BENT.

Title: Bent

Date: 18th March 2013

Venue: Kwai Tsing Theatre

Bent was first played on stage in 1979. It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of Long Knives. The title of the play refers to the slang word 'bent' used in some European counters to refer to homosexuals. When the play was firsts performed, there was only a trickle of historical research or even awareness about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals.

This story is about Max, a promiscuous gay man in 1930s Berlin, is at odds with his wealthy family because of his homosexuality. One evening, much to the resentment of his boyfriend Rudy, he brings home a handsome Sturmabteilung man. Unfortunately, it is the night that Hitler orders to assassinate the upper echelon of the Sturmabteilung corps, to consolidate his power. The two have to flee Berlin. 

On the train to Amsterdam, Rudy calls out to Max as he is taken away to be beaten, so Rudy is brought back and beaten to death by Max, who denies he knows him, Max lies to the guards, telling that he is a Jew rather than a homosexual, because he believes his chances for survival in the camp will be better if he is not assigned the pink triangle. Max later confesses to a fellow prisoner that the guards then forced him to have intercourse with the body of a dead pre-teen girl to 'prove' he was not homosexual.

In the camp, Max makes friends with Horst, who shows him the dignity that lies in acknowledging what one is. They fall in love and become lovers through their imagination and through their words. After Horst is shot by camp guards, Max puts on Horst's jacket with the pink triangle and commits suicide by grabbing an electric fence.

The Windmill Grass Theatre re-run this classical drama with new techniques. As it happened in Europe, the script they played is in Cantonese. The modified wordings somehow could not express how the character feels at that moment. However, there is a scene I remember very clearly in my mind as it was so breathe-taking. It is when Max and Horst have sex without touching each other. The audience could feel the intimacy even though they are few steps apart. The words, the facial expressions, the body languages tell us how much they love each other. I was so touched by this boundless love and few drops of tears streamed down from my eyes. Joey Leung, who acts Max, is a very out-standing actor who understands his character very well and he acts so naturally.

Besides, the sets are so real. There were really electric sparks when Max grabbed the fence. The first scene which Max and Rudy chatted was inside the house. The woody ceiling and furniture are all well-constructed. They made the audience feel like they are really inside a house, having some chit chats. Besides, the costumes are so gorgeous with many details. Overall this drama is so good with many remarkable actors.

An ENDLESS journey.

Title: 聽 說

Date: 10th-11th March 2013

Venue: Ngau Chi Wan Theatre

This performance is organised by 第十五屆大專戲劇節籌委會 which composed the drama societies of nine universities of Hong Kong. This Joint-Universities performance is the most eye-catching annual event, and I am very proud of being one of the participants in this grand occasion.

I will never regret of getting in to drama society, a place where I feel belong to, a second home, to me. This time, I am an actress finally, instead of a member of the backstage. Through the practices, run throughs, and the days on stage, I have learnt a lot of professional techniques about drama.

This drama is a combination of three stories: a girl (Suki) who earns money through compensated dating for her boyfriend who dumps her after acknowledging she diagnosed with HIV, a mental-disordered but talented young boy (Ki) is being isolated by the society, and another multiple-personality-disordered boy (Chun) who works as a social worker blindly.

Lighting, the different colours of lights always fascinated me. In scene zero, the three main characters was spot-lighted in three different colours, yellow, red, and purple respectively. Yellow represents the helplessness of Suki. Red represents the anger of  Ki since no one listens to him. And purple, expressing the inner complicated feelings of Chun. Apart from the colour of the lights, angle is also an important element of plotting lights. I learnt that following lights are not recommended in drama because people move around on stage and usually a large area of light is being plotted. There was a scene about Ki visualised about killing a human being for his spectacular art piece. Red and green lights were being used as they contrast each other to build a scary and horrifying atmosphere.

Setting, image, sound teams also play an important part of the whole drama. Missing one of them would ruin the play. This is unlike the classical drama because the way the director present the theme is more close to daily life. No more acting tone for the actors/actress, since one of the goals of this drama is to attract the audience attention by giving them an illusion that they are part of the play. They are the outsiders who witness the whole story. Or even, they are one of the characters.

