2025 / 3 14 pageviews

Sakya

Sculptor Huang Tu-shui’s Sakya is located at Longshan Temple in Taipei’s Wanhua District. Although the original work was destroyed in World War II, in this recast bronze we can still see that it differs markedly from conventional Buddhist figures. The facial expression shows both compassion an......

2024 / 4 189 pageviews

The Past and Present of Temple Squares:

Craftsmanship, Theater, Food

Temple squares are where the works of skilled craftspeople are on display and where ­theat­ri­cal troupes spark the imaginations of their audiences. Local residents gravitate there to communicate with each other and with their gods. These places are silent witnesses to the passage of time. As ......

2024 / 4 172 pageviews

Transports of Devotion:

Deities’ Palanquins

Deities’ palanquins are crafted by skilled artisans, funded by the donations of pious believers. They manifest the majesty of the deities they carry.The four-way interaction between a deity, their palanquin, the palanquin bearers, and the deity’s faithful followers is played out in countless t......

2024 / 3 159 pageviews

Central Fountain, Chiayi

The Central Fountain in Chiayi City is an important local landmark. In its center stands a bronze statue of baseball pitcher Wu Ming-chieh (1911–1983) made by sculptor Pu Hao-ming, symbolizing the cohesive spirit of Taiwan. At night the colorful lights of the fountain and the traffic flowing a......

2023 / 6 220 pageviews

Celebrating Taiwanese Subjectivity

The Rocky Road of Native Art

Taiwanese art has been receiving a great deal of public attention in the past two years. Huang Tu-shui’s marble sculpture Water of Immortality, which portrays a female nude, saw the light of day again after nearly half a century. It was designated a “national treasure” in February 2023. A seri......

2023 / 2 552 pageviews

Signs of the Times

Shop Signs’ Place in Taiwan’s Streetscapes

In 1930, Kuo Hsueh-hu painted Festival on South Street, which depicts the vitality and clamor of a street scene—including countless shop signs—in Taipei’s Dadaocheng area, and makes viewers feel as if they are right there rubbing shoulders in the crowd. In 2017, the Japanese magazine Brutus pu......