Cre-active: 2011

2011年11月8日星期二

On Air

Every time when I am in Hong Kong, I like to listen to the radio. Like to hear the DJ's laughters, like to hear their music choice, like to hear how they interact with phone-in audience. DJs are just like our friends, we as a audience, listen to what they experienced everyday, what their point of view. They follow the trend, discuss the most up-to-date news, and at the same time, they create the trend.

I got the chance to be a DJ this sat and sun in CY radio. It was great fun! We learnt a lot on communication skills, presentation skills etc. And we even have the chance to talk during the programme.

2011年10月27日星期四

Conceptual drawing - Man vs Society

Crit today with Joshua Tree's conceptual drawing brief.

My drawing is inspired by a news happened in China recently. A two-year-old girl was crashed by 2 cars respectively, the whole thing happened in 6 mins and there are 18 people walked pass by, but no one helps the little girl. This news cause a great sensation in China. People start to discuss how come people can be so cold-blooded. And I start to think about it as well.I think people are kindhearted actually, in certain case. However China always have some street deception, and people learn from failure, learn from what they experienced, and they start to build a wall to protect themselves. There's no right or wrong for people to build a wall, but now when the accident happened, those 18 person was blamed by others, because this wall can protect them from hurt, at the same time become the weapon of killing the 2 year-old girl. The onion I draw represent the wall we build, as to protect the inside target, and the wall itself is the weapon, since onion can makes people cried as well.

Many feedback is questioning why I chop the paper, actually to be honest, I don't know why. I know it's a bit funny and irresponsible to have this answer, but this is the truth. If I really need to give a reason for it, it might because I want people to know that is the inside of the onion, and I don't want to draw a knife. What they suggest is perhaps I need to decide the chop position.

2011年10月24日星期一

Photography lunch club

This is the first time I joined the photography lunch club, and today's topic is about digital photo, teaching some Photoshop skills. I love photography, it captures the moment, but it's not only about that moment.

2011年10月23日星期日

Postmodernism at V & A

Postmodernism is referring to a new opinion on the entire Western value system, it's a movement of adding new elements and ideas to what we have destroyed (bad things about modernism), becoming something that is belong to us, not only for certain people anymore. The exhibition 'Postmodernism' showing now at V & A, tells what the postmodernists have done between 1970-1990. I went to the exhibition yesterday, it took me about three hours to finish the whole thing.

Photography, film, architecture, music, poster, magazine, ceramic, fashion, product design...etc everything in the creative industry had joined the movement. If people who are not interested in art, or they don't know anything about Postmodernism, it's quite hard for them to understand what's going on in the exhibition. Though the exhibition has provided many information about the artwork that they are showing, there are still lack of history background of postmodernism provided. For example, Memphis is a very important group of international young architects and designers, who as a group of creators, creating furniture and products which full of postmodernism characteristics. However, I cannot see any information about them in the exhibition, it only tells 'Martine Bedin for Memphis - Super lamp prototype'.

Image from V & A website.

Martine Bedin (for Memphis), Super lamp prototype, 1981. Painted metal with lighting components. V&A: M.1-2011

Anyway only enjoy watching the artwork it's worth enough already. I especially like architecture part, like what the architects had done. Frank O Gehry, his own house in Santa Monica. I like the way it was built differently from other house (tho I saw many buildings nowadays look different already, but all are inspired by this house!), I remembered what my art teacher in secondary school told me, architecture should makes people feel safe, safe to live, so there is always big columns supporting house. But what I see Frank's house are different, surrounded by many green trees, living there seems living in another world, full of surprises, might have something happen everyday unexpectedly. As well as Charles Jencks, I like his garage rotunda. V & A reproduced his blue garage, this is really impressed.

Image from web.

Frank O Gehry's own house.

2011年10月21日星期五

Into The Wild 觀後感　Review: Into The Wild

剛剛看完Into The Wild。我約略介紹劇情：有個straight A的大學畢業生，從小過著不愉快的童年，爸媽被名利二字灌醉，終日家噪屋閉。從大學開始已經想逃出這個社會，一畢業就把所有存款捐出，把散紙燒光，開始過著身無分文的流浪荒野生活。在流浪其間他遇到很多人，這些泙水相逢的人比起他平時身邊的人友善得多，願意無條件幫他，請他吃飯，借他住宿，更有個老伯希望可以做他的親人。他流浪最終目的地是阿拉斯加，在前往的途中（也是荒山野嶺）發現了一架廢置的巴士，他在裏面住了數星期，最後因為太肚餓，誤食植物而中毒身亡。

這是一部真人真事的電影。很多人都說這是好片，當然我也覺得這是適當的好片，只要你適當地選出合適的道理。因為老實說，看完我除了覺得主角是高分低能（還是高分而又太高能？）外，就是不負責任，當然還有無限的勇氣。但當中很多他提到的道理的確是很有用，很發人深省的。

片中主角為了追求ultimate freedom而把自己與世隔絕，好聽的說法是逃到世界的角落，尋找屬於自己的生活方式。通俗一點就是把自己扔到荒山野嶺，美其名就說不屑追名逐利的社會，不屑金錢世界而過自己想要的生活，實際上就是逃避二十多年來也不能適應的現實世界，去另一個未被人類開發的世界生存。這就是他所想像所說所要的自由。

