Mondrian's painting closeups

photos by James Elkins

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-elkins/post_1036_b_756669.html

Closeups of Mondrian's paintings


I was at a critique session of an art school.
A student mounted a number of "copied" Mondrian to show her criticism against todays practice of museums sometimes just showing copies and not the original.
When I looked at these copies, they look like postcards blown up, or worst quickie striped "copies".
If this exhibition-work-installation is meant to be "criticism of todays Museum practices" - just a very good essay or photos of these existing practice would be good enough? Why go to the trouble of reproducing all these paintings by hand so the dimensions are exact etc. ?

I have respect for good copiers, because to make a good copy of a master painting, it also takes great artistic dedication - whether the copy is very life like or just amateur love like.
Here in this case, I think the student has wasted her time. Because her message is really thin and the effort that she has made to set this argument in a spatialised installation is - time wasted. The paintings have no love in it.

Then, other teachers think this is sufficient whether the copy is v gd or not is not important, the student has made a statement and its very good work.

I question this point because, why not copy Mona Lisa? Why choose Mondrian? Is it because we think Mondrian is much easier to fake than the very familiar Mona Lisa?

I think its a waste of time, because, this art work has no love in it. It is purely a "mediatic critique" thats not worth all this effort. In the end, the reason why we have copies in museums are not cynical. It is a solution to an existing problem - that of a standing in while the original is on loan or in the vault or whatever.

I think all paintings, whether by famous artists, or copier or students or amateur naive painters, without an authentic desire to create the painting, its not worth it. Because you will end up with a pile of "quickie look-a-like stand ins".

So, I asked the student, has she ever seen any of the Mondrian originals. No, she has not. (Why not copy something she has seen?)

So, I checked on the Internet, and within the first page, the third down the list, we see the article on "copying Mondrian" by James Elkins. There are very good photos of closeups of the painting too!

What does this all mean?
Part of this shows the change of what "painting" means and how "painting" as an art form has turned from the act to meaning, to critical gestures; and students today are applauded for "critical capacities".

I ask this question, as an artist, what is your "pleasure", your "content"? There are thousands of bad worthy of heavy criticism of moral, esthetics, from many different angles. How do you choose to criticise this or that? And would you rather use your time to improve your own work and make it better rather than criticising these other works/phenomenon?

Its very easy to be critical of a specific event or phenomenon, but without placing it in context, the criticism is too easy, too light, too ineffective. It doesnt bring much food to the table; neither for the "critic" nor for the viewer.

Put your place in the position of the copier, what are the issues involved in this act? What do you learn from the process and seeing the end result and other peoples reception of your act? Did your message deliver something thats worth your action? (Only the creator could fully answer this question)

For what reasons did the author of the copying decided to launch this laborious or easy work?

Sl is good for... architecture prototyping, machinima

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2011/11/the-myth-of-why-second-life-failed-to-go-big.html#tp

The Myth of Second Life's Failure to Go Big: It Wasn't Lack of Practical Applications, But Poor Execution & Market Timing

It's quite easy to find numerous "jobs" that Second Life has been used for, in ways that other platforms couldn't provide as well. Here's just a few:

1// Second Life has been used by many filmmakers as a low-cost, resource-rich platform for making 3D animation -- i.e. machinima.

2// Second Life has been used by therapists and veterans as a high value therapy platform for treatment of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), which is "Working when nothing else has.”

3//Second Life has been used by architects as a low-cost, resource-rich prototyping platform.

