M Dans puts the pedal to the metal

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER, Taipei Times
Friday, Nov 23, 2007, Page 14

Velocity is the newest production to come from the three-year-old dance troupe that incorporates the ideas of all its members into everything from themes to sets. PHOTO: COURTESY OF M DANS

Next week M Dans (驫舞劇場), the small and amorphous contemporary dance company headed up by Chen Wu-kang (陳武康), will celebrate the third anniversary of its founding. Given its somewhat unconventional method of operation this is a remarkable achievement, and Velocity (速度), which will premiere this weekend at the National Experimental Theater, shows off the group's efforts to "keep it fresh" and to hold the audiences' attention as the world of contemporary dance spins madly into an unknown future.

The group was formed by a number of young dancers who wanted to do something different, free from the limits of contemporary dance. "We were tired of the stuff we were doing, the work of various 'teachers' ... , there was nothing that made you really want to participate," Chen said.

With Velocity, the group uses this system of loose collaboration to bring in ideas from all its members. The group collectively decided on the new production's theme. "I actually wanted to do something based on mammoths," Chen said, "but was totally overruled. Mammoths are really cool, and big, and extinct ... but anyway, eventually we decided we liked the idea of velocity."

Having settled on a theme, the group began exploring how the frenetic nature of contemporary society pulls people and things apart. There is evolution and there is progress, but there is also loss. Dancers use modified forms of origami to create the objects that progress brings. Walls are placed about the stage to create a space in which the dancers find themselves separated by the speed of their movements. Multimedia is used to represent the modern televisual experience. Elements of experimental theater, drama and mime are also part of the performance. What is conspicuously lacking is a specific cultural identity, and this is quite deliberate.

"The groups that have been successful overseas are mostly selling Chinese culture," Chen said. "They have an 'Oriental' label. They claim to have something exotic and mysterious. People say that dance is a common language, so why can't we put this 'Oriental' stuff aside. ... Of course we are Asian, but there is no need to be constantly making art that refers back to or comments on all this ethnic stuff."

Chen accepts that the "Oriental" stuff can look good, and acknowledges that it sells. But even though taking this line puts M Dans at a disadvantage in the international market, Chen is upbeat. "There's lots of fun to be had without resorting to all that 'Oriental' stuff," he said.

Chen wants to make dance something closely related to his own experience and those of the dancers he works with.

To do this, the troupe must have its own studio, a rare thing for a two-year-old dance company.

Games played a big part in the creation of Velocity, which sees M Dans caught on the speeding train of human history, unable to get off. It is rushing towards an unknown destination, which is just how Chen likes it, for only in this way can he "keep it fresh, and keep it fun."

Despite M Dans' initial success, the group is planning to change its name this year. "M Dans makes us sound like just another dance company," Chen said. "So we have decided to call ourselves Horse." The character for the group's Chinese name is a combination of three ideographs for a horse.

"Horse has so many interesting associations. It is a strong animal, then of course it's also a drug (heroin). There are associations of stud horses, with their virile strength, and also their wildness," Chen said.

What: Velocity by M Dans (Horse)
When: Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
Where: National Experimental Theater
Tickets: NT$400, available through NTCH ticketing

Restaurants: A Cut Steakhouse

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER, Taipei Times
Friday, Nov 23, 2007, Page 15

Top quality food served with the utmost simplicity is A Cut's secret. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE AMBASSADOR HOTEL

Danny Deng, the culinary maestro behind the Ambassador Hotel's newest endeavor, is aiming for the very top. "We think we have a chance at the title of best steakhouse in Asia," he said of A Cut Steakhouse, which opened two weeks ago in the hotel's basement.

The moment you turn into the stairway leading to A Cut, you leave behind the conventional decor of the hotel lobby and are enveloped by a cigar-bar atmosphere of dark wood, stitched leather, plush carpets and subdued jazz.

For all the money that has clearly gone into creating an ambiance of refined luxury, the real point of A Cut is the meat, and this is something that Deng and his bevy of chefs take seriously. The name of the restaurant refers to a cut of meat that Deng calls the "cap" of the rib eye.

"In a cow weighing 700kg, we can get only about 2kg of this 'cap,'" Deng said. As it is not normally served separately from the rib eye, it has no accepted name, so Deng went ahead and called it the "A Cut," the restaurant's signature dish.

A Cut Steakhouse Address: Ambassador Hotel, B1, 63, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市中山北路二段63號B1) Telephone: (02) 2571-0389 Open: Daily, 11:30am to 2pm; 6pm to 10:30pm Average meal: NT$1,500 and up Details: English menu, credit cards accepted

The Chef's "A Cut" Signature House Cut (NT$1,500 for a 10oz steak) is good value, with a succulence that justifies the price tag. The meat is served very simply, seared and presented in a cast-iron dish with a small serving of sauteed mushrooms. A variety of salts are the only garnish. "Very simple, very high quality," Deng said. The usual steakhouse side dishes such as mashed potatoes and vegetables are also available.

Simplicity marks the restaurant's other steak dishes. A 16oz USDA Prime Center Cut Rib Eye (NT$2,400) is intended for two and a 22oz version of the same (NT$3,300) serves three. "We wanted to incorporate the idea of Chinese-style dining," Deng said, "where good things are shared."

Although steak is the centerpiece of A Cut's menu, the menu includes many other meat and seafood options, with main courses starting at around NT$700. The choice of appetizers includes seared foie gras with braised baby abalone and wine poached pear (NT$700). The dessert menu demonstrates the restaurant's overall sophistication: the chocolate souffle with raspberry sorbet (NT$350) is a delight.

A wide range of wines, including a 16 house wines, means that pairing wines and courses can be easily managed even for small tables.

It's a dog's life

More and more Taiwanese people are keeping pets — and taking them on vacation, giving rise to a whole new tourist industry

By Ian Bartholomew
Taipei Times
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007, Page 13

Tokyo; Canine-friendly services at Japanese airports PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

Danny Tsai (蔡明智), who works in IT and his wife, Rebeca Chuang (莊淑芬), an accountant, love their dogs. They, like many other dog owners in Taiwan, regard their mutts as part of the family and are loath to part with them when they travel overseas. One and a half years ago, they decided to do something about it and established Pet Tour (信華事業). Since then, they have led three tours to different parts of Japan. Pet Tour also handles the shipment of pets to countries around the world. “It started out from a personal need,” Tsai said, “but then it grew from there.”

Moving pets across international borders has long been problematic, primarily due to a lack of uniform international guidelines. Every country has different entry requirements for pets as do international airlines — some enforcing blanket bans on pets, others allowing small animals to accompany their owners in the cabin.

“It is necessary to do a lot of homework before you can even contemplate taking pets overseas,” Tsai said, “and there is little margin for error.” In many cases, if difficulties arise over paperwork when entering a country, the animal may face immediate deportation, extended quarantine or destruction by the authorities, options that would be traumatic for any pet owner on vacation.

Pet check-in at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

In the UK, the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) was introduced in February 2000 to allow pet dogs, cats and ferrets from certain countries to enter the UK without going through quarantine. It also allows pets to visit EU nations and return to the UK without undergoing quarantine, as long as they meet a list of detailed requirements. The program has been gradually extended and in December 2002 the mainland US and Canada joined. This scheme has helped those animal lovers in the UK who want to take their pets with them on holiday.

Five star dog food PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

getting past the red tape

There is, as yet, no such help for pet owners in Taiwan. Daniel Cheng (鄭烜), a Taiwanese national who took his two long-haired dachshunds with him when relocating to Japan, said the local authorities were generally very helpful, but required owners to coordinate paperwork from numerous agencies in Taiwan and at the destination.

