第21屆台新藝術獎─視覺、表演及年度大獎揭曉

台灣當代藝術桂冠獎項──台新藝術獎，第21屆三大獎得主於5月27日頒獎典禮揭曉。致力全球南方文化研究的策展人高森信男以《海洋與詮釋者》展覽獲視覺藝術獎；七年內四度入圍的李貞葳與編舞家夫婿法庫亞‧佐坦終以《崩—無盡之下》拿下表演藝術獎；而黨若洪的「《高枕無憂的你－黨若洪個展》從瘟疫到戰爭：關於災厄如慶典的一魚兩吃」從17組入圍作品脫穎而出，獲得本屆「年度大獎」，打破台新藝術獎史上未有平面繪畫展覽獲獎的記錄。

台新銀行文化藝術基金會鄭家鐘董事長在致詞中表示，疫情在過去三年威脅全球，但是台新藝術獎的進度沒有一刻停歇。今年除了恢復邀請國際委員，也很高興頒獎典禮得到來自各個國際駐台代表的熱烈響應蒞臨現場。每個入圍作品都是獨一無二、極具指標性意義的：「在台灣這片土地上，可以欣賞到這麼多不同面向、多方文化滋養的藝術作品，是多麼幸福的事！」

圖1 台新銀行文化藝術基金會董事長 鄭家鐘 致詞

歷經三年疫情，今年的決選團恢復邀請海內外專家參與，由藝術家潘小雪擔任決選主席，委員包括藝術史學者曾少千、劇評人吳思鋒、藝術顧問周伶芝，以及來自德國的表演藝術策展人迪特·耶尼克(Dieter Jaenicke)、日本橫濱美術館資深策展人木村繪理子(Eriko Kimura)、香港藝術學院院長茹國烈(Louis Yu) 。歷時三天的馬拉松式會議在綿密討論下，選出三大獎得主，總獎金三百五十萬元。

「視覺藝術獎」得獎作品《海洋與詮釋者》是同時於鳳甲美術館與本事藝術展出的研究型展覽。策展人高森信男邀請了20多位亞非地區的藝術家，除了向亞洲觀眾引介非洲及加勒比海藝術之外，也透過作品探討區域交流所觸及的政治、文化、國族認同等面向。得獎理由為：

「高森信男和參展藝術家開拓了連結台灣與非洲的藝術視野，在多元的文化認同中尋找關連與共同的志趣。《海洋與詮釋者》源於策展人對於台灣、『全球南方』不同文化的長期研究，我們相信高森信男對於藝術和文化表現的多元性有著真摯的熱情，同時他也尊重和考慮到藝術家在不同社會創作的情境。此展在持續進行的藝術發現之旅更往前邁進，而非其研究的最終結果，評審團肯定此計畫的開創性，並且期待就此發揮更大影響力與拓展力，延伸至其他洲際區域。」

圖2 石瑞仁董事(右)頒發獎項予視覺藝術獎得主－《海洋與詮釋者》策展人高森信男

「表演藝術獎」得獎作品《崩—無盡之下》，由李貞葳與法庫亞・佐坦共同編舞，為國家兩廳院2022秋天藝術節邀演作品，以三位舞者形成小型社會的隱喻，探討當代人心敏感又脆弱的精神狀態。得獎理由：

「編舞家李貞葳與法庫亞・佐坦運用低限的技術和肢體，簡潔有力地操演身心耗盡的當代景觀。通過身軀細部的運動，以及個體與群體之間，如齒輪般不斷分離又趨近、交纏又碎裂的調度，從中推動身體的狂亂能量，組織出一種擺盪於機械與有機之間的動力。編舞家勇敢直視崩解，將原本帶有負面意涵的身心徵候，轉化為獨特的身體語彙，淋漓表達疲態歷程與社會中彼此扶持的協力關係。舞作提供一個極具想像的動能空間，讓我們認識到可以如何通過幽微的內在，生產解放的力量。」

