Abstract
Throughout the Cold War, the modernisation and development of Inter-Asia theatre were conditioned by the intellectual logistics imposed by specific geopolitical entities, highlighting inherent intellectual inequalities. Christopher Balme contends that throughout Cold War globalisation, cultural propaganda facilitated the dissemination of theatrical expertise through “Institutional Imbrications”, thus moulding “Epistemic Communities” of the prevailing “understandings” and “methods.” Accordingly, this study investigates Jerzy Grotowski’s influence in Taiwan during the late 1980s and a resulting theatrical phenomenon termed the “local turn” alongside the pursuit of the “Taiwanese body.” The article examines Grotowski’s trajectory from his early politically engaged works, developing “ideoplastic realisation,” to his later depoliticising efforts on the “techniques of sources” during his “exile” in the US and contextualises how his methods and concepts dismiss contentious agendas while embracing depoliticised aesthetics and spirituality. Correspondingly, Grotowski’s role as a self-searching maestro positively influenced Taiwanese activists and artists who had experienced martial law periods and lacked subjectivity. His Taiwanese disciples returned to guided theatre companies, fostering self-discovery and refining cultural identity. This paper, however, scrutinizes how this depoliticised aesthetics serves as a prescription for erasing the imprints that embodied coloniality, the Cold War, and martial law. By engaging in traditional performances and rituals to recount “our” national narratives, embracing “self-care” with joy in one’s individuality, reclaiming the “raison d’être,” and inventing the “Taiwanese body” as an embodiment of cultural subjectivity as the “raison d’État”, the aesthetics bolster the determination for another phase of nation-building in post-martial law Taiwan.
Presenters
Ko Lun ChenPostdoctoral Fellow, International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, Taiwan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
COLD WAR GLOBALISATION, JERZY GROTOWSKI, TAIWANESE BODY, INTELLECTUAL LOGISTICS, DEPOLITICISATION
