Art events and the expiration of leases used to be unrelated; now Inhale! Exhale! What a Quality Life Really Entails is bringing the two things together. It is also the first time that MOCA’s Street Fun, Fun Street collaborates with an external curator to lead the way and guide the public to think about the reality of art outside the museum.
Relational? Interactive? Participatory? Critical? Art has stepped out of the museum for some time, yet many people still feel unconnected to art. On the other hand, rising rents due to the “intervention” of art, along with the ensuing commercial activities, have created real “artistic” impacts on people’s life. It is said that the real great beauty in nature cannot be described with words; equally, the genuine happiness and hardship in real life are also hard to express with words. What kind of a regulator can art be as a form of cultural representation when facing the irreversibility of capitalism as well as the goods and bads capitalism brings? When dreaming and pursuing a quality life, perhaps we should also take a step further and ask instead: “How is quality manufactured and represented?”
Educational? Inspirational? New possibilities? Undeniably, in light of current political and survival situations, many curators and artists have not expected much of “artworks,” as if they were only steadfastly praying for a better future or next life. Many art reviews and artist statements are filled with a sense of helplessness and passiveness, reminding us of the saying that “vastly it rains, but rootless grass will not be nourished; expansive is the Buddhist dharma, yet it cannot help those without affinity.” Without question, art is important, but it does not mean everything. When art is outside of museums, unavoidable “passivity” still follows closely.
Therefore, this year’s Street Fun, Fun Street aims to and starts with employing art to explore all the phenomena caused by what has been done “in the name of art.” In terms of “artworks” on view in this exhibition, the number of object-like artworks will decrease in accordance with the aforesaid thinking. Instead, the exhibition emphasizes on “leading the way” as a curatorial strategy. Inhale! Exhale! What a Quality Life Really Entails might not be able to provide solutions to the questions it raises, but it does not sugarcoat everything, either. With this exhibition, we encourage all to discover the truth why it is getting harder and harder to breathe fresh air in art. Moreover, we also try to “enjoy” the fun and challenge of a homogenizing quality life.