Culture lens mar 2014

s n e L e tur

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Art Is Everywhere

The Chinese Foundation Secondary School

The Music and Cultural Issues May-June 2014

C O N T E N T

p02/ Content p04/ New Media (Bill Viola) p06/ School News (New Media Art Workshop) p08/ Multimedia Performance Art in Asia p10/ Robert Wilson p12/ Pina Bausch p14/ Zero Nuke Exhibition p16/ Campus TV (Cultural Programme) p18 /詩 與 攝影工作坊 p19/ 也斯詩作命題音樂會 p20/ 形象香港文化遊 p22/ 藝術與科技共舞

Bill Viola

New York, 1951

About this artist

Viola is an American video and sound installation artist. He was involved with video and electronic media when he was still a student at Syracuse University, New York, in the early 1970s. His concentration on audio as well as visual mediation was influenced by the composer David Tudor and other composers while he was studying with them. Viola’s approach became broader and less dependent on technological intervention in the early 1990s. The video installations Threshold, Heaven and Earth and the Nantes Triptych (London, Tate), all from 1992, present open-ended allegories in a semi-documentary form. p.4

New Media

A

rt today is characterized by its vitality and diversity.

Contemporary artists utilize a whole range of media and methods to explore the world around them everything from hybrid paintings using unfamiliar material, to digitally manipulated photographs and video works.

Early

avant-garde movements made use of nonconventional materials and non-traditional media in order to attack the exclusive status of art and the unique, precious character of the art object. With the institutional establishment of contemporary art, boundaries of different art forms could be crossed without this being a negation of art as such.

The 1960s witnessed a far-reaching reappraisal of what

art could be. Pioneers utilized the new video technology to express their interest in the physical space through making “installations�.

Subjects

New Media artists have moved away from abstraction

and towards an engagement with the world around them.

Using photography, film, and video - technologies that record impressions of actual, physical reality - the lives of ordinary people can be relayed in recorded images.

Common

themes include people’s interactions with their environment, relationships with their environment, relationships with one another, their hopes, fears, and selfimage. People have also become not simply the subjects, but active participants in the creation of the works.

e g a t o e id

V U

nder the guidance of New Media Artist Kenny Wong, our students transformed old or broken hard disks into sound devices. Besides having a richer understanding of new media art and green approaches of artistic practice, students can also bring the DIY ‘speaker’ back home!

Location: Videotage Time: 13:50p.m-17:00 p.m p.6

New Media ART Workshop

Kenny Wong Chi-Chuen, our school graduate, is a Hong Kong media artist. He received his Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Creative Media from City University of Hong Kong in 2011.

Wong puts emphasis on art and multi-discipline research to express the delicate relationship between daily experiences and perceptual stimulations.

GayBird, “CouCou on Mars”, June 2013, premiere in Hong Kong

MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE ART IN ASIA Multimedia performances were

common in the West as early as the 1970s. Theatre productions often involves a creative conglomeration of artistic media. While these performances embrace the experimental spirit of the artists and open up new creative options, they also lead the audience into a much wider vision of the arts through the simultaneous presentation of the disciplines involved. However, in Hong Kong, multimedia performances have yet to attain a similar reception because the local audience’s familiarity with the form is still minimal. p.8

GayBird was born and educated

in Hong Kong. He graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with an MA in Music Composition and Electroacoustic Music and from Hong Kong City University with an MPhil in Creative Media. Since 1996, he has been working in the Hong Kong music industry as music director, composer and producer for over 100 music productions, new media performances, concerts and TV commercials.

Tan Dun Water Concerto 譚盾水樂 “What is water? Sometimes you feel water is

the voice of birth, or rebirth. But now I feel water is like tears, tears of nature. Every time I travel around I feel it’s very difficult to find clean water.

Everywhere is polluted almost. So it makes me feel difficult to sing with my music…

To me, my early life, living with water, having fun with water, and playing ritualistic music with water, has become very inspiring. Somehow now, I spend so much of my time to recompose this kind of memory…to recompose this kind of experience, with the new method. In Hunan, water was a daily thing with our life. Every day we washed everything with the river. All the old women, they always went to river for laundry, making a beautiful sound, very rhythmic.

