CCA Chairman Chen Chi-nan--Promoting Citizens' Aesthetics

Compared with the past, we are well on our way toward modernization-the economy is vibrant-yet aesthetic standards are actually declining.

In architecture, for example, the traditional courtyard houses of the past had wooden beams, stone walls, and rooflines that echoed the horizon. Whether examining the structures as a whole or piece by piece, the aesthetic experience was unforgettable. Today, however, natural landscapes and traditional architecture have become grist for the mill of modernization. Concrete houses are stacked like matchboxes, and lined along streets like long rows of canned goods. The aesthetic experience of the past is no more.

Beauty only in grand buildings?

In Taiwan, we can visit elegant theaters and enjoy the best of art and culture, but we must endure infuriating traffic and chaotic surroundings to get there. I can't help suspecting that if these conditions don't change, even if there are more Cloud Gate Theater troupes, more sculptors like Ju Ming, and more fine arts events, they will be unable to retain any great significance.

Looking at the root of the problem, if one wants to create an aesthetic society, the essential characteristics are public-mindedness and self-awareness. If there is no common perception of the arts among the general public, an individual will fence himself off in his beautiful home, and on leaving it aesthetic pleasure will elude him. This is the thinking that led me to propose the Citizens' Aesthetic Movement.

The essence of a citizens' aesthetic is to put beauty into practice for every citizen, make it a right and an obligation, and transform Taiwan into a completely aesthetic and ethical society. Cultural policies in the past placed responsibility squarely on artists' shoulders. Today's Citizens Aesthetic Movement will pass aesthetic rights and responsibilities into the hands of the public. This is the significance of the citizens' cultural rights that I'm talking about.

The nature of the CCA is very different from the average government department. At the heart of cultural affairs lies the establishment of values, and not policy planning and execution.

In launching the Citizens' Aesthetic Movement, then, it is necessary to first spread these concepts and values to the administration, each government department, local governments, citizens' groups-in every possible direction. Only then will the plan have a lasting future.

For example, if the budget office responsible for reviewing the funding of a plan grasps the concept of citizens' aesthetics, it will understand the importance of the initial designs and the subsequent maintenance expenses when reviewing the budget for a construction project. Only then will the design of public spaces receive thorough consideration. Projects such as the Council of Agriculture's plans to put a new face on villages or the Ministry of Economic Affairs' plans to rejuvenate shopping areas, in fact, both place the arts at the center of their rural redesign plans.

Of course, I understand that laying out specific plans and providing resources will be even more difficult for citizens' aesthetics than it was in the Integrated Community Building project. New difficulties, however, are just new difficulties. But the creativity and planning that go into implementing citizens' arts must absolutely not be dictated from above by the government alone. They should be closely coordinated at a grass-roots level where there is familiarity with and understanding of the questions at hand. Only when plans are developed locally will the spirit of the citizens' arts project resonate with the people, and only then will artistic awareness really be awakened.

Beauty in the hinterlands

The Citizens' Aesthetic Movement has two prominent objectives: one is to raise the aesthetic character of our visual environment; the other is to build a multifaceted artistic environment.

With regard to the creation of an aesthetic environment, I would like to build a society that offers "amenity." This would include facilities in public spaces, such as parks and libraries-aesthetic encounters that we experience in daily life-as well as courteous and amicable interaction between people. Imagine an environment in which all that we perceive through our five senses is pleasant. There will be no more uneven sidewalks, no more side streets clogged with motor scooters. This is what's meant by amenity, which we can see and feel. This is also the aspect that we most obviously come up short on in comparison with other countries.

As to the second aspect (building a multifaceted artistic environment), relying solely on artists and art enthusiasts will not suffice to build a complete artistic environment. Arts need to flower from community roots. Our past Integrated Community Building project was essentially an aesthetic activity-but today it is even more imperative to cultivate communities as artistic spaces. Accordingly, it will require the assistance of those with an understanding of the Citizens' Aesthetic Movement, including organizers, producers, and planners, and together they will plant the seeds of community aesthetics.

In Kyoto, Japan, residents live in much smaller spaces than the average person in Taiwan, yet a stroll along the old streets will be bathed in unobstructed moonlight illuminating the serenity of the traditional architecture. How fortunate they are! Because the entire city belongs to each and every citizen, the benefits likewise arise from the shared efforts and aspirations of each citizen. Will our own citizens be able to cultivate similar expectations and put forth similar efforts to create a society of such beauty?

When walking through the old ceramics district in the town of Yingko, the style of the shops and the storefronts along the street really captures the unique atmosphere of a ceramics district, much like the feeling of some Japanese towns famous for their crafts, only a little dirtier and a little more chaotic. This makes us aware that at present we aren't lacking the artists and craftsmen at the heart of the industry, but rather that we need to strive to build awareness of the citizens' aesthetic.

I believe that if the CCA is confident and clear in its purpose, talented individuals will slowly grow and exert their influence on society, as was the case with the cultural workers of the past.