Dogs and their owners arrive at Narita International Airport PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

The whole process needs to start long before the scheduled travel dates. In the case of dogs, proof of immunization and a chip that meets the requirements of the destination country are basic requirement.

After this, there follows a lengthy process of health checks, validation of these health checks by the authorities in the destination country and the issuing of an import permit. In the case of visiting Japan, the process for ensuring a smooth journey must begin at least 40 days before departure. “It is definitely not something you can do on the spur of the moment,” Tsai said, adding that Pet Tour trips to Japan close bookings two months before the departure date.

Nevertheless, improved procedures and a growing belief that pets are part of the family have seen a huge increase in the number of animals passing through Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (動植物防疫檢疫局), Council of Agriculture (農委會). Dog exports have increased from 1,711 in 2003 to 4,363 last year. Cat exports have increased from 340 to 530 over the same period of time.

“It’s not just the dogs that need to be sorted out,” Tsai said about organizing tours. “Owners also have to be educated. They need to know that traveling with a pet is a very different experience from simply looking after their dog at home. Most people only spend a couple of hours a day together with their pet — they need to go to work and so on. But when traveling together, they are with their pet 24 hours a day for the whole duration of the holiday.” In the case of Pet Tours, these trips are usually about four to five days.

“On the first tour we organized, we had two young women who brought four dachshunds. By the third day they were exhausted and couldn’t go on. ... We now always recommend no more than one pet per person, or even better, one dog between two, so you can share the work of caring for the dog,” Chuang said.

best behavior

It is also important to ensure a reasonably good dynamic between the dogs and to monitor the ability of their owners. “Badly behaved dogs will be refused admission to hotels or play areas,” Cheung said.

“We simply cannot afford to accept any applicant to join the tour,” Tsai said. “If the owner cannot control their dog, we have no choice but to reject them. After all, you only need one dog who cannot be controlled, whether it is biting other dogs or barking uncontrollably, to create difficulties for everyone,” he added.

Pet Tour is the only tourism outfit in Taiwan offering foreign travel for owners and their pets, mostly dogs. Some travel agents do offer domestic travel to destinations such as Hualien or Kenting, were pets can take advantage of big open spaces or experience the delights of the ocean. An increasing number of Taiwanese guesthouses accept pets, or provide some basic services, but Tsai emphasized that these services are usually incidental to their services for humans. “In Japan, hotels which accept dogs are meticulously planned to cater to canine comfort and owner convenience.”

International airlines present a confusing array of regulations governing when and how animals can be transported. “The treatment and attitude toward carrying dogs also varies considerably from carrier to carrier,” Tsai said. Most domestic transport carriers are inclined to treat dogs as cargo, with little regard for the comfort and well-being of a much-pampered companion.

Tsai, who has led group tours of around 10 dogs and their owners to Tokyo, Okinawa and Osaka, said that Japan is considerably more advanced than Taiwan in their handling and treatment of pets. This is part of the reason he decided to establish Pet Tour. “It is not mainly about the tours, which are relatively expensive and for which the market remains small,” he said. “It is a chance to show people how other countries treat their pets, and in the long-term, perhaps raise the level for Taiwan’s treatment of dogs.”

For additional information

Pet Tours:

www.pettour.com.tw

Taiwan’s quarantine regulations (English and Chinese):

www.baphiq.gov.tw/welcome/welcome.htm

PETS:

www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/procedures/vets_proc.htm

The proof of the pudding ...

Taiwanese writer Egoyan Zheng wants the world to see that Taiwan has some top-class literary talent and is a match for its giant neighbor in terms of quality

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER, Taipei Times
Sunday, Nov 04, 2007, Page 18

Egoyan Zheng is on a mission to put Taiwan on the literary map. PHOTO: Courtesy of Egoyan/Hu En-hui

On Nov. 10, the winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, a new component of the prestigious Man Booker International Prize (won this year by Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe), will be announced. The category for Asian authors includes works originally written in English, as well as translations. With the announcement of the shortlist on Oct. 25, Taiwan's Egoyan Zheng (伊格言) was knocked out of contention, but given the insignificant presence of Taiwanese literature internationally, he is amazed he got that far.

The longlist for the award included such heavy-hitters as Chinese authors Mo Yan (莫言) and Jiang Rong (姜戎), the latter's Wolf Totem (狼圖騰) making it through to the shortlist.

Egoyan Zheng is the pen name of Zheng Qian-ci (鄭千慈), a former medical student who has turned his back on medicine to explore the souls of men, rather than just their bodies. In entering the competition he was acutely aware that he was handicapped in terms of international recognition, not just by his age - he is just 30 - or the fact that Fleeting Light (流光) is his first novel, but also because of where he comes from.

"Most Westerners, if they want to read (East) Asian literature, will think of China or Japan; they don't know that Taiwan has works of equal caliber," he said, in an interview with Taipei Times. Zheng is convinced that in terms of quality, the new generation of writers is a match for all contenders in the arena of pure literature.

To make his point, he took the unusual step of personally seeking a translator for his work and paying her out of his own pocket, rather than hoping that one day a local publisher would come along with an offer to pay for translation, publication and international marketing.

"The publishing industry (for literature) in Taiwan is too small; it cannot afford to bear the costs of translation. So how do you make your work known abroad? One way or another, you have to get it translated. The publishers won't do it, so the only thing to do is pay for it myself. ... And obviously, I am also confident about the quality of my work."

This confidence led him to abandon his medical studies at the National Taiwan University in his fourth year and transfer to graduate studies at the graduate school of Chinese at Tamkang University. In doing this, he also cast aside a family tradition of medical practice.

"I knew I could write well," he said, "and becoming a doctor is basically about nothing more than looking after ourselves economically - its a secure job. As a medical student, I had no great ambition - that's all I wanted to achieve. As a writer, I believe I have talent."

Zheng maintains an interest in science, especially its philosophical implications, and has plans to write science fiction at some point, but the mentality that pushes him toward literature is the desire to explore the irrational in humans. This is behind the choice of his pen name, taken from the Canadian director Atom Egoyan, whose films Zheng admires. Talking about Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Zheng said: "A part of the story is telling you that the irrational part of a person can often be much stronger than the rational. ... Simplifying, I can say that after watching that film, I had an appreciation of the dark power of the irrational. It left a deep impression on me. I later realized that this was a response to a good piece of art."

So putting his medical studies behind him, he dedicated himself to creating experimental, enigmatic and richly ambiguous texts of high literary modernism. Conveying the multiple levels and philosophical contradictions of mundane life is an important part of what Zheng tries to do in Fleeting Light, and he believes that his achievements, and those of his contemporaries, have already taken Taiwanese literature to a new level.

Speaking about writer Luo Yi-chun (駱以軍), who wrote the preface for Man in a Jar (甕中人), the book of short stories on which Fleeting Light is based, Zheng said: "I believe that Luo is a world-class author. It is just unfortunate that he was born in Taiwan. Because of this, he has not had the opportunity (of writers from other nations). ... There simply isn't the environment. He can't get the recognition that he deserves, and I think it's time to do something about this situation. That's why I decided to translate my work."

The belief that until a work of art is recognized internationally, it won't be recognized in Taiwan has been justified time and time again.

