2018
自從Alexander McQueen在2010年突然辭世，這部關於他的紀錄片《時尚鬼才：McQueen》終於在2018年姍姍來遲，再次提醒世界曾榮幸擁有這個天才般的存在，他短暫而精彩萬分的創作生涯，開啟了時尚、設計、藝術的全新⋯⋯
To document an extraordinary soul through the lens is to constantly wrestle with the dilemma of completeness. How can one capture the vastness of a life within the limited time of a film? It challenges the filmmaker’s depth of understanding and precision of perspective. Rather than striving for an all-encompassing portrait, it may be more powerful to focus on select moments—those glimmers that illuminate the subject’s essence. The camera becomes not only a tool to pierce through the surface, but also a means for sincere conversation with the person in front of it.
"I want to keep creating until my final breath—always shaking people to their core." So said the sensational artist Yayoi Kusama, whose bold vision reshaped a generation’s sense of beauty. But what is art? And what isn’t? Giloo presents a selection of eight biographical documentaries, offering a rare glimpse into the lives of trailblazers who have redefined aesthetic boundaries and challenged the way we see the world.
In today’s society, where everything is measured by “efficiency,” the value and effectiveness of “art” and “making art” are constantly questioned. The themed selection What Art Can Do reveals that the act of creating art defies quantifiable KPIs. Artistic creation can withstand the challenges of value-driven thinking—if we are willing to rethink what “value” truly means. After all, every interpretation of value begins with humanity.
Founded in 1993, the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. Held every spring in Toronto, it serves as a pivotal stage for international documentary filmmakers to market and premiere their new works. From past Hot Docs selections, Giloo has curated nine cross-border films, inviting audiences to step into the lives captured through the lens.
Our world is shaped by design. Spaces, clothing, typography—these elements quietly determine how we live, often without us noticing. Let’s turn our attention to the overlooked details and forgotten corners. How do people with a heightened sensitivity to the world around them experience a city? How do they wear their beliefs? How do they bring imagination into form through their hands? How do they speak about design? And how can design be discussed beyond the realm of iconic masters? What everyday creativity lies just within reach, waiting to be seen?
In the month of 9/11 in the early 2000s, graphic design master Milton Glaser, creator of "I ❤️ NY," powerfully expressed the hopeful and fearless spirit of New Yorkers with a new poster: "I ❤️ NY MORE THAN EVER." The magic of New York's spirit captivated me, drawing me to move to the city two years later. In 2005, I lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, across the river—a dreamland for hippies and artists. Shepard Fairey's graffiti adorned the streets, and at night, for just five dollars, you could slip through a small door into a food warehouse by the river to hear all sorts of wild music performances. At that time, there was no social media, and artists expressed themselves to the world in a very pure way. Banksy secretly hung his work in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, only to be discovered by security two hours later. Marina Abramović and her partner Ulay finally gazed into each other's eyes amidst the sprawling queues at MoMA. After Alexander McQueen passed away, "Savage Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum became a city-wide sensation. These slightly aged, yet fortunately experienced, New York moments—their initial shock and emotion—have been permanently sealed as scenes, shaping my future attitude towards art and design.
Drawing from Nietzsche’s concept of the “untimely” (Unzeitgemäß), Giorgio Agamben reinterprets the question of the contemporary. For Nietzsche, to be contemporary is to place oneself in a state of rupture and disintegration: “Those who truly belong to their time are those who neither conform to its demands nor adapt to its rhythms. Precisely through this misalignment, they perceive and grasp their era more acutely than anyone else.” Visionary artists often belong to this untimely realm. From the tragic brilliance of fashion icon Alexander McQueen, to Chinese photographer Ren Hang’s raw, poetic gaze; from the transcendent cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky, to the solitary grandeur of Austrian writer Peter Handke, and the provocative anti-totalitarian performance of Laibach—these creators exist where genius borders on madness. Watch how they spark moments of radiance within the mundanity of flesh—the fleeting glow of existence.
In 2022, we find ourselves constantly surrounded by art. The devotion, creativity, and craftsmanship poured into a single garment by a designer — that is wearable art. The serenity we feel when venturing into the mountains or stepping into a temple — that is reverence for nature, the most organic form of art. To the artist, art can be a precise calculation, a challenge to the limits, or a stirring portrayal of the masses and their stories. Art can even be a radical force for social change. Long before you ever “knew” art, it had already seeped into your everyday life. On this sleepless night, take to the familiar streets and experience the resonance created when art intervenes in the city.
In Taipei, literature is free—and always has been. Precisely because literature has no fixed answers or interpretations, its boundaries are omnipresent throughout life. What we need, perhaps, is a pair of wild eyes—to confront directly or approach obliquely the myriad forms of literature. Lo Fu pioneered a new landscape in Chinese poetry with his unique narrative style; director Chen Yu-hsun cultivated a distinctive Taiwanese romance with his focus on ordinary people and fantastical black comedies; performance art godmother Marina Abramović, fashion maverick Alexander McQueen, and acclaimed director Emir Kusturica all unleashed their thoughts from their bodies, transforming them into immortal art itself. Even a farm can become a rock base, mind-bending animated masterpieces, with minds ready to blossom. The Taipei Literature Festival presents a selection of 7 works, inviting you to freely roam and unearth the vibrant literary energy within visual storytelling.