The central theme of this volume is "refracted modernity"--the recursive and transferable nature of modernity--in the context of colonialism. Modernity and identity in Taiwanese visual culture emerged in the cross-cultural complexity engendered by Japanese colonization. Their formation involves a range of interdependent cultural transfers and appropriations between Europe, Japan, and Taiwan. Viewed in terms of refracted modernity, the state and product of localization/appropriation appears in an eclectic manner and is often characterized by the term "hybrid." The notion of hybridity describes the complex state that results from the continuous dissemination and translation of cultures in colonial situations, thus revising the one-dimensional historical analytical models of colonialism. The model presented in this volume instead stresses original and creative aspects and renounces the notion of imitation, a judgment often imposed by the Eurocentric view. Offering many examples of hybrid expressions that render Taiwanese visual culture unique and attractive, the case studies collectively make a strong argument for revising the traditional positioning of colonialism while offering a thought-provoking perspective on Taiwan's surge forward as a major force in contemporary art today.
Refracted Modernity: Visual Culture and Identity in Colonial Taiwan will be of substantial interest to historians of Taiwan, China, and Japan; art historians of Chinese and Japanese art; and scholars of colonialism, decolonization, modernism, and modernity in general. Readers in the fields of anthropology, cultural studies, visual culture, and women's studies will find its essays timely and highly informative.
