Epoch Arts 5-27-2016

WORLD STAMP SHOW

The Great Big World of Small Pieces of History—Stamps New York City is about to become the focal point of the philatelic world.

BENJAMIN CHASTEEN/EPOCH TIMES

Zoe Dufour Aims to Sculpt Empathy A glimpse into the atelier art movement.

See C2

See C4 SAMIRA BOUAOU/EPOCH TIMES

C1 May 27–June 2, 2016

The primary function of great art, that is classical art, is to convey the feelings, the deeper feelings of one person to another.

Raymond Beegle

Piano Accompanist

Raymond Beegle

Raymond Beegle at his home in New York on May 19.

The Classics Are Our Hope

By Sharon Kilarski | Epoch Times Staff

Practitioners involved with the classical arts respond to why they think the texts, forms, and methods of the classics are worth keeping and why they continue to look to the past for that which inspires and speaks to us. For the full series, see ept.ms/LookingAtClassics

[Classics offer] a kind of peace treaty, the only chance for peace in the world.

Raymond Beegle

“The primary function of great art, that is classical art, is to convey the feelings, the deeper feelings of one person to another.

This kind of communication is sacred, an old-fashioned word; it signifies the reverence of one human life for another. If one can say ‘yes, I have felt that too!’ one has the key to mutual respect, to the sacred nature of every single life,” said Raymond Beegle, an accompanist for classical vocalists. In this profound communication, we offer a kind of reconciliation, “a kind of peace treaty, the only chance for peace in the world.”

See Classics on C2

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May 27–June 2, 2016 TheEpochTimes.com/EpochArts

The Great Big World of Small Pieces of History— Stamps New York City is about to become the focal point of the philatelic world

By Kati Vereshaka | Epoch Times Staff History, geography, relaxation, and mystery— these are just some of the reasons why people love collecting stamps. And of course the visual stimulation of looking at colorful, miniature works of art is no small part of the passion that fuels collectors of every age, nationality, and walk of life.

New York City is about to become the focal point of the philatelic world when the World Stamp Show New York 2016 descends upon it.

For eight days from May 28 to June 4, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center will host the once-in-a-decade maelstrom of stampcollecting activities with 200 stamp dealers, specialty philatelic organizations, and more than 70 postal bureaus from around the world will take part.

For seasoned collectors the expo is something they would hardly dream of missing out on, since, according to the show’s spokesman, Alex Haimann, the expo will be the largest gathering of collectors and dealers from around the world, with largest array of rarities of this decade.

Haimann, now 30 years old, is, of course, an avid philatelist. He recounted how his fascination with stamps was awakened in the second grade, when his teacher brought some postage stamps into the classroom to teach a geography lesson.

“I was mesmerized, and still am, at the wonder of holding seemingly weightless pieces of paper in my hand, but each one from a different part of the world—it was like touching a part of those countries,” he said.

The Rare and Valued Generally speaking, stamp collecting is also one of the most easily accessible hobbies. It can cost very little, or a lot, a whole lot. Take the rather demure and not very visually exciting British Guiana One-Cent Magenta stamp that will be on show. It was purchased by shoe designer Stuart Weitzman in 2014 for $9.48 million, making it the world’s most valuable stamp.

It’s not just the fact that it is very old (it was issued in 1856 in British Guiana). British Guiana was renamed Guyana in 1966. The Penny Magenta is the only surviving stamp of a very small group of stamps that were issued, and remains the only one that is certified and recognized of its type. The Guyana 1 cent stamp is also the focal point of many stories in popular culture.

WORLD STAMP SHOW

Rarities and printing errors are the stuff dreams are made of for collectors.

COURTESY OF WORLD STAMP SHOW

Statue of Liberty stamp issued in 1994.

Artwork by artist Tom Engerman.

The World Stamp Show-NY 2016: 200 stamp dealers, specialty philatelic organizations, over 70 global postal bureaus, seminars, and ceremonies.

Rarities and printing errors are the stuff art becomes a collaborative project between dreams are made of for collectors; the stamps the USPS art directors and the artist. The are made interesting precisely because of the reward is a somewhat token sum of $5,000, stories they carry. Propelled into the realm according to National Postal Museum assistant curator Calvin Mitchell, and of course the of exclusivity, they become collectors’ gold.

The Audrey Hepburn Unissued Semi-Postal prestige of having one’s art on a stamp.

Stamp is a more recent example. Millions of Exhibition this stamp were printed as part of a 2001 set honoring actors. However, her son’s objecA special exhibit of six pieces of original tion to her depiction, with a cigarette, saw postage stamp artwork will be on display the destruction of the print run. All the at the World Stamp Show depicting New York themes such as baseball, Broadway, city life, sheets were meant to be destroyed—yet 3 sheets out of 10 survived and were actually New York icons, politics, and music. It will used as postage—something that has yet to be a chance for visitors to see the art before COURTESY OF SMITHSONIAN'S it becomes a stamp. be explained.

NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM “Every collector wants to Apart from the Court of have a unique gathering Honor section of the expo where the most valuaof something; it’s not ble, rare, and unusual about being like everyone else, so errors items will be found, and varieties make there is the invited exhibits section where t h i ngs i nteresting for that reason,” collectors of any age said Haimann, addand interest will have ing that this collecaccess to new items tion of collections is purchase and add to not all about stamps, their collections. per se, although most Haimann, who has things in the expo perbeen working on the expo tain to postal objects. since the last one took place The world’s most valuable in 2006, urged that the eightstamp: The British Guiana One- day event is something to The World of Post Some people, for instance, Cent Magenta, first issued in really savor and get with the specialize in collecting mail 1856 and currently held in the adventure of collecting. It is that has had something hap- collection of Stuart Weitzman. a totally free event and vispened to it—mail recovitors can spend as litWORLD STAMP SHOW ered from an airplane tle as a couple of dolcrash or a ship that lars on a stamp, or as sank. much as thousands of One unique collecdollars on a rare item, tion of this nature is the said Haimann, who mail recovered from encapsulated the whole the 1937 Hindenburg experience of collecting explosion in New Jerby saying: sey, when thousands of “It’s a wonderment pieces of mail on board that starts in childwere burned. Yet, a few hood—the idea of imaghundred survived, ining a world, or a place that’s not what you’ve although they might experienced before. be heavily burned at the edges.

Whether you’re 60 The visual aspect is years old or 6 years important, yet it is the old, just for a moment historical that ultiwhile you’re looking at mately fascinates colthat stamp in your collectors. lection, thinking about Repeal of the Stamp Act stamp, 2016.