"The fact that we have to rely on translation is unavoidable. I have heard older writers say that because the flavor of the text is lost in translation, they won't have their work translated. I don't agree with this ... . Taiwanese prefer to read imported books because they think they are better, but for myself, I can now at least show that I'm good enough to make the Booker (Man Asian Literary Prize) longlist. Readers don't always see the quality of a work, so we (writers) must prove it to them, and show them that local writers are just as good as foreign authors. If we don't get our works translated, we will never be able to do this."

The Man Asian Literary Prize could have been created to fit Zheng's purpose, though the prize itself, worth US$10,000, is overshadowed by the vastly more prestigious international award, worth US$120,000. The prize was instituted partially to feed a growing market for books by Asian authors, who are increasingly making an impact on the international literary scene, a fact supported by the release of imprints such as Penguin India and Picador Asia. Nevertheless, translation remains an issue, not simply from the standpoint of cost, but also from that of quality. In this area, Zheng, who has few illusions about his English-language skills, admits that in finding a translator, he didn't have many options.

"I went online," he said nonchalantly. "I found Laura Jane Wey (魏正儀). She was just one year older than me, and also Taiwanese. She was at Harvard studying comparative literature. ... She'd won some Council for Cultural Affairs translation awards. The process was rather casual. I had her translate some stuff for review, but my English isn't really good enough to judge her translation. I just had to go on instinct. ... Well, it got me onto the (Man Asian) longlist."

Writers from China have made more of an impact on the international market, though the situation favors only a small number of well-known names. Although last year Penguin agreed to spend a record US$100,000 for the English-language rights to Jiang's Wolf Totem, a combination of autobiography, legend and ethnological observations of the Mongolian people, such attention is still rare. The publisher procured the services of Howard Goldblatt, easily the most highly regarded translator currently working from Chinese, and who has an established reputation for handling complex texts. The book is scheduled for release in March 2008. Goldblatt has translated works by Taiwanese authors, most notably Chu Tien-wen's (朱天文) mind-numbingly dense Notes of a Desperate Man (荒人手記) published by Columbia University Press, which despite positive critical reception, failed to generate a popular buzz.

In relation to its giant neighbor, Zheng believes Taiwan has the edge in terms of quality. "To say that China has produced outstanding modern literature is to state the obvious. ... But I believe that on average, they are not as accomplished Modernists (as many Taiwanese writers). They may be very skilled, the stories may be very good, but they lack depth. I am not saying that to tell a story simply from beginning to end is a bad thing, but for me, it's a question of depth. To tell a good story is fine, but in terms of Modernism, can you convey an understanding of a deeply complex dilemma? We (Taiwan's best authors) try to achieve a level of philosophical complexity, and this is something in which they lag behind … ."

"And if you ask me which is more important, a good story or philosophical depth, I will unhesitatingly plum for the latter," Zheng added.

Having failed to gain the Man shortlist, Zheng said he was not especially disappointed. "At least I have a translated text which I can now present to publishers," he said.

A man for all seasons

Jos van Kan:

A man for all seasons

Taipei Times: What is your background in theater?

Jos van Kan: When I was 16 I knew I wanted to do something in theater. I discovered that being a director was the best place for me - not on the stage but in the rehearsal studio. I studied to be a director of drama, and I began to introduce songs, because I like singing and music, and it slowly developed that I became a director of opera. I am very interested in crossovers, so sometimes I do a Baroque opera by (Henry) Purcell, and sometimes I do very modern operas for small audiences. ... When I did a play of Brokeback Mountain, from the novel of Annie Proulx, I took the text of the novel and asked the composer to write songs, so the cowboys were singing songs in the show.

TT: Why were you interested in studying Asian theater?

JVK: For me, you cannot go further from home (Holland) than Asia. There is no culture that is stranger to me than Asia, and that has appeal to me. As to the theater, I have a great love of stylization on stage and the Asian performing arts are highly skilled in using stylization.

TT: What did you get out of studying gezai opera in Ilan?

Being lonely around many people. Getting to know a culture that is very social, based on doing things in groups. ... Also to accept that there are things you cannot understand. Everybody should have this experience in their life. In the rehearsal studio there are many things that I don't understand, but still I go strong and I rehearse. I also try to accept the things I don't understand, that maybe I can go around them and get what I want in other ways; or don't get what I want, and get something else that also has its beauty. This is even more important as an experience than to see how fabulous people can fight on stage.

TT: What was working with a Taiwanese performance group like?

JVK: It can be a very positive feeling when you don't get what you want. You think we should go left, ... but you end up going right, and you find there are beautiful possibilities when you go right. It opens up the piece of art. I often say that I know how a show should "smell," from the very first rehearsal, even if you don't know what it will look like at the end. But here, sometimes even the smell changes, and in very surprising ways; to be open to that makes it interesting.

TT: Is the fusion of East and West just a dramatic gimmick?

JVK: I have forced myself to pick the disciplines only to serve the intent of the story in its best way. As long as this is done, I have no objection to this hip idea of fusion (of East and West), that we should shop (around) and mix and combine everything. I like The Second Goodbye because it is not a showy show, although we use many elements. I want to entertain, of course, because people go to the theater to be entertained, but besides this entertainment we should also talk about important things - communicate with an audience about things that touch our heart and brains. … You don't want to be superficial, but you don't want to bore the audience.- Ian Bartholomew

Puppets with no strings attached

BY Ian Bartholomew
Staff Reporter, Taipei Times
Friday, Nov 02, 2007, Page 13

Puppeteer Ulrike Quade manipulates the main puppet character. Photos: courtesy of Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company

With The Second Goodbye (重別), which opened at the National Experimental Theater last night, the Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company (台原偶戲團) takes another step in its journey toward making puppet theater an established part of Taiwan's contemporary art scene. Taiyuan, with its many original shows that combine Western opera, Italian marionettes, various regional Chinese opera styles, and contemporary experimental theater, pushes the boundaries in fascinating ways, and has done more than any other group to open up puppetry and take it outside the framework of folk performance. The company explores puppetry as a medium for serious expression in contemporary theater.

The Second Goodbye, a puppet play based on a combination of the Buddhist fable Mulien Saves his Mother (目蓮救母) and the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, explores how people respond to the loss of someone who is believed to be irreplaceable.

"We started with the idea of losing someone you love. We tried to get that feeling of loss, of being left behind, and wanting to get this love back ... ." Taiyuan's artistic director Robin Ruizendaal said. "The concept is a voyage through hell, which, also in this play, translates as an internal journey through your own internal hell. It all happens in the mind of the main character."

The play is the product of a discussion between Ruizendaal and Dutch theater director Jos van Kan, who two years ago spent six weeks in Ilan studying Taiwanese opera. "We met, we talked about things we were interested in ... . Love and death, they are never far away, the two main constants of life, and there we were," Ruizendaal said of the show's conception.

Further discussions brought in German performance artist and puppeteer Ulrike Quade and contemporary Dutch composer Marlijin Helder, who contributed their own unique elements. Helder created a score based on recordings of Chinese music and readings of the libretto, which is sung by a narrator who sometimes sits with the ensemble and sometimes on stage, and by Chiu Chiu-hui (邱秋惠), a gezai opera (歌仔戲) singer and former member of Taiwan's U-Theatre (優劇場).

Quade's body puppet - she wears the bottom-half of the puppet, and remains completely visible in her manipulation of the puppet's upper body - is not only fascinating to watch in terms of pure performance, but the "double vision" of the main character also plays off against ideas of the link between the spiritual and physical, of exploration and discovery of the self, and of the relationship between performer and the performance.

