TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Leave it to an artist to awaken passions repressed or forgotten by the general public.
Indianapolis-born U.S. artist Jason Cole Mager dives deep into the gulf between visual artistic expression and populism in an upcoming solo art show “To Taiwan” opening March 4-26 at the 99 Degrees Art Center in Beitou.
He’s not afraid to be provocative. The above-pictured work, “Yankee” appears xenophobic at first glance, but is a reference to a wry turn of the phrase also seen in the racey theater performance “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Much of his work is literally layered with symbols. Faint, hard to see images created from linoleum tiles were carved with familiar iconography ranging from Taiwan’s plum blossom, Japan’s “Rising Sun,” or the U.S. eagle.
Work of U.S. artist decorates AIT Branch Office in Neihu (Photo courtesy of artist)
These symbols are printed onto the canvas in attractive color fields and flags, transforming their meaning. One of Mager’s paintings found a patron in the U.S. government, who purchased a piece to adorn the newly opened American Institute in Taiwan Branch Office in Neihu.
“In the last few years, I have wanted to see people talk and engage in politics. And when I went into the studio the influence carried over,” said Mager.
His art career has taken many twists and turns, beginning with figure drawing and traditional sketching, and then morphing into navel-gazing and abstraction, and currently, pop art ala Andy Warhol.
“I want my work to be for the people of Taiwan. But there’s also a subtext of meaning which you can see if you look closely,” said Mager.
Two flags decorated with distinctive Hakka cloth print pattern. (Photo courtesy of artist)
Mager has a distinguished art resume, studying for an MFA at Hunter College. He also lived and worked in New York City, enjoying residence in a rent-controlled apartment and a high-paying freelance gig retouching photos. He gave all of this up to live in Taipei.
“You can just tell when your time in New York is up. It’s more relaxing here, like being in a Midwestern city. That’s what I like.”
Apart from his art, Mager says he’s a history buff, spending hours researching Taiwan’s history on the internet. He’s also a voracious news reader, starting every morning by combing through local newspapers, the New York Times, and other publications.
“I gave a lecture about some of the paintings that I had in a show. Many in the audience perked up when I discussed the Republic of Formosa flag, which featured a tiger. It was a short-lived affair that lasted for just four months in 1895 between the period of the Treaty of Shimonoseki.“
Artist finds fun in consumer culture. (Photo courtesy of artist)
“Some of my Korean friends say Japan’s Rising Sun Flag conjures up taboo images associated with Nazi Germany during World War II. But I don’t think it is the same. Japan’s flag existed long before that particular emporer, while most Nazi imagery existed for just 10 years.
“Art is to inspire,” says Mager, equating it to punk rock’s ability to shake up society.
As for the future of art and the onslaught of NFTs populating the digital world, Mager is less a skeptic and more of a realist. “It’s justifiable for those who make digital art, but for painters to make NFTs just to cash in, this is a joke.”
He tried his hand at minting NFTs on Opensea last March. His particular series was based on Taiwanese opera masks, though he’s yet to put his full confidence in the new art form and prefers to be represented by his mixed-media works on canvas.