The prettiest flowers I had even
received from my parents, and all
the good show gifts from friends.

Being an actress is not an easy job. Drama practice everyday from 7pm to 11pm, or even 1pm to 11pm on weekends, such a tough task for me. Everyday practice largely affect my schedule with my friends, and also family. They complained about me not appearing in gatherings, meals etc. Yet, at the same time, they support me for doing what I love and enjoy. I would like to thank you all of them for being generous and caring. Apart from that, as Suki, my emotions during that period of time was so fluctuated and cried very often. They sent me support and comfort me from time to time. Without their help, the show would not be that successful with many positive feedbacks.

Assignment3: The Angel of Meat

‘The Angel of Meat  (Angelica Carnis)‘     
Oil on Panel  Painting Size : 38” x 33”  1998

I choose one of his master piece 'The Angel of Meat' from the exhibition, The Meat Show. This is the typical drawing of him consists of lady, fresh meat and religion. Many people guess that his drawings or paintings are all about death or sex. Yet, Mark explains the young girl symbolises soul; fresh meat means life. This idea is inspired by Virgil Crow's quote, 'Life is a great illusion.' Mark is fascinated by the fact that meat is one of the core factors to continue the life of human beings who turn meat, once was beautiful and lively, into something lifeless. He opposes the unnecessary cruel methods people kill the innocent animals for their meats. Thus, he tries to warn the public if human beings are the ones who being eaten, will they still mistreat the animals in this way? Besides, one of the reasons of drawing meat is that a piece of meant gives the audience visual impulses. Mark accords the meats with soul by the marblings on the surfaces. Moreover, meats can catch people attention as Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Vincent Van Gogh also often drew them. For the religious element inside the painting, he was inspired by the bible: 'While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."' As Christians gather every Sunday, Mark defines they eat Jesus's body once a week. He believes this scripture is funny and frightening at the same time, he leaves the imagination to the audience in order to raise the awareness of his art pieces.

'The Calvary with Donor' 1490
Oil on panel   Size: 71x59cm

The reference piece is 'The Calvary with Donor' painted by Hieronymus Bosch. According to a website called LOST AT E MINOR, Mark Ryden is inspired by past masters such as Bosch, Bruegel and Ingres. The paint Calvary with Donor is similar to The Angel of Meat.

First of all, both of the paintings are in the form of oil on panel, which is a painting made on a flat panel made of woord, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century,it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for miniatures in illuminated manuscripts and paintings for the framing. Oil on panel indicates a smooth and flawless drawings, hence, can express the frightful and creepy feelings of the contents or message behind the paintings. The style of Mark and Bosch are so alike. They both draw terrifying scenes with happy or fascinating method. For examples, Mark likes to draw a little girl who is bleeding with a smile on her face. And, Bosch had an art piece called the Hell panel, is about hell with depictions of fantastic punishments of the various types of sinners on the right panel. They would like to express extreme message in the opposite way.

Secondly, both art pieces include religious element. The Angel of Meat is about a cross and angel, hence, The Calvary with Donor is all about Jesus being crucified. Both of them are unusual to normal drawings. For the work by Mark, the angel is naked and there are meats hanging in the air. Furthermore, for the work by Bosch, patron is included in the paintings. The unknown patron is in fact referred to as 'donor' in the title, suggesting the work was donated, presumably to a church. Their works are special.

Last but not least, the minor objects in the drawings are also very important in the two paintings. In the Angel of Meat, there are pieces of meats flowing in the air. The fleshes symbolise lifeless. Also, in The Calvary with Donor, there are bones laying on the floor while Jesus is still alive. According to the Bible, there was no description about those bones. Obviously, the artist added the bones by himself. Bones in a coincident also represent lifeless. Their mindsets are so comparable.

