Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist

The Jury’s Special Award 2004 recognizes “The Legend of the White Snake” and the “Beautiful New Horizon” at the same time for they have both demonstrated extreme ability to attract audiences of all ages and to communicate to the public in various aspects.

Both projects took place in out-door setting to an unconventional crowd and have accumulated comprehensive interaction with the society.  Such comprehensive social interaction has produced strong impacts onto the audience as well as to their colleagues in the arts world and established themselves as one important yet inevitable issue/topic to be discussed in 2004.  The diversities and tension seen in both projects’ artistic languages proved to be a new interface that led both audience and professionals to rethink the relationship between arts and life also add social and cultural values to the projects themselves.  Such outstanding public essence just evidences the success of both projects’ intention and artistry.

Artwork Introduction

No matter in playwriting, costume, or stage effects, this performance broke through the limitation of conventions; the free and innocent wheeling and dealing showed the powerful vitality and affinity inherent in Taiwanese opera. The glittering and colorful performance and the aesthetic consciousness embracing popular tastes were something we should never neglect in the development of traditional Taiwanese opera, and this phenomenon deserved more attention and discussion.