圖3 吳靜吉董事(右)頒發獎項予表演藝術獎得主－《崩—無盡之下》編舞家李貞葳

最後頒布的「年度大獎」由黨若洪「《高枕無憂的你－黨若洪個展》從瘟疫到戰爭：關於災厄如慶典的一魚兩吃」奪得。該展覽於安卓藝術展出，主題映射藝術家於過去幾年疫情期間生活型態與創作心境上的轉變，以畫作中悠遊自在的氛圍幽默地反諷詭譎的國際情勢，為當代社會的集體經驗留下獨特的註解與小結。得獎理由：

「黨若洪的畫作以純熟的藝術表現，敏銳洞察小市民的日常生活與災難的距離。他獨到詼諧的美學政治，使這距離近得像一齣荒誕劇。在瘟疫與戰爭中，正常生活突然消失，是這幾年全球共同面對的處境。藝術家運用酣暢的繪畫語言和隱微的敍事性，加上混沌奔放的筆法，夢幻和真實交錯的場景，歡快與憂鬱並置，鮮亮與灰暗重疊，令這些作品直接擊中人們心中不願正視的憂慮和恐懼，呼喚對時代的關切，這正是當代藝術的核心責任。評審希望，很多年以後，人們回顧這一屆台新奬，會從黨若洪的作品中，看到這個時代的幸福和危難。」

圖4 林曼麗董事(右)頒發獎項予年度大獎得主－《高枕無憂的你》黨若洪

三組得獎作品的創作源起或歷程中，皆隱含遇疫情影響，所產生面對自我的心境、人與人之間的互動，以及集體共感的身心狀態，黨若洪和李貞葳面臨疫情期間長期居家，面對自我身心的內觀與家人的互動，因真實狀態變化而衍生新的創作語彙；而高森信男的海外策展與研究計畫，因疫情影響國際互訪交流，進而在台灣延伸出新的對話與串聯，產生新的策展契機。

高森信男上台致詞時表示，這次獲獎是他從事策展工作十幾年以來最好的禮物，也感謝台新藝術獎評審團對於「策展」這門藝術的肯定；李貞葳說編舞時實在太累了，仿佛每一次創作都有在折壽的感覺，有感自身在不同的階段上經歷過身心耗盡和社會過勞，本次作品也正是以最熟悉的身體，來試圖表達身心健康的價值。年度大獎得主黨若洪很驚訝自己竟是大獎的得主，從未想過會以繪畫站上台新藝術獎的舞台，希望這一刻可以鼓勵到所有與他一樣從事繪畫創作的朋友們。

同樣身為藝術家的決選主席潘小雪致詞時溫情表達：「看到各位在自己開創的路上，無所畏懼，不怕辛苦，充滿了對藝術的愛與虔誠，這是最感動我們的地方。無論是否獲獎，都要重回自己的本性，回到天真無邪，要順著自己的路，也不要放棄把握下一次的機會。」給予在場所有藝術家無限的祝福與鼓勵。

今年頒獎典禮再次由劇場導演李銘宸擔任統籌，邀請台灣漫才雙人組第一把交椅「達康.come」擔任主持，幽默風趣的連珠妙語，靈活貫串頒獎流程，亦轉化獎項揭曉現場的緊張氣氛。歡迎透過台新銀行文化藝術基金會官網「第21屆台新藝術獎」專頁，觀賞典禮直播影片，專頁中亦有完整資訊了解所有入圍及得獎作品。

圖5 第21屆台新藝術獎決選團主席潘小雪致詞

圖6 第21屆台新藝術獎三大獎得主高森信男、黨若洪、李貞葳合影(左至右) 

圖7 第21屆台新藝術獎三大獎得主(後排中)、評選委員與基金會董事合照

第21屆台新藝術獎專頁：https://www.taishinart.org.tw/art-award-year-news/2022
台新銀行文化藝術基金會Facebook 粉絲專頁：https://www.facebook.com/TAISHINART/
第二十一屆台新藝術獎 頒獎典禮線上直播 - YouTube
第21屆台新藝術獎頒獎典禮側記：https://talks.taishinart.org.tw/award/bulletin/2023053001