This is unfortunately what it was like when reflected in the fact that that stamp was issued.” artists who create art specifically for stamp Apparently, there are many stamp shows designs are called illustrators. They may be that take place all over the country. But well-known artists, but once they are connone are as big as the World Stamp Show tracted by the U.S. postal service, creating the New York 2016.

The rare Inverted Jenny airmail postage stamp, 1918.

Coral in Chinese Jewelry: A Rosy Tree From the Sea GIFT OF HEBER R. BISHOP, 1902/THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

By Christine Lin

So goes a famous poem by the celebrated Tang poet Wei Ying Wu. Of course, he was writing of coral.

Coral has been revered by the Chinese for millennia, not only for its naturally fanciful shapes, but also for its rarity. It is said that ordinary coral takes a thousand years to form, but red coral—the gemstone variety— takes ten thousand years.

This is hyperbole with a grain of truth. It takes about 300 years to grow one kilogram of it, thus making its price up to a dozen times that of gold.

Of course, its first claim to fame is related to water. At the beginning of Chinese civilization 5,000 years ago, the realm was threatened by

The best and rarest coral objects were produced during the Han Dynasty.

Essence of China

The red tree lacks flowers and leaves It is not stone, nor is it jade.

How did mortals obtain it?

It grows upon the Celestial Rock of Penglai.

Official necklace (chaozhu) from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).

Amber, jade (jadeite), imitation coral. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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The Classics: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Piano Accompanist

Raymond Beegle

The Classics Are Our Hope Classics continued from C1

rampant flooding. A Herculean figure called Yu The Great saved the day by harnessing the powers of a dragon and a tortoise and his own blend of demigod magic.

Having successfully quelled the waters, the god of the Yellow River offered Yu a glittering spread of precious treasures as recompense.

But Yu only chose three pieces, one of them being coral.

Growth and Harvest Two thousand types of coral grow around the world, appearing in shades of cream, pink, red, black, and gold. There exist even blue ones that when polished look like miniature plants of ice. However, corals of this type come from dying polyps and are not favored for jewelry.

As far as jewelry-grade coral goes, the variety is still staggering. We have sponge coral, bamboo coral, precious noble coral, Japanese Momo and Moro coral, Japanese red coral, Sardegna coral, and angel skin coral, not to mention the dyed and treated kinds.

It makes you want to be a good person, to tell the truth, and do the work in front of you as best as you can.

Raymond Beegle

ELLIS GASKELL

Any of the classical forms of art offer this hope, said Beegle, who currently teaches vocal accompanying at the Manhattan School of Music and writes for top classical music publications.

In thinking about how humans might be reconciled to one another through art, Beegle began his phone interview on April 28 by taking out his copy of “The Penguin Companion to Classical Music” and looking up the term” popular music,” which he sees as an antithesis to classical music.

“Popular music is defined as being smaller in dramatic and emotional scope than classical music, and its intention is to make a profit,” he quoted.

Today music is often seen with that end in mind, he said, pointing out a quote by Philip Glass: “My father ran a record store, so the first thing I learned about music is that it’s a business,” and contrasted it with a quote from a letter by Franz Schubert to his brother: “What God has given me, I give to the world, and that is an end of it.”

Or, as Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: The opposite of poetry is not crime, it’s business.

Beegle sees popular music as a business enterprise pandering to our baser nature.

We are in a terrible morass of greed, violence, and an excessive focus on sexuality, he said. Popular music caters to these, fosters these.

Beegle’s conviction that the classical arts offer hope for mankind comes from the idea that they present higher ideals, viewpoints, and aspirations and that these are capable of lifting us above baser instincts and desires. They inspire us to our higher and nobler selves.

Now in his 70s, Beegle has had many years to come to this understanding. Professionally, he has performed under Igor Stravinsky’s baton, and collaborated with singers like Licia Albanese, Martial Singher, and Theresa Zyllis-Gara. He also formed the awardwinning vocal chamber group New York Vocal Arts Ensemble, which won the Geneva Interna-

tional Music Competition, toured the world, and recorded for 35 years.

He served as a member of the music faculty at universities on both coasts and currently teaches at the Manhattan School of Music. He has written for the Opera Quarterly, Fanfare Magazine, the New York Observer, and Classical Voice, among others.

Personally, Beegle has known some famous artists quite well—artists like Licia Albanese and Zinka Milanov. Although these artists made a living with their talents, their intention was not to make money. It was all about the truth, the human heart, and sharing a deep vision.

Raymond Beegle.

Beethoven’s Benedictus from the ‘Missa solemnis’ Beethoven, an artist with a deep vision, is known to have said, “I love the truth more than anything.” His Benedictus from “Missa solemnis” exemplifies a deeply human truth, for although it is a part of the Catholic liturgy, Beegle believes that, in a Jungian sense, the words spoken at Christ’s entry into Jerusalem carry a meaning beyond the event itself. They surmount any particular belief system.

“Stories, myths, dreams, these messages from the unconscious, often have a more profound logic and tell us more than philosophy and science can begin to tell,” Beegle said. They resonate with human truths and are often alive with consummate beauty.

“The Benedictus captures the few minutes when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and is hailed by the multitude that cried, and perhaps whispered, ‘Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord,’” he explained.

The music begins with low strings and is a “brooding, warm, sympathetic” musical portrait of Christ’s heart, knowing, as he does, that he is soon to be killed.

Suddenly a magnificent violin solo begins, which is like the Holy Spirit descending, and marks the presence of the divine in man.

And then the whole orchestra joins in muted chords “as if to say ‘Yes, this is God’s son.’” The words are sung alternately by chorus and soloists, ending with “Hosanna in the highest.”

“Underlying all of this is a steady, undulating rhythm, which represents the movement

of the beast that carries Christ through this triumphant reception, past it, and into the future that awaits him.”

For Beegle, the piece shows us the ideal of mankind—its hope and love and desire for peace. It “celebrates the idea of divine possibility in humankind.”

He can only listen to this or other sublime pieces two or three times a year. “For musicians or those whose souls are susceptible, music allows rare, brief moments of ecstasy,” he said, “and then we descend again to the world.”

“But these should not be discounted.” At these times, the “tear ducts start. You feel transparent as if you were a liquid. You feel so full of gratitude for the beauty of things.”

Beegle seems to be saying that at our highest level of understanding, beauty and truth are one, and the result is a feeling of serenity and compassion.

