The National Center of Photography and Images (NCPI) hosted the opening of its new exhibition "A Gentle Breeze: Aura and Inspiration in Photography and Literature," which focuses on modern images of Taiwanese women from the Japanese colonial period until the 1960s on Jan. 21.
Those present at the opening ceremony included Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, NTMoFA's director Liang Yung-fei (梁永斐), curator Tsai Wen-hsiang (蔡文祥), and writer Chen Ruoxi (陳若曦), among others. At the event, Minister Lee pointed out that photographers are the best preservers and recorders of the appearances of different eras.
The exhibition provides the audience with a better understanding of Taiwanese women from the 1930s to 1960s through the unique insights and aesthetic qualities of the earlier generations of photographers. The exhibition works include photos from photo studios in operation in Taiwan during Japanese rule, such as personal portraits of women taken by photographers Wu Jin-miao (吳金淼) and Lin Shou-yi (林壽鎰).
This exhibition displays more than 300 works and uses different photographic media and image carriers such as photos, dry plates, and magazines to present the daily life and cultural situation of modern women in Taiwan under the impact of Western culture during Japanese rule up to the post-war period. It also outlines the aesthetic trends of Taiwan's modern times before and after the war. The development and changes of photographic technology and aesthetics are reflected in the scenes, composition, and material content.
In addition, curator Tsai Wen-hsiang specially selected five paintings by Li Mei-shu (李梅樹), Chen Jin (陳進), Lee Shih-chiao (李石樵), and Shiy De-jin (席德進) from the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA) to be placed at the exhibition site along with the photographic works.
The exhibition will run from Jan. 20 to May 1 at Galleries 301 - 305 at the National Center of Photography and Images in Taipei.