The 21^st Taishin Arts Award Announces Three Major Award Winners

TANG Jo-Hung : As You Sleep Worry-Free Becomes the 

First to Win the Grand Prize with Two-dimensional Painting

The prestigious contemporary art award in Taiwan – the Taishin Arts Award, announces the winners of the three major awards of the 21^st edition on May 27. Curator TAKAMORI Nobuo, who has endeavored in studying the culture of the Global South, is awarded the Visual Arts Award with The Oceans and the Interpreters. LEE Chen-Wei, who has been nominated four times in seven years, and her husband, choreographer VAKULYA Zoltán, bring home the Performing Arts Award with Burnt [the eternal long now]. TANG Jo-Hung’s TANG Jo-Hung: As You Sleep Worry-Free —From Pandemic to War: About disaster crisis like a celebration in one or two different cook methods stands out from the seventeen finalists, and wins the Grand Prize, becoming the very first to ever win the Grand Prize with two-dimensional painting in the history of the Taishin Arts Award. 

Chairman Simon Cheng of the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture expresses in his speech, saying that the Taishin Arts Award has never stopped for a single moment even during the last three years of the global pandemic. This year, the award has not only brought back international jurors, but is also delighted to welcome diplomatic representatives of different countries in Taiwan, who have graced the award ceremony with their presence. He further states that every finalist is unique and highly iconic, and that “it is an incredibly blissful thing to be able to appreciate so many works engaging in different aspects and enriched by different cultures in Taiwan.”

After three years of the pandemic, the final selection committee this year once again invites experts from Taiwan and abroad. Chaired by artist Yuki Pan, members of the committee include art historian TSENG Shao-Chien, theater critic WU Sih-Fong, art consultant CHOW Ling-Chih, and three international jurors, namely, German performing arts curator, Dieter Jaenicke, senior curator of the Yokohama Museum of Art, Eriko Kimura, and the director of the Hong Kong Art School, Louis Yu. After a three-day meeting marathon with extensive discussions, the winners of the three major awards, with a total prize money of 3.5 million dollars, are finally selected.

Visual Arts Award (NT$ 1 million prize money): 

TAKAMORI Nobuo, The Oceans and the Interpreters

Performing Arts Award (NT$ 1 million prize money): 

LEE\VAKULYA, Burnt [the eternal long now]—2022 Artquake In Autumn

Grand Prize (NT$ 1.5 million prize money): 

TANG Jo-Hung, TANG Jo-Hung : As You Sleep Worry-Free —From Pandemic to War: About disaster crisis like a celebration in one or two different cook methods

The Visual Arts Award winner The Oceans and the Interpreters is a research-based exhibition on view at both Hong-gah Museum and Solid Art. The curator TAKAMORI Nobuo invites over twenty artists from Africa and Asia to not only introduce African and Caribbean art to an Asian audience, but to also explore the aspects of politics, culture, and national identity in regional exchange through the featured works. Regarding the work, the jury gives the following comments: “TAKAMORI Nobuo and his artists team are opening the artistic horizon to interconnections between Taiwan and Africa, finding relations, common interests in the most diverse cultural identities. The Oceans and the Interpreters are based on his personal interest and long-term research on different cultures in Taiwan and the Global South. The exhibition is not a final result of his research, but rather just one more step in an ongoing artistic discovery process. We believe that TAKAMORI Nobuo has a very sincere interest and respectful view on the diversity of artistic and cultural expressions, also considering the different conditions under which artists work in different societies. With this award we hope to encourage the further development of his research and artistic statements and even reach out to other continents.”

The Performing Arts Award goes to Burnt [the eternal long now], co-choreographed by LEE Chen-Wei and VAKULYA Zoltán for the 2022 Artquake In Autumn festival hosted by the National Theater and Concert Hall. In this work, three dancers constitute a metaphor for a society to explore the sensitive, fragile mental state of contemporary people. The jury gives the following comments on the work: In a concise and powerful manner with minimalist technique and movement, choreographers LEE and VAKULYA recreate the drained mental and physical state of one confronted with the exhaust and emptiness of today’s world. Through refined body movements, we see repetitive cycles of separation and reunion between individuals and collectives, and intertwined yet fragmented arrangements. A hysterical energy with which to explore the body structure is generated and organized into a force that oscillates between mechanical and organic. The choreographers boldly face the burnt state and transform negative mental and physical signs into a unique body language, aptly conveying a bolstering and collaborating relationship. The dance provides an imaginative kinetic space where we may attain the power of emancipation through a subdued inner self.

