Following the alleged theft of works by sculptor Lin Liang-tsai (林良材), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday called on the judiciary to locate and return the works to the artist and urged collectors not to purchase the sculptures if they are offered for sale.
Forty-seven sculptures by Lin, who is known for working with cast iron and copper plating, were allegedly taken on June 26 without Lin’s knowledge or consent by Lin’s agent, Yang Po-wen (楊博文), from the Bellavita shopping mall in Taipei where they were exhibited.
Lin and other artists called a news conference yesterday, where DPP lawmakers called on the public to help him find the missing sculptures and urged collectors not to buy them.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Lin has filed a criminal suit against Yang for allegedly stealing the sculptures and a civil suit to annul their contract.
Yang also launched a lawsuit against Lin demanding compensation of NT$70 million (US$2.32 million) for the damages Lin had allegedly caused by unilaterally deciding to terminate the contract.
Lin, a deaf and speech-impaired artist, gestured appreciation for the support of lawmakers and artists with sign language, calling on the public for help and urging the government to provide artists with legal assistance and a standard art agency contract to prevent other artists from facing similar predicaments.
Prosecutors have not begun to search for the missing sculptures, because they have considered the case to be a contractual dispute, assuming that Yang still holds the contractual right to trade the works, Loftyart Gallery director Chang Meng-wen (張孟文) said.
The missing works are valued at up to NT$50 million, but Chang asked for NT$70 million, making the case an “illegal possession of properties to demand ransom,” Chang said.
“The art scene has never before seen such absurdity; artists are indignant at such shamelessness,” Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan chairman Chen Wen-hsiang (陳文祥) said.
DPP legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) said that the case was an apparent “illegal possession of property.”
They called on the judiciary to handle the case and urged the Ministry of Culture to establish a standardized art agency system to prevent such incidents.
The ministry would put forward a standard art agency contract and legal guidelines for artists and art agencies, Department of Arts Development Director Chang Hui-chun (張惠君) said.
It is to also begin providing regular legal assistance for artists at specified locations, Chang added.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS