..is just around the corner.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
I hate how blogs are all about the writer
how self-indulgent blogs are - my opinions, my stuff, through my eyes. I promise it will all be about you-you-you when I get back. Here are some of my finished pieces. One of my professors gave me his opinion. In the first work he liked ONE LINE. But it is a pretty kickass line.. The line is on the left side of the pants. It goes thick, streaky/strong/thin, then thick again. I think he would have liked it if I cut it out and threw the rest away, because we hurried onto the next one, which he preferred for its varied handling of the ink and the composed handling of the various handling's.. this doesn't make a lot of sense unless you are looking at the work, i guess. (for those of you who do not know, you can click on the images to see a larger version)
Jump #2 (the one that got the thumbs up)
Jump #1(the one in which there is only a single effective line)
a sketch. One of many
One of my classes that I take (undergrad classes) is all about drawing with a brush. The weather is nice, so we tend to go on these far-flung day trips for some outdoor sketching. Typically following at least an hour on the subwayI emerge from the underground with a small group of fellow students to some small mountain or park, where we will draw whatever we are told to sketch. Last Tuesday we were told to draw pine tree branches. The following day I get a text message (everyone has a cell phone in korea, so profs will sometimes communicate by text message - COOL!) saying that there is a homework assignment - we have to do up our sketch in the studio. The somewhat appealing sketch is followed by the painstakingly finished work. Basically, my technique is pitiful, as I have not been taught any tricks, and I have never really practiced ink painting before. Grad students with whom I share a studio with will often walk up, sorta snicker, and then demonstrate some little trick to do this or that. All in all it has been a successful way for me to learn - try, fail, be humbled, tutored, encouraged (often at this spot i return to the beginning) and finally find success.
Jump #2 (the one that got the thumbs up)
Jump #1(the one in which there is only a single effective line)
a sketch. One of many
One of my classes that I take (undergrad classes) is all about drawing with a brush. The weather is nice, so we tend to go on these far-flung day trips for some outdoor sketching. Typically following at least an hour on the subwayI emerge from the underground with a small group of fellow students to some small mountain or park, where we will draw whatever we are told to sketch. Last Tuesday we were told to draw pine tree branches. The following day I get a text message (everyone has a cell phone in korea, so profs will sometimes communicate by text message - COOL!) saying that there is a homework assignment - we have to do up our sketch in the studio. The somewhat appealing sketch is followed by the painstakingly finished work. Basically, my technique is pitiful, as I have not been taught any tricks, and I have never really practiced ink painting before. Grad students with whom I share a studio with will often walk up, sorta snicker, and then demonstrate some little trick to do this or that. All in all it has been a successful way for me to learn - try, fail, be humbled, tutored, encouraged (often at this spot i return to the beginning) and finally find success.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Children's Day/Hospital Day
The plan was to take some pictures of the craziness that is Children's day in both Japan and South Korea (in fact, in japan, children's day has become a full week long holiday). Instead, i went to the hospital.
I have some weird growth on one side of my face. It began as a small reddish, itchy spot and spread over three days to turn one side of my face into a hard, hot, swollen elephant man-type disfigurement. ok - that may be a little over the top, but I got endless questions, lots of stares, and many recommendations on what to do next.
the evening of the second day I went to the pharmacy.the old woman there gave me a a korean knock-off version of that pinkish anti itch stuff. It occurred to me as I was leaving, rather disappointed in the diagnosis, that I see her HUSBAND sitting behind the counter during the day, meaning that some old bat who just happens to be married to a pharmacist feels that its OK for her to give out medical advice while here husband eats dinner or whatever. That buuurned me, and, like dirt in the wound, the pinkie stuff didn't help at all.
third day, children's day. Hospitals are mostly private affairs in South Korea and, armed with my wife's Blue Cross travel coverage, I headed out to Yonsei University's absolutly beautiful hospital. Spacious, impeccaably clean, and manned by people in full suits, I headed to emergency with my friend Miwa, a japanese girl studying at Hong ik. A quick wait and we sign in. after a short lunch, we headed back to the waiting room, but there was no waiting! Thirty minutes after arriving, and on a busy holiday, i see a nurse.
So far I am impressed! Then the snow job begins - urine test, blood test, x-ray (I put my foot down on that one. Christ; i have an isolated infection!)and spent over two hours hooked up to an IV drip after getting two needles of what I assume was an antibiotic. I slept most of the time away, and awoke just before the doctor came to talk to me. A full blood and urine test had been run in the time I was sleeping there, (how long does it take in canada, like, two weeks?)and the doc had news
Now, what is the most scary question you can be asked by a doctor? give up? it's this.. (in sort of rough english)
..Now what's going through my head is; how did I get Herpes in Korea, and how am I going to explain to my wife that I got an STD while "doing reserach" an Hong ik university..
the reality was that it was just a missphrased question. After I shakily mumble, "umm, err yes, i do know herpes, it a a umm STD, correct?" He restates the question, "no, i mean, have you ever had herpes?"
a sigh of relief.
