Yingge, a small town just 30 minutes south of Taipei, is a beautiful little area known island-wide for its traditional pottery. The cobblestone streets of Yingge have been attracting lovers of pottery for over two centuries. The district first became known for its pottery-making in 1804, when a man named Wu An set up the first pottery business after emigrating from mainland China.

It’s no surprise that the pottery industry has flourished here. The town’s strategic position to a plentiful supply of quality clay and the Dahan River have ensured an ongoing production of fine-quality ceramics. Today, visitors from home and abroad come here to browse through the dusty shelves and numerous pottery shops for exquisite objects by the town’s artisans. Visitors can even try their own hand at making pottery at one of the many DIY shops. Just remember to make your reservations in advance!

The Tunnel Kiln is another local attraction that was built in the 60s. This well-preserved kiln is one of a few mass-production kilns in the area. Ceramics were moved in and out of the kiln on a type of trolley.

Just a 50-minute train ride from Taipei Main Station, Yingge is a popular option for many visitors who are looking to do a day trip outside of Taipei City. For many, no trip to Yingge is complete with stopping by the Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, a showcase for the ceramic craftsmenship that has set the town apart from other towns in Taiwan for over two hundred years. The museum, which opened in 2000, was built to rejuvenate the town and attract tourism. The exhibitions feature an array of applications for which ceramics can be used, including examples of vases, teapots, plates, and other ornaments. Old Pottery Street, a section of Jianshanpu Road that is lined with shops that sell ceramic goods and the Yingge Ceramics Park were also renovated to attract more visitors.

With over one hundred stores and shops to choose from, expect to spend the better part of your day choosing the perfect souvenir to take home as a memento of your day in Yingge.

The Taipei Players are back with their newest musical production, A Night at the Cabaret, at Alleycats in Tienmu, Taipei on on Saturday, October 9, 2010 and Sunday, October 10.

Sing along with the Players as they bring your favorite musicals to life, and enjoy an evening of entertainment and fun at A Night at the Cabaret. The Players will be regaling guests with musical selections from Cabaret, Chicago, Avenue Q, The Little Mermaid, The Fantastiks, Les Miserables, Little Shop of Horrors, Rocky Horry Show, Oliver, and many more favorites in store for the night.

What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret, old chum! Come to the cabaret! ~ Cabaret

Taipei Players was formed in 2008 by Canadian actresses Sarah Zittrer and Mandy Roveda. It is the only English Speaking Theatre Company in Taipei and has already met resounding success for its young age. The Players have produced four sold-out shows and have played to young and old audiences alike. The future for the Taipei Players is bright with their plans to expand and travel around the island.

And now, on with our short interview with Founding Artistic Director of Taipei Players, Mandy Roveda.

MSW: Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions, Mandy. I’ve been an admirer of the Taipei Players for several years. So, how did you and co-founder Sarah Zittrer meet?

MR: Sarah and I both studied theater and have been performing professionally for many years. We met when I moved to Taiwan from Korea. At that time, there weren’t any companies performing regularly in English so we decided to form our own theatrical group. We called it the Taipei Players.

MSW: What were your goals for Taipei Players initially?

The group aims to regularly create and produce English theater in Taiwan. To date, Taipei Players has produced three highly successful productions, including two short play festivals.

This will be our fourth show in the past year and we have been so lucky to watch the company grow. The Taipei Players have become quite popular in the English-speaking communities in Taiwan.

MSW: How do you decide on your scripts?

MR: I read hundreds of scripts and shortlist the ones that I like. Then I look to see which ones will work together in terms of common themes. Whatever I decide on has to fit into an evening of entertainment and I have to find something to fit everyone’s tastes.
MSW: Do you have any specific plans for the future?

MR: Our future plans are exciting. Keep an eye on Taipei Players. You don’t want to miss it! We are working on a tour around Taiwan and have more amazing shows coming to Taipei as well.

Thanks for your time, Mandy. I’m looking forward to the production. Good luck to you and the Taipei Players!

Email: taipeiplayers@gmail.com

PLAYERS INCLUDE:
Brandon Thompson
Brook Hall
Colin Norman
Daniel Munns
Douglas Rapier
Holly Harrington
Kevin Yao
Klaire Wu
Mandy Roveda
Sarah Zittrer
and other Special Guests!

MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT:
Tony Tung (Piano)
Slawek Kolodziej (Drums)
Maxx Ta (Bass)

WHEN: Saturday, OCTOBER 9th and Sunday, OCTOBER 10th
TIME: 8:00pm (doors open at 7:30pm)
COVER: $200NT (at the door)
WHERE: Alleycats (in Tienmu)
No.31 Lane 35 Chung Shan N. Rd.Sec. 6, Tien Mu
(near ZhiShan MRT)
(02) 2835-6491 www.alleycatspizza.com

For more information, please contact Sarah Zittrer at:0938437161 or Mandy Roveda at:0983020978 or by email taipeiplayers@gmail.com. Please also check our website www.taipeiplayers.com for updates and information.

Today’s guest post is written by Yi – Creative freelancer and lover of photography, travel, sneakers & street art.

This post is part of Wanderlust and Lipstick’s Wanderfood Wednesday meme.

When a new cafe opens in Taipei, it gets quickly discovered by young hipsters and before you know it, the cafe will be occupied by MacBooks and smartphones. And the newly opened Miracle Art Space cafe is no different and is the perfect breeding ground for hipsters.

As the name partially suggests, Miracle Art Space combines cafe and art together in an open space. This three-story cafe exudes style with its minimalistic design of sharp lines and clean, white color palette.

Miracle Art Space is on Zhongshan N. Rd Sec 1, just before Nangjing Rd.

