Olympics, the increase of F16 flyovers in Hualien has greatly increased. My apartment is between the 'hidden' airport and the ocean, so I'm jarred awake early every morning by these supersonic flying machines. Needless to say my nerves are so shattered that I'm taking a 2 week vacation. Out of here.

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So I'll miss this fun art event in Taipei, but I like the idea of a Monday morning coffee and art event.

Origin of biennials

Art biennials originated from the Olympics. However, I take a dim view on the nationalism both events seem to promote.

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The image on the left is the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag and the right image is Taiwan's national flag (which Beijing refuses to let fly).

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So following the world's logic that is dictated by Beijing, should the "Taipei Biennial" be renamed the "Chinese Taipei Biennial?"

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Now that the Beijing Olympics have officially begun, hopefully the incessant F16 flyovers in Hualien can now cease.

Artist rankings

Being house-bound due to a raging typhoon allowed me to catch up on a lot of art reading and research.
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This website www.artfacts.net really made me chuckle as they rate artists with a numerical rating.
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To my great surprise, since I don't have a market, so to speak, I was even on their list. It almost feels like I'm in a popularity contest.

2008 Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition

2008 Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition
第一屆台灣國際錄像藝術展 徵件簡章

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Download your application to participate in a video art exhibition. Deadline Sept 1. http://twvideoart.blogspot.com/
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Presenter: Chiu Tsai-Hsing Culture and Education Foundation
Organizer: Hong-Gah Museum (hereunder referred to as the Museum)
Curators: Sean C.S. Hu and Yung-Hsien Chen
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1. Presenter:Chiu Tsai-Hsing Culture and Education Foundation came to realization with the preliminary proposal brought forth by musician, Ma Shui-Lung. The Foundation started off as a platform for Taiwanese musicians to showcase their works, and the initial core was based on the Spring-Fall Contemporary Music. It then reached out to promote diverse cultural activities, and in the year 1999, the Hong-Gah Museum was established with the principle to promote contemporary and new media arts in Taiwan and also to serve as a multi-functional exhibition venue. Chiu Tsai-Hsing Culture and Education Foundation and Hong-Gah Museum are both founded by Mr. Chiu Tsai-Hsing, and continue to receive high acknowledgements in the fields of arts and cultures, including the 1998 and 2006 National Cultural Benefactor Award’s Special Award and Jury Award from the Council for Cultural Affairs of Taiwan.
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2. Objective:1. The call for entries is initiated by Chiu Tsai-Hsing Culture and Education Foundation and Hong-Gah Museum, and the objective is to encourage creative video works, and by opening to all geographic locations, we anticipate more international artistic and cultural interactions to take place in Taiwan. This international exhibition will be organized biennially with this year being the first.
2. All entries are given special considerations by the curators for exhibiting in this year’s exhibition, titled ”Dwelling”. The contents of the entries should include issues pertaining to city and country landscapes, personal living environments, changes in habitats, community cultures, family attribution, or living environments of the working class or a marriage relationship that could extend to related issues about residence and tenements. The artist must use video as the medium, and the work may progress further on the themed subject through the use of the imagination, documentary, re-composition, editing, animation, and etc…
3. Eligibility:Open to all domestic and international artists 18 years of age or older, working with video art.4. Entry Deadline and Submission:Starting from June 1st, 2008 ~ September 1st, 2008. (Deadline for entry postmarked by September 1st, 2008, no submission will be accepted after).
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5. Acceptance Notification:The entry acceptances will be published on the museum’s website before September 30th, 2008.6. Exhibit Dates:November 8th ~ December 28th, 2008.

Pierre Huyghe, Biennale Sydney 2008

Dear readers,

Thanks for your patience and please pardon me for not blogging for the past couple of weeks.

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In the meantime, several people have contacted me with their art events. One such event is listed below.

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This took place July 9th, so it already happened, yet you may be interested to read about it.

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"Sydney, Australia – The Biennale of Sydney has today unveiled one of its major projects – A Forest of Lines – a 24-hour installation by acclaimed French artist Pierre Huyghe. The artist has transformed the iconic Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House into a living forest with around 1000 trees. Visitors are able to enter the installation and meander through aided by headlights, becoming part of the living art work. The music for the project has been written by Laura Marling and is performed by local musicians.

Photo courtesy Paul Green.

A vodcast featuring 2008 Biennale of Sydney Artistic Director, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, talking about this project can be viewed at: http://blog.bos2008.com/2008/07/03/artist-spotlight-pierre-huyghe/