So I transpose those memories of beautiful laundry sounds, and swimming sounds, body popping sounds, water dancing sounds, water teasing sounds, water popping sound, into my orchestrations.” Tan Dun

T A N D U N

He is the winner

of the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for music composition, Dun graduated from Beijing’s Central Conservatory and Columbia University in New York and began his career in the Peking Opera after planting rice for two years during the Cultural Revolution.

His imaginative and textural compositions have earned him the respect of music lovers worldwide, hurdling cultural barriers with a unique fusion of Eastern and Western sensibilities.

Robert Wilson

“Zinnias: The Life of Clementine Hunter�

MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE ART Robert Wilson

H

e has been leading figure in postmodern theater since 1963, when he arrived at New York City, he has created lengthy, often controversial multimedia events that combine drama, dance, and stylized gesture with contemporary instrumental music, opera, and art. Extending the tradition of surrealism, exploring the theatrical parameters of time and space, and usually created in collaboration with other artists, his theater art pieces frequently include visually dazzling tableaux and stylized presentations of p.10

H

e is best known for his collaborations with Philip Glass on Einstein on the Beach, and with numerous other artists, including Heiner M端ller, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Gavin Bryars, Rufus Wainwright and Marina Abramovic.

E

instein on the Beach is an opera in four acts, scored

by Philip Glass and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson.The opera eschews traditional narrative in favor of a formalist approach based on structured spaces laid out by Wilson in a series of storyboards.

Vollmond (Full Moon)

Pina Bausch

Pina Bausch and the Wuppertal Dance Theater

Pina Bausch is often described as a superstar of 20th century choreography, because she revolutionized live performance by initiating the dance-theatre movement, which influenced generations of dance artists. In Vollmond (full moon), her 12 fabulous dancers experience extreme emotions as they evoke the lust for life, the complexity of male-female interaction, desire, misunderstanding and seduction. Water is omnipresent in this piece. It falls from the sky as a fine drizzle that becomes a thundering ownpour, forming a river onstage and provoking a flood. p.12

Hong Kong Arts Festival

Pina Bausch Pina Bausch was one of the dominant figures of dance of the past four decades, an artist who made an immense contribution to the influential dancetheatre movement. The first choreographer with a background in modern dance to successfully penetrate the closed post-war German theatre scene, she made headlines in the 1970s with the macabre, violent tableaux of her first dance pieces and her iconoclastic versions of classics such as Orpheus and Eurydice (1975), Rite of Spring (1975) and Bluebeard (1977).

In 1973 Pina Bausch became the artistic director of the Wuppertal Opera Ballet, an institution that she renamed Tanztheater Wuppertal two years later, instigating a veritable revolution with the advent of the dance-theatre movement.

The dance company will be joined by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and world-class singers to bring the grand score to life, exploring themes of love, purity and sacrifice in this emotional Greek tragedy!

Mar 12-15, 7:30pm.

Grand Theatre, Cultural Centre

Zero Nuke Exhibition

Photo taking at Zero Nuke Exhibation

Synopsis

In 2014, the Hong Kong SAR Government is planning to change its own energy

mix. Part of this plan is to expand imports of nuclear power. Meanwhile, news spread that Taiwan is to test out the operation of its ‘No.4’ Longmen nuclear power plant, leaving locals shocked.

Greenpeace

is welcoming Taiwan’s Green Citizens’ Action Alliance’s No Nukes Festival to Hong Kong, which consists of a photo exhibition by Japanese photographer Ōta Yasusuke and an illustration exhibition by Japanese and Taiwanese artists. We’re hoping that as government undertakes its consultation on revamping Hong Kong’s mix of energy sources, the public will remember the harm caused by nuclear power and make the right choice.

p.14

字 旅 Photo taking at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station

TYPE TRIP-The New Asian Graphic Design Exhibition Synopsis

“TYPE TRIP-The New Asian Graphic Design Exhibition” attempts to explore the relationship between graphic design and typography from eight different Asian cities.

Initiated by Japanese design journal typographics ti: in 2011, “TYPE TRIP” began at ddd gallery in Osaka. Not only travelling in Asia, but this project initiated meetings with different talented graphic designers and studios via face-to-face interviews, in the attempt to diverse typographic matters.

Movana Chen is a Hong Kong-based artist who studied fashion design at the London College of Fashion and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Univeristy in Hong Kong.

