Recording the Transition of Tradition with Art
Interview with Nakaw Putun, Curator of Pulima Art Festival 2018
2018/05/04
Written by Sera
Photo provided by Pulima Art Festival
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Predicaments coexist with opportunities.
We must recognize, retrieve and create the tradition for the future.
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She resumed her name as Nakaw Putun 15 years ago. Since then, she’s been mistaken as a foreigner often, she says with a smile. But it happens to give her a chance to explain the meanings of her original name. She hopes Taiwan can grow and become a truly friendly-to-all society. Then the non-indigenous public would know and respect all the different ethnic groups living on the very same land.
Nakaw Putun is from Makotaay, Hualien, a village that still adheres ceremonies and class norms. Nakaw was named after her grandmother. As many indigenous born in 1990s, however, Nakaw has been using a name in Han language, living with her parents in a modern city. She was not aware of the situation of the indigenous then until she joined Formosa Aboriginal Song and Dance Troupe at age 16. As a student member, she explored her own culture in the trend of ‘sing your own songs, dance your own dance’ then. She went back to Makotaay to chat and live with her grandfather and gradually got familiar with the vibe of village. Due to her work at National Culture and Arts Foundation, she was exposed to many outstanding non-indigenous artists’ works. It urged her wanting to live and work with indigenous artists and share indigenous culture more.
In 2015, she discussed with 16 artists and curated ‘Art Pakongko’, completed 15 site specific installation pieces at Makotaay. In order to make the elders at hometown knowing what kind of ‘art’ their children are making, artists needed to do field research in the village then transform the findings into artworks. The elders were also invited to tell stories during the exhibition. The delivery of art and culture was two-way. ‘Art Pakongko’ was a positive example of art intervention into the society. Furthermore, “it was a process of establishing subjectivity, re-identifying and further understanding our culture.”
Nakaw takes her role of the curator of Pulima Art Festival in 2018. Speaking of Pulima, Nakaw says that she has nothing but respect towards this word. The Pulima she refers to, align with the meaning her senior colleague artist Sakuliu Pavavalung’s interpretation, is not only ‘a crafted man’ but also a celebration of the creativity and thinking. Nakaw believes that we ought to succeed the traditional spirit with contemporary approaches we are absorbing the cultural essence and living in modern days. “I believe that I am writing contemporariness and establishing subjectivity. This role, a curator, can convey artists’ creative context and exchange the culture with each other. It can also have dialogue with everyone and create the environment with conversation. And Pulima Art Festival has been microscopically looking at the overall modern development context of the indigenous since 2012.” Regarding to the intricate historical relationship between ethnic groups and contemporary art, she says:” Because we are indigenous, traditions would be present in our contemporary art. That is also our feature. If one wanted to explain contemporary art, he could go study. But we are different, we re-discourse it. Because our contemporariness and tradition are inseparable.”
As to the theme of Pulima Art Festival 2018, micawor (means “to turn over” in Pangcah language), Nakaw indicates that it is derived from her long-time experience and observation. Due to the environment changes, the problems of this time have been changing as well. Nakaw says seriously that the tradition, ceremonies, music and weaving culture that she knew before have already been changing and even disappearing between 1949 to 2018. What kind of tradition our next generation would get to know then? This makes her more aware of and focus on what she should do. Art festival as a platform, she thinks, is not just about programming, also about the innovation, marketing and international networking. “Pulima is an art festival, not a traditional art festival. It should be relevant to the times. I have been introducing indigenous art and culture to people. To those who don’t know about us, I need to reach you through various platforms and several exhibitions so you will know what we are doing. If some people still feel that it is not traditional enough, it only means we haven’t tried hard enough. And if we don’t make enough efforts, we wouldn’t be able to make the society understand us more.” Predicaments coexist with opportunities. She must recognize, retrieve and create the tradition for the future, as well as take firm and steady steps to cumulative the working partners.
Turning over is for changing the existing status. And the nature of art is to create and change. “Indigenous artists have great confidence in their works and strive for a better environment through art. So do Pulima Link, and Pulima Art Festival and Awards. We hope they can grow bigger like snowballs. These are the process of turning over.” On the day of interview, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially released the news of breaking diplomatic ties with Dominican Republic. Speaking of Taiwan’s current weak diplomatic situation, Nakaw believes that art, being the gentlest but also the most critical, is the most helpful approach to turn over and open a new chapter of cultural diplomacy for Taiwan. She emphasizes again that “Pulima Art Festival can serve as the writer of indigenous contemporary arts and the agent of international dialogue.” The promotion and cultivation of artists can not be interrupted in this circumstance.