The large, floor-to-ceiling windows make it an ideal working environment with plenty of natural lighting. It’s also a nice place to procrastinate and watch the pedestrians below as you sip your latte, tea or freshly squeezed fruit juice. You can chill out to the ambient music of jazz and soft vocals.

Miracle Art Space is a great spot to get those creative juices flowing. It has a comprehensive selection of design magazines, books and just generally nice things to look at.

When I was there, I was lucky enough to have met with the owner Christine. She not only runs the place, but creates the sculpture-like jewelery that’s on display as you enter the cafe. She’s been making jewelery for over 15 years and works with a team of designers.

One of Christine’s motivations for opening the cafe was to have a unique way of displaying her jewelery designs. She wanted the cafe to be like an open gallery, minus the coldness and intimidation. She hopes to ultimately blur the lines between the two by giving opportunities to budding artists to display their various artworks around the cafe.

Christine’s European flair comes across in the food. With a wide selection of hors d’oeuvres ranging from salmon with cream cheese, to honeydew wrapped in prosciutto. If that’s all too conceptual for you, then there’s always the beef club sandwich — which is delicious mind you.

Urban regeneration has been a hot topic for major cities around the globe, including London, New York, Sydney, and now, Taipei. The Grand Green was officially revealed to the public in August and is Taipei’s first urban regeneration station (URS). The project is also given a unique identification number: URS 27.

The URS concept is driven by the Taipei City Urban Redevelopment Office. It’s an on-going, large scale urban renewal project that plans to renovate old and abandoned buildings into more functional and aesthetic pleasing spaces. Rather than completely knocking over old buildings, the project wishes to preserve some of the historical artifacts and building details.

The Grand Green was originally an abandoned train station of gray debris and an old standalone building covered in graffiti.

Now, it’s an open space park with a stretch of lush green grass and an unobstructed view of Taipei 101. It even offers Wi-Fi through Wifly. The deteriorated building has been revamped by the artist Wu Keng Chen. It’s been transformed to a white building plastered with red cut out butterflies.

The lawn is surrounded by Jen Ta Hsien’s artwork that features shapes and outlines made with welded metal wires. Jen’s artwork stood out the most out of the 331 artists who entered the Taipei Arts Awards in 2006.

There are more urban renewal projects like the Grand Green currently being worked on in Taipei and around other cities in Taiwan too. It would be quite interesting to see how the others turn out. From abandoned spaces, to a usable and creative environment.

The Grand Green
Address: Corner of Civic Blv. and Linshen St.
MRT: A 3-5 minute walk from Shandao Temple Station, Exit No. 1.
Public Buses: 202, 212, 253, 262, 299, 307, 604, 605

Canadian photographer and web designer Kyle Merriman has called Taiwan home for the past five years.

Kyle is probably best known in Asian photography circles for his talents in HDR photography, but a quick glance at his professional portfolio reveals a visual treasure trove of delights of every photographic genre. Kyle’s skill at transforming the day-t0day images of life that we tend to take for granted are immediately apparent in every one of his thought-provoking images.

View more of Kyle’s work on his web site, Brand Knew Me or Flickr photostream. His collection of photographic works can also be viewed at Stock 20 Warehouse in Taichung City until July 4, 2010.

MSW: What got you interested in photography?

KM: Over the years I’ve owned a countless number of point and shoot cameras, and was always tinkering with my photos, but back home in Canada, I never really felt I had anything to shoot where I lived. So I never took my photography seriously. It was more just to share my experiences with family and friends.

In Asia, however, there is always something to shoot that is different from what I grew up seeing. So I decided to buy a D90.

I’ve always been fascinated with gadgets in general. I’m always the first person to jump into the settings menu and see what’s going on with any given device. The thing with photography is that you can never reach stalemate.

You are constantly learning new things, and there is always so much more to learn. I try to get out and shoot everyday, and I’m still really engaged in it. It’s a great hobby to have, as either an amateur or professional. You can shoot for decades and still improve.

MSW: What are you shooting with? Favorite gear?

KM: I’m currently still shooting with my D90. It’s a great camera. As for glass, I tend to use my 35mm a lot as well as my 18-105mm. I’m hoping to upgrade my camera body to the D700, but I might wait to see what Nikon brings out next in that range. Then hopefully my 50mm 1.4 will get some more use. It’s not happy with me right now.

MSW: For me, what really stands out about your work how well you process your images. Can you tell us a little about the process?

KM: I’m probably reaching my actuation limit soon because I shoot almost all of my landscape photos bracketed with 3 RAW exposures for HDR (High Dynamic Range).

I have to blame Trey Ratcliff over at StuckinCustoms for that. Maybe he’ll help me pay for the new D700 when my D90 dies.

HDR photography kickstarted me into taking photography more seriously. I loved the end result of having that dynamic range, because you’re never really sure what you’re going to get. It gives you so much more flexibility to make creative images.

Another big part of my workflow is Adobe Lightroom. I’ve made the switch from Aperture, and back to Lightroom a few times, but I’ve safely nestled myself back into Lightroom. It’s the tool that works best for me.

MSW: What genre of photography are you most interested in? Which genre would you like to spend more time exploring?

KM: I don’t like to pigeon hole myself because I feel it almost does me a disservice, but I think I shoot landscape the most.

Recently, I’ve been trying to delve into portraiture more but in the end I really just love photographing people, places and cultures.

MSW: What’s the number one piece of advice you would offer to beginning photographers?

KM: Spend time looking at photos, and think hard about how other photos have been created. Go out and try to imitate what you have seen techincally, learn new techniques and become familiar with it. Treat it almost as exercise.

MSW: What is one piece of gear that you think every photographer should have?

