non-truth

The difference between photograph and painting is: the former one have to be objective rocording, while the later one can be factual distortion.


"truth, compassion, tolerance" in zhen shan ren art exhibition

how experimental

A celebration of experimental music returns featuring an international line-up of musicians, free improvisers and audio artists. Be ready to hear sounds from various everyday objects as well as traditional instruments.

But the objects and instruments were played in a unusual way, like unpacking a piano and playing the sounds on interior parts, or knocking the outer covering of it as percussion.

At this point, painting can no longer relay on brush and paper, and probably performance can exist without stage...


"new year new sounds" in BAC

character interchange

I have no idea about Amsterdam's red-light district, but want say something about this installation.

The whole installation seperate the "window girls" and "passers-by" with windows. So maybe I can understand that the installation is the stage, windows are curtains which divide audience and performer. According that these days I am thinking about peeping and anti-peeping, I think this art work just apply to my idea.

Peeping and anti-peeping in this work: audience are looking inside while girls are gazing outside. hence, we are performers as well, and they can be audience. In general, the rule of definition in spectator and actor is base on population, position, lighting, costume (4 points at present). As a result, the character interchange can happen if one of these points be changed, if close as I wanted to be.


"Kienholz: The Hoerengracht" in national gallery

the mother nature

One used quite less foreign language (sounds like Italian), one didn't have any language with occasional shout merely.

According to various successful mime, omissible language have been admitted for long times. At the very beginning, the birth of mime happened since the behindhand technology and fancility. In contrast, today's mime being popular again in the advanced multi-media theatre, which is one example of everything back to the mother nature.

In this era which is no longer possible to have any more innovation, returnning to the nature may be the next trend. and our job is looking for the balance between the "old" and "new".


"Eshet" & "the timidity of bones" of 2010 london international mime festival

The Emperors New Suit

It's just white, all white. Being covered? Being wiped off? Or The Nothing Book? Or it's just white, haven't been painted yet?

Sometimes I am doubtful of contemporary art. Compared with the main stream art, they seem lacking of artfulness but carrying with much more playfulness or consumption and speculation?

Are artists playing tricks? Are viewers following the trend in blindness and ignorance? Are critics confusing the public? Is this another "the emperor's new suit"?


"Visible Invisible" in Parasol Unit

GET DIFFERENT BY LOOK THE SAME

NOTE OF JOHN BALDESSARI'S PURE BEAUTY

The combination of film, photography and painting has become one of the key elements in Baldessari’s art. With humour and irony, Baldessari’s work analysised the potential ideas among art practice and the historically accepted rules of how to make art, in the connection between language, symbol and visual expression methods.
I have been attracted by this exhibition strongly, and I turned my attention on Baldessari's art works then got some statements (methodology of art) finally which would be really helpful in my project studying. I have summarize them into following points:
1. Covering (hiding) and Ellipsis
2. Photo-compositions
3. Montage
4. Splitting
5. Coloring
6. Signifying and Formulation
These methods above can be used in photograph, film, painting and theatre. They are interdiscipline rules.

TECH MAKES PERFECT

RETHINKING ABOUT KELLERMAN

Kellerman is really an amazing performance of what I seen, which combined film, animation and live action into a new performance. What's more, it interspersed with the past, future and present to tell the whole story at the same time. I would like to define it as a "performance", even though it combined so many art forms.

Admittedly, the mainline of the story is ambiguous and crabbed, without any obvious ups and downs plot. However, i think that's a absolute visual performance, no wonder some observers commented that "near as dammit a total work of art".Then I want to ask, how far could a designer play a part in performance?In Chinese drama, we always dig and explore the fascination of language (actor's dialogue), and the stage, lighting, sound are not so multivariate, they are the accessories of the actors and acting. But now I noticed that designers are playing more important effect in group works, or can be concluded that form is more engagable than content in western. Hence, sensory stimulation is more powerful than the spiritual touching.


1. Combining various art forms
They can be matched as one behind of another as a background; both of them display at the same time as the same size, one left one right, or one above one below.
Besides, the two art forms can show the same situation, but in different angle, so that audience can get more than one impression image in synchronization. (See supporting images in front page)


2. Establishing the diversify stage
The usual stages whatever they are black box or open circular, they are always in landscape orientation, and in three-dimensional, that make the performing area open wide as a open visual field to the audience. However, in this case, designer made the stage become a vertical one which looks like a big film screen, and covered most of the standing screen, dropped shadow on it and gave some active uncovered space to the performer. (See supporting images in front page)

SILENCE AND BODY LANGUAGE

NOTE OF NICOLA CONIBERE'S COUNT ONE


Count One though a series of simple dancing (or simple,experimental body movement), presented repeatedly the common business of interpersonal exchange and interaction in daily life, and displayed the remote or closed relationship in the present age on an empty stage, without any dialogue or monologue. It has been evaluated as "a quietly affecting piece, funny, clever and infuriating".
The choosing and using of prop, and movement expression are the bright spot in this performance:
Property and symbol
This performance divided into three parts: handshake, costumes and lights, and was created as an array of relationships and meanings to come in and out of effect within these series simple elements. And props have only been used in second and third part. They used very few property to develop the journey: for example, sticking adhesive tape in a line between two person revealed the long distance; dressing up with sunglass and wind coat displayed roles changing in life.

To sum up, the function of the prop is to make intangible thing become tangible in order to be understand easily and clearly by audience.

Body language and repetition
There was not any voice and sound in this half hour, but this silent piece was not boring at all, also body language could be understand without definition. What's more, almost every group of movement was repeated at least five times.