As with most experimental productions, the doubling up of roles among some of the cast is a matter of necessity, but The Second Goodbye manages to make a virtue of such logistical constraints, allowing this multitasking to generate ideas, both intended and unintended, that further enrich the work.

In many ways, The Second Goodbye makes an interesting counterpoint to The Firmiana Rain (梧桐雨), which also opened last night, just across the way so to speak, in the National Theater. Despite the significant difference in scale - Rain uses a full symphony orchestra, whereas The Second Goodbye has three musicians who also double as cast and crew - both shows are about seeing what can be produced by a cross-fertilization between vastly different performance traditions.

Performance notes What: The Second Goodbye When: Today, tomorrow and Sunday 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm Where: National Experimental Theater, Taipei Tickets: NT$450, available through NTCH ticketing Details: There are no subtitles either in English or Chinese, but a brief introduction to the story is given in the program

The Second Goodbye is part of a series of works brought together by the National Theater Concert Hall (NTCH) for its New Idea Theater Festival: Love Is ... (新點子劇展:愛情說) series of shows at the experimental theater. Following The Second Goodbye is Next Hour (雙姝怨) by the Mr Wing Theater Company (人力飛行劇團), which will complete the series. After finishing its run in Taipei, The Second Goodbye has been booked to perform at the Beijing International Contemporary Theater Festival (北京國際當代戲劇演出季, Nov. 7 to Nov. 10) and the Contemporary Theater Festival in Shanghai (亞洲當代戲劇季, Nov. 13 to Nov. 14).

Detailed information about the show and the performers can be found on the Taiyuan Web site at blog.roodo.com/taiyuanenglish.

Here's the beef ... noodles

By Ian Bartholomew
Staff Reporter, Taipei Times
Thursday, Nov 01, 2007, Page 13

You only need to be in Taiwan a couple of days to know that beef noodles is the dish most widely regarded as the nation's signature culinary achievement. There are beef noodle stores everywhere you look, and the dish takes many different forms. More often than not, it is a thoroughly unremarkable concoction of limp noodles, salty soup and tough beef that has been marinated in soy sauce to within an inch of its life. But when made well, it can also be the ultimate comfort food, but seeking out the beef noodle shops of distinction is no easy matter.
This of course is what the 2007 Taipei International Newrow Mian Festival (2007臺北國際牛肉麵節) is all about. The qualifying round last Sunday has reduced the field to five contenders each in the traditional dark broth, light broth and creative categories, with finals scheduled for this coming Sunday to find the best of the best in the field of beef noodles. For the participants concerned, victory in this competition is no small matter, for the shops that gain recognition from the panel of judges can count on packing their restaurant for the next year and beyond as people line up to taste the best beef noodles in town.
To put the "international" into the event, there will be an "International Teamwork Intercourse Competition" -- the title given on the event's Web site shows off the Taipei City Government's unique flair with the English language -- will bring in six teams of international chefs who will put their own spin on Taiwan's beef noodles on Saturday. This event, and the local competition finals on Sunday, will be held at the Xinyi International Club (信義公民會館). Over the two days, there will also be a variety of performances and an estimated 20 stalls selling beef noodles, so the public to get a taste of the huge variety of dishes that are encompassed under the label of "beef noodles" -- or "newrow mian" if you subscribe to the Taipei City Government's interesting take on romanization.
In announcing the finalists last Sunday, Cheng Yan-chi (鄭衍基), chief judge of the panel who presided over 45 bowls of beef noodles under consideration, pointed out that a primary consideration in assessing a bowl of beef noodles was balance between the broth, the noodles and the meat. Cheng, a former chef to ex-presidents Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), praised the high level achieved by the competitors, and underlined the complexity of achieving that elusive balance, even in a competition were all commercial considerations were removed. "A bowl of noodles that cost NT$800 to make will obviously taste different from one that sells for NT$80 in the shop," he said. An event like this can do no more that point customers in the right direction, and for this coming weekend, it will provide an opportunity for the public to try many different preparations at a single venue.

What: Taipei International Newrow Mian Festival
When: Saturday from 3pm to 6pm; Sunday from 9am to 2pm
Where: Xinyi International Club, 50 Songqin Rd, Taipei (台北市松勤街50號)
On the net: http://www.new-rowmian.com.tw/en/index.html (English)

Farewell Concubine - Firmiana Rain

'The Firmiana Rain' shows that not only are Asians taking an increasingly prominent role in the classical music scene, they are also placing their own stamp on the genre

By Ian Bartholomew
Staff Reporter, Taipei Times
Friday, Oct 26, 2007, Page 13

The love story between Lady Yang and the Xuanzong emperor is one of the classics of Chinese literature. PHOTO: COURTESY OF NTCH

The story is old - the action takes place in the Tang Dynasty over 1,000 years ago and was first immortalized on stage by the poet Bai Pu (白樸, 1226-1306) during the Yuan Dynasty - but the form it will take in Chen May-tchi's (陳玫琪) opera The Firmiana Rain (梧桐雨), which will have its world premiere at the National Theater Taipei on Thursday, is avant-garde.

With a score that incorporates ancient Chinese music, a Western orchestra, a libretto in Mandarin, French and German, a Japanese director, a Taiwanese gezai opera (歌仔戲) performer and more, this Taiwan-Japan coproduction is billed as a "modern romantic opera."

The Firmiana Rain follows the grand romance between the Emperor Tang Xuanzong (唐玄宗) and the imperial concubine Lady Yang (楊貴妃), the resulting political upheaval and rebellion led by the general An Lu-shan (安祿山), and the death of Yang by her own hand (but at the ruler's insistence), as the only solution to the political crisis. The title refers to the sound of water dropping on the large leaves of the firmiana tree, which forms the backdrop to the emperor's thoughts as he reflects on the sacrifice he made for political expediency. Although it was Yang's nepotism and her family's corruption that was largely responsible for the crisis in the first place, this great betrayal has enshrined her as one of the great tragic heroines of Chinese literature.

While the basic story has been rendered by many of China's great poets, composer Chen's version has raised a few eyebrows.

Musically, the work is a continuation of Chen's interest in unconventional combinations. The score incorporates Chinese instruments such as the pipa (琵琶), a kind of Chinese lute, and the bamboo flute and references the music that would have been played at the court of the emperor. Chen drew inspiration from her studies of ancient music from the royal courts of China, Japan and Korea. A concert extract in 2002 for Showcasing American Composers won critical acclaim, and was responsible for the work being picked up for full production in Asia.

With this staged production, Chen's ambitions to transverse artistic divides are fully revealed. While this is still an opera in the Western tradition, The Firmiana Rain pushes many boundaries. Its libretto is primarily in Mandarin, but the formal scenes at the court are sung in French and the anger of the barbarian general An Lu-shan, when brought in chains before the emperor, is sung in German. "The Tang court was already a great melting pot," Chen said. "It was quite natural for members of the court to absorb influences from Asia Minor and India. China was already quite an international society. We have simply translated that into more modern terms."

With the involvement of Tang Mei-yun (唐美雲), one of Taiwan's best-known gezai opera singers and Liu Fu-hsueh (劉復學) of the National Gouguang Opera Company (國立國光劇團), the melting pot concept has been carried to an extreme in this current production.

The inclusion of these performers means that The Firmiana Rain is not only innovative in terms of Western opera, it also requires a high level of cooperation and tolerance for the demands of vastly different performance traditions.

In an interview with the Taipei Times, Tang said she had adjusted her regular performance style, most notably having to work to a predefined score. "There is much more physical movement in our style of performance," she said. "In Western opera, they [performers] focus more exclusively on the singing."