Reference:

http://www.artbible.info/art/large/385.html
http://www.lostateminor.com/mark-ryden/
http://aboutbiblevideos.com/bibleimagedetails.php?ID=518
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch

Assignment2: Pseudo-fairy tale

Mark Ryden

Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter. Ryden is one of the most well known artists of the Pop Surrealist movement, an underground, pop-culture-infused art scene with its origins in 1970s Southern California. He was dubbed "the god-father of pop surrealism" by Interview Magazine. Ryden's aesthetic is developed from subtle amalgams of many sources: from Ingres, David and other French classicists to Little Golden Books. Ryden also draws his inspiration from anything that will evoke mystery; old toys, anatomical models, stuffed animals, skeletons and religious ephemera found in flea markets. According to The New York Times, "Ryden’s pictures hint at the psychic stuff that pullulates beneath the sentimental, nostalgic and naïve surface of modern kitsch.

In the 16th century, the European were fascinated by different kinds of natural objects. They started to collect specimen to fulfil their 'wardrobe of curiosities'. They were amazed by the specimen which satisfied the desires and infatuations of weird things. In 2004, Mark Ryden run an art exhibition called Wondertoonel Der Nature, which he showed pictures with weird characters with many pinky colours, indicated a mysterious world. In this world full of pseudo-fairy tales, the cute and pinky characters under Mark struggled between positive and negative, as the backgrounds of cutting flesh, bones or even dead bodies. Moreover, the tones of barbies or teletubbies were being distorted since the distance between two eyes was longer than usual. These paintings somehow frightened people and made people freak out from the inside. Mark claimed that his works have the shadows of Bosch and Alice in Wonderland.

YHWH
Oil on canvas, 2000
Painting Size: 10"x14"

Mark's hypocritical fantasy world and unique painting techniques have made him stands out from the many contemporary artists in the 21st century.

58 The Apology
Oil on canvas, 2006
Painting Size: 24"x32"

I believe that the environment and the background of that period of time affect the drawing style of the artist to a certain extend. To Mark, the unusual style of him is directly affected by his growing environment. During his childhood, science fiction art and literature were at the pinnacle of success. He always visited museums, especially natural and medical museums.  Furthermore, he was also keen on appreciating anatomical models made by wax and some mysterious counterfeit old houses. Some people even said that Mark constantly drew the internal organs out of the characters' bodies, also an extra eye on the forehead when he was doing self portrait. Teachers were shock by his weird imagination as anyone could tell that he was unlike other in the same age. They even took him to meet psychotherapists. Fortunately, with the open-minded of his parents, they have never stopped Mark from his art works.

Hence, Mark's unique drawing style makes him famous since they have impressed many people. The recent art pieces of him not only are the combination of cute naivety and eccentric weirdness, but a very complex style. Others can never truly understand his paintings.

For me, art pieces about food can always raise my awareness, as appetite is known as the top desire comparing to lust or alcohol. The general public talks about appetite open and aboveboard, we do not have to pretend solemn, unlike the other examples. Foods are the basic requirement for our lives, and also the core supplement for the functioning of our physical and mental health. At the same time, appetite also shows how people’s perspective on killing. I am not talking about vegetarians; even Mark himself is not one. What I want to point out is that even though some of the people eat meats everyday and enjoy the taste of them, they still cannot accept the bloody and gory picture of killing livestock. Human beings and humanity, desire and ethics, rationality and emotion; people can never get out of the box of destiny. Therefore, we learn to pretend we do not see the inner self, to find excuses.

From the above video, we can see the whole process of Mark drawing Incarnation.

Reference:

1. 美術報, (2009, October 29), 亦正亦邪的魔幻世界. 

    Retrieved from http://big5.china.cn.gate.cn/haiwai/2009-10/29/content_3212793.htm

2. Kate Lightfoot, (2006, February 18), Mark Ryden Interview.

    Retrieved from http://www.lifelounge.com.au/art-and-design/news/mark-ryden-interview.aspx

3. Mark Ryden, (2011, October) Meat. Artist Statement.

    Retrieved from htty://www.markryden.com/biography/index.html

Not only inside galleries.

Date: 1st Feb 2013

Venue: Mong Kok

Artists: Unknown

You cannot find them in the grand, spectacular galleries, instead of under the overhead walkway.

You do not have to pay for entrance fee, instead of freely walk by.

GRAFFITI always amazes me. Not only that I can find them everywhere along the street, it is the creativity that the street artists have. The graffitis are similar to other art pieces that show the emotions of artists or convey messages to the participants. What makes them unique is that the message behind the graffiti. Outside Hong Kong, for examples, South America and the Middle East, radical and political purposes are aften the main goals of the street artists. They show their desires of the public and fight for human rights.

