No reason

Last month I visited Taipei Artist Village for a special activity named “2008 spring open studio program”. As implied by the name, visitors are allowed to enter the studios of artists who reside here current season by rare chance. Each season has only one time, four times a year.

First, I visited a Japanese artist called Soya Arakawa. I was surprise that there were a lot of interesting things in his studio, even though it was “Chaos”, it really made the space more likes an artist’s. He introduced himself to me courteously and talked about the process and the concept of his current works. Because I can’t say Japanese and he don’t know Chinese, we communicated with each other in English. When he explained his thought, he used the phrase “No reason” several times, that’s interesting to me. Then, he showed me a new project about “Destiny”, to get information by rolling a pencil which was written a word or a sentence on each side. Each pencil answers different questions. He rolled “Artist” as a profession, efficaciously, he is an artist. I rolled “Hotelman”, I think maybe I’ll work at hotel one day.

Then I saw the modern dance of male duo, Yossi Berg and Oded Graf, who came from Israel. These two guys both have beautiful body shape and charming demeanor, so appreciating their performance is an enjoyment. They mixed with what they saw and felt in Taiwan into their work. Every step, every turnaround, even every breath, they all have their own meaning. After performance, a student asked them why they represent this way. And then they explained much but also used the phrase “No reason” as a response. This shocks me again.

There is something that can’t be described clearly in artist’s mind. Either too many thoughts are abstract or just an individual feeling. To completely explain is difficult, especially in the second language, such as English. I really don’t know why “No reason”. In my opinion, “Not everything is ‘No reason’, but it’s true that something maybe ‘No reason’”. Through this experience, I learned that “Don’t think too much, just follow your sixth sense”.

More information:
．Taipei Artist Village
．Yossi Berg & Oded Graf