KM: For me, it’s a decent camera bag. Buy something that gives you easy access to your gear so that you can get your camera out quickly and get great shots, especially when changing lenses in the field.

MSW: What are your favorite photography sites?

KM: I like to listen to a lot of photography podcasts like TWIP (This Week in Photography) and PhotoFocus.

Alltop.com/photgraphy is a great site that aggregates all the best photography sites into one page.

Other than those I try to keep all my favorite photographers sites in my Google Reader and stay up to date.

MSW: Are you working on any special projects at the moment. I know you’ve hosted a photography exhibit recently. Can you tell us a little about it?

KM: This month from Sunday, June 13th until July 4th, I am showcasing my work at the Stock 20 Warehouse in Taichung City. I was fortunate to have Jon Renzella, an incredible wood carving artist, see my work and offer me space in his studio. He chooses a different artist every month and dedicates the front of his studio to them.

A friend of mine, Ryan Harrington had it for the month of April, and another friend of mine Johan Vosloo will have for the month of August. It’s a great place with lots of foot traffic, and an incredible opportunity to get your work out there to a whole new audience.

MSW: Do you have a favorite photograph?

KM: It’s so difficult for me to have a favorite photograph. It’s like choosing which offspring is your favorite.

They all mean different things to me. A lot of my photos portray a different memory or feeling, which is one of the reasons I love photography.

I can look back at older photographs almost feel how I felt being there. Most of my favorites are from when I was on vacation somewhere.

I guess if I had to choose it’d be any of the photographs from the header of my site BrandKnewMe.com.

The boy trying to sell me a bird for a dollar in Laos, Ha Long Bay or the Cow photo seem to be favorites amongst people who have bought my prints.

What’s sweeter than candy? A candy that can be a standalone miniature art itself.

Papabubble is an exclusive candy franchise that currently has stores in Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, New York, Amsterdam and Barcelona. Papabubble refers to itself as caramels artisans. The candy rocks usually have an image in the middle and come in various flavors ranging from strawberry and passionfruit to chocolate and banana.

Ann runs the Papabubble store in Taipei, and when she invited me for a sneak peek at the delicious art of candy making, the sweet-tooth in me rejoiced like a seven-year-old kid. Just the thought of starting off my morning with a mouthful of sweet candies made me drool.

Arriving at Papabubble, I was immediately hit by the delightfully sweet, fruity scent of the candies. Looking around the store, it was like I have entered a fantasy world for sweet-lovers. The colorful candies and lollipops glistened under the lights and I literally felt like a kid in a candy store. The blueberry candy sample was all too tempting and I couldn’t help myself but to pop two in my mouth.

Ann informed me that I had just arrived in time to observe how they make the strawberry candy from start to finish. I could already smell the strawberry syrup brewing in the kitchen.

Ann’s sister and business partner, Christine, came out with a large pot of melted sugar syrup. She poured it evenly onto a large, shallow-depth metal basin. As the thick, smooth liquid slowly dripped out, my eyes widened with excitement.

They began to pour other various colored flavors onto the large block of sugar syrup. Now the rectangular slab mildly resembled something Mark Rothko would’ve painted, with the colors honey yellow, deep red and emerald green.

Christine and the assistant quickly cut up the colored squares before the sugar syrup cools down too much and turn into rock hard candy. Before I knew it, we had already moved on to the candy stretching part.

The stretching part really fascinated me. With each step, I began to see how it all fits in to how the final product would look. There were lots of pulling, shaping and rolling. It’s tough work and Ann tells me that she’s definitely gained some arm muscles from candy-making. When you’re kneading 8kg worth of sugar in dough-like texture every day, you’re bound to get toned arms.

All this molding is done on a specially heated rubber mat to prevent the candy from hardening. Protective gloves are worn throughout this process to protect the delicate hands from being scorched by the 165 degrees Celcius candy.

Christine pulled off a bit of the hot, stretchy candy for me to try. Being too eager, the honey consistency of the candy burnt the tip of my tongue. It was worth it though, just to feel the thick liquid texture of the candy harden in my mouth.

Individual candy pieces are carefully placed together to construct the final candy. The thick candy loaf is then stretched and rolled out into a thinner tube before being cut off. The candy rods are cooled on a metal surface before being diced into the final candy rocks that are ready to be packaged.

A typical batch can roughly make around 4,000 candy rocks. As the candy rocks are made by hand, Papabubble welcomes custom candies too. Ann tells me that they receive more than two custom orders weekly, mainly for weddings where the initials of the bride and groom can be on the candy, along with a cute love heart. Other custom orders have included well-known brands and even designer brands for promotional events.

Papabubble in Taipei has been a success so far and they’ve even been featured in Taipei Times, Taipei Walker and on the news numerous of times.

Ann does look to expand her business in the upcoming year so look out for more Papabubble stores popping around in Taipei. For now, she’s also looking for more candy makers. If you want a sweet job, just inquire. within.

Where: No. 12, Lane 151, Ren-ai Rd., Sec. 4, Da-an District, Taipei
Phone: +886 2877 30955
Website: www.papabubble.com

**For more global tales of food and drink, visit Wanderfood Wednesdays.

MSW: Today, I am proud to bring you MSW’s latest interview with Mr. Alton Thompson. When the opportunity to meet Alton Thompson presented itself a few weeks ago, I was eager to learn everything I could about this a global educator, fine art photographer, conductor, and musician. Not only is Alton suave and cultured, his enthusiasm and love for the arts becomes apparent within minutes of meeting him.

If you’re interested in meeting Alton and viewing his art work in a formal setting, you’re in luck. Alton will be at the Taipei Artist’s Inaugural Members Show at the Taipei’s Mayor Salon. The exhibit starts on  February 9, 2010 and ends on February 27, 2010.

