台北男孩/Taipei boys

Can we have a Hong Kong version?

可以有香港版麼？

荒木經惟森山大道

最初聽到這兩個名字的時候(或者說「這兩個term」更為貼切），根本不知道這是兩個日本有名攝影師的名字，對攝影班同學之間的討論完全毫無頭緒！但聽見老師和同學們約埋一齊上廣州睇荒木經惟的展覽，便覺此君應該非同小可。

上攝影班而對當代舉足輕重的攝影師一無所知？未免太可笑吧！上網搜尋了一些圖片，心一沈。我的美學主義比較傳統，一般來說，不必要的色情、過份暴力、低俗式的嘩眾取寵都不是我杯茶。如果這就是攝影愛好者喜歡的風格，我想，我還是放棄攝影吧。

荒木經惟：http://www.arakinobuyoshi.com/main.html
森山大道：http://www.moriyamadaido.com/

有關展覽：http://www.timesmuseum.org/enzzzc/608.jhtml

Places I would like to visit

還有哪些地方想去:

India 印度
New York, USA 美國-紐約
Myanmar 緬甸
Mont St Michel, France 法國-聖米歇爾山
Morroco 摩洛哥
Scotland, UK 英國-蘇格蘭
Egypt 埃及
North Korea 北韓
Bolivia 波利維亞
Kathmandu, Nepal 尼泊爾-加德滿都
Jordan 約旦
Uluru, Australia 澳洲-烏魯魯

Jake & Dinos Chapman

The Sum of all Evil

22 May - 31 August 2013

White Cube Hong Kong

這天還去了另外一個展覽，Chapman brothers的The Sum of all Evil.  其實一早已收到White Cube的email但沒有為意，直至前幾天有位gallery owner極力推薦才想起可以去看一下. 看完, 覺得對我來說好像太重口味了！

由於太重口味, 各位請自己去White Cube參觀啦!

http://whitecube.com/exhibitions/jake_dinos_chapman_the_sum_of_all_evil_hong_kong_2013/

Jean Cocteau exhibition

Spirit of the 20th century Parisian scene

4-May to 9-Jun 2013

Hong Kong City Hall - Exhibition Hall

另外一個課程的其中一份功課是要去一個展覽然後評論一下展覽的特色（包括展場、展品的安排）。先別說展覽（留待做功課時才仔細詳述），單從作品方面來說我發現我還蠻喜歡Jean Cocteau的。雖然不是每一件作品都喜歡，但非常欣賞很有vision，multi-talented的藝術家。而且從作品中可以看到他對用不同媒介抒發情感的熱情，單純的創作從自己出發沒有商業化的味道。最浪漫的，還是他說自己的work全是poetry！

藝術攝影/Photography as art

最近報了名上攝影課, 其實本人對攝影技巧一竅不通, 跟大部份人一樣通常都是去旅行的時候隨手亂影然後再instagram加工(驟眼睇好似好有feel). 多年來亦提不起興趣學攝影, 始終覺得自己不會是帶部大機set哂腳架影相那種龍友(絕無貶意).

咁點解無啦啦又會走去報呢個攝影班呢? 話說我之前讀了一個藝術課程(跟攝影無關), 覺得個老師教得幾好, 咁啱佢開班, 而呢個課程亦非一般街外教光圈快門構圖的攝影技巧班, 而係教如何從藝術角度欣賞攝影. 自從開始接觸藝術品之後, 常有這個困惑: 為什麼一些攝影作品會被稱為藝術品, 但另一幅類似的作品卻只淪為Facebook搏like圖? 例如當代藝術界最有名的美國攝影藝術家Cindy Sherman作品:

Untitled film still #21, 1978

其實我覺得幾Vogue

Vogue Italia July 2011

當然時代上人地早過Vogue好多, 但在雜誌出現的照片, 無論拍得幾靚或幾有代表性, 一般都不會被regard為藝術品. 刊登之後通常都很快被遺忘, 莫講話賣到幾多錢.

