Chinese Spice in Athens
I have been advised not to criticize before I justify my
source of information. So, I am not going to criticize Zhang Yimou, whose name was surprisingly associated with the "variety show" with most Chinese stereotypes as part of the closing ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games.
What I was really trying hard to think about, to be constructive, is how I would do it better (if I were the director) in the same situation. Will I consider those bare-leg female musicians in mini-cheungsams and the fusion of Shaolin gongfu / modern dance in the same direction? In fact I am OK with the gigantic red lantern, in its contrasting scale with the little girl, if it is not with Zhang's signature. Did that justify the film director to be
best suited to direct the Opening of Olympic 2008?
And, sometimes I'd think this kind of shows gives me great hints what
20 Beans' pieces lack. The question is where the balance is.
(Images via
ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games)
Hong Kong Art 0827
Lam Tung Pang, Exhibition at CSM London
Just visited Lam's website and revisited his paintings and installations. The minimal and delicate touch of these works reminds me of a few other younger artists from CUHK-Fine Arts Dept. There seems a distinctive style by generation from the institute (where I came from also). He likes Luc Tuymans, which is quite obvious, and Chinese landscape, which is fairly reflected in some traits of the introspectiveness of the paintings.
Danny Yung, New Book Launch
Consisting of his correspondence to collaborating artists, critiques to cultural policies, talks and recent performance scripts, the IATC book is a good resource to understand more about Danny's art, in various perspectives. Yes, theatre is just the tip of the.... iceberg(?) of his creations. Beuy's term comes to my mind: social sculpture. Not a lot of artists succeed to be that holistic. Unfortunately the editing of the book does not reflect much of the architectural aesthetics.
Danny will be there with Leung Man Tao and Long Tin (the editor) at Red & Book, 2nd floor of HK Arts Center at 3pm, 28 Aug (that's tomorrow).
Para/site, Moved
Gutierrez + Portefaix's exhibition "Territories" will be the first one after Para/site moved, to next door. Heard about MAP that the two HK-based French architects and professors run for a long time, so it's a good chance to meet the persons and see more of their works. The opening of the exhibition (video + installation) and the inauguration of the gallery takes place on 9 September (6-8pm).
Does Andy Warhol has a blog?
Toby found
Quentin Tarantino's blog while I am posting my own discovery:
Noam Chomsky's. (Thanks to Sunshine's
comment to my previous post on Walls.)
I knew Chomsky, a Professor at MIT, because of his theory of
universal grammar, but he is more widely known nowadays and more proactive as a critic of US policies, and advocate of liberation and justice.
Unlike
qtdiary's status, it's more clearly stated in Chomsky's blog that they are just extracts from some on-line forum (mostly on politics), posted almost monthly only. Not too bad, at least, being almost a pop icon (comparable with Hawking according to
Pandagon - but probably not to Tarantino or Warhol), he would write back in 6 hours with a friendly manner to
monkeyfister's request.
Further Shock to Famous Scream
It's more satirical than incredible how the two paintings of Munch could just be "taken" away during the opening hour of the museum in Oslo like
this:
Perhaps because they are
Edvard Munch's works, the incident seems so much unreal, twisted, and ironical. It is hard not to give
cynical comments, especially when one is informed that it's the
second time that
The Scream, despite a different version, has been stolen in the same city in just a decade... If Munch still lives, his anxiety would not be so much on
his own existence, but the ridicule of human who does not learn from experience...
Is it a relief or a worse joke to know
Madonna (the second masterpiece ROBBED in the laughable scene) is staying with the hysterical
self-portrait?
Indigo
Neale Donald Walsch, the author of
Conversations with God (series) writes and plays a role in
Indigo.
Indigo? "If you anticipate the meaning
here, and deny it
there, you will miss IT all your life." (Did I read it right from the three pages of the book, my philosophical French teacher?) - No, you may not see him at all (since I put down "him" here.)
To test your saintliness, go to
IFC, the tallest building now in Hong Kong, on 3 Sept when the Charity Premier of the film will be held for the
Suicide Prevention Services.
Note: Reservation by
email in advance is required.
