Contemporary Art & Cultural Interactivity

15 February 2009

Macao Watercolour Scenery

Macao Watercoulor Scenery

As there was a short trip to Macau with my students, I went to the Museum of Art to see the Macao Watercolour Scenery exhibition. It is an exhibition about the tradition of Macao watercolour landscape paintings.

The art of watercolour painting is best known for its flexibility, colour gradation and intensity of expression. There was a time in the 18th century when the art of watercolours was held in Britain.

Later, it was developed into an independent art form of landscapes and human figure painting before gradually spreading around the world.

Ruins of St. Paul's
Io Fong
54 x 74cm/2000

St. Francis Garden in Autumn
Cheong Iu Sang
52 x 76cm/2000

Dawn on the Mount Fortress
Ung Su Lon
54 x 73cm/2004

Palha Street
Lio Man Cheong
73 x 146cm/1998

Former Bela Vista Hotel
Sio In Leong
47.8 x 68cm/2001

Luis de Camoes Square
Poon Lum San
29.2 x 38cm/1975

Patio of Eternal Happiness
Choi Su Weng
45 x 36cm/1993

Mansion on St. Joseph Street
Ng Wai Kin
27.8 x 38.8cm/1987

St. Dominic's Square at Night
Lai Ieng
55 x 75cm/2007

07 February 2009

Fotanian Open Studio Program, 2008

Fotanian Open Studio Program, 2008

Artist: Yip Cheuk Tong, Moon

Installation: Qi Dong Qian: Apple Doesn’t Fall Far Away From the Tree

Mixed media

January 2009 / Approximate: 200x120x100cm

From Yip’s Work, she used her grandmother’s name “qi dong qian” as the title of her work. It conjures up numerous childhood memories. It also symbolizes her grandmother’s life story as a traditional woman. Her grandmother had perfectly played the role of the “good woman” of strict feudal morality and social construction in her family. These all influenced Yip’s value and her life. She thought that women did not have many choices in the older generations. However, she could see her grandmother has lived happily.

Yip used different kinds of media to create this art piece. The main colour of her work is red—red umbrella, red curtain, red coils on sewing machine, red embroidered shoes, red shredded paper and red apples on the floor with a tuft of black hair on each apple. In traditional Chinese culture, red has the symbolic meaning of luck, happiness and energy. She used red to imply her grandmother’s life was full of happiness.

Through this art piece, she wants to disseminate a message that the gender roles of women have changed greatly from the old generation as time goes by. Women have more choices nowadays. The traditional definition of the “good woman” is now in a question or no longer exists after various equality and freedom movements in our society.

As there was a stock market crash in 1997, most of the factories began with “the migration of Hong Kong industries to the Mainland China” and “the economic recession in Hong Kong.” Thus, a lot of artists established their art studios in Fo Tan because of the relatively cheap rent. Also, the Fo Tan factory buildings is a suitable site for artists which enables the creation and transfer of large pieces or art works as the high ceiling and industrial sized elevator.

“Fotan Gathering” was the open studio in January 2003. The title in Chinese which means ‘old fire’ and ‘new charcoal. It is according to the show including both established and young artists. This exhibition was very successful to catch the eye of the public. As a result, Hong Kong Museum of Art invited the Fo Tan studios to be a Fringe Activities in the Hong Kong Art Biennial at the end of 2003. “Fotanian” was the first time to targeted on general public. The word “Fotanian” means the artists who have their studios in Fo Tan old industrial buildings. This event included exhibitions of 30 artists previously from 18 in 2002. As Fo Tan open studio attracted a lot of audiences from different levels in the public, this project was one of the most popular and well publicized event in the history of Hong Kong contemporary art.

Fo Tan is not just a desolate industrial area but many factories are still in business. There are many corner stores, fast food restaurants and factories around the studios. This is the characteristics of Fo Tan Studios which is primarily in an industrial area.

24 January 2009

Vivienne Westwood ：A Life in Fashion Exhibition

Vivienne Westwood

A Life in Fashion Exhibition

I went to Vivienne Westwood A Life in Fashion Exhibition this 10 Jan 2009. It was held in Artis Tree, 3/F, Cornwall House, TaiKoo Place. This exhibition was really very great and I like it so much!

“Destroy T-shirt”

The T-shirt on the left hand side is called “Destroy” muslin. It is formed from 2 squares of fabric with elongated, straitjacket-like sleeves and with back D-rings. Vivian Westwood and Malcolm McLaren used highly charged slogans and provocative images in a deliberate attempt to provoke the establishment.

Westwood’s obsession with exaggeration and distortion has resulted in some challenging designs. She thought fashion for her was like walking a tightrope.

For the pair of platform shoes, the design is so fashionable. These platform shoes were made with bright blue leather and ribbon. It contains aesthetic value and catches the audiences’ eyes so much. They were acquired by the V&A and have become one of its most popular exhibits.

For the above Café Society collection, she created a number of evening dresses, which are too vast to be shown on a normal catwalk. This dress from Dressed to Scale, A/W 1998, is made in silk taffeta, tulle and raffia. She believes we would have a much better life if we wear impressive clothes.

15 January 2009

Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm

Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm

Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm is an exhibition which shows some multimedia works of Beijing-based Miao Xiaochun. I went there on 10 Jan with my MA classmates. It was my first trip in the Contemporary Art & Cultural Interactivity Class. It was a good chance for me to broaden my horizons and know more about contemporary art.

Microcosm, the centre piece in the exhibition, is the interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch’s 15th century masterpiece, the Garden of Earthly Delights. Also, there are some other series such as line and ink prints, graphite drawings and embroidered silk. Miao used computer to make the 3D modelling. He used lines to depict the contours of an object’s fundamental shape. This shows the beauty of its form.