Text / Jut Art Museum
“Human is a reality check. When we strip away the illusions of progress, what are we really? Or what do we need to become in order to be truly human?”— Antony Gormley
Born in the contemporary world, in which digital computing has gradually replaced the human brain, and technology has substituted for physical labor, we, as human beings, have no choice but to accept our irreversibly decaying flesh that makes us more aware of our own mortality. What makes us human? How do we comport ourselves to be truly human?
In his magnum opus Being and Time, German philosopher Martin Heidegger inquired into the essence and condition of human existence. He coined the term “Dasein” which connotes the very “being of humanity.” Dasein is literally translated as “being here.” More specifically, it refers to the presence of human beings as conscious subjects who perceive the connections between themselves and everything around them.
The Chinese title of this exhibition “亻” is a Chinese radical. It is used as a symbol to denote all the encounter-afforded possibilities among people. This exhibition also adopts Dasein to describe the human condition here and now in this world. Seeking to explicate the multi-layered thinking and the philosophical debates on the existence of “humanity” in the world, this exhibition features the works by a total of 11 artists from home and abroad, and reinterprets the meaning of “born to be human” in four subthemes, including “Body Politics and Incarceration,” “Internal Dialogue,”“Construction of Individual-Community Relations,” and “Non-existent Existence.”
The Jut Art Museum has long been critically cogitating on the relationship between space and humanity by organizing exhibitions of urban architecture and contemporary art. “Human beings” are the most basic units of a city and a humanistic society. Therefore, revolving around human beings, this exhibition reflects on the meaning of human existence in the world, with a particular focus on the intertwined relations between humans and themselves, humans and others, as well as between humans and the environment. In sum, this exhibition revisits the essence of multifaceted human beings via art, insofar as to explore the meaning of “born to be human.”
- Artists
*The list shows in order of stroke numbers by artists’ Mandarin surnames.
- Kawita Vatanajyankur
- Antony Gormley
- Meng-Si Jiang
- Wolfgang Stiller
- Isa Ho
- Hao Ni
- Chieh-Sheng Keng
- Yung-Hsien Chen
- Kuang-Yu Tsui
- Shih-Chiang Yeh
- Candy Bird
- Venue｜Jut Art Museum (No.178, Sec. 3, Civic Blvd., Da'an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan)
- Opening Hours｜TUE-SUN 10:00-18:00 (Closed on Mondays)
- Admission｜General TWD 100, Concessions TWD 80 (Student, seniors aged 65 and above, and groups of 10 or more) Free Admission for the disabled and a companion, children aged 12 and under (Concessions or Free Admission upon presentation of valid proof)
- Student Day on WED｜Free Admission once on Wednesdays upon presentation of valid student ID
- Organizer & Coordinator｜Jut Art Museum
- Cultural Partner｜eslite member
- Event Partner｜MOT CAFÉ
- Special Thanks｜Project Fulfill Art Space, Hanart TZ Gallery, SEAN KELLY
- Exhibition Team
- Exhibition Supervisors｜Aaron Y. L. Lee, Alex Y. H. Lee, Shan-Shan Huang
- Exhibition Production Coordination｜Shan-Shan Huang, Tsuei-Yi Jang, Ying-Peng Chen, Yen-Hsiu Chen
- Exhibition Coordinators｜Tsuei-Yi Jang, Ying-Peng Chen
- Assistant Coordinator｜Yen-Hsiu Chen
- Exhibition Construction Support｜Norman Chen, Shih-Yi Chen
- Communications and Marketing Coordinators｜Szu-An Chen, Yen-Shan Li
- Communications and Marketing｜Shu-Yuan Chang, Yu-Hsuan Lin, Chi-Yun Chang
- Public Service Coordinator｜Shu-Yuan Chang
- Public Service｜Yi-Chen Hung, Chia-Yi Chi
- Administration Coordinator｜Kuo-Ming Miao
- Exhibition Assistants｜ Wing-Yan Cheuk, Cheng Yeh
- Visual Design｜Chin-Hua Lin
- Lighting Design｜Chung-Chang Ho