Location:
46 Xuzhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei 100

Hours:
Daily 11:00am to 6:00pm

Event details are here.

MSW: Hi, Alton. Thank you for being here today.

AT: Hi, Carrie. It’s an honour.

MSW: When did you move to Taiwan and why?

AT: I visited Taiwan while on holiday in the summer of 2004. I fell in love with the place at once. Anyone who lives here can guess most of the reasons—natural beauty, fascinating cultures, welcoming people. I also liked the way musicians are trained here. I’m a native of Florida, so the climate was a plus. Some Taiwanese colleagues told me about some universities here that were looking for faculty. I was interested, so they helped arrange a few interviews. I was offered a position. I left my university job in Michigan and moved here.

MSW: You’re an educator, a musician, and a photographer. Wearing all of these hats must keep you quite busy. Where do you find inspiration and how do you mesh all of your interests together?

AT: Well, I’m still figuring out the meshing part. But there’s nothing unusual about working in different art forms. A long time age I stopped being surprised at the ability of a musician, for example, to draw or dance or act. Creative people tend to be creative in many ways. We could take your own career as Exhibit A here, couldn’t we? You sing, you write, you make visual art.

Art forms aren’t segregated by nature. For practical reasons we often treat them that way. But clay, paint, voice, film, JPG files—we all know in our bones that these are just routes that creative energy can take. We rightly call them media. They operate in the middle, between the source of art and the audience. The source of art is not a form. It finds one.

Artists tend to be artists first. We tend to be musicians, photographers, sculptors and poets second.

MSW: Music and photography. What strikes you as particularly similar? Particularly different?

AT: I’m finding that, regardless of the medium, challenges are similar. Whether you’re expressing yourself through a camera or a clarinet or clay or actors, your medium gives you thrilling potential and maddening limitations. And you’re expected to show something meaningful, something true, in the way you shape your material. It’s a paradox: people expect artists to tell the truth by artificial means. So you have this challenge of acquiring technique, of learning the rules so you can break them. The world we create also requires a frame of some kind. It might be a picture frame or a stage curtain, a moment of silence or the margin of a page, but there’s always a need to recognize that place where everyday life ends and the created world begins. Artists like to challenge this frame and obscure it in many ways, but it is never completely absent. Of course, we also owe our audience clues as to how our created world works. Once they give themselves to it, they want to be able to find their way around in it. They aren’t asking to be shown what’s behind every door, but they do like to have a few keys.

Differences? Other than the obvious distinction to be made between aural and visual information, I don’t see many differences. As a teen I would have told you that one reason I was pursuing music rather than visual art as my livelihood was because music moves while still images remain frozen. But that’s not quite right. Sure, music, like dance and drama, depend on our linear experience of time. But time plays a role in visual art, too. Statues don’t move, but viewers do. Eyes do.

MSW: You recently put music and visual together in your Taiwan Mussorgsky Project. How does that work?

AT: Most of your readers are likely familiar with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. It’s a suite, composed in the nineteenth century for piano originally. Each movement depicts a work in an art exhibit. There’s also a theme that represents the viewer walking from picture to picture.

The piece is popular all over the globe, as you know. Countless versions have been made for orchestra, wind ensemble, synthesizer, rock band, you name it. I thought it would be interesting to test that universality a bit. I made a series of 400 photographs that are projected as a slideshow during a live performance of the music. The exhibit follows the music turn by turn. In the process it interprets this very Russian, very nineteenth-century music through visual images of modern Taiwan.

Mussorgsky’s viewer strolling through the art gallery becomes, in the images, a sightseer making a walking tour of Taiwan with a camera. The ‘pictures’ are what she sees of the island through her lens.

The Sightseer  ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦

AT: Trying to explain this idea was difficult in the beginning. I didn’t have any pictures to show. Musicians were wary of messing with a masterpiece and models thought it was weird to have photo shoots at a mausoleum. It didn’t take off until conductor Apo Hsu introduced me to the perfect model for the part: Mandy Weng (Weng Chun Yuin). Ms. Weng is a professional musicologist with a taste for dynamic, tormented, big-canvas composers. She understood right away what I was up to. We brought the score along with us on shoots and discussed the musical turns being taken as viewers see each shot.

In the House of Baba Yaga

Island World     ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦

AT: Last year conductor Apo Hsu exhibited the Taiwan Mussorgsky Project in three concerts: two in National Concert Hall, one in Taichung. On April 10 of this year she will perform excerpts of it again at the National Palace Museum. I’m getting the photos ready for that.

MSW: When did you first become interested in photography?

AT: Visual art has interested me for as long as I’ve been looking at the world. When I was a child a drawing of mine won a Florida newspaper contest. That gave me my fifteen minutes of fame on the playground. As an adult I’ve spent many rewarding hours in art galleries. Baltimore had many treasures in easy reach—the BMA, the Walters, the Visionary Art Museum. That last one by the way, is one weird place. It’s like nothing else. An hour down the road is DC with the National Gallery, the Hirshhorn, Corcoran and all that. Philly and New York lie a short distance up I-95 with all those museums as well. I saw them all.

I turned serious attention to photography as I finished grad school. It was something I had always wanted to do that had waited its turn. My colleagues always needed portraits for use in publicity, and as a musician I knew what they needed. I also felt I had something of my own to say in the medium.

Encounter ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦  2000

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA

AT: Around the same time a close friend of mine, Hope, was diagnosed with breast cancer. That set time on fire. You feel every moment going up in flames. You kick yourself for all the pictures you could have been making, but didn’t.

