Xpat Magazine June, 2006
In Xpat’s never-ending endeavor to bring you cool, cutting-edge, flip-your-wig-back art, we present this interview with Taipei’s Museum of Contemporary Art. MOCA is one of the most progressive museums in Taiwan supporting innovative and unusual art from sculpture to multimedia to interactive installations. We recommend stopping by. You’re guaranteed to see at least seven things you never imagined you’d see in your life (or even thought existed).
Xpat: How long has MOCA been open?
MOCA: Since May, 2001.
Xpat: How big are you?
MOCA: Total 1,350 ping.
Xpat: How many visitors do you receive annually?
MOCA: About 74,000 visitors.
Xpat: Wouldn’t it be funny if I asked a girl those questions and she answered that way?
MOCA: No.
Xpat: How many exhibitions do you host at one time?
MOCA: One or two.
Xpat: How long does a typical exhibition run?
MOCA: Two to three months.
Xpat: Do they ever get tired?
MOCA: Excuse me?
Xpat: (sniggering) I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been waiting to pull that one on you for weeks.
MOCA: That’s ok.
Xpat: What exhibitions are currently running?
MOCA: The two exhibitions that we have now are: 50 Years of Italian Fashion, and A Glimpse of Contemporary Art in Taiwan. They end on June 4.
Xpat: You don’t say? Have you run any pop-art exhibitions in the past?
MOCA: Yes, occasionally. For example: Fiction, Love, and XUltra New Vision in Contemporary Art
Xpat: What exhibitions are next?
MOCA: Slow Tech, from June 24 to Sept.3.
Xpat: What is contemporary art?
MOCA: It’s hard to define.
Xpat: Sort of like the term ‘vicissitude.’ That’s pretty hard to define, too. It means “the quality of being changeable,” but most people don’t know that. Even most English teachers don’t know that. Actually I didn’t know that either, but I was just fiddling with my electronic dictionary here…
MOCA: Huh? Are you drunk?
Xpat: No! … uh, not really…um…. What are some of the best exhibitions you’ve hosted?
MOCA: We appreciate every exhibition.
Xpat: Who are some of the most prominent contemporary artists?
MOCA: We appreciate every artist.
Xpat: Who are the most prominent contemporary Taiwanese artists?
MOCA: We appreciate every Taiwanese artist.
Xpat: Would you say that MOCA is an appreciative institution?
MOCA: Yes.
Xpat: What different mediums of exhibitions do you host?
MOCA: We host exhibitions including painting, sculpture and interactive installations.
Xpat: What’s MOCA’s mission?
MOCA: … (deep breath) Facing the current trends of globalization and post-modernism, MOCA has intimately combined the fields of architecture, design, fashion and multimedia art. The spreading domain of Asian art does not wander aimlessly, cover its face, or fawn on the rich and powerful, and it is willing to be relegated to the sidelines. It is only willing to change with time, and to give form to ideas.
Our exhibitions range from ones that fill the whole museum to small installations. By collaboration with international and local curators and artists, we hope to reflect a vision that is both global and regional.
Xpat: That’s awesome. Care for a shot of Jager?
MOCA: No. I’m going home now.
Xpat: Thank you very much for your time.
MOCA: Boo hway. (translation: no problem, chuckles).
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei City, Taiwan
39 ChangAn West Rd., Taipei 103
Tues~ Sun, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Admission: NT $50
Tel: 02.2552.3720; Fax: 02.2559.3874
www.mocataipei.org.tw
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