On Beethoven’s manuscript of the “Missa solemnis” score, the composer wrote, “From my heart to the heart of the listener.”

Raymond Beegle at his home in New York on May 19.

The Effect of Great Music The finest classical music presents “a moral obligation to its listeners. It makes you want to be a good person, to tell the truth, and do the work in front of you as best as you can,” Beegle said.

He believes these are the things that make one happy: “In my 20s, I did things to find happiness.

It didn’t work. Happiness is not a goal; it is an effect.” It is a consequence of morality.

Beegle attended a concert by opera star, baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who was returning to the stage after receiving treatment for a brain tumor. The singer looked “diminished but sang gloriously,” he said.

Hvorostovsky’s work, said Beegle, has always been about truth: the struggle between right and wrong, between truth and lies, between despair and hope.

After the concert the audience seemed gentler, seemed to be better people than when they entered the auditorium. “Everyone was so kind to one another; graciously moving out of one another’s way, smiling, and sharing a sense of community, peace, and connection.”

This is the effect of classical music, and this is our hope, he said.

Coral went east to China in several primary ways: overland via the Silk Roads from Italy (whose product is some of the finest in the world), by sea from the Persian Gulf between 100 B.C. to A.D. 1000, and from the Mediterranean via the Indian Ocean headed for Central Asia between 1100–1900.

Of course, coral was also harvested in closer waters, namely off the coasts of Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

empress dowager and higher ranking consorts. The privilege to wear coral beads was bestowed only to the top tiers of imperial officials.

An official in the mid-Qing Dynasty worked hard to place in the first five ranks of an imperial office. As a fringe benefit, he got to wear a beautiful court necklace made of coral. But the beads are of imitation coral. One has to wonder if he ever found out.

Royalty The best and rarest coral objects were produced during the Han Dynasty, when noblemen favored decorating their living rooms with “trees” as the centerpiece, with coral as its branches and green jade as its leaves. In every following dynasty, coral remained a favorite among the elite.

In the Qing Dynasty the emperor’s official belt was yellow and set with four round gold plaques set with coral, turquoise, and 25 pearls. Coral was also reserved for the

A Protector From the Sea Coral was a precious medicine in ancient China. According to the “Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu),” it could brighten the eyes and balance excess and deficiency in the blood.

The Japanese believed that coral dissolves in poison and so wore pieces as functional charms of finely carved figurines called “ojime.” The ojime were worn dangling from waistbands until the moment they were needed to test for toxins.

Perhaps it is for the same reason that coral is a prime choice as a stopper on snuff bottles.

There are similar beliefs in the West. “The Craft and Frauds of Physick Expos’d” published in London in 1703 made mention of “red coral powder’d, salt of wormwood, and juice of lemons, with strong cinnamon water, against the most violent vomitings.” However, the remedy was so expensive that the author questions the cost benefit of such a potion.

“They [the remedies] are sold at four shillings the pint, except coral, cinnamon, quinces, and balsamick, which are something dearer. You may observe there are thirty two large spoonfuls, in a pint, and consider how many you will take to make the expense troublesome to you.”

Christine Lin is a jewelry designer and writer based in New York. The Divine Land Gemstone Compendium explores the culture of ancient China one gemstone at a time.

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Zoe Dufour Aims to Sculpt Empathy A glimpse into the atelier art movement

By Milene Fernandez | Epoch Times Staff

N

EW YORK—When we look at a work of art we immediately enter into a relationship with the artist who made it. Even centuries later we can sense the feelings that moved the artists to create those pieces. Echoing Leo Tolstoy, artists, especially artists who are sincere in evoking their selected feelings in their works, become a means of uniting people and of shaping culture in the grand scheme of things.

I really like that beautiful humor in life. If you really think about it, most of the things we go through, no matter how serious they are, there is an element of humor—sort of a ridiculousness to them.

Zoe Dufour

As a young artist who is just beginning to hone her own vision, Zoe Dufour emphasized her intention to be sincere in creating her sculptures, in showing the various emotional states and dynamics of how one being relates to another, whether between one person and another, or between people and animals. But before choosing her subject matter, Dufour starts by looking within.

“Through art I’m trying to clarify my perception of the world, so that it’s shareable with others. I would hope that through cultivating myself to become a better person, I can share a vision of positivity and beauty, provide a lens for others to see life with a different perspective,” Dufour said at the Grand Central Atelier where she works as an artist in residence.

Speaking softly about her life and work, Dufour showed a highly sensitive demeanor, yet with a fearless undercurrent. She wants to convey empathy in her work, which begins with how she works in the studio. The connection she develops with the model while sculpting becomes an integrated part of the finished piece.

“When I start sculpting someone, initially they are a little uncomfortable. It’s a pretty intimate process to be standing really close to someone while really looking at them—sometimes just a few inches away,” she said. “As I’m looking at a series of forms, I find what is beautiful and harmonious in their physicality, and when I talk with them it gives me a better sense of who they are as a person. I find a deeper appreciation the longer we work together. Eventually, toward the end, I feel there is a coming together of the likeness of the model in the sculpture and my sense of them as a person,” she said.

Lesson From a Horse Dufour has loved drawing, sculpting, and making things with her hands since she was child living in California. She also has always loved horses.

At 12 she was given a horse, Miley, that had been left out to pasture and hadn’t been handled for years. “He outweighed me probably by about a 1,000 pounds. I couldn’t make him do anything. I blamed him for all that I thought was bad in our relationship,” she said.

Then she recalled watching a man named Paul, who had learned natural horsemanship. She saw him leading his horse out to the pasture effortlessly, and the horse did not wear anything on its

CD Review

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A Composer and His Ideal In

By Barry Bassis The Melodiya label has just released on CD (distributed by Naxos) a recital of two of the most important artists of the Soviet era: mezzosoprano Elena Obraztsova (1939–2015) and composer Georgy Sviridov (1915–1998), who accompanies her on piano on all but one of the tracks. Titled simply with the names of the singer and composer, the album memorializes the significant collaboration between the two.

Obraztsova was born in Leningrad in 1939 and survived the siege of that city during World War II. Her father was sent to the front, while she remained with her mother.

After she won several voice competitions, Obraztsova made her Bolshoi debut in 1963 as Marina in Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov.”

Although still a student, she created a sensa-

MELODIYA

A release of a recital featuring mezzo-soprano Elena Obraztsova and composer Georgy Sviridov. tion and the following year went on tours in Japan and Italy, where she sang at La Scala opera house. She was immediately hailed as an international star and had a long career

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NIKKI SOONG/COURTESY OF ZOE DUFOUR

Zoe Dufour takes her horse, Miley, for a walk in California in 2013.