"With the traditional actors and actresses, usually they have to improvise a lot," Chen said. "It's really interesting to see performers from different traditions work together. We provide the structure, but they have the liberty to do their own thing."

"They come from totally different oral traditions and have an instinct about what they have to do. Once they get a feel for the music and the rhythm, they just do things very naturally," she added.

In the hectic rehearsals preceding the opening next week, everyone is still learning how best to work together. "It's all about opening up new horizons," said Tang, who is also an innovator in her own field.

To add to the difficulties, the coproduction sees soprano Kimiko Hata and baritone Kouichi Taira perform in the central roles of Xuanzong and Lady Yang, respectively, which required them to learn the libretto phonetically through months of intensive coaching.

Chen Wu-kang (陳武康), the show's choreographer and artistic director of M Dans (驫舞劇場), in an off-the-cuff comment during rehearsals, said that so many artistic boundaries had been crossed, so many conventions overturned, that he felt he could cast off all constraints in choreographing the dances for the show. "I felt that if it could be overturned, then we might as well," he said.

One issue that does stand out above all else is the way The Firmiana Rain sees Asians taking control of a Western operatic tradition.

"We Asians are doing an Asian story. It's not like Europeans are doing an Asian story (such as Turandot or Madame Butterfly). Hopefully this method is more first hand, instead of chinoiserie. ... The music itself has many elements, but it's a total integration and not a collage," Chen said.

Reflecting on his own work in opera, Sugao said: "I think the opera world is looking for a way to go. If you do only Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, you are getting nowhere. ... We need to create new operas such as this. I hope this will be successful in finding a new way for operas."

Restaurants: Ocean Blue

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER , Taipei Times
Friday, Oct 26, 2007, Page 15

Ocean Blue makes a splash with a huge tank of blacktip reef sharks and innovative Thai-Italian cuisine. PHOTO: COURTESY OF OCEAN BLUE

A large aquarium, replete with reef fish and live coral, establishes the seaside theme at Ocean Blue, a new restaurant-cum-lounge bar on the fringe of the trendy Dinghao (頂好) district.

The sand-colored wallpaper and the fluid lines of the ceiling are unobtrusive, and the slightly secluded dinning area has a pleasant intimacy. Downstairs, deep sofas and areas separated by bead curtains lend the place a cozy feel, which is contrasted by a huge tank of blacktip reef sharks that adds an edgy touch. Feeding the sharks is part of the late night entertainment.

The food at Ocean Blue is an unusual fusion of Thai and Italian cuisines designed by head chef Gilbert Chua (蔡文要).

With dishes such as Thai beef capaccio (NT$320) and mango pumpkin soup (NT$200), the menu is intended to surprise. The soup, which uses mango juice instead of the usual cream as its base, is light and tangy. Chua is also adept at more conventional Thai dishes such as green curry chicken (NT$380). The curry itself is mild, but flavorful. The restaurant stocks a wide selection of New World wines that compliment the innovative fare. Set menus are paired with selected wines. Live lobster, giant prawns and Pacific oysters are other options, all made with a Thai twist.

With an emphasis on well-made drinks, rather than gimmickry, the bar is a welcome addition to Taipei's nightlife scene. It's no surprise that there are plenty of tropical-themed cocktails (the mango martini is definitely worth trying, even for those not partial to fruit cocktails), but it's the range of single malt whiskeys served with a single giant ice cube that is the clincher. With its view of Da-an Road, the bar at Ocean Blue also makes a pleasant change from the usual dark rathskeller spaces favored by interior designers of night spots.

Ocean Blue Address: 180, Da-an Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市大安路一段180號) Telephone: (02) 2704-7561 Open: 11:30am through to 3am Average meal: NT$800 Details: English menu; credit cards accepted; live DJs Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; wireless Internet access

As an elegant place for a business lunch, a cool quiet hide-away during the afternoon, a chic restaurant to take a date or a place to chill out with friends in the early hours, Ocean Blue, with wireless Internet access, DJ booth, shark tank and solid selection of food and wines, combines youth and sophistication - no mean feat.

Baroque and beyond

The National Palace Museum's new exhibition displays works collected by the Hapsburg royal family

By Ian Bartholomew
Staff Reporter, Taipei Times
Thursday, Oct 25, 2007, Page 15

Four years in the making, Baroque and Beyond: Great Hapsburg Collectors finally makes its debut at the National Palace Museum. Photos: courtesy of NPM

Taipei's National Palace Museum (NPM, 國立故宮博物院) has long since established itself as a repository for Chinese art; with its newest exhibit, Splendor of the Baroque and Beyond: Great Hapsburg Collectors, it proves it is much more than that.

According to Wilfried Seipel, director of Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM), who was in Taipei for the opening of the exhibition, the aim of the show is not just a tour of grand masters from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The Hapsburg emperors amassed huge collections, and the exhibition is an insight into the emperors as collectors of art and their individual tastes. In an age when the very understanding of what it was to be human underwent radical change, these works, the cutting edge of artistic expression at the time, reveal much.

This exhibition, which runs until Feb. 24, displays 67 works from KHM, and is part of a cultural exchange project in which the NPM will exhibit part of its collection in Vienna next year.

The exhibition is being held in the NPM's second exhibition area, now routinely used for special events. With relatively few items, each work is given ample space, encouraging museumgoers to enjoy the complexity and intricacy of each work.

Four years in the making, Baroque and Beyond: Great Hapsburg Collectors finally makes its debut at the National Palace Museum. Photos: courtesy of NPM

Four years in the making, the exhibition is a follow-up to a proposal made 15 years ago, but which for "various political reasons," said Seipel, did not get off the ground. For the first time, the originals of some of the best-known works of the Baroque era are on display at the NPM.

Of particular interest to art history students and hobbyists, is the use of color and movement by artists like Titian (circa 1488-1576), the almost photographic realism achieved by Balthasar Denner (1685-1747), the sheer exuberance of Bartholomaus Spranger (1546-1611) and the endless bold and bizarre experiments in perspective by Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527-1606), Hendrick van Steenwijck the Younger (1580-1649) and others.

In this age, during which the dominance of religion was giving way to humanism, subject matter was diverse, ranging from works conventionally lauding the power and magnificence of the royal house, to others showing the lives of common people and portraiture.

The curators have provided adequate explanations in English and Chinese for each section of the exhibition, but detailed notes on individual paintings are in Chinese only. To get the most out of the show, audio tours have been made available in Chinese. An English audio tour is expected to be available in two to three weeks. Audio tours cost NT$100 and require a deposit. There is also an excellent Web site with an English introduction and photos of the works at www.mediasphere.com.tw/vieena/zh-en/vienna_overview.html.

British design shares the love

Published on Taipei Times
Thursday, Oct 11, 2007, Page 13

The creative industries are some of the UK's most successful exports. Over the next 10 days they will be flaunting their style in Taipei

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER

From TopShop to Grand Theft Auto and Wedgewood to Benoy Architects, Britain's creative industries are thriving. The exhibition Love and Money showcases the best of British design and aims to make inroads into Taiwan's economy. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE BRITISH COUNCIL

The creative industries have been billed as the way of the future, a transformation of the abstruse world of arts and design into a driving force behind commercial development and a vibrant, sophisticated retail culture. This industry has been growing rapidly in the UK, and London has been transformed into "arguably the creative capital of the world," according to David Percival, head of UK Trade and Investment in Taiwan. Love and Money, an exhibition of the best of British design, has set out to showcase the UK's success, and also to establish a platform for cooperation between UK designers and investors in Asia.

