The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts yesterday apologized for forbidding children from copying paintings by freehand drawing, saying it welcomes visitors to make sketches of paintings on drawing tablets or sketchpads.
The museum issued the remark after a museumgoer nicknamed “Mickeyelk Gesner” on Thursday posted on Facebook that her son had been sketching a painting by Pablo Picasso on a tablet computer at the exhibition “Capturing the Moment” on Wednesday when a museum worker told him to stop drawing.
“The staff told us, ‘Only taking photos is allowed. No copying. This is a rule,’” she quoted the worker as saying.
Photo: CNA
Physician Lee Chia-yan (李佳燕), who witnessed the incident at the museum, on Friday said in a Facebook post that she was appalled by the staff’s handling of the matter, which was “totally at odds with the common practice of the world’s leading arts museums.”
“Arts museums should not be haughty and condescending to visitors. It is not a place for adults to be arty and phony, but rather a place pleasantly accessible to people, especially to children,” Lee said.
The museum is “a public good” of the city and should help to nurture children’s ability to create and appreciate the arts, Lee added.
The museum yesterday said that it expects to align with international practices and create better experiences for visitors as a social and educational institution that allows for the enjoyment of art.
It apologized to the public for causing disputes due to inappropriate management and communications, and pledged to improve staff training to provide visitor-friendly services.
Museum visitors are allowed to make sketches on drawing tablets or sketchpads at exhibition sites, with detailed information provided on the museum’s Web site, it said, adding that everyone is welcome to explore the classic artworks created by renowned international artists during the summer vacation.
The Chimei Museum, a prestigious museum in Tainan, and the UK’s Tate Modern, one of the museums that contributed artworks to the Kaohsiung museum’s exhibition, allow visitors to copy paintings through freehand drawing, Facebook fan page “Takao Gooday” (高雄好過日) said on Friday.
“The entire incident indicates that the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, being a hub of arts in southern Taiwan with a 30-year history, has a disappointing attitude toward arts education and promotion,” Takao Gooday added.
“Copying” and “freehand drawing” are two different things when it comes to visitors drawing to mimic a painting, literary and historical worker Wei Tsong-jou (魏聰洲) said in a Facebook post on Friday.
“One would have to file an application to ‘copy’ painting exhibits and undergo a review afterwards,” Wei said. “‘Free drawing’ does not require any application and is considered a way of appreciating artworks in terms of museum education.”
The museum seemed to be “unable to differentiate freehand drawing from copying” and made the child “feel as though he had made a mistake and fearfully asked to leave the spot,” Wei said.
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
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
ENROLLMENT STRATEGIES: NTNU focuses on English instruction to attract foreign students, and helps them with employment and internships, its president said The number of foreign students in the nation’s colleges and universities hit a five-year high last year, with National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) topping the list with the most international students, Ministry of Education data showed. Last year, 123,188 international students attended Taiwanese colleges and universities, 3,259 more than the previous academic year, the data showed. NTNU had the most international students, with 7,648 students, followed by the National Taiwan University’s 6,249, it showed. NTNU yesterday said that international students accounted for 12.05 percent of its degree students last year. The percentage of overseas Chinese students at the university has also been the highest
RSS