since most of my classes were cancelled today(probably because of the holiday tomorrow) i decided to hit moca and tfam. two museums i hadn't been to in awhile. moca had a show called a glimpse of contemporary art in taiwan. the video diptych by wang jun-jieh i especially liked. it was nice to see that it was being screened in a dark room so that the images looked decent. not all washed out as so many video installations seem to be presented these days. i also liked the abstracted paintings of toys by lai chiu-chen. unfortunately, there wasn't all that much local art as most of the museum was taken up with a show of italian fashion. maybe i'm alone in this, but seeing clothes just hanging tends to be very boring. it's like walking around a shop without being able to touch anything.

over at tfam, the main exhibition space was closed as they prepared for the new exhibit. but in the basement was a show of italian lighting. mainly lamps from the 60s and 70s. was plexiglass invented in the 70s? alot of the lamps used it, and it reminded me of shop projects my older brother did in junior high. also in the basement was an installation by rose p.y. huang called spreading. organic shapes made from corrugated cardboard. really cool. i love it when an installation can really alter a space and make you think you are somewhere else. upstairs was a photography exhibit. i was drawn most to the ones of old taiwan. one photo was called something like the photo contest and had three photographers shooting a young woman. all of them using what appeared to be seagull cameras. it must be the photography nerd in me coming out, but i was disappointed that the information on the shots would include what kind of print it was but fail to mention what kind of camera or film was used.