I would hope that through cultivating myself to become a better person, I can share a vision of positivity and beauty.

Zoe Dufour works on one of her sculptures at Grand Central Atelier in Long Island City, Queens, on April 14.

Zoe Dufour with one of her sculptures at Grand Central Atelier on April 14.

Zoe Dufour

head. It contrasted so much with her experience at that time. “I couldn’t lead Miley without him dragging me—waterski style,” she recalled, laughing.

She asked Paul for help and he worked with Miley briefly. It wasn’t an overnight fix, but Dufour saw how effective and kind Paul’s interaction was with Miley, and how the horse responded immediately.

“I realized it wasn’t that Miley was being bad. His behavior was just a result of unclear communication. That was really eye opening for me—to accept responsibility for a situation and to do what I could to change it, instead of blaming something or someone else, which I think has helped me a lot in my relationships with people—with my family, friends, and boyfriend,” Dufour said.

At 17 she had her first job training horses, but a few years later she was faced with having to make a choice.

Dufour admires the Russian horse trainer, Alexander Nevzorov. His Haute Ecole method of working in partnership with horses does not use any form of constraints—no bridles and bits—and no form of coercion whatsoever.

But after realizing that most of the equine industry is domi-

nated and fraught with questionable to even cruel methods, Dufour said, “I didn’t want to be a part of an industry that wasn’t kind or ultimately beneficial to all parties involved.”

“Even when I found that partnership and connection working with horses incredibly gratifying, I felt that few people were looking for that. It made me really sad to go to horse shows or to see blatant abuse that was deemed okay, just because everyone else seemed to be in agreement that that was just how it was done,” she said.

BENJAMIN CHASTEEN/EPOCH TIMES

SEE HER SCULPTURES at Eleventh Street Arts gallery, until June 3.

Dedicated to Art From Green Pastures to a Concrete Jungle Working with horses was a huge part of Dufour’s life, so it was hard to walk away from that career path. But she also wanted to depict horses realistically in her drawings. She then studied at the Ashland Academy of Art in Oregon, which moved to Hawaii (now Atelier Maui) a year after she started studying.

She seriously considered moving to Maui but decided against it. “I thought I’d probably just end up being a beach bum for the rest of my life,” she said, chuckling. Instead she moved to New York City in 2010.

“Honestly, I hated New York when I moved here. I guess it offended my sensibility. I just felt that people who are so removed from nature couldn’t live a healthy, natural lifestyle and that it made people grouchy,” she said. “New York has grown on me more and more every year. I think it’s just coming to a cultural understanding and finding a lifestyle in the city that fits,” she added. Dufour enjoys buying fresh produce at farmers markets in the city, and hiking and rock climbing upstate in her free time.

Laying a Foundation Dufour studied at the Grand Central Atelier for five years, a year longer than atelier’s standard core curriculum, so that she could also learn sculpting. The artist, Jiwoong Cheh, who taught at the Grand Central Atelier for about seven years, was her most influential teacher. “Without him I don’t think I would have the appreciation that I now have for sculpture,” she said.

Now Dufour works a 9-to-5 job beside Cheh and continues to learn from him and other artists at StudioEis—a commercial studio that produces figurative sculptures and historical reproductions for museums and corporations. In the evenings and on weekends she works on her own sculptures at the Grand Central Atelier.

She plans to create a series of sculptures that depict animal and human interactions and has recently started working on her first horse sculpture.

Through working with horses, she learned to become more aware of her perception of things, which is essential in classical representational art.

She described it, for lack of humbler words, as “the search for beauty, or the search for some truthfulness. It’s a process of becoming more aware of what exists around you, so you can be aware of your perception of things.”

As horses cannot communicate verbally with humans, she said you have to be very conscientious of how your actions could possibly affect them. “So I try to think about that when I’m sculpting someone, or about what the viewer’s experience would be in seeing the piece, once finished. Thinking empathetically is a direct result of my experience of working with horses,” she said.

But besides the feelings artists infuse in their creations, sculpture also entails a precise production process and complex technical aspects— for example, mixing chemicals in the correct ratios to make molds.

Dufour feels grateful for having the opportunity to cast and fabricate her own work and has been enjoying the process of learning to slow down and to plan ahead better.

“I tend to try something once without thinking it through and learn a lot from failing,” she said.

It has not been necessarily easy. She has had to learn to be more patient, realizing that taking shortcuts, eventually takes up more time.

“Before when I would try to cast my piece, I would end up panicking in the middle of the process because I hadn’t set out all the materials I needed, or some material was setting too fast. I would forget stages, and try to go back to fix them. It would be like making muffins and then realizing that you forgot to put in eggs, and then you would have to somehow mix the right ratio of eggs into all the semi-cooked muffin cups,” she said.

As Dufour begins to build her body of work, we can look forward to what she aspires to create skillfully, with reverence for the old masters, like Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of her favorites. He is known for swaying the viewer into perceiving various emotional states between the beings represented in his sculptures.

“I really like that beautiful humor in life. If you really think about it, most of the things we go through, no matter how serious they are, there is an element of humor—sort of a ridiculousness to them. I like that lightness, even about the really serious things. That is what I aim for, to have that feeling of empathy and lightness,” she said.

Contemplating Leo Tolstoy’s understanding of art as an essential condition of human life, Dufour’s intention to convey empathy and levity in her works will be a welcome means of shaping culture.

Zoe Dufour’s work is currently on view in a group show at Eleventh Street Arts gallery in Long Island City, Queens, until June 3. ”This Is New York” is a feature series that delves into the lives of inspiring individuals in New York City. See all our TINYs here: epochtim.es/ TINY or follow @milenefernandez on Twitter.

nterpreter, Sviridov and Obraztsova at the Bolshoi and opera houses throughout the rest of the world.

Her debut at the Metropolitan Opera took place in 1976 when she portrayed Amneris in Verdi’s “Aida.” In the opera, Aida wins the affection of the tenor, but in that performance, it was Obraztsova who thrilled the audience. Donal Henahan, the New York Times reviewer, raved about her and wrote that “the rest of the cast seemed mummified by contrast.”

She can be seen in two performances with Plácido Domingo that were filmed (and are available on DVD or on YouTube), “Carmen” and “Cavalleria rusticana.” Both were directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who is quoted as saying, “In my life there were three shocks— Anna Magnani, Maria Callas, and Elena Obraztsova.”