Photographs offer a way to catch and keep something, of course. I soon learned that, for someone whose outdoor movement was restricted, my photography could also provide a window. I could be Hope’s eyes on the world.

Climb ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦  1999

Baltimore, Maryland USA

Boy Selling Pumpkins ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦  1998

Boalsburg, Pennsylvania USA

Sky Pillars ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦   2000

New York City, New York USA

AT: I learned that photography is a form of contemplation. It pulls you out of the worries and spilkus that so easily clutter our minds and places you in the moment. Notice what the light is doing. Notice that colour, that texture. Notice.

Hope died after a five-year fight with the disease. She was a healthier person on the day she died than most people will ever be their entire lives. Sounds strange to say that, I know. But it’s true.

Since then I’ve studied photography informally with Brian Parmeter, a professional photographer in Michigan. I made the transition to digital when I moved to Taiwan. Even today, though, I often get the feeling that I’m someone’s eyes on the world. It’s as if I’m sending dispatches.

Grail ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦   2007

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

MSW: Which genres interest you most?

AT: Subjects interest me. People interest me, so I’ll always want to make portraits and collaborate with models. Narratives interest me. Taiwan fascinates me, absolutely. Any subject that fascinates a photographer is the best place to begin exploring.

Of course, you can mine any vein to the point where it’s time to try something new. Henrietta Shore once told Edward Weston that he needed to take a break from nudes. His most recent pictures, she said, were just nudes. “You are getting used to them. The subject no longer interests you.”

He agreed. If one can tire of looking at beautiful naked people, one can tire of anything.

I think more of subjects. Not about genres so much. To the extent that genres are sets of conventions. I’m interested in playing with the conventions. Learn it, then turn it inside-out. I enjoy Ang Lee’s approach to this in his films. He stars with a genre so familiar that we know it by the numbers: martial arts, cowboy Western, coming-of-age comedy, espionage. He then wrings so much story out of his characters that by the end of the film anything can happen and genre is irrelevant.

I think often about the way we view photos now. We look at them on computer screens. Everyone knows the drawbacks. You work to get the color and contrast exactly right, upload your photo, then cringe the instant you see how it looks on another monitor. Logos, ads and comments gather around the image like ants at a picnic. But I’m intrigued by that omnipresent glass screen. I like to play of the tyranny of that thing.

Abundance

Counterpoint ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦    2007

Taipei, Taiwan 台灣 台北

AT: I get concerned when new photographers feel a lot of urgency about genres, about deciding ‘what kind of photographer’ they are. Why limit yourself right out of the gate? Yet how often we see it: people buy their first camera that isn’t disposable and rush onto Flickr to post a manifesto. ‘I believe this! I reject that! I always do this! I never do that!’ Only yesterday they learned how to take off the lens cap, and already they decide what they will never do.

Artists thrive on ambiguity, experience, open borders. They are not terribly interested in limits, other than to test them.

MSW: How would you say that your photography has changed and grown since moving to Taiwan?

AT: That’s hard to say right now. I keep learning. I do more playful things here. And I notice I don’t make black-and-white images as often as I once did. Some of that has to do with the strengths of Taiwan as a locale. Living on a tropical island and shooting B&W—it’s a bit like going to a seafood restaurant and ordering steak, isn’t it? You can do it. But you would need a good reason.

Colocasia   ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦 2009

Taipei County, Taiwan  台灣  新北市 三峽

MSW: Who are some of your favourite visual artists?

AT: For photography, the usual suspects. I’ve always enjoyed Edward Weston. You never forget that powerful nude image of Charis Wilson.

I like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, the portraits by Robert Mapplethorpe, photographer Miru Kim, and sculptor Ariel Moscovici.

In painting, anything by Marc Chagall. The surrealism of Rousseau. Anything by Matisse. One of my favourite paintings is Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.

As a photographer I’m enthralled with the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski. Powerful images, like that grieving scene at the end of Veronique. It interests me that he began as a documentary filmmaker. As he explored human nature ever more deeply he found he needed to work with actors—fearless actors. But he kept shooting the stories like documentaries. Of course, Ingmar Bergman is another film director who gives you one unforgettable image after another. We live in exciting times for films here in Taiwan. I do enjoy the work of the directors this island produces. I like the way Ang Lee always goes, in his subjects, where the ambiguity is. And you get these gems of images. As in Eat Drink Man Woman, when you see the chef and his friend joking with each other in a dark hallway outside the kitchen.

Sculpture—well, so many . Anything by Constantin Brâncuşi. The first time I saw Taipei 101 I was struck by its resemblance to Endless Column.

Rodin, of course. In Baltimore I was surrounded, indoor and outdoor, by compelling sculpture. Like many Peabody students, I bonded with the Naiad by Alice Turnbull. I like Alberto Giacometti . On the subject of Taipei 101, I find much to enjoy in the work of Ariel Moscovici. He’s the sculptor of Between Earth and Sky, that circle of rose-coloured stones you see at Taipei 101.

I enjoy looking at very ancient art, and timeless art. Medieval art, Asian temple art. Mythic themes, the kinds of theme Brâncuşi and Moscovici carry forward. I’ve also interested in popular forms and the way they eventually inspire great art. Many great opera characters in Mozart or Verdi, for example, originated as puppet show characters crowds encountered at town fairs. I wonder what ballets and great stories will emerge from the Pili puppet shows, manga characters, and Second Life fantasies that surround us now.

I saw an impressive treatment of the opening act of Carmen once by Opera Memphis. Everything–the fort, the uniforms, the factory, the women’s gowns–was beige, khaki and brown. It was a monochrome scene. Then came the moment when Carmen slyly produced a rose from the folds of her dress—and that red just leaped off the stage.

