Renowned Taiwanese calligrapher Tong Yang-tze (董陽孜) on Thursday unveiled two monumental calligraphy pieces inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York in what an official called “an honor” for Taiwan.
The two pieces are showcased parallel to each other in the Met’s Great Hall as a part of the “Dialogue” exhibition commissioned by the museum for its historic display space.
The presence of the works in the museum reflects Tong’s attempt at cultivating a visual dialogue between Chinese writing and museum architecture, the Met said.
Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York via CNA
Walking into the Great Hall, visitors can see the 82-year-old artist’s huge calligraphy pieces, which are written in a combination of semi-cursive and regular Chinese script.
Each of Tong’s pieces contains poetry excerpts from various eras of Chinese literature.
On one side of the wall, an excerpt from the Chinese Classic of Poetry encourages the consideration of the opinions of others to elevate oneself. The other piece’s words were taken from the poetry of Song Dynasty scholar Su Shi (蘇軾), who implored people to act when appropriate and to stop when necessary.
In a rare public appearance, Tong engaged in a conversation with Lesley Ma (馬唯中), a curator in the Met’s Department of Modern and Contemporary Art. Ma launched the exhibition on Thursday with a conversation centered on Tong’s two featured works.
Tong told Ma that “Dialogue” manifested as a conversation with herself.
The selection of the excerpts was based on the profound weight of their words, which are fitting for a space as prestigious as the Met, Tong said.
The poetry in her calligraphy reflects the principles she lives by, Tong said, adding that she hopes that visitors who view the works would grasp their meaning, fostering a dialogue between her and her audience.
Tong also pointed out Su’s lines, saying that abiding by the wisdom of the words could cultivate sincerity among people.
Taiwan’s Representative to the US Alexander Yui said at the exhibition’s opening that showcasing Tong’s two works alongside historical and contemporary exhibits in a museum of the Met’s stature was an “incredible honor for Taiwan.”
Tong began writing calligraphy as a child and received a fine arts degree from National Taiwan Normal University in 1966.
She furthered her studies with a Master of Fine Arts degree in ceramics and oil painting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in the US in 1970.
The artist is renowned for writing monumental pieces of calligraphy with cursive Chinese script, which embodies calligraphy traditions as well as the visual composition of Western art philosophy.
The “Dialogue” exhibition will run through April 8 next year.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
RSS