Ni hao!

Great Castigation Series: Coca-Cola, 1993, Wang Guangyi

Someday Some Days No. 18, 2003

Wang Ningde

The artist that I'n comparing with Wang Guangyi and emerging, contemporary photographer, Wang Ningde was born in Liaoning Province, China in 1972. His life is book-ended by two of the most tumultuous periods in China's recent history: he grew up in the 1970's as China opened its borders to a flood of imported goods and ideas, and today he works in an environment of unprecedented economic and cultural growth. He is a prominent figure among a generation of impressive young Chinese photographers. In his hauntingly striking black and white photographs, he captures the tension between an ever-changing contemporary China and the always-present memory of the Cultural Revolution.

Wang Guanyi's work, Great castigation series, a group of People's volunteer army aligned in a standing in position, raising up the red book, the book that the former Chinese cult, Mao Ze Dong wrote. A strip U.S drink -Coca cola is painted across the canvas.This one the artistic strategy produces imagery on different levels, both symbolic and real, visualizing and actively counteracting key economic paradigms and their social and cultural implication. Guanyi treads a very delicate line between moral dictum and capitalist endorsement; the interpretation of his paintings alternates with the subjectivity of contect. Amalgamating, confusing, and blurring opposing ideological beliefs, Guanyi billboard sized canvases readily sell out national spirit, while simultaneously devaluing status symobol luxury for the proletetariat.

Both artist juxtaposition of the past versus present. In Guanyi's work he juxtapose the military icons from the cultural revolution. In Ningde's work, he contrasted the rigidness and oldfashion clothes that the little boys are wearing. Young, children boys are lined up in pairs in perfect rows. It compares the contemporary "ideal" life that the modern chinese are living in with the rigid, oppressed behaviour. There is an irony to this. How the Chinese are developing but yet their demaneour are suppressed.

The colours differ from each other. While Guanyi uses bright, vibrant colours which includes red, yellow, and electric blue, Ning de uses a monochrome, monotonous black and white to depict most of his photographs in the series. Guanyi presesents the subject matters in a pop art manner where details are limited and shadows are highlighted. Colours are also flat. However in Ningde's work, the tones are varied while colours are limited. Using photography, the subjects are depicted in a realistic manner.

Wang Ningde does not present a confirmed form nor provide a clear present of the reality in "One Day". All he represents is merely an absolute world of reality existing between the reality and memory. Although the clothes in that world may be old-fashioned, but the imaginations and dreams that world has born is infinite. Looking at his photographs, what we can share is not his experiences, is only his consciousness of time, his point of view of the world, his attitude towards life, and his imaginations.

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Art and society

Hello! So this post revolves how art interlinks with other sectors of society.
Arts and entertainment
Art and entertainment are knitted closely together. Some forms of art are for entertainment; music, dance, literature.
The entertainment buisness has now used artistic elements. The people in the film industry for example which entertains the masses have inusulated rhthym, coordination of colour into the films. In doing so, it gives a more aesthetic look to the film. This also deviates from the traditional forms of art where art was only for the rich. Now with new technology, entertainment brings art to the masses. My favourite example of a film which uses artistic alement is 'My blueberry nights'.

Buisness, science and technology
In this profit driven world, sometimes art can be deem as a commodity. It is mainly about 'branding'. Many 'buisness-minded' art collectors may collect art works done my famous artists as an investment without appreciating the artist's expression. Even an auction house is a form of buisness, the put a monetary value on an artist expression. This kinds of act trigger many questions on how we should appreciate art. At a macro perspective, art helps gain revenue for a country. Tourist would like to visit museums that hold famous artworks.

As science and technology advances , it seems that art seems to be less significant. This could because new technological gadgets provides us with instanteneous gratifcation.While art is may be deem as impractical. However, in the late 20th, early 21st century we have seen many artist incoporating science and technology into their art. Such artist include Nam June Paik, Bill Viola. This inclusion enhances the art scene, it makes art relevant to the masses. It also diversify the different forms of expression which an artist can use.
Communications and media
I would think that art is a form of communication itself. The artist transporting his intentions into his artwork as a tool for him to communicate with his reader. Along with the artwork, there are ideas that he would like the viewer to comprehend and maybe, emphathise.

Media acts like a microphone, to convey infomation to everybody connected. Many museums, auction houses, galleries make use of media to advertise an event that is happening. Media connects all sorts of people from different background, this also could be a way to draw general public into art.
Local newspaper, Lifestyle section, weekly feature artist to write about. I feel that is one way to help the artist to be known to the public. The newspaper discusses the prominent themes addressed in a particular artist's work. This arouses interest among the readers.

