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Staring / Back Michelangelo’s sculpture Day was originally arranged together with Night in a symmetrical yet contrasting manner, and forming a complete set with the Dawn and Dusk sculptures. Observing the symmetrical design of the Medici Chapel, one will see that Day and Night both depict bodies that are quite twisted and exhibiting extraordinary tension, contrasting with the more relaxed forms of Dawn and Dusk. Closely examining the form of the body, the back, arms and legs in Day are all in contortion position beyond the ordinary capabilities of the human body. The head in Day adopts a kind of twisting towards the back, as if he is looking behind him. Although this suited the planning for the family tomb it occupies, the statue’s eye sockets are sunken and the eyeballs were not well depicted, resulting in debates as to whether it was completed or not, or if it purposely depicts blindness. If it does depict blindness, this symbolism is thought to signify the subject’s fearlessness in turning to face all that is attacking him, even though he is unable to see the ultimate danger to his life – death brought about by time’s erosion. Setting forth from this complex piece of Michelangelo, this exhibition also displays numerous drawings from the Michelangelo school. This displays the two themes of ‘staring’ and ‘back,’ and creates a dialogue between them: this exhibition observes these themes staring back to the viewers beginning with modern and contemporary Western paintings (Velazquez, Manet), exploring how portraits from artists such as Andy Warhol, Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, Bill Viola and Damien Hirst achieve novel developments, and how Taiwanese artists such as Chen Chieh-Jen, Chang Chien-Chi, and Liu Han-Chih transform these themes through their contemporary styles. The exhibiting of human postures and backs is actually not as often noticed in Michelangelo’s works, but in order to continue the exploration of these rarely-seen themes, the works of Ruff, Tseng, Hsieh and Liu are displayed, as each bestow their own contribution.

Memento Mori An even more universal theme is the relationship between life and death. The erosion of time and reflection on death (memento mori can be translated as ‘remember your mortality’) is naturally the core theme of Michelangelo’s works in the Medici Chapel. This theme is certainly not absent in contemporary art: Hirst uses sharp humor to face it, Viola handles it by showing connections among people, and Warhol’s work possesses an impressive poetic sense of youth. Even more obvious is the contemporary interpretation of Michelangelo’s Pietà by Sam Taylor-Johnson in the medium of film to express her idea about memento mori. Taiwanese artists also display reflections of death in each of their works: Hsieh Chun-Te discusses the relationship between the destruction and rebirth of the universe and the role of human factors in it, Chen Chieh-Jen questions whether there can be a connection between torturous death and ecstasy, and Chang Chien-Chi explores how fugitives who constantly face the threat of death can once again face the world in a new way. This kind of dialogue breaks through the framework of ordinary exhibitions, allowing us to possibly witness the birth of new mutual understandings. Curator: LIN Chi-Ming

Date 2013.04.25-2013.07.25 Curator LIN Chi-Ming ☞ Catalog Share