The Grand Prize announced finally is awarded to TANG Jo-Hung for his TANG Jo-Hung: As You Sleep Worry-Free —From Pandemic to War: About disaster crisis like a celebration in one or two different cook methods. Exhibited at Mind Set Art Center, the exhibition theme reflects the changes of the artist’s lifestyle and creative state of mind in the past few years during the pandemic. The relaxed, carefree atmosphere in the paintings humorously satirizes the treacherous international situations, both commenting on and concluding this collective experience of the contemporary society in a unique way. The jury gives the following comments on this work: TANG Jo-hung, through his accomplished artistic expressions, offers astute insights into the distance between disasters and the daily life of the layperson. His unique and humorous aesthetic politics make this distance feel as close as an absurd drama. Amidst the pandemic and wars, the once-normal life suddenly disappeared and people around the globe are forced to face this situation together. The artist deploys a deft painting language and subtle narration together with free-flowing and chaotic strokes in scenes interwoven with both fantasy and reality, juxtaposing delightful and gloomy ambiences, and overlapping vibrant and dreary palettes. These works resonate with the inherent anxiety and fear that people are trying to evade and beckon concerns for the times we live in, which are indeed the core responsibilities of contemporary art. It is the jury’s wish that many years later as people look back on this edition of Taishin Arts Award, they would recognize the joy and tribulations of this era through TANG’s work.

The three award-winning works, in terms of the creative origin or creative process, have hinted at the individual state of mind, interpersonal interactions, and the collective physical and mental state under the impact of the pandemic. During the long periods of pandemic-induced home confinement, TANG Jo-Hung and LEE Chen-Wei have both developed new artistic vocabularies derived from the changes of reality in relation to self-reflection on the body and mind as well as interactions between family members. TAKAMORI Nobuo’s overseas curatorial and research projects were disrupted by the pandemic, making international exchange impossible. However, he was able to extend new dialogues and connections in Taiwan, which eventually presented a fresh curatorial opportunity. 

In his speech, TAKAMORI Nobuo states that the award is the best gift in his over a decade-long curatorial career, and he thanks the jury of the Taishin Arts Award for recognizing the art of “curating.” LEE Che-Wei says that choreography can be extremely exhausting. Every choreography feels like taking away some years of her remaining life. Drawing inspiration from her own experience of being burnt out and socially exhausted, she uses the body that she is most familiar with to convey the value of physical and mental health. TANG Jo-Hung is surprised to find himself winning the Grand Prize. He never thought that he could come onto the stage of the Taishin Arts Award with painting, and hopes that this very moment could be an encouragement to his fellow painters. 

Also an artist herself, the chair of the final selection committee Yuki Pan warmly expresses in her speech, saying that “seeing the fearlessness of all of you on the paths you have created by yourselves, unafraid of hardship and driven by the love and devotion for art, has been the most moving thing for us. Whether being awarded or not, just embrace who you are and the pure innocence to follow your path, and do not give up on the next chance.” Her remarks give the artists in the ceremony infinite blessing and encouragement.

The award ceremony this year is once again coordinated by theater director LEE Ming-Chen, and is moderated by the leading Manzai duo, “Dacon.come,” whose humorous, witty repartee connect the various parts of the ceremony, and inject a sense of uplift into the nervous atmosphere onsite. To view the livestreaming of the award ceremony, please visit the webpage of the 21^st Taishin Arts Award on the website of the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, which includes comprehensive information of all the finalists and award-winning works as well.

The 21^st Taishin Arts Award Website: https://www.taishinart.org.tw/en/art-award-year-news/2022