The idea of a Taipei museum for modern art first arose in 1977. The Republic of China has other fine museums, which feature older and historic works of Chinese art. Most notably, the National Palace Museum draws an estimated 1.6 million visitors a year. But up until now, there has been a vacuum in the realm of modern art in Taiwan. Though there are some twenty modern art galleries, there is no single place of sufficient resources and authority to actively promote the works of modern Chinese artists. Residents here have little opportunity to learn in a structured way about 20th Century art, and visitors from abroad are unclear whether a contemporary Chinese art even exists.
"It's the first museum of modern art in the history of China, so there's no precedent," says the museum's director, 38-year-old Martha Su-Fu. The task of putting things together has fallen to this straightforward, determined woman, whose art experience includes sixteen years in the painting and calligraphy department of the National Palace Museum, and visits to some two hundred museums during two years of study and travel in the United States and Europe.
"The officials are willing to help, but they don't know how," she remarked. "So you have to negotiate the conception with them. I have to tell people why I want a modern arts museum, why we need a large budget, why I'm going to have exhibitions of foreign art." As director of the museum, she is responsible to the Taipei Municipal Department of Education for overseeing the museum's exhibitions, collection, development and storage, plus art education and promotional activities, financing, research, personnel, services and facilities, etc.
The museum is strategically located on Chung Shan North Road near the Grand Hotel and across from the Taipei City Zoo. The architectural design work, by the Taipei firm of Kao Er-p'an, required a construction and land budget of US$20 million.
There is much more space on the inside than appears from the simple, box on-box construction visible from the outside-there are three floors above ground, and two below, for a total museum area of 300,000 square feet, including a spacious lobby three floors high, more than ten galleries and exhibition rooms, a library, classrooms, an auditorium and audio-visual room, offices, storage rooms, and a cafeteria. The museum is the largest of its kind in Asia, with almost the same floor area as the vast Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Jeremy Mao, one of some twenty people that have joined the museum staff thus far, and who is working on the design of the museum's opening exhibitions, views the museum's architecture from a standpoint of three outstanding characteristics.
First of all, he says, "the public square in front of the building is an excellent area for staging cultural activities. Culture is not something that just happens inside a building—it also occurs outdoors.
"The second, notable aspect is the large lobby, with its huge block of space. In Taipei, with its rows and rows of apartments, it's rare to see this kind of uncluttered space. So I feel when we design the layout of the lobby, we mustn’t look upon it as just decorating it-we should keep that feeling of space intact and preserve the innate beauty of the building."
"Third, the glass-enclosed courtyard in the core of the building is another striking feature; one can see it from four levels, two below ground and two above. It will be a good spot for large sculptures -looking down or up into it is quite a sight."
The diminutive human figures demonstrate the gigantic scale of the construction
Director Su-Fu emphasizes the role the Taipei Fine Arts Museum will play in art education. A range of activities is intended to reach the widest possible audience. "The art museum belongs to everybody," she said. "I hope in the future, every citizen will feel it is theirs." In addition to the shows themselves, close cooperation with elementary and middle schools is planned, as well as adult education classes and lectures. Numerous other activities are in the works, ranging from a bi-monthly museum periodical to exposure of experimental and "street" artists, an international scholarly conference, and a children's art competition.
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum will open on Christmas Eve this year. Eleven exhibitions planned for the opening include a private collection of rare Chinese carpets and rugs, some dating back to the Sung Dynasty; a modern Chinese lacquer work exhibition, loaned by a Japanese family; and a show of overseas and local artists.
The opening now occupies most of the time and energy of the director and staff, who will be able to move in from temporary headquarters in the Taipei Zoo's administrative offices in July.
Among the staff is one American, Daniel Davidson, a painter and professor of art from Alfred University in New York State. Professor Davidson is acting as consultant to the director, as well as handling curatorial and English language related duties.
"Right now, you can say, we're just working on the nuts and bolts of the things, just putting it together and making it function," he said. "After we get it together, we can start to think about long-range plans, like a donor pro gram, the nature of the collection, things like that. But I think everybody is clear about the long-range goal-to propel Chinese art into the modern scene, and have it count internationally. The museum is a showcase for Chinese art and has the secondary function of bringing in outside shows.
"The museum is a way of signalling to the world that Chinese artists are to be taken seriously-considered on an international level-not just on the level of tourist trade," Davidson continued. "The museum will get Chinese artists and the public thinking on that level. So I see the museum as a sort of catalyst, not just a passive receptacle. I see nothing wrong with nudging history in a certain direction! "
Nonetheless, Davidson feels the success of the Fine Arts Museum will ultimately be determined by the development of modern Chinese art: "The museum can only encourage artists to reach for a high level, not force them. In the end, there may only be a handful of aritists and sculptors who will create a lively and interesting situation here. They may not even be recognized yet—they may still be in high school. So it is the Chinese artists themselves who will actually decide what modern Chinese art will be, and not the museum."
Martha Su-Fu also emphasizes that the process of "establishing" the museum will take time-as well as hard work: "At first, it will not be easy. People don't know us right now, and our contemporary art is not famous. So we'll have to work like priests. Then, later, we can show our substantial talent. Give us five or ten years, and I think people will recognize the artists, and also the museum. Also, I hope our financial status will be strong enough to do big shows. If our business people can help us, I think this museum has wonderful future prospects. Our people will participate more in art than in the past. This museum is good news for everybody, not just for those in the art world."
This wing still holds on exhibit, the arts of construction
Building up a museum collection requires both time and money; the Taipei Fine Arts Museum has no collection at present. With an overall budget of just US$2 million for its first year of operation, only $250,000 can be targeted for acquisitions. As a result, donations are being encouraged.
A campaign launched to promote contributions by local business leaders has, to this date, resulted in five major donations: US$125,000 from general manager of the Lai-fu Tower Company, He Ming-yu; one hundred Ching Dynas ty paintings and calligraphic works from the collection of the privately-owned Cathay Art Museum, sponsored by businessman Tsai Chen-nan; eighty works by Lee Mei-shu (1899-1982), donated by the artist's family; and to the library, a donation of hundreds of art books by Dr. Sheldon Severinghaus of the Asia Foundation in Taipei.
In the meantime, Martha Su-Fu has to make it all work, serving both as the director of the museum and as a wife and mother of three. She often expresses her appreciation for the support of her husband, Lawrence Fu, but also notes: "It's not easy for a female director in conservative China. I can't be like Mrs. Thatcher. I have to be soft and sweet, and make everything happen smoothly but effectively. So it's not easy—I hope everybody will support us!"
There is a lot to be done in launching a major new fine arts museum. Certainly, Su-Fu and her staff are determined to make the Taipei Fine Arts Museum a major art center in Asia—a force to be reckoned with in the international world of art.