Georgy Sviridov Sviridov (1915–1998) studied with Dmitri Shostakovich, among others, and received numerous honors from the Soviet Union. This probably resulted in his being undervalued in the West during the Cold War and afterward. Hopefully, that neglect will be corrected by reissues of his music on Melodiya such as this one.

Although Sviridov wrote symphonies, piano concertos, chamber music, film scores, and solo piano pieces, he had a special interest in setting the works of Russian poets, from Alexander Pushkin to Boris Pasternak.

The album contains the cycles “Romances and Songs after Alexander Blok” and “Cast off Russia, poem for voice and piano after Sergei Yesenin,” plus the first performance of “Icon,” for chorus from the cycle “Songs from

Hard Times after Alexander Blok.” The last features a performance by the soprano along with the Moscow Chamber Choir and the Chamber Lineup of the Yurlov Choir, conducted by Vladimir Minin.

Sviridov is categorized as a neo-romantic, and these settings are melodic and performed with great sensitivity by Obraztsova. The singer noted the composer’s spirituality and is quoted in the liner notes as observing that “one can sing Sviridov’s work only if he has lived his life with poetry and music.”

While there is certainly a patriotic element in some of the poems and the music, as in the closing “Oh, Motherland, a Happy and Eternal Hour,” this seems to reflect feelings about the homeland and the Russian people rather than the government of the USSR. Like Benjamin Britten, the composer is also a

superb accompanist, for example, in the swirling notes of the Yesenin piece about impending death.

My only criticism of the album is that it doesn’t contain translations of the poems.

Nevertheless, Obraztsova’s vocal coloring conveys the mood of each piece, from welcoming spring on the first track to shifting into a lower register (as on the second piece, “The Weathercock”) where she sounds like a different singer. On “Lullaby” in the Blok cycle, her voice blends nicely with the lighter tones of soprano Makvala Kasrashvili.

In sum, lovers of art songs, especially those from Russia, should seek out this CD. Barry Bassis has been a music, theater, and travel writer for over a decade for various publications.

C6

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May 27–June 2, 2016 TheEpochTimes.com/EpochArts EDWARD DYE/EPOCH TIMES

FALUN DAFA !FALUN GONG" EXERCISES • Tuesdays, 1 p.m.–2 p.m. (through June 14) Tompkins Square Library, 331 E. 10th St. • Tuesdays, 6 p.m.–7 p.m. (through June 12, no class on May 31) Countee Cullen Library, 104 W. 136th St. • Wednesdays, 1 p.m.–2 p.m. (through June 15) Coney Island Library, 1901 Mermaid Ave., Brooklyn A class of five exercises including meditation.

Come relieve your stress and anxieties, increase your energy and vitality, and enjoy peace of mind. Free. en.FalunDafa.org

THINGS TO DO COMMUNITY EVENTS NEW IN MANHATTAN COURTESY OF AMERICAN CONCERN FOR ART AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

American Crafts Festival Lincoln Center Plaza June 4, 5, 11, & 12 Saturdays, noon–9 p.m., & Sundays, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.

380 juried craft displays selected from every region of the United States. Continuous entertainment, craft demonstrations.

Free. CraftsAtLincoln.org

ONGOING IN MANHATTAN Magical Designs for Mozart’s Magic Flute Through August 27 New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza An exhibition that compares scenic and costume designs from a select group of 20th and 21st century productions extolled for their remarkable visual achievement. Since its premiere in 1791, this opera has inspired countless teams of directors and designers to create a cornucopia of imaginative productions that have beguiled audiences of all ages. Free. LincolnCenter.org New York & The Nation Ongoing The Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History, 170 Central Park West Explore the story of New York and America in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History. $20 adults, $12 students, $15 seniors. NYHistory.org Family Sundays at Rubin Museum Ongoing 150 W. 17th St. Bring your family to the Museum for a Sunday afternoon full of familyfriendly activities. Drop into the Education Center for some art-making, enjoy our 2 p.m. family exhibition tour, or go on your own thematic gallery search. Free.

RubinMuseum.org

Magical Designs for Mozart’s Magic Flute Through August 27 New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza An exhibition that compares scenic and costume designs from a select group of 20th and 21st century productions extolled for their remarkable visual achievement. Since its premiere in 1791, this opera has inspired countless teams of directors and designers to create a cornucopia of imaginative productions that have beguiled audiences of all ages. Free. LincolnCenter.org New York & The Nation The Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History, 170 Central Park West Explore the story of New York and America in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History. $20 adults, $12 students, $15 seniors.

NYHistory.org Family Sundays at Rubin Museum 150 W. 17th St. Bring your family to the Museum for a Sunday afternoon full of familyfriendly activities. Drop into the Education Center for some art-making, enjoy our 2 p.m. family exhibition tour, or go on your own thematic gallery search. Free.

RubinMuseum.org Film Society of Lincoln Center Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 W. 65th St.; Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St. Year-round programming that includes premieres of new films from an international roster of established and emerging directors. $14. FilmLinc.com

ENDING IN MANHATTAN Shakespeare’s Star Turn in America Through May 27 New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza The exhibition focuses on Shakespeare in North America from the Colonial times to the present. The multimedia exhibition uses artifacts from the Library for the Performing Arts’ unique collection to document the on-going

popularity of the Shakespeare plays. Free. NYPL.org

VISUAL ARTS NEW IN MANHATTAN Ceramics by Francis Delille Editions Paris June 8–Sept. 30 Vallois America at 27 E. 67th St. Ceramics will showcase a selection of rare pieces of the most prominent contemporary ceramics artists, all produced in La Tuilerie Manufacture in France, a workshop dedicated to preserving the traditions and pushing the limits of ceramic work. Vallois.com

ONGOING IN MANHATTAN Global by Design: Chinese Ceramics from the R. Albuquerque Collection Through Aug. 7 Metropolitan Museum of Art Global by Design will focus on the period—from the late 16th to the 18th century—when Chinese porcelain became a global luxury, transforming both the European ceramic industry and styles of dining and drinking. Featuring 60 exquisite and unusual pieces, this presentation will challenge the long-standing, and overly rigid, tradition of cataloging Chinese ceramics as domestic or trade items. $12–$25 suggested.

METMuseum.org Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World Through July 17 Metropolitan Museum of Art The conquests of Alexander the Great transformed the ancient world, making trade and cultural exchange possible across great distances.