Disadvantage and marginalized
I think art is one of the few ways, attention can be given to the disadvantage and marginalized. In our society, this unfortunate people are ignored and discriminated. It is always a sensitive issue to talk about it in the open. People would rather avoid such topics in conversations as it could cause tenstion or unease. Some artist use art as a form of protest against the act of discrimination or confrontation to the people who are oblivion to the group of minorities. It is seen in many artist such as Duane Hanson, DedeSupria, Cindy Sherman. It could be also a way to put value into these people who are mostly shunned, looked down upon.
Education
Personally I feel that art in the education system is ridgid in my country. Lessons revolve around skills which I guess important if one wants to pursue a career in the art, design industry. Aesthetic quality is one of the yard stick that artworks are judge by. But then again, isn't art subjective. What could be pleasing to the eye for one could be an eye sore for another.
On the other hand, with education, one can appreciate art better. This is because students are educated with knowledge of different artist, their background and so on. Moreover, they are able to develop their style through the different mediums they are exposed to.
Family
Family plays an important role in either instilling a sense of appreciation towards art or disregard for art. However, it is a common sight for parents in Singapore to sterotype art as impractical, useless, 'waste of time'. It is quite ironic that most parents want their child to be creative, allowing them to draw when they are young but as they grow older, expression through art seems to be suppressed.
Government
In the past, communist leaders use art (mostly paintings or sculptures) as a form of propaganda potraying their leaders in a positive light. During the holocaust, censorship was rampant. Hitler would purge artist that expressed themselves or he would force them to paint propaganda paintings. They could see the influence a painting could have.

In modern times, this has changed. Government spend revenue to encourage artistic development. Such example is the esplanade and School of the Arts. I guess they have seen the value of art to the economy.

In a nutshell, art is very important in a society. It is part of a country's culture and human identity. So here is my take on art and the world. Seeya next time! :)

Singpost apologises for publicity stunt By sujin Thomas

Controversty arosed over a publicity campaign based on the Youth Olympic Games. The saga began when six post boxes around Singapore was sprayed with graffiti by a 'shadowy masked figure'. The uninformed public became suspicious and mistook the deed as an act of vandalism and the police was contacted. The stakeholders of this project included SingPost, and the candidates in the competition. The police felt agitated that Singpost did not explain to them in detail how they were going to carry out their stunt and how they squander their resources on a misunderstanding. Also, they felt that the blame should not be on them. Members of the public was suspicious of the doing hence called up the police. SingPost was apologetic at the inconvinenced caused.

So, to what extent can we consider such graffiti stunts as art?
Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Ancient Roman empire. Since the act is enduring can we consider it art? Art is a form of self expression. Singpost gave opportunity for youth to express themselves in a creative manner. Moreover, the graffiti produced were aesthically pleasing, in which it is subjective. Personally, I feel that the graffiti adds live into the dull stainless steel post box. The definition of art is to express onself, in this case to publicise a Singpost. However, it is pointless to do so, if the public is unable to receive the message as how the intended it to be. The government and authorities are to regulate art. If self expression is place at areas where unprohibited (or without permission), it Crime is often referred to as an act that is intended to harm a certain group of people or public. Graffiti can be only referred to as an act of crime when it is placed inappropriately.

Singapore is a traditional, conservative society. Freedom of expression sometimes can be limited. Eventhough, we have said that we are modernised, there are certain types of art that are attatched to sterotypes. The sterotypes that are attatch to graffiti : One is a ganster and so on. The society must be able to embrace self expression in order for art to enhance our lives. The society must be open to art, and art should not be offensive to the public. Art can serve to strengthen bonds between countrymen as it gives a form of identity (eg. batik). Majority of the Singaporeans are not well exposed to art and many cannot appreciate it. Some find art impractical and useless. Hence they dismiss such graffitis as vandalism. Those people are ignorant to the different kind of art and what is art in general. Or, they could have a traditional view point of art. They might just think that art should only be placed in a gallery. Therefore, the may be unwilling to accept graffiti as a form of art.

"I'm gonna start a revolution from my bed"

Hello again. I'm sure you know about John Lennon, the guy from the beatles. During the Vietnam War, in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono held two week-long Bed-Ins for Peace in Amsterdam and Montreal, which were their non-violent ways of protesting wars and promoting peace.