上左幾堂, 到目前為止what I have come to understand from the classes is that, 攝影作為一項藝術, 跟主流攝影的分別就是artistic photography背後的concept/ story-telling. 其實我還有一些疑問: 1. 雜誌的專題也有concept, 為什麼照片卻不算藝術品? 2. 假如photography artist一開始未有concept, 但漫無止境地拿著照相機走到街上忽然被看到的景象inspired而按下快門, 拍出來的又算不算藝術品?

希望在未來的課堂可以找到答案.

第一份功課是要用五種方法拍攝同一件物件. 本人作品:

(黑白純粹懶型!)

Art Writing Assignment 1

最近在讀一個藝術課程, 其中一份功課是要寫藝評...so this was my attempt.  點解寫英文? 因為易呃字數d囉! 嘻嘻!

如有錯漏, 請多多指教.

[Disclaimer: This was an assignment I submitted for an art course, I am by no means a professional art critic.]

Damien Hirst’s Capaneus

An internationally renowned and British richest living artist who is known for his use of unconventional materials to create controversial art, Damien Hirst has created Capaneus, which is currently on exhibit at White Cube Hong Kong along with his other works in the series.

Born in Bristol and studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, Hirst is the most prominent member of the Young British Artists (“YBAs”), a group sponsored by collector Charles Saatchi.  With “death” being a central theme in all of Hirst's works, Hirst made his name through a series of artworks where dead animals (for example, a tiger shark and a cow) are preserved and displayed.

In the current series, Hirst began this "entomological specimens and hammerite paint on canvas" in 2009 and as with most of his other previous works, the piece is completed by studio assistants under his supervision. The dimension of the artwork (152.4 x 121.9cm) allows hundreds of insect specimens, such as beetles and butterflies, to be arranged in a symmetrical geometric pattern placed onto hammerite gloss paint. At first glance, the audience sees an enormous, intricate yet harmonious pattern that resembles a fanciful kaleidoscopic image. On a closer look, however, audience would notice that the seemingly beautiful image is made up of countless number of dead and sometimes horrendous insects (for example the hairy spiders).

The majority of the insect specimens in the artwork are in a blue/ green tone, complementing the dark blue gloss paint used in the background. Together these darker cold colors convey a sense of lifelessness, which is coherent with the “death” theme.  On a closer look, it could be noticed that there is occasional use of insect specimens of contrasting colors, such as the red beetles, the earthy-colored butterflies and other orangey/ yellowish insects, which reminds audience that these specimens were once lively creatures.

Another apparent feature of this artpiece was the intricate pattern of the artwork. The arrangements of the insect specimens, whether in terms of size, shapes, colors, or body patterns, are astonishingly accurately symmetrical, both horizontally and vertically, resembling an image similar to that from a kaleidoscope. There is little space between the specimens, creating a visually striking and dramatic effect to highlight the symmetry of the image and the intensity of the presence of insect specimens in the artwork.

The title of the artwork, "Capaneus", is a Greek mythological figure whose death was described in Dante Alighieri's (a 14th-century poem in which depicts the author’s tortuous vision of the afterlife). Hirst has again smartly titled his art piece a name that would give more meaning than the image would portray on its own by making the audience associate the title and the image. 

Butterfly, as a constantly recurring and iconic subject in Hirst’s works, is used here with thousands of other highly colorful insects.  According to Hirst, he was drawn to them because they “embody the fragility of life, retaining an iridescent beauty even when dead”.  In his earlier “Kaleidoscope Paintings” series, thousands of butterfly wings are arranged on canvases shaped like gothic stained-glass windows, reflecting the idealised beauty they encapsulate.

  

In Capaneus, Hirst has once again successfully created an eye-catching, dazzling artwork that is unconventional and controversial yet at the same time consistent and coherent with the central theme that surrounds all his works.  In the artwork, the audience can see “death” and beauty, the coexistence of which represents an irony that something has to be killed in order to be looked at.