This series of events and enthusiastic reactions shows that, besides wearing Pierre Cardins and driving Mercedes, people on Taiwan are prepared to reach into their purses to partake of the arts, given the right artist.
Yet, almost at the same time, a public showing of works by Picasso, Monet, Renoir and others, brought to Taipei from Japan, got the cold shoulder. This caused some to criticize Taipei people as "nouveau riche" lacking taste in spending their money.
David Chen, who spent a lot of effort and money on behalf of the Galerie Wien to bring the art to Taiwan, sighed, "It's really incredible." Some people even doubted that a small gallery could arrange such a show, and questioned the authenticity of the paintings. Also a factor was that people are accustomed to free art shows, and, notes Chen, "people on Taiwan have not yet developed the habit of cultural consumption."
But Han Pao-teh, Director of the Museum of Natural Science, has a different view. He argues that if one's purpose is really to spread culture, then entrance fees shouldn't enter into it; if the purpose is commercial--to recover costs or make a profit--then the investors must take the risk and can't complain if the public response is not good.
Nevertheless, the exhibition did attract some buyers. Chen says that Taiwan has over the last thirty years created an economic miracle, but that one can't expect a cultural miracle. In the short term it will be necessary to rely on the support of the government and business community to maintain the arts. But if, like Japan, people on Taiwan begin to collect, this will be helpful to the country's image.
Indeed, the arts are unlikely to witness a miracle; but after all, people on Taiwan have spent the last thirty years with their noses to the grindstone, and the current level of prosperity is only a recent phenomenon.
How much progress has been made? A lot. In the last ten years, eighteen new culture centers have been established across the island; the national theater and concert hall have been completed; the Taipei Fine Arts Museum opened, followed by the Provincial Museum in Taichung and another in Kaohsiung. There are now over a hundred private galleries in Taipei alone.
And in the past shows were limited mostly to Chinese artists, with occasional videotapes or lectures on foreign art. Today there are frequent showings of art from abroad, as testified to by the current Dada exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, among others. Hsu Po-yun of the New Aspect Promotion Corporation estimates that, taking Taipei as his example, before 1982 the number of people who participated in some arts activity once a week was 1,200, with 7,500 or so going once a month. After the opening of the popular Cloud Gate Dance Troupe gave the arts a boost, the figures went up to 5,000 and 20,000 respectively. The opening of New Aspect also gave a new impetus to the arts, with participation increasing four or five times.
This constant increase in arts consumption indicates that the society of the R.O.C. has become wealthy enough and created enough leisure time to lead to a demand for culture. Whether or not a particular show attracts consumers depends on the show itself.
One of the main factors affecting consumer choice is name recognition. In this regard New Image has played an important role over the last ten years in introducing the arts and artists to Taiwan.
As with any product, attracting consumers requires advertising. Recently cultural organizations in Taiwan have moved from simple posters to sending articles to publications to putting on TV ads, as has recently been done jointly by the Government Information Office and the National Palace Museum. Besides putting on exhibitions, museums now sponsor related performances to attract audiences to see the art itself.
Wang Chi, Chairman of the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Cheng Chi University, notes that abroad arts activities are widely advertised, but that in Taiwan, when one wants to attend one, information is not so easy to get. When asked why they do not do more advertising on TV or by plastering the streets with posters, cultural organizations uninanimously responded that they lacked the funds.
But the biggest problem facing private groups is taxes. To put on a show requires payment of an operating tax, entertainment tax, and education tax. Further, the sponsoring organization must pay the taxes up front, and must apply for a rebate if some tickets are left unsold. "These kinds of regulations cannot encourage refined exhibitions," points out Hsu.
Consequently, in August of last year, Cloud Gate, New Aspect, and eleven other arts and performing groups formed the "Association of Performing Arts Groups," Their immediate goals are to eliminate tax prepayment, the tax on tickets, and to have the five percent operating tax reduced to its pre-1984 level of one percent, a step which the association's director Wu Jing Jyi calls "essential."
The Tax Reform committee of the Ministry of Finance and the Taipei City Assembly have already begun to look into ways to reduce or eliminate the entertainment tax. Tuan Chung-tan effused, "The market will see unprecedentedly big changes because of the elimination or reduction of the entertainment tax. Promoters are rubbing their hands in anticipation!"
It is also everyone's hope that the arts can win the support of the business community. In Tokyo, for example, most big department stores lay out a lot of funds for exhibitions or museums. But as David Chen of Wien points out, this is also related to the tax system, which creates incentives to invest in the arts. Indeed, it is common in the developed nations to have tax incentives for support for the arts.
Business on Taiwan slowly comes around. Last year, because of a capital surplus and the impetus of a surge in arts investment abroad, the willingness of the Taiwan business community to make similar investments also rose. First steps were made into the market. For example, when the collection of Chou Yan-chih was sold off in Hong Kong and London, most of the buyers were from HK, Singapore, and Taiwan.
These developments indicate the increasing appreciation of and desire to collect art on Taiwan. "If the importing of art were liberalized, there is no question that Taiwan has the conditions to be an international art market," says Sotheby's representative on Taiwan.
Will the government sacrifice revenue for art's sake? And will consumption of the arts become as popular as consumption of Pierre Cardins and BMW's? On Taiwan people have long been skilled at "the art of the deal." But how will they deal with the art?
Statistics on Foreign Art Performing Groups to the R.O.C.[Picture]
(Information source: Foundation for Scholarly Exchange)
[Picture Caption]
The beautiful National Theater reflected in the glass door of the Central Library which faces it. These buildings "reflect" the cultural construction which has followed economic growth.
Posters are the most common media for attracting consumers of culture.
Promotion of arts activities has moved from passive to "active measures." (photo by P. J. Chen)
Taking the whole family to the museum on Sunday is low-cost, high-quality entertainment.
The National Concert Hall is first-rate. Will it succeed in attracting more international performers to Taipei?
The fact that Sotheby's did promotional work in Taiwan prior to their sale in Hong Kong testifies to the potential of the Taiwan market. (photo by Vincent Chang)
Posters are the most common media for attracting consumers of culture.
Promotion of arts activities has moved from passive to "active measures." （photo by P. J. Chen）
Taking the whole family to the museum on Sunday is low-cost, high-quality entertainment.
The National Concert Hall is first-rate. Will it succeed in attracting more international performers to Taipei?
The fact that Sotheby's did promotional work in Taiwan prior to their sale in Hong Kong testifies to the potential of the Taiwan market. （photo by Vincent Chang）