Avril***

Avril ***

Very nice film on nuns. About the awakening of a young girl grew up in a convent - a very strict order - maybe Carmelite. There is a heavy criticism on Camalite vow of no speaking, no contact with outside world. When, all the elderly nuns are there for some personal reasons - often unspeakable. The young girl Avril, was suggested by the head nun to take a vow forever devoted to god and had to give up all the worldly possessions and stay locked up in a small white room - the little chapel. She was to renovate the place and speak to no one for 2 wks. Comes a middle age nun - she whispers at the door that the girl was not really an orphan, she had a brother - and she wanted to, she could take the two weeks of confinement to get outside to look for her brother. She left the door unlocked. The girl gets out, and finds her brother and began an awakening of the senses. This part is very well played with very good transitions. The young nun has a flair for drawing and artistic sense. She soon makes friends with a paint vendor. Within two weeks, she found her brother and his boy friend, the paint vendor young man and herself. To decorate the white chaple she painted her body with pink paint, and the boys in blue, and printed the body on the white wall - a la Yves Klein. The film is interesting, and the references to contemporary art is interesting. A film to use for discussion. What do people see, which are the issues that makes us think more and maybe jump start our imagination. Makes us query which parts are plausible and which parts are rather forced. In all cases,the intention of the film maker is sincere.

Transylvania ***, No Man's Land***,

Transylvania ***2006

Movie by Tony Gatlif, w Asia Argento
Tony Gatlif's movies are raw movie dancing authentic gypsy stories. Asia Argento is a wild beautiful girl, apparently she really knows how to box. Its a road movie starting with Zingarina (Asia Argento) and Marie (Amira Casar, ex Chanel mannequin); wild+milk and cream marie.
The movie is directed by the music track, with many raw beautiful scenes, and many instruments, that seem very folksy; wood cellos that has no varnish but has been used for ages... life in the woods, winter coming, giving birth in snow land at the back of a station wagon, women coming to help with scissors in hand, everything is basic human raw emotions.
I like his movies, i like Asia, and I like Amira, I like the music, so, whats not to like in this movie?

No Man's Land***
About Bosnian, Serbian conflict: two soldiers, each from one side is trapped in the little strip of no mans land, in spite of the good intentions, how the UN comes in to try to help, the "international global news" tries to get a story, when really nobody really cares about the soldiers - they all try to do their job and be safe in their own relative positions. The script is very good, actors good. Story v gd. In the intricate relations of how people react to a situation, we could be good, or better, but nobody goes beyond their own self preservation first. That is why the soldier is left lying on top of a "bouncing mine". The man with the gun will be "right".

Anna***half, breakfast table

Anna***half

A very rich story stringing past lives of women together through a character call Anna. Anna lives in a cave with her German father. German father is a know-it-all kind man, tired of the worldly life. He taught Anna everything without putting her in a normal public school. Anna was home schooled. Charlotte Rampling plays a patron character who takes all these various young free spirited people and house them in a huge abandonned squat like place. The outside of the building has massive thick griffiti all over. Inside is a hippy squat ambiance. Women are "whores" and men "rapists". Here Anna finds a soul mate, and began her journey going back into many past lives, many lives of women, mother, goddess, priestess. The last round was being waitress at a fancy hotel. She was waitress to bring up a dinner for a special very private person. This person is responsible for war etc. He has a guard at the door. The guard searches the waitress, shes sexy. They did a sexy play, she sucked on a huge asparagus on one end to titilate the guard and the guard sucked on the other end. When she brings the plate to the man, he ate half and forks the other half offers to her, saying, he sucked the other half, she could eat it. The dialogue is quite smart. So finally she gets to his room, puts her butt on his face... and, surprise, she makes ca ca on his face!! Very gd turn of the story, then he bashes her, tries to punish her. She escapes. Finally over with this last life? She could be herself finally?

The last scene was the best, the others are fine, but all déjà vue, and quite inconvincing the sophistication Anna handles the insertion from cave to society. Anyway, this is similar in plot construction as in Hannah(see http://swannbb.blogspot.com/2011/07/hannah-murderers.html) - protected girl enters society and has to adapt and fight off all the dangers in the world. Here the story has multiple lines of political content, and history of women, injustice, a much heavier bag.

Breakfast table album, cont'd


kimchi, lotus root chestnut (ling-jiao) w two bull horns, soft sticky type corn, large pomelo, smoke dried longan infusion

tekkon kinkreet 惡童當街 ***half,

惡童當街 DVD ( tekkon kinkreet,
Studio 4°C (animation studio)) 松本大洋 ***half

Story very comic book, dramatic, good bad, black and white. Story line is very very clear. Details to the movie is very good. Very beautiful cinematographic experience. Popular and excellent high quality work.
Lots of background information for the Making of tekkon kinkreet on wikipedia.
Wonderful!

slactions2011 xyz Qin, Shosoin Qin, Making of xyz Qin 1

slactions2011 installation on HK PolyU campus


XYZ Qin


Version 2.228oct2011


Slactions2011

Creation of the xyzQin: an interpretation and re-creation of the Shosoin qin (金銀平文琴) Tang Dynasty (735AD) ; Shosoin Treasure House, Japan :: from rl-> sl -> rl.

Shuen-git Natasha Chow 周 旋 捷 2011
Visiting Associate Professor
Tainan University of the Arts
Taiwan

Description:
In this research-creation– the third in the serie of Digital Guqin Museum Project - we will investigate issues concerning the making of a real life Chinese musical instrument : the guqin - by deploying Virtual World 3D construction capacities and then exporting the model to real life. I will design a new guqin after the style of the locked up Shosoin qin in Nara, tentatively entitled the “xyz琴” (xyz Qin)

xyzQin research-creation
1// design template
2// cut wood, assemble into embryo
3// test sound with string
4// fine tuning, lacquering, fine tuning, polish
5// naming the qin

Technical Advisors:
Master guqin player: Sik ChingChieh
Master guqin maker: Mr. Shan ZheYuen

Making of xyz Qin 1


Picture 1// Preparation of the deer horn into proper coating grades to mix with lacquer. 600gm crushed deer horn per qin. 300coarse grade, 200medium grade, and 100fine grade. Here, we must first scrape out the marrow of the deer horn pieces. Tools: thin, flexible wood cutter type blades, w curved cutting edge


Picture 2// The open air studio of Master Shan Zhe Yuan. The studio should be well lit and well ventilated with long working tables. We will be using a lot of natural lacquer. This liquid has a slight poison people could be allergic to it. I think its good to make two qins at a time because the drying process in between makes it that you must wait, one or two will require the same window of time. Therefore I decided to make two qins, with a different skin at the finish. And a different wood base to see the two favorite woods used. Wood no 1: over 100 year old "Shan", and Wood no 2: "tong". Mr.Shan says : the two woods are very different. "Shan" wood is deeper and darker in tone, whereas "tong" is light and bright. I think making two identical design w different variables allows us to see the difference in material.



Version 1

I like this poster w the almost "arabic" font - The Dymaxion of Buckminster Fuller fame (free)- this font gives the feeling that its running, and orderly. Little hard to read. But this poster is meant to show the passage of time and idea. It shows via its components not entirely through the meaning of the text. It is readible but its appearance gives the direction and essence of the project - light, smooth, airy, inventive.

The second version (scroll above) uses a more flamboyant handwriting font (free)- "Meddon". It is angular at the turn of the letters, gives the line script some sharpness but very easily readable. I like this font very much because it connotates a fine period of baroque time - flowery, fun, adventurous (as in the 18th century, people take time to enjoy things) it has a faint reference to the period of the Shosoin qin, around 450AD (in reality) but was gifted to the Palace of Japan in 735AD so it is on record as 735AD. The slightly fancy script suits the elaborate skin of the Shosoin qin. Its part of an instrumental ensemble for the palace. The most refined and well preserved qin in current existence. I am happy that I could use this font for this poster. Each font - just like any graphics contributes to the overall feeling of a project. It says, what is the point of the project, where it is going and from where is the idea originated, aboveall, it shows visually the targeted esthetic objective, personal wishes and desire for the project of the creator-researcher.