In my point of view, the function of the first three times are pulling audience's attention; the forth and fifth are highlighting; and the next sometimes are deepen subject.

In my personal project, prop choosing and movement repetition or transformation are the core achievement questions. So this piece could be a good sample for me to explore and find the best method.

FEMINISM OR EXHIBITIONISM

NOTE OF NIC GREEN'S TRILOGY

Trilogy is a transformative and radical three-part show, as a celebration of the female form, it discussed about the Feminism and women's liberation, especially in this modern and complicated times. These three parts could be classified as one part of anarchic celebration, one part of educational presentation based on the 1971 New York Town Bloody Hall debate, and one part of reaction sound delivery from women who come from all walks of life.

Feminism and anarchism were never a common subject in my experience. However, I felt quite happy to be a member of audience watching this adventure event and I was really being touched by those fifty naked female volunteer at that night. They are in different colours, different ages, they are either too big or too small, they danced haltingly and unskillfully. Most of them are not perfect enough, but the energy and confidence from their body was really attractive and gave the audience joy, hope, passion and movement.


In project
At this moment, I am seeking a possible way to let the participate audience show their privacy to public. Now it developed into two main plan: in general, one is being conscious and willing, and another one is being passive or forced.
Trilogy used the former one very well, it presented with playfulness and made the audience be pleased to display their privacy successfully. The show finished with lots of brave naked female audience and a vibrant paean to womankind, long-time clapping.


In research
According the feminism topic, body is a main part in this show, to be precise, the naked female body. At the same time, the breasts, legs, abdomens and genitals, as the important selling point in this performance, are the symbol of privacy in someway. From this standpoint, my statement can come into existence - audience are the voyeurists.

In the light of that the common understanding of voyeurism is a habit of peeping someone's body in immoral way, hence this show become a good reference for my personal project - voyeurism, that made me divert my attention into a more deep step, and made me think about these questions: Why always male peep female's body, in the description of this term? Why men always focus on body rather than spiritual things? Is feminism one of the indirect results of voyeurism? Is modern action art a kind of narcissus expression in front of voyeur? If yes, should it be prevented or promoted? And what social issues will be result in?
All of the Guardian, Metro, List and Herald gave this show five stars in strongly recommend. According these web site, I can say everything like that showing naked body is popular and enjoyable, at least in this city. Can I say these artists are exhibitionist in some certain aspect? Streaking and peeping are unmoral and condemned, nevertheless putting this onto stage and calling it with a title of art, then streaking is no longer streaking, and peeping is no longer peeping. Media call it vanward modern art, so general people can enjoy it to satisfy our potential voyeur hobby aboveboard.
In addition, this sort of show in bare skin ( not refer in particular to Trilogy) is the disclosing of feminism or flubdub exhibitionism, in deed? I would like to answer: both.

Wikipedia describe the term of feminism like this:
"...It can be used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political, cultural and sociological theories, as well as philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference. It is also a movement that advocates gender equality for women and campaigns for women's rights and interests... Feminist activists have campaigned for women's legal rights (rights of contract, property rights, voting rights); for women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy, for abortion rights, and for reproductive rights (including access to contraception and quality prenatal care); for protection of women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape;for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; against misogyny; and against other forms of gender-specific discrimination against women..."

As can be seen above, feminism is not only the movement for physical aggression, but also the psychic fighting in authority , rights and status. So I can conclude that nudity is one of the methods ( radical method) of feminism. However, voyeurism is just one of the fighting targets in feminism movement. In short, male voyeurists like peeping women's body, then women though displaying their body to voyeurists to say no to unequal things. That is the strategy which we call it play hard-to-get i.e. pleased it first so as to beat it ( a strategy in The Art of War).



See reviews of Trilogy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aLkBZS8nuk

Anthropomorphism - research 3 of personal work

[proposal draft]

WHEN RABBITS DO NOT EAT CARROT ANY MORE
-THE APPLICATION OF AUTHROPOMORPHISM
IN CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE

Leaving aside the science, human's knowledge of the unknown outer world always depends on the imagination, which could be understand as the intellectualization in certain degree. We hope that the external world (non smart body) happen and develop in the same way with us (smart body), not only because of the satisfaction of our curiosity we need also that is the only way we can have the resonance with non human.

"Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Examples include animals and plants and forces of nature such as winds, rain or the sun depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse. "

To be specific, which aspects does "anthropomorphism" play?
Putting the life, shape, appearance, characteristics, emotions, personality traits etc. into non-human creatures.

How to explain "anthropomorphism" in performance?
Anthropomorphic animals are often represented by actors in costumes and makeup (e.g. wearing mask, prop or fur coat) , and performed in imitation ( e.g. movement, sound)

What is the function of anthropomorphism?
Anthropomorphised animals can stand as commonly recognised types of human behaviour, in performance. In this way, the performance will engage the audience in three aspects: vitality, newness and resonance.

Which kind of non human creatures wanted to choose? And why?
Animals. Human were evolved from ape man (animals), so that could be so many common points between the two. In addition, using actors (modern people) to perform animals (ancient people), that is not the change in position, also the change in time.

Is there any artistic form related with/ can be used for anthropomorphism?
1, Animation.
in plane (e.g. Doraemon), in 3D (e.g. Toy Story), in puppet (e.g. Sesame Street), in person (e.g. The Lion King)
2, Fable.
In storytelling (e.g. Crosstalk), in live-art ( e.g. Cosplay), in comedy...

reference:
Peter Mayle (2000) A Dog's Life.
Steve Baker (1996) The Postmodern Animal.