Alexander’s retinue of court artists and extensive artistic patronage provided a model for his successors, the Hellenistic kings, who came to rule over much of his empire. $12–$25 suggested.

METMuseum.org Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs Through July 24 Metropolitan Museum of Art Spectacular works of art created in the eleventh through thirteenth century from Turkmenistan to the Mediterranean. Approximately

270 objects—including ceramics, glass, stucco, works on paper, woodwork, textiles, and metalwork— from American, European, and Middle Eastern public and private collections will be shown. $12–$25 suggested.

METMuseum.org Expressions of Nature in Korean Art Through Sept. 18 Metropolitan Museum of Art The display shows how select motifs, especially plants and animals, have been illustrated on ceramics, painting, sculpture, lacquer, and textiles, and what they mean.

Some types of images and symbols are nearly universal across East Asia; others are specific to Korea. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org

ENDING IN MANHATTAN Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture Through June 5 The Frick Collection, 1 E. 70th St. One of the most celebrated and influential portraitists of all time, Anthony van Dyck’s supremely elegant manner and convincing evocation of a sitter’s inner life—whether real or imagined—made him the favorite portraitist of many of the most powerful and interesting figures of the seventeenth century.

Frick.org Chinese Textiles: Ten Centuries of Masterpieces Through June 9 Metropolitan Museum of Art This installation, which explores the cultural importance of silk in China, showcases the most important and unusual textiles from the Museum’s collection. $12–$25 suggested.

METMuseum.org

ONGOING ELSEWHERE RESIDENTS Exhibition Through June 3 46-06 11th St., Long Island City, Queens This group show presents nine emerging artists, all recent graduates of Grand Central Atelier, in a showcase of new paintings, drawings, and sculpture.

EleventhStreetArts.com

PERFORMING ARTS NEW IN MANHATTAN

a new work, and talented students from AileyCamp will perform a work inspired by Talley Beatty’s “The Stack-up.” $500–$50,000. AlvinAiley.org

Joffrey Ballet Concert Group May 28, 2 p.m.

219 W. 19th St. The Joffrey Ballet Concert Group will dance an evening of exciting repertory including a revival of Gerald Arpino’s beloved “Suite St. Saëns,” a work that has not been performed in over ten years.

In the words of Agnes de Mille, Suite St. Saëns is “like standing in a flight of meteors.” The program also includes George Balanchine’s neo-Romantic Valse Fantaisie, and new works

by Gabrielle Lamb and Dwight Rhoden. $35. NewYorkLiveArts.org

ONGOING IN MANHATTAN

Night of a Thousand Judys June 6, 8 p.m.

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center “Night Of A Thousand Judys” will honor the iconic Judy Garland with special skits, tributes, and songs from her legendary career as movie star, recording artist and stage performer. There will be a pre-show VIP reception at 6:30 pm and the performance at 8 pm. The evening is written and hosted by Justin Sayre with special guests to be announced. $45–$500.

KaufmanMusicCenter.org

MUSIC

The Golden Cockerel June 6–11 The Metropolitan Opera With his inimitable style and sensitivity, Ratmansky creates rich characters for the seductive Queen, a marvelously gullible Tsar and the darkly magical cockerel— all set against a kaleidoscope of vibrant color that evoke a mythical Russia.

From $20. MetOpera.org Ailey Spirit Gala June 8, 7 p.m.

Lincoln Center Plaza A one-night-only benefit performance and party.

The Ailey Spirit Gala benefit performance at 7pm includes the world-renowned Ailey dancers in excerpts of Alvin Ailey’s Cry and Robert Battle’s Awakening. The rising stars of Ailey II will perform Ray Mercer’s “Something Tangible,” gifted young dancers from The Ailey School (ages 6 to 23) will showcase their talents and the breadth of the program’s training in

Mozart Forever: Fifty Years of the Mostly Mozart Festival May 24–Aug. 27 New York Public Library for the Performing at Lincoln Center Lincoln Center launched America’s first indoor summer music festival as “Midsummer Serenades: A Mozart Festival” in August 1966. The idea was a success from the start, and by 1970 the festival had transformed into Mostly Mozart. Free.

LincolnCenter.org

NEW IN MANHATTAN Music and Art from the Court of Charles I June 3, 6–7 p.m.

The Frick Collection English music spanned a range of styles when Anthony van Dyck served as court painter to Charles I. In this Salon Evening, period music ensemble Sonnambula will perform treasured works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in celebration of the special exhibition Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture. $40.

Frick.org

ONGOING IN MANHATTAN Spiral Music Wednesdays Rubin Museum, 150 W. 17th St. Spiral Music presents acoustic music every Wednesday evening at the base of the museum’s spiral staircase.

Artists who specialize in music from the Himalayas and South Asia are invited to forge a connection between their music and the art in the galleries. Free.

RubinMuseum.org

Dear Readers If you have an event to suggest, please send details to NYC_Arts@ EpochTimes.com in the format you see here.

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May 27–June 2, 2016 TheEpochTimes.com/EpochArts ALL PHOTOS BY LARA GOETSCH

Theater Review

Idealism Squelched

by Apathy and Self-Interest China and America intersect in two vastly different yet oppressive settings

By Sharon Kilarski | Epoch Times Staff

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HICAGO—While David Henry Hwang’s “Chinglish” amused us with misunderstandings between Chinese and American businesspeople, British playwright Lucy Kirkwood’s “Chimerica” has a different end in mind.

For Americans, at least, she asks what we really stand for in relation to China.

We are reminded that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) simply beats up, tortures, or kills anyone who challenges its authority or strays too far from its distortion of facts to maintain a facade.

It’s an election year in 2012 as American businesses eye the fiscal cliff, worry about the insurmountable debt to China, and reach desperate fingers across the globe toward the Middle Kingdom’s 1.3 billion buyers.

With this, we are reminded too that U.S. corporate interests seduce some with money and encourage others to become, from the Chinese perspective, “car-slaves,” house-slaves,” or economic slaves to our children.

But Kirkwood’s point is that the effect the interdependent behemoths have on its citizens in the early 21st century is looking more and more alike. Both trample and squelch idealism.

It’s been 23 years, but feels much longer since fictional photojournalist Joe Schofield (Coburn Goss) snapped the iconic photo that epitomized the Tiananmen Square Massacre in the minds of the West: The one where the man in a white shirt, holding two bags, stands alone against a line of tanks.

