Kinetica Art Fair 2009

Would it be scaled down because of Credit Crisis? New media art/Kinetica art seems not the main steam in London art scene. Video art has being marginalized in many Art fairs, I wonder how media art would be…
By compare to other Art Fair, the number of visitors seems lessor obviously. The numbers of exhibitor relatively fewer as well, on the other hand, bigger space for better exhibiting environment.
May not upload any picture, and actually I expect many others on flickr/youtube/whatever because almost every visitor has a cam on hand now.

Kinetica Art Fair 2009
27/2 – 2/3/2009
P3, University of Westminster
London NW1 5LS

Mobile Conference

An interesting ideas to deal with public by a playful approach.

Mobile Conference: Aims to provoke responses from the audience and invited speakers on the relationship between play, democracy and contemporary art in the public realm.
Artists: Harold Offeh, Jessica Thom
Organizations: SLG, Peckham space, TATE Britian … etc
Date: 15/03/2009

Superflex: Flooded McDonald’s

Cliché topic and overly use of Economic/Cultural icon.

However, the hugh projection with deeply dark space reenact the dramatic tension. Numerous cameras and sophisticate filming angle create extraordinary details of common scenery. The fall of Ronald McDonald doesn’t surprise me, the installation and costly production does.

Superflex: Rasmus Nielsen, Jakob Fenger and Bjørnstjerne

South London Gallery, 16/1 – 1/3/09

10 Seconds Review

Hoi !!!

I decide to start organizing what/where I visited for art/cultural related event.
10 seconds review is an on-going updating organizing method, the term review, however, for my own intuitive respond rather than rational/academic review. For me, it’s really helpful to remember artist vs artwork… with at least my 10 seconds point-of-view
There are thousands of great critics in the world. In term of Chinese/Cantonese with Local+International vision, I’ll suggest AICAHK (Internaional Association of Art Critics Hong Kong), a branch of AIAC (hey, don’t ask the full name, ok?)… like it or not, it’s up to you

藝術‧在‧公共 Art in the Public

看膩了工整規矩的公共雕塑，又或承載不了滿載政治Statement或社會批判的公共/街頭藝術時，不妨再走進城巿漫步。漫步宜漫且「慢」，仔細觀察周遭的人、物、事，再重新細嚼人與環境的千絲萬縷。自己偏愛觀察都巿，正因為它充滿了人「自然」地遺留這個「非自然」環境的痕跡。先透過眼睛而並非相機或手機的LCD去選材，以直覺取代平面方角，或會發覺即使是幾何式的城巿亦衍生有機的曲與圓。

創作方式雖遠不如公共藝術般針針見血，然而在一個活化的空間裏正需要「存異」的可能。這種不著邊際且瑣碎零星的感覺，正好在重澱澱的大石堆中填補碎石沙泥。

醫療漫畫

由於曾經在醫院工作一段相當日子，雖然不是醫療人員，但日積月累的複雜經驗，驅使我對醫療漫畫特別有興趣。

最近發瘋似地「煲」完兩輯改編自漫畫的日劇《醫龍》。第一輯以影像而言可說驚喜，尤其逼真的手術場面和資料搜集，而內容約有八成跟隨原著。第二輯則幾乎完全改編，部份內容拉雜了《杏林先峰》、《孤島診療所》甚至《消防員的故事》，每集的安排換上了《GTO》式的問題人物心路歷程。而手術的過程亦被過份「神化」(雖然第一輯已不禁令人失笑)。續集勝不過上集的觀念仍然無法改寫… 可惜。

話說回來，兩輯劇集同樣地對醫生操守、醫療架構(在漫畫中則側重於醫療教育)，甚至政府政策等不同問題作出批判，好些讓我有深刻認同。內容大可讓部份香港私營醫院借鑑。由於劇集始終顧及的觀眾層面有別於漫畫，亦不宜作直接比較。對這方面有與趣的，我會推薦《杏林先峰》及《醫龍》漫畫版。有更好的選擇，請給我介紹介紹。

Mars and Venus

Recently, I am reading “Mens are from Mars, Women are from Venus” (Chinese translation version from Web). Simply speaking is about mutual understanding, but how? Author John Gray provided a practical way.
Not all the pov can be agreed by everyone, but very interesting.
It was published 16 years ago but I never read/hear it before. That fit to what the author suggest that men are not interested in psychological growth relatively… that may be correct. I think I am interested, though.