Wow. If we get into stage works, this conversation could go a long time! Maybe it’s best to draw a line here.

MSW: Do you have any projects in the works right now?

AT: I haven’t settled yet on a new big project, but I want to make more series. I am collaborating with models who have a real presence, and that in itself suggests projects. I am setting up a studio later this year. I plan make portraits, especially images of performing artists. I’d like to make some figures studies, and I’m interested in documenting art works. It’s not easy for sculptors, for example, to get good photographs of their work. That’s an area where I think I can help. Still, I will always want to shoot outdoors and use natural light. Taiwan itself is an inexhaustible source of inspiration.

MSW: Do you have a favorite photograph?

AT: Thanks for asking that, Carrie. I just had a wonderful mental image of works by Cartier-Bresson and Weston, flipping past like the ‘album view’ on a music player!

As it happens, my favourite photograph is the work of an amateur photographer. And it’s a sunset photo at that!

In November 1969 the astronauts of Apollo 12 were returning from the moon in their ship, Yankee Clipper. They incidentally became the first people to witness an eclipse of the sun by the earth. This is the last moment before the sun slipped behind earth’s shadow.

Image courtesy of NASA

Isn’t that sublime?

Every place we’ve ever travelled, every being we’ve ever met, is contained in that round shadow. It’s all there. And you can cover it with your hand.

MSW: Any thoughts for photographers starting out?

AT: Only some advice I can pass along. We’re all starting out.

Shortly after Michelangelo died, his apprentice went into the studio to gather the artist’s personal effects. The apprentice found a note in the desk, in Michelangelo’s handwriting. The note was addressed to him.

It said, “Draw, Antonio. Draw, Antonio. Draw, and do not waste time.”

Details:

• Gallery: Alton’s Images
• Twitter: @altonsimages.com
• E-Mail: altonsimages@gmail.com
• Alton @Ipernity
• Alton @Flickr

Matt Gibson came to Taiwan intending to write professionally and he ended up carving a niche for himself with an online and print publication called Xpat Magazine. Since then, this talented writer, publisher, and photographer has kept working at his dream. Read on for more…

MSW: Thanks for agreeing to an MSW interview. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

MG: I moved to Taiwan about five and a half years ago. I came here for several reasons: I couldn’t find a job in Vancouver, I had no money, and I wanted to travel. I’d also met somebody who had lived in Taiwan and told me firsthand about the short hours and fast money teaching English.  The thing that was most attractive to me, though, was the possibility of finding work as a writer. I’ve always wanted to be a writer.

MSW: How did you get started finding work as a writer in Taiwan?

MG: I came to Taiwan hoping to find full-time work as a writer or editor in a publishing house. Fate, however, had other ideas. Fate’s name was Erin. She was my girlfriend. Erin was from a tiny rural town in Ontario, Canada. She was a small-town girl through and through and was dead set against living in a big city. Unfortunately, almost all of the publishing houses in Taiwan are in Taipei and Taichung and Erin refused to live in either city, so we moved to Tainan and found jobs teaching English.

The funny thing is, about three months after we moved to Tainan, and away from any hope of my finding work as a writer, Erin and I broke up.  What’s even funnier is that a couple of months later she started dating a friend of mine from Canada who I had invited to Taiwan and helped to get set up.

Sometimes people change for no apparent reason.  We go on acting one way for our whole lives and then one day, bam, something snaps. Up until that point my normal reaction to such a joyous state of affairs would have been to drink whiskey like it was an endurance sport. But I didn’t. Instead I started a magazine to distract myself from my sorrow. Instead of drowning myself in bourbon, I drowned myself in work.

I began a furious work routine. Everyday I’d get up a 7 a.m. and go to the gym. Then I’d eat breakfast and work until I had to go teach. When I got home from teaching I’d work until around midnight and then go to bed. It wasn’t actually that hard because there was nothing else for me to do. I didn’t have any friends because all of the friends I had made in Taiwan lived in my ex-girlfriend’s apartment complex, which I had voluntarily exiled myself from.

First I built a website for the magazine. Then I advertised for submissions. When there was enough content for the first issue, I started selling advertising to foreign-owned businesses in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Taichung. I sold about NT$100,000 in ads for the first issue. I spent it all on first print run of 4000 copies and Xpat Magazine was born. I managed and edited Xpat for three years before selling it to go traveling in Central America.

I never made much money from Xpat, but the name that I made for myself was enough to help me find paying freelance work around Taiwan. These days I write freelance part-time and edit scholarly papers and teach a couple of supplementary writing classes at National Cheng Kung University.

I took two photography classes in University, and did some photography for Xpat as well, but my photography was never very good. It only reached a professional standard in the last year or so. I owe much of my development as a photographer to my good friend Steven Vigar. He taught me a lot.

MSW: Can you tell us a little about your web site and online writing activities?

MG: I’ve always focused on publishing in print publications, and only became interested publishing online in the last couple of years. I started my website, Matt Gibson.org about two years ago. I wanted to build an online portfolio where I could easily post all of my articles and links to my articles online, as they were published. I went through about four or five different designs before settling on the current format. Later, I added a blog to my website so that I had a place to write whatever I liked.

With the exception of my website, I haven’t published much writing online.  I write occasionally for Transitions Abroad and plan to continue writing for them.  I’m also working on an article that I want to submit to World Hum, which I consider to be one of the best travel writing websites around.

By and by I’m sure I’ll write more and more for the web.  That’s where the future is.

MSW: How would you say that your photography has changed and grown since moving to Taiwan?

MG: My photography has changed a lot in the past couple of years.

I pay a lot of attention to the basic things, like framing the shot and finding interesting angles.  Since I’m mainly interested in journalistic photography, I’ve been focusing a lot on capturing all aspects of a subject in order to tell a story about it.

