T H E W I D E W O R L D O F C R A F T
mountains of the north. The women of
the tribe are renowned for their intricate,
colorful geometric weavings. While ab-
original cultures were largely suppressed
under the early years of the Republic of
China government, with the gradual intro-
duction of democracy in the 1980s, such
groups began to reestablish their identity.
Today Ayatal weaving is a source of cul-
tural pride as well as an opportunity for
economic development.
In addition to its interest in reviving tra-
ditional handicrafts, the institute is looking
to update these crafts for the world market.
As director Jeng-Yi Lin writes, “In an age
of global competition, Taiwan’s craft indus-
try must enhance its design capability in
order to create sophisticated works with
high artistic and cultural values.” The Yii
Collection is one example of these efforts.
The project, begun in 2007, pairs Taiwan-
ese designers with craftspeople in an effort
to infuse craft with a more contemporary,
sophisticated and ultimately more market-
able aesthetic. This year’s project is over-
seen by the noted Dutch designer Gijs Bak-
ker, who explained his process: “I selected
for Yii 15 professional Taiwanese designers
and the Craft Research Institute selected
20 craftsmen. I refused to bring in Western
designers [in order] to make a strong state-
ment. M y goal was to create a Taiwanese
identity—timeless products with high
technical skills that could exist only in Tai-
wan. I hate to see that mostly Asian design
is a bad rip-off of Western design.” The
institute plans to continue this internation-
al collaboration, and is now in discussions
with the Parsons Paris School of Art
and Design and the Vitra Design Museum
for future projects.
Lin stresses the importance of craft
as an environmentally conscious method
of production, and sees this as a guiding
principle: “In the future, based on our con-
cern for people and the environment, we
hope to connect craft arts and human needs,
to create new values and ways of living.”
With the combination of craft traditions
from diverse cultures, government support
and openness to international ideas, it
seems that Taiwan is forging an identity for
itself through craft. Perhaps the day will
come when “Made in Taiwan” will signify
both traditional skills and artistic vision.+
Jennifer Scanlan is associate curator at the
Museum o f Arts and Design in New York.
Above:
Weavings by the
Ayatal people of the
north, an indigenous
craft being preserved
by the institute.
Middle:
Carved bamboo bowl
by Yeh Chi-Hsiang,
who runs a gallery
in Jhusan, specializing
in bamboo art.
Below:
iPhone case designed
by Wen-Huang Liu for
Bamboola, a company
that produces a variety
of bamboo objects.
aug/scp 10 am erican craft 071
More at ebook-free-download.net or magazinesdownload.com