Recent readings

Books:

Advances in Art & Urban Futures (series) vol.2: Recoveries and Reclamations

• Sections: Issues of Regeneration and Cultural Change, Artists’ Reclamations/Ecological Spatial Actions, The Unseen Public Space, Identities and Communitites

Mike Kelley – Foul Perfection

Mike Kelley – Minor Histories

Movie:

Blue, Glitterbuy, The arts of mirror, directed by Derek Jarman
71 Fragments of a chronology of chance, directed by Michael Haneke

見‧重建

獨自到阿姆斯特丹逗留一個月，先不預設任何目標，準備將時間花在純粹的城巿漫遊。雖然無奈地為準備論文而將思路斬成吋碎，但這樣奢侈地停留，無疑讓我記載了文字補足不了的體驗。

先前已走訪數次，對城巿早已築起一定的認識。即使最觀光式的一覽，亦應該對這個以中央火車站為中心，以半圓型放射式規劃，由運河所圈起的古老城巿留有印象；而面向著運河而建的招牌特色建築：荷式山形牆 (Dutch gable)，一列列彷如積木堆疊起巿中心風貌，更是導遊指南的必然之選。

戒掉手中拿著Lonely Planet的壞習慣，換上一本薄薄的簡體字版「都巿空間作法筆記」；將Wacom Pen換成墨水筆，簡單地描繪著紙本上不能承載的空間。當橡膠鞋底實實在在地踏在似乎沒有半分平坦的磚石路上，近距離目睹、甚至手掌觸摸著這些以香港標準早該拆卸的古老舊房子時，卻發現更多的異形物體貫穿著整個古城。高聳的不是建築、横臥的並非鐵路，而是與整體城巿高度迴異的巨型架空吊臂和林林總總的建造工具。在東歪西倒的巿容中，在本已模糊了的垂直與水平線上橫加一些機械的幾何。城巿每天在變，但香港密集式的變化卻遠不及這裏的強烈對比來得矚目。

置身重建中的舊城，卻無緣無故地聯想起一片頹垣敗瓦的四川與緬甸；特色景點卻詭異地代入了滿城傾頹的景況。寄望兩地可以像經歷火災、水災與黑死病洗禮的阿姆斯特丹一樣振臂再起，在三個X之後讓歷史變成克服苦難的標記。

雹│雪

自己一向留港冬眠，難得置身於荷蘭北部的冬天，幼稚地期望一丁點的雪景。可惜它就是不肯跟我遇上 — 在去年聖誕節期間回港後的首天它悄然出現了三數天、在今年三月回港的第三天更落了一場春季暴雪。多如雪花散落般上載到網上相簿的雪景，沒估計現實中竟會如此緣薄。

我與冰雹比較有緣。格羅寧根的雨好像比別的地區更兇狠，雨點可以如彈指頭般往面上發勁；所以初次遇上落雹，還以為又是暴雨一場，直至浴鏡告訴我滿面紅腫，才發覺在踏單車途中的割面刺痛有些古怪。每當夜深倦極回家、拖著行李或扛著物料，甚至是帽也忘記戴上時，如BB彈般大小的雹就更喜歡向我光的頭、空的腦暗算。它雖然蠱惑但不令人討厭，尤其鍾愛它敲打著我如共鳴箱的頭蓋時所產生的拍子，聲亮音準；有時輕輕在窗前跳彈，築起如木偶戲的佈景。

相比起來，唯一一次遇上的雪顯得軟弱無力。它始於早上八時，約四十五分鐘後嘎然停止，再半小時後開始溶雪。跟著數小時斷斷續續下了幾場小雪，但再也不能在濕漉漉的地面上舖蓋，反而為泥濘污水補給。印象中由下雪至溶雪，再短暫也有半天吧！七十五分鐘的循環，簡直往我的頭顱內灌水洗腦。

沒時間去感覺雪花的詩意與蒼涼，隨意舉起相機Snapshot。放下什麼温室效應天氣反常，只覺得想像的單薄，最終只能靠生活去積厚。