Art installation celebrates Taiwanese baseball heroes
By Wong Yu-huang and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer
US-based Taiwanese contemporary artist Lin Shih-pao (林世寶) has unveiled an installation art piece titled Glory — Team Taiwan at the Nanshan Art Gallery featuring 600 autographed baseballs and 55 signed bats collected from around the world.
Lin was invited by former World Baseball Softball Confederation Tournament director George Santiago to serve as curator for the initiative to commemorate Taiwan’s historic victory at the confederation’s Premier12 tournament in 2024.
Lin said he hopes to recreate the atmosphere of the tournament and showcase how Taiwan exemplified not only physical strength, but also athletic aesthetics.
US-based Taiwanese contemporary artist Lin Shih-pao, right, poses with Nanshan High School chairman Wang Chi-kuang next to the Glory – Team Taiwan art installation at the Nanshan Art Gallery in New Taipei City on Saturday.
Photo: Wong Yu-huang, Taipei Times
The signed baseballs, which Santiago helped collect, include one autographed by baseball legend and home run king Sadaharu Oh (王貞治), alongside baseballs signed by Major League Baseball stars and items from personal collections.
Some of the balls and bats were signed by members of the Taiwan’s 2024 championship team, including coach Wang Chien-ming (王建民) — a star in his own right, having pitched for the New York Yankees from 2005 to 2009 — and Chinese Professional Baseball League president Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌).
Born in Taiwan in 1962, Lin graduated from Nanshan High School’s arts and crafts department. He studied in Japan before establishing himself in New York, where he rose to international prominence.
His art spans painting, sculpture, installation and performance art, often focusing on social issues and global cultural trends.
He has received more than 20 international awards and his works have been exhibited at Expo 2005 in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, the Queens Museum in New York and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
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