Interview with Campus TV Movana Chan Cultural Programme Movana Chen is a Hong Kong-based

artist who studied fashion design at the London College of Fashion and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Univeristy in Hong Kong.

Movana was one of the

30 finalists of the 2011 & 2012 Sovereign Asian Art Prize. Her art works have been collected by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Louis Vuitton, Chinart LaGalerie (Paris), Galerie Helene Lamarque (Miami) and private collectors.

Her coming project “KNITerture� solo exhibit at ArtisTree (Hong Kong) in 2013.

Cultural Channel 5/5 1:00p.m-1:30p.m p.16

Interview with Campus TV Jenny Lee Cultural Programme Jenny Lee 李嘉盈 Jenny is the winner of the ‘World Bronze Medal’ (Culture and the Arts) in the 2010 New York Festivals with radio documentary and was awarded the WKCDA Fellowship to enter the 2011 ‘Advanced Cultural Leadership Program’, organized by HKU and UK Clore. She has been listed in the HK government’s ‘Central Personality Index’ since 2007.

As a radio 4 presenter, Jenny Lee have interviewed more than 400 artists, from local to international, from prodigies to established personalities.

Cultural Channel 16/5 1:00p.m-1:30p.m

《形象香港》詩 與 攝影工作坊 本校積極進行跨學 科教學計劃。我們 今年與香港藝術節 合作，除了進行當 代舞蹈創作外，今 次聯合語文課，進 行新詩與攝影教學 實驗計劃 。

導師鄧小樺向同學講解也斯的新詩創作

同學正積極地向Zoe導師學習攝影技巧 p.18

也斯詩作命題音樂會 《北角汽車渡海碼頭》、《寒 夜．電車廠》、《中午在 魚涌》 、《鴨寮街》......一首首記錄了香 港人記憶與城市歷史的詩作，組 成了已故本地作家及詩人梁秉鈞 （也斯：1949-2013）的詩集《形 象香港》。從也斯描述城市的意 象出發，香港藝術節邀請了五位 本地音樂人及作曲家，以也斯的 詩為靈感泉源譜出五首全新音樂 創作。

本校學生於3月22日到香港大會堂欣 賞也斯詩作命題音樂會，及後音樂 會當中的作曲家林蘭芝與劉詠峰來 校與學生分享映像、文字與音樂的 關係 。

2014年03月22日(星期六) 晚上8:00 香港大會堂劇院

也斯 也斯 也斯 細閱．香港

作曲家林蘭芝正朗讀詩人也斯先生 的作品《花布街》並分享此詩帶給 她的音樂創作靈感

也斯

比較不同的書本，猶如比較城市。書本有書本的矛盾，城市 有城市的。尋找一種觀看的方法。城市是書本的背景，影響 了書本的產生，成為書緣的空白，串連的標點，形成節奏， 渲染感性。書本探測城市的秘密，發掘城市的精髓，抗衡城 市的偏側，反省城市的局限。若果城市變得非人化，我們總 是希望書本可以令人變得人性化。

也斯

<<書與城市>> 節錄

《形象香港》中上環文化遊

中上環是個結合殖民地風 情和港式中國歷史片段的 著名區域，寧靜而充滿著 比比皆是的民間寶物，是 典型的香港拼貼畫。是次 文化遊活動，導師帶領學 生漫步荷李活道的老店 鋪，踏上樓梯街古老的石 級，再徜徉摩羅街的古玩 市場。 學生在體驗香港小城故事 之餘，也進行攝影與新詩 創作活動 。 p.20

《形象香港》九龍城文化遊 九龍寨城從前是個充斥著鴉片煙窟和妓寨的無政府管轄區。由於位置 處於舊啟德機場航道下，區內高密度而低樓層建築得以逃過大型重建 發展，保留著許多舊區老店。學生漫游區內，不難從大街小巷裹發現 比比皆是的舊事舊物，而鄧小樺老師不但帶領學生遊覽特色的九龍寨 公園，更會從中分享九龍寨城的小城故事。

鄧小樺老師 向同學講解也 斯《帶一枚苦 瓜旅行》並帶 學生選購水果 創作新詩

同學 用寶 拍照 麗萊 並用 相機 寫下 新 詩 當刻 感受 形 式

藝術與科技共舞

凌志豪 5E (22)

