Museum exhibitions open April 3 in dramatic fashion

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art's spring exhibitions open with a dramatic flourish when Taiwanese performance artist Shy Gong presents "God Series, No. 228" at the annual spring reception Saturday, April 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. on the museum's front steps (weather permitting).

This mixed media assemblage is used in Taiwanese performance artist Shy Gong's show, "God Series, No. 228," which will be performed April 3 on the steps of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. The performance marks the opening of the first part of the Johnson's exhibit "Contemporary Taiwanese Art in the Era of Contention," one of the museum's spring 2004 exhibits, and runs through June. Courtesy of the Johnson Museum

Shy Gong's performance launches the Johnson's "Contemporary Taiwanese Art in the Era of Contention" exhibit, which runs in two parts: the first part through June 13; the second part opening to the public June 26 and running through Aug. 15. The display comprises contemporary Taiwanese art created since 1987, when martial law was lifted in Taiwan. The opening performance and exhibit are free and open to the public.

"This extraordinary exhibition, curated so ably by Professor An-Yi Pan [history of art], makes vividly clear the energy, variety and excitement of Taiwanese culture today, and it brings us all closer to this dynamic society," said Frank Robinson, the Richard J. Schwartz Director of the museum.

"God Series, No. 228" is a dramatization of a watershed event in 20th century Taiwanese history known as the "2/28 Incident" of 1947. That year, police under the rule of governor Ch'en Yi arrested and beat an elderly woman who sold cigarettes without a license. Street riots broke out in response to the beating, and thousands of protesters were killed. In 1995, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum organized an annual memorial art exhibition to commemorate the "2/28 Incident."

Shy Gong's props include a neon signboard depicting a seductive young Taiwanese woman selling cigarettes. Throughout the performance female assistants, dressed as cigarette girls, will distribute symbolic "cigarette" boxes. The boxes contain the materials to make a "2/28 Illegal Cigarettes Portable Shrine" honoring the historical event.

Among distinguished Taiwanese guests scheduled to attend the reception are: Andrew Hsia, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York City (TECO); Tung-jung Chen, director, Cultural Division at TECO; Pei Liu, director of the Taipei Cultural Center, New York City; and Huang Tsai-lang, director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan.

For more information about the opening, call the Johnson Museum at 255-6464 or send e-mail to museum@cornell.edu.