"no"
To add to the awkwardness of the situation, as I face one way, talking to the doctor in Konglish about my meds (and another appointment the following day), the nurse is taking the needle out of my arm. either carelessness or the masssive sudden rush of adrenaline caused by the herpes scare resulted in one of those squirting blood situations i believe, because when i turned back, there was a long line of blood droplets across the floor.
The result? no result - maybe an allergic reaction, maybe an infection. so, i get meds for both.
Hopefully tomorrow is just as amusing.
*update* How long does it take to fill a prescription in super-efficient Korea? Less than two minutes. In that time, three different meds were sorted, put into individual packages (each labelled), and put on the counter, where a pharmacist ran over the particulars. Basically, in the time it took to root through my wallet for the money, the drugs were good to go. Fantastic.
I have some weird growth on one side of my face. It began as a small reddish, itchy spot and spread over three days to turn one side of my face into a hard, hot, swollen elephant man-type disfigurement. ok - that may be a little over the top, but I got endless questions, lots of stares, and many recommendations on what to do next.
the evening of the second day I went to the pharmacy.the old woman there gave me a a korean knock-off version of that pinkish anti itch stuff. It occurred to me as I was leaving, rather disappointed in the diagnosis, that I see her HUSBAND sitting behind the counter during the day, meaning that some old bat who just happens to be married to a pharmacist feels that its OK for her to give out medical advice while here husband eats dinner or whatever. That buuurned me, and, like dirt in the wound, the pinkie stuff didn't help at all.
third day, children's day. Hospitals are mostly private affairs in South Korea and, armed with my wife's Blue Cross travel coverage, I headed out to Yonsei University's absolutly beautiful hospital. Spacious, impeccaably clean, and manned by people in full suits, I headed to emergency with my friend Miwa, a japanese girl studying at Hong ik. A quick wait and we sign in. after a short lunch, we headed back to the waiting room, but there was no waiting! Thirty minutes after arriving, and on a busy holiday, i see a nurse.
So far I am impressed! Then the snow job begins - urine test, blood test, x-ray (I put my foot down on that one. Christ; i have an isolated infection!)and spent over two hours hooked up to an IV drip after getting two needles of what I assume was an antibiotic. I slept most of the time away, and awoke just before the doctor came to talk to me. A full blood and urine test had been run in the time I was sleeping there, (how long does it take in canada, like, two weeks?)and the doc had news
Now, what is the most scary question you can be asked by a doctor? give up? it's this.. (in sort of rough english)
do you know Herpes?
..Now what's going through my head is; how did I get Herpes in Korea, and how am I going to explain to my wife that I got an STD while "doing reserach" an Hong ik university..
the reality was that it was just a missphrased question. After I shakily mumble, "umm, err yes, i do know herpes, it a a umm STD, correct?" He restates the question, "no, i mean, have you ever had herpes?"
a sigh of relief.
"no"
To add to the awkwardness of the situation, as I face one way, talking to the doctor in Konglish about my meds (and another appointment the following day), the nurse is taking the needle out of my arm. either carelessness or the masssive sudden rush of adrenaline caused by the herpes scare resulted in one of those squirting blood situations i believe, because when i turned back, there was a long line of blood droplets across the floor.
The result? no result - maybe an allergic reaction, maybe an infection. so, i get meds for both.
Hopefully tomorrow is just as amusing.
*update* How long does it take to fill a prescription in super-efficient Korea? Less than two minutes. In that time, three different meds were sorted, put into individual packages (each labelled), and put on the counter, where a pharmacist ran over the particulars. Basically, in the time it took to root through my wallet for the money, the drugs were good to go. Fantastic.
the North Korean story
..this story may not be as exciting as you may have hoped. Sorry.
North Koreans do not escape all that often, but there are a fair number of them now kicking around the South. Arriving with no money, typically in so-so health (they ARE noticeably shorter than their Southern brothers and sisters), a distinctive accent, and a rather atypical educational background means that they are stuck with shit jobs, and often distrusted. Like all small pockets of foreigners anywhere in the world, they run with members of their own circle. So, it was no surprise that, as people appeared at the party my art buddy invited me to at his sister's small apartment, they all from the "Northern Side" of the wall(북안) of this divided country.