Now Schofield is back in Beijing visiting his old friend, English teacher Zhang Lin (Norman Yap), and plying him with questions. Did he know who that hero, the tank man, was? Is he still alive?

Does Zhang know his name?

These questions rouse painful memories for Zhang, who participated in the student protests with his young, pregnant wife (Janelle Villas) and witnessed the massacre. He’s been living in a squalid, tiny apartment ever since. He uses the TV to drown out the coughs of his dying neighbor and drinks a lot of beer, despite the nagging of his well-meaning brother, Zhang Wei (Wai Yim).

But Zhang relents and gives Schofield a possible name for the tank man and speculates that the hero, one of thousands from Zhang’s point of view, likely escaped to New York.

So Schofield, along with journalist Mel Stanwyck (Chris Rickett), begins a hunt for the tank man, who might very well have died decades before.

Photojournalism, Schofield believes, once marked each pivotal news event by imprinting startling images on our consciousness. But now, as we drown in social media, images of despotism, cruelty, and despair have been stripped of their strength.

Yet Schofield maintains the hope—a hope that few share—that finding tank man could uplift people. They might see him less as a hero—a term that seems outdated—and more as an ordinary survivor of an extraordinary event in history.

But that’s okay. It could still give people hope, says the idealistic journalist.

Along the way in his crusade, we meet characters who show many changes in America since 1989. Frank Hadley (H.B. Ward), Schofield’s boss, a prototype of a hard-boiled, blustery newsman, has in the 21st century been reduced to editing for Life and Leisure. The U.S. press now caters to corporate interests rather than the truth, getting closer in its mission to that of the CCP’s press, long the Party’s handmaiden.

Representing the corporate worldview is Schofield’s on-again, off-again love interest, British Tessa Kendrick (Eleni Pappageorge), a marketing analyst. She sees the Western world in demographic terms and is intent on cataloging the Chinese in the same way.

Zhang’s world has undergone startling changes too. China in 2012 has grown so fast in order to catch up with the developed world that anything that stands in its way—the environment, human beings, or the simple truth—is considered an acceptable casualty.

Take facts like air pollution. The U.S. index of air quality is available online for Chinese Internet users, but this data hardly bothers hardline Party folk, who consider the information the evil manipulations of American corporate sabotage.

Zhang knows better than to trust Party propaganda. Not only has he been stirred up by Schofield’s visit and memories from his past, he also

(L–R) A security guard (Dan Lin) asks Zhang Lin (Norman Yap) to sign a statement.

‘Chimerica’ TimeLine Theatre Company 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago Tickets 773-281-8463 x6, or TimelineTheatre.com Running Time 2 hours, 55 minutes (one intermission) Closes July 31

(L–R) Friends Zhang Lin (Norman Yap) and Joe Schofield (Coburn Goss) share beers in Zhang’s apartment in Beijing and recall the day when the iconic “Tank Man” photo was taken.

Photojournalist Joe Schofield (Coburn Goss) embarks upon a global quest to find the Tiananmen Square “Tank Man” in TimeLine Theatre’s production of “Chimerica.”

‘Chimerica’ won best new play for the 2014 Olivier Awards.

Zhang Lin (Norman Yap) comforts his dying neighbor Ming Xiaoli, (Cheryl Hamada). The air pollution in Beijing is killing her.

Liuli (Janelle Villas) and young Zhang Lin (Dan Lin) recall how they first met. watches his neighbor (Cheryl Hamada), once a poster girl for the Party, dying because of polluted air. These events lead him to undertake a spate of small-scale activism—a fervor of idealism dormant since his youth.

As for Schofield, the once compassionate man gets so caught up in his mission that either his zealotry or a second shot at fame lead him to bribe, blackmail, or coerce others during his investigation. Moreover, he neglects to help Zhang back in China, still fighting the good fight.

Thus, two men undertake missions, in vastly different yet oppressive settings. And we see very different stakes for of them—a chilling outcome for one man and a morally disastrous one for the other.

The play presents an unspoken accusation against American self-interest—self-interest that amounts to an indifferent betrayal of China’s people of conscience.

In one telling scene, an American lawyer (Caron Buinis) calls her corporate client (Tom Hickey) to get him to sign off on an issue. It’s just standard protocol, a blip, and hardly worth mentioning— a courtesy to the Chinese, it’s called. She asks for the release of the identity of a Chinese citizen in whom the CCP has a special interest. This extended courtesy leads to an arrest and torture in China.

Director Nick Bowling keeps the nearly three hour performance spellbinding and relies on the dizzying projections by Mike Tutaj to take us back and forth across the world. Sound by André J. Pluess is compelling but overly loud.

Sterling performances all around, fortunately.

From Buinis’s witty senator to Villas’s haunting portrayal of Zhang’s wife, the cast convinces us in each of the multiple roles they undertake.

Goss as Schofield maintains our compassion despite his irresponsible failings, and the journey by Yap’s Zhang breaks our hearts. Without excellent performances we could not concentrate on the issues at stake.

America’s betrayal through apathy is very much on trial here, just as much as the CCP’s willful twisting of fact and flesh. It invariably reminds us of Elie Wiesel’s warning that the greatest evil is indifference.

Ever since 1988 when the Steppenwolf Theatre world premiere of “The Grapes of Wrath” won the Tony Award for Best Play, Chicago productions have enriched and invigorated New York theater. Presented here is the very best Chicago currently has to offer.

C8

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May 27–June 2, 2016 TheEpochTimes.com/EpochArts

Glasshütte The universal elegance of precision

By Emel Akan | Epoch Times Staff

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COURTESY OF GLASSHUTTE ORIGINAL

Senator Excellence.

eing a German luxury watchmaker among many Swiss luxury watchmakers at Baselworld, the largest fine watch and jewelry show in the world, is not the least bit daunting for Glasshütte Original. The German luxury watch brand that takes its name from the town where its timepieces are made, is owned by Swatch Group, yet it encapsulates a decidedly German knowhow and style.

At Baselworld this spring, Glasshütte Original unveiled its new Calibre 36 timepiece, with an innovative movement, which sets a new standard in precision, running time, and stability.

The brand has also introduced its most recent edition of the Senator Chronometer, which offers certified precision with a distinctive dark blue dial. The watch unites high-level performance with a timeless elegance.

At Baselworld in Switzerland earlier this year, Epoch Times own Pamela Tsai spoke with Yann Gamard, CEO of Glashütte Original.

Epoch Times: Can you please describe the value of the brand?