The commercial intention of the show is right there in its title. While the purpose of design is certainly to make beautiful things, this is not really enough, as plenty of artists in Taiwan have repeatedly discovered. "When they [designers] do the design, they love it, ... but there is also a big commercial need out there for them to do business and bring in the money," said Amanda Lin (林君玲), the senior commercial officer with the British Trade and Cultural Office who is overseeing the launch of Love and Money in Taipei. The ability to link the love and the money has been crucial to the success of the creative industries in the UK and is a source of envy among many nations that wish to emulate this success. (Creative industries now account for 8.2 percent of GDP in the UK.)

"It is not just about general design. A lot of it is to target the specific needs of Taiwan," said Percival.

"Taiwan's companies, especially consumer electronics companies, are increasingly becoming brand companies (rather than contract manufacturers). When you are doing your own brand, design becomes much more important. You are no longer just selling on price, but on quality and an image. This is the opportunity for us to work with Taiwanese companies ... . They [Taiwanese companies] don't just work with British designers, but also with British branding companies and marketing companies," Percival said.

Exhibition Notes The main exhibition, which will feature stands by major British design-related firms as diverse as Penguin Books, Rockstar Games (publishers of videogame Grand Theft Auto), Studio Myerscough (which designs for Wedgewood) and TopShop (the fashion line). For a full line up of exhibitors, see www.britishcouncil.org/arts-design-love-and-money.htm. * Today until Oct. 21 * 4F Taipei 101 Mall, free admission * Information about workshops and seminars can be found at the British Trade and Cultural Office Web site at www.britishembassy.gov.uk

The focus on architectural issues is not coincidental either. Percival points to the massive urban development projects that Taiwan is planning. "There is around US$12 billion of projects that are going to be up for grabs in Taiwan over the next five years. ... We are looking at projects like the National Exhibition Center in Kaohsiung and the ideas for a new financial services center around Taipei Main Station."

Love and Money has toured five countries in Asia (and will be moving on to South Korea after it wraps up in Taipei), but according to Percival, the Taiwan show has evolved into the biggest of all, largely due to the great interest of local companies. While the exhibition at Taipei 101 will doubtless present a fascinating showcase of what British designers of every sort are doing, much of the activity for Love and Money will center on the "wrap around events," most notably the UK architecture seminars featuring Adams Kara Taylor, Creative Designs International and Benoy Architects and the Design Forum with Industrial Facilities and Wedgewood, targeted at Taiwan's creative industry professionals.

"These are all commercially proven designers, designers who work in business and run successful design houses or architectural firms. ... It is not just about how important good design is for the quality of life, but that these guys can also make money out of it," Percival said. The success of the UK has been acknowledged in Taiwan in the most telling terms: The number of Taiwanese students going to the UK to enroll in design-related programs has increased by 30 percent over the last three years.

Continental Europe has traditionally been the home of fine design, but over the last decade, the UK has made rapid strides to equal and in many areas supercede established rivals. "It has become incredibly diverse," said Percival. "London is not made up of British designers, it is made up of multicultural designers from all over the world. ... It is all global design, and this makes it very adaptable. If you go into a British design house, you'll find people of every nationality in the world there."

Chang Ta-chun's take on 'Water Margin' is revolutionary

Published on Taipei Times
Friday, Oct 05, 2007, Page 13

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER

Contemporary Legend Theater members rehearse their adaptation of the Chinese classic novel Water Margin. PHOTOS: TAIPEI TIMES AND COURTESY OF CONTEMPORARY LEGEND THEATER

Taipei Times: Why did you participate in this project?

Chang Ta-chun: I have been following Beijing opera for many years. ... I have been working as a creative artist for many years, but always as a lone creator. Many of my works have been adapted for TV, and I have participated in some productions, but ultimately, these were my works. But in joining in this project, I knew I had come to learn. And unless you are actively creating something, you cannot learn anything.

TT: Is this your own version of Water Margin?

CTC: The folk stories of China have a unique tradition. Novels like Water Margin and The Three Kingdoms (三國演義) have been pulled together from shorter stories that were already transmitted among the people. Vernacular tales have always had people adding bits, editing bits, everyone sharing material ... the stories belonged to everyone. There was never a problem about royalties. Everyone is free to make changes, because the story (as it exists today) has evolved through a process of changes. The story changes constantly with changing times ... so if there is anything about the story that I am dissatisfied with, then I am free to change it. I have never been that satisfied with Water Margin as a novel. Even in its various operatic forms, I have not always been satisfied. So I have added something of my own.

TT: Does the language of Chinese opera pose too high a barrier for young audiences today?

CTC: Everything Wu Hsing-kuo is doing is bringing in young audiences. As for difficulties with language (the language of classical Chinese opera), I was taken to the opera from around age four. The gap in understanding for me then was much greater than for a 20-something today. By taking in an opera once every two or three weeks, I learned to understand, even without the aid of subtitles. ... We don't have to dumb opera down for young people, nor do we need to go too far out of our way to cater to them.

PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

TT: What is the relevance of Water Margin to a modern audience?

CTC: The bandits of the story have their own conception of justice. And the priority of this justice is higher than that of officials in the government, though it is below that of the emperor, who represents god, or heaven. The question that 108 Heroes addresses, is about a group of men, each with their own reason for not fitting into society. They may be discontented with mainstream society. ... They have been forced out of society, so they must create their own society. Then they need to find a way of making this created society fit in with the mainstream or use it to change the mainstream.

The first half of the show is about men trying to overturn a mainstream society about which they are dissatisfied. The second half is about women trying to overturn a masculine (social order) about which they are dissatisfied.

'108 Heroes' tests the limits of artistic fusion as it tries to mix opera, pop music and hip-hop

Published on Taipei Times
Friday, Oct 05, 2007, Page 13

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER

Water Margin PHOTO: COURTESY OF CONTEMPORARY LEGEND THEATER

Contemporary Legend Theater (當代傳奇劇場, CLT), under the direction of Beijing opera innovator Wu Hsing-kuo (吳興國), has, since its inception, taken a bold path in its efforts to give the centuries-old Chinese artistic tradition relevance to the modern world. 108 Heroes (水滸108) is its most ambitious project to date, potentially part of a three-part series which aims to radically reinterpret the Chinese classic novel Water Margin (水滸傳), also widely known as Outlaws of the Marsh and All Men Are Brothers in various English editions.

To achieve this goal, CLT has drawn on a powerhouse of talent, most notably contemporary novelist and literary figure Chang Ta-chun (張大春), who wrote the script, and pop idol and composer Emil Chow (周華健), who contributed contemporary music and songs, in addition to Wu himself. That these three names should appear together is remarkable in itself, for the worlds of high-brow contemporary literature, pop music and Beijing opera would seem unlikely bedfellows. Whether the CLT team has managed to bring these worlds together into a single unified production remains to be seen, for the work was still undergoing fine tuning this week prior to its world premiere at Taipei's Metropolitan Hall tonight.

The novel, of uncertain authorship and with many versions, came into wide circulation in the 14th century and tells the story of a band of outlaws who were active in the early 12th century during the Song Dynasty. It is very much a boy's book about honor among sworn brothers and the nature of justice in a corrupt world. It contains an interminable series of violent encounters between various characters, often for the most trivial reasons (slighted honor or excessive drinking), and in many respects is the ancient equivalent of the First-Person Shooter of today. It is also notorious for its appalling treatment of its female characters, when it can be bothered with the doings of women at all.