With regard to post processing, shooting in RAW format was a big step because of the increased ability it gives me to manipulate contrast and colors. I’ve also learned some great techniques for sharpening photos, fixing poor exposures, and drawing attention to key aspects of a photograph, mostly from Mr. Vigar.

MSW: Do you have any projects on the go right now?

MG: My girlfriend just finished making an art and photography magazine called Bunk for the Armory pub in Taiwan.  Now I’m researching paragliding in Taiwan for a series of articles that I’m hoping to sell to magazines both here and abroad.  I’m also working on a novel that’s coming along painfully slowly.

MSW: What are some of your favorite blogs and web sites here in Taiwan and Asia?

MG: I don’t read many blogs from around Taiwan, although I take a peek at Craig Ferguson Images from time to time.  I also enjoy my friend Richard Matheson’s blog.  He’s not well known, but definitely one of the best photographers in Taiwan. One of the best general interest travel blogs around is Rolf Potts’s Vagablogging. He’s far and away my favorite contemporary travel writer.

MSW: What’s next for you?

MG: Finishing my novel and making enough money writing to quit teaching. And training for a marathon that I signed up for drunk.

What you’re looking at right now is a one-of-a-kind design by graphic and web designer, Matt Regan based on Justin Tadlock‘s Hybrid theme.

Matt, I’m truly stunned and impressed that you were able to take my ideas and come up with a design that is so beautiful and utterly me in every way.

A little about my new site design:

My Several Worlds was originally started as a personal blog to keep our family and friends updated. At first, MSW was a place for me to write about what it felt like to leave North America and start a new life in Asia. It’s hard to say what I love more. I love Canada. I love Taiwan. I love Asia. These are my worlds.

The bird and flower motif represent my life in Asia and my life in North America.

My logo, a hummingbird, resembles the hummingbird tattoo that I got on my right shoulder in October 2009. These tireless birds live only in the Western hemisphere, thus representing my ‘world’ in North America. They are also ‘travelers’ and will fly as far as 2000 miles to reach a destination.

Cherry blossoms represent my world in Asia. They are full of symbolic meaning in Japanese and Chinese cultures, representing power, feminine beauty, and new beginnings. In Japan, the cherry blossom represents the transience of life, something that I have learned to appreciate since moving to Asia.

Thanks again, Matt, for making My Several Worlds truly unique.

Visit Matt Regan’s impressive portfolio at Design in Taiwan

If pop culture, iconic super heroes, and custom sneakers are things that you live for, this is one art show you won’t want to miss. Earlier this week, I caught up with two young Canadian artists living in Taipei, Themba Child and Kenrick Currie, and their manager, Patrick Lubon, to talk about their art show on January 16, 2009.

Both artists are professed ‘Sneakerheads’, ardent collectors of rare, vintage, or collectable Jordan or Dunk sneakers.

It didn’t take long for Themba Child, an Ottawa native, to discover his passion for sneakers. He has been collecting for years and has some thirty pairs of sneakers in his collection. Kenrick Currie also collects sneakers, especially Nike and Adidas.

This week, in their sneaker-strewn studios in Taipei, Themba and Kenrick are feverishly getting ready for their upcoming art show, That’s Art, Folks, which kicks off this Saturday at the Xinyi Public Assembly Hall in Taipei. The show is is centered on Star Wars characters and their sneakers. Expect to see your favorite characters, with the likes of Yoda, Jabba the Hut, Darth Vader, and C3P0 all sporting their favorite one-of-a-kind sneakers.

So, what is it about these kicks? Read on to find out…

MSW: Thanks for meeting with me, guys. I’d like to start by getting each of you to tell us a little about yourself?

Themba: I’ve always loved drawing and sketching. Even when I was a kid, I used to love drawing my own Saturday morning cartoons. I came to Taiwan at the end of 2003 for a change. I taught for a while, and then I went home for six months. When I came back, I was determined to do something with my art. I met a girl who was majoring in Chinese art, and she helped me find a teacher. He agreed to take me on, so for months, that was my life. I would come home and I’d practice painting trees, rocks, mountains, whatever I’d learned in class that day.

In the meantime, I’ve also been exploring art through my love for pop culture, especially comics, video games, and fashion. So, I started creating art that combines my love for running shoes and superheroes.

Kenrick: I’m originally from Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. I drew a lot when I was a kid, especially in kindergarten class. I remember spending the whole class drawing battle scenes with Transformers and GI Joe and little lasers.

This affinity for art naturally progressed through grade school and high school. I was a member of the school art club in grade school and I was one of the students chosen to do a wall mural for our school. Later, I went to Westford Collegiate for the Arts, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. We focused on everything from lettering to life anatomy and graphic design. The skill I value the most is what I learned to do with Adobe Illustrator.

I was accepted into George Brown College of Art and I moved straight into second year classes because I’d already covered everything that was taught to first year students. I decided not to do third year. I ended up learning the stuff that I wanted to learn by myself and that is what I’m doing today.

While I was in college, I was working on a clothing line called Borobrand. I was designing graphics for custom T-shirts and getting them printed. Everything I learned then is what I’m using in my work right now. I came to Taiwan just over a year ago in order to do clothing design. I design graphics and logos for T-shirts.

Patrick: I have known Themba since high school; we’ve been best friends for about 16 years. The one thing that glues us together is our sense of humor. That is the aspect of the art that is most important to us and what we hope people appreciate and enjoy when they view the art.

I met Kenrick at our first art show and he was very interested in collaborating, so it just progressed from there.

MSW: What’s the story behind the name Bulletproof Toast?