自由，這兩個字太闊，亦太窄。我不否定他對自由的定義，但起碼我不認同。他有權討厭金錢所帶來的名利權勢關係，有權憎恨那些為攀附權貴而變得冷血無情無惡不作的人，有權厭棄每天爭吵不斷永遠不會平等的社會，但沒有權利在一聲不出的情況下突然逃席而去，枉他讀了這麼多年書，還straight A，責任二字都不會。雖然他現在是沒做錯任何事，只是在完成了自己的學業後過自己想要的生活，但是，人從來都是群體生活，一個人會關係到另一個人，比如說，他失蹤後家人會非常擔心，而且他媽媽已經擔心到一個病態狀況，作為兒子，於心何忍。他有知識，但沒有常識，聰明不是「大哂」，野外生存不是光靠幾本書就可以搞定，世上有種東西叫經驗，是書本教不到，用錢也買不到的，亦是最後害死他的原因。

討厭社會，厭倦爭權奪利，並不代表一走了之就是唯一的方法。有能力的人應該用他的能力去改變世界，那怕只是以卵擊石的力量，也總好過什麼都不做吧？！雖然只有他一個人一定不能改變世界的想法，但如果不試一下又怎麼知道呢？如果世上每一個人都只為自己，覺得世界稍有不妥，就去爭取這些自由，恐怕這個世界已經亂七八糟，人穿的不是衣服，而是樹葉，每天吃的也是血淋淋的sashimi。

自由，從造字上解釋，再窄也有七個口，人可以從這七個出口找到想要的自由；但再闊，也只是七個框框，怎樣逃也逃不掉這些框。再自由也好，都要適可而止。真正的ultimate freedom應該是沒有任何一個字可以描述和形容，應該是一種境介，而不是追求就擁有。

如果出走，是為了証明他有勇氣有想法有能力在野外生存，那他倒的確有。最起碼，比起那些常嚷著要當背包客環遊世界的人有guts多了。

我能理解為什麼他堅決要出走，主要是因為他的成長環境。從很多醫學報告指出，童年是很能影響一個人的成長，所謂三歲定八十，童年是決定一個人的性格，思想等重要成長過程。但亦有很多例子告訴我們，即使生於比較惡劣的家庭環境，亦可以健康成長，貢獻社會。以上並不是我否定出走這個行為，這亦沒有對錯之分，我只是對於他的行為有所疑惑而已。

'And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing the blind, deaf stone alone with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.' one of the inspiring quote from the movie.

Just watched Into The Wild. I briefly introduce the story: There is a straight A college graduate, living an unhappy childhood, his parents are drunk from fame, they always shout against each other at home. Starting from college education, he has been thinking about escape from the society. After graduated from college, he donated all deposits, burned all his money, and began to live penniless in the wild. During this period, he met many people, much more friendly than the people around him usually. They are willing to help him unconditionally, invited him for dinner, take him to stay, even an old man hopes to be his grandpa. His final destination is Alaska, on the way of his journey, he found an abandoned bus in which he lived for several weeks, finally he was dead because of eating poisoning plants.

This is a true story. Many people say this is a good film, of course, I also think it is a appropriately good movie, as long as you properly select the appropriate scene/sentence/truth. Because honestly, after watching I think the main character is a person who score high in academic but score zero in living, irresponsible, but of course, unlimited courage. However, he mentioned many truth is indeed very useful, very thought-provoking.

Protagonist of the film wanted to pursue ultimate freedom and so he isolated himself from normal world. In a nice way to say is that he hided to the corner of the world to find his own way of life. But in an other way to say, is to throw himself to the wild, not giving a shit to money world and the dirty society. In fact, he was just trying to escape the real world that he was still not used to it even he lived for more than twenty years, tried to live in another world which is not yet developed by human. And this is what he called freedom.

Freedom, the word is too wide, nor too narrow. I do not deny his definition of freedom, but at least I do not agree. He got the right to hate that money brought fame and fortune and hate the relationship between power, he got the right to hate those who cling to power and wealth, that become cold-blooded ruthless unscrupulous person, he got the right to hate a never equal society, but no right to leave without telling, in vain for so many years he studied, with straight A, the word responsible had never appearing in his dictionary. Although he did not done anything wrong, he was just leaving after the completion of his studies and try to live a life of what he wanted, but please do not forget people always living in a group, a person is related to another person, for example, after he was missing, his family were very nervous, and his mother has been in a very worried situation which nearly sick. As a son, how can he did that to his family? He has knowledge, but no common sense, smart does not mean everything, wild life not just rely on a few books you can get, there was something called experience, not taught in books, not money could bought and this is also the reason why he died.

Hate society, tired of competing for power, does not mean running away is the only way to solve the problem. People who have ability should use his ability to change the world, tho the force are not strong enough, it is always better than doing nothing, right? Although only he must not change the world of ideas, at least he should try. If everyone in the world only think for themselves, feel not satisfy with the world, and then went to fight for these freedoms, I am afraid that the world is in a mess already. People is not wearing clothes, but leaves, and what we eat every day is bloody sashimi.

Freedom （自由）from the Chinese characters explain, even it is narrow, there are still seven mouths(exits), people can find freedom from these exits; but again wide, seven frames framed the exit, no matter how hard you try to escape, you still can not escape from the box. In my point of view, the real ultimate freedom should not be any one word can describe and explain, it should be a mediated environment, rather than pursued and it comes.

If leaving is to prove he had the courage, had the ability to survive in the wild, had idea about life and society, he had. At least, better than those who often cried to become backpackers travel around the world but still doing nothing to have more guts.

I understand why he did this. It is mostly because his child life. From medical research, child life is affecting a person's growth, his identity, I cannot imagine how this family affect him so much, but I also see there are thousands examples of children, can still grow healthily, strong, even they got a broken family. I am not saying what he did is totally wrong, I am just questioning the way he did things.