Publisher's Statement
Swiss International Exhibitions.
As the only museum of fine arts located south of the Zhuoshui River, KMFA often comes across international exhibitions, and the "Swiss approach" has greatly impressed me.
Unlike the tedious practices regarding to loan fees, insurance, transportation, and intellectual property required by countries regularly holding major art events, the of exhibitions of “Swiss approach” do not require these routine expenses, nor do they involve lengthy negotiations. In terms of exhibition costs, Switzerland believes in minimalism, so Switzerland could carry out high-quality international cultural exchanges with the least manpower.
Recently, KMFA has hosted two exhibitions from Switzerland, “Ticinese Architecture in the World: Milestones and Protagonists 1970-2003”, and “The Land of Comics: Swiss Comics Exhibition”. The contents of both exhibitions were stored on a single disc respectively, and after the dissc was brought to Taiwan, students from the department of architecture were commissioned to create models and export pictures for the exhibitions according to the contents of the CD-ROM. The cost was extremely low, and the exhibitions still had their impact.
Switzerland is a small country (compared to big countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union). It also understands the limitations and possibilities of a small country really well. In the past, Switzerland had always done the best it could do. Therefore, although Switzerland was small, it was able to maintain its neutrality during the two world wars and strives to develop precision machinery. Even though the European Union trend has swept across Europe, Switzerland has been thoughtful on evaluation and has not yet agreed to join.
The national style is often expressed in seemingly trivial things. The income of Swiss citizens far exceeds that of Taiwan, and its international exhibitions are so precise and effective that they are indeed impressive.
Lee Jiunshyan, Director of Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts