PG: Lumiere 2021

The most recent biannual Lumiere Festival is such an uplifting public art event that has inspired me. The sun sets by 4.30 p.m. and the crowd streamed in to Durham. Walking around the city centre was very enjoyable in the cool weather. There was even an app developed for this event to help visitors navigate. Art installations were varied and layered with different medium. I also attended an artist's talk where the artists talked about circumventing the on-site restrictions and not diluting their artistic concepts.

12-minute video and sound loop

light and sound test

Permanent exhibit

PG: Wings of Desire Film

Screenshot from Wings of Desire film

This week, we analysed a film, Wings of Desire and read a chapter from The Act of Seeing by Wim Wenders on Box of Broadcast. YouTube version is here. The film is a 1987 romantic fantasy about immortal angels who populate Berlin and hears the thoughts of humans but stays invisible to them. One of the angels, Damiel, falls in love with a trapeze artist, Marion, and he decides to become mortal in order to experience the human sensory pleasures/ pain such as taking a bath, enjoying foods, seeing in colours, rubbing hands together to generate heat, broken skin and getting black fingers from reading the newspapers. 

The cinematography of this film is shot in monochrome from the angel's point of view and colour from the people's point of view. A fun fact is: the name of the French circus in the film: Alekan Circus was named in Henri Alekan's honour – the film’s cinematographer. The German- and French-speaking film has English subtitles which does interferes with the enjoyment of the film. Filming technique such as panning the camera in shots to mimic the angels’ elevation might be overdone. Juxtaposition of real video documentation (e.g. dead children) in the film suggests the desire to evoke emotions from its viewers. Angels perched on places where one normally wouldn’t sit is suggestive of their immortality. I speculate that the amount of narration supersedes direct speech in the film is due to the practical reasons for sound technicality. This black and white footage evokes nostalgia by showing records of the past, making memories in the film and using film as memory. 

Referring to Wenders' chapter on The urban landscape from the point of view of images, the parallel he draws between the development of images and of cities (p. 96) is that they both grown out of proportion, become colder, more distanced/ alienated/ alienating, more commercially oriented. It's the saturation of images in cityscapes. He likens images to addiction to drugs and cautioned overdose of them. Berlin has a lot of empty spaces due to the aftermath of war and nothing much to see. Visitors can see through the space like how they see through time, just like in a movie. The eyes and the mind are allowed to wander. He is convinced that film should have gaps between imagery to allow us to see anything else other than what the film wants to show us. Thus, the storytelling exists and comes to life in the mind of the viewer or listener (p.99). 

It makes me think about how people described themselves as storytellers or sharing the origins of businesses' stories. It appears that these people do that to not let images or noise drown in the flood of the others and to not let them become victims of the ongoing competitiveness and the overwhelming spirit of commercialisation by telling a story. 

References

Attie, Shimon, ‘The Writing on the Wall, Berlin, 1992-93: projections in Berlin's Jewish quarter’. Art Journal (2003, Fall),  74-83.

Wenders, Wim, 'The urban landscape from the point of view of images'. In The act of seeing: essays and conversation (London: Faber and Faber, 1997), pp. 93-101.

 

Wim Wenders, Wings of Desire (1987), on Box of Broadcasts at: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/000BEFF8?bcast=134925775

PG: What the Art Teacher Reads

Same chapter found in different books 

Last week, we discussed on the chapter on The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction which appears in both of these books. This chapter was first published in 1936 and we looked at the points Walter had made that are in fact still prevalent now. The main points that were made are (1) the masses/ proletariats gain access to images easily. (2) Reproducibility enhances the ease of distribution. (3) Technology enables these changes. That said, the ability to reproduce does not mean the value of the 'original' art has lessened. It plays a critical role in the dissemination of knowledge about an original work and the maintenance of its value. Thus, the 'original' value does not derive from its uniqueness but rather from its status as being the original form.

We linked 'aura' to the reading as the definition of aura defined by the author is the artwork's 'presence in time and space', its unique existence at the place where where it happens to be. Aura also refers to enduring, timeless quality or authenticity. However, 'aura' is subjective. The GIF image below shows University Castle, one of Durham's student accommodations. For the record, most people would feel delighted to actually live in a castle. But, the sense of novelty and romanticism may wear off because you live and experience it every day. So, the aura of that awesomeness differs according to individuals in this case. 

University College

Same chapter, different writing styles

Even if you don't know much about art or never step in an art gallery or museum, chances are you've seen well-known art reproductions in books, postcards, calendars, magnets and other trinkets. Artist Marchel Duchamp responded to the mass production by presenting Readymades, such as the famous inverted urinal titled Fountain. This act paves the way for conceptual art as it disrupted traditional knowledge of artist's role as skilled creator of something original. 

In Shenzhen's Dafen Village, a Chinese art copying market, challenges the codes of valuing original art in the same way conceptual art does (Sturken and Cartwright, 2018). The replicas paintings in the original medium (oil) are sold at affordable prices. In Winnie Wong Won Yin's book Van Gogh on Demand, she states that there are very strong discourse of originality, authorship, craft and artisan skills at work in the copying market. 

References

Benjamin, W., Zohn, H. and Arendt, H., 1955. Illuminations. 1st ed. New York: Schocken books. 

Benjamin, W., Zohn, H. and Arendt, H., 1955. Illuminations. 1st ed. New York: Schocken books.

Sturken, M. and Cartwright, L., 2018. Practices of looking: : an introduction to visual culture. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press, pp.191 - 198. 

PG: COP26 Summit

The UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021. The COP26 summit brought countries together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Last Saturday, I joined The Game Changer COP26 Challenge and it's for us students to consider how we can contribute to this important global problem. 

During the special edition of Game Changer, we:

• Explored the problem of Climate Change and its impacts
• Analysed the news stories and outcomes of the COP26 Summit
• Understand how Design Thinking was used to generate innovative solutions
• Generated ideas that contribute to tackling the problem of Climate Change 
• Created a plan to implement our ideas
• Developed communication and pitching skills

We could form our own groups but I joined students whom I do not know. The challenge made use of Design Thinking principles and a planning method known as Lean Canvas. There were also some guiding questions to structure our presentation. From 2pm, we were left to our own device to brainstorm and executed a video pitch. I introduced my group to the Loom app and we individually recorded our segment and someone did the editing. Our group successfully emailed our group video just by 6pm! What a relief! 

St Chads organised its own event in conjunction with COP26

The prototype section was changed to pitching using videos

A template for idea pitch

PG: Object Handling Class

Some photos from our object handling class at the Oriental Museum. Our class was spilt into two groups, each taking turns to view the museum collection. That day was closed to the public so that a live online museum lesson can be conducted to the primary school students. The voice of the education officer reverberated around the space as we were ushered into a room. Sitting in front of our chosen art objects, we described the visual elements. What was missing was shared further and almost each object has a fun fact. 

Very Edo period but look at their attire

This is a porcelain pillow!

Engravings on a gunpowder holder 

Opium Pipe

                                

Base of the teacup after you've finish the tea

Islamic coin with portrait