Ho, 30, is a graduate of Shih Chien University’s Department of Industrial Design, and he holds a master’s in design, strategy and innovation from London’s Brunel University. Ho explains that people in Taiwan—partly because of a lack of material wealth—used to have tight, intimate bonds with each other. Neighbors would borrow soy sauce and look after each other’s children. Or people might have occasion to go with small groups of friends to watch television at the home of the village head. Living conditions were inferior to those of the present day, but because people were in the habit of calling upon their neighbors, emotional bonds were strong. The notion of dropping in on homes in a neighborhood is the guiding ideal behind the design of the CMP Block Museum.
The main exhibit comprises 11 small buildings, each only 35 square feet. With the idea of fostering interaction between the built environment and circulating people, various installations have been installed. Among them is Lin Wan-Tzu’s Sleepwalker House No. 507—her first solo work of installation art since making a name for herself in Taiwan’s creative community.
Or take Little Water by Xi Shibin, who used to be a window display designer for famous brands such as Louis Vuitton and Hermes, or Virtual Modeling Room by the cutting-edge artist Andy Yen, which, like many of his works, takes chromosomes as its subject.
Between the CMP Block Museum of Arts and the 11 small structures in this exhibition space of about 90,000 square feet is Daily Life Jungle, a work consisting of spheres of many different colors. These were designed by AECOM (the firm behind the master plan for London’s Olympic Park) in collaboration with architecture students from Tamkang University. The spheres were created using umbrellas made by Ta Chen Fong Umbrella.
The CMP Block Museum of Arts, via this new method of displaying art, has allowed many thousands of visitors to enjoy a visually rich alfresco feast. Amid the hustle and bustle of Taiwan, a small corner has been set aside for enjoying art.
Aiming “to create a museum that is close to the people and to keep the space open,” Jonas Ho, creative director of the CMP PUJEN Foundation for Arts and Culture, guided development of the CMP Block Museum of Arts. Its show “Plan for Dropping In” features 10 works, including Virtual Modeling Room (right) by designer Andy Yen.
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