A cartoon which used the style of throw-up on the floor.

Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Artists use simple lines or shapes to compose a picture in order to express their feelings, as well as to catch the public's attention. 

The style of most of the artists used is 'throw-up', also known as a 'bombing' which is normally painted very quickly with two or three colours, sacrificing aesthetics for speed. It can also be outlined on a surface with one colour. For example, the picture on the right, the artist used only black and red, and outlined with white colour for the body of the character.

This mysterious journey was really a blast. As a girl who knows nothing about street arts, had so much feelings after seeing all those pictures. To be frank, I was upset by the many obstacles the government has put to obstruct the development of street arts. People always think that people who paint graffiti are bad gangster who hang around at the street all day and do not have a job. Yet, it is not the truth. I was amazed by the talents of street artists who can create such a stunning and remarkable art pieces with limited resources. They start from zero. They really are the creators. From my own opinion, the government is now giving them so little resources that limited their talents. The government, as well as the general public, should have a more open mind, to accept different kinds of arts in our society. More resources can be provided for them to chase their dream.

As I just went there for a visit, we could not have a chance to deeply interview and talk to the artists. Also, I could not dig for the reasons behind of their paintings. If I have a chance, I will definitely talk to them and find out more about their stories of the art pieces and their own.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti

15 minutes eternal.

Name of exhibition: Andy Warhol: 15 minutes eternal
Date of visit: 31st Dec 2012

Venue: Special Exhibition Gallery and Contemporary Hong Kong Art Gallery (2/F)

Andy Warhol is always the legend in the art industry. This exhibition looks at Warhol's successful career in both commercial art and fine art between the 1950s and the 1980s and explore his concept of art making as well as his sensibilities towards contemporary living and culture.

I believe there is no one has not heard of his name from the art world. Also, he was famous of his advertising pieces that somehow the method of selling goods was out of the box. The most impressive and significant art piece inside the exhibition was the Campbell's Soup Cans. As cameras are not allowed to use in the venue, no photos can be shown in this blog. The many different versions or flavours of Campbell's Soup amazed me since they look exactly the same except the name of the soup. He used the unique technique, printmaking method- the semi-mechanised screen printing process, using a non-painterly style. What I could observe from real art piece rather than images from the Internet was that I saw the pencil lines that Andy drafted before painting them. It made me think that everyone, even an famous and extraordinary artist, had to do drafts beforehand. As those 32 Campbell's Soup Cans were used for advertising, he had to be very careful in handling his art piece.

As there are over 468 items in the exhibition, it shows that Andy was inspired by many daily life experiences. For examples, the civil rights demonstration, culture, animals, kitchen, or even shoes. It seems like everything appeared in his daily life could be his inspiration. He put his creativity into many daily life objects and they turned out became wonderful art pieces. Andy said, 'I've never met a person I couldn't call a beauty.' He learned to appreciate everything and everyone surrounded him. I believe that this was one of the reasons why his works were highly recognised and appreciated.

Another spectacular piece is definitely the Marilyn Diptych. It is a silkscreen painting by Andy in 1962. The several images, which are all based on a single publicity photograph from the film Niagara, were finished during the weeks after Marilyn Monroe's death in August 1962. Even though the screen paints are the same in each of the pictures, the mood seems to change with the colours, which is the most amazing part of his artwork. From my own point of view, when Marilyn is with green and blue, she looks a bit blue and sad for me. On the other hand, when with warm colours, such as red, yellow or orange, she looks happy and refresh. That is the magic of different tones of colours, and of course the uses of colours of Andy Warhol.

There was a quote written on the wall saying that 'Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.' Andy said this. However, I do not quite agree with this statement. I believe sometimes arts and commerce do not contradict each other. Although some art pieces are related to commercial, such as the Campbell's Soup Cans, still the advertisement has its own value to be appreciated.

To conclude, this exhibition inspired me to think more and to observe more of my daily life and the people around me. But he always say, one's company, two's a crowd, and third's a party.

- Andy Warhol