Girl Holding a Gas Mask, Wu Jin-miao, from 'Centennial Images,' collection of Wu Rong-xun

Taiwan is a country richly documented in photography. To celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the Republic, the Taiwan Fine Arts Museum in Taipei in May of 2011 launched a photography retrospective documenting the many facets of Taiwan through historical and contemporary photography. The extraordinary richness of the exhibition is documented in its catalogue, entitled Eye of the Times: Centennial Images of Taiwan (2011, ISBN 978-986-02-7732-6). Available through its bookstore, the catalogue is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of the island.

The book is handsomely designed, with rice-paper wraps and a cloth binding, and contains 271 black and white and color images, taken by 117 photographers. The photographs are divided into the historical eras of  the Qing Dynasty (1871-1895), the Japanese Colonial Era (1895-1945), and the Post-War Era (1945-2011), followed by the special themes of Orchid Island, Mental Imagery, Fine Art Photography, and Portraits. The book includes curatorial statements, essays, a chronology of the development of Photography in Taiwan, and short biographies of the photographers.

The first photographs of Formosa, as Taiwan as then known, were taken by famed photographer John Thompson in 1871, and included photos of some of Taiwan’s indigenous people. Twenty of Thompson’s photographs are in the book. Special note should be made as well of the ten extraordinary ethnic images taken by Japanese photographer Torii Ryuzo lent to the Fine Arts Museum by the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines. From 1905-1910, Lin Tsao documented Taiwanese families both rich and poor, and 24 of these compelling images are included in the book.

This comprehensive book is currently available only through the Taiwan Fine Arts Museum Bookstore. The museum itself is a must-see when you’re in Taipei, and we here at WoWasis  strongly recommend you pick up a copy of this extraordinary book on your visit.