My buddy Ho min is forty i think. Looking through his photo album was quite a treat - the black and white pictures look like black and white pictures from South Korea of 40 years ago - the clothes are very traditional, furniture and decoration is strange - nut the y are not that old at all. They are mostly images from the late 80's and 90's (A positive way of looking at it is that the people of North Korea did not have to suffer through the terrible fashions of that time period. Small consolation, i know). the break in photos and change to colour leads me to believe that he arrived with his sister (if I understood correctly, his father, tragically, drowned on the journey) about ten years ago. There were some new arrivals, too. I guess that one of them recently arrived via the fortified and mountainous Northern region separating the North and the South, when those escaping in the past favour working there way to mongolia or SE asian countries where they can often find ways to South Korea. I get the impression that there are many groups, mostly religion-affiliated, that help smuggle North Koreans out of the North and through China. China's policy is to return those who have escaped back to their country of origin, which no doubt lead to certain repercussions. Craziness.
But, all in all, they are very similar to South Koreans in nature - they eat a lot, drink too much, and plan future celebrations before the present one ends. A couple guys got incredibly smashed on cheap grape juice with alcohol in it, and I managed to leave before I got dragged out to Karaoke and what would likely have been hours and hours more of drunken debauchery. I now regret passing on the opportunity, but the sweet crap wine was already carving a huge hangover into my brain.
Here is a picture of the group of us. This picture as taken at dinner, before the group arrived. Ho min is next to me. His art (his studies began at a university in Pyongyang) is in the article below.
North Koreans do not escape all that often, but there are a fair number of them now kicking around the South. Arriving with no money, typically in so-so health (they ARE noticeably shorter than their Southern brothers and sisters), a distinctive accent, and a rather atypical educational background means that they are stuck with shit jobs, and often distrusted. Like all small pockets of foreigners anywhere in the world, they run with members of their own circle. So, it was no surprise that, as people appeared at the party my art buddy invited me to at his sister's small apartment, they all from the "Northern Side" of the wall(북안) of this divided country.
My buddy Ho min is forty i think. Looking through his photo album was quite a treat - the black and white pictures look like black and white pictures from South Korea of 40 years ago - the clothes are very traditional, furniture and decoration is strange - nut the y are not that old at all. They are mostly images from the late 80's and 90's (A positive way of looking at it is that the people of North Korea did not have to suffer through the terrible fashions of that time period. Small consolation, i know). the break in photos and change to colour leads me to believe that he arrived with his sister (if I understood correctly, his father, tragically, drowned on the journey) about ten years ago. There were some new arrivals, too. I guess that one of them recently arrived via the fortified and mountainous Northern region separating the North and the South, when those escaping in the past favour working there way to mongolia or SE asian countries where they can often find ways to South Korea. I get the impression that there are many groups, mostly religion-affiliated, that help smuggle North Koreans out of the North and through China. China's policy is to return those who have escaped back to their country of origin, which no doubt lead to certain repercussions. Craziness.
But, all in all, they are very similar to South Koreans in nature - they eat a lot, drink too much, and plan future celebrations before the present one ends. A couple guys got incredibly smashed on cheap grape juice with alcohol in it, and I managed to leave before I got dragged out to Karaoke and what would likely have been hours and hours more of drunken debauchery. I now regret passing on the opportunity, but the sweet crap wine was already carving a huge hangover into my brain.
Here is a picture of the group of us. This picture as taken at dinner, before the group arrived. Ho min is next to me. His art (his studies began at a university in Pyongyang) is in the article below.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
People and art in the graduate oriental painting section
two of Dong im's works
these two sketches are b Ho min (my N.Korean buddy - his work is really traditional because, well, Pyongyang doesn't exactly have a flourishing contemporary art scene). click on the pictures to see the finer details.
One of the dozens of works in Jung sue's space
So, if you are like me, you are looking at these and trying to find a way into the art. That has been a big problem for me here - a lot of our ideas of what makes art "contemporary" (or appealing, or good, or whatever)is absent from these works. Concept, for example: hardly any "concept" is present.
Even though i feel that this type of work can hardly be considered contemporary, I have seen magazines of huge exhibitions of Contemporary oriental painting. North East Asian countries seem to share a strong interest in oriental painting that manages to remain relatively free from the impact of the art movements around it. What I can make of oriental painting is that it is the personal style and technical know-how that puts one artist or artwork above another. Age too: the Confucius doctrine of respect for elders and teachers leads to the mature, long-practicing artists monopolizing the awards tables - it's like figure skating in that respect. The whole practice of this form of art is self-contained and continues no matter what happens in other art forms extraneous to it - follows its own rules, has its own influences, is shown in specific galleries. That being said, oriental painting cannot avoid influencing artists more in step with global perceptions of art. That appropriation leads to art that we can look at and evaluate using the appreciation system we have developed over our scholastic lifetimes. Much of this art (art that is "oriental painting"-ish, though is not really oriental painting) would never make its way into these contemporary oriental painting exhibits, because they do not fit the evaluation system.
confused? me too, and I have to have a work ready two weeks from now for an upcoming exhibit in June. Back to work.
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