History Remaking and Cultural Identity: Subjectivity Transformation in Taiwan's Visual Culture

Abstract

Political intervention and ideology can control and influence the formation of cultural characteristics and subjectivity. Stability and authenticity of cultural characteristics, therefore, are temporary and ever-shifting like a perpetually bouncing molecule in space. Taiwan is a typical example: its geographic location determines its fate. From the inception of human civilization, the Taiwan Strait has become the sea corridor and Taiwan the midway station, linking the South Pacific with Japan, and the island's proximity to mainland China has made it a convenient destination for Chinese pioneers. Since the rise of maritime exploration in the seventeenth century, Taiwan was colonized by European countries such as Portugal and Spain, followed by the Qing dynasty, which in 1683 formally claimed the island as part of its territory. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan to become its colony. Following World War II the Nationalist Government of China reclaimed Taiwan, and the island eventually became its sole sovereign territory. Chinese culture became mainstream, naturally replacing Japanese colonial culture on the island. During the period of Nationalist-governed Taiwan, the island represented orthodox Chinese culture, establishing Taiwan's subjectivity. Local consciousness had begun to ferment in the 1970s, and the pace quickened when postmodern ideas were introduced the following decade. After violent political struggles and regime changes, Taiwan's nation status, cultural roots and identity have all experienced drastic transformation resulting in further ambiguity. This article focuses on four aspects: the dismantling of the grand narrative, reconstructing new historical concepts, consolidating Taiwanese characteristics, and the mutual benefits and conflicts between internationalization and localization, to elucidate ongoing anxieties about Taiwan's characteristics, subjectivity and ideology. Dismantling of the grand narrative focuses on how modernist theories of the nationstate influenced postwar Taiwan culture and historical identity. During the postmodern era this framework was dismantled; postmodern theories became the backbone of Taiwan's local consciousness movement, which in turn triggered the reexamination and recreation of Taiwanese history and culture. This early stage of cultural reformation deeply influenced artists' sense of belonging and engendered transformation in the iconography and concepts of Taiwan's visual arts. Reconstruction of Taiwan's historical concepts focuses on extracting lost, unfamiliar, unrelated cultural elements to weave a complete and persuasive historical iconography. Conflict naturally arose during this process of forced elimination of memories and implantation of new ”memories.” Taiwan's social movements are laden with this sort of conflict. They use visual arts to propagate ideology and strengthen points, and while this style of visual images often belonged to media propagation of popular culture, it demonstrates that Taiwan's visual culture shifted along with ideological changes. The inevitable, unavoidable tug-of-war ensued during the reformation of Taiwan history and cultural identity.