T . C . W

Light Fiesta

Date: 2012/1/23 (Mon.) ~ 3/18 (Sun.)

Opening: 2012/2/3 (Fri.) , 19:00

Venue: Barry Room, 1F, Taipei Artist Village ( No.7, Beiping East Rd.,Taipei)

Participated artists: Ting，Chaong-Wen、Lee, Pei-Ling、2 Day Studio

(Lin, You-Sheng、Zhang, Jian-Zhi-Wei )、Ching Yi Tseng、Sungyeon Park

Two-Day studio workshop: 2012/2/5(Sun.)、2/ 19(Sun.)，14:00-16:00

The word “Fiesta” is originated from Spanish. “Fiesta” is a common verbal word in people’s lives, and its definition can be put in use from personal parties to national celebrations. We try to define the exhibition by the name “Light Fiesta” to illuminate that it is not a dazzling, high-technology light celebration, but a re-seeing of everydayness of light. It can be a personally microcosmic party of light as well.

The curatorial idea of Light Fiesta Exhibition can be traced back to the traditional celebration in Taiwan during the period of New Year in Lunar Calendar --- Lantern Festival. Through this annual light celebration, the exhibition “Light Fiesta” will review the applications of light in everyday life, returning to the personal observation in the lives of artists. This observation can be nostalgic, low-technology, microcosmic and concentrating on poetics of daily lives.

The manipulation of light is closely related to the development of visual art. By considering the signal transmission in human color vision system, colors exist because of the light. That is to say, human beings are unable to perceive colors around them without light; it can be merely an illusion which is caused from the refraction of different lights of wavelength. The manipulation of color in painting is simply an imitation of light. From classical realism of painting to Rembrandt and Cezanne, and the following appearance of photography, light, which was a supporting role in painting, has gradually become a leading role of artists in their works. People not only imitate light but apply light and technology to each and every aspect in our lives extensively.

Celebrations regarding light can be found in human history all over the world. Take the example of the first “Fête des lumières” in Lyon, France in 1852. People in Lyon wanted to show their gratitude to the Virgin Mother for sheltering them from plagues and natural disasters at the time. Therefore, they have held related celebration since then. In early times, each and every family in Lyon would place little candles in a small glass-made container. With the change of time, the previous light festival has turned in to a festival of light which is full of a sense of high-technology; as for in Asia, the counterpart is lantern festival, which is also called Yuanxiao Festival or Shangyuan Festival, and it is also celebrated by people who live in Japan and Korea to show their worship and respect to light.

The artworks in Light Fiesta develop diverse applications from different light sources, such as cell phone, camera, neon tube, screen reflection, light projection and so on. The sublime religious significance of celebration has also transformed into the inner profundity of artist, tracing back and forth to watch the postures of bodies, leading audience to rediscover the seemingly usual but enchanting illumination associated with virtual scene and reality, conceptual and material light.