Sections of this massive novel have been adapted through the ages for opera, but 108 Heroes makes a radical revision of even some basic elements of the story to make it more relevant and interesting for a contemporary audience. Most notably, the roles of female characters have been expanded, in some cases drawing on other related source materials.

PERFORMANCE NOTES What: 108 Heroes by Contemporary Legend Theater Where: Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台) located at 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號) When: Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm Tickets: NT$500 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or at the door Details: Performances will have subtitles in English and Chinese

Moreover, Wu has brought in five aspiring opera performers to play a multiplicity of roles that the show demands. This is something of a Wu specialty, showcased most notably in his adaptation of King Lear, in which he played all the roles himself. These performers, though only in their early 20s have over a decade of experience behind them already (opera training starts young), are pushed to the limit. "This is for their benefit," Wu said. "The thing performers lack most these days is stage experience." Wu's direction has allowed them the space to present their own perspectives and personalities, giving this opera a youthful edginess that is new to CLT, which has usually had Wu as the focus of major shows.

Wu, who has made a career of reinterpreting classic Western works such as Macbeth and The Tempest for modern audiences using the forms of traditional Chinese opera, says that staying relevant and retaining audiences has always been at the heart of his endeavor. "I was forced into doing Western works, for only in this way could I find audiences for Chinese opera," he said of his early days as a young opera performer. These ideas where at the heart of his break from the opera establishment and the founding of CLT in 1986. "When we adapt a work, we must look at how it connects with the modern world. This is our central concern."

The idea of crossing boundaries, of mixing media, of fusing Eastern and Western forms, of bringing traditional arts in the 21st century, have all become cliches of the modern performing arts. Critics are inclined to say that what emerges is simply a hodgepodge, that by trying to be everything, it ends up being nothing. Wu, in mixing up various styles of opera, and even bringing in pop and hip-hop musical elements in his new show, believes that he manages to remain true to the essence of Chinese opera.

Commenting specifically on the mix of various opera styles, Chang said: "Let's look at American music, the period when jazz was developing. I think that what Wu is doing with Chinese opera is similar to the situation of when jazz was emerging. All sorts of music, such as gospel, soul, blues were mixed up together. This is the same sort of thing."

Herman the German paints icons for peace

A modern-day icon maker, Herman the German has arrived in Taipei with a small show that he hopes will lead to bigger things

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER

Works by Herman the German. PHOTO: COURTESY OF HERMAN

He goes by only one name, Herman, and the images he makes have become recognized around the world, in all sorts of places, ranging from club logos to monumental icons. He is in Taiwan to launch a small show at the German Cultural Center here in Taipei. This is Herman's first visit to Taipei, and in his optimistic way, he is sure that from small things, great things will grow.

His paintings have a rough, simplistic look, but are full of verbal and pictorial humor. A professional cartoonist, Herman gave up his battle against the big cartoon syndicates, and decided to adopt a style of drawing that would differentiate him from the smooth, fluid lines of comic strips such as Garfield and Alfie.

His images are now notable for their jagged lines, which make them distinctive, as does the direct, innocent humor. It is this innocence and simplicity that is behind their appeal to a wide audience all over the world.

"Lots of artists have tried to imitate me, but it doesn't work," Herman said in an interview with the Taipei Times last Tuesday. "When I paint a picture, it is like I write the words ... for me, when I paint, it is like writing. All that I put inside the picture comes out if you like it and look at it. This is perhaps the reason for its success. They don't see the edgy (jagged lines), but they see the round meanings behind them."

Herman's work, often initiated on a monumental scale, is then reproduced in limited-edition prints. These are the tools with which he conducts his charity work, auctioning them at various events where they often fetch high prices.

His painting Angel, stands 50m high, and at its base there is a button with a counter attached. "[People] can press the button and can be counted as someone who wishes for peace. If lots of people push the button, there is the addition of many people looking for peace, and the wishes come up to the universe, and then float back down into the world. I would like to make a network with this angel and the counter, ... but you need sponsors, for it is a lot of work." A limited edition of an A4 silk-screen print signed by the artist fetches around US$112.

Exhibition notes What: Herman the German - First Time Crazy About Taiwan Where: German Cultural Center located at 12F, 20, Heping W Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市和平西路一段20號12樓) When: Monday to Friday, 10am to 8pm Until: Oct. 26

Herman is unabashed at his commercial success. "In Germany, to go the museum way, you must be quiet and shy and paint two pictures a year. But there is only a small community who likes it. When many people like my work, I am commercial: I don't understand this." He talks about merchandising his images in ways that would make the quiet, shy, two-pictures-a-year artist blush, but Herman responds that "I do not make some nobody-understanding pictures ... . I catch some of people's smallest wishes, what everybody wants. It is not a marketing strategy. I do not think in marketing terms. At first, I paint a picture because inside there is something that has to come out, but after that, it is not for me, this picture. It is for anybody. Or everybody."

Herman's language of colors and lines translates all around the world. "It allows me to work with children or adults from all around the world, for I show them the picture and they know what I mean." Some of the jokes in the current exhibition, based on word games in the title, might require an understanding of German, but even in these the humor is simple and direct, once the joke is explained, and it is easy to see how the artist's mind works at capturing people's "smallest wishes" for such things as peace, or the enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life.

These tiny vignettes which zoom in on a single idea, with all the external detail ruthlessly cut away, is what makes Herman such an adept maker of icons.

Published on Taipei Times
Thursday, Oct 04, 2007, Page 15

Mayaw Biho: Calculated to please nobody

Mayaw Biho, an Aboriginal rights activist, says he has no political agenda, yet campaigns for the use of Aboriginal names; he documents the lives of marginalized people, yet says he doesn't care whether their traditions live or die

Mayaw Biho, filmmaker PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES

Mayaw Biho (馬躍比吼) is one of Taiwan's most prolific Aboriginal documentary filmmakers with over 20 films, varying in length from around 10 minutes to over an hour, and many unfinished projects awaiting funding to his name. At 37, he has created more than enough work to annoy the powers-that-be both in the government, as well as within the Aboriginal establishment. He attributes this to his refusal to take sides. "I simply record what I see," he said.

This is, perhaps, an understatement, for Mayaw Biho admits to a broad social agenda that relates to the empowerment of Aboriginal peoples through a greater understanding of their culture and unique identity. His campaign for the use of Aboriginal names has received the most attention in recent years, and he has repeatedly denounced the government for its petty bureaucratic obstructionism on this issue. He also accepts that elders within Aboriginal communities have played their part in hindering the reversion to Aboriginal names. "If they agree [to the name rectification], this suggests that what they have been doing for all these decades has been wrong," he said, stating his position in a way calculated to please nobody.

A scene from Mayaw Biho's first film, Children in Heaven, which documents Aboriginal family life. PHOTO: COURTESY OF TIEFF

Although Mayaw Biho uses his Aboriginal name almost exclusively, and relates closely to his identity as a member of the Pangcah community, which he regards as the correct designation for the Amis, his own ancestry is mixed. His father is Han Chinese, while his mother is Pangcah. "I come from a mixed background, so I never saw things from just a single perspective," he said. "When I was young, the things my father told me would usually fit in with what my teachers taught me at school, but when I grew up, the stuff I found interesting - that was closer to me - was from my mother's side ... . So in my work, I avoided mainstream ideas, and tried out different ways of looking at things. It can be a hard road, but I am determined to follow it, because it is also where you can find happiness and enjoyment."