Themba: I’ve always dreamed of being a T-shirt designer. A little while ago, I drew some designs to get some T-shirts made. My friend and I sat down and tried to come up with some logos and names for our designs. Then one day, it just came to me out of the blue, Bulletproof Toast. The original logo is a drawing of a piece of toast. It’s standing up and all these arrows are bouncing off its chest.

I showed it to my friend, and he said, “It’s perfect. It doesn’t make any sense, but it’s perfect. I’m thinking of a soft piece of toast, but I’m breaking my teeth on it.”

Patrick: I’ve always encouraged Themba to pursue his art. We originally started talking about the company when we couldn’t find any cool T-shirts, so Themba was going to design them and I would do the marketing. The idea evolved into art and it was just natural for me to do the behind-the-scene work.

MSW: How do you think Asia has inspired you? Has your art taken on more of an Asian influence?

Kenrick: At home, I had to focus more on my job than my artwork. Here, it’s all about my art. I don’t think my art has taken on more of an Asian influence, but I am inspired by a lot of things I see here. People and their fashion sense here, it’s amazing. There is nothing holding you back from what you want to wear.

Fashion is a huge influence. I’m a Sneakerhead as well, although I don’t have near the collection that Themba does.

Themba: Yes, I’d say Asia influences my artwork otherwise I wouldn’t be studying Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Chinese art is about being perfect. If you make a mistake, it’s there and you have to live with it. In oil painting, you can paint over it and with sketching, you can erase it. It doesn’t need to be perfect. But I’ve learned through my own artwork that some mistakes can be beautiful.

Before I would strive to make the perfect piece of art, but now I’m leaning towards something rawer. When something is perfect, it’s like you’re saying this is exactly what it is. I admire the technique and talent that goes into making the perfect image, but sometimes, I like provoking a deeper response with my artwork. I like the freedom of doing my own thing.

MSW: Would you consider yourself global artists? How do you mesh art with traveling?

Themba: I love retro art shows that feature all the things I grew up with, like the Karate Kid, old arcade games like Double Dragon, or old commercials with Trix Rabbit. No matter where I am, I’m always thinking about what I was doing as a child, and that’s where my artwork comes from. I need to be in an urban center, I need to be able to connect with the things that I love. That isn’t going to happen at a little village in Thailand. I can’t say for sure. It might change, you never know.

Kenrick: I work on my computer, so I can work from wherever I am. I would like to be able to take off to Japan or some other exotic place and have money wired into my account when I’m finished my work. That’s what I’m doing in Taipei right now. I am living my dream.

Themba: I’m not living that dream yet, but I’m working towards it. That’s what this show is about. When I think about putting together these shows, I envision artists, photographers, writers, DJs, chefs, everyone working together and participating to make it a success. This is a small way to start my dream, but it’s a start. That’s what I dream about.

MSW: Tell me about your art show on Saturday.

Themba: Well, to tell you about this show, I have to tell you a little about my first show in August 2009. It was about running shoes. Each collage featured a super-hero wearing a custom pair of shoes and a comical write-up about why he bought the shoes.

I thought I’d make a 3D shoe and that’s where Kenrick comes in. I asked him if he could take the shoe that I designed and turn it into a 3D design, and he did it. It’s pretty amazing.

I want people to see that shoe and think the same thing they’d be thinking if they were holding the first pair of Air Jordans. I want people to see it and think, “Holy shit! I gotta have it.”

This show is about Star Wars, the original Star Wars. Every character is wearing a custom pair of shoes, which are based on the colors that they wear in the movies. For example, this shoe is predominantly black with a red stripe. It represents Darth Vader and his red light saber. Here’s a gold shoe for C-3P0…

MSW: Wow! So, Kendric, Themba gave you the design and you redesigned it into a 3D figure on your computer. Tell me about that.

Kenrick: Well, it took a long time. He gave me a rough sketch and I had to redraw it. I enjoyed it, because I love sneakers, especially Nike and Adidas. I like anything that has really nice lines. Nike actually has architects working on their shoes, and every shoe they put out is a work of art. And, of course, you can wear them. It’s a classic example of form and function. So, that’s what I did with the designs for the show.

MSW: That sounds really cool. So, how did you to decide to work on this show together?

Kenrick: I was at Themba’s last show. I thought his work was amazing, so I bought one of his paintings. I was really inspired by his work, so I did a 3D model of his shoe out of felt. I cut out all the individual pieces and built it up. Now it’s a slipper. Imagine being able to wear your favorite sneakers as slippers around in the house. You’ll see 3D models of each sneaker at the show. The next time I saw him, I suggested doing an art show together.

MSW: What’s your approach to your artwork?

Themba: Well, I love it. When we see each other’s work, we can’t help but think how wicked it is. When Kendrick sees my drawings, I know he really appreciates what I do. And of course, when someone buys a piece, I know they really get what I’m trying to say.

When I’m creating, I’m just intent on finishing it. Once it’s all over, the weight is off my shoulders. Sometimes it’s really easy to get sidetracked, though. There are so many things I like doing, so many ways I want to express myself. I love Chinese painting, but I’ve had to put it aside in order to get everything finished.

Kenrick: I’m a big procrastinator, so I’m only thinking about this show right now. I’ve left everything to the last minute, but that’s when I work best.

MSW: So what’s next for you two? Most importantly, what is it about these kicks?

Kenrick: I would really like to do more sneaker-themed shows.

Themba: Yeah, me too. The different thing about these shoes is that some of these guys only make 50 pairs of these shoes. When I see them, I’m all like, “Oh, where do I get that shoe? No way! There are only fifty pairs of these shoes! Getting my hands on a pair of those would be the best thing ever!”

With our artwork, you’ve always a pair of your favorite sneakers within reach.