Meeting CSS in the Garden
If, after the tutorial of
HTMLdog, you still don't know what
CSS means (like me - a minute ago),
CSS Zen Garden is the project you could
see the wizard's secret spell of web-design.
Wait! Are you too busy browsing the outfits? No! They are just the fingers, look at the moon they are pointing! (Am I too explicit in the standard of
Zen?)
Golden Chinese Walls
Delgado of Stanford University puts the Great Wall built 2,000 years ago as a simile to the Golden Shield Project, about which I just learned. It could not be called a dilemma, between "protection of people" and
surveillance... even with the declaration of the successful prevention of internet crimes. Perhaps it is one of economic development and totalitarian control.
Is globalisation really changing everything in the world? While Starbucks flood the landscape, Time-Out becomes handy, skyscrapers replace shanty houses and green fields, it seems more saddening to learn about what might have failed my reaching my blog two weeks ago in Beijing! Perhaps the resources used for developing such gigantic safety "wall" shall go to the real and
deteriorating Wall instead. Who wants more phoney White Houses rather?
European Capital of Culture
Just learned that there is such official title/event as the European Capital of Culture despite it started as early as 1985 (with Athens as the first). Both FreeDictionary and Wikipedia cite that
A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to completely transform their cultural base and, in doing so, the way in which it is viewed internationally.
To transform one's own cultural base sounds ridiculous and terrible to me, regardless how complete it is. I hope it means the infrastructure rather than the tradition. Or this European Union project is just another homogenising machine?
Anyway, the direction of having art going public like the project "Metamorphoses" in Lille 2004 justifies the statement and makes it a bit different from any other international festival. All the more I think artists shall get into the community and have interaction with all walks of life. Of course we have already had too many provocative visuals on every inch of our buildings' facades, subway tunnels, taxis' doors and even the seats of the public transport. How does creativity of artists differ from those of the advertising agents?
After all, it's quite disappointing that there seems no education session for project of such scale, talking about "cultural base". Perhaps at least something like the
Discover project of
Liverpool Biennial coming soon?
language the figurines speak
A couple of works of
brothersfree could be good cases to demonstrate how creative industries become possible for artists to strategise the market for cultural good. The three still talk about their heart and have an ideal picture in there at least.
Lin Ke Huan the dramaturg mentions in
a.m.post also that the new generation of artists have to understand the market besides their solitary creativity. He raises
Zuni's cross-regional collaboration as an example.
And tonight, when Michael the protagonist in
Queershow talks about different kinds of romantic feelings, in its gimmicky gesture (unfortunately there are more gimmicks than criticism in this case), it's repeating to me: Think about the vehicle (media), and redefine it with your content. That's profoundness-by-superficiality (深入淺出), I think. Cut the big words.
On Ferry with Rain
The sudden rain breathes the thoughts,
How it does so I haven't go deep.
At times the city won't let you know.
Swing, roll, hop, with waves discreet,
Its melancholy dances, inside me not.
Fight with the Oldies
Although my favourite one is apparently "Little Creamie", the glamourous purple-haired show-girl, these unbeatable heroes seem carrying more ambiguous reminiscences buried long in my personal history.
I wonder if it's about my heroism, chauvinism, et al... or just because the other beloved icons have been so much more exploited by the Creative Industries. Anyway these revived songs do carry remote and hypnotising power, hopefully with nothing to do with cultural invasion.
Do the Chinese versions convey a more accurate picture then?
Note: forget about the ugly layout, let it sing.
The capital
The real is as blank as
a piece of well-drawn paper,
rubbed not clean for the new.
The red trace is there,
empty space is also there
suddenly blank you feel
or maybe confused
like the taste of the vegi-dumpling.
The night I was a fool with
the vulgar songs at local bars
penetrating memories like the heavy rain.
The stomach is full,
ears are also full
of the twisting tongues
like the mind of the lady white.
Signages are planted yet
the opposite shore seems far
with ads replacing the old compass.
The palace is forgotten,
hu-tongs are also forgotten
behind the glamorous windows
that glitter through the smog & grey.