Before becoming a filmmaker, Mayaw Biho worked as a photographer. While serving in the navy, he recorded the doings of various high-ranking military officials. "My access to these officials, the way they acted, was all about special privilege. It was another world completely, and I felt that it was very unfair," he said.

Another experience that struck him as unfair came after he completed military service and was studying at Shih Hsin University (世新大學). On a photo expedition to Taitung, he teamed up with a number of hobbyists who wanted to take photos of Aboriginal people in their full ceremonial regalia. "They brought a couple of bottles of rice wine and some cans of coffee ... . They asked a number of old women if they minded being photographed. The woman were delighted to be asked, but this whole situation made me feel uncomfortable ... . That we were able to conclude such a transaction with a couple of bottles of rice wine [seemed wrong], and the photos we took were fake. And the fact that the old women were so delighted to pose made me even more uncomfortable."

One of Mayaw Biho's first projects, Children in Heaven (天堂小孩), remains an important artistic and political statement. Only 13 minutes long, but combining material taken over three years, the film is a visual chronicle of an Aboriginal community that lived under the Sanying Bridge (三鶯大橋) in Taipei County. Their homes were demolished repeatedly by the government, but the group persisted in rebuilding. The only commentary is provided by children, and the images are set to the soulful strains of Kimbo Hu (胡德夫) singing Am I in Heaven? (不不歌). The short film drips with irony, and though very different from his later, more conventional documentary films, it shows Mayaw Biho's disinclination to obtrude himself into his films.

"It's much easier if other people do the talking," he said half jokingly.

On a more serious note, he added that he rejects the device of the voice-over to direct the perceptions of audiences. He is content to record, and focuses on many mundane aspects of the Aboriginal experience, building up a multi-layered picture of communities. One of his subjects is the Makutaay community, which feature in one of his best-known works, Dear Rice Wine, You Are Defeated (親愛的米酒妳被我打敗了). "There are only 200 to 300 people in that community, but I have already been able to make seven or eight films about different aspects of their life," he said.

"I am a regular presence," he said. "They even find it odd now when I am not carrying around my recording equipment." But his experience of how the media can manipulate the subjects that it purports to record have proved decisive in determining his cinematic technique, and his determination not to take sides. "I am only responsible for passing on the message of others," he said. "If they have disagreements, I let them have their say."

"A tribal elder rebuked me for making this film. ... But for me, the ceremonial use of wine and drinking in daily life are different issues. The use of wine in this instance has a deep cultural significance, and even though I am not a big drinker, I still support [heavy drinking during certain festivals]. This is a record, and a way of raising awareness of our culture," the filmmaker said. "I cannot be bothered to participate in their meetings about what we should and shouldn't do. I simply record. I don't even care that much whether the ceremonies are preserved."

In addition to making films, Mayaw Biho is active in promoting another trend in ethnographic filmmaking: screening films by Aboriginal filmmakers in the local communities where they were made. "It's not much point just showing them on television, for many of the mountain communities along the east coast don't have reception," he said, but in this, as with filmmaking, funding is a constant issue.

"If you don't support their [the government's] agenda for the Aborigines, it is difficult to get funding," he said. "For someone like myself, it is almost impossible to get funding from the Council of Indigenous Peoples (原民會)." The Cabinet-level agency tasked with promoting the interests of Taiwan's Aborigines is often perceived as a collaborator and toady to a broader Han Chinese agenda. "Most local documentary filmmakers will not touch politically sensitive issues. Just look at the films made about the 921 Earthquake (in 1999). It is all about the human spirit overcoming disaster, not about how government mismanagement added to the suffering. This is the really disgusting thing about documentary filmmaking in Taiwan."

A favorite target of Mayaw Biho's criticism is Taiwan Indigenous TV, established in 2004 to cater to the Aboriginal community. Lauded as Asia's first television station for Aboriginal people, it is criticized by Mayaw Biho for avoiding all the real issues. He attributes this to the lack of an independent perspective. "In order to get through school, most of the Aboriginal kids working in media have had to give the wrong answers. If they responded with an Aboriginal perspective, they would never graduate. By the time they start working, they are well trained. They know exactly how far they can go."

Mayaw Biho, despite a constant and increasingly difficult fight for funding, hopes that he can go further.

Two of Mayaw Biho's films, Carry the Paramount of Jade Mountain on My Back (揹起玉山最高峰) and Dear Rice Wine, You Are Defeated (親愛的米酒,妳被我打敗了) will be screened at the Majestic Theater (真善美戲院), located at 7F, 116 Hanzhong St, Taipei (台北市漢中街116號7樓) tomorrow at 9:20pm as part of the Taipei International Ethnographic Film Festival. Tickets are NT$160 and are available at the door.

Published in Taipei Times
Sunday, Sep 30, 2007, Page 18

Caught in a net of 7-Elevens

Bicycles become gym equipment.
Originally uploaded by ianish2005

A project by staff and students of the Shih Chien University School of Design has created some unexpected adornments to Taipei's busy streets

Walking in the area around the Mingde (明德) MRT station in Beitou or in Gongguan (公館) around the National Taiwan University (國立台灣大學) campus, you might happen upon some peculiar ornamentation that he appeared in some disused or public spaces in the vicinity of 7-Eleven convenience stores. Along Dingzhou Road (丁州路), there is a posterized image of baseball hero Wang Jian-ming (王建明) made from paper cups inserted in a wire fence, and further down, a block of motorcycle parking spaces have been blocked off with milk crates and peculiar contraptions made from disused bicycles adorn the sidewalk.
"You're not really meant to see than until you come upon them (the bicycles)," said Tseng Wei (曾瑋), an architect from Taichung who also teachers at the College of Design at the Shih Chien University (實踐大學). "It is supposed to inspire a new way of looking at how urban space can be used." There is a handbook hanging from a nearby signpost describing how the contraptions, which looks like highly dangerous gym equipment, can be used.
This installation is one of eight that is part of a project called 7-Eleven City: Poetry, Architecture, New Communities that is partially funded by the President Group (統一) that owns the 7-Eleven chain. The project brought in four foreign and four local architects, who were teamed with eight poets, to create eight installations. Part of the challenge was that although the individual 7-Eleven stores which serve as markers for the installations were all participants, architects had to liaise with the community as well. Information about the location of the eight projects can be found in participating 7-Eleven stores, and although the installations are intended to remain in place until next weekend, some are likely to fall victim to the elements or irate local residents. Circle of Hope, just outside Mingde MRT station, created from massive blocks of ice by Taipei architect Lien Hao-yen (連浩延), unsurprisingly did not survive the first day.
Marco Casagrande. a Helsinki-based architect who is currently a visiting professor at Tamkang University, found that his Finnish sauna built in the forecourt of 7-Eleven just of Xinsheng South Road, Section 3, was not uniformly appreciated by local residents, who complained about the smoke from the wood fire. "The project raised issues of how we perceive public space," said Ruan Ching-yue (阮慶岳), one of the organizers of the event. An army of scarecrows, that stand half hidden amount the confusion of Wenzhou Street (溫州街), required agreement from local shop owners. "People here are always willing to go for it," Casagrande said. "I think there would be much more resistance in the US or Europe to a project like this."
For Beijing-based architect Wang Yun (王昀), it is the multiplicity of networks in which we now live that gave interest to the project. "7-Elevens are everywhere, and form a network which we negotiate when moving through the community. Mobile phones are another. Internet another. There are layers of networks which we are negotiating constantly. A project like this helps architecture students and the public become more aware of the networks in which they are enmeshed."

Published Taipei Times
Sunday Sept. 30