今年一月筆者觀看香港藝術中心年度旗艦展 Distilling Senses: A Journey through Art and Technology in Asian Contemporary Art （提 煉觀感：亞洲當代藝術的藝術與科技之旅----自譯）是次旗艦展策 展人林淑儀透過展出九位亞洲藝術家的作品探索藝術與科技之間的 關係。 我們的生活裡充滿科技。然而，只要一天忘記帶電話、一天不開 Facebook，人們或會變得神不守舍，使人深思人被科技駕馭的危機 及科技與生活的關係。而科技往往讓人聯想到非人性化、溝通失 效、資訊爆炸蠶食創意等問題。看似以創意為主體的藝術對立，但 如果有留意上期新媒體藝術家黄智銓的專訪，相信各位就明白科技 也可以成為藝術的好伙伴。事實上，藝術一直與科技一起成長，如 同濕壁畫技術、蛋彩、攝影技術等等。 但當研究藝術與科技之間的關係，許多問題便會從腦中冒起。有 了科技，藝術家的創作能力及空間就更大？解決了更多技術問題？ 表現出前人不能表達的東西？還是反過來說，表達甚麼，以至接收 甚麼，都跟科技無關？或是因為科技，才更令人不能表達，不想接 收？而旗艦展就回應了一些問題。 在諸多藝術品中筆者最喜歡，是團體實驗室球的《Homogenizing and Transforming World》，撥開漆黑的厚簾，筆者踏進這裝置空間 的同時，乍見漲澎澎的氣球，排山倒海一樣轟立眼前。氣球數目之 多，連拔足起步亦呈現障礙，人須在球體之間穿過，才能到達展場 的另一邊，部份參觀者已開始踽踽而行。在穿越的過程中，你有意 無意會碰撞到球體；在觸碰的一剎那------你會發現，球體變色 了，色彩從你接觸的小區域往周圍蔓延伸展，而全部球體都被影響 至蒙上同一顏色。此種互動的光演及鏗鏘的節拍，從視覺、觸覺、 聽覺給筆者帶來巨大的感官刺激。置身於這個裝置內，參與者的動 作會影響四周及其他參與者，像在網路世界的社交網絡中，彼此迅 速影響------每個人都有潛能去影響世界，只要參與者拍打氣球， 就會影響整個房間顏色的轉變。而在這狹窄的通道裡，參與者無可 避免一定要觸碰到它們；這意味著，我們可能無意中做出了一些行 為，而在網路世界中有廣泛的影響。 p.22

進一步思考，人在網路上雖具有影響世界的潛力，但亦無可 避免地更易被其他人影響。如此，人要如何才可堅持自己的立 場，維持自己不變的顏色，而非被資訊所淹沒，與世俗同化？ 這一件作品，表現出團體實驗室對網路科技出現的反思，亦呈 現出人在科技裡所佔據的位置。這件與科技共舞的作品就跨越 了傳統作品的界限，創造出一個空間，把裝置(氣球)、燈光、 音樂融合在一起，提升及擴大藝術家的創作能力及空間，表達 了前人甚少接觸網路世界的題材。數碼科技催生新的表達方 式，啟發新創造力。同時反思人與網路的關係，帶出作品的人 性思考。 是次展覽更展出「錄像藝術之父」白南準的代表性裝置作 品，其中的《一根蠟燭》三腳架上，一支蠟燭正在燃燒。一部 攝錄機拍下它跳躍的火焰，將圖像傳送給五部投影機，投影機 隨即將圖像投射到展廳的牆上，而燭光被折成三原色，搖曳動 態被強調，冰冷的人造電子機器及色彩強烈的圖像，與蠟燭溫 暖的自然光互相輝映，叫人懷疑科技所帶來的虛幻，令人反思 資訊爆炸便人觀感麻木的問題。根據白南準的概念這就是「反 科技的科技」，利用科技創作作品抨擊科技帶來的冷漠麻木。 總括而言，在旗艦展中，日常事物在藝術家的想像及哲學的 基礎上，變成了很具戲劇性和詩意的作品，同時使用科技、多 媒體藝術去表達人性化的思想和意念，表現了藝術家的情感。 顯示科技乃人的工具、其中一種表達方式——人終究是母題， 科技不過媒介。

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