Cinezone

作品賞析

The director Cheng Li-Ming’s video creations mostly revolve around Taiwan’s history. In his short film Cinezone, his accomplishments in film and video art are on full display. He used the old “Meinong First Theater” as the main scene, but he also shot scenes of many old and abandoned theaters. At the same time, he invited some dancers to physically interpret the roles of ticket-sellers, ushers, and narrators (people who explained things during the silent film era). In this work mixing art video, documentary, and dance, Cheng Li-Ming searches through the lens for disappearing landscapes and the fate of cultural and historic sites. The “empty frame” alluded to in the Chinese title of this work first represents the disappearance of the old theaters and second signals that it pays tribute to the old theaters by nuotai or “shifting,” the old method of leaving a blank space before the name of a revered figure as a token of respect. Through this work, we also see Cheng’s feelings about history and space, as well as his questions on the governance of culture.