Yann Gamard: First of all, it’s not a Swiss brand it’s a German brand. The Swiss watch industry is a big part of this industry and they do beautiful watches. It is an honor for us to be able to race with them and to be part of the scenery.

They recognize that we are a good alternative in high-end watchmaking.

Secondly, in order to compete with Swiss brands, we have to be very good at precision, accuracy, and quality. And since we are a German brand, we are very good at those.

We also have our own sense of elegance and beauty. It is usually very sleek. We’re very much focused on what the consumer will see.

We put all the complications on the inside of the watch. And on the outside, we try to make it as readable and as elegant as possible.

Innovation in Watchmaking Epoch Times: Customers have evolving tastes and preferences. How do you overcome that challenge?

Mr. Gamard: In our company, we have a lot of young people. We don’t just have elderly guys like me. We have more than 170 years of history and we’re also very innovative in how we make watches. We are the innovation in the Glashütte area.

We get young people involved in the manufacturing. When you are a manufacturer, you have the chance to have every profession making a watch in the same place, so they can talk to each other. If you don’t have this vertical integration, you don’t have the same chance.

That is why we are able to produce these beautiful watches. When the market comes up with a fancy thing like a smartwatch, then we also produce a smartwatch.

Yann Gamard, CEO, Glasshütte Original

COURTESY OF GLASSHUTTE ORIGINAL

Senator Chronometer, new edition.

The dial is inspired by the famous marine chronometers of the past.

ment. It is a beautiful piece. It synchronizes the hours and the seconds.

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Like a Phoenix Rising From the Ashes F

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Epoch Times: And what about your experience with Chinese customers?

Mr. Gamard: Chinese people are very curious, they function with knowledge. The population is not superficial. They put a lot of depth into things.

I keep saying this to everyone: America has 300 years of history, Europe has 2,000 years and the Chinese have 5,000 years of history.

So they understand history. We often do events in China. I invite, for instance, a painter,

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Epoch Times: You are overseeing the brand globally. Which markets are the fastest growing markets?

Mr. Gamard: Our fastest growing market is China.

China is a little bit impatient right now because it only grows some 10 percent per year.

In the past the Chinese market grew 25 to 40 percent per year. But it is still a very good growth.

Epoch Times: We’re seeing a huge number of Chinese tourists that are buying watches and luxury brands outside of China, for example, in London, Paris, New York, Frankfurt, and Sydney. How do you respond to that trend?

Mr. Gamard: We communicate to them primarily in China. Also like other tourists, we are happy to see Chinese when they are abroad and on vacation. They have more willingness to spend than they have at home. We also have tourists from America who come to Europe and shop here, and tourists from Europe who go to America, Dubai, or Asia to shop there.

When a person travels for leisure, then he or she tends to be a bit more ready for shopping.

And we keep everything the same, it’s the same product, the same brand, and the same store, all around the world. There is a consistency and when a traveler sees us, he or she sees us in the same way no matter where they are.

We have a boutique in Dresden, we have a boutique in Paris, we have a boutique in Tokyo, we have a boutique in Madrid, we have different boutiques all around the world. We have boutiques also in China, Hong Kong, and Macau—they all present the same values and brand experience.

Epoch Times: How often do you travel to visit the boutiques?

Mr. Gamard: I go to every boutique at least two or three times a year.

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Epoch Times: Can you please explain the new Senator Chronometer?

Mr. Gamard: We have one of the most complicated but at the same time, simple chronometers. The work that is done inside the movement is fantastic. We launched a blue chronometer.

This chronometer is certified at a very high level, with lots of duress tests.

It’s a German chronometer norm, not a Swiss chronometer. We tested the watch and the move-

The people in Glasshütte needed some kind of a ‘religion’ to survive. And their religion became the art of watchmaking.

TT

The New Senator Chronometer— ‘German, Not Swiss’

or a poet-reader, because there are lots of similarities. Their taste for art is very deep. Their taste for balance in life is really something that people don’t fully understand.

Every watch will come with a certificate that explains the life of the watch. And if you go on the website, you can even have the graphics of the life balance of the watch, in the six positions of a chronometer.

And this is why we’re actually doing quite alright in China. Because when they are informed, they see that the watch has a great value. We organize VIP manufacture visits.

They fly over to Europe. They come and visit us, and then we walk them through the individual process of watchmaking.

We have a museum where we explain to them the 170 years of history. And we have a school as well. So all these are integrated and they realize the depth. We receive 7,000 requests for visits every year from all around the world and a lot of requests come from China.

We have several boutiques in China. We take China very seriously. It works quite well for us. I think Chinese consumers like the brand.

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Epoch Times: What’s the price point?

Mr. Gamard: Thirty-six thousand, five hundred euros in red gold, and 38,000 euros in white gold.

Yann Gamard, CEO of Glashütte Original/ Swatch Group.

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Epoch Times: Smartwatch?

Mr. Gamard: Of course, we produce a smartwatch. There are 37 time zones in the world.

This watch [Senator Cosmopolite] manages the 37 time zones. Summer time, winter time, day and night are on one crown. So if you’re going to Los Angeles, you use IATA codes, you take the code LAX. And if you’re in summer you take DLAX, daylight saving time and the watch automatically sets itself for the time over there.

It’s a program that does that, not software.

The program is based on these wheels and pinions. There are two problems with this watch, though. It is not a good smartwatch because first you never have to charge this watch. It functions all the time on your wrist, 24/7.

And secondly, this watch will appreciate in the future. You don’t have to change the software every two years. So that’s why it’s not really a smartwatch.

MATTHIAS KEHREIN/EPOCH TIMES

Fine detailing and decoration of the moving components, finished by hand, is an obligation of the brand.

Epoch Times: Are you doing watches specifically for Chinese customers?

Mr. Gamard: No, because the Chinese customers want watches from East Germany. They want our watches. They want Glashütte.

In the last 170 years, the town Glashütte experienced several economic and political crises including two world wars. It’s been through four political regimes, forced to believe in different ideologies, and then forced to not believe in a religion at all.

So the people in Glasshütte needed some kind of a “religion” to survive. And their religion became the art of watchmaking. They really put their hearts into this technique, technology, elegance, precision, and high quality, and they have passed on their passion, generation after generation.

The watchmaking industry in Glashütte nearly died every time there was one of those crisis moments and was reborn again, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The last moment of rebirth was one when the wall came down in 1989. So it’s a continuous cycle. It is the art of survival.

That’s what happens to people who have to go through different life cycles and different types of cycles. You become stronger and you adapt to changes.