Ranked among the Top Ten Most Important People in Photography in the World by American Photo Magazine, David LaChapelle is an artist in many fields such as fashion photography, contemporary art, direction of music videos and documentary films, and exhibition design. The signature traits of his works are the surrealistic image of celebrities and materialistic, erotic themes. An exhibition of approximately 250 works by the artist, created from 1985 to 2009, will continue at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, until May 30, 2010 (http://www.mocataipei.org.tw/_english/showweb/index.asp?ID=122).

This exhibition at the National Palace Museum will run until June 25, 2010 (http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/visiting/exhibit/exhibit_08.htm?docno=647). Ding Guanpeng (fl. 1708-1771) entered service at court under the Yongzheng Emperor and excelled at painting Buddhist and Daoist subjects as well as figures and landscapes with ruled-line motifs. Under the following Qianlong reign, he was promoted to “Painter of the First Rank.” Peace for the New Year is a Qianlong imperial poem on the New Year dated to 1745. Referring to lanterns and music of the market, it indicates that the festivities shown here inside and outside of the Forbidden City relate to the Lantern Festival.

Established in 1998, Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF) is now the second largest documentary festival in Asia, which shows about 120 works and attracts 60,000 attendants each edition. In 2010, TIDF will take place from October 22 to 31 at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung. The festival is calling for entries for International Competitions (both feature-length and short-length documentaries). There is also an Asian Vision Award set to highlight Asian characteristics and a Taiwan Award to center attention on Taiwanese spirit. Deadline of the entry is June 15 (http://www.tmoa.gov.tw/english/showinfomation1_1.aspx?SN=2786).

Photographer Hsu Yuan-fu was born in 1932 in Tainan, Taiwan and graduated from the Department of Arts and Crafts at Tainan Normal College. Debuting in 1959, he immediately won a photographic prize. During his early career, people, landscapes, contemplations and sports were his major subjects; later he entered commercial photography; more recently, his interest is on landscapes and flowers in color. His works often adopt the shapes of objects, the character of different lenses and negatives, and alternative darkroom processes as modes of expression. An exhibition of his work will continue at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung until June 21, 2010. (http://www.tmoa.gov.tw/english/showinfomation1_1.aspx?SN=2803)

Richard Rogers is a well-known contemporary architect who has won numerous awards. He was made a baron and is an architecture and urban planning adviser to the British government. His epoch-transcending avant garde buildings include the Pompidou Centre (1977), the Millennium Dome (2000) and Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport (2008). This exhibition brings together his works, completed and uncompleted, from the 1960s to the present day. The design of the exhibition starts with the “urban concept.” A chronological list, models and films of his large works are displayed in the open space. The exhibition is held at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum from March 6 to May 2, 2010 (http://www.tfam.museum/03_Exhibitions/Default.aspx).