Here is what I got off the internet, Wikipedia specifically.

Amsterdam bed-in
Knowing their March 20, 1969 marriage would be a huge press event, John and Yoko decided to use the publicity to promote world peace. They spent their honeymoon in the presidential suite (Room #702) at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel for a week between March 25 and 31, inviting the world's press into their hotel room every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. After their other stunts, such as the nude cover of the Two Virgins album, the press were expecting them to be having sex, but instead the couple were sitting in bed—in John's words "like Angels"—talking about peace with signs over their bed reading "Hair Peace" and "Bed Peace". After seven days, they flew to Vienna, Austria, where they held a Bagism press conference.

During April 1969, John and Yoko sent acorns to the heads of state in various countries around the world in hopes that they would plant them as a symbol of peace. For eight months, the couple was not granted a single visit with any world leader. Their marriage ("You can get married in Gibraltar near Spain"), the first Bed-In ("Talking in our beds for a week"), the Vienna press conference ("Made a lightning trip to Vienna...The newspapers said..."), and the acorns ("Fifty acorns tied in a sack") were all mentioned in the song The Ballad of John and Yoko.

Drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton
Talking in our beds for a week
The newspapers said
say what're you doing in bed
I said we're only trying to get us some peace.


Montreal Bed-in
Their second Bed-In was planned to take place in New York, but John was not allowed into the country because of his 1968 cannabis conviction. Instead they held the event in the Bahamas at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel, flying there on May 24, 1969, but after spending one night in the heat, they decided to move to Montreal.


Recording Give Peace A Chance by Roy KerwoodEventually, they flew to Montreal on May 26 where they stayed in Room 1738 and 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. During their seven day stay, they invited Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, Dick Gregory, and Al Capp and all but Capp sang on the peace anthem Give Peace a Chance, recorded in the hotel room on June 1. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation conducted interviews from the hotel room.

In December 1969 John and Yoko spread their messages of peace with billboards reading "WAR IS OVER! If You Want It - Happy Christmas From John and Yoko". These Billboards went up in eleven major world cities.


So do I consider this performance art? Yes I do. Lets see why. Firstly we have to define performance art. Performance art refers to art in which the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work. It can happen anywhere, at any time, or for any length of time. Performance art can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer's body and a relationship between performer and audience.

So we have created a checklist. Yes it happened in 1969 during the Vietnam War. It took place in the hotels in Amsterdam and Montreal. It can be considered a performance because the two performers John and Yoko actually had a audience. The audience were primarily the media people who facilated the transmission of this art and its idea to the public. It can be considered art because it is an expression by the performance to urge the public to make love instead of war.

What is judged to be valuable art?

Uh, actually I think everyone has a different perception of 'valuable art' but here is my take on valuable art.
Valuable art has to have a concept or idea behind the artwork. I think if it is anything less than that it will just be mindless work. It has to evoke some thought (a new insight towards a certain situation perhaps) to the viewer, only then it can be considered as significant. It could reveal the artist's intention.
Secondly, the artwork has to have an aspect of originality. This is a minor quality to define valuable art however this is vital. I mean one can't possibly replicate a work (lets say the old masters) and expect to sell as well as the old masters. This aspect correlates with the previous factor.
Valuable art includes artwork that have a long lasting attractiveness to the patrons. Some call it 'investment' and others call it 'collections'. Whatever you call it,it can't be appeal for a short period of time. Think Mona Lisa. 200 years! :)She is still considered valuable art.

Okay correct me if I'm wrong?

Hello you!
I was recently reading the latest issue of TIME magazine and I chanced upon the article on a Korean artist- Sun Mu. I thought his artworks are refreshing to the art scene.It is rather comical but yet there is some political satire to the communist regime in North Korea.I shall quote an extract from the article; "He (Sun Mu) spent four years as a propaganda artist, portraying North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in unvaryingly heroic poses, but now the painter Sun Mu is having fun with the form. Since arriving in the South in 2001, 38-year-old Sun Mu — it's an assumed name — has been lampooning his old master from a musty studio in a run-down suburb of western Seoul." His painting mocks at the strict autocratic government of North Korea. In this painting, Please Have Some Medcine (I can't seem to post the picture up but here is the link http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919276,00.html, Kim Jong Il is depicted as a dying hosipital patient being offered Coke by a North Korean Child. This work could be an encouragement for North Korea to open up to the world. I hope to see more of his work!